New Practices New York, a biennial competition since 2006, serves as the preeminent platform in New York City to recognize and promote new and innovative architecture and design firms. The juried portfolio competition is sponsored by the New Practices Committee of the AIA New York Chapter and honors firms that have utilized unique and innovative strategies, both for the projects they undertake and for the practices they have established. Participants must register by January 15th. To register and for more detailed information, please visit their website here.
A new not-for-profit art and architecture organization called ASAP (Archive of Spatial Aesthetics and Praxis), founded by former MoMA Curator Tina di Carlo, launches Monday, December 12 at the top of The Standard, New York with Bjarke Ingels, Alex Schweder La and Jerszy Seymour. More information on the event after the break.
The proposal for the new Sculpture Museum of Leganés by MACA is the result of setting a few specific objectives to accomplish. Their main objectives include the importance of providing appropriate exhibition spaces, adapting the new building to the urban surroundings and gardens nearby, and demonstrating flexibility while creating an iconic design for visitors. More images and architects’ description after the break.
On a site almost without context because of its vast scale and open development plans, the Istanbul Disaster Prevention and Education Centre (DPEC), designed by Superunion Architects, represents a new beginning for the Expo area adjacent to the Atatürk International Airport. Today, the area is a typical example of a generic, market driven development without a common goal. It consists of tall isolated buildings trying to express their individuality rather than performing as a coherent whole. Situated in a void between city and airport, where public space is nonexistent, isolated buildings are surrounded by their own private sea of parking. The new Istanbul DPEC reverses current planning standards, making the ground surface completely public by elevating the building and letting the park flow freely below. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Woodbury School of Architecture and the Woodbury Hollywood Gallery (WUHO) are pleased to announce the opening of The Infrastructural Monument by Anna Neimark. The opening is on Thursday, December 8, 7 p.m. and runs until December 18th. Anna Neimark’s installation, constructed out of fifty-four three-foot cubes of EPS white foam, re-imagines a piece of infrastructure as a monument of a complex history when a canal from Moscow to St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad) was built during the second Five Year Plan, under Josef Stalin. More information on the installation after the break.
The Centre for Central European Architecture is organizing an international project focused on the situation of contemporary Central European suburbia. They have just launched an open call which invites architects, artists and other individuals to send their proposals of interventions. During the next year in 2012, 30 interventions will be realized in 6 different Central European municipalities. In each locality, five acupunctures will be realized. By acupuncture treatment, actions will have a long term impact created with minimal means. Actions may be physical or immaterial, temporary or permanent and should be addressed to local residents. All required materials must be submitted no later than January 31st. For more information, visit their official website here.
The musical theme is present in the project proposal by ARQX Arquitectos, therefore in a very metaphorical way, avoiding a mimetic decoration or spatial-appropriation to music reported items. They try not to just show musical objects, but to compose as a musician, to flow in nature and in space, contemplating and feeling. This idea of contemplation is seen in the rhythm of the volumes, as well as the allowance to go to the exterior, to feel weather contingency, to hear the sound of the sea and of the the wind in the trees constitutes the basic experience they feel a guest should have while staying at Liesma. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The University of Melbourne together with partners including the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development have just announced CMA+U and Team winners of the Sustainability Award ʻFuture Proofing Schools Competitionʼ Australia. The competition explores design ideas for next generation relocatable 21st century learning spaces as part of Australia’s research program for Building the Education Revolution. More images and information on the awarded project after the break.
‘Inhabiting the sky’, a project proposal for the Istanbul Disaster and Prevention Center by LEON11, aims both, to provoke a radical impression over the visitants and to take care of nature. In doing so, their design creates an awareness about sustainability through the understanding that nature is not something that we have to fear, but just to respect and love. To get the main point across of understanding nature by being surrounded by it, they are reaching out to show visitors. Once they get in the center, visitors get the feeling of being surrounded by clouds. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The City of Sebastopol, California, together with the Redwood Empire Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and a group of local business sponsors, is hosting an international design competition to generate innovative ideas for renewing the city center. The overarching intent is to explore how the physical presence of the city can become a more economically thriving and aesthetically vibrant place reflective of the natural beauty of the region, and the character of the community. Submissions, which are due February 3rd, will explore the ways a small, northern California city can transition from its agricultural past to a lively and sustainable future. For more information, please visit the competition website here.
The Masters of International Cooperation Sustainable Emergency Architecture at the ESARQ-UIC in Barcelona is excited to present this year’s open conference on December 12th titled, Rebuilding Japan: Lessons in architectural response, featuring talks and a roundtable discussion with Japanese architects involved in the reconstruction of Japan during its recent history of devastating earthquakes. How can architects respond in the aftermath of a natural disaster? What lessons can be learned from the last three major earthquakes in Japan? How does the context of a natural disaster affect the role of the architect and the reconstruction process? More information on the conference after the break.
L&A Design Group has developed an exciting contemporary bridge design as an architectural highlight of Wuxi Xidong Park, located in Jiangsu province, China. The bridge is planned to be the main connection between the north and south foreshores of the parks lake and allows visitors access to a small island destination that commands views over the water as well as café facilities and pocket gardens. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The min2max international architecture symposium, curated by Ilka & Andreas Ruby of textbild, is a two-day event where architects, artists, and activists will discuss design solutions to the pressing issue of keeping housing affordable and livable.
The event, which will take place on the weekend of the 10th -11th of December, will bring together some of the leading practitioners and theoreticians devoted to housing and architecture, including Anne Lacaton (Lacaton & Vassal Architects), Alfredo Brillembourg (Urban Think Tank), ELEMENTAL from Chile, Pier Vittorio Aureli (AA, London), Jacob van Rijs (MVRDV) and Diébédo Francis Kéré (Kéré Architecture), among many others. Panel discussions will be moderated by Carson Chan (PROGRAM), Michael Kimmelman (New York Times), and Joseph Grima (DOMUS). More information on the event after the break.
Magda Mostafa, guest editor for the Open House International Journal and associate professor at the American University in Cairo announced a call for papers for their special issue on the topic of built environments for special populations. More information on the call for papers including important dates and deadlines after the break.
The AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) and its Top Ten Green Projects awards program recognize the benefits of sustainable design and acknowledge architects as leaders in the creation of environmentally responsible design solutions. Now in its 16th year, the program is one of the best known sustainable design recognition programs in the nation.All architects licensed in the United States are eligible to submit entries, regardless of project size, budget, style, building type, or location. New buildings and renovations/restorations are eligible. Projects must be built and completed after 2002 and at least three months prior to the submission deadline, which is January 23rd. More information on the call for submissions after the break.
BIG + Kollision + Schmidhuber & Partner team up to bring BIG’s vision of future urban mobility to life for AUDI at Design Miami/ 2011, running from November 30th through December 4th adjacent to Art Basel Miami Beach. BIG originally presented the concept as an entry for the 2010 AUDI Urban Future Award introducing a future city paved with a digital surface that liberates the streets from existing boundaries and allows for a new flexibility of public use. More images and project description after the break.
De Rotterdam is a unique multifunctional building on the shores of the river Maas on the Wilhelminapier in Rotterdam designed by Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) of Rem Koolhaas. Its remarkable mix of functions makes this building a true vertical city.
By following the construction for 4 years (January 2010 – end of 2013), Ruud Sies presents a photographic report on a very special project in the development of Rotterdam, one that also forms a link to the Wilhelminapier as a historic spot. The full report can be viewed here. More images after the break.
The 12th annual Glenn Murcutt International Architecture Master Class will be taking place at the Architecture Foundation Australia from July 8-22, 2012. The two week residential studio based program has been described by many participants as ”a life changing experience” and has created a wonderful active international alumni network which includes practicing architects (older and younger), academics, postgraduates and senior students from around the globe. They are currently taking applications and the details and application form can be found here.
