With the intention of expressing the meaning of the Stock Exchange for the city of Tehran, EBA + VMX Architects aims to combine contemporary with traditional culture to generate a place where all the necessary activities are facilitated, but next to this physical presence there is also a symbolic representation of a distinction from its surroundings. Their project brings balance between the private and public functions and symbolizes the stable future position of the Tehran Stock Exchange. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Sitting on the brink of a waterfall near Loddgard farm in central Norway, the sauna, designed by Formløs Architecture, is simple and sculptural. As if cut from one piece of wood, the sauna hovers one foot above the ground and stretches out over the water. The idea for the sauna came from a wish to bring festival guests together in an atmosphere where all social constructions from daily life can be forgotten and the opera singer from the capital sits shoulder to shoulder with the local farmer. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The proposal for the National Museum of Afghanistan by Paul Preissner Architects reconsiders the method of the museum, which is dedicated to collections of historic artifacts and archeological evidence of past cultural moments. By allowing for the collection to be endlessly linear, and removing the separations between items in an era, eras in a past, and pasts within a culture, the museum incorporates a significant number of breakthroughs. The architects do so in terms of the architectural design, the notion of a cultural campus and the design thinking on curatorial endeavors, to revolutionize the way a museum works today. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Designed by Hans Hollein & Partner, the Tehran Stock Exchange aims to become a civic symbol that not only accommodates the stock exchange functions but also repents the practice in its entirety. As an architectural intervention, The buildings’ architectural nature allows it to become an identifiable structure within the urban fabric. The rectangular form of the office tower follows the homogenous surroundings, but the TSE´s façade is an innovative merger of two building envelope typologies and a strong contrast to any building in the vicinity: The window wall and the ceramic brick façade. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Gustafson Guthrie Nichol and Davis Brody Bond were recently announced as the winners of the National Mall competition for Union Square. As the country’s most visit park, attracting more than 25 million visitors annually, Union Square is the site of major historic events from presidential inaugurations to public gatherings and demonstrations. Located at the base of the Capitol, they were judged on the flexibility, sustainability, and creativity of their design and how well it reflects the established vision and design influences of this historic setting. More architects’ description after the break.

AIA Detroit Chapter’s Urban Priorities Committee just launched their Detroit by Design 2012: Detroit Riverfront Competition, which is open to students and professionals world-wide. The project site consists of the area between Cobo Hall and the Renaissance Center and between Jefferson Avenue and the Detroit River. A distinguished group has been put together to judge the competition including Daniel Libeskind, Walter Hood, Reed Kroloff, Faye Alexander Nelson, and Lola Sheppard. With a prize of $8500, the winner will also win a trip to Detroit and a lecture at an AIA sponsored event. Proposals are due by 5:00 p.m. EST on November 30. An accompanying symposium is scheduled for Thursday, December 6, 2012. To register and for more information, please visit here.

Located in a land about 80 hectares in Tehran, the design for the Army Residential Complex by Hootanpei was chosen in an architectural competition. With the contractor’s demand of 28-30 towers with 20-30 floors, the most important factor of design was minimum interference between pathways and driving ways and also suitable green places to create comfort and welfare for residents. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The “Reunite the River with our City” project, an public initiative by 4am Architekci, aims at creating a new approach in Poland for introducing changes to the shape and character of Warsaw and to propose solutions to the topic of planning the city’s sensitive areas. Concerning the master plan of Warsaw’s waterfront in the city’s downtown area, they feel an obligation to use their knowledge and experience for public benefit by distributing their work between paid and non-profit conceptual projects according to the 80/20 rule. Their goal is to materialize the “bottom up” rule, where the society is giving a proposal and solutions and thus relieves the administrative apparatus. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The proposal for the Luxodrome, designed by Charles Wagner, is a concept started after analyzing the recent topography of a velodrome, which is most of the time just a circle built by two lines and two half circles. With tracks still looking like a hundred years ago, even though cycling as a sport has developed rapidly over the years, this project aims to demonstrate the look of a future velodrome. This is why the track itself has to change to be up to date for all the different race formats. More images and architect’s description after the break.

Designed by Illinois Intitute of Technology architecture students, Andrea Zuniga and Daniel Caven, the winning proposal in the Powerful Design Competition held this summer in Chicago will redefine Chicago’s south side skyline, adding a new member to the series of local landmarks: a skyscraper made of light. Sponsored by ComEd, this will not only serve as the company’s icon, but also as a symbol for environmental awareness, heightening the aesthetics of the area. With the aim to design a new LEED certified training facility in the south side of the city, ‘The Seed of Light’ will travel along the Chicago River to spread the knowledge of smart grid technology and promote the company name as a responsible and environmental friendly entity. The estimated completion for the project is April 2014. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The organizers of Trimo Urban Crash, a biannual international competition for students of architecture and industrial design, just launched this year’s summer challenge, which is a relatively simple task. All are being asked, not just students, to present their thoughts on ‘Sustainable urban commuting’. You can send you thoughts/work in either visual form (photography, video, visual art and illustration, poster, etc.) or in textual form (no longer than 150 words); or you can create a combination of both. Submissions are on-line only. The deadline for the Summer Warm-up Challenge is August 20, 2012 and this challenge is only a warm-up for the 4th Trimo Urban Crash Competition which will get started this autumn, October 2012. For more information, please visit here.

Composed of approximately 400 simple wooden chairs arrayed and stacked in a sine wave surface, the ‘SEAT’ public pavilion, by E/B Office, is a recently completed winning entry for this year’s Flux Project in Freedom Park. Located in Atlanta, the chairs are drawn into an agitated vortex rising from the ground. Sitting is perhaps the most common condition from which we experience architecture. Whether we work, relax, watch, eat, sleep, or talk to each other, sitting is at the core of our relationship to buildings. Therefore, this project formalizes the transformation of chairs from detached useable objects into structural and spatial components of an ambiguously occupiable edifice. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Presented by the American Institute of Architects Portland and the Center for Architecture, the annual Architecture + Design Festival is coming up in October. Of the more popular events and one that continues to grow each year is the Design Matters: Tour of Homes, the only annual tour of architect-designed residences, which takes place on October 13. The homes tour provides a rare opportunity to glimpse inside seven extraordinary Portland residences. This year’s tour features innovative homes designed by top local architects including the renovation of Donald Blair’s 1960 futuristic “Home of Tomorrow”, a prefab home from Jeff Kovel, as well as several other outstanding examples of modern, efficient living. For more information, please visit here.

The main idea for the Raft ’4U’ cafe restaurant was to create a pleasant environment, like staying under the shadow of a tree, but also above water. Designed by Studio Alfirevic, the raft represents an extension of the riverbank. The atrium space is the central motif, with elements of the natural environment such as birch, stone, grass, etc. The spatial organization consists of the main entrance, wardrobe with toilets, café-restaurant with atrium and bar with storage space. More images and architects’ description after the break.

With a given task to design a temporary summer outdoor cafe with a very limited budget, DarkDesignGroup decided to use basic materials for the walls and roof slabs, which will allow the cafe to be more easily dismantled in the fall. Through the creative use of the OSB on a wood frame, they are able to create a dynamic form which invites the public inside and also allows them to enjoy the outdoor atmosphere. By manipulating the wood frame, they take advantage of the different ways to create openings, which make for an exciting piece of architecture. More images after the break.

Black Spectacles is hosting two sessions of their ‘Digital Design Crash Course’, a three day online course this August and September, which focuses on strategies and skills for working rapidly and creating beautiful work. The seminar will show students and professionals how to utilize a variety of design software including AutoCAD, Revit, Sketchup, Rhino, Grasshopper, & 3ds Max. You will develop an understanding of the geometric limitations of each software, so you know what tools to work with based on your design interests.

The 20th person to register for each session will be able to take the seminar for free. The deadline to register for the first session is August 10 and the deadline to register for the second session is September 7. More information after the break.

The proposal for the New Keelung Harbor terminal building by Synthesis Design + Architecture (SDA) focuses on the synthesis of three core concepts into a coherent, elegant, and iconic solution which signals the formation of a new identity for Keelung Harbor. Inspired by the geometric patterns of Taiwanese Hen Cages and the structural shells of luxury racing yachts, the building takes shape in a dynamic gradient form that transitions from exo-skin to exo-skeleton in response to programmatic content as well as performative requirements. More images and architects’ description after the break.

With a challenge of creating regeneration and community development in Trent Basin, Nottingham, UK, which meets passive house requirements, the first stage winning proposal for Isover Multi-Comfort House competition focuses on the minimization of the A/V ratio of the building. Designed by Evgeni Leonov Architects, the egg shape is used as inspiration to this project since the egg is known as one of the most energy-efficient forms of nature. More images and architects’ description after the break.