Architects, landscape architects, and planning professionals have been working with GIS data for many years to great success in Vectorworks’ BIM workflows. Much of this work has involved georeferenced Shapefiles (SHP), Drawing Interchange Formats (DXF), and image files (JGW, BPW, TFW, etc.). Though georeferencing makes sense as a solution for aligning GIS data in a BIM environment, users did not immediately expect that it would also be the solution to maintaining accurate positioning of site CAD and BIM files within the project. This article will describe how users are finding success by incorporating georeferencing in Vectorworks Landmark to better collaborate with the external and internal project participants.
In theory, parking spaces serve only one function: park a car safely until it is used again, and in terms of design, car garages are flexible and straightforward, requiring minimal design interventions. However, parking spaces nowadays are no longer considered one-function buildings. The emptier the space, the more potential it has to integrate additional functions. Architects and urban planners have redefined traditional parking lots, adding recreational and commercial facilities to the structure. Instead of a typical structured grid plan with yellow and white markings on the floor, we are now seeing inviting structures that incorporate green facades and rooftop playgrounds, car washes, cafeterias, and work/study zones.
The international event format Architects, not Architecture is known for inviting some of the most influential architects of our time and asks them to talk about their path, influences, and intellectual biographies. With its new event series, „AnA“ brings the architecture community a bit closer together by taking attendees on tour around the globe to “visit” selected cities and virtually meet two of their renowned practices.
Ennead Architects have won the international competition to design a dynamic 32-floor commercial tower in the heart of Shenzhen’s high-tech Nanshan District. The architecture studio’s aim was to create a platform that “embraces creative exchange and the sharing of human experiences and ideas”, so they developed a design that offers a flexible working environment with a subtle use of color and materials, complimenting the spatial and functional needs of Chinese tech company ByteDance. The tower, which is expected to be completed by 2024, will employ co-working spaces, commercial, and recreational facilities in a dynamic-looking structure overlooking Shenzhen Bay.
Kengo Kuma and Associates, together with Bekim Ramku and OUD+ Architects, has recently been awarded first prize in the competition to redesign the Gërmia building into a concert hall and will lead the conversion of Prishtina’s architectural icon into a cultural landmark for Kosovo. The proposal preserves the existing structures and articulates the program within and around the modernist buildings. The design envisions a canopy weaving together the different volumes and creating a new layer of public space.
The Chilean organization Ruta Pais Foundation has invited international architects and local artisans to design a series of architectural interventions in order to create 3 artisan routes in the Chilean Central Valley: Wicker Route in Chimbarongo, Clay Route in Pomaire, and Stone Route in Pelequén.
In order to start integrating embodied carbon studies into projects to meet sustainability goals, it is important to consider many factors such as carbon (kgCO2e) values, and what typical ranges of values to be aware of when designing for embodied carbon reduction. This e-book presents an overview of how to start integrating embodied carbon studies in your projects.
The winners of the design contest for the Nervión Riverside Park in Galindo Este (Barakaldo, Spain) have been announced. Organized by BILBAO Ría 2000, the competition invited participants to submit proposals for a space along the banks of the Nervion River that Baracaldo residents could utilize. Currently, the majority of Galindo Este (Urban-Galindo) is developed, however, space along the riverbanks provided a number of opportunities for growth. The goal of the contest was to lay out an integral design that would blend with and build on the already-existing space around it.
Snøhetta has unveiled a new Central Campus Building for Ford Motor Company, part of the transformation of its Research & Engineering (R&E) Campus in Dearborn, Michigan. As the result of a 3-year research and planning process, the project was created in collaboration with IBI Group as the Architect of Record, Ghafari as the Engineer of Record, and Arup leading sustainability and engineering.
2020 Build Challenge – Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Valparaíso, Chile. Image Courtesy of Dept of Energy Solar Decathlon on Flickr
The United States Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm announced the winners of the 2021 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Decathlon, a competition that challenges architecture and engineering college students from around the world to design and construct high-performance buildings powered by renewable energy. 72 competing teams hailed from 12 countries and designed energy-efficient residential and commercial spaces, nine of which were constructed and presented in the Solar Decathlon Virtual Village on the National Mall, a first of its kind, in Washington, D.C.
After an extensive renovation, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) completes the transformation of the Willis Tower observation deck and inaugurates a new interactive exhibition showcasing how architecture shaped Chicago’s identity through the city’s history. Now reopened to the public, the Skydeck is part of SOM’s ongoing design stewardship of Willis Tower, which started with the building’s conception and continued in 2009 with the addition of the Ledge.
The City Prosperity Index, CPI, set by UN-Habitat, evaluates urban prosperity according to five parameters as productivity, infrastructure development, environmental sustainability, quality of life, and equity/social inclusion. To a greater or lesser extent, these five factors are represented in the street pattern of every city in the world. Streets have multiple functions as the mobility of people and goods, the supply of energy, water, and information, the collection of waste, the growth of trees, plants, insects or birds, the shadow and sun radiation, the bench where to sit, the place to salute and talk with your neighbors, a playground, or the access to the bakery where you buy the bread. In this sense, streets are public and vibrant spaces, which can perform multiple functions and activities.
The rising popularity of mass timber products in Canada and the United States has led to a rediscovery of fundamentals among architects. Not least Indigenous architects, for whom engineered wood offers a pathway to recover and advance the building traditions of their ancestors. Because timber is both a natural, renewable resource and a source of forestry jobs, it aligns with Indigenous values of stewardship and community long obscured by the 20th century’s dominant construction practices.
Design experts from the leading global bathroom-solutions and kitchen-fixtures manufacturer talk customer-centric and inclusive design, sustainability, and their new digital-experience platform, GROHE X.
People are the purpose and scale of the city. What does a people-oriented city look like? On April 8, 2021, sponsored by "LIFE WEEK ", the first Sanlian “City for Humanity Award” Ceremony was held in Chengdu. It takes "Rebuilding Connections" as its first theme, and hopes to promote a discussion on social values and humanistic care in Chinese cities through a professional and communicative approach, such as awards at this special moment after the epidemic.
The Second Studio (formerly The Midnight Charette) is an explicit podcast about design, architecture, and the everyday. Hosted by Architects David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, it features different creative professionals in unscripted conversations that allow for thoughtful takes and personal discussions.
A variety of subjects are covered with honesty and humor: some episodes are interviews, while others are tips for fellow designers, reviews of buildings and other projects, or casual explorations of everyday life and design. The Second Studio is also available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube.
This week David and Marina address the question, "What Does an Architect Do?". The two cover the responsibilities and tasks an architect undertakes during a typical building process from research to the initial design phases, design development, construction documentation, contractor selection, and construction. Enjoy!
https://www.archdaily.com/960633/the-second-studio-podcast-on-what-architects-doThe Second Studio Podcast
Glenn Howells Architects have won planning permission for a lakeside climbing center in Peterborough, England. The new Olympic standard climbing center aims to be a sustainable landmark for the 1,700-acre Ferry Meadows Park site. The center is made to be a central element of Nene Park Trust’s 2050 vision and 10-year masterplan. The indoor facilities are designed to complement the outdoor activities available across the Park.
Videos
Flooded Modernity. Courtesy of Asmund Havsteen-Mikkelsen
There is a saying that ‘all good architecture leaks’. While likely not intended as an endorsement for water damage, this video takes the phrase seriously by playfully sorting through some of architecture’s greatest leaks. Frank Lloyd Wright was famously dismissive of the many unintentional leaks in his buildings, once telling Mr. Johnson to move his table if he didn’t like it getting rained on. However, there are a number of great intentional leaks throughout architecture as well, such as the entry hall of Peter Zumthor’s Therme Baths in Vals. The walls allow groundwater to seep in from the surrounding mountain while forming beautiful murals out of mineral deposits the water picked up while on its journey through the earth. Whether leaks are intentional or unintentional, they are an inevitable and important reality for architects. There should always be plans for the water that will get into our buildings and this video offers five humorous strategies for making those plans.
You might not think of McDonald’s as the pinnacle of architectural style, but even the world’s largest fast-food franchise has taken some bold design risks. While the literal “secret sauce” has largely remained the same since the inception of the iconic golden arches, McDonald’s has had its fair share of experimentation and has even hired some of the profession’s most prominent names to put their own spin on the design of these restaurants- turning the repetitive and mundane into one of a kind experiences.
Barcode Architects and Tchoban Voss Architekten have landed the win of the Dresden City Public Administration Headquarters design competition. The proposed building will have a dynamic, three-layered façade that compliments Dresden's architecture and carefully embeds it with its surroundings. The 34,000m2 'Verwaltungszentrum' will be part of a larger urban transformation of the Ferdinandplatz, and is expected to be complete in 2025.
Designed by 3LHD Architects, the new campus for the Croatian electric hypercar manufacturer Rimac brings together a wide array of programs and spaces, from production plant and offices to kindergarten, dormitory and even a sheep meadow. Located in the outskirts of Zagreb, within a natural landscape, the Rimac Campus is organized around two main volumes that follow the site’s natural topography, with several accompanying facilities tucked underneath a green roof that stretches out, meeting the surrounding landscape.
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