Unbuilt Projects: The Latest Architecture and News

Los Angeles-based studio EC3 has revealed its design entry for a new 14.5-acre, cultural & sports center in Shenzhen’s growing Dalang neighborhood, hosted by the Shenzhen Longhua District Government and the Vanke Real Estate Co.

GroupGSA's design for the Four Seasons Reception Center in Chongli, Zhanjiakou, China, where the 2022 Winter Olympics will be hosted, has been announced as the winning bid. The building will be used as the main information center for all of the activities that will occur at the ski resort during the Olympic Games.

Australia-based GroupGSA’s recent design for iCarbonX’s Super Headquarters in Shenzhen, China has been dubbed “outstanding” by the competition’s jurors. The firm was invited to submit an entry which explored iCarbonX’s goal to “build an ecosystem of digital life based on a combination of an individual’s biological, behavioral and psychological data, the Internet, and artificial intelligence.”

Last October, Germany-based Gewers Pudewill was awarded first place in an invited competition to design the Stream Tower, a new office high-rise in Berlin. The 24-story scheme elaborates on a vertical folding theme expressed through the slabs and façade, creating a programmatic sculpture depicted in recently-unveiled imagery.

Situated next to the city's Mercedes-Benz Arena, the tower will reach a height of 300 feet (90 meters), and a floor area of 430,000 square feet (42,000 square meters). Upon completion, the scheme will host the popular online fashion retailer Zalando.

Nora Mosque and Community Center from EAA Emre Arolat Architecture on Vimeo.

Emre Arolat Architecture has unveiled their design for the Nora Mosque and Community Center in Ajman in the United Arab Emirates. The 10,000 square meter site located just north of Dubai, is located near a massive high rise residence block. However, it creates its own unique ambiance and spatial setting with a composition of shell-like platforms that spring from the earth.

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Woods Bagot have announced that they will be leading a redesign effort for the abandoned Hongqi Zhen Sugar Factory in Zhuhai’s Jinwan District. Due to be completed in three phases over the next ten years, their master plan for the almost 80,000 square meter site includes designs that will revitalize the area and transform it into an integrated tourism, cultural and leisure park.

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Miami's Brickell neighborhood has seen a boom of skyscrapers in recent years, dubbing it a “mini-Manhattan." Soon, Miami will really be able to stake this claim with its own version of Daniel Burnham's famous Flatiron Building. Located in the Financial district, the 64 story Brickell Flatiron luxury condominium tower has just reached the halfway mark of construction, with one floor to be constructed per week until completion.

Denmark-based architect Dorte Mandrup has won her third UNESCO World Heritage Center project, with her design of the Trilateral Wadden Sea World Heritage Partnership Centre. The project was the winner in a contest to design a new headquarters for the Centre, an organization that aims to protect the Wadden Sea and is jointly run by Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands.

On the 61st anniversary of Ghana’s independence, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has unveiled plans for a New National Cathedral of Ghana to be built in the capital city of Accra. Led by British-Ghanaian architect David Adjaye of Adjaye Associates, the design is envisioned as a “physical embodiment of unity, harmony and spirituality” where people of all faiths will be welcome to gather and practice their faith.

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In our modern day society where every minute counts, Danish architecture firm COBE, in collaboration with Danish automotive technology company, CLEVER, has designed a new modular ultra-fast charging station for electric vehicles. These stations will not only aim to reduce the typical 45-minute charging time but also serve as a place where drivers can relax.

Finland based Futudesign has been announced as the winner of a competition which invited firms to repurpose part of the Helsinki Central Railway Station. The design, which will transform the station’s underutilized eastern wing into a hotel, both reinterprets and modernizes Eliel Saarinen's original architectural intent.

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France-based Tetrarc Architects has revealed their design for the new Conservatory of Rennes in France. Intended to be the cornerstone of a new urban project, the fifty-meter long cubic volume is intersected by “cuts and curves that give it an elegant, sculptural presence.” This cultural facility will bring five programs under one roof, including spaces for musical activities, an auditorium, dance theaters, administration spaces, and an area for the Pont Supérieur Music Department.

Zaha Hadid Architects has begun construction on the NürnbergMesse Hall 3C for international exhibition and congress company NürnbergMesse, in Nuremberg, Germany. The design for Hall 3C is a continuation of the design principles from Hall 3A, which was built by Zaha Hadid Architects in 2014.

As a part of the NürnbergMesse exhibition company, Hall 3A connects existing hexagonal grid halls from the 1970s to the rectangular halls at Grosse Strasse. Hall 3C will be modeled in a similar fashion, featuring a trapezoid-shaped and spaning 10,000 square meters.

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295 King Street, a 64-story mixed-use building designed by Plus Architecture and developed by Farinia, has just won approval to be built in Melbourne, Australia. The project, situated in the city’s central business district, is comprised of two sites at the northwest corner of King and Little Lonsdale streets. Its sculptural design will become a notable presence in the Melbourne skyline. Upon completion, the building will include 431 apartments and nine penthouses.

a2o architecten, in partnership with artist Jan De Cock, has won a competition to design a crematorium in Lommel, Belgium. The goal of the project is to integrate the crematorium into the existing cemetery, which shares the site. The design is heavily symbolic and is based off of the idea of “the journey” of saying farewell to a loved one.

GBL Architects' 8X Tower in Vancouver has won approval to be built, with construction set to begin in the fall. The site is located at the western corner of Richards and Helmcken Street in Vancouver’s Yaletown neighborhood. The building’s conceptual design combines the context of three surrounding areas: Emery Barnes Park, which flanks the western edge of the site; the grid of the nearby streets; and the Yaletown skyline which displays a wide range of architectural styles.

Kimmel Eshkolot Architects has won the competition to design the Kaplan North Masterplan, covering an area of 32,000 square meters in central Tel Aviv. Once a secretive and secluded area, the space has been opened to new development due to the decision to relocate the headquarters of the IDF.

“Located between one of the city’s busiest intersections and its cultural center, the design creates a new gateway to Tel Aviv, which will be an innovative series of structures that will connect this fragmented area,” with the goal of creating a “sustainable coexistence between a busy urban space and an intimate residential neighborhood.”

PARKOPERA, a cultural facility designed by Alper Derinboğaz, Salon, is a center of attraction that will be situated between apartment buildings and within a neighborhood park in Antalya, Turkey. Through the development of both the building and the outdoor space around it, the center creates multiple opportunities for the community to come together and enjoy various cultural events.