Designed by Kieran McGonigle and Aidan McGrath, House Lessans, has been named RIBA House of the Year 2019. The most prestigious prize given to the UK’s best new architect-designed house has been awarded this year to a simple home located in County Down, built on the site of a former farmstead.
Architecture News
House Lessans by McGonigle McGrath Wins RIBA House of the Year 2019
AS+GG Releases Design for New Financial District in China
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture has unveiled new images for the competition of the South HeXi Yuzui Financial District, the foundation for a new world-class, waterfront business district. The 500-meter-tall tower, part of the development will become the new focal point for the district, attracting businesses and tourism from China and the international market.
RIBA Royal Gold Medalist Ted Cullinan Passes Away at 88
Architect Edward Cullinan, founder of Cullinan Studio, has passed away aged 88. The studio announced the death its founder, saying that Cullinan died in his sleep on Monday. Known as Ted, he was awarded the 2008 RIBA Royal Gold Medal for Architecture in recognition of his inspirational practice and teaching.
Is it Time for Architects to Unionize? The UK Says Yes
In late October, the Guardian’s architecture critic Oliver Wainwright reported that the United Kingdom’s first architecture union had been formed. The Section of Architecture Workers (UVW-SAW) is a section of the United Voices of the World, a new model of grassroots trade union that supports the expansion of union ideals to professions and sectors which traditionally did not have such representation. The launch of the union, and the reasons behind it, serve as the latest episode in long-running concern over the working conditions faced by architects in the UK and across the world.
Glenn Murcutt's MPavilion Unveiled in Australia
Glenn Murcutt has unveiled the design of the 2019 MPavilion as part of Queen Victoria Gardens in Melbourne, Australia. Known for environmentally responsible designs grounded in an Australian background, Murcutt's new project is his first civic city design. MPavilion 2019 is the sixth in an ongoing series of annual architect-designed summer pavilions for Melbourne.
BOGL Wins Urban Development Competition in a Norwegian Harbor City
BOGL, a Danish landscape architecture studio, won the open planning and design competition for an urban development project in Norway. Located in the harbor city Tananger, a growing area, the proposal highlights the possible evolution of the space into an attractive place to live, work and visit.
X-Space, a Greenway Project in Dubai Wins the Grand WAFX 2019 Prize
Presented to projects that anticipate and address future challenges, the WAFX Award celebrates the “most forward-looking architectural concepts”. X-Space, an urban fabric regeneration project in Dubai, winner of the Smart Cities Category was selected to take on the overall WAFX 2019 prize.
SPACE10 Opens New Research and Design Lab in India
SPACE10 has opened a new research and design lab in Delhi, India. The opening aims to create a collaborative platform where experts, creatives and specialists in multiple fields can meet, experiment, and prototype solutions for everyday life. The new lab opens inside Chhatarpur's Dhan Mill Compound in South Delhi.
The Versatility of Gabion Walls, From Infrastructure to Urban Furniture
Widely used in infrastructure, gabion walls are structures made of mesh metal cages filled with stones. These permeable walls use galvanized steel wire to withstand outdoor conditions.
Belgian Architect Juliaan Lampens Passes Away at 93
Belgian architect Juliaan Lampens has passed away at the age of 93, in Ghent, Belgium. Known for his brutalist houses and his skillful use of concrete, wood and glass structures, the architect has created some of the most famous works from the last decade, including House Juliaan Lampens – Van Hove, House Vandenhaute – Kiebooms, and Kerselare Chapel.
FAAB Reimagines Warsaw's Piłsudski Square in Poland
FAAB Architektura has unveiled their design that reimagines Warsaw's Piłsudski Square in Poland. Made to bring together the humanities, arts and sciences with nature, the proposal aims to inspire interactions between disciplines. As the team state, the proposal was formed as an intermingling of history and art, literature and music, film and design, science and innovation. The project is made to promote the creation of urban ecosystems.
Incomplete Structures Take the Spotlight in Photographic Series
A lot can change in a city within one year; from demolitions, to reconstructions and project completions, a city's urban fabric is constantly being altered. During the past 4 years, Chilean architect and photographer Francisco Ibáñez Hantke of Estudio Ibanez has put together a photo-series titled Non-Structures, which focuses on London's urban regeneration and transformation and captures its various moments of ruins, planning, process, and eventually, complete architecture.
Restoration of Abandoned Church Connects Man, Nature, and God
Changtteul Church, is an old place of worship in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, that gets its name from the term "changtteul", meaning "a frame containing a window", in Korean. As its name suggests, the building's character lies in its series of windows, giving the visitors both outside and inside a unique experience of light and scenery.
Designers Hanyoung Jang and Hanjin Jang of studio minorormajor utilized the windows of Changtteul as a metaphorical motif for their design concept: the first being the 'window between man and God', and the second being ‘the window between man and nature’, immersing the abandoned religious facility with dramatic experiences.
Why Landing on Mars Has Become a Design Project
Mars has been notable for capturing humans' interest, intriguing business moguls such as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos to go on a "billionaire space race" and settle on the planet. But does humanity have the right to colonize another planet? If so, who does this sky-high ambition serve?
Minimalist Windows with High Rigidity Steel Profiles: Transparency and Subtle Design
After centuries of using wood for the development of window and door carpentry, the Rationalism of the 20th century began to adopt a new material for these purposes: steel. Driven by industrial production, and promoted by architects such as Adolf Loos, Mies van der Rohe, and Le Corbusier, steel was evolving to generate increasingly thin and resistant frames. However, efficient and low-cost materials, such as aluminum and PVC, gradually began to replace its widespread use, increasing the size of the frames and losing steel's "clean" aesthetic when applied to a growing architecture of large glass paneled facades.
At present, new technologies have refined their production processes, developing minimal profiles of high rigidity and precision, which take full advantage of the transparency of the glass and deliver new comfort and safety features. We talked with Jansen's experts to deepen our understanding of their application in contemporary architecture.
Seoul's Celebration of Architecture and the City Wraps up
Text provided by MasilWIDE. The Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism was held for about two months, came to an end in great success on November 10. First carried out in 2017 under the theme of 'Imminent Commons', the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism (hereinafter Seoul Biennale) gathered 450,000 people in the first year and marked the beginning of the Seoul Biennale. This year, the much-expanded scale and interest of people were able to be seen as the attendance numbers of the first year was already exceeded in October, at the height of the Biennale.
Snøhetta & Clark Nexsen Reveal Images for Library in North Carolina
Designed by Snøhetta in collaboration with Clark Nexsen, the new Main Library of Charlotte Mecklenburg Library reinterprets the space through a technologically-advanced approach and highlights the importance of this function in the community's daily life.
ZHA & Esplan Win Competition to Design the New Terminal for Rail Baltica
Zaha Hadid Architects were selected along with Esplan from Estonia to design the new terminal of the Rail Baltic railway at Ülemiste, Tallinn. Their proposal for the starting point of the Rail Baltic line connecting Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius with the European high-speed rail network, has been awarded the first place in the design competition.
6 Eye-Catching Corten Steel Construction Details
The characteristics of Corten steel has been respected by all architects, both for its strength and for its particular color. It corresponds to a type of steel manufactured with a chemical composition that provides an oxidation that protects the piece, practically without altering its mechanical characteristics. The architectural details of Corten steel present a diversity of situations and connections, not only the obvious constructive factor but it also gives an aesthetic value to any architectural project.
We have compiled this list of 6 eye-catching Corten steel construction details that stand out the most.
Mecanoo Reveals Konka Mixed-Use Inspired by Historic Chinese Towns
Dutch design practice Mecanoo has revealed their design for the Konka mixed-use project in Shenzhen, China. As the team states, Shenzhen is searching for new models for urban and architectural innovation to replace the traditional model of large-scale indoor shopping malls and focus on flexible development. The new Kang Qiao Jia Cheng development was made to provide an urban regeneration paradigm and a new icon for the Shenzhen skyline.
Sordo Madaleno Architects Designs New Hotel for Mexico's Sea of Cortez
The large biological reserves located in La Paz, Baja California Sur in northern Mexico have made this destination one of the most significant for ecotourism and its proximity to the United States has accelerated its development in recent years.
2020 Times Square Valentine Heart Announced
The Times Square Alliance has announced that Heart Squared by MODU and Eric Forman Studio is the winner of the 2020 Times Square Valentine Heart Competition. Curated by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, the competition celebrates its 12th anniversary creating proposals for a public art installation celebrating “Love in Times Square” during the month of February.
Kevin Daly Architects and PRODUCTORA to Design the New Houston Endowment Headquarters in Texas
The Houston Endowment and the organizers of the Malcolm Reading Consultants (MRC) contest announced that the team led by Kevin Daly Architects (KDA) and PRODUCTORA, in collaboration with TLS Landscape Architecture, won the international competition to design the new headquarters for the foundation. The winning proposal stood out as a dynamic response to the architectural and landscape tradition of Houston.
Shortlist Announced for the Architectural Photography Awards 2019
The Architectural Photography Awards 2019 has revealed its shortlisted images under 6 categories: Exterior, Interior, Sense of Place, Buildings in Use, Mobile, and Portfolio. Sponsored by Sto and supported by the World Architecture Festival (WAF), this year’s lineup was selected from nearly 2000 entries from 42 countries.