Two well-known arbiters of modern design, Dwell Media and Design Within Reach, recently announced the launch of their Live/Work Design Contest which challenges designers to create a workspace “classic of tomorrow” – a new home-office solution that DWR could potentially manufacture and sell. Dwell will accept online only submissions through March 31, 2012. In April, a panel of judges will select up to 10 finalists based on evaluations of both overall design and manufacturing potential. More information on the competition after the break.
Gdańsk Historic Heritage Center, designed by Mariusz Piesik and Kuba Szymański, is meant to be a multifunctional building and a part of targ sienny / targ rakowy complex – a new project in the very center of Gdańsk, Poland. The building’s main purpose is to host an exhibition of a large scale model of a pre-World War II center of the city and mark the starting point of tourist excursions around it’s streets. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Polar Ants, a collaboration between Lukasz Szlachcic, Anais Mikaelian, Laila Selim, Bita Mohamadi, shared with us their project, Arctic Research Facility which is an experimental, architectural project within the framework of the Design Research Lab at the Architectural Association. They propose a living architecture, and challenges the classical modernist notions of permanence and stability. The theme of this proposal, ‘materializing behavior’, necessitates an equally responsive environment. More images and the team’s description after the break.
Farum, the proposal by WE Architecture for “The Suburbs of the Future” competition initiated by Realdania, envisions a plan that is meant to preserve and enhance the character of Farum as a future suburb, combining the best of suburbia and the best of urbanity. Today, Farum is a fragmented suburb located 20 km from the center of Copenhagen. The competition area is divided by large roads into islands of eclectic architecture composed of buildings mainly from the 70s and the 80s. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Representing the consolidation of high sustainability concerns, wise program organization criteria, and a strong iconographic language the Biomedical Research Center proposal by AND-RÉ associates a conventional and regular structural system. The pillars and beams are designed under an orthogonal metric of porches of standard sizing, thus allowing a rigorous organization of the interior – with one exterior covering skin covering made of metallic surface modules. More images and architects’ description after the break.
MOINOPOLIS recently launched call for proposals for their competition, Living in the Spatial Shift. The competition aims examine the multifaceted opportunities and risks associated with the paradigmatic shift in the spatial perception, its architectural appearance and its consequences for our every day life.The spatial and universal understanding has ever been the basis for architectural views and practice. The new configuration of spatial parameters induced by a new logic of the proceeding worldwide network-based technology initiates the rethinking of spatial matters as well as the conditioning of adequate models and concepts. More information on the competition after the break.
Studio-X, which is GSAPP’s (Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation) global network of advanced research laboratories for exploring the future of cities as part of Columbia University, will be putting on the ‘x-WEEK’ event which takes place March 6-9. The event, which is free to the public, traces a panorama on contemporary architectural thinking and design through a broad program at Studio-X Rio. More information on the event after the break.
On March 8th, the urban transformation strategy Fasten Your City Belt, designed by Haiko Cornelissen Architecten, will be exhibited and published by the Netherlands Architectural Institute (NAi) in Rotterdam, Netherlands. To show how the transforming strategy works, the architects chose the Amstel III office district in Amsterdam for the Europan 11 competition – one of the most prestigious and renowned competitions for young European architects. Based on their research, they found the most important factor for creating lively cities is the density of people, buildings and program. More images and architects’ description after the break.
“Pavillion Dans Les Arbres” is an architectural narrative by Evan Mather about the recently-completed Silverwood Lake State Recreation Area Visitors’ Center in California’s San Bernardino Mountains, designed by Los Angeles-based architectural firm Touraine Richmond Architects. Surrounded by native Sycamore trees, the 3,000 square foot building complements other park improvements. With minimal impact to its existing landscape, the intent of their self-sustaining building design is to operate independently off the power grid.
ARTBOOK @ MoMA PS1 will be launching NY-based architect Steven Holl‘s newest books published by Lars Müller. These two luminaries of architecture and design will engage in a conversation about their respective projects as well as the collaborative publishing process on March 4th from 3:00pm – 4:30pm. Following the discussion, Holl will sign his two new publications, Steven Holl: Color Light Time and Steven Holl: Scale. More information after the break.
The AIA San Francisco is currently featuring an exhibit curated by Robert Becker titled, “Presenting Architecture” which is currently on now until April 26th. The show highlights ‘case studies’ of architectural model makers, photographers and visualization experts along with a communications case study by Amanda Walter, co-author of the upcoming book Social Media in Action.
These studies explore how these artists produce their craft and showcase the value a specialist brings to architectural story telling as well as the importance of using specialists to make your architectural presentation a winning one. More information on the event after the break.
The Design Criticism Department (D-CRIT) at the School of Visual Arts will be hosting the “Playful Experimentation and Criticism” lecture featuring Michael Meredith, co-principal and co-founder of MOS. With MOS being an architectural practice that was born out of playful experimentation, what does being experimental mean and how is this related to criticism?
The spring 2012 lecture series at the College of Architecture and Design (CoAD) at NJIT started on February 13 with Kiel Moe’s “Matter is But Captured Energy.” All lectures take place on Mondays at 5:30 in Weston Lecture Hall unless otherwise noted, and are free and open to public. The series will conclude with a talk by Preston Scott Cohen on April 19th. More information on the lecture series after the break.
Located in the heart of fashion and branded boutiques of Paris, the approach of the Paris Market Lab project by Ayrat Khusnutdinov and Gemawang Swaribathoro provides a unique experience. With the theme of ‘You Buy, We Cook’, they create not just another restaurant, but a vibrant social hub fused with a possibility to transform a regular visit to an adventure. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Unlike the old concept of public spaces that rely on objects as a single attraction, the new prototype of urban island by Erick Kristanto for the Seattle Urban Intervention Competition uses various different activities as multiple magnets. The activities are pooled on the elevated platform as a new addition of the Seattle center complex. Since all of the programmed activities are moved to the elevated platform, the ground floor can be almost free of structure for flexible multipurpose space. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The first prize in the DesignByMany competition for the Electric Vehicle Charging Station was recently awarded to Arcollab for their Plug + Play proposal. Their design functions as a visual meter of the substantial gap between the production and consumption of energy. This generates a renewed consciousness of energy use in our modern lives. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The young architectural studio, ContemporARchitectURban Designer’s Group, was recently awarded 4th prize in the international competition to design a huge 300,000 square meter complex in Tehran. With the Milad telecommunication tower being the tallest tower in Iran, this competition focused on the second phase of Milad complex. The project program includes commercial, office and hotel spaces near the tower. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Wolfgang Tschapeller shared with us their first prize winning proposal for the extension of the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. The removal of stair and elevator cores displays a pure serial structure. What remains are solely col-umns and slabs, ready for multiple functional readings. The broadway is not only a means of circulation, it is the platform where members and knowledge of the 17 different studios meet. It is the informal marketplace for cross disciplinary projects.More images and architects’ description after the break.
