In an attempt to both reference and reflect the changing landscape of Abu Dhabi, Becky Lam has designed a pneumatic tower to act as a gateway for the Saadiyat Island development that is currently under construction. In designing a skyscraper as a “gateway” for the new development, some of the biggest questions lie in the iconography of the building – what it symbolizes and what it represents. With the site currently devoid of a cohesive urban fabric, the proposal argues that Saadiyat Island lacks a legible architectural identity. Thus, Inflation is a temporary gateway that welcomes visitors to the changing landscape of the island while urban development is still under way. Creating a spectacle, this inflated skyscraper serves as an innovative pneumatic feat, accomplishing its role as a gateway by drawing even more attention to both Saadiyat and Abu Dhabi. Through its changing states of inflation and inherent impermanence, it acts as an icon that acknowledges the fleeting urban identities of today’s cities. Its façade is comprised of static, six-foot diameter pneumatic tubes punctuated with a series of dynamic billows that inflate and deflate based on occupancy. Together with a pillow-like core and a system of pneumatic beams that carry each floor plate, Inflation seeks to challenge the conventions of permanence and architectural hardscapes. Read the rest of this entry »
Inflation Tower – A Pneumatic Skyscraper for Abu Dhabi / Becky Lam
Compressive – A Skyscraper for Abu Dhabi / Sean Stillwell
Abu Dhabi is a car culture. The vast distances between destinations, the extreme heat and sand storms, the quality of the existing public transportation systems, and the current low cost of petrol in the UAE make the automobile the default means of transportation.
Compressive looks at this existing condition and, more specifically, the car as a representation of human beings’ very worst and very best achievement. While the resources consumed to manufacture and operate the car are astounding, the personal freedom the car affords is something that every society should strive for (personal freedom, that is). The car is an integral component of our existing lifestyle, and Compressive reexamines the interaction between person and car at various scales, while also questioning the current understanding of the parking lot as a type of “service space.” By utilizing the car as another form of vertical transportation the building can begin to register occupation by reacting to the weight of cars parked on various floors. By sectionally arranging the main programs of the mixed-use tower, groups of up to 5 floors will actually begin to sag with the weight of cars based on program use at different times throughout the day. The dynamic façade system intensifies this condition by folding out and up when the floors compress, allowing for more ventilation throughout the parking area in order to counteract the greater number of cars. Whatever solar protection is lost by the folding façade is made up for by the new condition of shorter floor-to-floor height of the surrounding parking ramps. Read the rest of this entry »
Shenzhen Cultural Complex – Green Design / Mecanoo Architecten
Mecanoo architecten has been declared winner for the design of the new cultural complex in Shenzhen. The 83,500 square meters of the cultural facilities will comprise a public art museum, science museum, youth center, a bookshop, and a public square and parking. The project is to provide the district with its own landmark and destination and transform the existing Longcheng Park into a lively destination point.
The key consideration for the design was connecting the new structure with the surrounding areas and new residential development. The linearity of the existing urban masterplan created a barrier between the western development area and Longcheng Park, further cutting up the area and contributing to its lack of urban vitality. Longcheng plaza will become a lively square which will further strengthen the quarter’s identity and provide residents and visitors with a much needed sense of place. Read the rest of this entry »
The Spiraling Library – National Library of Austria Extension / Chris Prechteck
Conceived as an extension of the Austrian National Library, the Chris Prechteck’s design proposal contains a number of cultural and educational facilities. Situated in the baroque settings of Vienna, in the vicinity of the Hofburg Palace, the building attempts to blend into the surroundings by creating a single spiraling gesture. Straddling the border of a nearby park, it contributes to the continuity of open public spaces by housing much of its content underground. Public circulation is uninterrupted by the extension, as a curvilinear roof garden in created at the top. The main entrance is accessible by vehicles through a drop-off and fire emergency line placed under the arch. Gradually descending towards the entrance, visitors are intuitively directed to the foyer, and into the programs. The project offers 1,200 square meters of exhibition space as well as 600 square meters of multifunctional facilities, creative studios, restaurants and shops.
Its faceted façade is reminiscent of the decorative ornamentation of baroque architecture. The mosaic form of crystal-like openings allows natural lighting to filter through the interior, creating strong light-and-shade contrasts. The seamless structure of the extension generates a discreet curvature in the urban landscape, offering a different spatial experience from each perspective, whether from the interior or from the street level. Read the rest of this entry »
Museum of World War II in Gdansk / Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects
Between monument and building, the proposal for the Gdansk World War II Museum Competition by Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects attempts to translate notions of conflict and peace into the sensory language of masses and forms. In addition to offering the expected range of exhibition and educational spaces, it focuses on portraying the duality of human nature. The concept of contrasts is consistently expanded by opposite treatment of building and landscape.
Monumental threes surrounding the building are part of the Bialowieza forest, one of the remaining parts of the immense primeval forest which once spread across the European Plain. During the war it served as refuge for Polish and Soviet partisans. It played a significant part in, as the architects state, “maintaining the continuity of Polish identity in times of political turmoil”. Flowing from below the hovering building, fractured paths extend towards the landscape and lead to small outdoor exhibits, as if discovering lost and found traces of the Great War. Read the rest of this entry »
Floating Off-Shore Stadium for FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar
Developed by the german architects stadiumconcept for the FIFA World Cup 2022 the Floating Off-Shore Stadium represents an extraordinary and ambitious concept – it can be regarded being the most sensational stadium solution since the emergence of modern sport arenas. The Floating OffShore Stadium is a swimming construction that can be relocated to seaside venues across the oceans.
Due to its global mobility it can be utilised by far more effectively as traditional stadiums as it could serve for more than one, for example, FIFA tournament. By shipping to the next venue this concept offers a visionary way to maximise the utilisation of long-term investments without sacrificing the efficient use of energy resources – the Floating OffShore Stadium is eco-efficiently powered by a blend of hybrid energies such as water, wind and solar power.
Its mobility and multi-decade utilisation and overall eco-efficiency bring significant advantages over traditional, on-shore stadium concepts. This concept consequently offers new ways for enjoying permanent financial profits for investors over a long period of time and public stakeholders alike – but at least it is created to enjoy the people around the world. Read the rest of this entry »
GSI Tower in Cancun / Sanzpont Arquitectura
GSI Tower is designed by Sanzpont Arquitectura, and will be located in Cancun, Mexico. This 20-storey building will house a shopping mall, hotel and offices, and consists of 2 vertical bodies that meet at the top by 2 habitable bridges with an interior garden to form a large frame of the natural landscape.
The Building is protected from the sun on the western face with a ventilated façade made of alucobond in the form of fish scales, indirect natural light is filtered inside between the horizontal louvers of its perimeter. In the eastern façade, the building skin is designed with a set of serigraph, sandblasted and transparent glass that take advantage of the natural views of the Golf Course and the Caribbean Sea. It gives the city an elevated public square that generates an urban green balcony. As an added value, the building allows the public to continue to rise even more, because it has a restaurant lounge at the top level. With all this, the vertical infrastructure integrates with the city life and urban environment. Read the rest of this entry »
The 2012 Olympic Velodrome in London won Building of the Year Award / Hopkins Architects
The Olympic Velodrome designed by Hopkins Architects, one of the four permanent venues on the Olympic Park and designed for the indoor track cycling events at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games won the Architects’ Journal Building of the Year award. The facility was unilaterally agreed upon by judges for the prize due to its “near perfect synthesis of form and function”, as described by jury member Patrik Schumacher of Zaha Hadid Architects.
The jury, which also comprised Frank Duffy (DEGW) and Christine Murray (AJ editor), were particularly impressed by the beauty of the cedar cladding, the ingenious lightweight double cable-net roof, the dominance of natural light and the Velodrome’s beauty in section.
Last year, Hopkins’ Kroon Hall at Yale University received the Building of the Year award. Read the rest of this entry »
Museum of Art and Design at Dundee, Scotland / Kengo Kuma
The stunning design by Japanese-based architects Kengo Kuma and Associates was selected by an international jury as the choice for the V&A at Dundee following an extensive process of consultation and evaluation, including meeting with all the architects and their teams, visiting their existing buildings, and establishing the feasibility of the project to meet the tight timescales and budget.
The public’s views were given serious attention in the process after thousands of individuals completed questionnaires and commented on the proposals. 15,000-plus people visited the exhibition and many more viewed it online.
Reaction to the six shortlisted proposals was not confined to the world of design but went right back to the man on the street – on the same day that Vogue.com ran an article on Kengo Kuma & Associates, the Dundee United Football Club supporters blog buzzed with positive opinion on the winning design.
The chosen design (which references the V&A at Dundee’s celebrated neighbour, the RRS Discovery) is a striking building that will come to represent Dundee and has the potential to be one of Europe’s most iconic buildings. Once built, the building itself will appear to ‘float’ on the water. Read the rest of this entry »
Museum of Ocean and Turf / Steven Holl Architects and Architect Solange Fabiao
The Museum of Ocean and Turf designed by Steven Holl and Solange Fabiao is ready to open its doors in June 2011.
The building form derives from the spatial concept “under the sky”/“under the sea”. A concave “under the sky” shape forms the character of the main exterior space, the “Place de l’Océan.” The convex structural ceiling forms the “under the sea” exhibition spaces. The building’s spatial qualities are experienced already at the entrance where the lobby and ramps give a broad aerial view of the exhibition areas, as they pass along the dynamic curved surface that is animated by moving image and light.
The precise integration of concept and topography gives the building a unique profile. Towards the ocean, the concave form of the building plaza is extended through the landscape. With slightly cupped edges, the landscape, a mix of field and local vegetation, is a continuation of the building and will host festivals and daily events that are integrated with the museum facilities. Read the rest of this entry »