Set on a small island on Hawkesbury River in New South Wales, Australia the Milson Island Sports Stadium goes to great lengths to engage with the environment. The building is used for sports activities and performance and is a organic backdrop for camp assembly set in the natural confines of the island. Allen Jack + Cottier Architects designed an oval shaped span with a plywood skin for a 30% lighter structure to simplify erection on the site which is accessed only by boat.

The stadium was set to the side of an open area as not to become overbearing on the site. The oval shape is glazed the bottom four feet in vision glass for children to have a direct connection to the outside. Interior light bleeds out night to illuminate the adjacent land but cuts glare and avoids light pollution. Natural light is filtered into the interior by a series of roof skylights set above grills. Read the rest of this entry »

Award-winning architects KSP Jürgen Engel Architekten International has won the first prize in an international competition for the new Beijing Science Center. The original building housing the Museum was opened at the same location in Beijing in 1988 and at the time was the first national science and technology museum in China. The museum building will be constructed on behalf of the Beijing Association for Science and Technology, China.

In the south and east the building opens onto a spacious public plaza, shielding the adjoining residential quarters in the north from the busy roads. At the same time the museum forecourt is not only the place where visitors arrive but also somewhere the inhabitants of the neighbouring districts can spend time. Trees and expanses of greenery create a natural transition and a visual dividing line between the exhibition building and the road. Read the rest of this entry »

The design for Rio de Janeiro’s Olympic Port is a collaboration between JDS architects and NE Arquitetura that seeks to redefine how new neighborhoods are conceived.  When looking at the creation of any new neighbourhood we need to identify qualities and clarify what its identity and attractiveness will be both for the city and for its inhabitants. For Porto Olympico the architects wanted to bring a new life to the area by creating a development which is turned inside out. Rather than making a simple series of towers with all the life on the interior, it is a project which is defined by a thousand parks, balconies, and plateau’s of life and vitality. The concept for public spaces as well as outdoor private terraces are employed to bring social life back to the city. In a city like New York the height and density follows rules and regulations that require the buildings to step back making huge terraces all over the city which are much sought after. This allows the buildings to feel less massive on the street scale. Read the rest of this entry »

Transported by two containers and designed to be installed in five days, which are essential for an ephemeral and itinerant pavilion, the Mobile Cultural Pavilion by Frentes and Pax.arq consists primarily of 3 elements: A set of scaffolding towers, lightweight temporary autonomous structures, which are easily assembled, very stable and adaptable to any kind of terrain. Mounted with different heights up to 10 m, their role is to define interior spaces, structuring floors and ramps as well as securing the cover. Their positions shall be defined according to the chosen installation site. Prism Measuring 15m high, built of scaffolding, consisting of four pavements whose floors are sustained by inflatable beams, it is wrapped in a plastic waterproof canvas, besides being the vertical reference of the intervention, transforming the spaces according to its position, like a large panel, it has the function of sheltering areas of technical collection and general storage, also serving as a film projection screen. Read the rest of this entry »

The Star Performing Art Center designed by Aedas Limited is located in the Vista Xchange precinct of One-North, Singapore. The 54,000m2 development comprises of cultural, civic, and retail spaces and when complete will provide a premier entertainment, lifestyle, and retail experience for not only the One-North area but also the wider Singapore community.

The structure responds to the challenging site topography as the zone spirals inwards addressing the major entry points that ultimately culminate in an open amphitheatre. Instead of a singular expression, the complex celebrates the rich and varying activities inside whilst maintaining functionality. The design is driven by the desire to blur the boundaries between retail and cultural zones, public and private, and indoor and outdoor spaces with flowing spatial transitions that encourage discovery and deliver a dynamic energy to the visitors. Read the rest of this entry »

The Why Factory is a revolutionary think-tank founded by the Delft University of Technology and award-winning architecture firm MVRDV. The studio is led by Winy Maas and concentrates on the production of models and visualizations of future cities. We are really excited about this topic which we extensively covered it in the latest edition of our print publication ‘eVolo_03 – Cities of Tomorrow’.

One of the most stunning designs is a floating city in Phuket, Thailand composed of a series of islands that resemble an open water lily. The islands are designed to maximize their ability to capture solar energy through a series of large-scale petals or photovoltaic cells which are incredibly efficient, sustainable, and stunning.  Read the rest of this entry »

Placing 3^rd at the London 2012 Olympic Games Information Pavilion Competition, the proposal introduces a recognizable and engaging form to London’s Trafalgar Square. A folded athletic track starts at the higher level of the square in front of the National Gallery, traversing a stairway and leading visitors to a lookout point. At the middle of its length a folded segment creates a separating track which descends towards a live event display screen.  The fold itself shelters the pavilion’s main entrance and facilities such as the cafe, souvenir shop and information stand, along with necessary technical facilities.

The material, placement and form of the structure are derived from the environmental analysis of the site and support a sustainable design approach. The track is made from Nike “Grind” recycled running shoes. It orientation maximizes the utilization of daylight and cross-ventilation for passive cooling, with the adjacency of fountains contributing to the cooling effect. Read the rest of this entry »

The Everrest project designed by Simon Takasaki is a  monument that commemorates the end of mining in Duhamel, Germany. The design characterizes by its careful integration to the landscape, urban context, and historical site.. 
The 30 meters-high, walk-in sculpture, holds the ‘path of the history’ of the site. 
As a memorial, the sculpture offers the viewer a path within a mountain appearing as part of the natural topography.
 The path leads over a natural base of broken bricks, boulders, and a well lit and airy great hall -a space designed for contemplation and inspiration. 
It serves for exhibitions or smaller events such as chamber of music or reading room . Read the rest of this entry »

The aim of the CCP Architectural Design Competition for the Artist’s Center and Performing Arts Theater in Philippines was to create a new theater building next to the existing one, within the Arts Sanctuary Cluster of the 62 hectare property. Buensalido Architects, an architectural practice based in Manila’s Makati City, proposed a design which tries to represent the cultural diversity and interweaving of different artistic attitudes . By comparing the cultural blend to the interlaced threads of tapestries, the design concept evolves, establishing two structures as architectural threads originating from various locations within the cultural complex. The structures are then connected with imaginary splines that wrap around the given sites. The curvilinear threads blend, creating strong volumes that culminate in an upward sweep towards the sea at the New Performing Arts Theater site.

Unlike the old performing arts building, dominated by vehicular access routes, the new structure emphasizes the pedestrian qualities of the site. With ramps, bridges and steps, the open public space surrounding the building is transformed into several smaller plazas, suitable for outdoor activities, art installations and performances. Read the rest of this entry »

Harvest Green Project explores the notion of the “foregrounding” a new agri-food system in and around the strategic urban location of an arterial transit hub. By 2050, there will be globally an additional 3 billion people to feed, and traditional farming simply can’t sustain this increase in population. Therefore, incorporating urban farming prominently into the fabric of the city, and in a synergistic mixed-use development integrated with transit, is a way to re-assert the cultural and environmental importance of locally produced food to the health and sustainability of the city and its residents.

If successfully implemented, projects like the The Harvest Tower, designed by Canada-based firm Romses Architects, can offer the promise of urban renewal, sustainable production of a safe and varied food supply, year round crop production, and the eventual repair of ecosystems that have been sacrificed for large-scale traditional horizontal farming. Read the rest of this entry »