One of the greatest Mediterranean Ports is about to be transformed. Work has begun on the Old Port of Marseille as part of a series of regeneration projects to be completed in time for the city’s inauguration as European Capital of Culture in 2013. Based on French landscape architect Michel Desvigne’s and London-based architects Foster + Partners’ competition-winning master plan, the project will reclaim the quaysides as a civic space, creating new informal venues for performances and events, while traffic is relocating traffic to a safe, semi-pedestrianised public realm.
Lord Foster stated, “I know the harbor at Marseille well and it is a truly grand space. This project is a great opportunity to enhance it using very simple means, to improve it with small, discreet pavilions for events, for markets, for special occasions. Our approach has been to work with the climate, to create shade, but at the same time to respect the space of the harbor – just making it better.”
Beijing-born architect Ma Yansong has become an important, emerging voice to a new generation of architects. Shortly after establishing MAD architectsin 2004, his practice earned worldwide attention (2006) by winning an international competition to design a residential tower near Toronto, expected to be completed in the summer of 2012. In this interview with Studio Banana TV, Yansong discusses a few of his latest works, including MAD’s first museum completed last year in Ordos, Inner Mongolia. Continue reading for more information.
Considered one of Paul Rudolph’s greatest achievements, the 1970’s Orange County Government Center is an icon of the late modernist era. Poor maintenance has lead to deterioration and in September a large flood caused extensive damage to the structure, forcing county officials to close the center. Since then, the county government has been calling for the building to be demolished. Last week, Orange County Executive Ed Diana proposed to replace the cultural icon with a $75 million, 175,000 square-foot mediocre building, offering only 22,000 square-feet of space more than the existing building. With renovation estimates around $67.2 million, or $40.9 million for a “less extensive upgrade”, the architectural and preservationist communities are outraged. Continue reading for more.
Last May, Portugal became the third country within the 17-country eurozone in need of a financial rescue to avoid bankruptcy, following Greece and Ireland. Unemployment within the country has climbed up to 14.8 percent as the recession has brought harsh conditions to architects and architecture students alike. Now, the prestigious Faculty of Architecture at the Technical University of Lisbon (UTL), one that has fostered many great architects such as João Luis Carrilho da Graça and Manuel Aires Mateus, may be forced to close its doors.
Reena Jana of SmartPlanet recently interviewed the award-winning, Japanese architect Hitoshi Abe on the lessons he has learned from the March 11, 2011 earthquake that destroyed his hometown in Sendai, Japan. Abe believes that the memory of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that hit the coast of northeaster Japan, triggering a tsunami that sent waves as far as six miles inland must remain fresh in our minds. His goal is to educate everyday citizens around the globe, as well as future generations, on how to better cope with large-scale natural disasters. Currently, he is serving as a guest-curator for a travel exhibition entitled Moving Forward: Life After the Great East Japan Earthquake. This exhibit brings to life the haunting reality of the devastation through a series of large-scale photographs and photographic essays that reveal individual stories of survival immediately following the disaster. The exhibit commemorates the victims and struggles of the survivors, while highlighting the reconstruction and recovery efforts.
If you find yourself in Chicago for the weekend of April 12-16, be sure to check out the Architecture and Design Film Festival at the Music Box Theatre. A total of 31 Films running anywhere from a quick 3 minutes to 93 minutes will feature popular pieces such as EAMES: The Architect and the Painter and The Pruitt-Igoe Myth. The event will also include discussions with some of the filmmakers, architects, designers and other industry leaders about the design process, architecture in film and the innovative designs we see and use everyday. This highly anticipated film festival celebrates the creative spirit of architecture and design, so be sure not to miss it!
Explore the stunningly beautiful and vibrant city of Berlin through the eyes of resident and film producer, Pilpop. He believes that it is the inhabitants in which make Berlin such a unique city. To observe and attempt to understand the way in which people use the city is quite possibly the ultimate form of education, as there is something new to discover each time you turn a corner.
Video: Pilpop Music: “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2” by Franz Liszt
Toshiko Mori, FAIA, founder and principal of Toshiko Mori Architect, discusses her work, including the Darwin D. Martin House Visitors Center. The lecture begins with a 15 minute documentary “A Girl is a Fellow Here: 100 Women Architects in the Studio of Frank Lloyd Wright”, produced by the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation.
The Times Square Alliance has announced the arrival of two new public art installations, Manhattan Oil Project by German-born Josephine Meckseper and Soñando New York (Dreaming New York) by Uruguayan sculptor Pablo Atchugarry. Continue after the break to learn more about these installations.
Planned for completion in 2014, the iconic United Nations Headquarters (UNHQ) is in the middle of a $1.876 billion refurbishment project, known as the Capital Master Plan, which seeks to update the aging building with a more safe, modern and sustainable work environment. Located on the 18-acre site that was donated by John D. Rockefeller in the 1950s, the Manhattan UNHQ was designed by an international team of eleven architects who worked together in a post-World War II world to create an landmark building through collaboration rather than competition.
Continue reading for more details on the Capital Master Plan.
The Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) has shortlisted nine design teams for the New Embassy Compound in Mexico City. The design/bid/build project, scheduled for construction in fiscal year 2015, is the first solicited under OBO’s new Design Excellence program. This holistic approach to project development and delivery seeks to utilize the best methods, technologies, and staff abilities to produce facilities that are outstanding in all respects. The overall strategy focuses on the integration of purpose, function, flexibility, art, safety, security, sustainability, and maintainability.
Continue reading for more information and to review the well-known shortlisted architects.
Understanding that environmental responsibility is an integral part of design excellence, Perkins + Will’s new Atlantic office, known as 1315 Peachtree, serves as an example on how current technologies can be used to achieve LEED Platinum Certification, meet the 2030 Challenge and help reduce toxic materials from our building products.
1315 Peachtree is an adaptive reuse of a 1985 office structure transformed into a high performance civic-focused building. Located in the heart of Midtown Atlanta across from the High Museum of Art, the new building continues to house the Peachtree Branch of the Atlanta-Fulton County Public Library and introduces a new street-level tenant space occupied by the Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA). The Perkins+Will Atlanta office occupies the top four floors with office space for up to 240 employees. Continue reading for more information on the highest LEED score building in the Northern Hemisphere.
Thousands gathered Saturday to celebrate the grand opening of Santiago Calatrava‘s Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge that connects east and west Dallas seamlessly over the Trinity River. A parade of builders, including everyone from those to poured the concrete to Calatrava himself, were the first to march across the new Dallas icon, followed by nearly 16,000 other people. Although the bridge is still not quite ready for vehicular traffic, the city celebrated its commencement with an impressive display of fireworks. Continue reading for more.
Today, one of the leading exemplars of classic Modern architecture reopens after a two year hiatus. The freshly renovated Villa Tugendhat underwent a monumental restoration and rehabilitation, starting in January 2010, with the aim of preserving and conserving the original building substance and layout, including the construction details, materials and technical system. Renewal work also included the lavish interiors and lush garden. Continue after for the break to learn more about Mies van der Rohe’s renewed masterpiece.
eVolo is pleased to announce the winners of the 2012 Skyscraper Competition. Established in 2006, the annual competition recognizes outstanding ideas that redefine skyscraper design through the use of new technologies, materials, programs, aesthetics, and spatial organizations, along with studies on globalization, flexibility, adaptability, and the digital revolution. This is also an investigation on the public and private space and the role of the individual and the collective in the creation of a dynamic and adaptive vertical community. The award seeks to discover young talent, whose ideas will change the way we understand architecture and its relationship with the natural and built environments.
Continue reading to view the 2012 winners and honorable mentions!
The Architectural Department of Moscow City Government (MosComArhitectura) has announced the shortlisted teams competing to design the strategy that will be used to double the size of Moscow. With an uneven distribution of working places throughout the Russian Federation capital, millions of residents are forced to commute each day to the over-populated, historic city center, thus causing serious transportation, ecological and social problems within the region.
The Moscow City Agglomeration Development Concept will see the city annex 150,316 hectares to its south-west in order to overcome its chronic space problems. OMA, Diller Scofidio & Renfro and McAdam Architects, lead by the well-known Russian architects Andrey Chernihov and Alexei Ginsburg, are a few names that appear among the ten shortlisted teams. Continue reading for more competition details and the entire shortlist.
ArchDaily announced the winning proposal for the Young Architects Program (YAP) MAXXI 2012 in late February. In order to bring you full coverage of the annual competition, we are featuring the other four creative designs that competed against UNIRE/UNITE. NAMI, which means “wave” in Japanese, is a project that reflects contemporaneity, aims to send a message about the importance of harmony, and to create a bridge between people and cultures. This proposal, designed by VeryVery Architecture Office, is very simple and essential: an airy space provided with shadow, movable sitting benches, and a space that can accommodate different types of events and activities. Imbued with an experimental spirit and a strong attention to sustainability, NAMI offers a chance to express the social and cultural values requested by the Young Architecture Program.
