A total of 34 countries will participate in the inaugural London Design Biennale, according to a press release from the organization. Set to open on September 7th, the Biennale will center on the theme Utopia by Design, looking at “sustainability, migration, pollution, water and social equality,” among other issues.
The theme was chosen in honor of the 500th anniversary of the publication of Thomas More’s “Utopia,” and the Biennale will be “the centerpiece” of the Somerset House’s year-long programme celebrating the text. “We chose the inaugural theme, Utopia by Design, to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the publication of Thomas More’s classic, and to reflect on the rich history of the modernist design it inspired,” said Christopher Turner, the Director of the London Design Biennale.
The Biennale “will present newly commissioned works in contemporary design, design-led innovation, creativity and research,” bringing together “designers, innovators and cultural bodies” to explore “the role of design in our collective futures.” A diverse group of countries from five continents are set to participate: Albania, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Chile, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, SouthAfrica, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, UK and the USA.
Among the projects that have already been unveiled is Mexican architect Fernando Romero’s “exploration of the potential of charters cities” through an installation that examines “the pyschologcial roots of Utopia from German designer Konstantin.” Nigeria’s project, meanwhile, will look at floating cities as a potential solution to flooding in the country, while Greece’s project will “contextualize current population movements.”
The Chilean installation, “The Counterculture Room” by Fab Lab Santiago will consist of a 1:1 scale installation of a project carried out by the government of Salvador Allende in 1971, which aimed to create a real time communication network between workers and authorities.
Israel’s proposal looks at an option to parachute first aide into disaster zones, while Lebanon “will bring a lively depiction of Beirut’s street spirit” to the River Terrace by the Waterloo bridge.
In addition, the UK will be represented by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby and curated by the Victoria and Albert Museum. Other organizations that will represent their countries include: the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (USA), DAMnation (Belgium), German Design Council, Directorate-General for the Arts (Portugal), Moscow Design Museum (Russia), Triennale Design Museum (Italy), India Design Forum, Southern Guild (South Africa),and The Japan Foundation.
From the architect. In our spatial searches, mosconi 3 adds to the concepts of open ground floor and permeability between urban and semi-private spaces, experimentation in the succession of spaces and boundaries within 3 functional units that make up the project.
Longitudinal Section AA
Detail 2
Continuity with the street is through am open ground floor on which a series of boxes containing the housing units appear to float: a heavier box that encloses the first two identical floors, and another lighter box off from the previous one with a glazed light transition.
The functional units feature a succession of terraces between environments, a spatial continuity that links the different urban spaces (courtyards) and generate cross ventilation and natural lighting.
The structure of the parasol system made of iron and wood, fixed and mobile, is what will limit the entry of light and heat, as well as security and privacy, as a transition element between urban-terrace-private space, which contributes to sustainability, and finishes the volume of the project, closing and intensifying the concrete boxes.
The four finalists, clockwise: Samuel Bravo, Matilde Cassani, Pier Paolo Tamburelli and Anna Puigjaner. Image via Wheelwright Prize
Harvard GSD has announced the four shortlisted architects for the 2016 Wheelwright Prize. Awarded annually, the $100,000 grant is for travel-based architectural research.
Selected from 200 applications from nearly 45 countries worldwide, the four finalists are from Italy, Spain and Chile. Each finalist will present their work and proposal on April 20. This year’s jury includes Eva Franch, Jeannie Kim, Kiel Moe, Rafael Moneo, Benjamin Prosky, Mohsen Mostafavi, and K. Michael Hays.
The four finalists and their proposals are:
Cultural Frictions: A Transference, From Traditional Architecture to Contemporary Production
Samuel Bravo — Samuel Bravo Arquitecto, Santiago, Chile BArch 2009, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile
Samuel Bravo is a licensed architect in Chile. He has worked in a variety of contexts in South America, from Patagonia to the Amazon, developing the relationship between traditional building practices and contemporary architectural production. He is a founding member of Tarapacá Project (2005–11), an initiative aimed at reconstructing heritage areas damaged by earthquakes. The initiative, a collaboration with architect Bernadette Devilat, was launched after the 2005 earthquake in northern Chile and addressed issues such as preservation, vernacular building practices, and public housing policies. Since 2009, he has been working with the Shipibo, an indigenous community of San Francisco de Yarinacocha in the Amazon rainforest in Peru. He collaborated with Sandra Iturriaga on the design of the Ani Nii Shöbo Healing Center (2009–12), a shamanic lodge and retreat, and the Nii Juinti traditional school (2014) for Shipibo children. His work has been exhibited in the 16th and 17th Architectural Biennale in Santiago de Chile and the 12th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale (2010), and has been published in ARQ, CA, and Casabella. Since 2012, Bravo has taught architectural design as assistant professor at Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.
Once in a Lifetime: The Architecture of Ritual in Pilgrimage Sites
Matilde Cassani — Milan, Italy BArch 2005, Politecnico di Milano; Postgraduate degree 2011, Architecture and Urban Culture, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya; Ph.D. 2013, Spatial Planning and Urban Development, Politecnico di Milano
Matilde Cassani directs her own practice in Milan, working in architecture, art, installation design, and exhibition curation. After receiving her architecture degree from the Politecnico di Milano, she worked in Sri Lanka as a consultant for the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), a German organization dedicated to international technical cooperation for sustainable development. Her work focused on post-tsunami reconstruction and launched her interest in the spatial implications of cultural pluralism in the contemporary Western urban context, which defines her practice today. Many of her projects deal with the varied uses and experiences of public places, such as Sacred Spaces in Profane Buildings at Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York in 2012, an exhibition that explored the impact of religious diversity on the contemporary city; and Countryside Worship, her contribution to the Monditalia, a section in the 14th Venice Architecture Biennale (2014), large lenticular prints with alternating views of the Italian countryside, empty and full of worshippers. The piece was recently acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Her work has been published in Architectural Review, Domus, Abitare, Arqa, Arkitecktur, and MONU. She has been an artist-in-residence at Akademie Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart (2011) and at the Headlands Center for the Arts in Marin, California. She has taken part in many international conferences and lectured in various international Universities such as Columbia University in New York and L’Ecole Spéciale d’Architecture in Paris. Cassani currently teaches at the Politecnico di Milano, her alma mater, and at the Domus Academy.
Kitchenless City: Architectural Systems for Social Welfare
Anna Puigjaner — MAIO, Barcelona BArch 2004, MArch 2008, and Ph.D. 2014, Escola Tècnica Superior d’Architecture de Barcelona-Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (ETSAB-UPC)
Anna Puigjaner is the cofounder of MAIO, an architectural office in Barcelona with an interest in flexible systems, including notions such as variation, ephemerality, and ad hocism. Founded in 2005 with partners Maria Charneco, Alfredo Lérida, and Guillermo López, MAIO was a finalist in the MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program in 2014 and participated in the 2015 Chicago Architecture Biennial with an installation called Floating, a series of inflated columns that traveled throughout the space. It drew from previous works such as Floating: Urban Activator (Barcelona, 2011) and Urban Space System (Barcelona, 2014), which utilized flexible devices to delineate new gathering spots or “monuments” in public spaces. The firm’s work has been published in magazines such as Domus, AIT, Volume, Blueprint, A10, and Detail. Its awards include FAD Award 2015 and 2013, Arquia/Proxima Award 2014, XII BEAU, and New Working Fields Award CSCAE 2009. Puigjaner’s personal work explores the potentiality of spatial orders, constraints, rules, and instructions in between the domestic and the urban sphere. She is currently the editorial director of architectural magazine Quaderns d’Arquitectura i Urbanisme, and teaches architecture at her alma mater, the Escola Tècnica Superior d’Architecture de Barcelona-Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, and the Massana School of Design. She has also lectured at Columbia University GSAPP, Yale University, and Universidade de Lisboa, among other universities.
Wonders of the Modern World
Pier Paolo Tamburelli— baukuh architects, Milan and Genoa MArch 2002, University of Genoa; Advanced MArch 2004, The Berlage Institute
Pier Paolo Tamburelli is the founder, along with Paolo Carpi, Silvia Lupi, Vittorio Pizzigoni, Giacomo Summa, and Andrea Zanderigo, of the firm baukuh. Established in 2004, the firm has realized a wide range of work, including public and mixed-use buildings, historic renovations, masterplans, and exhibition designs. Some key projects include the library for the Genoa Chamber of Trade (2009), the Italian Pavilion for the Shanghai Expo (2010), and an apartment block in Tirana, Albania. baukuh took part in the Rotterdam Biennale (2007 and 2011), Istanbul Biennial (2012), Venice Architecture Biennale (2008 and 2012), and Chicago Architecture Biennial (2015), and was part of the research group for the Dutch National History Museum (2011). Tamburelli worked with Domus (2004–07) and is one of the founders and editors of the architectural magazine San Rocco and of the website The Tomorrow. He has lectured at a number of schools and cultural institutions, including the Architectural Association London, University of California at Berkeley, Cornell University, EPFL Lausanne, ETSAM Madrid, ETHZ Zurich, Kunsthal Rotterdam, MAXXI Rome, Tongji University Shanghai, and Triennale di Milano. Tamburelli has taught at the PUSA Aleppo, the Berlage Institute Rotterdam, and University of Illinois at Chicago. He is currently a visiting professor at the Politecnico di Milano.
The design arises to generate a continuous path that would connect the three different types of activities located in the project. A coffee area, a showroom for bicycle sales and a repair shop are the three areas that make up the project.
In this way the plant is distributed in three half levels. On the ground floor is the coffee area, with spatial qualities that give this first space a direct relationship with the outside. At the first level we can locate the area for exhibition and sale of bicycles where models for all types of users are displayed, from beginners to experts.
Axonometric
And finally the whole cycling community but mainly local buyers are offered the repair shop for any type of repair, adaptation or improvement of bicycles. The workshop is located on the third level of the project.
For a project in Maine, the author lived in the neighborhood and held charettes, presentations, and workshops in his cottage. Illustration: Adapted by Stoltze Design from a drawing by Russell Preston. Image
Too often community engagement can be seen as an afterthought, carried out in a dull and unengaging way. But does it always have to be this way? In this article from ArchitectureBoston’s Spring 2016 Issue, originally titled “Bring on the joy: Civic engagement strategies in the age of Twitter,” Russell Preston makes a case for more dynamic public engagement, citing several examples where “engagement is actually the process” rather than just a “required step to a planning process.
In New England, changing zoning is more difficult than sending someone to the moon. In the spring of 2015, Dan Bacon, planning director for Scarborough, Maine, asked for help implementing a better zoning code for Higgins Beach, a picturesque community of largely seasonal residents. Outdated regulations were putting its historic character in jeopardy. Different tactics were needed to successfully change the zoning before the next season of construction.
The hard task was helping the residents understand that they controlled future development with their own regulations. Change like this takes trust, and my team did not have months to build that trust. The best tactic? Become locals. We decided to live in the neighborhood, and in June of 2015, we rented a cottage with a large living room to host a multiday planning charette. Every meeting, presentation, and workshop was held in that cottage.
With our open-door policy, it was not uncommon to come downstairs in the morning to find the dining-room table already filled with residents talking about the future of their neighborhood over breakfast. This all-access approach allowed us to educate in a much more meaningful way than a typical public meeting held on a Thursday evening in a school cafeteria. We could take impromptu walking tours to help neighbors see their community with new eyes. Late into the evening, we would talk on the porch with people who were curious as to what was going on. It didn’t take long before we were welcomed into the fold with sandwiches and blueberry pies.
What does it really mean to engage the public? Engagement has become so much more than just a required step to a planning process. When engagement is actually the process, one asks different questions, solves problems more collaboratively, and starts a genuine dialogue with the community—letting plans emerge that previously might never have been possible.
Crucial to this process in the Higgins Beach experience was allowing the community to criticize what they saw being drawn. These “pin-up” sessions, similar to a design school critique, were essentially listening labs, after which we would make changes, present refinements, and repeatedly alter the proposal. We held the final “pin-up” on the front lawn of the cottage on a Sunday morning, complete with fresh local donuts. On December 2, 2015, six months from the start of the process, the new zoning code for the neighborhood was formally adopted.
This approach to planning is happening all over the country. The Tennessee Brewery, a significant historical complex in Memphis, ceased operations in 1954. In the spring of 2014, when the then owners announced their desire to demolish it, a team of eight local “tacticians” mobilized to save the building. Naming the effort “Tennessee Brewery Untapped,” they envisioned a pop-up restaurant, a bar, a game room, a beer garden, and an event courtyard for the space; for six weeks during the summer—for the first time in a generation—people were able to drink beer there again.
More than 25,000 people came through the doors to experience this pop-up. The community was asked to help with cleanup, building furniture and fixtures for the space, an effort organized through its Facebook page. Reaching thousands of “likes” within hours earned media coverage and a clever social media presence that used a witty approach with such lines as “We haven’t sent beer out of here since 1954.” Twitter and Instagram posts featured familiar graffiti art found on the brewery as imagery in the marketing. The “Untapped” event accomplished what had not been possible for decades: It brought new life to this once-forgotten place.
“Untapped” became a platform where a broad range of community discussion occurred, including how to save the building. Tommy Pacello, then a member of Memphis’ Mayor’s Institute for Excellence in Government, says “Art and music played a key role in programming the event space. We also were deliberate about mixing in lectures and meet-ups as a way to capture the creativity of Memphians in making the space vibrant.” “Untapped” was so successful that an unsanctioned pop-up trolley stop was installed by the team, including a station stop with signage adorned with the quote “your designated driver,” hinting at the importance of public transit in the city. The “tacticians” tracked everything—attendance, income, comments, the most photographed elements of the space—and this people-focused approach started a new conversation about historic preservation in Memphis.
Before the pop-up closed, a local developer stepped forward to explore redevelopment. By November of 2014, he had purchased the property, saving the building from demolition. Even more amazing: The $25,000 used to produce the event created a 290 percent return on that investment; then, in August of 2015, plans were unveiled for a $27.5 million redevelopment of the complex.
To help people create authentic places, put them at the center of the process. To facilitate a deeper dialogue between the community and professionals on a project—whether it’s a new public plaza or a citywide plan—take the role of the urbanist, and work at the intersection of planning, placemaking, design, and real estate development. Forget the neighborhood meeting in the church basement at 7 p.m. on a school night.
Converting an existing parking lot to a public plaza seems like a no-brainer in a transit-served neighborhood such as Davis Square in Somerville, Massachusetts. Yet when city officials first presented the idea to a group of stakeholders, it was rejected. Why?
It is human nature to fear the unknown. Even no-brainer ideas can be dismissed. When the city asked for help with a new neighborhood plan, my team built the plaza as a demonstration and then asked the public what they thought about it. During the design charette’s three days, the pop-up plaza was programmed with food, music, comfy seating, and carnival acrobats. We tested how well the parking lot performed as a plaza by programming it intensely.
Tactical urbanism is not about creating a spectacle. The planning team camped out in the plaza and engaged in conversations—with moms with their kids, older folks, professionals on their lunch breaks. And with that relaxed setting as the backdrop, residents visited the design studio set up in the vacant storefront next to the plaza. We made it fun. In turn, people who usually never participate in planning gave us valuable input on their neighborhood.
Why can’t planning the future of our neighborhoods actually be a pleasant experience? Most public meetings are organized in a fashion that fosters confrontation. Brad Rawson, now the director of transportation and infrastructure for Somerville, brought his band to the pop-up plaza and played music. The lesson here: Be creative, involve your assets in a genuine way, help people feel comfortable, and show them a possible future. Bring on the joy.
Tactical urbanism shows stakeholders how transformative change can be and provides planners critical feedback on how proposals can be made better. When the Davis Square community saw a rendering of what it had already experienced, it wasn’t a stretch to then think about having new development around the plaza and activities in the space, instead of parking. Davis Square’s Farmers Market wanted a more prominent location in the neighborhood to help increase vendor sales. What better place to suggest they move than to the new plaza? Change can be accepted if approached with the right tactics. With an iterative process, it’s possible to discover more opportunities to solve a community’s complex problems. The plaza is now becoming a reality.
For a project in Maine, the author lived in the neighborhood and held charettes, presentations, and workshops in his cottage. Illustration: Adapted by Stoltze Design from a drawing by Russell Preston. Image
The pop-up plaza is just one example of how Somerville is reinventing neighborhood planning. George Proakis, its planning director, realized that all too often planners host a public process whose outcome they’ve already decided; they go on to present that outcome and naturally find themselves on the defensive. Proakis and his staff have created an alternative method; Somerville by Design is an approach that incorporates close coordination with the community, sincere discussions, contextual design solutions, and plans that lead to implementation. It has four phases: First, we plan the actual planning together with the community through crowdsourcing. Second, we help the community establish a vision for its future using methods identified during the crowdsourcing. Third, we host a multiday design charette in the neighborhood, the key being to bring the designers to the community by setting up a temporary studio where we receive real-time feedback from stakeholders. The final stage is to capture the community’s excitement by implementing the plan document and testing improvements through short-term installations. Things don’t always go as expected when you take a more iterative, tactical approach to planning. Enlightened public officials who want sincere improvements and are prepared to adapt along the way are key to success. If we guide it correctly, meaningful change begins before the final report is even published. Which brings us back to engagement. When you create a truly engaging process in which joy and authenticity are paramount, the report is not the product. Community-led planning by design is the route to real-world improvements that benefit the lives of people.
Casa L4 se localiza en la urbanización privada Costa Esmeralda, a trece kilómetros al norte de la ciudad de Pinamar y a cuatro horas de la ciudad de Buenos Aires. El barrio donde se ubica el lote, Barrio Marítimo II, se dispone linealmente paralelo al mar. Un fuelle de pinos media entre el barrio y la costa, respetando los 200 metros de retiro establecidos por reglamentación provincial.
La casa debía servir para ser usada durante pequeñas estadías de descanso. Así mismo, debía tener capacidad para recibir huéspedes y ser factible de ser eventualmente rentada.
Plan
El lote, un médano prácticamente virgen, se presentaba forestado por hileras de pinos marítimos. En cuanto a su topografía, su superficie desciende en sentido transversal aproximadamente dos metros de un extremo a otro, mientras que longitudinalmente su relieve baja suavemente en dirección al mar.
La elección de la materialidad a emplear se fundó en dos motivos.
Por un lado, tras la anterior experiencia de haber construido otras casas en hormigón visto sabíamos que este material era capaz de conservarse en condiciones a lo largo del tiempo sin prácticamente requerir mantenimiento.
Por otro lado, consideramos que su color y textura establecerían un dialogo armonioso con el entorno natural propio del lugar.
Respecto al área social, esta debía constituirse como el espacio protagónico de la casa, amplio, luminoso y estrechamente vinculado con el exterior; mientras que el área privada debía conformase por cuatro dormitorios lo más independientes posible, servidos cada uno por su propio cuarto de baño. Nuestra intención era desarrollar la mayor parte del programa en una única planta y contar con un espacio exterior a mayor altura, provisto de agua, desde donde contemplar el imponente contexto natural. Coincidimos en que tanto la vegetación arbórea como la particular topografía del lugar conformaban las riquezas que el proyecto arquitectónico debía respetar.
Pretendíamos que la casa quedara inmersa en medio del bosque, envuelta por la atmosfera inmanente del lugar. Esta fue la razón por la cual decidimos retirarla del frente más allá de las distancias mínimas reglamentarias. Alejándola de la calle los espacios interiores ganarían intimidad mientras que su espacio posterior no se vería perjudicado, ya que este se prolonga visualmente más allá de los límites de lote fundiéndose con el bosque de pinos contiguo al mar.
Section
Con la intención de generar un contraste sensorial, el acceso a la vivienda se experimenta desde un semicubierto penumbroso por medio de una estrecha escalera contenida entre dos paramentos ciegos de hormigón visto hacia un espacio amplio y luminoso: la planta principal.
Respecto al armado de esta planta, para proveer a los dormitorios de la mayor privacidad posible los ubicamos en cada uno de los cuatro ángulos de una planta cuadrada.
Plan
Las actividades sociales tomaron lugar en la franja central. Una escalera que conduce a la azotea se situó en el corazón de la casa contribuyendo a su organización espacial. Situada a mitad de la franja de uso común, dispuso la cocina-comedor a uno de sus lados y el estar al otro, definiendo y manteniendo a estos dos espacios de uso funcional y visualmente conectados.
El equipamiento de los dormitorios y sus respectivos cuartos de baño se dispusieron despegados de los paramentos del perímetro de cierre.
Del lado topográficamente más alto, donde la plataforma de la planta principal apoya sobre el terreno natural, el cerramiento lateral se reduce a un tabique colgante abriéndose al entorno exterior mediante una gran raja longitudinal baja, protegiendo la espacialidad interior de las visuales del lote contiguo.
En el extremo más deprimido del lote en el que la casa se despega aproximadamente dos metros del nivel del terreno natural, el cierre lateral se constituyó mediante un muro bajo con una abertura lineal alta.
Ambas soluciones permitieron generar visuales exteriores y espacios naturalmente iluminados sin dejar de preservar el carácter íntimo de su espacialidad interior.
Mientras que los laterales se cerraron mediante paramentos ciegos provistos de rajas horizontales, tanto el cerramiento del frente como el del contrafrente se resolvieron por medio de un cierre transparente que, tomando todo el ancho y toda la altura interior del volumen, direccionaron las vistas y enmarcaron las visuales. En el contrafrente, mediante la apertura de las carpinterías, el espacio interior se amplía expandiéndose hacia el deck semicubierto y unificándose con el espacio exterior.
La maleabilidad propia del hormigón permitió concebir a la escalera como un elemento de carácter escultórico autónomo. Con la misma plasticidad expresiva se trabajaron los muros que dividen a los dormitorios del sector central generando, hacia ambos lados, salientes y nichos que oficiaron de muebles de apoyo fijos.
En relación a la iluminación de la casa, dada la profundidad de su planta se decidió reforzar la iluminación natural desde la cubierta.
El área central del sector social es bañado de sol a través del prisma acristalado que alberga la escalera principal. Se incorporaron rajas lineales sobre los paramentos interiores que delimitan el espacio cocina-comedor, buscando generar sobre la superficie de estos muros el efecto de los distintos barridos de luz natural a lo largo del día. Así mismo, los baños fueron iluminados mediante lucarnas planas sobre los espacios de ducha.
La estructura portante se resolvió mediante una gran losa sostenida por un sistema de vigas invertidas apoyadas en tabiques ubicados en el interior de la planta y columnas metálicas dispuestas sobre los cierres laterales formando parte del cerramiento de aluminio. Con el objeto de enfatizar la horizontalidad de la casa y de disminuir su impacto visual, tanto en el frente como en el contrafrente el sistema estructural de vigas fue retranqueado respecto de la línea de cerramiento, generando losas en voladizo que oficiaron de protectores solares.
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Desde la planta de azotea, abrazado por las copas de los pinos se despliega un apacible espacio de contemplación. Gracias a la transparencia de la caja de escalera pueden experimentarse vistas en todas las direcciones. Cubierto por un deck de madera y provisto por un sector de ducha y por dos piscinas contiguas, este espacio elevado se erige como un mirador orientado hacia el mar.
En medio de un trozo de naturaleza dispusimos una caja construida oradada de tal manera que permitiese que el afuera fluya, entre y salga a su través, convirtiéndola así en parte del entorno, fundiéndose y vibrando en consonancia armónica con él. Por medio de su síntesis espacial y el carácter despojado de su materialidad intentamos que la casa despertase sensaciones y lograse potenciar los sentidos de las personas que la habitasen, en ese intercambio místico que a veces surge entre las personas y las cosas.
"New York Horizon" / Yitan Sun and Jianshi Wu. Image Courtesy of eVolo
A competition now in its 11th year, eVolo Magazine has announced the winners of its 2016 Skyscraper Competition: a group of three top prizes and 21 honorable mentions culled from 489 entries. The award annually recognizes the vanguard of high-rise construction “through [the] novel use of technology, materials, programs, aesthetics, and spatial organizations.” Among this year’s winners are a project that proposes digging down and creating a megastructure along the perimeter of Central Park, a skyscraper that acts as a hub for drones in future commercial applications, and a tower that takes advantage of the climate of Iceland as an ideal location for data servers.
"New York Horizon" / Yitan Sun and Jianshi Wu. Image Courtesy of eVolo
[This] proposal is a hybrid multi-functional mega structure. Not by building up, but by digging down, it reveals the bedrock (mountain) that was hidden under Central Park, and creates space along the new cliff. The ambition is to reverse the traditional relationship between landscape and architecture, in a way that every occupiable space has direct connection to the nature.
"The Hive: Drone Skyscraper" / Hadeel Ayed Mohammad, Yifeng Zhao, Chengda Zhu. Image Courtesy of eVolo
The Hive is an infrastructure project that can better meet the emerging demand for incorporating advanced Drone technology into daily life in New York City. The project was proposed as an alternative asset argument for the usage of the land on 432 Park Avenue, the project aims to create a central control terminal that hosts docking and charging stations for personal or commercial drones (unmanned aerial vehicles) in the center of Manhattan.
"Data Skyscraper: Sustainable Data Center in Iceland" / Valeria Mercuri, Marco Merletti. Image Courtesy of eVolo
Our project is a vision of how could it be a future green data center located in Iceland. A data center is often a large industrial building without a significant architectural connotation, a big anonymous container. The main issue of our project is to investigate a new morphological solution that could represent both the complexity and the importance of the building into which we keep our data. Above all, we conceive the data center’s configuration in order to maximize the use of the available renewable energies and also to allow the re-use in a sustainable way.
Honorable Mention: “Trans-Pital: Space Adaptive Skyscraper Hospital” / Chen Linag, Jia Tongyu, Sun Bo, Wang Qun, Zhang Kai, Choi Minhye
"Trans-Pital: Space Adaptive Skyscraper Hospital" / Chen Linag, Jia Tongyu, Sun Bo, Wang Qun, Zhang Kai, Choi Minhye. Image Courtesy of eVolo
Honorable Mention: “Biomorph Skyscraper: Atmosphere Of The Place” / Jayong Shim, Dailong Ma, Tai Feng
"Biomorph Skyscraper: Atmosphere Of The Place" / Jayong Shim, Dailong Ma, Tai Feng. Image Courtesy of eVolo
Honorable Mention: “Air-Stalagmite: A Skyscraper To Serve As A Beacon And Air Filter For Polluted Cities” / Changsoo Park, Sizhe Chen
"Air-Stalagmite: A Skyscraper To Serve As A Beacon And Air Filter For Polluted Cities" / Changsoo Park, Sizhe Chen. Image Courtesy of eVolo
Honorable Mention: “Cloud Craft: Rainmaking Skyscraper” / Michael Militello, Amar Shah
"Cloud Craft: Rainmaking Skyscraper" / Michael Militello, Amar Shah. Image Courtesy of eVolo
Honorable Mention: “Healing Matrix” / Jie Liu, Wen Sun, Hewen Suo
"Healing Matrix" / Jie Liu, Wen Sun, Hewen Suo. Image Courtesy of eVolo
Honorable Mention: “The Displacement Or The Revolt Of Abandoned Architecture” / Ko Anthony Chun Ming
"The Displacement Or The Revolt Of Abandoned Architecture" / Ko Anthony Chun Ming. Image Courtesy of eVolo
Honorable Mention: “Neza York Towers: Anti-Sinking System For Cities” / Israel López Balan, Gabriel Mendoza Cruz, Ana Saraí Lombardini Hernández, Yayo Melgoza Acuautla
"Neza York Towers: Anti-Sinking System For Cities" / Israel López Balan, Gabriel Mendoza Cruz, Ana Saraí Lombardini Hernández, Yayo Melgoza Acuautla. Image Courtesy of eVolo
Honorable Mention: “Towards Unity: Suturing Cyprus” / Lin Rujia
"Towards Unity: Suturing Cyprus" / Lin Rujia. Image Courtesy of eVolo
Honorable Mention: “A Core Issue Against Smog: The New Urban Air Infrastructure” / Fangshuo Liu, Xiaoyu Wu, Qianhui Liang, Jin Che, Shoda Tomoki, Pablo Mariano Bernar Fernández-Roca
"A Core Issue Against Smog: The New Urban Air Infrastructure" / Fangshuo Liu, Xiaoyu Wu, Qianhui Liang, Jin Che, Shoda Tomoki, Pablo Mariano Bernar Fernández-Roca. Image Courtesy of eVolo
Honorable Mention: “Vertical Shanghai: Hyperlocal Monument Of The Global Housing Crisis” / Yuta Sano, Eric Nakajima
"Vertical Shanghai: Hyperlocal Monument Of The Global Housing Crisis" / Yuta Sano, Eric Nakajima . Image Courtesy of eVolo
The members of this year’s Jury are: Matias del Campo [principal SPAN], Thom Faulders [principal Faulders Studio], and Marcelo Spina [principal PATTERNS].
Some of the most integral parts of a building are related to light and air. Windows, for example, can help transform a project into a more liveable or better space, providing natural light or connecting the building’s users with their surroundings.
From windows inserted into historic structures, to windows meant to give the building a distinct, landmark look, these nine projects utilize windows as a primary feature. View the nine creative uses of windows after the break.
Located in a high-density area of Seoul, Flower + Kindergarten seeks to provide a dynamic physical environment for children, while simultaneously using its distinct shapes to provide a local landmark in a homogenous neighborhood.
The Hadaway House’s massing was developed from the allowable footprint and building height, combined with the sloped snow-shed roof, creating a sculptural quality for the building that is reflected additionally in its windows.
3. Jaffa Apartment; Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel / Pitsou Kedem Architect
Set above the harbor and facing the Mediterranean Sea, the Jaffa Apartment is a restoration of its historic building site, and features large windows in its original arches.
Working from a site requirement to include a gable, the Gablepack mixed-use building incorporates the gable into not only its structure, but also its windows in both the commercial and residential areas.
Located on the site of a former rice factory, which inspired the name, the “Factory of Words,” Vila Franca de Xira features a large triangular window, shared by all of its floors.
The Little Big House is a renovation and extension to the rear of a heritage Victorian terrace in Melbourne, and includes four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a study, all of which respects the neighboring historic structures.
8. V House; Mexico / Abraham Cota Paredes Arquitectos
In the V House in Mexico, a large window frames the exterior while still preserving privacy. Furthermore, the center of the house is occupied by a patio, which helps facilitate the exchange of light and air throughout the space.
Located along the top tree line of slow-growing birches in Sweden, this restaurant seeks to emphasize the relationship between the building and nature, with panoramic views of the mountains, as well as a valley to the South.
An extraordinary residential house NEW GROVE was designed by the architectural studio Šebo Lichý in cooperation with acclaimed Slovak architect Drahan Petrovič, who worked for several years in Vancouver. In this project they have applied the principles of the Canadian housing and created a very first project of its kind in Slovakia, which gives clients the opportunity to design and customize their own apartment. The architectural concept is based on the principle of flexible housing units to produce a virtually unlimited number of variations.
The result is a fresh, modern and original construction, which revives the locality, improves family living in the largest Slovak housing estate and elevates it to a new level. Clients can choose the number of bathrooms, number of rooms, open and connected living room with kitchen, design a loft or partition the space. Flexible concept also allows to change living space in the future. But what makes this project even more interesting is that clients can design their own interior as well as exterior. By the beginning of the construction it was possible to select either the number or size of windows or balconies. This created a distinctive facade design with various balconies and loggias, which looks very clean and pleasant.
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NEW GROVE consists of two residential towers connected by a common footstool, which is composed of smaller retail outlets. It is rather a chamber project with 72 apartments, one- to five-room. 83 parking spaces are located on one above ground and one underground floor. There are also storage spaces for each apartment. Entrances from the street and to the garages are barrier-free. Access to the apartments is provided by two core units with stairs and lifts.
The project is situated in a location with good public facilities, shops, schools, densely covered with public transport and various options for leisure-time and recreational activities. There is a racecourse, Danube embankment and park. Architects decided to elevate this exceptional natural environment and planted the building elegantly in the surrounding greenery. The entire base is lined with facing panels made of natural material, the balconies as well. Architects have managed to not only visually link the housing with the surrounding greenery, but let in sun and light to the whole neighborhood. As a result, there are pleasant sunny, airy and spacious apartments with spectacular views. Architecture of the apartment building NEW GROVE is unique, pioneering and especially based on real needs and wishes of future apartment owners.
The Pavilion of Morocco at the 14th Venice Biennale, Fundamentals, focused on territorial speculations in the Sahara: Inhabiting the Uninhabitable. For the exhibition, which was the country’s first representation at the Biennale, Paris-based practice OUALALOU+CHOI proposed an urban structure for this desert territory – “a means of putting down roots, implanting urbanity and civilization. The Sahara, with its extreme geography and climatic conditions, remains unexplored territory for architectural speculation.”
From the architects. The sea of sand turns the desert into a territory without a ground. Constantly shifting, the ground is never a point of reference; like sailors, the inhabitants of the desert rely on the constellations as the only stable geographic guides. This project proposes a city above and below the ground: a suspended city and a buried city. Beyond its allegorical and critical dimensions, the idea that a city be experienced in its verticality rather than its horizontality is strange and powerful. The interiority that is created between the city during the day (below the ground) and the city at night (under the sky) becomes the heart of the public space. It is an inhabited land that allows the landscape to pass through it.
Human settlement has always derived from the tension and balance between the geography of the vast territory and a geometry that confronts, measures, and contains it. The project is composed of a series of rings that grow smaller as they approach the upper city or descend towards the lower city. The articulation between these layers, which turn like a helix, produces the urban voids that grow increasingly thinner from bottom to top and from top to bottom. In this way, a vertical gradation of public, communal, private, and intimate spaces control the level of sunlight and ventilation in this urban void.
As a Masonic figure, Dantesque allegory, and ‘carceral’ fantasy, this urban structure encloses as much as it is enclosed. The city becomes a pioneering adventure in a new world; in a groundless territory without end, the city attempts to anchor a human presence, to give it a comprehensible scale. The city is in the world; it becomes the world.
Sig Nordal 