Recently winning first place in a Skyscapers and SuperSkyscapers Competition, SURE Architecture has put forth a daring new proposition for a London skyscraper design. Their proposal, titled "The Endless City in Height," does away with the traditional notion of stacking floors on top of each other. Rather, this innovative design incorporates two street-sized ramps that wind their way up the exterior of the tower, creating extensions of the city streetscape that rise and coil vertically into the London skyline.
Ziya İmren Architects have proposed a "symphonic architectural poem dedicated to Franz Liszt and Béla Viktor János Bartók" as part of the Liget Budapest International Design Competition launched earlier this year. The architects' approach is based on the pioneering compositional methods of Franz Liszt and Bela Bartok. The design proposal brings "thematic inspiration to the fore by restructuring the classical system of a symphonic work into the form of poetry as a gesamtkunstwerk (a 'total work of art')."
Foster + Partners has revealed designs for the headquarters of RMK, one of the world's leading copper producers based in Yekaterinburg, Russia. The 13-story building is designed to complement the company's working style, splitting office spaces into two-story modular units which provide comfortable and flexible work spaces.
The facade of the building features triangular panels of bronze-colored steel, a motif that is inspired by the color and chemical structure of copper. These steel panels also express the modular offices within the building, with each ten by six-meter panel corresponding to a single office module, and regulate the building's temperature by shading the building in the summer but admitting winter sunshine.
Vo Trong Nghia has unveiled designs for the Vietnamese pavilion at the 2015 Milan Expo. Inspired by the lotus, the pavilion features a number of bamboo clad, umbrella-like structures supporting trees above a pool of water, in a composition reminiscent of their Kontum Indochine Cafe.
"The Lotus is Vietnam’s national flower, a symbol of purity, commitment and optimism for the future," say the architects. "Growing from the muddy ponds it rises above the surface to bloom with remarkable beauty. The flower is proof that patience can turn difficulties into advantages."
Last night Studio Gang Architects unveiled designs of their first ever building in San Francisco, a 400 foot tall residential tower with an undulating, twisting facade. Inspired by the bay windows of older local buildings such as 450 Sutter Street, Studio Gang have added a twist (literally) to the typology with incremental rotations of the 90-degree bays running vertically up the facade.
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Temperature-controlled retail street network. Image Courtesy of Dubai Holding
Developers Dubai Holding have announced their plans to build the 'Mall of the World' a new 48 million square foot tourist district in Dubai that will host the world's largest mall, a new cultural district, a theme park and 20,000 hotel rooms. What's more, the district's 7km street network will be covered by a retractable roof during the summer months, creating the world's first "temperature controlled city".
Hawkins\Brown have gained planning permission for a development of 103 new homes in Rotherhithe, South-East London. Consisting of two terraces of 3-storey family homes and a series of four-storey 'mansion blocks' containing maisonettes with apartments above, the scheme will be built on the site of the former Fisher FC football ground on Salter Road, with the playing surface redeveloped to form a new public park.
AA Studio have revealed their plans for the development of Brooklyn's iconic New York Dock Company building, transforming the 230,000 square foot structure into a mixed-use complex of six commercial spaces on the ground floor, 70 residential loft apartments, and a rooftop deck and gardens above.
The design aims to be as faithful to the original structure as possible, retaining the existing poured concrete columns and walls and exposing the high concrete ceilings. As one of the earliest structures to use the technology, the retention and celebration of these features is a key aspect of the building's conservation.
Elemental's design for Casa OchoQuebradas draws on the rugged landscape of its site, a cliff on the coast of Chile, to create a rugged, even primitive weekend house design of concrete volumes. Inspired by their idea that "a weekend house is ultimately a kind of retreat where people allowed themselves to suspend the conventions of life and go back to a more essential living," the house is a simple composition which incorporates such features as a main room which can be opened up to the outdoors and a central open fire.
Exterior View. Image Courtesy of Chartier Corbassons architectes
Inspired by vegetative growth and the bamboo scaffolding of Asia, Thomas Corbasson and VS-A have proposed a conceptual project for an organic skyscraper for London that will incorporate waste produced by its occupants. The building will rise vertically as more and more of the glass and paper needed for construction is discarded by building residents. It is estimated that enough recycled material for the building’s façade could be produced within a year. The project earned a special mention in a recent Skyscapers and SuperSkyscapers Competition.
Herreros Arquitectos just sent us their recent project for a mixed-use building in Casablanca, Morocco. Resulting from a series of urban, spatial, formal and sustainable variables, the project--which includes housing, commercial and athletic spaces--is characterized by a permeable facade that directly responds to the climate. The repeated decorative element is a reinterpretation of a traditional geometric code that is common to the region.
Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy have released images of the latest stadium designed for the 2022 World Cup. Located in Al Khor City, the Al Bayt Stadium will also be surrounded by the new Al Bayt district, which will host retail space and restaurants, as well as landscaped paths for residents to use as horseriding, cycling and jogging tracks.
The design - billed as "an entirely Qatari concept, reflecting Qatar’s proud history and culture" - is based on the Bayt Al Sha’ar, a black and white tent used traditionally by nomadic people in Qatar, which would have been a welcome symbol of hospitality for desert travelers.
Australia’s new pavilion for the 2015 Venice Art Biennale will be, in the words of featured artist Fiona Hall, “a minefield of madness, badness, and sadness in equal measure.” Designed by firm Denton Corker Marshall, (who also designed the Stonehenge Visitor Centre), the project will replace the 25 year old temporary pavilion designed by Phillip Cox and will be the first building constructed on the Giardini in two decades.
Florida International University’s Stempel Complex, designed by Perkins + Will, will be completed this fall. The complex will house the Extreme Event Institute, which will bring together a number of the university’s research and academic programs to study “extreme natural events.” The form of the building itself takes inspiration from natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes, and is centered around an oval-shaped courtyard.
Modeled after its dense urban surroundings, Chu Hai College of Higher Education’s new campus in Hong Kong meets a complex program while giving students a fantastic view of the ocean. Designed by Rocco Design Architects Limited, the building's geometry stacks different programmatic uses on top of each other and connects them with a vertical boulevard. The result is a sculptural entity, partially inspired by Chinese calligraphy, that seeks a balance between solid and void.
The Qatar Olympic Committee has selected Grimshaw as the winner of a competition to design a series of recreational sports facilities across Qatar. Grimshaw's design utilizes a 'kit-of-parts' concept to provide adaptable sports centers which suit the different requirements of each site.
The Al Farjan Recreational Sports Facilities will each feature an elevated cafe at the center of the complex, around which football, volleyball, basketball and handball facilities can be added, as well as outdoor children’s playgrounds, public amenities and social areas.
The Beijing city district of Wanjing has traditionally been a gateway for people entering the city. Its name literally translates as “Looking Towards Beijing.” J. J. Pan and Partners seek to renew that title with the design of Beijing Automotive Group’s new Research and Development Center. Taking inspiration from the character 北 (bei), which signifies openness, as well as Beijing itself, this mixed use building is meant to become a symbolic landmark both for Wanjing and for the company it houses.
Renovated numerous times during its history, Gaumont-Alésia, a Parisian cinema housed in a structure that is over 80 years old, will now be revamped by firm Manuelle Gautrand Architecture. With a design that emphasizes filmography’s presence in modern culture, the Gaumont-Alésia is set to become an inviting cultural hub for the surrounding city, showcasing cinema’s influence on both the interior and exterior.
Both street facades will be composed of glass curtain walls shaded by pleated metal panels. These panels will be perforated by hundreds of LED “pixels” which will create an image across the pleats. Both entrances to the building become animated walls, broadcasting film stills, movie trailers, and advertisements, all meant to entice passersby. The LEDS are spaced fewer and farther apart toward the edges of the building, creating a stippling effect around the border of the images. At the entrances these animated panels will peel upwards, creating a canopy under which patrons can walk.
Foster + Partners have broken ground on their Hankook Technodome, a state-of-the-art research and development facility for the Korean Tyre giant. Based in Daejeon, the 'silicon valley' of Asia, the new facility will provide light filled offices and laboratories, as well as social spaces which nurture a culture of openness and innovation.
Multiplan Arhitekti have shared with us their competition-winning design for an art gallery on one of Zagreb's most prominent streets. The ALUARTFORUM gallery, designed for the University of Zagreb and located next to the existing Academy of Fine Arts, will fill one of the last remaining open spaces on Ilica Street.
Swiss luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet have announced BIG as the designers for an extension to their headquarters in Le Brassus, near Le Chenit. The design includes gallery spaces for a museum, work spaces and a guest house. Conceived as a spiralling glass pavilion embedded in the landscape, BIG's design - entilted Maison des Fondateurs - will take visitors on a narrative journey through the company's 139-year history.
The scheme, called One Carrington Street, involves the renovation of the historic Shell House, creation of a new 27-story, 58,000 square metre office tower, a new eastern transit hall for Wynyard Station including 5,000 square metres of retail space, and a new grand entrance to Wynyard Station from George and Carrington Streets.
