White Arkitekter has been selected as one of four finalists in the open Nordic Built Challenge competition for the Faroe Islands in Denmark, with their proposal, “The Eyes of Runavik.” Developed in collaboration with Norwegian engineering company DIFK / Florian Kosche, the design centers on a new “landmark building typology adaptable to a variety of steep terrains, and specifically designed for the climatic conditions of the Faroe Islands.”

The project draws inspiration from traditional Faeroese agriculture, in which an outfield, or “hagi,” is used for summer grazing, while cultivated land—“bøur”—is used for growing crops. Thus, each building ring, or “eye,” of the design “can be seen as a settlement in itself, with the outfield ‘hagi’ as the wild landscape all around, and the infield ‘bøur’ as the cultivated microclimate in the center.”

The Architectural Review has released the results of the fifth annual Women in Architecture survey, providing insights into the experiences of over 1,000 women worldwide.

One out of five women responding to the survey said that they would not encourage a woman to start a career in architecture, and a similar proportion said they were unsure—only six out of ten overall would recommend an architectural career to another woman.

The Royal Institute of British Architects’ (RIBA) Future Trends Survey for January 2016 has reported overall increases in predicted workloads and staffing for the New Year. Completed by a mix of small, medium, and large firms based on a geographically representative sample, the survey was launched in January 2009 “to monitor business and employment trends affecting the architects’ profession.”

The Future Trends Workload Index “bounced back strongly in January 2016, rising to +29 (up from +15 in December 2015). Increased workload optimism was shown across most of the UK, with the South of England (balance figure +38) showing particular strength, and only Scotland (balance figure -25) in negative territory."

Agroecologist Amlankusum, together with Paris-based Vincent Callebaut Architectures, has created Hyperions, a vertical, energy positive eco-neighborhood proposed for Jaypee Green Sports City in the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) in India. Aiming to “reconcile urban renaturation and small-scale farming with environment protection and biodiversity,” the project combines low-tech and high-tech elements with the “objective of energy decentralization and food deindustrialization.”

+ 24

Slovenian artist Martin Bricelj Baraga has created Moonolith, a monument to the moon and stars, in collaboration with the City of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Based on the modular design of Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic dome, Moonolith “is a modern three-dimensional squaring of the circle, projected into Euclidean space.”

As a part of the artist’s Nonument series, the installation “[carries] a strong symbolic message in a physical, mental, and virtual space,” reflecting “research of the meaning and development of monuments and the phenomenology of collective memory.”

Hong Kong-based architecture firm TheeAe has released the plans for its entry to the competition for the Varna Regional Library in Varna, Bulgaria. The competition called for proposals to combine six regional libraries into one new site, ultimately awarding Architects for Urbanity the first prize.

The International Garden Festival has announced the five designs selected to be displayed at the 17^th edition of the Festival at Les Jardins de Métis / Redford Gardens in Grand-Métis, Canada. The five winning gardens, selected from 203 projects submitted from 31 countries, will join previous years’ winners in the larger display of interactive spaces created by more than 85 landscape architects, architects, and designers.

The five winning gardens for the 2016 edition of The International Garden Festival are:

The New York Landmarks Conservancy has announced Apple, Inc. as the recipient of its 2016 Chairman’s Award “for their contribution to preserving, restoring, and repurposing notable historic structures in New York City.”

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) 2016 Jury of Fellows has elevated 149 AIA members and eight international architects to its prestigious College of fellows, an honor awarded to members who have made significant contributions to the profession.

“The Fellowship program was developed to elevate those architects who have made a significant contribution to architecture and society and who have achieved a standard of excellence in the profession. Election to fellowship not only recognizes the achievements of architects as individuals, but also their significant contribution to architecture and society on a national level.”

Some of the elevated members are:

The Lisbon Architecture Triennale has announced the list of 14 Associated Projects that will be included in the upcoming 4th edition, The Form of Form. The projects were selected from 73 proposals, 29 of which were from international participants. "These 14 events will expand the main program and present captivating ideas on venues that highlight the diversity of Lisbon's landscape," noted chief curator André Tavares.

Aiming to "stimulate and deepen the debate around a large spectrum of contemporary views on today's architectural practice," Form of Form seeks to "highlight currents of thought important for the production of architecture in a social context in constant transformation." 

The 14 Associated Projects to be featured are:

The Boston Society of Architects/AIA (BSA) has announced the winners of the 2015 BSA Design Awards. Awards were presented in eight categories for accomplishments in interior design, campus and urban panning, and unbuilt projects, among others.

The winners of the 2015 BSA Design Awards are:

Videos

As a part of the 92Y Seeing Music festival in New York, architect and engineer Gabriel Calatrava has created a moving installation that “illuminates and interprets the Brentano String Quartet’s live performance of J.S. Bach’s The Art of the Fugue.” Operated by a dance corps, the set design “provides audiences with a new way to experience and interpret the music they hear on stage, while allowing various art forms to complement and inform each other.”

+ 6

Moscow’s Chief Architect Sergey Kuznetsov has announced the winners of the Open All-Russia Competition for a Concept of Redevelopment of two modernist cinema theaters: Varshava and Voskhod. An initiative of ADG Group, in collaboration with the Committee on Architecture and Urban Planning of Moscow City, the competition awarded one winner for the Voskhod theater, and two winners for the Varshava theater. The organizer of the competition is the agency for strategic development "CENTER."

WoodWorks, an initiative of the Wood Products Council, has announced the winners of the 2016 Wood Design Awards. Honoring projects that “showcase the innovative use of wood as both a structural and finish material,” this year’s awards highlight the many uses and attributes of wood, “from structural performance and design versatility to sustainability and cost effectiveness.”

The Wood Design Awards are both National and Regional, with regional awards being presented at Wood Solutions Fairs across the country starting in late March.

The winners of the Wood Design Awards are:

A team of urban design students from the Harvard Graduate School of Design has won first prize in UD Shanghai’s 2015 International Student Urban Design Competition for the Shanghai Railway Station Area. Through the competition, the team reimagined the “Shanghai Railway Station, one of the city’s four major railway stations and one of China’s major rail hubs, in the context of the next round of the Shanghai Master Plan (2020 to 2040). In particular, the competition asked teams to promote walkability and smoother traffic patterns,” where the station creates a topographical gap, “and to consider thee-dimensional urban development around the station.”

+ 16

Videos

The 2015 session of MADE—the Multidisciplinary Australian Danish Exchange—has recently been completed and presented to the public. Established in 2013 by the Sydney Opera House, the MADE Program is an extracurricular experience for Australian and Danish students of architecture, engineering, and design.

Teams of five students are exchanged between Australia and Denmark and work in multidisciplinary teams of two architects, two engineers, and one designer for six weeks on a collaborative project aligned with Jørn Utzon’s Design Principles.