In addition to being asked to design Baghdad’s newest banking headquarters as we reported previously, Zaha Hadid has also been recognized at the Structural Steel Design Awards. The awards, which are in their 42nd year, are bestowed upon those who attain excellence in both architectural and structural design with the use of steel. Hadid’s Legacy Roof (alongside Audi West London, the Infinity Footbridge in Stockton-on-Tees, and Dublin Airport Terminal 2) was awarded for its “heroic engineering achievement”. Working with Arup, Rowecord Engineering Ltd and Balfour Beatty Group Ltd, the team has designed an amazing structure to house the Aquatic Center for the Olympic Games in London. When we first introduced Hadid’s Legacy Roof, we were shocked by the fluidity the 160 m long and 3,000 ton roof could convey. Its dynamic curvaceous form is definitely a feat of engineering. The judges noted the project’s successful use of steel commenting that the roof ”has overcome severe program and constructional problems. A necessarily complex structure delivers the form and shape at the heart of what will become the emblematic and beautiful icon of the London 2012 Olympics.”
In what will be her first project for her native country, Zaha Hadid will design the new headquarters for the Central Bank in Baghdad. Earlier in the summer, Hadid prepared a conceptual presentation with a feasibility study, and this past month, Hadid travelled to Istanbul to discuss initial details with the bank’s governor, Sinan al-Shabibi. The bank, which is one of the first central banks in the Arab world, has the sole right to issue the Iraq’s national currency – the dinar.
Here’s the third proposal by Rocco Design Architects Limited for the West Kowloon Cultural District (be sure to view OMA’s proposal and Foster + Partners’ proposal previously featured on AD). Rocco’s concept, entitled ”Cultural Connect: Key to Sustained Vitality,” started with two basic questions - Have we ever wondered why we are fascinated by Qing Ming Riverside? And, why exactly do we want a West Kowloon Cultural Dsitrict. Using these questions are a starting point, the proposal seeks to design a place where different groups of people can enjoy different activities “in the same space and at the same time.”
More about the proposal including images after the break.
Check out this delicious design by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer. The edible curvaceous chocolate is part of Q – the recently launched company bySamantha Aquim, chef and head of the chocolate division at her family’s restaurant business. As chef, Aquim has developed a process to extract only the purest and richest flavors from the cocoa beans, and choosing Niemeyer’s design creates an instantly recognizable form for her work. Perhaps, Niemeyer found inspiration in his Auditório Ibirapuera? Now, imagine if that were chocolate?
Compare the chocolate to the Audiotório after the break.
This just in from OMA! The firm has unveiled their plans for the major restoration project of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi – a landmark building in Venice, Italy. Rich in history, this icon was constructed by in 1228 as a major trading post for German merchants, and under Napoleon it became a customs house in 1806. Its most recent use has been as a post office, yet currently, the building has fallen into a state of disrepair as most of the building is unused and inaccessible for the first time in centuries. Now, the next step in the building’s evolution is to become, yet again, a thriving trading post – yet, in a contemporary way. OMA has been commissioned to the create a culturally-programmed department store that will, once again, give a new spirit to the building.
More images and more about the project after the break.
Check out the latest project from our friends at Visiondivision. Keeping true to their usual “un-traditional” projects, their Cancer City is an underwater metropolis for a crayfish community. Upon being approached by a country gentleman whose 10,000 crayfish were slowly emigrating to a nearby lake outside his estate, Visiondivision responded with an idea to design a refugee for the crayfish to immigrate back to the man’s property.
More images and more about the new city after the break.
Construction is set to begin on 4of7 Architecture’s latest residences in Faqra, Mount Lebanon. Working with Accent Design Group, the team has designed holiday residences that will serve as ski retreats for those living nearby in Beirut. Situated at an altitude of 1850m, the buildings’ placement emphasizes the topography of the site.
Yesterday, we shared news about the raging debate over Manhattan’s skyline. The City Council meeting on Wednesday was the deciding factor in whether the Pelli Clarke Pelli tower would move forward. According to yesterday’s meeting, as Charles V. Bagli reported for the New York Times, the City Council has approved the plans 47-1 and so, the new tower will rise to within 34 feet in height of its iconic neighbor.
Back in 2008, we marveled at Australian architecture firm PTW’s Water Cube. With its iridescent cellular façade, the swimming facility played host to top notch swimming competitions within an energy efficient and dynamic piece of architecture. But, move over Michael Phelps – there are new swimmers in town! After a ten-month renovation, the facility will now house a 140,000-square-foot water park (Asia’s largest) designed by Toronto-based planning and design firm Forrec.
More images and more about the water park after the break.
Continuing with our coverage of the West Kowloon Arts District, here’s Foster+Partners’ proposal entitled City Park. The proposal is based around a 23-hectare Great Park which will hold a sampling of cultural buildings of varying scales. From the large Arena, Opera House and Exhibition Center to the smaller teahouses and small temples scattered throughout the landscape, the park will be a welcoming entity programmed to provide for the public. Lord Foster, Founder and Chairman, said, “Hong Kong is a great city and this project captures what is important about its DNA: the civic spaces, the squares, the parks, the greenery, the avenues and the small side streets. At ‘City Park’ we have created a world class setting for a new cultural city for everyone.”
More images and more about the master plan after the break.
Giuseppe Occhipinti, an Italian structural engineer and the co-founder of Engineering Seismic Consulting (ESC), has shared his seismic water tower design with us. While ESC amends structural problems for projects on a variety of scales, the firm also develops conceptual projects. Their latest conceptual project is a reuse for a typical tall water tank to aid urban needs. The seismic addition not only adds a functional entity but also adds an aesthetic touch to the tower. More images and more about the tower after the break.
On Monday, we shared OMA’s master plan proposal (a series of 3 villages that re-think traditional arts components) for the West Kowloon new arts district. As we mentioned, OMA’s plan is competing with two other master plans – Foster + Partners and Rocco Design Architects Limited. We’re excited to share these two master plans with you this week and get your feedback for the plan that you feel is most successful.
New York City’s Empire State Building has dominated its portion of Manhattan’s skyline ever since it was constructed back in 1931. Now, as Charles V. Bagli reported for the New York Times, a proposed tower just two avenues west on 34th Street across from Pennsylvania Station will be infringing on the Empire State Building as it is slated to rise 1,216 ft – almost reaching the Empire State Building’s 1,250 ft (with its antenna, the ESB measures 1,453 ft). So, it has become the battle of the skyscrapers as the new building claims it will benefit Manhattan by providing jobs and improve the quality of life for New Yorkers and the Empire State Building is worried about losing its iconic presence in the skyline.
Competing against Aires Mateus and Gonçalo Byrne, William Consuegra, ARX and Zaha Hadid, Carrilho da Graça Architects were awarded first prize for their proposal for the Lisbon Cruise Terminal. The creation of the terminal provides the opportunity to address the interstitial space between the city and river. Designed as a simple volume that responds to the “desire of liberating the surrounding area”, the terminal will create a new public realm providing green spaces that can support varying activities for the city and adjacent neighborhoods.
More images and more about the winning design after the break.
What do you think of this interior renovation by Studio IDE? The 550 sq ft studio is designed as an overlapping of space, incorporating the client’s Pop Art lithographs as well as more private living areas. The swinging frames add a nice touch to the art display, and their arrangement makes one feel he is walking into “a gallery space wired for living rather an apartment space equipped to display art.” As the apartment opens toward Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive and Lake Michigan, Studio IDE wanted the space to conceptually become an “interweaving of form and space…of the incidental voids amidst the City’s oscillating texture below.” In this way, the art becomes a “spectacle of tranquility, a moment of pause similar to the calm found in looking onto the lake.” The video is arranged in an interesting style, as the independent sounds follow the shots of each space. The crisp detailing and materiality create a sophisticated space, both in terms of a gallery and living area.
HOK has infused green strategies into Chicago’s Greenway Self-Park facility – a not so typical place to find sustainable ideas. While the 11 story energy efficient parking garage features a naturally ventilated exterior wall, a cistern rain water collection system, a green roof, and electric car plug-in stations, we can’t get over the dozen wind turbines made by Helix Wind that attach to the external structure.
More about the self-park and more images after the break.
