Featured: The Latest Architecture and News

Architects: Daniel Mòdol Location: Plaza Pere Torrent S/Nº Lloret de Mar‐Girona‐Spain Project Year: 2010 Photographs: Jordi Bernadó

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Architects: White Arkitekter + Sprunt Location: Southend Pier, United Kingdom Photographs: Luke Hayes

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Architects: Rainer Köberl Location: Innsbruck, Austria Architect In Charge: Rainer Köberl Project Year: 2011 Photographs: Lukas Schaller

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Architects: ARCO Arquitectura Contemporánea Location: México D.F., Mexico Design Team: José Lew Kirsch, Bernardo Lew Kirsch Project Year: 2011 Photographs: Jaime Navarro

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Through this installation, Swiss architect Valerio Olgiati explores the ambiguous and complex “common ground” of inspiration and imagination in architecture. Images, selected by architects from around the world, represent the infinitely varied forms of visual material that are collected in their imaginations and subsequently transformed through the creative process.

Jean Nouvel and Mia Hägg presented “Meetings Lines” at the Venice Biennale. For ‘Common Ground’ they decided to show their finalist project for the Slussen Masterplan competition, an ambitious urban design project that seeks to replace much of the degenerated water and transportation infrastructure in the heart of Stockholm. The project proposes three different public spaces, designed as living links for the city, inspired by infrastructure such as the Rialto Bridge in Venice.

More about the exhibit after the break.

“Forty years ago the public cause proved a powerful source of inspiration. Given the numbers of architects that chose to serve it, one might even speak of a common ground. In the age of the ‘starchitect’, the idea of suspending the pursuit of a private practice in favor of a shared ideology seems remote and untenable. In the context of the 2012 Venice Architecture Biennale, this exhibition hopes to provide a small contribution towards finding that common ground once more…” – OMA Partner Reinier de Graaf, August 2012

Throughout Europe in the late 1960s and early 1970s, large public works departments employed architects to design a multitude of public buildings in an effort to serve the public cause. Reinier de Graaf describes this “heyday of public architecture” as “a short-lived, fragile period of naïve optimism – before the brutal rule of the market economy became the common denominator.”

Marking the entrance to Stockholm’s inner city center, the Stockholm City Station. Designed by 3XN Architects, integrates the station, a hotel, conference center, and apartments. The main idea behind the design was to create a building that gently adjusts to the area’s existing building in scale and expression, and which reinterprets a number of local Swedish design traditions. Containing a number of public and private functions, the building will contribute positively to creating life in the surrounding neighborhood. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Architects: L’Escaut Architectures Location: Mont-sur-Marchienne, Belgium Project Architects: Olivier Bastin, Eloisa Astudillo, Nele Stragier, Florence Hoffmann Project Year: 2008 Project Area: 8,230 sqm Photographs: Courtesy of L’Escaut Architectures, Gilbert Fastenaekens

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Architects: a3gm + Mata y asociados Location: Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain Architect In Charge: Salvador Mata Pérez Project Year: 2009 Photographs: Courtesy of Mata y asociados

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A few minutes ago we attended to the awards ceremony at the Biennale, after which it opened officially to the public (until Nov 25th).

David Chipperfield, director of the 13th Biennale, and Paolo Baratta, president of the Biennale, presented the awards for Lifetime Achievement, National Participations and International Participations.

The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement was already announced, and it went to Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza. Alvaro couldn’t attend the ceremony due to a broken arm, so Ines Lobo, curator of the Portuguese pavilion, accepted the award on his behalf.

For the National pavilions, the jury decided to give three mentions: Poland, Russia and USA. The Golden Lion was awarded to the Japan Pavilion, with the exhibit “Architecture, possible here? Home-for-All” curated by Toyo Ito, with the participation of Kumiko Inui, Sou Fujimoto, Akihisa Hirata and Naoya Hatakeyama. Toyo Ito dedicated the award to the victims of the tsunami.

As for the International Exhibitions, the special mention went to Cino Zucchi, the Silver Lion to Grafton Architects, and the Golden Lion to “Torre David / Gran Horizonte”, the installation by Urban-Think Tank, Justin McGuirk and Iwan Baan.

More photos after the break.

Architects: Grzywinski + Pons Location: Millerton, NY, USA Design Team: Matthew Grzywinski, Amador Pons Project Year: 2012 Photographs: Floto + Warner/OTTO

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Architects: D.I.G Architects Location: Nagoya City, Japan Design Team: Akinori Yoshimura, Maki Yoshimura Project Year: 2011 Photographs: Tomohiro Sakashita

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Architects: Tabanlioglu Architects Location: Malabo, Equatorial Guinea Architect In Charge: Murat Tabanlıoğlu & Melkan Gürsel Tabanlıoğlu Design Team: Salih Yılgörür, Ali Çalışkan, Sertaç Tümer, Utkan Yonter, Emre Çetinel, Elvin Erkut, Tugce Güleç Interior Design: Hacer Akgun Marino, Eda Lerzan Tuçbil, Esra Çanakkale, Gonca Yılmaz Ağbaş, Anday Bodur Project Year: 2011 Photographs: Emre Dörter

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Architects: Haeahn Architecture Location: Seoul Project Year: 2012 Photographs: Park Young-chae

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Architects: Renzo Piano Building Workshop Location: Trento, Italy Architect: Renzo Piano Project Year: 2012 Photographs: Courtesy of RPBW, RPBW – Stefano Goldberg, RPBW – Paolo Pelanda, Colombo Costruzioni – Alessandro Gadutti, RPBW – Cristiano Zaccaria

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Architects: Labor 13 Location: Čeladná, Czech Republic Design Team: Martin Vomastek, Albert prazák, Jiri Bardodej Project Year: 2011 Photographs: Soucek – Vomastek – Straka

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Architects: Pablo Anzilutti Location: Santa Fe, Santa Fe Province, Argentina Project Year: 2012 Photographs: Federico Cairoli

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