Architects compete, and the internet provides unlimited opportunities for competition among all who wish to offer up something for consideration. None of this is news. But there’s been a change in both the expectations and the etiquette around all of those offerings.
Earlier this month, I was asked to submit to two small competitions. I had completed successful projects that matched each competition’s focus, so I dove in. We confirmed that our entries met the criteria and deadlines; we knew the day of jury deliberations and the release date of their decision. As usual, we lost (success only comes for those willing to accept failure); also, as usual, the verdict for us and for all other runners up was silence.
Yiwu Grand Theater. Image Courtesy of MAD Architects
MAD Architects have revealed the design of a new theater made of glass sails in Yiwu, China. Located on the south bank of the Dongyang River, the ‘Yiwu Grand Theater’ encompasses a 1600 seat grand theater, medium theater, and international conference center. The project's protective canopy was made to resonate with the river and use water as its stage. MAD’s design responds to its locale by appearing as a boat floating on the river above the water’s surface.
A team composed of international and local studios and individuals—Agence Ter, rootoftwo, Akoaki, and Harley Etienne—was recently chosen to revitalize the 83-acre area.
Over the course of the 20th century, across a series of administrations and economic contexts, Midtown Detroit grew into one of America’s largest (or densest) cultural districts, with over 12 major institutions, such as the Detroit Institute for the Arts (DIA) and the College for Creative Studies. But you wouldn’t know it, even if you were there—the nine-block, 83-acre area is a mish-mash of styles spanning Beaux Arts, Modernism, and Brutalism, and has a certain sense of placelessness. The area feels architecturally disjointed, illegible, and fails to translate the vibrancy of each institution into the broader public space.
Business School for the Creative Industries at UCA Epsom. Image Courtesy of Flying Architecture
UNStudio has won the competition to design the new Business School for the Creative Industries at UCA Epsom in the UK. Selected from shortlisted teams including Wilkinson Eyre, Haworth Tompkins, Hall McKnight and Tate Harmer, the project is modeled on the concept of ‘Salons’ as theaters of conversation and exchange. The business school is designed to encourage interaction and collaboration throughout the campus and to blur the hierarchical boundary between faculty and students.
Snøhetta, WCIT, and AECOM have released details of their proposed Neal S. Blaisdell Center Master Plan for Honolulu, Hawaii. Located in the urban heart of O’ahu, the existing 1964 center is home to the state’s premier arts and cultural venues. The aging structure is now set to be transformed by a 22-acre complex for future generations, featuring a performance hall, exhibition hall, sports pavilion, parking structure, and reconceived public space.
The Midnight Charetteis an explicit podcast about design, architecture, and the everyday. Hosted by architectural designers David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, it features a variety of creative professionals in unscripted and long-format conversations that allow for thoughtful takes and more personal discussions. Honesty and humor are used to cover a wide array of subjects: some episodes provide useful tips for designers, while others are project reviews, interviews, or simply explorations of everyday life and design. The Midnight Charetteis available for free on iTunes, YouTube, Spotify, and all other podcast directories.
On this episode of The Midnight Charette podcast, hosts David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet are joined by Dong-Ping Wong, Founding Partner of FOOD to discuss the architecture design process, structuring a collaborative work environment, communicating with non-architects, starting +POOL (the world's first water-filtering floating pool), black tie personas and architectural education, rendering styles and more.
https://www.archdaily.com/919507/dong-ping-wong-on-plus-pool-and-rendering-stylesThe Second Studio Podcast
Modernism always wanted to have it both ways: on the one hand, modernist architecture was supposed to be, in theory, the same in all places; that's one reason why modernism in architecture was also called the International Style. If all modernist buildings look the same, when you see one you have seen them all: no need for further travel. Yet throughout the 20th century modernist culture and technology enthusiastically endorsed and favored travel. In the 60s we traveled to the Moon, and civil aviation made the world smaller. In modernist culture, travel was good. It made all travelers better, happier humans. It was good to learn foreign languages and to go see distant places. High modernist travel was not only good; it was also cool. The jet setters of the 60s were the coolest citizens of the world. Even later in the 20th century the general expectation was that borderless, seamless travel would keep getting easier and more frequent. Most Europeans of my generation grew up learning two or more foreign languages, and it was not unusual until recently to be born in one country, to study in another, and find one's first job in a third one. That was seen as an opportunity, not as a deprivation.
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the 54 winners of 2019 RIBA National Awards for architecture. Presented since 1966, the awards recognize the UK’s best new construction projects. From a small rammed-stone pavilion on the site where King John signed the Magna Carta, to the vast redevelopment of one of London’s busiest transport terminals, the award-winning buildings showcase the breadth of UK architecture today.
The recently-formed town of Sadra, Iran, is gradually evolving into a mega-city as a result of its geographical location and architectural potential. To improve the cultural standards of the town, several cultural centers were constructed, transforming the area into a major hub for people of all ages.
Keeping in mind that a newly-built town requires an adaptable space for potential expansions, NextOffice - Alireza Taghaboni architecture studio created the “Sadra Civic Center”, a town within a town built from its surrounding urban elements.
Published at the end of 2018, the new European Standard EN 17037 deals with daylight in buildings. It is the first Europe-wide standard to deal exclusively with the design for, and provision of, daylight. EN 17037 replaces a patchwork of standards across different European countries or provides one where no existing standard is present.
https://www.archdaily.com/919662/are-there-existing-daylight-design-standards-learn-about-the-first-european-standardSponsored Post
Harlem Boathouse. Image Courtesy of Foster + Partners
Foster + Partners have revealed a new design for a timber boathouse on the Harlem River in New York. Sited in Sherman Creek Park, the design was made for non-profit Row New York. The proposed boathouse seeks to expand Row New York’s free and low-cost programs that teach young people in under-resourced communities the sport of competitive rowing, while also assisting them with their education to prepare them for higher education and a path to college.
Foster+Partners and Immersive have joined forces with Steven Spielberg to create a digital entertainment experience for the Comcast Technology Center in Philadelphia. Immersive, recognized as a world leader in the design and production of experimental media installations, conceived the installation having been approached by Foster + Partners in 2016 to create a multimedia experience that would embody the Comcast Technology Center’s focus on innovation.
https://www.archdaily.com/919826/foster-plus-partners-steven-spielberg-and-immersive-team-up-for-universal-sphereNiall Patrick Walsh
This is all quite recent: less than a year ago, a French family became the first in the world to live in a 3D printed house. Short of 20 years, this seemed like a distant dream, this new technology has developed quickly, and it arises as a possible contribution to the housing crisis around the world.
On the latest episode of Time Sensitive, a newly launched podcast produced the New York-based “conscious entertainment” media company The Slowdown, co-host Spencer Bailey interviews architect Elizabeth Diller of Diller Scofidio + Renfro in a blockbuster-length conversation. Diller talks with Bailey about designing everything from the High Line to The Shed to the upcoming expansion of MoMA, and also delves deeper into her past, revealing how it was her mother’s idea for her “go into architecture, and if not architecture, then dentistry.” But upon getting into the Cooper Union and studying with professors like Peter Eisenman and John Hejduk, Diller’s path was clear—for the most part, anyway; it’s necessary to listen to the full episode to see why her journey to where she is today was indeed unconventional and roundabout.
Traditionally, bricks have been used in architecture to fulfill a double function: structural and aesthetic. While they act as an effective and resistant modular solution in building structures, their faces can be exposed to constitute their architectural appearance, generating facades rich in texture and color, thanks to the iron present in the clay they are composed of.
At present, there are products that allow the attractive appearance of bricks to be merged with other structural systems, separating their functions and providing the necessary freedom of design so that the facades can adapt creatively in favor of the conditions of each project and the requirements of its users.
Dutch design practice MVRDV has reopened their 2016 project Crystal Houses with a new tenant and façade. Located on the high-end shopping street PC Hooftstraat, Crystal Houses initially hosted a temporary store for Chanel. The project’s jewel-like façade was proposed as a way for Amsterdam to be home to distinctive, upmarket flagship stores without compromising the city’s historical character. Now the project has been renovated and re-opened for French luxury brand Hermès.
In their new student housing project, Walshe's Yard, Urban Agency has placed incredible importance on blending the building into its context while also providing a high quality of living for students. Located in Carlow, Ireland, the building is situated on the threshold between the looser urban periphery and the denser historic center of the town. The 3800 square meter project will include 125 bedspaces arranged into 32 “student houses” of either 3, 6, or 8 students, plus graduate studios on the top floor.
One of the most highly regarded architects of his generation, Portugese architect Álvaro Siza (born 25 June 1933) is known for his sculptural works that have been described as "poetic modernism." When he was awarded the Pritzker Prize in 1992, Siza was credited as being a successor of early modernists: the jury citation describes how "his shapes, molded by light, have a deceptive simplicity about them; they are honest."
The Australian Institute of Architects have awarded the 2019 Gold Medal to Santa Monica-based Australian expatriates Hank Koning and Julie Eizenberg of Koning Eizenberg Architecture. As the Institute’s highest honour, the Gold Medal was awarded to acknowledge the firm's commitment to affordable housing, education and civic projects, and to tirelessly fighting to improve the situation of underprivileged communities.
Kapsimalis Architects has published details of their proposed Vineyard House on the Greek island of Santorini. The design concept was for a main housing space under a roof of artificial earth, with a perimeter-free view of the landscape. To achieve this, a piece of land is elevated by 2.6 meters to form a living space below and progressively sculpted in the spirit of the natural erosion of volcanic rocks and caves.
China seems to be at the peak of a refurbishment fever. Not only hutongs in historic downtowns, but abandoned industrial factories are becoming new tech or cultural hubs, and even buildings in the risk of collapse are refurbished to extend their lifespan. Why is this happening? Who is investing? How could this happen in a country where you cannot buy properties?
In this edition of Editor's Talk, our editors from ArchDaily China share their thoughts on how in a fast-paced development process, such as the one China is going through, there is a refurbishment fever in its biggest cities.
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