The concept design for the extension of the city library by Studio Metar results from the thesis that a contemporary library is a source of information with unlimited access. The message of the design lies in the mentioned thesis, but it should also be emphasized that the idea of a library is a reserved, quiet, isolated, static, but not transparent place filled with books, due to the increasing need for faster and better access to information and a more complex lifestyle, is not viable in the present age. More images and architects’ description after the break.
mini: The Latest Architecture and News
City Library Extension Proposal / Studio Metar
Latest Works by Artist Ola Kolehmainen Exhibition
Being held at the Alvar Aalto Museum in Jyväskylä, Finland, the exhibition for the latest works by artist Ola Kolehmainen is currently on display until July 29th. A contemporary artist of international importance, Kolehmainen is known for his large abstract architectural photographs. With his work mainly associated with Aalto buildings, has been visiting Aalto buildings for years in order to become familiar with them – from Paimio Sanatorium to the Villa Mairea, to Säynätsalo Town Hall and Imatra, to buildings in and around Jyväskylä and finally to Viipuri Library. In his works, Kolehmainen is reaching out for a space-time experience on the other side of the picture plane. For more information on the exhibition, please visit here.
'Grenade' Inflatable Pavilion Proposal / SITBON Architectes
Grenade, the proposal for the CityVision Inflatable Pavilion competition, by SITBON Architectes aims to create a relation with its environment. The theme of the pavilion is to think of the city as an immense architecture in constant mobility, by the transformation of its town planning, of the wanderings of its inhabitants, etc. The time dimension becomes essential in this management of the living area. By lauding the mobility, they question the vision of the architecture as a motionless element to in-vest it with another appropriate life, which allows each one to grow, to be transformed and to move. More images and architects’ description after the break.
'The Rink' Pedestrian Bridge Proposal / Kamvari Architects
The approach for the Amsterdam pedestrian bridge by Kamvari Architects challenges the basic principles of a bridge as their design takes on a completely new form as it attempts to create space by looping across the river. They hope that ‘The Rink’ will become a new icon in the city by becoming an active and public node within the city fabric. More images and architects’ description after the break.
"American City: St. Louis Architecture: Three Centuries of Classic Design" Exhibition
From March 20 – May 11, the “American City: St. Louis Architecture: Three Centuries of Classic Design” exhibition will be up at the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) in downtown Chicago. The show consists of 83 large prints of over 40 historic buildings in St. Louis, including acclaimed landmarks such as Louis Sullivan’s Wainwright Building, James Eads’ Eads Bridge, Eero Saarinen’s Gateway Arch and Tadao Ando’s Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts Building. The timeline stretches from 1839 to 2010. The show is being staged in the Willis’ ground floor atrium and lobby and is free to the public. More information on the exhibition after the break.
Urban Intervention: Public Space Competition Proposal / PRAUD
The public space proposal for the Urban Intervention competition creates a new way of creating a dialog between the park and the city. Designed by PRAUD, each solid and void creates its own topography, and thus the topography of the solid provides different experiences for pedestrians and joggers, while topography of the voids provide different types of functions and landscape fields. More images and architects’ description after the break.
'Interpretations: Promiscuous Encounters' Symposium
The Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (GSAPP) at Columbia University will be holding the Interpretations: Promiscuous Encounters Syposium taking place Friday, March 23rd from 12:00pm – 8:30pm. Promiscuous Encounters, which is free and open to the public, has two main ambitions: first, to examine the fascinating blurriness and productive interplay between the critical, curatorial and conceptual capacities of architecture, including how and where they intersect and overlap and, second, to expand the definitions of what these terms mean in relation to theory and practice by reexamining the sites of criticality and their modes of operation. More information on the event after the break.
Applied Research Through Fabrication Competition
TEX-FAB Digital Fabrication Alliance is seeking research proposals that actively connect academia, the profession and the fabrication industry in the Continuing Research category and in the Speculative Proposal category new start-up projects. As this is a “design to fabricate” competition, TEX-FAB will match the network of fabricators and consultants with the projects that best manifest research through computational fabrication and apply it toward more intelligent integers of materiality and construction. Submissions are due no later than June 2nd. More information on the competition can be found here.
"Towards Comfo-Veg" Exhibition at SCI-Arc
Exhibited from April 6 – Mary 13, the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) is pleased to present “Towards Comfo-Veg,” a large scale, site-specific installation designed for the SCI-Arc Gallery by architect and artist Peter Cook and partner Gavin Robotham of London-based CRAB Studio. Building on CRAB’s internationally recognized experimental work, Towards Comfo-Veg introduces an almost completely light-tight, multimedia experiential space welcoming visitors through a single point of entry and leading towards hints of an invented and dreamlike world. More information after the break.
Oasis Cancer Care Center / WE Architecture
Located in close proximity to the regional Hospital in Næstved, Denmark, the new Oasis Cancer Care Center, designed by WE Architecture, will help anyone affected by cancer through professional help in exceptional buildings specifically designed for this. In order to create a building inspired by the model of healing architecture, the Cancer Care Center was designed as an introvert building, opening up towards two inner courtyards. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Masterplan for Mönchengladbach / Grimshaw Architects
Grimshaw Architects, in association with local project partners Konrath & Wennemar and FSWLA were recently selected to deliver their visionary masterplan strategy for the city center area of Mönchengladbach, Germany. Through close collaborative working with the citizens of Mönchengladbach, the aim is to produce a strategy to optimise the quality of life, improve the economy and the appearance of the inner-city areas. More images and architects’ description after the break.
National Museum of Afghanistan Competition / S.E.E. | office for architecture and design
On behalf of the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture (MoIC), representing the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and supported by the Government of the U.S. and the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, S.E.E. | office for architecture and design is pleased to announce and promote the International Architectural Ideas Competition (IAIC_NMA) for the new National Museum of Afghanistan.
The competition is a one stage ideas competition to generate design proposals, which are due no later than June 6th, for an architectural master plan and detailed building design for the site of the National Museum of Afghanistan. More information on the competition after the break.
'The Life of Airports' Discussion and Exhibition
i2a istituto internazionale di architettura will be organizing a round table on airports and their complexity on Friday, March 16th at 8:00pm in Vico Morcote. Representatives of the fields of airport management and design will be joined by two artists to exchange stories, uses, criticality and design of several airports in and around Ticino. They will be offering a more poetic vision of infrastructure as a reflection on spatial types. This discussion will coincide with the opening of the exhibition The life of airports. Two case studies: Lugano and Santa Maria Island (Azores). More information on the event after the break.
University of Latvia Academic Center of Natural Sciences / Sestais Stils Architects
The aim of the proposal for the University of Latvia Academic Center of Natural Sciences by Sestais Stils Architects is to create a comfortable, functional and sustainable environment for studies and work. They wanted a space for students and other interested persons to research and acquire contemporary knowledge and technologies. They also wanted to create a unit of urban structure where all functions necessary for optimal study and research process are provided at one place but at the same time the structure interacts with ‘outside world’ as well. More images and architects’ description after the break.
[BUENOS AIRES] New Contemporary Art Museum Competition
[AC-CA] recently announced their competition, New Contemporary Art Museum, with the aim of a design for a new art museum in the heart of the city. As the capital of Argentina and located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, the city is an important economic center. Its architecture is a combination of different styles which gives it a unique architectural beauty. The deadline for submissions is July 5th. More information on the competition after the break.
B*Session - The Business of Communication: Social Media and Content Marketing
Today’s entrepreneurs are redefining what it means to be visionary in a slow economy. Using every available resource to create new assets, marketing through social media is becoming an important part of the strategy to reach our audiences.
Coordinated by the New York Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects, nycobaNOMA, and sponsored by Mohawk Industries, Inc., the B*Session event, The Business of Communication: Social Media and Content Marketing, will take place on March 21st at the Mohawk New York Showroom. More information on the event after the break.
WarmWall
Designed by ExS Architects Concept: Elina Karanastasi Design team: Nikos Asimakis, Eri Badouva, Stathis Vlachiotis Consultant: Maria Mandalaki and Matthijs Moelee, Alexandros Vazakas
The WarmWall house is a project of ExS Architects. It was designed for the Deventer Havenkwartier and Nijmegen Vossenpels area based on the requirements of the urban plan of Andries Geerse Stedenbouwkundige. It can readjusted to the size wished by the owners as it is designed based on an accumulation of parallel traverses of 1,20 m wide.
“e_co_llectiva” Urban Design Project / Athanasios Polyzoidis & Katerina Petsiou
The Greek urban design project “e_co_llectiva” by Athanasios Polyzoidis (Architect-Landscape Architect) and Katerina Petsiou (Architect) was awarded with the Salon Grand Prix in the 4th Landscape Architecture Exhibition in Belgrade. In their design, the public space of the streets and the vacant lots in the internal parts of the four building blocks is unified so as to create a single urban garden-park which promotes the concept of collective activity. This intervention is given the title ‘e_co_llectiva’ after ecology (eco), collectivity (collectiva) and new technologies (e). More images and architects’ description after the break.