BIG, Martha Schwartz Landscape, Buro Happold , Speirs & Major, Lutzenberger & Lutzenberger, and Global Cultural Asset Management are today announced as the winning team of the international design competition for a new 27.000 m2 cultural complex in Albania, consisting of a Mosque, an Islamic Centre, and a Museum of Religious Harmony.

The capital Tirana is undergoing an urban transformation which includes the restoration and refurbishment of existing buildings, the construction of a series of new public and private urban structures, and the complete reconceptualization of Scanderbeg Square. This important square is the site of the new cultural complex that will consist of a Mosque, an Islamic Centre, and a Museum of Religious Harmony.

Albania is the crossroads of three major religions: Orthodox Christianity; Catholicism; and Islam. With the recent completion of two new churches, all three religions will now have new places of worship in the heart of Tirana. The complex will not only serve the Muslim community of the city and surrounding areas, but will educate the public about Islamic values and serve as a beacon for religious tolerance.

BIG’s winning entry was selected out of five finalists, including Spanish Architect Andreas Perea Ortega, Architecture Studio from France, Dutch SeARCH and London-based Zaha Hadid.

“The winning proposal was chosen for its ability to create an inviting public space flexible enough to accommodate daily users and large religious events, while harmonically connecting with the Scanderbeg square, the city of Tirana and its citizens across different religions. Additionally the project shines through its beautiful garden surrounding the new Mosque and Center of Islamic Culture which symbolically features the rich vegetation described in Islamic literature. Finally the team’s awareness of the economic aspects of this important development will contribute to a successful realization of this project.” Mayor of Tirana, Edi Rama. Read the rest of this entry »

This contemporary habitable bridge in Italy was designed by architects Philippe Rizzotti, Vermet Tanguy, Manal Rachdi, and Samuel Nageotte. The project received the first prize of the Solar Park South International Competition.

The bridges allow a limited impact on the landscape. The local culture of Bergamotte, Italy demonstrates the region’s perfectly tempered weather (8°-30°C), and the volcanic area reveals a high energy potential. The climate and the site inspire vertical villages for the european snowbirds (housing/medical equipment/entertainment/shops) that are connected by walkways to the sea and highways to the cities. The system is autonomous regarding the main resources water and energy thanks to the rainwater and the geothermal power.

This contemporary archeology (the bridge over the bridge) results in a process where urban falls meet the climbing nature. The vertical privacy of the inhabited piles supports the horizontal sociability of the public equipped decks, while providing a unique view for each one, at every level. The combination between the infrastructure and the environment is efficient enough to establish a new responsible high quality way of living. Read the rest of this entry »

This “adventure house” designed by Mexico City-based Dellekamp Arquitectos was intended as an iconic statement of lifestyle for the area. Located in a fishermen region of virgin beaches and extremely low density, the Crusoe house provides a unique experience of the Río Lagartos reserve by facilitating contact with nature.

The multi-level house, inspired by local architecture, implements an experimental modern design that makes extensive use of wood and bamboo. The house resembles a forest of columns with a pending room structure that is articulated as a box system divided by shutters. Its open façade concept, facing north to the sea, keeps the house naturally cool and ventilated. All energy supply is based on a sustainable concept, making use of solar systems, water recycling-collecting and wind energy. The raised floor enhances bioclimatic regulation and allows a free corridor of fauna and vegetation. The construction is also hurricane friendly and envisages the rise of water level. Read the rest of this entry »

Hope Tree installation was envisioned by award-winning architecture firm, 24^o Studio, led by Fumio Hirakawa and Marina Topunova (both graduates of SCI-Arc) as a spatial condition that attended to question our surrounding as we know it and hoping to generate a discussion and understanding amongst the visitors about the place of our everyday life, our environment. Lately, we are bombarded with products that try to deal with the consequences of environmental damages throughout the world, but occasionally we overlook the roots of these occurring problems by not fully understanding our environment. Read the rest of this entry »

This project is a contemporary interpretation of the architecture of the 16th-century courtyard of the State University of Milan, translated and transformed from rigid Cartesian geometries into the linear fluidity of dynamic space.

Adapting to the natural contours of the courtyard and the forces that converge towards its center, the project emphasizes the slope of the arches, creating a powerful vortex of spatial distortion that favors dialogue with the surrounding colonnade.

The development of the complex three-dimensional curved geometries of the installation, starting with the flat ceramic tiles, adds another level of complexity to the whole. Visitors are encouraged to explore the sculptural sensibility and formal dynamic of different elements in which the balanced relationship between solids and voids expresses the project solution. Each individual piece can be interpreted not only as a whole, but also as a captured fragment of a magnetic field. A certain margin of strangeness introduces a stimulus that has evolved between latent force and physical material. Read the rest of this entry »

This almost caricatured example of architecture, establishes a specifically ironic approach to sustainability.  It refers to the production of brown coal, still one of the most exploited non-renewable energy sources. Making it into a outdated practice and exhibiting it as a museum artifact is what makes the design witty and interesting. To complete the architect’s statement, the building is conceived so it would rely on wind energy.

It contains an uncapped pipe, opened to the air at the ends. Thanks to the pressure difference between top and bottom, an air current is formed going up. Wind turbines installed at the top use the airflow in creating enough energy to light the tower all year round.

The building is made of slag concrete. It’s a combination of concrete and a by-product of burning coil. Slag is supposed to replace an expensive crushed stone filler added to the concrete itself. Read the rest of this entry »

In cooperation with BET architects from Ethiopia, Söhne und Partner won the international design competition for Ethiopian Airlines New Headquarter in Addis Ababa. The airline has shown progressive development since its establishment and is now one of the fast growing and reputed airlines in Africa. The new Head Quarter is, therefore, planned to address the need of its growth, dynamic operation and attaining its Vision-2025.

The landscape, being an important part of the interior design, is flowing through and underneath the building. The office blocks are cantilevered above the street level as a floating form. It recalls to mountains, canyons or rocks. Bridges are the connecting elements as a symbol of connecting cultures and nations. Like the landscape is flowing into the building, the lobby itself is floating and rising. Like the landscape is coming into the building, there are always connections from the inside to the outside. You always feel like being in nature. The gardens in between the office blocks are landscaped areas with trees, benches and art sculptures. Read the rest of this entry »

“The body of the Leviathan, especially his eyes, possesses great illuminating power.”

It is light that this creature thrives upon. It’s energy-regulated outer skin has the ability to to control the level of sunlight, depending on the needs of users, as well as the motion-based reaction to weather conditions. Flexible material of the skin can be rigidified, giving it a different appearance.

Kinetura is a design team led by Barbara van Biervliet and Xaveer Claerhout, established in 2006. They run an architecture office Claerhout-Van Biervliet since 1995 and are mostly engaged in more “down-to-earth” design.

The architects don’t seem to have concrete specifications about the system itself, as they are still in the process of developing the technology for Kinetower. Nevertheless, they emphasize that the project was an architectural exercise in conveying their design philosophy. Metamorphosis of space,  adjusting to functional and environmental demands can lead to, what can be called- “controlled spontaneity” of buildings. Read the rest of this entry »

Italian designers Francesco Colarossi, Luisa Saracino and Giovanna Saracino created a Solar Wind bridge project for a Solar Park Works – a competition in Italy. The aim of the competition was to get designers to imagine new ways to reuse an elevated highway between Bagnera and Scilla in Italy, incorporating new energy efficient solutions. The designers won second place for this project.

The proposed design has 26 wind turbines incorporated in structure of the bridge. They are integrated into the spaces between the bridge’s pillars. The traditional asphalt would be replaced with 20 km (12.4 miles) of solar roadways, consisting of a dense grid of solar cells embedded in the road surface, providing 11.2 million kWh per year. The designers claim this system, combined with the 26 wind turbines underneath the road would provide enough electricity to power approximately 15,000 homes.

In addition to the “solar roadways,” the top surface of the bridge would also include a “green promenade” along its length comprising solar greenhouses for growing local produce. Drivers would be able to stop along the bridge to buy some fresh fruit and vegetables while enjoying panoramic bridge views. Read the rest of this entry »

Invited by Excellence group from Shen Zhen in April 2010, EMBT designed an exhibition space celebrating one of China’s most prominent modern artists. Being the artist’s hometown, Neijiang is trying to promote itself through his art. The museum is to be built on peak of Dong Tong Lu, Yuan mountain, a site conveniently resembling  Zhang Da Qian’s main thematic inclinations in painting.

Conceived as a cluster of exhibition rooms, the design emulates the physiology of mountain tops, as if following Zhang Da Qian’s short brush strokes and swirling patterns. Laminated bamboo structure generates organic forms both shielding and directing the light inwards. The construction elements are used in a custom way and play a crucial part in the overall architectural imagery.

Far beyond simple mimicry, the design evokes Chinese traditional pagoda by successfully avoiding quotations. It establishes a dialogue between cultural essences of east and west, which, yet again, refers to the master’s artistic attitude. EMBT’s signature roof is also discreetly  inserted into the design. It makes  it distinctive, yet prevents the impression of repetitiveness. Read the rest of this entry »