Archinect - News

OMA and WITH Architecture Studio announce Perth Concert Hall renovation plans for 2028

2024-10-29T17:02:00-04:00

OMA has begun work on its renovation of the Perth Concert Hall in Western Australia's capital. The 51-year-old Brutalist structure, which was originally designed by Jeffrey Howlett and Donald Bailey, will undergo an over $98.5 million state-of-the-art reworking to enhance its visitor experience and public spaces. A much-needed restoration of the building's plinth will be enacted in addition to refurbished lobbies on both building levels One and Two, with a new foyer and musicians’ lounge/patrons' area added to the former.

Perth-based WITH Architecture Studio are included on the project team. The expectation is for renovations to be complete by the end of 2028.

You may remember OMA was behind a colorful design for the city's PRINCIPLES Square earlier this year.

Centre Pompidou revamps plans for Jersey City satellite

2024-10-01T18:53:00-04:00

The split between the Centre Pompidou and State of New Jersey may soon be repaired after a new satellite venue was announced for Jersey City following the original plan’s mid-summer cancellation. The museum will be realized at 100,000 square feet. Jersey City's Mayor Steven Fulop says it will be a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Courtesy of Jersey City

ARTnews reports: "Crucially, the new plan does not include support from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, which previously said that the Centre Pompidou’s Jersey City outpost was 'no longer viable', leading the project to be indefinitely postponed. Instead, a tax abatement will help make the project possible."

The abatement covers 30 years. Some critics had derided the original OMA-designed project as a tool of gentrification since it was first announced in 2021.

New Jersey defunds OMA's planned Centre Pompidou x Jersey City project over high costs

2024-07-31T12:18:00-04:00

The unlikely pairing of the Centre Pompidou and the state of New Jersey that would have seen OMA remake the historic Pathside Building in Jersey City into its first American satellite appears to be over after officials determined the project to be "no longer viable" financially.

"Due to the ongoing impact of COVID and multiple global conflicts on the supply chain, rising costs, an irreconcilable operating gap, and the corresponding financial burdens it will create for New Jersey’s taxpayers, the Legislature has rescinded financial support, leaving us to determine that this project is unfortunately no longer feasible," the letter from NJ Economic Development Authority chief Tim Sullivan to Centre Pompidou president Laurent Le Bon reads. Artnet has more on the unfolding funding debacle, which centers around a question about the satellite's operational costs.

The Centre Pompidou in Paris is currently undergoing a $280.5 million overhaul led by Moreau Kusunoki with associate designer F...

Ellen van Loon departs OMA after 26 years

2024-07-26T19:10:00-04:00

The Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) announced the retirement of Partner Ellen van Loon from the firm after 26 years.

The announcement says: “Ellen has indicated that she wishes to enter a new phase in her life in which she will have more time to herself. It goes without saying that we deeply regret her decision. Ellen has been a trusted colleague and powerful force within our firm for decades. She also is, and will remain, a dear friend to all of us.”

Van Loon, who was born in the Netherlands and educated at TU Delft, joined the firm in 1998 after working at Foster + Partners. OMA is approaching its 50th year in 2025. Partners Shohei Shigematsu, Jason Long, Iyad Alsaka, Chris van Duijn, David Gianotten, and Reinier de Graaf remain in charge along with founder Rem Koolhaas, who turns 80 in November.

OMA's LANTERN renovation opens at the Little Village in Detroit

2024-05-20T13:22:00-04:00

Work on the OMA-led new LANTERN project has been completed in Detroit’s Little Village neighborhood.

The block-sized 22,300-square-foot complex serves as a new home for two local arts non-profits. Signal-Return, designed by Detroit-based M1DTW, and PASC (Progressive Arts Studio Collective) will occupy LANTERN's roughly 5,300-square-foot artist studios, art gallery, and 4,000-square-foot "creative retail" in the site's former North Building.

Photo by John D’Angelo

Photo by Jason Keen

Led by Partner Jason Long, the design is centered around a 2,000-square-foot open outdoor community space lined by galleries. The project's brief called for repurposing a former commercial bakery and warehouse that had fallen into complete disrepair. Now, looking to create a Dia:Beacon or Bergamont Station-like cultural gateway to the East Side neighborhood, OMA's team reinvigorated the structure with spaces for art production, exhibition, and community interface.

Photo by Jason Keen

A ...

OMA Conversations

2024-05-13T21:09:00-04:00

the drawing for (Parc de) la Villette...was based on very definite sources...Of course...it was no gigantic leap if you were familiar with those Belgian cartoons. Willem-Jan Neutelings would always draw these little cartoons for the buildings he made, certainly when he opened his own office...The other inspiration was a painter in Chicago named Roger Brown, who made these tip-up paintings—all his scenes were using that perspective—and he was influenced by Italian 13-14th Century painting.

In collaboration with Drawing Matter, Architect Richard Hall is publishing a 6-part series based on twenty-three in-depth conversations with key collaborators working with OMA during its formative years. Most of the image material is from the in-house project archive of OMA at the Rotterdam office and/or the personal archives of its previous members and the Drawing Matter Collection.

OMA breaks ground on The Perigon Miami Beach

2024-04-22T12:28:00-04:00

OMA has broken ground on its new Miami Beach development called The Perigon. The project from partner Jason Long at 5333 Collins Avenue will reach a height of 17 floors when it first opens to residents in late 2026.

A total of 73 one- and two-bedroom residences are included, oriented around creating ocean vistas and including about 20,000 square feet of amenities spaces highlighted by a speakeasy and the latest restaurant concept from celebrity chef Shaun Hergatt.

Image credit: The Boundary

A double-height entry lobby welcomes residents to the building’s other features, including a conservatory space, film screening room, beach club, and 82-foot swimming pool. The building is conceived as a series of small rotated “towers.” The vistas are referencing European Riviera-style resort designs, reflected again in interiors designed by Tara Bernerd & Partners.

Image credit: The Boundary

Viewed from the outside, its singular form is define...

OMA debuts PRINCIPLES Square collection for Perth Design Week

2024-03-14T19:28:00-04:00

Photos of the central hub for Perth Design Week, the eight-day event taking place now in the Western Australia capital, have been revealed by OMA to go along with the start of festivities.

Their colorful design for PRINCIPLES Square is located inside Cathedral Square in Perth's city center and features the Australian debut of the firm's office furniture collaboration with UniFor, which first premiered at Milan Design Week in 2022.

Intended as the main gathering space for Design Week, the concept creates a variety of socializing and spatial scenarios. For the event's second edition, no less than 20 events will be hosted there. Philippe Braun, the project's associate-in-charge, told the press that its realization "stimulated us to further explore how the collection can be applied beyond the typical."

Photography by Frans Parthesius, courtesy OMA

OMA says of the arrangement: "PRINCIPLES Square is the manifestation of the potential of the collection. The installation takes advantage of ...

OMA overhauls 1970s modernist building for Singapore cooking club and campus

2024-03-06T10:47:00-05:00

OMA has completed the AIR CIrcular Campus and Cooking Club in Dempsey Hill, Singapore. The scheme saw the overhaul of an existing modernist building and surrounding green space into what the team calls “a place for novel dining experiences, inviting broader thinking and discussions about food and the environment.”

Image credit: Kris Provoost

Designed in collaboration with entrepreneur Ronald Akili, and chefs Matt Orlando of Amass and Will Goldfarb of Room4Dessert, the scheme includes open kitchens, research space, and a cooking school for visitors.

Image credit: Kris Provoost

“It has been an inspiring journey to join Ronald, Will, and Matt on this platform to address the topic of sustainable hospitality from different perspectives,” said OMA managing partner David Gianotten about the project. “We are convinced that architecture and design can maximize impact through active engagement with different disciplines.”

Image credit: Kris ...

AMO design for the Prada 2024 FW Men's Show stages nature against an invasive interior environment

2024-01-21T08:00:00-05:00

AMO’s latest collaboration with the fashion industry went on display recently as part of the 2024 FW Prada Men's Show, held on January 14th at the Fondazione Prada for Milan Fashion Week.

For the presentation, AMO and partner in charge Rem Koolhaas created a scenographic imitation of an outmoded office environment set against an outer landscape that appears to audience members from beneath a transparent platform stage as though an “analogue projection among the many digital images that saturate one’s life today.”

This theatrical blending of nature and its opposite keys to the brand’s stated desire to produce clothes that reflect the spaces and seasons surrounding them. It, of course, also pays homage to design trends apparent in the latest examples of corporate architecture.

“In the space of the Deposito an improbable encounter takes place: chaos and order, reality and fiction, predictability and spontaneity – seemingly opposite elements – engage in a game of collaboration, a syne...

OMA unveils design for Metropolitan Village residential tower in Taipei

2023-11-09T12:56:00-05:00

OMA has revealed plans for its first post-pandemic residential design in Taipei. The new Metropolitan Village project is being designed by OMA Managing Partner David Gianotten and Taiwan Project Director Chiaju Lin and calls for a 23-story tower comprised of interconnected volumes arranged around a central core.

Image: © WAX Architectural Visualizations, courtesy of OMA

Gianotten says: “Housing has become increasingly multi-functional since the pandemic. For many, it is no longer only a space for domestic activities but also for work, for socializing, for sports, among other happenings. Different than typical residential towers with identical living units, Metropolitan Village has different types of spaces that encourage the residents to define their own lifestyles. The result is a vibrant vertical Metropolitan village with a mix of activities.”

Image: © WAX Architectural Visualizations, courtesy of OMA

Metropolitan Village will be oriented front to back, with its front elevation add...

OMA's new Toranomon Hills Station Tower opens in Tokyo

2023-10-27T13:48:00-04:00

OMA and Partner Shohei Shigematsu have shared new photos of their just-completed work on the Toranomon Hills Station Tower project for developer Mori Building Co. in Tokyo.

The first high-rise to be completed inside the studio’s larger Toranomon Hills mixed-use district overlooks the terminus of Shintora-dori Avenue, whose axis is extended through a split base containing a Metro station and shopping area. This creates an interface between city and the building that the architects say is essential to their design’s public character, an element that culminates in a top-level cultural center called TOKYO NODE.

Photo: Mori Building Co., Ltd, courtesy of OMA

Photo: Tomoyuki Kusunose, courtesy of OMA

In between the public elements, the total 873-foot tower contains 32 levels of office spaces, a hotel, and two restaurants. Users will approach via an elevated T-Deck pedestrian walkway that connects the site to the surrounding development. Base-level activities are extended vertically in a ban...

Explore photos of OMA and Cooper Robertson's newly opened Buffalo AKG Art Museum expansion

2023-06-23T13:58:00-04:00

OMA has shared photos of the newly-reopened Buffalo AKG ARt Museum (formerly the Albright-Knox Gallery) following a special ribbon-cutting ceremony that was held on June 12 in Buffalo, New York.

The culmination of more than three years of construction yielded the renovation of two existing structures and the addition of a new glass-canopied Jeffrey E. Gundlach Building and Ralph Wilson Town Square designed by Shohei Shigematsu in collaboration with Cooper Robertson.

The Buffalo AKG campus looking east along Elmwood Avenue. Image © Marco Cappelletti.

Overall, the renovations add an additional 50,000-square-feet of exhibition space, five studio classrooms, a restaurant, and 350-seat auditorium. The project was funded by a $230 million capital campaign said to be the largest in the region’s history. New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul, who was born and raised in Buffalo, said "The new building and campus are a dramatic work of art that will attract visitors and support the regional touri...

Final design for Discovery Partners Institute headquarters presented to Chicago Plan Commission

2023-06-05T19:25:00-04:00

The Chicago Plan Commission was presented the final design for the Discovery Partners Institute’s new headquarters at the 78 as the development looks to get final site plan approval.

The OMA and Jacobs-designed project is proposed for a one-acre parcel anchoring the south end of the upcoming The 78 mega-development, a mixed-use innovation district set to rise along a 62-acre stretch of disused rail yards. The headquarters is expected to be the first building to begin construction at the development. Standing eight stories and spanning approximately 213,000 square feet, the scheme will feature office, classroom, lab, and event spaces for the University of Illinois System’s Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) and its partners.

Previously on Archinect: OMA/Jacobs selected to design the University of Illinois' new DPI innovation hub in Chicago

The building will be composed of a series of stacked volumes enclosed with a dome-like glass and steel form. The atrium, described by OMA as an “active collision zone,” will serve as a central gathering space. The ground floor is designed to be open to the public, with a café, auditorium, and multipurpose rooms. The new headquar...

OMA completes renovation of Tiffany & Co. Manhattan flagship with rooftop extension

2023-05-19T17:02:00-04:00

OMA has completed its transformation of Tiffany & Co.’s 5th Avenue flagship in New York City. The updated store now features a three-story rooftop addition designed by OMA and interiors by Peter Marino.

Image credit: floto+warner

The project marks the first significant renovation of the store since its opening in 1940. Now known as ‘The Landmark,’ the store “invites visitors to discover the history and range of Tiffany & Co. goods in a redefined flagship environment of displays and shared experiences,” according to OMA.

Image credit: floto+warner

The interior of the existing limestone building sees a central core reorganized to create a clear elevator lobby and improved visitor flow. Atop the building, a new three-story volume houses a dedicated gallery, exhibition, and event space.

Image credit: floto+warner

The first two floors of the volume are stacked into a clear box for exhibitions and events, with a double-height, column-free s...

OMA and Circlewood develop adaptable modular wood system to build schools in Amsterdam

2023-05-12T13:59:00-04:00

OMA, along with Circlewood, a coalition of architects, engineers, builders, and researchers, have developed a modular wood system to build a variety of schools in Amsterdam.

This project aims to support the city’s goal to halve the use of primary raw materials by 2030 and become fully circular by 2050. As part of this mission and the need to meet the increasing demand for schools, Amsterdam initiated the Innovation Partnership School Buildings program to build nine to thirty “high-quality, flexible, and sustainable” schools in ten years.

Image courtesy of OMA

Consisting of standardized wooden columns and cross-laminated wooden floor panels, the prefabricated system is connected by recycled steel joints. OMA explains, "All of the components are made in a factory under a digitally controlled process allowing for quick assembly and disassembly by an electric crane on site."

Photography by Arthur Wong for OMA.

They are arranged into 11.8-foot wide (2.6m), 23.6-foot long (7.2m), and up t...

OMA’s first Tokyo tower takes a step closer to completion

2023-02-02T11:48:00-05:00

OMA has taken a step closer to the completion of its first tower in Tokyo, following the announcement that the Toranomon Hills Station Tower will open in the Fall of 2023. Part of the wider Toranomon Hills development, the mixed-use tower will reach 873 feet in height, and will hold offices, commercial spaces, hotels, and an interactive events facility named TOKYO NODE.

Image credit: OMA NY / Mori Building Co., Ltd.

The lower section of the tower is imagined as a “large funnel” designed to draw the public inward. The dominant architectural element of the tower’s base is the T-DECK, a large-scale pedestrian bridge that links the building to the broader development, and creates two public zones. The lower zone, dubbed the ‘Station Atrium,’ manifests as a three-story concourse which the design team believes “provides an exciting sense of arrival.”

Image credit: OMA NY / Mori Building Co., Ltd.

Above the base, the tower’s form is angled from several vantage points to create new sightlines...

OMA completes stepped Greenpoint Landing towers in Brooklyn

2022-12-08T11:36:00-05:00

Construction has been completed on OMA’s Eagle + West towers along the Brooklyn waterfront. Designed in collaboration with Beyer Blinder Belle, the towers represent OMA’s first high-rise scheme in New York.

The 600,000-square-foot development comprises two towers and a seven-story building, holding a total of 745 residential units. The two towers lean into and away from each other, with expanding and contracting forms determined by an attempt to maximize internal efficiency. While the forty-story tower widens as it rises in order to maximize views, the thirty-story tower widens towards the ground to face the waterfront.

Image credit: Jason O'Rear

The stepped massing of the towers sees the form broken into seven-to-eight-story blocks, reflecting the scale of neighboring buildings, according to the architects. The subdivision is further expressed on the façade itself, where a grid of precast concrete panels is carved by angled planes alternating in orientatio...

OMA and Cooper Robertson's Buffalo AKG Museum will officially reopen in May 2023

2022-11-24T12:00:00-05:00

An opening date has been set for the restored Buffalo AKG Art Museum following the announcement of the additional $20 million in funding to complete the three-year OMA and Cooper Robertson-led project.

Since Archinect's reporting of the museum's design was shared back in June 2018, the formerly named Albright-Knox Art Gallery will officially open its doors on May 25, 2023. New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signed off on the remaining monies made necessary by pandemic-related overruns to what she called a “transformative project that will provide a significant boost to Buffalo’s future.”

When it opens, visitors will be enthralled by Shohei Shigematsu’s glass curtain design for the new Jeffrey E. Gundlach building that connects via a transparent pedestrian bridge to the refurbished 117-year-old Elisabeth Wilmers Building, designed in the neoclassical style by influential local architect...

OMA's Harajuku Quest center performs an urban balancing act in Tokyo

2022-11-03T13:30:00-04:00

Construction has begun on the OMA-designed Harajuku Quest project in Tokyo. The 84,000-square-foot mixed-use scheme will contain commercial and cultural functions set within a building form shaped by two differing urban contexts that interact with the site.

Concept diagram. Image credit: OMA

To the south, the Harajuku Quest site is bound by Omotesando, an imposing axial thoroughfare defined by wide tree-lined sidewalks, and a string of flagship retail stores occupied by global brands. In response, OMA’s scheme addresses the street with a “monolithic, transparent face” where a setback towards the top brings light to the interior, and a setback at the ground encourages pedestrian movement through the site.

Concept diagram. Image credit: OMA

Section diagram. Image credit: OMA

To the north, meanwhile, the site addresses Oku-Harajuku, a more intimate “village” townscape defined by tight, organic streets and smaller-scale buildings occupied by independen...

AMO reveals unique retail spaces for Jacquemus' Paris and London expansions

2022-10-05T12:57:00-04:00

A splashy collaboration between AMO (the research arm of OMA) and the French fashion house Jacquemus is making the scene in Paris and London this season thanks to the dynamic duo of OMA partner Ellen van Loon and Giulio Margheri.

Located inside the iconic Parisian department store Galeries Lafayette Haussmann and the equally posh London’s Selfridges and Harvey Nichols outfitters, the stores first premiered in July and were inspired by a deep dive into the brand’s origins, according to the design team.

Photograph by Benoit Florençon, Courtesy of AMO

“We wanted to capture the atmosphere of Provence through the materiality of the spaces,” van Loon says. “[That] led us to approach the design in a different way altogether. Instead of working with form and deciding on the materials afterwards, we chose the materials at the outset and let them guide the shape of each space.”

Photograph by Benoit Florençon, Courtesy of AMO

Photograph by Benoit F...

OMA/Jacobs selected to design the University of Illinois' new DPI innovation hub in Chicago

2022-09-23T17:14:00-04:00

A joint team of OMA and Jacobs has been selected to design a new 200,000-square-foot headquarters for the University of Illinois System's Discovery Partners Institute in Chicago, the state and Governor J.B. Pritzker announced on Thursday.

The multi-year project will transform a disused 62-acre former yard site as the first construction in the larger The 78 Innovation District that is meant to provide a high-tech connection between Chinatown to the South Loop.

Image courtesy OMA and Lucian R

Pritzker says its “futuristic design” matches the state’s ambition to create a hub for innovation downtown on land donated to the state by Related Companies’ Midwest operation. Beyond the typical economic stimulus components provided by the project, the development will support a host of K-12 education and entrepreneurship programs, continued wastewater monitoring, and a hodgepodge of other collaborative business ventures geared toward the tech industry.

Image courtesy OMA and bloomimages.de

Image ...

OMA's Taipei Performing Arts Center officially opens

2022-08-08T15:54:00-04:00

The new Taipei Performing Arts Center by OMA has opened to the public in the city’s Shilin Night Market. Led by Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten, the project comprises three theaters: a spherical 800-seat Globe Playhouse, a 1,500-seat Grand Theater, and an 800-seat Blue Box, connected to a central cube.

Previously on Archinect: OMA's role-defying new theater design debuts in Taipei

The cube houses the stages, backstages, and support spaces of the theaters, which allows the Grand Theater and the Blue Box to come together to form a Super Theater.

Image © OMA

The Globe features a unique proscenium that supports experimentation with stage framing. The opaque façades of the theaters juxtapose the animated and illuminated central cube that is clad in corrugated glass.

Image © OMA

A landscaped plaza sits beneath the central cube, which is lifted off the ground to accommodate t...

OMA, David Chipperfield, and Sou Fujimoto team up to design $1.4 billion cultural-retail complex in Shenzhen

2022-07-22T17:38:00-04:00

A team consisting of David Chipperfield, OMA, and Sou Fujimoto is leading the design of an expansive, $1.4 billion cultural-retail complex on the coast of Shenzhen.

Called K11 ECOAST, the development will span more than 2.4 million square feet and be located in Prince Bay in Shenzhen’s Nanshan District. The project is being jointly developed by Hong Kong billionaire Adrian Cheng’s New World Development Company Limited, along with China Merchants Shekou Holdings in Shenzhen.

Image courtesy K11 Group

The project is part of the Chinese government’s effort to develop its Greater Bay Area region, which includes southern cities, such as Shenzhen and Guangzhou, into arts and business hubs by 2035. Cheng’s vision for K11 ECOAST is to establish a new creative and cultural destination for the region. The complex will consist of a mall, multi-purpose art space, office buildings, and a promenade. The complex’s design places an emphasis on balancing the architecture with the surrounding coastal...

OMA's role-defying new theater design debuts in Taipei

2022-05-16T13:20:00-04:00

New photos have been released of the recently completed Tapei Performing Arts Center by OMA.

Now a part of the capital city’s Shilin Night Market, the new Center houses two 800-seat theaters and a larger 1,500-seat venue in addition to support areas all connected by a centralizing cube-like form that OMA founder Rem Koolhaas thinks will free both patron and performer from a stultifying industry-wide trend.

“Theater has a very long tradition. We have seen contemporary performance theaters increasingly becoming standardized, with conservative internal operation principles. We want to contribute to the history of the theater,” Koolhaas explained in a statement. “Here in Taipei, we were able to combine three auditoria in a particular way. We are interested to see how this architecture will have an impact in terms of extending what we can do in theater.”

Photos reveal the cubic ...

OMA unveils design for tiered residential tower in Miami Beach

2022-05-13T13:56:00-04:00

The Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) has unveiled the design for a 17-story, 408,000-square-foot residential tower in Miami’s Mid Beach neighborhood.

The Perigon, located at 5333 Collins Avenue, will sit at the center of a rare section of Miami Beach that spans from the small village of Indian Creek to the Atlantic Ocean. Its unique position allows for dual-waterfront living. The project is being led by OMA Partner Jason Long.

Image Copyright OMA and Binyan Studios

The structure has been designed as a series of “towers” rotated to orient views away from neighbors and towards the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. The towers are merged and lifted 45 feet above the flood line into a singular volume. This allows for panoramic views across each floor and opens up space on the ground level.

“Miami Beach combines natural beauty with urban density—Collins Avenue is at times a walled fortress blocking off the city from its best asset. We tried to make our building touch the ground...

OMA and Library Street Collective unveil new mixed-use arts space in Detroit

2022-05-05T14:27:00-04:00

Detroit-based contemporary art exhibition space Library Street Collective has announced a partnership with OMA to transform a former 1900s-era commercial bakery and warehouse into a mixed-use arts education and public space.

Led by OMA Partner Jason Long, the adaptive reuse project will see the conversion of the 22,300-square-foot complex at 9301 Kercheval into a headquarters for two local arts nonprofits, Signal-Return and Progressive Arts Studio Collective (PASC). Nicknamed “LANTERN,” it will also feature roughly 5,300 square feet of affordable artist studios, an art gallery, and nearly 4,000 feet of creative retail. This will be centered around a 2,000-square-foot outdoor courtyard that will serve as an accessible community space and activity condenser.

The original vacant bakery and warehouse. Photo: Jason Keen, Courtesy LSC

The proposed revamp. Image Copyright OMA and Luxigon

PASC and Signal-Return will occupy approximately 8,500 square feet of combined space on the building’s ...

OMA and Buro Happold reveal new video of modular hospital prototype

2022-04-12T09:00:00-04:00

One of the most promising recent healthcare infrastructure concepts has engendered an offshoot project that looks to expand on its original framework design.

As a product of the research done for their collaboration on the Al Daayan Health District Master Plan in Doha, OMA and Buro Happold have created a prototype for a low-rise hospital structure commissioned by the Hamad Medical Corporation.

Previously on Archinect: OMA and Buro Happold reveal designs for the Al Daayan Health District in Doha

Image © HMC

The prototype appears to consist of similar two-story-high modular units that can be adapted and reconfigured to allow for maximal variation and minimal costs. Scalable, self-sufficient, and built using a considerable amount of 3D printing technology, the design is a sustainable refresh to the important typology and hopes to see further use in other climates once the Qatari concept catches on.

Image © HMC

“Medical technology is advancing exponentially, leaving hospitals to...

Qatar will receive three new museums from a trio of Pritzker Prize winners

2022-03-28T19:24:00-04:00

Three new major museum projects were announced yesterday at the 2022 Doha Forum in Qatar.

Qatar Museums Chairperson Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani was on hand to premiere the new initiative, which is meant to kick off the next phase in the country’s development goals propelled by a continued investment in the cultural economy.

Al Mayassa was joined by two-thirds of the architects for the museums: Jacques Herzog of Herzog & de Meuron, who will design the Lusail Museum, and ELEMENTAL director Alejandro Aravena, whose firm will be responsible for the Art Mill. OMA’s Rem Koolhaas, who will design the new Qatar Auto Museum, was the lone holdout.

The Art Mill represents the 21-year-old ELEMENTAL’s first foray into the museum typology. Envisioned as a fusion of performances spaces, contemporary art galleries, and dedicated areas for artist residency programs, what was formerly the site of a historic flour mill will now be transformed into an anchor for various Qatari c...

OMA's Audrey Imas Pavilion makes its long-awaited debut on Wilshire Boulevard

2022-01-04T18:38:00-05:00

The wait is over for one of the most hotly-anticipated editions to the cultural landscape of Los Angeles in recent memory.

OMA has announced the official completion of its much-heralded Audrey Irmas Pavilion for the Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Koreatown.

The new building offers a unique center for aging in addition to a rooftop terrace and sunken garden that connect through a series of small meeting rooms that provide users the chance to gather in the topmost example of three distinct voids defined by their separate sacred and public meeting spaces wrapped in gray GFRC panels which form a hexagonal motif geometric facade.

Image by Jason O'Rear, courtesy of OMA New York

Back in September, OMA’s Shohei Shigematsu referred to the project as a potential catalyst for a return to mass-scale social interactions, stating that its completion “comes at a time when we hope to come together again,” and that the pavilion “can be a platform to reinstate the importance of gathering, exchange, an...