Norwegian Ministry of Defense by JVA
05 July 2008
The task is to establish the new Ministry in a series of old and protected buildings at Akershus Fortress in central Oslo. New solid blocks fills in the historical pattern, while a more fluent and transparent building links up new and old building blocks in close relation to the historical traces in the landscape.
Posted in ArchitectureComments (0)
Can city dwellers be more self-sufficient?
05 July 2008
Anna Shepard asks whether city dwellers can become more self-sufficient in food production. We may dream of quitting the rat race and moving to the countryside, but the reality is that we are overwhelmingly an urban population. In the UK more than 80 per cent of us live in urban areas. Globally, it's the same story, with the UN estimating that, by the end of this year, more than half the world's population will be living in towns and cities. The question of how we will feed these growing cities is an urgent one.
Posted in Architecture, Sustainable DesignComments (0)
Agent of Change
03 July 2008
Aside from holding down the fort for Geoffs everywhere, Shearcroft and I were actually guests on the same radio show a few years ago, but this will be the first time we've met in person. I first found Shearcroft's work – and, thus, The Agents of Change – through the book Fantasy Architecture: 1500-2036. There, the image of a mouse with a suburban house growing out of its back, as if grafted there or even cloned, was a glimpse of what Shearcroft called, in a 2001 paper for the Royal College of Art, "the new biology of architecture."
Posted in Architecture, CompetitionsComments (0)
David Chipperfield Architects wins competition to design new gateway building at HEC School of Management, Paris
01 July 2008
David Chipperfield Architects has won first prize in the design competition held by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry for a new gateway building at HEC School of Management, one of the most prestigious business schools in Europe (HEC is ranked no 1 in Europe by the Financial Times). The 9,000 sq m project will accommodate the MBA programme, with a large capacity auditorium and state of the art facilities.
Posted in Architecture, CompetitionsComments (1)
Bauhaus Culture: From Weimar to the Cold War
29 June 2008
In 1954 the artist Asger Jorn wrote to Max Bill, “Bauhaus is the name of an artistic inspiration.” Bill, a former Bauhaus student and the founding director of the newly opened Hochschule für Gestaltung in Ulm, West Germany, a self-anointed successor to the Bauhaus, replied, “Bauhaus is not the name of an artistic inspiration, but the meaning of a movement that represents a well-defined doctrine.” To which Jorn shot back, “If Bauhaus is not the name of an artistic inspiration, it is the name of a doctrine without inspiration — that is to say, dead.
Posted in Books, PublicationsComments (0)
Zaha Hadid & Delugan Meissl Assossiated Architects Win ‘Darat King Abdullah II’ Competition in Amman
26 June 2008
The Greater Amman Municipality announced the awards of the design schemes for the culture and performing arts venue ‘Darat King Abdullah II’. The Greater Amman Municipality as the promoter of the ‘Darat King Abdullah II’ architectural competition credited two design proposals with the first prize. The winning offices are the Austrian architects Delugan Meissl Assossiated Architects and the British architect Zaha Hadid. The Norwegian architecture office ‘Snøhetta’ became third. A second prize was not awarded.
Posted in Competitions, Competitions & EventsComments (0)
Amalia House, Austria by Grid architekten
26 June 2008
The Amalia House started life as a request for a humble holiday cottage. Briefed by their clients to create a holiday house on a family estate, Grid Architects ground the parameters down to create a simple low-budget structure that didn’t compromise on visual innovation. Containing just two bedrooms, one for adults, one for children, plus an additional sleeping space in the living room, the Amalia House is compact but dynamic.
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Space Group Wins Competition for Oslo’s Central Train Station
24 June 2008
The excitement about the new Opera House has just started to wear off before Oslo is planning a new project. On June 13, the winner of the competition for designing the new central station was announced. There were four strong competitors, but finally it was the Norwegian architect firm, Space Group, which got the honour of giving its touch to the capital skyline.
Posted in ArchitectureComments (0)
Architecture Landmarks in Iowa Flooded
24 June 2008
In the last few weeks, heavy storms in the Midwest produced massive flooding, causing billions of dollars in property damage and destroying untold acres of crops. Much of the state of Iowa has been declared a disaster area. The floods are slowing and moving south as levees along the Mississippi continue to fail. In Cedar Rapids, the waters have receded, but 25,000 people in this city of 120,000 have been left homeless.
Posted in ArchitectureComments (1)
People or Place: Revisiting the Who versus the Where of Urban Development
24 June 2008
One of the longest standing debates in community economic development is the face-off between “place-based” and “people-based” approaches to combating poverty, housing affordability, chronic unemployment, and community decline. Should help go to distressed places or distressed people?
Posted in Urban DesignComments (0)
Wooden House - Central Bohemia by Sporadical
23 June 2008
The house is situated at the highest point of the northwards slope of a former arboretum, with a total area of 1.57 ha. Both the location and size of the building were essentially formed by the structure of the original weekend house (part of the foundation of which was used for the new house) and the close proximity of a mature oak and fir tree. The wish of the investor was to create an economical residence with light and spacious rooms, closely linked to the natural surroundings.
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Sede Corporativa de CHILEXPRESS by Guillermo Hevia H.
19 June 2008
Two volumes with different program, format and materiality are articulated by a social meeting space contained by the buildings of this courier company. Analogy of code bars and the use of corporate colors are expressed as light, color and transparencies lines. An horizontal three stories offices building made of reinforced concrete at sight , coated with glass curtain walls, looking as a suspended skin which changes according to daylight and the observation point. At night, it becomes a lighted surface that seems to float in darkness.
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OFIS Architects Complete Competition Winning Soccer Stadium in Slovenia
18 June 2008
Slovenian OFIS Architects recently completed the soccer stadium in Maribor, eastern Slovenia, which won them the competition back in 1998. The site is located in the center of the city. In the 1960s, a small tribune was build along one side of the field covered with a massive arched concrete roof. The brief was to convert the field into a soccer stadium and extend the existing building with covered tribunes (for 12,500 spectators, VIP and press facilities) and additional public program, such as four big gymnasiums, fitness club with swimming pools, shops, and restaurants.
Posted in Architecture, Competitions, Competitions & EventsComments (2)
Dominique Perrault exhibition
13 June 2008
If you're a fan of contemporary architecture then you’ve probably encountered the work of Dominique Perrault, the prolific French architect, famous for designing the four symmetrical L-shaped towers comprising the Bibliothèque Nationale de France on the banks of the river Seine. More than just modern, Perrault’s work can feel positively futuristic, evoking a sense of dynamism and wonderment more often reserved for the CGI creations of science fiction films. Yet despite their boldness and scope, his buildings display a traditional sense of geometry, shape and line, a timeless elegance and grace amidst the drama.
Posted in Competitions & Events, EventsComments (1)
Casa Kike, Cahuita, Costa Rica by Gianni Botsford Architects
12 June 2008
By coupling indigenous techniques and materials with modern design technologies and aesthetics GBA has created this intimate double pavilion for a writer in Costa Rica. A main studio space, with library, writing desk and grand piano, is the writer’s daytime space. The pavilion’s wooden structure, sourced from local timber, sits on a simple foundation of wooden stilts on small concrete pad foundations. Roof beams of up to 10 m long and 355 mm deep allow for an interior with no vertical columns. The mono-pitched roof elevates towards the sea shore, while the interior is through ventilated via a completely louvred glazed end façade.
Posted in ArchitectureComments (4)
65m2 pavilion by residence - FARO Architecten
09 June 2008
FARO Architecten ” A 150 year old farmhouse located in the rural area between the nature areas of the Veluwe and the IJssel has been renovated and expanded. The pavilion represents modern rural architecture: it’s simple, practical and eloquent. ‘The pavilion shows how minimal means can lead to large results. The building leaves a poetic [...]
Posted in ArchitectureComments (1)
From a Cause to a Style - The Architecture of Happiness
08 June 2008
Harvard Design Magazine Book Reviews by Daniel Naegele ” One might reasonably expect that Nathan Glazer, in his From a Cause to a Style: Modernist Architecture’s Encounter with the American City, and Alain de Botton, in The Architecture [...]
Posted in Books, PublicationsComments (0)
Pier Arts Centre by RHA
08 June 2008
reiach and hall architects Stromness, Orkney, Scotland Scottich Awards 2008 ” A strikingly modern restoration, refurbishment and new build scheme which provides a much visited arts centre. Despite being in a conservation area of outstanding merit, the design sits comfortably with the surrounding buildings. The uncompromisingly contemporary choice of materials fits surprisingly well with the local style of [...]
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ART_PLAZA - Winner in the international competition for the new Estonian Academy of Arts
05 June 2008
Bustler ‘Art_Plaza’ by the two young Danish architect firms SEA and EFFEKT has been awarded 1st prize in the international competition for the new Academy of Arts building in Tallinn, Estonia. The new academy building is situated in the heart of Tallinn. The building contains facilities for the departments of art, architecture, design, and art history. In addition [...]
Posted in Competitions, Competitions & EventsComments (2)
FINCA EL RETORNO - Colombia by G Ateliers
04 June 2008
Noticias Arquitectura ” The project is located in Guatapé - Antioquia (Colombia), at two hours from Medellín, a place with natural potential for ecological truism development. In views to enhance the [...]
Posted in ArchitectureComments (1)
King Abdulaziz Center for Knowledge and Culture by Snøhetta
03 June 2008
Snøhetta Press Release: ” As part of a glittering program to celebrate Saudi Aramco’s 75th Anniversary, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz AI-Saud set the cornerstone of the King Abdulaziz Center for Knowledge and Culture. Today’s groundbreaking ceremony marked the beginning of construction of the new facility that will bear his father’s name. Located [...]
Posted in ArchitectureComments (2)
Recombinant Urbanism: Conceptual Modeling in Architecture, Urban Design, and City Theory
02 June 2008
Harvard Design Magazine Recombinant Urbanism: Conceptual Modeling in Architecture, Urban Design and City Theory by David Graham Shane, who teaches urban design at Columbia University, is a book of wide-ranging erudition. Anyone who was delinquent in not reading the proliferating literature about “architecture culture” can, with this book, catch up on that portion focused on the [...]
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Rescripting Beirut - Summer Workshop
01 June 2008
15 till 24 August - An International Summer Workshop in Beirut Archis Studio Beirut offers its second international workshop for architects, graphic designers, social scientists, urbanists, artists, and related disciplines in the arts and sociology. This workshop, extending over the last two weeks of August 2008 will address the topic “Rescripting Beirut.” In conjunction with the [...]
Posted in Events, Urban DesignComments (4)
NORDHAVNEN, COPENHAGEN: THE SUSTAINABLE CITY OF THE FUTURE
01 June 2008
AA-Nordhaven ” Open international ideas competition Competition period: 27 May to 26 September 2008 Final date for submission of questions: 4 August 2008 Questions and answers will be uploaded to this website There is no deadline for registration. CPH City and Port Development has launched an open international ideas competition for the Northern Harbour in Copenhagen, a new urban [...]
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House V, Zagreb, Croatia by 3LHD
01 June 2008
3LHD “House “V” was designed in order to satisfy the needs of a family. Applying communication between the common and individual rooms, the facilities and functions of the space have been connected into a single unit that creates a comfortable living area for a family. The house is situated beneath Zagreb mountain Medvednica, on a relatively [...]
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Aurum House by Fernando Menis - NEXTGENE20
31 May 2008
NEXT GENE20 + FERNANDO MENIS ” The Aurum House is composed by two stony modules which visually appear as strong volumes. The landscape turns around them, embracing the indoor spaces with its sinuous shapes. One of the pieces lays on the field while the other one floats and covers [...]
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Inside the Architecture of Authority
29 May 2008
Wired Death Chamber: Angola, Louisiana State Penitentiary (largest prison in the United States), 2005 A new book by photographer Richard Ross: Architecture of Authority, examines the way institutional buildings exert power over people. Ross managed to gain impressive access to all kinds of secretive or high-security buildings, from Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, to the supermax high-security [...]
Posted in Architecture, Books, PublicationsComments (0)
Jean Nouvel wins Tour Signal tender for La Defense
27 May 2008
The international tender for the new high-rise building Tour Signal in the La Defense business district of Paris has been awarded to architectural firm Ateliers Jean Nouvel, EPAD, the body overseeing the development of La Defense, said at a press conference in Paris on Tuesday. The winning project, which was presented by Spanish investor Medea [...]
Posted in Architecture, CompetitionsComments (1)
NEXT-GENE20 - Projects of the 20 Participating Architects Are now Defined
27 May 2008
Bustler ” Following an intense program of site visits with each of the 20 architects who have been invited to design a villa in the beautiful Northeast Coast National Scenic Area, the projects are now ready. The architects presented their ideas in the course of a meeting that was held recently in Taipei. The projects testify [...]
Posted in Architecture, Competitions, Competitions & EventsComments (0)
Innovative Abōd Takes Small Project Award
27 May 2008
Jetson Green ” The fulcrum of the green building revolution, I think, is conservation and living happily with less. It’ll be interesting to see how we get there, to see if we can live lighter. In the meantime, I like to monitor small projects to see what piques the interest of crowds. Lately [...]
Posted in Architecture, Sustainable DesignComments (0)
Langdon Reis Zahn Win Open International Design Competition
26 May 2008
Bustler ” London – Langdon Reis Zahn have won the Open International Design Competition for a new Library and Theatre/Concert Hall in Bodo, Norway. They shared the first prize along with drdh Architects (London), General Architecture (Sweden) and Florian Hultsch (Germany). The first stage of the competition was an open ideas competition intended to clarify the location, massing [...]
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National Cold War Exhibition, RAF Museum Cosford by FCB
26 May 2008
Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios (FCB) Awards: RIBA Award 2007 - The Civic Trust Awards 2008 Special Awards Sustainability Award sponsored by Aggregate Industries 2008 ” Completed in December 2006, this new museum building houses the UK’s national exhibition dedicated to documenting the Cold War. The Royal Air Force Museum wished to raise the museum’s profile with a landmark [...]
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Tree of Life: 16th Environmental Art Festival in Iran - Noushahr-North of Iran (May 2008)
25 May 2008
RiverArt Report by Ahmad Nadalian Photos by Raheleh Zomorodinia & Ahmad Nadalian “During last week (April 29 –May 4, 2008) a new environmental art festival was held on the coast of Caspian Sea, in the north of Iran. More than 140 artists from different part [...]
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Separation Creek House, Australia by Jackson Clements Burrows (JCB) Architects
25 May 2008
Wallpaper ” Only an architectural enthusiast would endeavor to build a home on this extremely steep site at Separation Creek, above Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. With a forty-five degree incline, the property challenged both the owners and architects, Jackson Clements Burrows (JCB) Architects. ‘Most of the one hectare site was too steep to build on. Only [...]
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agents of urbanism
25 May 2008
“A disposition of the urban condition.” website: http://agentsofurbanism.com addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Farchitecturelab.net%2F2008%2F05%2F25%2Fagents-of-urbanism%2F'; addthis_title = 'agents+of+urbanism'; addthis_pub = ''; Popularity: unranked [?]Rate this: 2.5
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Seoul City Hall: Unity and Multiplicity by Mass Studies
22 May 2008
Mass Studies ” This proposal is an attempt to unify the old Seoul City Hall and the new Seoul City Hall to create “one” space that is also at the same time of “many,” as an opportunity to create an architectural and urban embodiment of unity and multiplicity that is required by contemporary democracy in a [...]
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competitions & events
- dubai next: face of 21st century cultureJune 5, 2008 - September 14, 2008vitra design museum (fire station), weil am rhein, germany
curated by rem koolhaas & jack persekian
http://www.design-museum.de
the exhibition 'dubai next - face of 21st century culture' was conceived in collaboration with and on behalf of the dubai culture & arts authority and curated by rem koolhaas and jack persekian. - Will Alsop: OCAD, An Urban ManifestoJune 13, 2008 - October 5, 2008
The exhibition features British architect Will Alsop’s preparatory work for the Sharp Centre for Design at the Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD) in Toronto and reveals specifically the role of painting in his design process. More here - Vintage photography exhibitionJune 20, 2008 - August 3, 2008kunsthaus - Zurich
On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the birth of photography 1989, the Kunsthaus was fortunate enough to receive one of the most generous gifts in its history: an outstanding selection of 74 photographs – predominantly “vintage prints” – tracing the course of art-photography since the mid-19th century.
Website: http://www.kunsthaus.ch - Telephone: 41.(0)44 253 8484
Latest News
OBERLIN COLLEGE: Setting a Sustainable Example in Ohio
From Inhabitat
Just north of I-80, between Toledo and Cleveland, is an unexpected educational facility that is setting a shining example of sustainable building for ecological and human health. [...] Read
2008-07-03 22:49:34
Zaragoza Bridge Pavilion by Zaha Hadid 2
from dezeen
Here are some more photos and drawings of the Zaragoza Bridge Pavilion by Zaha Hadid Architects in Zaragoza, Spain. [...] Read
2008-07-02 23:57:22
The Politics of the Piazza: The History and Meaning of the Italian Square
Through a detailed study of the principal spaces of Italian cities, this book explores the relationship between political systems and their methods of representation in architecture. Illustrated by contemporary photographs and analytical drawings, it examines significant piazzas and situates these examples in their social and political contexts, highlighting the urban evidence of shifts between autocratic and democratic forms of government through history. [...] Check it
2008-07-02 23:52:43
"PDXplore" Exhibit Imagines A Future Portland
from Portland Architecture
Beginning this Thursday, the Pacific Northwest College of Art will play host to a month-long exhibit called "PDXplore: Designing Portland" in which five local members of the architecture and design community explore ideas about how Portland will grow and change in the years ahead. [...] Read
2008-06-30 23:41:24
BLDGBLOG's 4th of July Live Interview Marathon in London
from BLDGBLOG
I'm in London – in fact, I'm sitting at a table in the basement of the Building Centre – with some great things lined up for the week. One event, in particular, though, seems worthy of mention here.
This Friday, on the 4th of July, I will be moderating an all-day series of live interviews hosted at the Storefront for Art and Architecture's Pop Up London venue in the Exhibition Road, South Kensington, as part of the London Festival of Architecture. [...] Read 2008-06-30 23:34:56
flexibility - design in a fast changing society, turin, italy
from designboom
last week the exhibition 'flexibility - design in a fast-changing society' opened in turin, italy, the show is one of the
many events taking place in the city this year in conjunction with it being named the 'design world capital for 2008'. [...] Read 2008-06-30 23:23:57
Lidewij Edelkoort to resign from Design Academy Eindhoven
from dezeen
After ten years in the role, Lidewij Edelkoort will resign as chairwoman of the Design Academy Eindhoven this Autumn. [...] Read
2008-06-30 23:20:38
Phoenix Architecture: Part Three
from BUILD blog
Part three of our Phoenix series focuses on the public library. As this is our last in the series we are also including The Modern List Arizona and New Mexico, a two-page list of things hot and modern from hotels to restaurants to landscapes. [...] Read
2008-06-29 23:56:19
Review: The House of Viktor & Rolf
from iconeye
Does fashion belong in a gallery? This was the topic of one of the debates running alongside the House of Viktor & Rolf exhibition at the Barbican. [...] Read
2008-06-29 23:14:35
Urban Farm
from Metropolis Magazine
Summer kicks off in earnest today with the official opening of the annual Young Architects Program installation at P.S. 1. [...] Read
2008-06-29 01:09:50
Squint/Opera Depicts Future Life in Flooded London!
from Inhabitat
As part of London Festival of Architecture 2008, award-winning media production studio Squint/Opera depict London life in 2090, long after sea levels have risen from global warming. In a conversation with Inhabitat, Squint/Opera designer Nick Taylor explained how these images predict that humans will adapt to changed landscapes; “the images are optimistic and reveal that far from being a tragedy, the floods have brought about a much-improved way of life to the capital city.” [...] Read
2008-06-29 00:58:59
For whom the bell tolls
from BLDGBLOGEarlier this week, the Long Now Foundation looked at earthquake dampers inside skyscrapers, focusing specifically on Taipei 101 – a building whose unanticipated seismic side-effects (the building's construction might have reopened an ancient tectonic fault) are quite close to my heart. [...] Read
2008-06-26 23:06:54
a+u 2008:07
from a+u
Shinkenchiku-sha shows summary of the current issue of a+u magazine (2008:07) features architecture in Beijing. [...] Read
2008-06-26 23:03:58
NLA Skywalk by Carmody Groarke
from dezeen
Architects Carmody Groarke will build a 160m raised walkway in Montague Place in London this weekend as part of the London Festival of Architecture.[...] Read
2008-06-26 00:10:37
Coal Fired Power Plant Turned “Eco-Dome” in London
from Inhabitat
There is nothing quite like a creative redux on a post industrial site. When done right, innovative reuse and repurposing of obsolete structures can set some pretty amazing examples for a sustainable future. One such model conversion is taking root in the newly unveiled plan for Battersea Power Station in London. [...] Read
2008-06-23 23:21:12
Masdar Headquarters set a new paradigm
from ArchiEnvironemental
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture has won an international competition to design the Masdar Headquarters, the first building in the zero waste, zero carbon emission Masdar City outside of Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates. The Masdar Headquarters will be the first mixed-use positive energy building in the world. [...] Read
2008-06-23 23:13:02-
Dyson working on new generation of fast, green cars
from The Independent
Britain's most famous inventor, Sir James Dyson, is working on a project that could lead to the creation of a fast, green car. [...] Read
2008-06-23 23:09:25
Recommended Books
By Eamonn Canniffe
Town Spaces: Contemporary Interpretations in Traditional Urbanism
By Rob Krier
Richard Ross: Architecture of Authority
By John MacArthur (Author), Richard Ross (Afterword, Photographer)
The Destruction of Memory: Architecture at War
By Robert Bevan
A Critic Writes: Selected Essays by Reyner Banham (Centennial Books)
By Reyner Banham
By Richard B. Peiser
By Randal O'Toole
Last Harvest: How a Cornfield Became New Daleville
By Witold Rybczynski
Design Charrettes for Sustainable Communities
By Patrick M. Condon
Built or Unbuilt: Architects Present Their Favorite Projects
By Ursula Schwitalla
Frank Lloyd Wright in New York: The Plaza Years 1954-1959
By Jane King Hession & Debra Pickrel
By Le Corbusier
Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago (Illinois)
By Eric Klinenberg
Urban Fortunes: The Political Economy of Place
By John R. Logan & Harvey L. Molotch
The Ecology of Commerce A Declaration of Sustainability
By Paul Hawken
Urban Utopias in the Twentieth Century: Ebenezer Howard, Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier
By Robert Fishman
The City Shaped: Urban Patterns and Meanings Through History
By Spiro Kostof
Zoned Out: Regulation, Markets, and Choices in Transportation and Metropolitan Land Use
By Jonathan Levine
Cities of Tomorrow: An Intellectual History of Urban Planning and Design in the Twentieth Century
By Peter Hall
By Alan Durning
By Gordana Fontana Giusti
The Regional City: Planning for the End of Sprawl
by Peter Calthorpe & William Fulton
By Mike Davis
By Henri Lefebvre
By Paul Lukez
