Competition: The Latest Architecture and News

In architecture, it's often the finer details that make the grandest impact. Across the ages, architects have carefully oriented buildings to balance function and aesthetics, with light as their guiding principle. The pursuit of perfect lighting in buildings dates back to medieval times—and the search continues. It turns out that simply allowing light into a space isn't enough; it's the direction and quality of that light that truly elevates the environment. 

This year, the VELUX Nordic Architecture Competition—aptly titled "Daylight from Above"—invited architects from Denmark, Sweden, and Norway to explore the nuances of natural light in residential design. The competition urged them to craft spaces where light plays a starring role, sculpting interiors that shift and change with the hours and seasons. The aim? To create homes where light doesn't just brighten a space but elevates the experience of living in it..

Snøhetta has won an international competition for the design of the new stations for the city cable car in Koblenz, Germany. Given that the location is within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, the project necessitates a sensitive and respectful approach to the historical context. The proposed stations are designed as contemporary architectural statements that harmonize with the existing heritage, blending into their surroundings.

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As Kharkiv embarks on the long road to recovery following the devastating conflict in Ukraine, a global design competition has been initiated by the Norman Foster Foundation and Buildner to reimagine one of the city's most significant landmarks—Freedom Square. A symbol of Soviet-era urban planning, the square, along with the Regional Administration Building, was heavily damaged by a missile strike on March 1, 2022. The attack left the building in ruins and the square scarred by conflict.

The consortium led by the French architecture firm Coldefy, in partnership with Albanian studio Atelier 4, Sempervirens, and Italian firm AEI Progetti, has just won the international competition to design Albania's new Public Administration Cluster in Tirana. This 31,000-square-meter project will bring together over 20 government institutions under one roof, aiming to improve administrative efficiency while fostering greater public accessibility and engagement.

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The Louvre Museum in Paris has announced the American-French consortium WHY Architecture -BGC as the winner of an international competition for the exhibition design of the museum's ninth department, dedicated to Byzantine and Eastern Christian Art. The 5,500-square-meter project aims to offer a more balanced and connected narrative of the Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic civilizations, fostering a greater understanding of the influences and relationships between artistic expressions of these historical regions. The spaces are expected to open to the public in 2027.

EFFEKT and MAST have just revealed SØMÆRKET, a new access point to Nature Park Lillebælt in Denmark. Serving as the gateway to one of Denmark’s most protected coastal landscapes, the Little Belt strait, the design aims to strengthen the connections between the cities of Middlefart, Holding, and Fredericia. Renowned for having the world’s highest concentration of harbor porpoises and a rich diversity of flora and fauna, the Little Belt Strait is a popular destination for divers across Europe.

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The primary function of an architecture event is to promote the exchange of knowledge, ideas, and innovations among professionals, students, and enthusiasts in the field. These events serve as platforms for discussing emerging trends, exploring new technologies, presenting innovative projects, and debating relevant issues that impact the future of the built environment. Additionally, they help foster networking, interdisciplinary collaboration, and often boost the professional development of participants, thereby strengthening the architectural community and its ability to influence society. This is the case with India's Festival of Architecture and Interior Designing (FOAID), now in its 11th year, which continues to be a beacon of architectural discourse and innovation, bringing together the brightest minds from the design community. In partnership with CNBC TV18, the event attracts thousands of participants every year. In this new chapter, it will take place on November 22-23 at the NSIC Grounds in Okhla, New Delhi, and on December 20-21 at the Jio World Convention Center in Mumbai.

United Kingdom-based office For Everyday.Life (FEL) is one of the three selected winners for the Open Category of ICON’s Initiative 99, an open competition aiming to promote affordable home designs that can be built for under $99,000 employing ICON’s 3D printing technologies. FEL’s project, titled “Housing Salinas,” focuses on community living while applying principles of long-term sustainability, and social and environmental responsibility.

J. Mayer H. Architects has just won the competition for their “Cheongdoam Tower” design in Seoul. As part of the Seoul City Urban/Architecture Creation/Innovation Design Project contest, the competition was initiated by the city of Seoul, aiming to enhance urban qualities and improve the quality of life for residents. Chosen from numerous submissions and six shortlisted projects, Cheongdam Tower emerged victorious.

Henning Larsen has just won an international competition to design the New Arts Center in Bergen, Norway. Situated in western Norway, the Grieg Quarter aims to blend urbanity, culture, and natural beauty in Bergen. The winning entry proposes to expand the city’s creative and natural landscapes with the new performing arts and exhibition center.

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Cobe Architects has just unveiled its winning design for the future Danish Parliament in Copenhagen. Aiming to revitalize Denmark’s historic administrative center, the studio envisioned an inviting, accessible space, “where everyone can experience democracy up close.” The design features an underground visitor center, leading to facilities within the Parliament Courtyard, and an interconnected pathway uniting historic buildings formerly used by the Danish National Archive.

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Videos

TRANSFER Architecture Video Award 2023 has just announced the winners of this year's edition of the innovative architecture short film competition. Due to the high quality and the diversity of the entries, the jury has decided to award 4 winners ex aequo and 2 honorable mentions.

The TRANSFER Architecture Video Award 2023 ceremony took place on February 22 in Lausanne, as part of the film festival Écrans Urbains. You can discover the winning, finalist, and shortlisted videos in TRANSFER.

BIG and HNTB have just won the competition to design an Athletics ballpark in Las Vegas. Situated along the iconic Las Vegas Strip, the ballpark for the Athletics Major League Baseball team promises to uphold the values of the “Entertainment Capital of the World.” Nestled between Tropicana Avenue and Reno Avenue on Las Vegas Boulevard, the ballpark boasts 33,000 seats in an open-air stadium sprawling across nine acres.

GRAFT Architects has just won the competition to design the new Carl Bechstein Music Campus. Located centrally in Berlin, the Carl Bechstein Foundation’s main goal with the campus is to create a cultural hub entirely devoted to piano music. Serving as a focal point for the Bechstein Brand, established in 1853 and known for its variety of Bechstein pianos, this campus will serve as a focal point and a new headquarters for the foundation.