Rem Koolhaas will provide the Keynote Address for the upcoming Festival of Ideas for a New City on Wednesday May 4th at 7:00pm held at the Rosenthal Pavilion at the Kimmel Center. Tickets are currently available for purchase.

Announced today, the Berlin Neues Museum designed by David Chipperfield is the recipient of this years prestigious EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award. The Neues Museum is the result of blending old and new; the original Museum was designed by Friedrich August Stüler in the mid-19th century. Substantially damaged in the Second World War reconstruction of the Museum began in 2003.

Jury Chair Mohsen Mostafavi, shared the following about the building, “The rebuilding of the Neues Museum is an extraordinary achievement. Rarely have an architect and client succeeded in undertaking a work of such historic importance and complexity; especially one that involves both preservation and new building. The project raises and addresses many aesthetic, ethical, and technical issues. It is an exemplary demonstration of what collaboration can achieve in the context of contemporary European architectural practice.”

Also announced today was the recipient of ‘The Emerging Architect Special Mention’ award, given to Ramon Bosch and Bet Capdeferro for the Collage House in Girona, Spain.

The awards will be presented in a ceremony at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona on June 20th.

More details about this announcement following the break.

Today is the start of National Architecture Week in the States. From coast to coast the week will be filled with a lot of exciting events for professionals, students and the the public. The AIA is utilizing Foursquare (you can even earn Foursquare points for visiting design projects in your community) along with Facebook and Twitter where daily prizes will be given away for tweeting about events.

Held in honor of Rosemarie Haag Bletter on the occasion of her retirement from the CUNY Graduate Center Ph.D. Program in Art History, the symposium will feature modern and contemporary architecture at the CUNY Graduat Center.

The symposium will be on April 29th from 12-4pm, speakers for this event include: Poyin AuYeung, Mary Beth Betts, Barry Bergdoll, Rosemarie Bletter, Larry Busbea, Noah Chasin, Gabrielle Esperdy, Deborah Lewittes, Kevin Murphy, Jeannette Redensek, Claire Zimmerman.  A reception will follow, and reservations are not necessary but space is limited. For more information email: rhb.symposium@gmail.com

Further outline of the days events and speaker topics following the break.

A few months ago we featured Studio 804′s Sustainable Prototype a collaborate project between students from the University of Kansas School of Architecture and Urban Planning and the 5.4.7 Arts Center in Greensburg, Kansas. The construction and delivery of the Sustainable Prototype was provided to the 5.4.7 Arts Center on the one year anniversary of the tornado that devastated Greensburg, Kansas. Although the building was developed for the long term use by the Arts Center, its immediate use was as the first completed public facility serving as a beacon for the community and its ambitious rebuilding efforts. The Sustainable Prototype became the first LEED Platinum building in the state of Kansas, as well as the first designed and built by students.

Follow the break for four videos featuring Studio 804′s process from initial design, construction, delivery and public open house of the Sustainable Prototype.

Modern Atlanta (MA) is pleased to announce the first annual Modern Atlanta Prize 2011 competition. The prize intends to highlight talented designers and their projects each year under a new and interesting theme.

The Bike Hanger is an essential facility for the city of Seoul which aims to increase its bicycle-friendliness. The facility is not only low-maintenance and environmentally friendly, but by being installed in between buildings it takes advantage of many of the underutilized spaces that exist around the city. Each Hanger is able to store between 20-36 bicycles and it is easily attached to the sides of buildings, allowing minimal interference with the pedestrian traffic below.

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Architects: MANIFESTO Architecture P.C. Location: Between Buildings Project Area: 60 sqf Construction Budget: $100,000 Project Status: Shortlist for ‘Seoul International Design Competition: Design for All’ and Shortlist for ‘Seoul Cycle Design Competition 2010′ Renderings: MANIFESTO Architecture P.C. Design Team: Jeeyong An, Sang Hwa lee, JiYoon Oh, Sang Hee Jun.

The most recent Architecture for Humanity Sendai relief update comes just in time to celebrate AFH’s 12th Birthday. We here at ArchDaily want to wish AFH a Happy Birthday and thank them for the 12 years of innovation and service they have provided our communities and the profession.

Design Open Mic, led by Cameron Sinclair and Chapters Coordinator Frederika Zipp, updated staff and attendees on their current relief efforts in response to the Sendai earthquake in Japan. Currently a Program Advisory Board has been assembled and Architecture for Humanity is continuing to focus their efforts on developing a rebuilding strategy and implementation process.

Today Ryerson University announced the design of a new Student Learning Centre for their Toronto campus. Designed by Snøhetta in collaboration with Zeidler Partnership Architects of Toronto, the 155,463sqf Student Learning Centre will feature a transparent glass skin that will provide varying light qualities within the interior spaces. Sustainable practices have also been incorporated into the design with 50% of the roof intended to act as a green roof and plans for the building to be LEED Silver compliant. Construction on the building is expected to begin late this year, with a targeted completion date of Winter 2014. More about the new Student Learning Centre including renderings following the break.

Our goal is straightforward: to achieve a dramatic reduction in the climate-change-causing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the Building Sector by changing the way buildings and developments are planned, designed and constructed. Architecture 2030

The research from Architecture 2030 and the EIA has shown both the building industry and general public some staggering numbers; building operations for residential, commercial and industrial structures use 77% of ALL the electricity produced in the USA, not to mention 49% of energy consumption.

Just some additional numbers to take into consideration: transportation accounted for 33.5% of CO2 emissions and the industry field within the USA 19.6%.  Even more of a concern is the building sector’s 46.9% reading.

Architecture 2030 has changed the way we look at buildings. Recognizing that the building sector is BOTH the problem and the solution Design By Many has media partnered with ArchDaily to issue the following Challenge: Design a Passive House for New Orleans, sponsored by HP.

Adhering to the Passive House Standard, the challenge is focusing on a single-family housing design solution for communities in New Orleans. Entries must provide a well balanced concept of sustainability including minimal impact on the local environment, affordable to heat and cool, and affordable to build and purchase.

Open to both students and professionals, Challenge: Design a Passive House for New Orleans is combining a lot of key components: The Passive House Standard, 2030 Challenge which has influenced the Better Buildings Initiative issued by President Obama, and the 2011 AIA Convention New Orleans, to name a few.

Prizes include an HP Designjet T2300 PostScript eMFP (nearly $10,000 value), a feature on DesignReform on the first day of the AIA National Convention in New Orleans (May 12th), AND the winner will also receive a feature on ArchDaily.

We are looking forward to seeing your design solutions!

The North American competition-winning design for the renovation and expansion of the historic University of Toronto Faculty of Law responds directly to the client’s ambition to create a law school among the finest in the world. Hariri Pontarini Architects proposed a design that would provide both a physical and visual connection to its surrounding landscape.

Architects: Hariri Pontarini Architects Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Partner-in-Charge: Siamak Hariri Project Area: 160,000 sqf Photographs: Courtesy of Hariri Pontarini Architects

The 590ft (180m) proposed Herzog de Meuron design labeled ‘Triangle Tower’, has been in the spotlight over recent weeks after the cross-party council approved the tower’s protocol agreement. Opposing the recent approval, Green party members are eager to share their thoughts commenting that the “colossal” project is “yet another office block” according to party member Yves Contassot.

The controversy over the 40-story steel and glass building surely was anticipated; the French capital has had a 30+ year drought of buildings over 121ft. In 1977 a ban was put into place, shortly after the completion of the 689ft Tour Montparnasse, because Parisians feared that the city center would lose its existing urban fabric to skyscrapers similar to the Montparnasse.

To most Parisians the Montparnasse’s over exaggerated proportions and lack of character have left an uneasy feeling for future skyscraper development. Many citizens are not opposed to high-rise development, such as Olivier de Rohan Chabot member of Safeguard of French Art, however he has concerns, “Look at the Montparnasse Tower; it has crushed the hotel des Invalides (housing Napoleon’s tomb). The monument was built to be grandiose. But what has it become? A dwarf. The tower ridicules it. In this sense, it’s a veritable attack on the beauty of the capital” (as stated Le Figaro newspaper).

More following the break.

Now on exhibit at The Skyscraper Museum, ‘Vertical Urban Factory’ examines over 30 significant factory buildings from the turn of the 20th century to present day discussing the architectural design and structural engineering along with the evolution of mass-production technologies and social issues.  Focusing primarily on the verticality of urban manufacturing the exhibition poses the question: Can factories present sustainable solutions for future self-sufficient cities?

‘Vertical Urban Factory’ is guest-curated by Nina Rappaport, architectural historian and critic and Publications Director, Yale School of Architecture with designers mgmt. design, Studio Tractor Architects, and filmmaker Eric Breitbart.

The Museum also is offering a series of corresponding programs including panel discussions, gallery tours, factory tours, and film screenings.  More details of this exciting exhibit following the break!

Richard Meier’s office recently shared with us renderings and drawings for his latest work – two new W Hotels. These projects mark a first for Meier within the hospitality industry in Latin-America, which are located in Mexico City and on the Riviera Maya with completion dates scheduled for 2013 and 2014. The hotels, W Santa Fe and the W Retreat Kanai, are the first collaboration between Starwood and Meier who will be assisted by Migdal Arquitectos. Further details, drawings, and renderings following the break.

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This evening Northeastern University will be hosting Shohei Shigematsu of OMA New York. Shigematsu has acted as lead architect for many projects in various phases including the Whitney Museum Extension in New York. The lecture begins at 6pm and will focus on OMA’s recent work.

Pritzker Prize winning architect Peter Zumthor’s design for the 11th Serpentine Gallery Pavilion was revealed today. A design that ‘aims to help its audience take the time to relax, to observe and then, perhaps, start to talk again – maybe not’, the materials are significant in aiding the design which emphasizes the role the senses and emotions play in our experience of architecture. The Pavilion will be Zumthor’s first completed building in the UK

Zumthor shared that ‘the concept for this year’s Pavilion is the hortus conclusus, a contemplative room, a garden within a garden. The building acts as a stage, a backdrop for the interior garden of flowers and light. Through blackness and shadow one enters the building from the lawn and begins the transition into the central garden, a place abstracted from the world of noise and traffic and the smells of London – an interior space within which to sit, to walk, to observe the flowers. This experience will be intense and memorable, as will the materials themselves – full of memory and time.’

Stay tuned to ArchDaily for more images and news on Zumthor’s design for the Pavilion. Our previous coverage of the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion can be found here, including Jean Nouvel’s Serpentine Gallery of 2010, and SANAA’s 2009 Serpentine Gallery.

Ai Weiwei was arrested today on unspecified charges by Chinese security police while he and his family were about to board a plane to Hong Kong, as reported by the NY Times.

‘Detroit by Design’, a symposium and exhibition hosted by the AIA Detroit Urban Priorities Committee, will welcome the architecture and design community to study the unique and challenged urban infrastructure of Detroit through three key issues: urban centers, transportation, urban agriculture over the next three months. This month ‘Detroit by Design’ will address the topic of transportation with an exhibit on April 5th and discussions on April 13th. All exhibits and symposiums will be held at the Detroit Public Library and are free and open to public. Further details of ‘Detroit by Design’ following the break.