Restoration | Tag (page 13)

MVRDV to Transform Communist-Era Pyramid into Center for Art and Technology in Albania

May 18, 2018

MVRDV has unveiled its vision for transforming the Communist-era “Tirana Pyramid” in Albania into a center for technology, art, and culture. Under the plans, the abandoned structure will be revitalized as a multifunctional technology education center for Tirana’s youth, with the existing dark interior becoming open, bright, and green.

The Tirana Pyramid was opened in 1988 as the Enver Hoxta Museum, designed in honor of Albania’s former communist leader. Since then, the building has transitioned into a NATO base during the Balkan Wars, a nightclub, and an event space. Though now in decay, the building remains a popular spot for young people keen to climb on its roof. As a nod to this unique appropriation, MVRDV has made the roof officially available for all visitors.

7 Architects Create 7 New Community Spaces Beneath a Disused Japanese Overpass

May 17, 2018

A +100 meter stretch of land beneath a train overpass in Koganecho, a district of Yokohama, Japan, underwent a progressive refurbishment in which seven different types of community space, each designed by a different architect, were built within a pre-set spatial grid. Historically there were many social issues in the area, largely in relation to its profitable but dangerous black market and red-light district. Once the illegal activity was eradicated in 2005, the underpass presented a great opportunity for social re-development, and the resultant project - the Koganecho Centre - emphasized an age-old Japanese cultural commitment, where what was once broken is used to make something new.

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Nominations Now Open for the 2018 World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize

May 02, 2018

Nominations are now open for the 2018 World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize. Celebrating its tenth anniversary, the prize recognizes architects or designers that have demonstrated innovative solutions to preserve or save threatened modern architecture.

Louis Sullivan's Pilgrim Baptist Church Will be Renovated Into the Nation's First National Museum of Gospel Music

April 29, 2018

When architects were asked to re-imagine Chicago’s neglected buildings for an exhibition, Dirk Lohan designed a revitalization plan for Louis Sullivan's Pilgrim Baptist Church. Soon Sullivan’s landmark building will become the nation’s first National Museum of Gospel Music, complete with a cafe, retail store, event space, research and listening library, and a 350-seat auditorium.

The Chicago Tribune Tower Might Have a New Neighbor: The City's Second-Tallest Skyscraper

April 24, 2018

The Chicago Tribune Tower is at the center of a $1 billion development seeking to bring over 700 residential units to the city center. Developers CIM and Golub have unveiled a proposal which would see the redevelopment of the neo-Gothic tower into 163 condominiums, and the construction of a tapering skyscraper only 30 feet shorter than the Willis Tower, Chicago’s tallest building.

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Jiangshan Fishing Village Renewal / Mix Architecture

April 16, 2018

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Architects: Mix Architecture
Area: 385 m²
Year: 2018

Tadao Ando’s Punta Della Dogana Museum Through the Lens of Luca Girardini

April 07, 2018

At the meeting point of the Grand Canal and the Giudecca Canal in Venice is a triangular plot of land, the Punta Della Dogana. On the site sits a long, low-slung 17th-century structure punctuated at its tip by a squat tower topped with an ornamental green and gold weather vane representing fortune. This former customs house of Venice, the Dogana da Mar, was purchased in 2007 by François Pinault with the intention of converting the structure into an art museum, a task he entrusted to Tadao Ando.

While the Japanese architect may not have been the obvious choice to work with a historic Italian building, Ando's solution combined a total respect for the existing building with the sharp minimalism for which he is known. Stripping back centuries of additions, the building was largely restored to its original structure. At the heart of the building's deep plan, a pure concrete volume hints at the architect of the restoration, serving to organize the spaces around it. In 2013, the building was photographed by Luca Girardini on the occasion of the exhibition "Elogio del dubbio."

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1305 STUDIO in Shanghai / 1305 STUDIO

March 30, 2018

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Architects: 1305 STUDIO
Area: 480 m²
Year: 2018
Manufacturers: Established&Sons

The Boundaryless / INSPIRATION GROUP

March 26, 2018

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Architects: INSPIRATION GROUP
Area: 375 m²
Year: 2017

Herzog & de Meuron Designs "Horizontal Skyscraper" Above Historic Moscow Brewery

March 21, 2018

Herzog & de Meuron has released images of their proposed scheme for the redevelopment of an old brewery site on the banks of the Moscow River. The Badaevskiy Brewery project will see the transformation of a largely abandoned cluster of historic, industrial buildings, a delicate restoration project contrasting with the contemporary addition of a residential “Horizontal Skyscraper.” With this bold addition elevated on tall, slender stilts, a new ground-level public park is created to strengthen ties between the brewery site and adjacent river.

Kengo Kuma Transforms Shanghai Shipyard Into Multi-Use Complex

March 02, 2018

In the Lujiazui financial district in Pudong, Shanghai, Kengo Kuma has reimagined a 1972 shipyard into a new 9,000-square-meter multi-use complex, named Shipyard 1862. Behind original, rugged brick walls, the old shipyard was once defined by a 12 by 30-meter grid, which allowed for massive interior spaces to hold ships. In this industrial-style adaptive reuse project, Kuma was careful to preserve the building’s structural and material integrity. These photographs provided by Julien Lanoo show how the industrial shell has been transformed by the refurbishment project.

Renovation of Xi'an Dahua Textile Mill / China Architecture Design Group Land-based Rationalism D.R.C

February 28, 2018

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Architects: China Architecture Design Group Land-based Rationalism D.R.C
Area: 84790 m²
Year: 2014

NONG STUDIO / NONG STUDIO

February 10, 2018

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Architects: NONG STUDIO
Area: 180 m²
Year: 2017
Manufacturers: Cassina, HAY, Hans J. Wegner, Hayon studio

The Renovation of Louis Kahn's Yale University Art Center: A Significant Moment for Architectural Preservation

January 19, 2018

This article was originally published by Common Edge as "How the Restoration of Louis Kahn’s Yale Art Gallery Helped Kickstart Modern Preservation."

I have a distinct memory from my days as an architecture student at the University of California Berkeley in the late ‘80s. During an architectural survey class taught by Spiro Kostof, Louis I Kahn’s Yale University Art Gallery popped up in the slideshow. “Nice building,” I thought, “but what’s with those windows?”

Fifteen years later at Polshek Partnership (now Ennead Architects), I would become the project architect for the construction phase overseeing the rehabilitation of that classic building—the most challenging aspect of which was to replace “those windows.” I came to understand, intimately, how the double-paned window wall had failed almost as soon as construction was complete. Condensation accumulated between the panes, creating the foggy effect that marred my first impression of this groundbreaking building.

Renovation of Xi’an South Gate Plaza / China Northwest Architecture Design and Research Institute

January 10, 2018

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Architects: China Northwest Architecture Design and Research Institute
Area: 69000 m²
Year: 2014
Professionals: Beijing Lighting Dream City Cultural Development

Stay in a Recently Restored Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian Home, the Eppstein House

December 22, 2017

Ever wanted to spend the night in a classic Frank Lloyd Wright house? Here’s your chance.

The Eppstein House, one of Wright’s Usonian designs built in 1953, has been restored to its original beauty by owners Marika Broere and Tony Hillebrandt and is now accepting visitors for a limited time through Airbnb. Located in Galesburg, Michigan, the house was originally designed as part of a planned Usonian community intended to contain 21 homes, though just four ended up being built.

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