The European Commission and Europe Nostra announced the winners of the 2018 EU Prize for Cultural Heritage/ Europa Nostra Awards. The 29 winners from 17 countries have been recognized for their achievements in four categories: conservation, research, dedicated services, and education, training and raising awareness. The winners will be honored at an award ceremony at the first ever European Cultural Heritage Summit on June 22.

As part of our 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale coverage we present the proposal for the Estonian Pavilion. Below, the participants describe their contribution in their own words.

Estonian Pavilion curators, Laura Linsi, Roland Reemaa and Tadeáš Říha, explore the spectrum between the explicit representation of the monument and the implicit politics of everyday architectures: from the triumphal column to the pavement beneath it, through all that is in between. The title itself – Weak Monument – is an oxymoron, a rhetorical device that offers fresh perspectives on how to recognize politics in any built form.

As part of our 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale coverage we present the proposal for the Australian Pavilion. Below, the participants describe their contribution in their own words.

The Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) will present Repair at the Australian Pavilion during the 16^th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. Creative Directors Mauro Baracco and Louise Wright of Baracco+Wright Architects, in collaboration with artist Linda Tegg, have curated a multi-sensory living installation for the Pavilion, designed to disrupt the viewing conditions through which architecture is usually understood.

Archstorming have announced the winning projects of "Coexist: Rethinking Zoos," their recent competition to design a concept for the zoo of the 21^st century. The call for entries asked participants to redefine the traditional zoo and transform the space from something that is not only an exhibition of animals, but also an educational tool, and a place for research and conservation. The team of international jurors selected three winners from more than 40 countries that submitted ideas.

The site for the proposal was the zoo in Barcelona, which has committed itself to prioritizing the welfare of its animals. To promote the well-being of the animals and nature, the winning teams designed imaginative alternatives to the traditional zoo methods of interaction, such as non-intrusive paths and even 3D virtual animals. The winners show that there are new ways for visitors to understand animals that are both ecologically friendly and sustainable.

Check out the winning submissions after the break.

As part of our 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale coverage, we present the proposal for the Israeli Pavilion. Below, the participants describe their contribution in their own words.

In Statu Quo: Structures of Negotiation is the theme of the Israeli Pavilion at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia. Curated by Ifat Finkelman, Deborah Pinto Fdeda, Oren Sagiv and Tania Coen-Uzzielli it traces the complex mechanism of the 'Status Quo' within shared holy places in Israel-Palestine, which functions as a controversial and fragile system of coexistence.

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A collaboration between Moriyama & Teshima Architects and Acton Ostry Architects have been announced as the winner of the competition for a new timber building in Toronto. Their proposal beat out several other notable firms including Shigeru Ban, who is known for his timber constructions, Patkau Architects who worked with MJMA, and Provencher_Roy who partnered with Turner Fleisher. The winning design scheme, called The Arbour, will be a net-zero tower to house a new school of computer technology as part of an expansion at George Brown College.

Japan-based Moriyuki Ochiai Architects have designed a cluster of tea rooms located in a rural area known as Bisei, in the Okayama Prefecture. This town is known as both the place where green tea was introduced to Japan and as a "sanctuary for stargazing", which inspired the firm's design to create a strong connection between the tea rooms and the surrounding scenery.

IND Architects has plans to transform the symbolic Shcherbinka water tower in Moscow, Russia into a revitalized area for residents to socialize. Since the water tower has been only slightly altered over time with the overall form and silhouette remaining the same, the design team has decided to create a place that will both aim to recall old memories and create new ones.

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Three award-winning architecture firms, Lemay, Perkins+Will, and Bisson Fortin, will design a new 67-km sustainable system of light-rail train stations for one of North America’s largest public transportation projects, the Réseau Express Métropolitain (REM) in Montreal. This system of train stations will be designed as part of NouvLR General Partnership’s recently won contract and will connect Montréal-Trudeau International Airport with the city’s downtown area, as well as the north and south shores of the region.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Committee on the Environment (COTE) have announced the winners of the COTE Top Ten Awards, the highest honor for buildings that exemplify great design and sustainable performance. The award, now in its 22^nd year, celebrates 10 projects that meet COTE’s rigorous standards for 10 criteria in several areas of design including economic, social, and ecological value. The winners will be honored in June at the AIA Conference in New York City.

Read about the 2018 winners after the break.

France-based Hamonic + Masson Architects has been selected as one of the winners for the Imagine Angers Competition, which asked teams to propose innovative designs to be built on one of six different sites in the town of Angers, France. The winning teams were announced by the mayor of Angers at MIPIM, a real estate conference, held in Cannes. Other participating architects include Manuelle Gautrand, Steven Holl, Duncan Lewis, XTU, Sou FUJIMOTO and OXO architects.

France-based SCAU Architectes has proposed their design for a new stadium project to be built on the outskirts of Paris. The site, which is located at the edge of a forest in Clamart, France, inspired the team to create a design that extends the forest by covering the stadium in a green mass of vegetation.

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The American Institute of Architects Committee on Architecture for Education has announced the winners of this year’s Education Facility Design Awards. The eight winners and two merit honors were awarded this year’s best educational facilities that not only demonstrate excellence in contemporary architectural design but also further education in innovative ways and serve as an inspirational learning space. This year’s projects are designed for students of all ages, from childhood facilities to higher education buildings.

“Education continues to evolve, and the projects from this year’s Education Facility Design Awards program—presented by the AIA and the Committee on Architecture for Education—represent the state-of-the-art learning environments being developed in today's learning spaces. These projects showcase innovation across the entire learning continuum, displaying how architects are creating cutting-edge spaces that enhance modern pedagogy.”

Read more about the winners below.

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Videos

Miami's Brickell neighborhood has seen a boom of skyscrapers in recent years, dubbing it a “mini-Manhattan." Soon, Miami will really be able to stake this claim with its own version of Daniel Burnham's famous Flatiron Building. Located in the Financial district, the 64 story Brickell Flatiron luxury condominium tower has just reached the halfway mark of construction, with one floor to be constructed per week until completion.

Architectural styles derive their uniqueness by demonstrating the construction techniques, political movements, and social changes that make up the zeitgeist of a place in a particular moment of time. Whether it was the rebirth of art and culture with Renaissance architecture, or the steel skyscrapers that emerged in the post-war movement, each stylistic change tells us something different about the transitions of architectural history. But what if architecture rejected a critical regionalist approach, and buildings took on the characteristics of another place? These seven images made for Expedia by NeoMam and Thisisrender provide a glimpse into what some of our favorite architectural icons would look like if they were built in a different style.

Barcelona is a thriving city with world-class architecture and a rich history that makes it one of Europe’s most popular destinations. When you first think of this Spanish metropolis, what comes to mind? For many of us, it is the image of Antoni Gaudi’s unique style and gravity-defying Sagrada Familia. But what would Barcelona look like without this cathedral or some of its other buildings the city is known for? In Menilmonde’s new video titled “Barcelona Archi’llusion”, the buildings flicker between total erasure, a pseudo-sketch, and views of their actual forms, allowing you explore to what the city would be like without some it’s most famous icons.