London-based architect Daniel Widrig designed a set of stackable side tables for a private exhibition in London. Its organic and nature-inspired geometry, fluid lines, and colors remind us Art Nouveau at the turn of the 20th century. Read the rest of this entry »
Kroon Hall at Yale University was named “Building of the Year” by the UK’s architecture sector, during the prestigious AJ100 awards. The new building, designed by Hopkins Architects for the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, was one of six shortlisted entries – from a total of 33 – and ultimately selected as the winner by a panel of expert judges.
The judges were impressed with the school’s simple, aesthetic form and green credentials – the project has been awarded LEED* ‘Platinum’, the highest certification, and is designed to be as close to carbon neutral as possible. Clad with yellow Briar Hill stone, the structure is lined with American red oak, much of which has been sourced from the university’s own forests. Read the rest of this entry »
The Architectural Association School is mounting the first ever retrospective of the books produced by the Office for Metropolitan Architecture – a practice co-founded by a writer, Rem Koolhaas, largely on the basis of a book, Delirious New York (1978).
The centrepiece of the show is a specially-made 40,000-page book, binding together hundreds of OMA’s pamphlets and books made over 35 years of architectural thought, work and provocation.
OMA Book Machine: The Books of OMA runs from 8 May until 4 June 2010 at the AA School Gallery.
Many OMA books – like S,M,L,XL (1995) and Exodus or the Voluntary Prisoners of Architecture (made by the founders of OMA in 1975, and submitted by Koolhaas as his fifth-year thesis at the AA) – have had a decisive impact on architectural practice and book publishing in general. Read the rest of this entry »
Last week we compiled photos of all the national pavilions at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. This time we want to show you all the pavilions built by corporations and institutions.
Aurora Pavilion
On May 17th, 2010 the City Museum of Antwerp (MAS) designed by Neutelings Riedijk Architecten was completed and the international architectural press was invited to an exclusive visit of the building. The museum will remain closed to the public for one year until all the artworks and exhibitions have been completed. Read the rest of this entry »
Designed by Alisa Andrasek, the Seroussi Pavilion was “grown” out of self-modifying patterns of vectors based on electro-magnetic fields (EMF). Through logics of attraction/repulsion trajectories were computed in plan and than lifted via series of structural microarching sections through different frequencies of sine function. Additional feature built into script allows for local adaptation to the site in regards to the section (pavilion is implanted into a steep hill _ EMF trajectories needed to “find the ground”). Six different geometrical systems were used for design and are all steaming out of primary trajectories. The plan of the pavilion differs greatly from a classical notion of architectural plan drawing _ it is a dynamic blueprint closer to musical notation _ deep ecology of imbedded algorithmic and parametric relationships are the seed for possible materialization procedures and adaptation to the site conditions. In a design of the roof tilling resolution was increased by the algorithmic differentiation of components features. Read the rest of this entry »
pALICE Exhibition by SOFTlab
The American Institute of Architects New York Chapter announced the winners of its biennial design competition, New Practices New York, which recognizes innovative new architecture firms.
In order to qualify for the competition, the practices had to be founded since 2004, and be located within the five boroughs. This is the first year that the New Practices competition has been open to firms without a registered architect, widening the field of entrants to architectural designers and young professionals in the process of becoming licensed architects. Sixty-five registrants entered, and a distinguished panel of jurors selected the competition’s winners on Wednesday, May 12. The jury members were: Toshiko Mori, Joe MacDonald, William Menking, Guy Nordenson, and Galia Solomonoff.
The New Practices New York 2010 competition winners are: Easton+Combs, Archipelagos, Leong Leong, Manifold, SOFTlab, SO-IL, and Tacklebox. Read the rest of this entry »
The Dutch Selection Committee led by Herman Tjeenk Willink announced the sixteen finalists for The Hague’s Dance and Music Center Competition. Renowned architects such as Zaha Hadid, OMA, Diller Scofidio & Renfro, and Mecanoo are among the selected proposals. The projects have been on display since April 20th, 2010 at The Hague City Hall and the public has been invited to vote for their favorite proposal. The Committee will select three firms to further develop their idea.
1. Aedas Limited
Born from unique environmental conditions, GEOtube is a new kind of urban sculptural tower designed by California-based Faulders Studio. Gravity-sprayed with adjacent Persion Gulf waters, its building skin is entirely grown rather than constructed; is in continual formation rather than fully completed; and is created locally rather than imported. The world’s highest salinity for oceanic water is found in the Persian Gulf (and the Red Sea) – local salt water is supplied to GEOtube via a new 4.62 km buried pipeline and misted onto the tower’s exposed mesh. As the water evaporates and salt deposits aggregate over time, the tower’s appearance transforms from a transparent skin to a highly visible white solid plane. The result is a specialized habitat for wildlife that thrives is this environment, and an accessible surface for the harvesting of crystal salt. Read the rest of this entry »
London-based architect Daniel Widrig has recently unveiled the Lexus Tower, a 98,000 sqm development in Japan. The futuristic design will include apartments, shopping center, hotel, and recreational areas. One of the most fascinating aspects of the proposal is the structural skin that fuses with the landscape in a fluid and organic form. The development will occupy four city blocks – a large green area with cycling paths, lake, and botanical gardens. Moving away from the traditional dichotomy of towers resting on plinths, Daniel designed a continuous skyscraper that masterfully integrates with the urban fabric – a soft transition between the horizontal and vertical planes. Read the rest of this entry »
