Completed in spring 2014, the Allianz Headquarters in Zürich has been in use for nearly two years. During that time the district in which the building is located has matured, as construction subsided. Since the building's opening, all remaining components of the master planned area were... View full entry »
Sited in the currently emerging Bahrain Bay, just north of Manama, the tower encompasses housing, offices, retail, and public spaces–all of which seek to remain flexible and adaptable to future change. In this way, as Bahrain Bay further develops, the tower strengthens local character and... View full entry »
On the eastern edge of Amsterdam's city center lies the Valkenburgerstraat; a major thoroughfare that was created in the 1960s, the eastern half of which saw the buildings that align it completely demolished and rebuilt during the 1990s. The street's western edge has retained its historic... View full entry »
Today in Chicago, autumn semester officially begins at the Illinois Institute of Technology's (IIT) College of Architecture (CoA). Since 2013, the college has refocused its curriculum, toward metropolitan concerns, and since 2014, has disseminated its events through its new website, alongside its... View full entry »
The most recent issue, #142, of the Japanese publication GA Houses–with GA standing for 'Global Architecture'–includes a 12 page feature article on the A' House, in Tokyo. A private residence tucked within a tranquil street in Nishi-Azabu; the main entry is an immense sliding... View full entry »
Offering glimpses of the North Sea–a mere 25 k to its west–from its penthouse apartments, the B' Tower is a short-stay hotel that's also a refuge to momentary visitors to the city of Rotterdam. The tower's mirrored bottom balconies–all of which cantilever–are immensely... View full entry »
INDESEM is a bi-annual design seminar hosted by the Delft University of Technology. With the stated goal of 'investigating innovations in the manufacturing industry and highlighting its impact on the architecture industry', this year's event focusses on the balance between tradition and emerging... View full entry »
As part of the spring 2015 lecture series–curated by Stan Allen–at Princeton University, Wiel Arets will give a lecture on April 27th. His words and visuals will wander around the idea that the world is currently undergoing a powerfully subtle shift in the ways in which its cities... View full entry »
Wiel Arets–Bas Princen (Hatje Cantz, 2015) encapsulates a five year journey throughout the life of twelve buildings, as experienced by artist Bas Princen–whose imagery documents the interplay of contemporary metropolitan conditions, as they converge with raw wilderness. Within the... View full entry »
On March 30th, 2015, under the banner of the 'Presidential Lecture Series', Wiel Arets will give a lecture entitled 'Toward a Hybrid Metropolis', at the IIT's Herman Hall. The lecture will wander around the idea that today's cities are currently undergoing a subtle yet powerful shift in the ways... View full entry »
Located on the western edge of Munich, near the Friedenheimer bridge, and adjacent to the light-rail lines that string throughout the city’s center, ‘Am Hirschgarten’ is a campus-like cluster of four buildings, each of which entails a tower, which rises from the base of every... View full entry »
The IJhal is situated within Amsterdam's Centraal Station, parallel to the IJ–the city's connection to the North Sea–and below the station's new bus terminal, all of which is capped by a new roof that proudly proclaims the city's name. The IJhal is one component of a larger initiative... View full entry »
Crafted over a period of six years and launched in early 2014, the Eat.it cutlery set, designed by WAA and produced by Alessi–the Italian manufacturer of kitchen products and accessories–was recently awarded the 2015 Good Design Award. The cutlery set originated from a symmetrical... View full entry »
On the eastern edge of Amsterdam's city center lies the Valkenburgerstraat; a major thoroughfare that was created in the 1960s, the eastern half of which saw the buildings that align it completely demolished and rebuilt during the 1990s. The street's western edge has retained its historic... View full entry »
On October 22nd, 2014 the College of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology will host an award celebration and dinner for the 'MCHAP Finalist'. Throughout the day students, faculty, and the public are invited to participate in a dialogue between the jury and the nominated... View full entry »
Situated in Maasbracht–near the Dutch-Belgian border–this sinuous 1.850 m2 office is a headquarters for the water traffic control of surrounding sluices, canals, and locks–all of which are adjacent to the river Meuse. This plethora of entangled waterways is heavily utilized for... View full entry »
The Allianz Headquarters, a hybrid office tower in Zürich, Switzerland, was recently awarded the the 2014 'Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award'. Bestowed annually, the award 'pays tribute to new developments in design and underscores the directions and understanding of current... View full entry »
The Utrecht University Library–established in 1636–and in its current incarnation, completed in 2004, is located on the Uithof campus, situated a short distance from the city center. It is comprised of the library itself and an adjacent parking garage with multiple voids–between... View full entry »
The Hedge House, an art gallery on the grounds of a seventeenth century castle in Wijlre, the Netherlands, was in 2012 transformed into a non-profit foundation affiliated with the Bonnefanten Museum, in Maastricht. Completed the 2001, it combines a tool shed, chicken coop, and two orchid houses... View full entry »
Housed within Amsterdam's Centraal Station–the city's nucleus for its numerous modes of public transportation, including trains, buses, subways, trams, and boats–the IJhal is situated at the rear of the station, below its new exoskeleton-capped bus terminal and along the city's... View full entry »
Campus Hoogvliet is located on the edge of Rotterdam; it is the new home of multiple educational institutions that support their students' aspirations. Completed earlier this year, the campus is now fully in use by students, faculty, and administrators. Submersed within an abundance of leafy... View full entry »
This past Saturday the Financial Times of London published the Jellyfish House, a luxurious vacation home located on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, in the printed and digital editions of the paper. The house–with its five bedrooms, seven bathrooms, steam room, sauna, and cantilevered... View full entry »
Located in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood of Maastricht–in the south the Netherlands–V' House is the private residence of a couple that collects vintage cars. Its foreside is composed of structural glazing, onto which a rastorized image of curtains fluttering in the wind has been... View full entry »
From June 14-15th, 2014 the H’ House and its formal garden–in Maastricht, the Netherlands–will be open to the public, as both morph into a temporary gallery for local artists. Designed for a couple—a dancer and an actor, who are also landscape architects—the H' House... View full entry »
To celebrate the the 50th issue of MARK–an avant-garde magazine that covers contemporary architecture–WAA designed a birthday cake for for the publication, which is featured in the June/July 2014 issue. The cake was composed with a series of 50 cubes of various dimensions, and is... View full entry »
WAA has been invited to participate in the upcoming exhibition 'XS Architecture', a platform for products–of a smaller scale–created by architects, artists, and designers. The exhibition will include a wide-range of products, including chairs, kitchen accessories, prototypes, and... View full entry »
On May 20th, 2014 the College of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology will host a benefit dinner for the 'MCHAP for Emerging Architecture'–one component of the new MCHAP award recently established by the college. The benefit will begin with remarks from the Mayor of... View full entry »
Campus Hoogvliet is an academic campus located in Rotterdam that was on April 8th, 2014 officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. Accompanying the opening ceremony of the campus–which has now been in use for just over a month–was a short documentary... View full entry »
WAA was recently nominated for the 'German Design Award', for two new projects: Schwäbisch Media–an office for a publishing company active in print and digital media–located in Ravensburg, Germany, and the Allianz Headquarters–a 72 m office composed of two buildings... View full entry »
Today in Rotterdam Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands will officially open Campus Hoogvliet, from 10:00-11:15, during a ceremony set to take place on the campus' main square. After the officiation the campus will open its doors to the public, allowing neighborhood residents a... View full entry »
