Next week we will be taking our Architecture City Guide to London and we need your help. To make the City Guides more engaging we are asking for your input on which designs should comprise our weekly list of 12. In order for this to work we will need you, our readers, to suggest a few of your favorite modern/contemporary buildings for the upcoming city guide in the comment section below. Along with your suggestions we ask that you provide a link to an image you took of the building that we can use, the address of the building, and the architect. (The image must be from a site that has a Create Common License cache like Flickr or Wikimedia. We cannot use images that are copyrighted unless they are yours and you give us permission.) From that we will select the top 12 most recommended buildings. Hopefully this method will help bring to our attention smaller well done projects that only locals truly know. With that in mind we do not showcase private single-family residences for obvious reasons. Additionally, we try to only show completed projects.

Israeli designers, Chyutin Architects have shared with their proposal for a fashion and art graduate school in Tel Aviv. The proposal was created for a open architectural competition for the project, in which Chyutin Architects were a noted finalist. Additional images of their work and a description from the architects can be seen after the break.

by Steve Sanderson

A lot has happened in the world of sustainable design since my last post, all the way back in April. I had the pleasure of attending my first AIA National Convention, in my second favorite city in the US, New Orleans. In between my time sampling the local culture with the Davids (don’t let the prep school attire fool you, these guys know how to throw down), I managed to attend a number of sessions, all of which strongly adhered to the theme of Regional Design Revolution: Ecology Matters. One of the unexpected threads that emerged in nearly all of the sessions that I attended was the role that architects can, and should, play in energy conservation by more accurately predicting and measuring building energy performance. As a topic that has enjoyed scant attention outside a relative fringe audience since I’ve been alive (I came on the scene just in time for the second oil crisis), it was pretty exciting to see it so prominently featured. It appears the relentless efforts of organizations such as Architecture 2030, USGBC and the AIA, are finally beginning to pay off, with many architects becoming aware of their role in averting (or contributing to) greenhouse gas emissions. Politicians (from both sides!), are even beginning to pay attention. Without a doubt, this confirms it… the Mayans were right. The world will end in 2012.

A 30-day Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the continued development of + Pool is underway. From the creative minds at Family and PlayLab, + Pool is a collaboration to design a floating riverwater pool for everyone in the rivers of New York City. Beginning the next phase of the project, material testing and design, the online fundraising campaign hopefully will raise the initial $25,000 needed to begin physically testing the filtration membranes providing results to determine the best filtration membranes and methods to provide clean and safe riverwater for the public to swim in. A preliminary engineering feasibility report was initially conducted by Arup New York, which assessed the water quality, filtration, structural, mechanical and energy systems of + Pool.

Family and PlayLab launched a Kickstarter online fundraising campaign this month with the ultimate goal of generating enough support to prototype the filtration system by building a full-scale working mockup of the one section of + Pool. Research, design, testing and development will continue through the year in conjunction with permitting, approvals and building partnerships with community, municipal, commercial and environmental organizations.

Donation levels for the Kickstarter campaign range from $1 to $10,000 with the hope that everyone interested in cleaner public waterways can get involved. Donors can choose from a variety of incentives and gear up for a day at the pool. For more information about the project and the campaign or to donate click here. Or write to info@pluspool.org.

Follow the break for more details about this project and the history of floating pools in New York City, which date back to the early 19th century.

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ALA Architects has proposed to plant a Magnolia tree for Tampere. An intelligent glass dome will provide this tree with a more southern climate, complete with ventilation, shading and lighting. The air exhaust of the parking garage will provide additional heating during the cold, dark months. This dome will have its own microclimate fine-tuned using the technical abilities provided by its glazed surface. The Magnolia will be nurtured to burst into a magnificent bright pink blossom by the first of May annually. Its strong perfumed scent will fill the pavilion, on some spring days the scent might even flow down to the parking garage.

The Barcelona Institute of Architecture (BIArch) is currently receiving applications to the second edition of the MBIArch post-professional degree program, with classes beginning in September.

The Interiors Construction Manual supports planners in their daily work as a practical planning aid and reference work with the relevant standards, guidelines, reference details and constructional solutions, all illustrated by built example projects. It brings together the crucial facts on all aspects of interior construction and presents the key fundamentals of building physics, fire pro-tection, interior construction systems and openings. In addition, it offers concrete tips on integrated planning approaches, energy and sustainability issues, materials used in interior construction, hazardous substances and dealing with building services and light planning.

More information and photos after the break.

KCAP Architects & Planners present their vision today for NEO Brussels, the redevelopment of the Heysel plateau, , to the political arena, the press and the public. The team, KCAP working together with advisors Arup and Fakton, won the international design competition in September 2010. The area is one of the most strategic locations in the Brussels Metropole Region. The design for NEO Brussels aims to strengthen the significance of the Heysel, and to qualify it within a framework for sustainable development. More images and complete press release after the break.

KKL Luzern, one of the world’s premium halls, has selected WSDG for its Electro Acoustic Upgrade. The ongoing project to update the systems of the concert hall should be completed in 2012. Read more about the KKL Luzern and the acoustic upgrade being performed by the architectural acoustics team WSDG after the break.

All projects from mid-2009 for our seventh selection of previously featured refurbishment buildings. Check them all after the break.

Palomar Welcome Center / Johnsen Schmaling Architects As the harbinger of a large-scale development slated for LEED certification, the Palomar Welcome Center utilizes an abandoned one-story warehouse building on the edge of Milwaukee’s Park East redevelopment corridor. The area, an urban desert formerly occupied by an underused freeway spur, is slated to be transformed into the Palomar District, a series of mixed-use projects that will connect downtown to the adjacent neighborhoods (read more…)

International architecture, urbanism and design practice Broadway Malyan has completed the design of a new super marina complex, following an international design competition staged by client Lusort, with the project forming a major part of the wider redevelopment of the outer harbor of the award-winning Marina de Vilamoura in Algarve, Portugal. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Log 22 features: Sylvia Lavin on architecture’s accommodation of hoarding; Jacques Rancière on the conundrums of art and life; and Lucia Allais on Superstudio’s “Salvages of Italian Historic Centers,” a 1974 project presented here for the first time in English. Also in the issue: Mark Jarzombek on Bruno Taut’s attack of seriousness; David Foster Wallace on Kafka’s funniness; Amanda Reeser Lawrence on the self-influence of James Stirling; Caroline O’Donnell on Karl Rosenkranz’s aesthetic of ugliness; and K. Michael Hays and Marrikka Trotter on fictions in recent architecture.

A master plan by Goettsch Partners (GP) has been selected as the winning scheme in the design competition for a prominent site in the new Pazhou district in Guangzhou, China. The Pazhou Masterplan will consist of three urban parcels that form a triangular site, which is planned for seven buildings totaling 428,000 square meters. The client and developer is Poly Real Estate (Group) Co., Ltd., China’s leading state-owned real estate company.

Read on for more on this project after the break.

A while ago I had the chance to meet one of the architects whose work I highly admire: Sou Fujimoto.

The 2011 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion by Pritzker laureate Peter Zumthor was unveiled today. A design that ‘aims to help its audience take the time to relax, to observe and then, perhaps, start to talk again – maybe not’, the materials are significant in aiding the design which emphasizes the role the senses and emotions play in our experience of architecture.

Zumthor added that ‘the concept for this year’s Pavilion is the hortus conclusus, a contemplative room, a garden within a garden. The planted garden enclosed by this dark structure was conceived by the influential Dutch designer Piet Oudolf.

The building acts as a stage, a backdrop for the interior garden of flowers and light. Through blackness and shadow one enters the building from the lawn and begins the transition into the central garden, a place abstracted from the world of noise and traffic and the smells of London – an interior space within which to sit, to walk, to observe the flowers. This experience will be intense and memorable, as will the materials themselves – full of memory and time.’

More info after the break:

Jason Zytynsky

Designed by MAD Architects, the Absolute Towers located in Toronto, Canada are nearing completion, and we are sharing with you the latest under construction photographs byJason Zytynsky. Serving as a gateway to the city beyond, the towers’ facade contains a continuous balcony wrapping the entire building. In 2006 MAD Architects competed and won the international competition to design the towers.

More images after the break.

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Asker Municipality in Norway continues its urban development towards a larger, more dynamic city centre. DARK, ADEPT and a consultant team have just won the international competition for city development and expansion of Asker Centre. Their project proposal “In the Loop” presents a unified, urban city for sports and social experiences. More images and complete press release after the break.

Lijo Jos and Reny Lijo recently displayed their exhibition of “Space Specific Installations” in the Kerla Lalithakala Akademi Art Gallery of Kerala, India. The architects filled the gallery with figures that intruded upon the space occupied by visitors and forced interactions between the work and the users of the space using a wide range of materials. The exhibition ran from May4th-10th so if you missed it be sure to look through the gallery for images of Lijo Jos and Reny Lijo’s work after the break! Photographs by Praveen Mohandas.

Architects: Rojkind Arquitectos / Michel Rojkind Location: Mexico City, Mexico Project Direction and Coordination: Grupo Elipse Interior Design: Buddha Bar Hotels & Spas Renderings: Rojkind Arquitectos, dbox

Denmark-based CEBRA shared with us their winning proposal for a competition to design an office building in Holstebro. More images and architect’s description after the break.

This project comes from architectural and urban planning firm, solus4 who has devised a set of principles that guided the design of the Sustainable Vertical Neighborhood. This “neighborhood” takes its form in an iconic 950 foot tall residential tower in New York City. Applying these principles to a vertical neighborhood requires the full engagement of the design team, the building team, the financing team and the owners.

Read on for more on this project after the break.

The New Modern House is a comprehensive look at the emerging trend of architecture that favors substance over style, combining functional design and sustainable processes with a straightforward, honest aesthetic.The New Modern House features 50 of the best recent residential case studies, from single family houses to self-builds, eco-friendly structures, recycled projects, and creative re-uses. All are accompanied by full details, models, sketches, and diagrams, allowing a closer look at their conception and construction. At the heart of the book is the concept of a new authenticity, which demonstrates a logical evolution of modernist design.

More information, credits and photos after the break.

Designed by Chengdu Urban Design Research Center, the “Southern Island of Creativity” is the start-up phase land of the Eastern New Town which endeavors to develop creative industry and is one of the 13 strategic function zones of future Chengdu, China. The Eastern New Town consists of three “Islands” based on their varied topography. The southern one is located in hallow hills, which stands adjacent to the art village which came into being spontaneously. The design team for this project consisted of architects Liu Gang, Zhang Yang, Yu Jia, Lan Mi, and Xu Xin. More images and architects’ description after the break.

This submission for the Internation Design Ideas Competition for Liantang was designed by A.Lo Design for Hong Kong, China on a site bridged between the urban fabric of Liantang and the natural site of Heung Yuen Wai. Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point Passenger Terminal Building sits within the boundary and balancing point between city and nature. The design philosophy of the project is to redefine the nature of infrastructural facilities that embrace nature rather than destroying and replacing it.

Read on for more on this project after the break.