Archinect - News

Henning Larsen’s ‘forest canopy-like’ World of Volvo opens in Sweden

2024-04-16T11:52:00-04:00

The Henning Larsen-designed World of Volvo has opened in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Housed under an expressive timber canopy, the 237,000-square-foot building will serve as an experience center for the car brand Volvo, designed around “Scandinavian values of freedom of movement, access to nature, and openness and inclusion.”

Image credit: Rasmus Hjortshoj

The main timber structure is formed of glulam and cross-laminated timber, designed as three tree-trunk-like columns that fan out to carry the entire load of the roof while “enveloping visitors in a welcoming forest-like canopy.” The center’s round structure is intended to encourage visitors to create their own journeys through the building’s interior and exterior.

Image credit: Rasmus Hjortshoj

Inside, a series of spaces are contained to host cultural events, talks, and conferences, accommodating up to 1,100 people. Anchoring the structure is a 485,000-square-foot exhibition space...

Snøhetta's 'whimsical children's museum' takes shape in El Paso

2024-04-02T11:52:00-04:00

New construction photographs published by Snøhetta via social media show substantial progress on the El Paso Children's Museum, designed with Exigo Architecture.

We first reported on the scheme in 2018 when Snøhetta won the competition for the project. In 2020, the firm unveiled a completed design for the 70,000-square-foot museum, which will sit in El Paso's Downtown Arts district.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Snøhetta (@snohetta)

Through an unorthodox use of geometries, the building seeks to distinguish itself from the rest of the local skyline. The rectilinear base is wrapped in glass, allowing for natural light and interior views for the public on the outside. A succession of barrel vaults, visible in the construction photographs, add a rhythmic quality to the structure.

LMN completes overhaul of Buxton Center to connect with history and ecology of Pacific Northwest’s Bainbridge Island

2024-02-13T11:50:00-05:00

LMN Architects has completed an extensive renovation and expansion of the Buxton Center for Bainbridge Performing Arts on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Described by the team as marking “a new era for performers and the arts community in the Pacific Northwest,” the center has been upgraded with a renovated main auditorium and lobby.

Image credit: Lara Swimmer

Visitors to the center are greeted by a new two-story lobby enclosed by a wood and glass curtain wall, responding to the site’s woodland context. Above, a wave-form roof and ceiling plane displays an exposed wood structure, tying the new program spaces together to give the building a clear identity.

Image credit: Lara Swimmer

“The roof and ceiling plane echoes the region’s architectural vernacular and is expressive of the building program,” said LMN Architects principal Mark Tumiski about the scheme. “We took advantage of the scale and tectonic identity of the original structure...

MVRDV begins construction on overhaul of old Shanghai cement factory

2024-02-12T11:16:00-05:00

A team led by MVRDV has begun construction on a leisure and cultural district in Shanghai on the site of a disused cement factory. Named Gate M West Bund Dream Center, the project will transform a collection of buildings of different styles and time periods, “adapting a former industrial zone while making use of the existing structures and thus minimizing carbon emissions,” according to the team.

Image credit: Ucharm

Under the MVRDV scheme, developed with co-architect AISA, landscape architect Field Operations, and interior architects CL3 and Xu Studio, a series of disused buildings will be linked in a “cohesive whole” by a network of bright orange paths, stairs, ramps, and bridges. The site is organized around key landscaped axes including a central spine linking both ends of the district, while a “three-dimensional promenade” is created by a series of landscaped rooftops, elevated riverbank terraces, and a network of staircases and elevators finished in a defining orange color.

Ima...

Four edgy California remodelling projects by JENSEN Architects: Your Next Employer?

2024-01-29T12:08:00-05:00

Following last week's visit to San Francisco-based Edmonds + Lee Architects, we are keeping our Meet Your Next Employer series in the Bay Area this week to explore the work of JENSEN Architects.

From their studio in downtown San Francisco, the firm has built a portfolio specializing in cultural, educational, residential, and workplace projects. The studio describes its ethos as “valuing a critical design approach, contemporary culture engagement, and innovative construction techniques for elegant, effective, and environmentally sensitive solutions.”

Over on Archinect Jobs, the firm is currently hiring for several positions to join their San Francisco office. For candidates interested in applying for a position, or anybody interested in learning about the firm’s output, we have rounded up four intriguing California-based remodel and renovation projects by JENSEN Architects that exemplify the studio’s ethos.

Stanford Residence. Image credit: JENSEN Architects

Stanford Residence, Stanfo...

MAD designs Chinese waterfront arts center as a ‘gentle ripple by the lake’

2024-01-04T11:35:00-05:00

MAD Architects has designed a waterfront arts center in China’s Foshan City described as a “gentle ripple by the lake.” When completed in 2029, the Nanhai Art Center will cover an area of 640,000 square feet, housing a grand theater, a museum, and a sports center.

Image credit: MAD Architects

The scheme has been conceived as a “continuous wave of water,” with the three main buildings sitting underneath a floating canopy comprised of a white, translucent ETFE membrane. The resulting blurring of outdoor and indoor spaces seeks to emphasize the prominence of the nearby lake in the scheme, encouraging the local community to embrace the waterfront as a part of the scheme’s cultural function.

Image credit: MAD Architects

“The traditional culture of Nanhai is in the drum beat and boat drift during the dragon festival boat race and in the kung-fu in the lion dance,” MAD founder Ma Yansong about the site’s context. “Watching them, you can feel the dynamic vibrant, and innovative spirit from an...

Snøhetta designs Saudi opera house inspired by traditional Najdi architecture

2023-12-18T11:45:00-05:00

Snøhetta has unveiled its design for an opera house in Diriyah, on the outskirts of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Inspired by the surrounding desert landscape, local cultural heritage, and Najdi building traditions, the Royal Diriyah Opera House forms part of a wider master plan to redevelop the historic area.

Image credit: Binyan

Both the form and materiality of the opera house respond to a vernacular style in the area known as Najdi, which historically saw mud-brick structures closely clustered to create constant shade. Similarly, the proposed scheme comprises a cluster of buildings connected by open-access passages, responding to the need to shade visitors from the sun.

Image credit: Binyan

The concept behind the design was “the idea of earth from the riverbeds, which crack when exposed to the hot sun, is molded by wind and rain, and then finds a new shape as separate forms.” As a result, the cluster of buildings is imagined as rising from the ground to form open passages across the site. ...

Four masonry cultural buildings by Architecture Research Office: Your Next Employer?

2023-12-04T12:56:00-05:00

Following last week’s visit to Massachussets-based I-Kanda Architects, we are moving our Meet Your Next Employer series to New York this week to explore the work of Architecture Research Office.

From their studio in Brooklyn, the firm has built a portfolio that, in their words, “unites beauty and form with strategy and intelligence.” In September, we reported on the firm’s plans for the Frederic Church Center for Art and Landscape in Upstate New York, while in May, the firm was part of a wider team behind the design of a Brooklyn high school campus with a hydroponics greenhouse and outdoor teaching spaces.

Over on Archinect Jobs, the firm is currently hiring for a Junior Designer to join their Brooklyn office. For candidates interested in applying for the position, or anybody interested in learning about the firm’s output, we have rounded up four masonry cultural buildings by Architecture Research Office that exemplify the studio’s ethos.

Dia Chelsea. Image credit: Elizabeth Felicel...

A submerged Japanese library by Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP as a ‘tranquil place’ for reading and rest

2023-11-29T11:53:00-05:00

Japan-based Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP has offered a look inside their recently completed Library of the Earth. Situated in the Japanese city of Kisarazu, and completed in April 2022, the library is described by the firm as “the library for the farmers, plowing the fields on sunny days and reading books on rainy days.”

Image credit: Koji Fujii / TOREAL

Located in the corner of an active agricultural site, the scheme saw Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP transform a debris-laced plot into a “lush valley.” At the core of the project is a submerged library designed with the principle that “architecture should not occupy the cultivated soil layer but rather exist humbly under the flourishing of plants and microorganisms in the soil.”

Plan credit: Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP

Section credit: Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP

“The earth has been regarded as the source of all life and a symbol of motherhood,” the team explains. “Our wish was to make a small cleft in the earth and create a tr...

Glazed extensions flank Montreal’s historic Maisonneuve Library following major EVOQ renovation

2023-11-24T16:15:00-05:00

Montreal’s Maisonneuve Library has reopened to the public following a major restoration and expansion of the historic building. Dating from 1912, and once serving as a city hall, the building’s transformation was led by Montreal-based EVOQ Architecture and Dan Hanganu Architects, now part of EVOQ, following a 2017 competition win.

Image credit: Adrien Williams

At the center of the project is the original 1912 building, which was rehabilitated to restore its “original splendor.” The building’s stone facades and oversized doors were restored, as were original plaster moldings, wood paneling, and mosaic floors. Meanwhile, anchoring elements of the interior such as the piano nobile’s marble staircase and its two imposing stained-glass features were repaired.

Image credit: Adrien Williams

The existing building is flanked by two contemporary extension wings. The alignment of the extension’s curtain walls, as well as the rhythm of its...

3XN designs amphitheater-like venue for Baltimore’s waterfront

2023-11-03T12:42:00-04:00

3XN has unveiled its design for a new destination at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, holding a mixture of retail, hospitality, and public amenities located in a “market hall environment.”

The scheme draws inspiration from the sails dotting the city’s waterfront, with an architectural language that seeks to become a “natural extension of the waterfront and nestle into the existing architecture.”

Image credit: 3XN

A concave form of the building seeks to create an amphitheater-like space aided by public landscaped roof terraces while creating elevated views of the water.

Image credit: 3XN

The emphasis on external landscapes forms part of 3XN’s strategy for climate resilience, with landscaped elements doubling as stormwater management and flooding mitigation. The edges of the concave terraces are shaped to catch the prevailing wind, while the ground floor has been designed with anticipation for flooding, with the building itself imagined as “a community refuge during extreme heat and poor air q...

MAD to renovate Shanghai cement warehouse with floating metal ‘ark’

2023-10-27T11:33:00-04:00

MAD Architects has unveiled its design for the renovation and adaptive reuse of an old cement factory in Shanghai. The ‘Wanmicang’ warehouse sits on the south side of the Shanghai Zhangjiang Cement Factory grounds and has been reimagined by MAD as a “three-dimensional hierarchy of time and physical dimensions through the juxtaposition of old and new structures.”

Image credit: MAD Architects

Having ceased production in 2013 after decades as one of Shanghai’s largest cement factories, the site has been the subject of several commissions by architects aiming to preserve and reuse historical buildings while repositioning the site for research, cultural, commercial, and creative uses. Subsequently, MAD’s approach to the Wanmicang warehouse was to preserve the site’s industrial fabric while repurposing the site as a multifunctional public waterfront space holding culture, creativity, commercial, and office functions.

Image credit: MAD Architects

“Industrial heritage is preserved and utilize...

EskewDumezRipple uses musical instruments and AI as inspiration for their Louisiana Music and Heritage Experience Museum design

2023-10-20T11:47:00-04:00

EskewDumezRipple has unveiled its design for the Louisiana Music and Heritage Experience Museum in New Orleans. The 120,000-square-foot project is intended as a “venue to showcase and highlight the contributions that the city of New Orleans has made to the music industry.”

Image credit: EskewDumezRipple

Located opposite the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, the museum seeks to consolidate a complete view of music from several smaller museums spread across the state and region. The concept design of the scheme is inspired by music and musical instruments, with an outer shell drawing inspiration from the hollowed body of a guitar.

Meanwhile, the outlines and silhouettes of various instruments including violins, guitars, and brass pieces, are conveyed through “sinuous and flowing lines” in specific elements and building details.

Image credit: EskewDumezRipple

AI tools such as Midjourney were used during the design...

Lemay completes major redesign of Montreal’s 1950s Théâtre de Verdure

2023-08-29T13:55:00-04:00

Montreal-baed Lemay has completed a redesign of the city’s Théâtre de Verdure. The original 1956 development has been enhanced with what the firm calls a “4-season concept that redefines the relationship between theatre and park, architecture and landscape, and the built and the natural.”

Image credit: Adrien Williams

The redesign sought to make the outdoor theater’s presence felt throughout the adjacent La Fontaine Park, maximizing views of both the stage and surrounding greenspace. Designed to address both visitors and passers-by, the form “invites discovery, both inside and outside the site” with a “new green, modern, and lively public space that offers a vibrant place for lovers of arts and culture to witness unforgettable moments.”

Image credit: Adrien Williams

"Throughout the project, we were keen to reaffirm the theatre's heritage identity, and we took care to develop new interventions compatible with the memory of the site," explained Marie-Ève Parent, Associate and Discipline...

EskewDumezRipple designs Baton Rouge’s Burden Welcome Center as a ‘retreat to nature’

2023-08-09T11:21:00-04:00

EskewDumezRipple has released images of their newly-designed Burden Welcome Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Located adjacent to the city’s Botanic Gardens, Rural Life Museum, and the LSU AgCenter, the 9,230-square-foot center is intended to “provide visitors with an overview of the many destinations dispersed throughout the 440-acre property in the heart of Louisiana’s capital city.”

Image credit: EskewDumezRipple

Described by the team as a “contemplative retreat to nature,” the center incorporates a series of glass walls on the far side of the entryway to capture views of the surrounding scenery. The design also features a 7,200-square-foot open-air central courtyard wrapped by a sheltered outdoor space.

Image credit: EskewDumezRipple

Inside, the center will hold 3,000 square feet of multi-purpose space, 1,000 square feet of gallery space, an occupiable green roof, a small dining area and café, a gift shop, visitor restrooms, and offices for botanic gardens administrative staff.

Im...

Inside the new BAFTA headquarters by Benedetti Architects

2023-06-20T19:54:00-04:00

Benedetti Architects has offered an insight into the new headquarters for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) in London. The Grade II listed building has seen a comprehensive expansion and re-design with a budget of £33 million (USD 42 million).

Photo credit: Jim Stephenson

Photo credit: Rory Mulvey

The resulting 26,500-square-foot revamp includes “state-of-the-art spaces with maximum flexibility, balancing the charity’s educational work with members’ needs and revenue.” The design included accessibility and systems upgrades, including a doubled WC capacity and enhanced fire safety, energy performance, acoustics, thermal comfort, and useability.

Photo credit: Thomas Alexander

Photo credit: Luca Piffaretti

Facilities within the building include two theaters holding 227 and 41 seats, respectively, as well as a banqueting hall, four kitchens, multi-purpose event and exhibition spaces, a members’ bar and restaurant area, a new skylit boardroom containing historic materia...

Construction underway in Poland on one of Europe’s largest museum complexes

2023-05-30T11:48:00-04:00

Construction is underway in Warsaw on a new complex for the Polish History Museum and Polish Army Museum, designed by the Warsaw-based architectural design studio WXCA.

Located at the Warsaw Citadel, on the site of former 19th-century fortifications, the museum and an associated park are intended to create “a place of culture, remembrance, and recreation.”

Polish History Museum. Image credit: WXCA

Three structures are to be built on the site: the headquarters of the Polish History Museum, and two buildings for the Polish Army Museum. When combined with the already-existing Museum of the 10th Pavilion of the Warsaw Citadel and the Katyń Museum, the “park of museums” is expected to become one of the largest museum complexes in Europe.

Polish History Museum. Image credit: WXCA

For the Polish History Museum, WXCA imagined the scheme as a monolithic body expressed through a minimalist stone form. Within the s...