Aging in Africa sets out to be the first age-valued community on the African continent where the elderly can maintain a meaningful and healthy lifestyle in a comfortable, familiar, and safe environment.

Designed by HWKN Architects, the architecture responds to the needs of the elderly, but also embodies a strong tie to the land, to community and to place. The designers explain that the project “is shaped by deploying a holistic set of social, economic and environmentally sustainable theories pertaining to elder living and care. It is about architecture that does not just house caring, it is architecture as the caring device. Our hope is that it is an inspiration for a new breed of community that values the efficacy of spirit over efficiency of care.” Read the rest of this entry »

At once evoking a spine, an alien creature, and a psychedelic interpretation of the formal French gardens of old, this amazing rethinking of what a botanical garden can be challenges the mind and the senses.

Based on the development of designer Robert May’s personal understanding of the aesthetic sensibility of Extravagance, the project for a new botanical gardens in Moscow uses coherence in excess as a principle that operates on multiple levels. Read the rest of this entry »

As one of the largest and most renowned cultural institutions in Québec, Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec houses extensive collections of historic and contemporary art and hosts major traveling exhibitions from across the globe. At present, the museum is located in three existing structures of varied history, purpose and architectural expression, but its small size has limited the scope of exhibitions it can mount. An international competition calling for proposals to extend the current museum was organized and generated worldwide interest, eventually won by OMA.

BIGs proposal developed jointly with Fugère Architectes for the extension is conceived as an open framework for exhibitions. The two main facades are conceived as gigantic windows revealing the changing content inside. In reverse the museum visitors will be able to enjoy the fantastic panorama of the Parc des Champs-de-bataille as well as the rare elevation of the church and convent courtyard on the opposite side. Visitors will enter along Quebec’s Grande Allé into the underside of the tilted volume of the new edition to the generous lobby underneath. This loft like space of industrial proportions in principle stretches all the way to the Charles Baillargé, hosting all the facilities related to ticketing, information, shop, art-café etc. We propose to expand and open the connections between the pavilions, transforming the museum complex into an integrated network of generous galleries rather than a cluster of distant rooms linked with tunnels. Read the rest of this entry »

The newly opened Unilever Headquarters for Northern Europe has two basic principles in mind-sustainability through low energy use and a social climate based on a town center. The first is achieved though carful thermal control elements and the latter though a large day lit atrium. The headquarters is located on the Elbe River in Hamburg, Germany. Read the rest of this entry »

Today, more cities and urban centers are building dedicated bicycle lanes on city streets. Cycling is becoming an increasingly viable way to commute to work and make short, local trips around town.  However, cycling is also a fair- weather transportation option and often carrying groceries or other items is relegated to a small wicker basket perched precariously on the handle bars. The reality is that most climates and most cities need a viable alternative to make short distance commuting a reality for self propulsion. The TrikE is designed to be a true alternative to the car for local transportation. Read the rest of this entry »

designed by Felix Lupatsch, Ferdinand Sauerbruch
Germany

Neva Hybrid is a mixed-use skyscraper to be located in the new Western District of St. Petersburg as part of the land reclamation project that will gain 450 square hectares from the Gulf of Finland. Its design maximizes natural light and ventilation in the offices, residences and hotel. Sky lobbies every 20 floors are used as social joints with restaurants, shops, theatres, bars, and clubs. Read the rest of this entry »

Queensland, Australia-based, Riddel Architecture has completed work on a new high-end private residence constructed almost entirely from the house it replaced. Situated in Hill End, inner Brisbane, Australia, the Hill End Ecohouse was built from recycled materials, using 95% of the salvaged material from the 19th Century house that originally occupied its narrow riverfront site. The original house was built around 1930. The original owners watched the building progress with keen interest and conveyed to the current owners that the original timber was harvested and milled at Blackbutt, 165 km from the site. Read the rest of this entry »

designed by Carlos Morales Hendry, Julian Restrepo, Pablo Forero, Andrea Montes, Luis Hernan Saenz
Colombia

This proposal utilizes garbage and industrial waste as its main building material – a symbol and a statement against irresponsible consumerism. It is located in Bogota, Colombia, close to a large urban park, in a densely populated area with good transportation services. Its program includes sport facilities, hotel, offices, museum, and restaurants. Read the rest of this entry »

The main entrance of Zara’s flagship store on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan plays host to an eye-catching installation created by the Netherlands-based design firm UNStudio. The piece represents the Inditex Group retailer’s nod to events planned in Milan to coincide with the city’s International Furniture Fair. The installation stands a spectacular five metres tall and has a diameter of 4.85 metres, with a total surface area of 130m2. The coated aluminium structure is lit from within using LEDs, and is echoed in two smaller pieces displayed in the shop’s windows. Read the rest of this entry »

designed by Matthew Graham, Mike Lamprides  
United States

As India approaches the 63rd anniversary of its independence, it is emerging as a cricket powerhouse. The sport that was left behind by the British, over a hundred years ago, has ultimately been adopted, creating a recreational gift to the nation. The sport has political and cultural implications reaching far beyond the imperialist colonization which initially engendered it. In the ICCT tower we will challenge the very nature of the skyscraper by aggressively reinterpreting programmatic, scalar, and contextual norms. Read the rest of this entry »