Designed by Frei+ Saarinen Architekten, the aim of the Lignum Pavilion is to inform the public about the possibilities of wood applications in the construction field. Conceived as a training and information center, the project embodies the expressive potential of wood in very modern key. The fully digitalized production process made it possible to optimize both the quantity of material used and the assembly system, resulting in a considerable reduction of costs and making the most of the strength characteristics of wood. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Starting today, September 28, and running until October 5, ArchiNATI 2012 is week-long festival celebrating Cincinnati’s built environment, partners with institutions city wide to organize and highlight events that showcase Cincinnati’s architecture. Hosted by the Young Architects and Interns Forum (YAiF), a committee of the Cincinnati Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the events will give everyone the opportunity to experience the built environment in a new way where their interests intersect with architecture and design. Films, talks and tours will take place in the greater Cincinnati area, which kick off with an exhibition of Miami University and University of Cincinnati student design work and open house at the Miami University Center for Community Engagement. For more information and details about the event, please visit here.

Architects: Budapesti Műhely Location: Sóskút, Hungary Architect In Charge: Tamás Dévényi, Budapesti Műhely Associate Architects: István Kovács, Eszter Mihály, Orsolya Takács, Viktor Vadász Project Year: 2011 Photographs: Tamas Bujnovszky

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Architects: Noll & Tam Architects Location: Los Gatos, California, United States Project Team: Christopher Noll, AIA, PIC Project Designer : Matthew Wadlund Project Architect : Tad Costerison, AIA Signage Designer: Matthew Williams Design Interiors Architect: Trina Goodwin Lighting: Illuminosa Lighting Design Project Year: 2012 Photographs: David Wakely

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We interviewed Winnipeg- based 5468796 Architecture (Johanna Hurme + Sasa Radulovic) and Jae-Sung Chon (Faculty of Architecture, University of Manitoba), the team that curated the “Migrating Landscapes” exhibit at the Canadian Pavilion for the 13th Venice Biennale. The Migrating Landscapes Oganizer (MLO) invited, through a national competition, young Canadian architects and designers from a wide range of cultural and educational backgrounds to create scale models of ‘dwellings’ and accompanying videos that draw on cultural memories.

Today, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) honored Swiss architect Peter Zumthor for his significant influence on the advancement of architecture by naming him the recipient of the 2013 Royal Gold Medal.

It all started in Switzerland, in 1979, when Zumthor founded his “small yet powerful and uncompromising practice”. Since, he has built a prestigious, international reputation for creating “highly atmospheric spaces through the mastery of light and choice of materials”. From his small rural chapels to the Thermal Baths at Vals, the Zumthor experience ignites the senses, with “every detail reinforcing the essence of the building and its surroundings.”

RIBA President Angela Brady, stated: “Peter Zumthor’s work renews the link with a tradition of modern architecture that emphasizes place, community and material practice.  His writings dwell upon the experience of designing, building and inhabitation while his buildings are engaged in a rich dialogue with architectural history. I will be delighted to present him with the Royal Gold Medal.”

Continue to learn more.

Architects: at103 Location: Tecamachalco, Mexico Architect In Charge: Julio Amezcua, Francisco Pardo Design Team: Tiberio Wallentin, Yareni Rebolledo, Hanni Paz, Aida Hurtado Project Year: 2012 Project Area: 1,170 sqm Photographs: Rafael Gamo

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Architects: JSª Location: Mexico City, Mexico Architect In Charge: Javier Sánchez Design Team: Arquitectura 911 sc, Jose Castillo, Saidee Springall Juan Manuel Soler, Juvencio Nuñez, Pablo Zamudio, Edgar González, Gabriela Delgado, Gustavo Rojas, Domingo Granados, Mariana Paz, Jimena Antillón, Edith Razo Project Year: 2012 Photographs: Rafael Gamo , Pedro Hiriat

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The results of the 9th Annual Emirates Glass LEAF Awards have been announced, honoring the architects designing the buildings and solutions that are setting the benchmark for the international architectural community.

The winners were selected from an impressive shortlist by an international jury of architects that included Irving Brauer (chairman, principal of Brauer Associates), Phil Holden (managing director of Pascall+Watson architects), Lucy Bullivant (architectural curator, critic, author), Paolo Brescia (partner of Open Building Research), and Kasia Fiutowska (founding partner of Sketch Design).

The 2012 award winners are:

The 2012 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) annual meeting, which ran from Sunday, September 23 to Tuesday, September 25 in New York, was, on the face of it, one of those positive seminar-type experiences, with croissant breakfasts, plenary sessions, break-out groups, closing remarks, and all that. But there is a difference between a CGI meeting and the usual convention dynamic: At CGI there is a shared mission of achieving real and positive outcomes by leveraging the power of relationships. People and organizations across different sectors are brought together to realize what CGI calls “Commitments to Action”.

One of the best things about CGI is that it helps bring resources to bear on ideas in need of support. Sounds too good to be true and sort of like a love-fest of pie-in-the-sky, fairy dust optimism? It might sound like this at first, but the meeting is made up of people who have dedicated their lives and careers (same thing) to solving real-world problems. If Greenpeace’s slogan is Think Globally, Act Locally, then CGI’s is something like “If you can think it, you can do it.” Bill Clinton says he started CGI to “help turn good intentions into real action and results.” Toward this end, they basically help funnel money into good ideas that can change lives. They do this not by handing out cash, but by networking financing sources like foundations, philanthropists, and corporations with individuals and organizations who need backing to get their projects off the ground.

UPDATE: Thank you all for sharing your favorite Apps! We took the 10 Apps that received the most votes and polled them on our Facebook page. We’ll be publishing the results later on, but, for now, a big Congratulations to the 5 recipients of our Prize: Kalyan Basetty, Mica Nickson, Azra Kapic, Matt Iden, and Nick Gentile!

We’ll be contacting you later today with your codes for (iPhone), [steel HD] (iPad), and The META Calculator - brought to us by our friends at The Mobile Engineer. Congrats!

Last week, we asked our Facebook Fans to suggest the best Apps for architects so we could put together a list of the 10 Best Apps For Architects. But while a few great Apps got featured, tons of other great Apps got skipped. ArchDaily reader ArchNYC, for example, commented “how is morpholio, Paper, or i-Rhino 3D not on this list? they are incredible apps.” Reader Anna responded: “Agree 100% ArchDaily should consider a second list.”

Well, you spoke, and we listened. We’re going for Round II. But, this time around, we want to know: What Great Architecture Apps Did We Miss?

And we haven’t even gotten to the best part. The folks at The Mobile Engineer, creators of our App , will give 5 lucky commenters a Promo Code – either for (for iPhone) or [steel HD] (for iPad) – for FREE. Not bad, eh?

So, just register to let us know your favorite Apps (iPhone or Android) in the comments below!

UP Projects and The Architecture Foundation has announced Duggan Morris Architects as winner of the Open Architecture Challenge to design the next phase of the acclaimed Floating Cinema project. This project has been commissioned by the Legacy List with corporate partner Bloomberg as part of the Bloomberg East series of artist-led programs to animate the waterways in East London working in partnership with the Canal and River Trust.

Continue after the break to learn more.

Taking place September 30-March 3 at the Arp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck in Remagen, Germany, the ‘Richard Meier. Building as Art‘ exhibition illustrates Richard Meier’s complex design process using prominent buildings and projects from his entire work history. The main focus will be on his museum buildings, as well as on the residential projects created at the start of his career in the USA. The works on display included in the exhibition explore the concept of an architecturally composed space on the basis of five aspects: site, proportion, light, route and color. The exhibition includes a selection of models, original sketches, renderings and photographs. More information after the break.

Open to all young creative minds from all parts of the world from the ages of 18-33, the Fenn Young Designers Award competition is seeking creative, innovative proposals that explore the interpretation of Organic” using the following mediums: Architecture, Interior design, Product design, Fashion design, Photography, and Painting. How do you interpret “Organic” if you are designing a building, a piece of furniture, a fabric, a dress, a painting or any other form of art? Submissions are due no later than October 17. To register and for more information, please visit here.

The mixed-used masterplan of YueHaiWanJia commercial district aims at combining shops, restaurants, leisure, museum, bars, KTV, cinema, hotels and children amusement together in the same place. Designed by SURE Architecture, they were able to create a new amusement and attraction place for all kinds of people. With the idea of the European City context, overlapped with the Stamp of Xi Xia, which has a historic influence for this city, the result is an interesting layout and space to enjoy for people of all ages. More images and architects’ description after the break.

With a world plagued by the current economic crisis, David Chipperfield fears that the architects’ role is shrinking and the professions ability to influence the shape of our cities is diminishing.

Since the inauguration of this year’s Venice Biennale, Chipperfield has been amidst of a few heated debates, most notably debunking the harsh criticism of Coop Himmelb(lau)’s Wolf Prix – who claimed the “hollow” event was “no longer about lively discussion and criticism of topics in contemporary architecture” – by affirming Prix “hadn’t even visited Venice”.

Interestingly, Chipperfield has now initiated a debate, using similar rhetoric as Prix, that calls attention to the dwindling role of the architect and the impotence of contemporary architecture. The catch? He blames politicians.

Continue after the break for more.

Architects: DVA Arhitekta Location: Island of Krk, Croatia Design Team: Tomislav Curkovic, Zoran Zidaric Project Year: 2012 Photographs: Robert Les

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It’s hard to imagine Le Corbusier – the bespectacled legend of 20th century Modernism, known for his ultra-clean aesthetics – as living in the everyday, messy world that we all inhabit. Which is why the Fondation le Corbusier‘s decision to display rare color photographs of Le Corbusier is such a treat for us all.

The photographs were taken for the magazine Paris Match in 1953 by Willy Rizzo, a fashion photographer better known for his shots of 1950s stars and starlets. The images depict the then 66-year-old Corbusier in various spots about Paris: the Musée National d’Art Moderne, his apartment, in front of a blackboard (sporting a sketch of Unité d’Habitation).

In her Fast Company article, Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan explains that these images give us a glimpse of the man behind the myth: “Even the way we talk about him now, as Le Corbusier, refers to an idea as much as a person. Captured 12 years before he drowned in the Mediterranean at his beloved summer home, Rizzo’s photographs give us a glimpse of the pre-sainted man–aka Charles-Édouard Jeanneret.”

The photographs will be on display at the exhibit “Le Corbusier by Willy Rizzo” at Le Corbusier’s Maison La Roche, in Paris, until December 15th.

Story via Fast Company, Photos Willy Rizzo

Check out more images of Le Corbusier, after the break…

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced a ten-year commitment to develop design and technology solutions for cities that address challenges faced on public health, sustainability, and resiliency to natural disasters. AIA EVP and Chief Executive Officer Robert Ivy, FAIA, announced the Commitment to Action at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting, where more than 1,000 global leaders are gathering to address the theme, “Designing for Impact.”

“This commitment by the AIA represents an all-out effort to demonstrate the link between building design and the health of building occupants,” said Ivy. “And it will enable us to bring the force of design to bear in the public health arena and debate.”

The Winnipeg Art Gallery has selected six architectural teams to be shortlisted for the design of its new Inuit Art and Learning Center (IALC). The Center will house the WAG’s celebrated collection of contemporary Inuit art, the largest of its kind in the world, and the Studio Art and Learning programs.

Selected from 64 international submissions, the six shortlisted teams are:

What makes a good architecture school? Clearly there is no single factor that comprises a good, or even a great, architecture school. Different aspects are important to different people. Students often cite access to well-known faculty members—otherwise known as “starchitects”—as an important feature. Professors and instructors mention their school’s outreach programs, pioneering studios, technologically innovative labs, and exchange programs. All of these are valid and important.

Of course, these factors must be weighed against practical considerations that include tuition, the cost of housing, and other expenses. Why? Because in Western Europe and North America, tuition can be measured in the tens of thousands. What’s more, in the U.S., student loans aren’t forgivable which means your survivors can inherit up to US $90,000 worth of debt. And if the current economy has taught us one thing, it is that it’s cyclic.

So before investing all that money, it’s important to determine how a school will help you succeed. What are the practical and critical skills the school’s curriculum will impart to ensure a) your professional success, and b) your personal success (that means your overall quality of life). Because upon graduation, the goal is to gain skills to support yourself well while doing what you enjoy.

Read our CASE profile after the break