Archinect - News

Herzog & de Meuron selected to design the National Library of Israel

2013-04-29T16:44:00-04:00

After extensive discussions, the panel decided to recommend the Swiss office of Herzog & de Meuron to be the architects for the National Library of Israel. The panel, which was already aware of the many significant works of these Pritzker prize laureates, was extraordinarily impressed by the commitment shown by Jacques Herzog & Pierre de Meuron, as well as by the strengths and promise of their architectural approach...

Herzog & de Meuron-Designed NYC Tower Hits the Market

2013-02-20T17:23:00-05:00

The long-stalled Tribeca building announced its comeback in October, only a week before resuming construction. Now the Herzog & de Meuron-designed tower is officially on the market. Nine listings have popped up on StreetEasy, ranging in price from a 2BR for $3.625 million to a 4BR penthouse for $24 million.

Herzog & de Meuron's glassy Tribeca tower is, after many years, finally on the market, with prices starting at $3.625 million.

Herzog & de Meuron to build one of London's tallest residential towers

2013-01-24T19:48:00-05:00

The Swiss practice is one of three that have been commissioned by Canary Wharf Group to design the first phase of the Wood Wharf development. Allies & Morrison has been appointed to design two new office buildings which will sit either side of the western end of the high street. The offices, aimed at IT services and new media companies, will sit above two storeys of retail.

eleven eleven, a film on H&dM's Miami parking garage

2012-12-12T14:41:00-05:00

It's known as Eleven Eleven, and it has changed people’s perception about what a utilitarian structure can be; and has ignited conversations worldwide about its design and use. This garage has reshaped the urban fabric of the city and people are going there to get married, relax, and enjoy a cocktail.

Ground-breaking for Herzog & de Meuron's Porta Volta in Milan

2012-11-21T12:48:00-05:00

With a press conference held on the construction site today, the Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli celebrates the ground-breaking for the new Porta Volta. The project comprises the 2’500 sqm Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, an 7’500 sqm Office Building and a generous 15’000 sqm Green Area.

Work to Begin on Herzog & de Meuron's 56 Leonard St. Tower

2012-10-12T11:16:00-04:00

Four years of construction is expected to begin next week on the long delayed 56 Leonard Street, the 830-foot-high residential tower announced four years ago for the southwest corner of Church and Leonard streets. For more than three years, the building's completed foundation has sat barren while the recession-stymied developer, the Alexico Group, sought financing to complete the project.

Editor's Picks #285

2012-10-09T12:17:00-04:00

For the latest edition of the Working out of the Box series, Archinect featured Ioana Urma. Ioana has completed a number of (public) art projects – murals, installations and other media and also does freelance commissions, ranging from 2D to 3D: books, illustrations, interiors, art installations, paintings, murals, architectural renovations and exhibit designs.

KIRSCH Architecture also shared their redevelopment and extension of Stelzhamerschule in Linz Austria, for the latest edition of Archinect’s ShowCase series.

News
Recently in The Architectural Review, Beatriz Colomina wrote about Radical Pedagogies in Architectural Education. In the piece she argued that the discipline can best be changed by revolutionizing the way it is taught. Yet, toasteroven suggested "this look back to the 60s and 70s pedagogical experiments is in real danger of regression to paternalistic ‘functionalism’... I don't know where we're headed but i'd take empty and overly expensive technological formalism ...

Herzog & de Meuron’s Parrish Art Museum

2012-10-02T19:16:00-04:00

The new building cost about $26 million to build—70 percent below the previous budget. But is less less? When the new plan was announced, Nicolai Ouroussoff, writing in the Times, thought so, calling it "a major step down in architectural ambition." Ouroussoff was wrong. True, no one can know what the "cluster of pavilions" would have looked like. I can only report that the rectangular building is a triumph. The materials are gorgeous.

What do average New Yorkers think of 40 Bond Street?

2012-08-23T15:44:00-04:00

Since it was finished half a dozen years ago, Herzog & de Meuron's 40 Bond Street has become one the foremost icons of the current generation of New York City architecture. Or so the design cognoscenti think. But what about everybody else? Among average New Yorkers, opinions are mixed in this funny video. One guy who definitely does not like the place is a cranky old neighbor from down the block.

How To Fill An Empty Bird's Nest: Beijing's Olympic Woes

2012-07-10T13:55:00-04:00

Ai Weiwei has never set foot inside the [Bird's Nest]. He told NPR that the stadium has become entirely divorced from ordinary people. "We love this building, but we don't like the content they have put in, the kind of propaganda. They dissociated this building [from] citizens' celebration or happiness, [it's] not integrated with the city's life," Ai said. "So I told them I will never go to this building."

The attached photos were taken by me on a recent trip to Beijing.

Serpentine Gallery Opens Pavilion (Without Ai Weiwei)

2012-05-31T16:50:00-04:00

The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in London, designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron and Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, was presented to the press today before it will officially open to the public tomorrow, June 1.

Since Chinese officials had put Ai Weiwei on 'city arrest' in his hometown Beijing, he was not able to attend the ceremony together with his design collaborators Jaques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron. Weiwei was however allowed to send a recorded statement: “As an artist, I’m always very interested in putting art, design, architecture and social change together ... to give new possibilities.”

For a detailed conceptual description by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei, check out this previous Bustler post.

Editor's Picks #264

2012-05-14T11:59:00-04:00

The latest Showcase feature profiles the Summer House in Austria by Judith Benzer Architektur, the design of which is oriented by the cubature of the Kellerstöckel (wine house), typical of the Southern Burgenland region. stroke123 liked it but wondered "how does the roof shed water? Waterproof membrane and concealed gutters and downspouts?".

The latest Showcase feature profiles the Summer House in Austria by Judith Benzer Architektur, the design of which is oriented by the cubature of the Kellerstöckel (wine house), typical of the Southern Burgenland region. I particularly loved the detailing for sharp edges of the cubature which are formed by copper corner plates. stroke123 liked it but wondered "how does the roof shed water? Waterproof membrane and concealed gutters and downspouts?". While Andrew Chaveas complemented the "great compilation/composition of materials" yet still thought H&dM has a better commentary on the "house", here referring to that firm’s House in Leymen.

For the latest In Focus interview Archinect spoke with American architectural photographer Brad Feinknopf, who has shot over 100 AIA Award winning projects.

News
London's Serpentine Gallery released plans for the 2012 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion designed by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei. Although the original design announcement "descr...

First Images of the 2012 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei

2012-05-07T20:14:00-04:00

London's Serpentine Gallery just released plans for the 2012 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion designed by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei. This summer's pavilion, the twelfth commission in the gallery’s annual series, will be open to the public from June 1 to October 14, 2012.

Let us know what you think about this year's pavilion design in the comment section below. You can also re-read reactions to the initial announcement of the design team here.

Zaha Hadid for Park Avenue? She and 10 Starchitects Compete to Design a $750-Million Skyscraper

2012-04-24T18:12:00-04:00

The site of 425 Park Avenue now awaits its fate as a star-studded line-up of prospective architects compete for the chance to helm the $750 million project. L&L Holding Co. has tapped Jean Nouvel, Herzog & de Meuron, Foster & Partners, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, Richard Meier, Renzo Piano and others with high hopes to create a "bespoke skyscraper that will both complement Park Avenue's existing architectural treasures and make its own indelible mark in the world's most timeless office corridor"..

Hamburg sues over Herzog & de Meuron's pricey, late concert hall

2012-02-22T12:49:00-05:00

The city was initially prepared to contribute €77 million to the project – but this figure has since gone up by nearly five times to more than €323 million – more than half the expected €600 million total cost. And the original completion date of 2010 has been pushed back to 2014. The building’s designers had underestimated certain costs – such as an acoustic panelling for the main concert hall which cost five times as much as expected, adding more than €10 million to the bill.

An interview with Jacques Herzog

2012-02-09T11:14:00-05:00

In this uniformity, I see a tendency among architects to respect and maintain the status quo, and a consensus about what architecture is and can do for our society. That’s the expression of a decorative understanding of architecture, even if it expresses itself in a subtle, modernist language. (Jacques Herzog)

On Places, Jacques Herzog discusses the recent work of Herzog & de Meuron and the challenges of maintaining a creatively vital practice, in an interview with Hubertus Adam and J. Christoph Burkle.

Bird's Nest Collaborators, Ai Weiwei and Herzog & de Meuron, selected for 2012 Serpentine

2012-02-07T10:42:00-05:00

The Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei collaboration – the 12th pavilion – breaks the mould of the sequence so far as the criterion for the commission had been for an architect not to have built in England. But Herzog & de Meuron are also deeply engaged in the art world, having built the Walker Art Centre in Minneapolis and the de Young Museum in San Francisco. They are currently working on art museums in New York, Miami and Kolkata.

Fixer-Upper With Unique Challenge

2011-10-06T13:40:35-04:00

The architects recognize that the armory as an exhibition space is a far cry from conventional “white cube” galleries, or what Mr. Herzog called “egocentric, architecturally driven museums.” But he said the spaces are likely to inspire artists, not limit them. “Artists have increasingly started to like strange places to put their art,” he said. “The specific conditions are unique and interesting and every artist is challenged to put his paintings or performances in such historic conditions.”

Editor's Picks #226

2011-08-28T18:46:16-04:00

Leagues and Legions (aka LGNLGN, a think tank at the intersection of architecture and publishing) and the Institute for Urban Design (IfUD) are asking critics, practitioners, academics, community organizers, and the general public to weigh in on one of four questions dealing with issues of tactical urbanism. Each question will tackle a particular theme: the public, professional practice, evaluation, and failure. The City Sessions questions will posted online in the weeks leading up to Urban Design Week and culminate in a live discussion of the crowdsourced responses on September 18 at Parsons School of Design from 5-7 p.m.

Archinector's Quilian Riano is curating question #3 on tactics and the design professions and will be guiding that conversation over the next few weeks.

For your information tactical urbanism: "uses the city as a site of experimentation, deploying pop-up parks, vacant retail reuse, or unsanctioned street furniture as way to reprogram the urban realm. The pra...

Hamburg Philharmonic is on the rise

2011-05-25T12:40:00-04:00

Hamburg is building a cultural landmark: The Elbphilharmonie. Designed by the architects Herzog & de Meuron, a synthesis of the arts comprising architecture, music and a unique location by the port is arising on the banks of the River Elbe. In addition to three concert halls, a hotel and 45 apartments, the complex will boast a freely accessible venue at a height of 37 meters, affording a 360° panoramic view of the city – The Plaza.

Covering some 4,000 square meters, The Plaza is almost as big as the Town Hall market square and is an ideal place for Hamburg’s citizens, tourists, concert-goers and hotel guests alike to stroll and enjoy life. The Large Concert Hall, with seating for 2,150, will form the heart of the Elbphilharmonie. A special material has been developed to deliver perfect acoustics by reflecting the sound in all directions, thereby ensuring complete listening pleasure throughout the auditorium: The White Skin.

Live Blog: Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron

2011-05-05T18:10:00-04:00

Jacques Herzog: I don't believe in books on architecture; they're bound to fail and disappear even sooner than architecture...which can last for hundreds of years [before disappearing]. Not that I don't respect people who write books.

590ft controversial 'Triangle' tower to be built in Paris

2011-04-05T20:08:17-04:00

Paris town council has given the green light to a controversial "Triangle" tower rising 590ft above Paris which critics say is an "attack on the beauty of the French capital".

Herzog & de Meuron skyscraper up for auction on Ebay

2010-03-12T17:12:00-05:00

Well, the 20" model of 56 Leonard St is up for auction. It's actually a very nice looking model, and even breaks apart into individual units. Ebay

Showy Condos by H&deM, Koolhaas Remake NYC Skyline

2008-09-19T12:22:00-04:00

At the edge of TriBeCa, the Swiss superstar architects Herzog & de Meuron stack 145 luxe condo residences like crisscrossing glass-wrapped dominos. Uptown, Rem Koolhaas tilts a tower perilously over its neighbor. These projects, both in construction, cement a gathering trend: the sculpting of a 21st-century Manhattan skyline by high- priced, high-rise condos. Bloomberg | prev. 23 East 22nd | 56 Leonard

More on 56 Leonard

2008-09-15T13:07:00-04:00

A trio of reviews of Herzog & de Meuron's 56 Leonard Street condo project: NYSun. | Triple Mint | NYMag | prev.
from Triple Mint: The long awaited design for 56 Leonard Street in Tribeca by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron has been revealed. Above you can see the upper floors, where a stack of cantilevered condo lofts will tower over the once charming neighborhood. The 57 story tower, to be completed in 2010, will have 145 apartments, each with a unique layout. It is worth noting that on the same day this project is revealed another major Wall Street bank has gone under - Lehman Brothers - and with it thousands of high paying New York City jobs. This project could be the capstone to an era. One thing is for sure: it is another step in the transformation of Tribeca into Triburbia, where nannies push strollers by day and black towncars idle at night. Manhattan as stage set for wealthy foreigners and tourists.

from Justin Davidson's piece for NYMag: ...Herzog & de Meuron’s 56 L...

56 Leonard by Herzog & de Meuron

2008-09-15T09:57:00-04:00

On the threshold of its fourth decade, Herzog & de Meuron is poised to reinvent another great architectural prototype as construction begins in New York City on the first hi-rise tower of the firm’s career. 56 Leonard Street will be a 57-story residential condominium building at the intersection of Church Street and Leonard Street in the Tribeca Historic District of downtown Manhattan, where it will rise above cobbled streets and historic 19th century neighbors. Curbed

The tower will house 145 residences, each with its own unique floor plan and private outdoor space, in a veritable cascade of individual homes that the architects describe as “houses stacked in the sky,” blending indoors and outdoors seamlessly together.

With its articulated surfaces, dramatic cantilevers, profiled slab edges, profusion of balconies, expanses of glass, and views from downtown Manhattan to as far as the Atlantic Ocean, Herzog & de Meuron’s 56 Leonard Street breaks down the old image of the high-rise ...