Compared to the design of a secular building, where the focus primarily lies on the programmatically and functional aspects, Studio DMTW believes a church has additive characteristics which need to be considered. Their design combines both the history of the place and all requirements that are imposed on a contemporary church with a high symbolic value and aesthetics and is thus entitled to the new living center for the Våler community. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The proposal by LÜPS for the Energy Center, Woodchips Energy Plant at the the convent of arch abbey St. Ottilien aims to stand out from the existing, architecturally less appealing buildings. Above a massive concrete architrave block, a transparent facade arises, made from frame-less polycarbonate sheets, allowing a view onto the wooden branch-like structure inside the building. Lying in the north of the convent grounds, between agriculture and hen-houses, the energetic project finds its importance represented by the impression one gets of the newly constructed building. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Nominations are now being accepted for the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat’s (CTBUH) 11th Annual Awards program. They are asking all interested candidates to submit your tall building projects for consideration for one of the Council’s Best Tall Building awards, and have your projects profiled in the Annual Awards Book and promoted around the world. In addition to the regional Best Tall Building Awards, the Council announces two new awards this year: the Performance award and the Innovation award. Deadline for receipt of nominations is April 30, 2012, at which time the Awards Committee will deliberate and choose the winners. More information after the break.
Hilton Worldwide and Schiphol Real Estate, Schiphol Group’s real estate subsidiary, have today signed an agreement to introduce a new landmark 433 guest room Hilton Hotels & Resorts hotel to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, to be designed by prominent Dutch architects, Mecanoo. The new cube-shaped building, which will feature rounded edges and a diamond-shaped façade with diagonal lines, has been designed with a view to it becoming an airport landmark. More images and architects’ description after the break.
1st prize – Courtesy of Nicolas Montesano, Victor Vila, Boris Hoppek
[AC-CA] recently announced the winning proposals for their Amsterdam Iconic Pedestrian Bridge competition. The aim the international competition was to design an iconic pedestrian bridge in the heart of Amsterdam. The architecture of this new structure would reflect contemporary design tendencies. The winning proposals not only attend to the specific function, but also take into consideration the urban insertion and impact geared towards creating a new architectural symbol for an European capital city. Images and concepts of the winners after the break.
Following their success in winning first prize in an international competition, gmp Architekten hs been commissioned to design the new southern railway station in Hangzhou, China. The project involves the conversion and extension of the station in the Xiao Shan district to the south of the Qiantang river; after the eastern and main railway stations it will be the third largest railway station of this metropolis. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The Mecanoo + Royal Haskoning design team was recently announced as the winner for the realization of the new Eurojust headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands. This design concept illustrates a strong connection with Eurojust’s neighbouring organisations, the OPCW (Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) and Europol. The atmosphere of soft slopes and grassy vegetation is designed to sit within the lush surroundings of The Hague’s ‘Green Heart’. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The concept design for the extension of the city library by Studio Metar results from the thesis that a contemporary library is a source of information with unlimited access. The message of the design lies in the mentioned thesis, but it should also be emphasized that the idea of a library is a reserved, quiet, isolated, static, but not transparent place filled with books, due to the increasing need for faster and better access to information and a more complex lifestyle, is not viable in the present age. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Being held at the Alvar Aalto Museum in Jyväskylä, Finland, the exhibition for the latest works by artist Ola Kolehmainen is currently on display until July 29th. A contemporary artist of international importance, Kolehmainen is known for his large abstract architectural photographs. With his work mainly associated with Aalto buildings, has been visiting Aalto buildings for years in order to become familiar with them – from Paimio Sanatorium to the Villa Mairea, to Säynätsalo Town Hall and Imatra, to buildings in and around Jyväskylä and finally to Viipuri Library. In his works, Kolehmainen is reaching out for a space-time experience on the other side of the picture plane. For more information on the exhibition, please visit here.
WOHA‘s ‘Breathing Architecture’ exhibition, which will be up until April 29th has been very successful at the Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM) in Frankfurt, Germany. Some of their structures remind us of bold visions of the future, in which plants reclaim nature for themselves. WOHA realizes the permeation of buildings and landscape, of interiors and exteriors in projects such as the Singapore School of the Arts and the seminal residential high-rise The Met in Bangkok, which received the International Highrise Award 2010. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Grenade, the proposal for the CityVision Inflatable Pavilion competition, by SITBON Architectes aims to create a relation with its environment. The theme of the pavilion is to think of the city as an immense architecture in constant mobility, by the transformation of its town planning, of the wanderings of its inhabitants, etc. The time dimension becomes essential in this management of the living area. By lauding the mobility, they question the vision of the architecture as a motionless element to in-vest it with another appropriate life, which allows each one to grow, to be transformed and to move. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The Lot 4 – ZAC de la Porte de Gentilly project by ECDM is primarily a proposal to articulate two territories, two urban landscapes separated by the influence of the device. This context of urban fringe releases a vast expanse where the vacuum is dominant, where the eye can see far. This work on the perception and interpretation of the landscape gives a facade gable major pivotal role. Whether from the device or from the streets of Gentilly, pine nuts are present, dominant in the interpretation of the building. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The design proposal by CEBRA for the New Church of Vaaler is based on the most widespread symbol for the Christian church: the cross. Located in the south eastern part of Norway, it is a strong visual symbol, which beautifully combines the horizontal with the vertical in its simplicity – and in its meaning the worldly with the heavenly. In the same way, the cross also represents the church’s fundamental function. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The approach for the Amsterdam pedestrian bridge by Kamvari Architects challenges the basic principles of a bridge as their design takes on a completely new form as it attempts to create space by looping across the river. They hope that ‘The Rink’ will become a new icon in the city by becoming an active and public node within the city fabric. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Francesco Piffari shared with us the design proposal for the Amsterdam Pedestrian Bridge. To design a new iconic bridge, it is essential to reflect on the concept of bridge; what a bridge is in the collective imagination. Considering the bridge in its core meaning, it can be said that the peculiarities of a bridge is to “touch” the ground in just two points, to hover in the air and to be suspended over the obstacle; it is very clear that a bridge establishes a strong relationship with air and water, the two elements it is surrounded with. More images and architect’s description after the break.
From March 20 – May 11, the “American City: St. Louis Architecture: Three Centuries of Classic Design” exhibition will be up at the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) in downtown Chicago. The show consists of 83 large prints of over 40 historic buildings in St. Louis, including acclaimed landmarks such as Louis Sullivan’s Wainwright Building, James Eads’ Eads Bridge, Eero Saarinen’s Gateway Arch and Tadao Ando’s Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts Building. The timeline stretches from 1839 to 2010. The show is being staged in the Willis’ ground floor atrium and lobby and is free to the public. More information on the exhibition after the break.
The first prize winning proposal for the Museum Nasional Indonesia by Aboday aims to bring back this massive institution to its original role as a public facility. Their design addresses the question of urban context by inserting a new corridor between the existing museum building (A) and building (B) that will maintain an openness to the pedestrian and city park on the Eastern part of the complex. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The winning proposal for the new Theater of Cachan, designed by O-S Architects, acts as a curtain that rises over the city with the aim to transform the neighborhood with an urban, cultural and social point of view. The overall image of the project is conceived as a technological and functional tool that confirms the dynamism of the city of Cachan, for the sake of architectural and landscape quality. More images and architects’ description after the break.