Phototropia is part of an ongoing series on the application of smart materials in an architectural context and was realized in April 2012 by the Master of Advanced Studies class at the Chair for Computer Aided Architectural Design (CAAD). The project combines self-made electro-active polymers, screen-printed electroluminescent displays, eco-friendly bioplastics and thin-film dye-sensitized solar cells into an autonomous installation that produces its required energy from sunlight and – when charged – responds to user presence through moving and illuminating elements.
Designed by o2a studio, the man-made structure for the Natural History Museum in Jerusalem is designated to celebrate the transcendent force and majesty of nature, which is a contradiction in terms. The paradoxical question that arises when approaching the design of a building that is dedicated as a showcase for the unbuilt, is how does one bridge this conceptual gap between the man-made and the organic – between the artificial and the natural. The proposal aims to highlight this difficulty, while allowing for a composite coexistence between the natural and the artificial – interpreted here as ranging between various degrees of control. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Architecture has become an increasingly interdisciplinary profession, and the language with which architects envision and articulate their ideas has radically diversified in recent years. Architect Jimenez Lai has pioneered an unexpected and wholly unique approach that moves beyond contemporary architectural renderings and models. Citizens of No Place is a groundbreaking graphic novel on architecture and urbanism.
For one week during May this year, during the Detour de France, Collective Etc. was invited by the association “Vivre la rue” to open a construction site in Brest, in the district of Recouvrance, Saint Malo. In this context, they offered to add a contemporary layer to the ruins of the street, resulting in the One:One Theatre. Their intention was to highlight the existence of the access to the new footpath that connects the small garden to the staircase in the back of the street, which was made safe to be open to the public. More images and architects’ description after the break.
CityVision recently announced the winners of the New York CityVision Competition. The competition’s goal was to imagine New York in its future if the manipulation of the urban context and its architectural objects, joined with its inhabitants, is influenced by space and time. With 151 project entries from all five continents and 32 different countries, the jury carefully examined all the entries and then unanimously elected the winners as Eirini Giannakopoulou, Stefano Carera, Hilario Isola, and Matteo Norzi took the first prize. More images and information on the winners after the break.
Designed by Huasen Architects, the winning competition proposal for the Research and Development Center for colorful Guizhou.co is based on the structure of local villages, having full possibilities to grow in all directions. The orientation for each building was defined by the best natural view of the river and surrounding mountains. Located near the new district of Long dong bao, just 15 minutes drive from the airport, the site has an undulating character with differing levels up to 15 meters, and sits along a small river. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The Architectural Association and Foster + Partners have announced AA diploma student Yi Yvonne Weng as winner of the 2012 Foster + Partners Prize for her project, ‘The 6th Layer – Expolorative Canopy Trail’. The prize is awarded annually to the AA Diploma student whose portfolio best addresses the themes of sustainability and infrastructure.
Yvonne Weng stated: “Programmatically, the project is centred on scientific exploration and harvesting medicinal plants, which provides an alternative use of the forest without destroying it. At the same time, the positive occupation of the territory it enables could provide a level of surveillance that helps to protect both the endangered environment and the indigenous population.”
Last November, ArchDaily reported on the new additions to Messe Basel – a multifunctional exhibition building that is designed to become a destination for the public. The project is designed by Basel architecture firm, Herzog & de Meuron and will include additions and relocations of the existing halls of the building. The existing hall will be extended via a three-story addition will replace two existing exhibition halls and include various scales of venues to attract different groups and events. New connections between parts of the building will be bridged with overhead walkways and transparencies between spaces. For a look at the early construction phase, click here.
Klassik Stiftung Weimar, host of the competition for the New Bauhaus Museum in Weimer, has announced that Berlin-based architect with Professor Benedict Tonon, has been selected as the winning proposal. Last March, ArchDaily announced the shortlist for the New Bauhaus Museum in Weimer design competition. The jury had provided the four finalists with recommendations to improve their proposals in preparation for the VOF Procedure (Contracting Regulations for the Awarding of Professional Services).
Thuringian Minister of Culture and Foundation Board Chairman Christoph Matschie congratulated the winner: “The Bauhaus is now finally being provided with a fitting location at its Weimar cradle. Once again, the Bauhaus will become a symbol of reawakening in the time to come. The building of the museum is providing animportant impulse for the entire development of the city of Weimar.”
Follow us after the break for more on the winning proposal.
New York City’s High Line has been such a success – both as an urban renewal project and a money-making tourist attraction – that it’s spawned quite a number of Copy Cats around the world (we found 18 19, listed after the break, but no doubt there’s many more…). Many, however, are more yawn-inducing than awe-inspiring. The following four projects are notably awesome exceptions.
Find out which projects made the cut, after the break…
The project, Cloud, designed by SABAOARCH, responds to the unique needs of the client with the creation of a uniquely shaped room. This room is similar to the clouds which float in the sky and is supported by three trunks which branch off from one tree standing on a hill. In order to make the boundary loose, but still maintaining architectural intensity and a feeling of a substance for the place where the natural environment touches primitive architecture, a global image like a vague floating cloud was imagined. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The winning proposal for the Provincial Government Office, designed by AllesWirdGut, corresponds to the public use of the building and provides the public with an open space for collective appropriation. A cloverleaf-shaped structure defines several entrances, all of which drain into a common center. The development responds to local and regional links and forms a junction of important inter-urban links which are created on all sides of the forecourts and entrances that complement and enhance the quality of public space. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The National Building Museum in Washington DC just opened a one of a kind exhibit featuring a 12-hole mini-golf course, which will be up until Labor Day, September 3. Designed by leading local architects, landscape architects, and contractors, their creations allow visitors to challenge friends and family to a round of mini-golf with air-conditioned comfort in the museum. Games cost $5 for non-members and $3 for members. For more information on the exhibit, please visit here. More images after the break.
The Helsinki planning office and steel product company Ruukki organized a student competition – Western Gateway – amongst all the architecture schools in Finland in 2011. The call for proposals was to design a landmark building in the newly developing western portion of the city – Koivusaari – utilizing steel in an innovative manner. Representing Aalto University, Arto Ollila’s submission entitled “Fokka” was selected as the winning proposal. More details after the break.
Our friends at Black Spectacles have shared with us their recent interview with Ammar Eloueini from AEDS (Ammar Eloueini Digit-all Studio). With offices in the United States and Europe, the Lebanese architect has become known for his material-based, technology-driven designs. Using the J-House as reference, Eloueini states, “It could be visible, it could be totally invisible. It doesn’t need always to scream technology or digital technology. It could be very discreet, but very effective.”
Learn more about the J-House here on ArchDaily. You can also view the complete transcript of the interview here on Black Spectacles.
As part of the Health Centre and Houses for Elderly People project by IPOSTUDIO Architects, Duosegno Visual Design shared with us this video they created which captures the features of the design and how it carefully integrates into the site. Through merging the new presence with the existent through the functional reuse and integration of the existing rural buildings to the new structures, the result is the emergence of a single façade towards the valley and its bending profile which simulates the soil contour lines.
The Lamp Lighting Solutions Awards competition is calling participants who value the creativity, innovation and sustainability of lighting projects, regardless of the manufacturer or the brand of lights used in the project. Light is a fundamental element of life and a key aspect of any architectural project. Prizes will be awarded to projects that have successfully met the architectural lighting needs of an interior or exterior space, having created a positive synergy between architecture, interior design, landscaping and lighting. Submissions are due January 31, 2013. To register and for more information, please visit here.
Designed by ferrarifrongia Architects, the main aim of the proposal for the DOSA archaeological museum is to protect the landscape through the aesthetic and functional enhancement of the existing heritage. The project is conceived as a sign in the landscape which, as a result of an extracting and modeling action of the ground, remarks the connection between the natural and the built. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The Hideo Sasaki Foundation, in collaboration with the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP), recently announced the inaugural Perry Chapman Prize. The prize honors the intellectual contributions of M. Perry Chapman by awarding an individual $10,000 to pursue a particular research project in planning and design. The research topic of the 2012 prize is work designed to establish a baseline of knowledge and resources on collaboration and integration in the planning and design disciplines—particularly related to how campus environments support institutional missions. An individual, a team of researchers or academics, or a firm may make submissions. Submissions are due no later that August 31. More information on the competition after the break.
The high-speed rail terminus station will connect Hong Kong to various major cities in the Mainland with the largest rail network in our history. Located centrally in Hong Kong within the city’s urban realm and equipped with fifteen tracks, the facility will probably be the largest below ground terminus station in the world.
Designed by Andrew Bromberg of Aedas, in collaboration with Aecom, the West Kowloon Terminus will function more like an international airport than a rail station; this means that the facility needs to have both custom and immigration controls for departing and arriving passengers.. More images and architects’ description after the break.
This year the Cleveland Design Competition is calling for a re-imagining of the Detroit Superior Bridge – a 19th century bridge rich with history and value to Cleveland’s downtown area and industrial zones. Professional, students, firms and designers are all invited to propose a dynamic public space, performance venue and pedestrian experience along the abandoned lower streetcar level of the bridge. Registration for this competition closes on September 24th. The competition deadline is October 5th. This is an awarded competition for first, second and third prize winners. A free public reception and exhibition will takes place on October 26th to announce the winners. To register, visit the official competition website.
For a brief on the competition, join us after the break.
The [AC-CA]’s recent call for proposals for a new Contemporary Art Museum in the heart of Buenos Aires has been seductively synthesized by Houston architect Michael Arellanes II, principal and founder of M A 2 Architectural Design. The nature of the competition called for a building that reflects contemporary design tendencies, whilst simultaneously attending to the specific functions that are required of art museums and considering the impact upon the local milieu. Located within the Puerto Madero district, the museum will occupy a substantial plot of land along the riverbank of the Río de la Plata. While there are no plans for the Contemporary Art Museum to be built, the goal to generate progressive modern design ideas and dialogue surely succeeds with submissions of MA2’s caliber. More details and Arellanes’s description after the break.
Loring Park, Minneapolis. Image via Flickr User Waiting Line; Licensed via Creative Commons
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) released a new report, “American Fitness Index" (AFI), ranking 50 of the largest US metropolitan areas by fitness and health. ACSM gathered information that identified population, health and the built environment and found what most of us can assume: that the physical built and planned environment of our cities has a profound impact on our physical health. "Cities near the top of the index," the executive summary reads, '" have more strengths that support healthy living and fewer challenges that hinder it... the opposite is true for cities near the bottom." Most of the metropolitan areas identified in the top ten are cities in the north, including areas of Washington, Minnesotta, Colorado, and cities within New England. California ranked the most metropolitan areas in the top ten. Cities near the bottom of the list were concentrated in the south, many of which are located in Texas. The report is the first step of the AFI to work towards its goal of promoting active lifestyles by identifying and supporting programming of sustainable, healthy community culture.
More details from the report and what tells us about our built environment.
