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Kengo Kuma turns literary fantasy into an exciting spatial experience with the new Hans Christian Andersen Museum

2021-03-12T15:08:00-05:00

Kengo Kuma & Associates' new design for the Hans Christian Andersen Museum is underway. Pulling reference from Andersen's tales Kuma and his team bring the famed author and his writings to life in an exciting spatial experience. "The museum will provide a unique artistic experience, which combines landscape, architecture, and modern exhibition design, and it will offer new perspectives on one of the most beloved and creative thinkers in world history," shares the museum team.

The firm was selected for the museum project after winning first prize for the international design competition in 2016. Slated to open Summer 2021, visualizations of the project's dreamy outdoor landscapes complement Andersen's fantastical tales. The 60,277 square foot (5,600 square meters) museum site contains a children's house and an underground museum that intertwines with the garden.

Kuma was inspired by the author's fairytale "The Tinderbox" which tells the story of a soldier who learns of a magical un...

The Cultural Landscape Foundation organizes tour of San Francisco's finest public spaces

2019-09-10T10:00:00-04:00

Drawing on the Bay Area's rich cultural landscape legacy, this weekend of free, expert-led tours will feature dozens of sites, including gardens, campuses, plazas, public parks, and cultural institutions. An online city guide and printed guidebook will be produced in tandem with the Weekend.

The tours, scheduled for September 14 and 15, include visits to the Makoto Hagiwara-designed Golden Gate Park Japanese Tea Garden, the first public Japanese garden in the U.S., and to San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza, a site currently undergoing substantial renovations.

Pope Francis greens Vatican Gardens

2019-08-11T12:00:00-04:00

The head of the Vatican’s extensive gardens has announced an initiative, already underway, to totally eliminate the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

The use of chemical substances at the 37-acre Vatican Gardens has fallen by 96-percent since an effort to reduce the use of these toxic substances was started back in 2017.

"Under the initiative, the Vatican Gardens has adopted the use of organic products to eliminate destructive insects, and has changed its strategy so as to help the plants help themselves," writes Aleteia editor, Zelda Caldwell.

David Chipperfield's completed Amorepacific HQ shows how a company can participate in the larger community

2018-06-26T13:01:00-04:00

Korean beauty giant Amorepacific, the largest cosmetic company in South Korea, has just moved into their new headquarters. Designed by David Chipperfield Architects, the Amorepacfic's new 30 story high-rise is as serene and calming as any of their botanical formulas.

Image courtesy of David Chipperfield Architects.

The building itself takes the form of a cube, with three cutouts puncturing the sides, relieving the building of its heavy massing and offering panoramic views of the city. Despite its simple shape, it generates a distinct landmark on the skyline, avoiding iconographic similarities with neighboring high-rises.

Image courtesy of David Chipperfield Architects.

It is covered in matte-white aluminum brise-soleil panels, applied in four different arrangements designed to reduce unwanted solar radiation and glare. Beneath, a second thermal skin made of floor-to-ceiling glass with opaque ventilation panels provides additional thermal comfort. Together, they create a lightweight, ...

Reiulf Ramstad's proposal for a multivalent, inspirational Ross Pavilion in Edinburgh

2017-06-29T14:55:00-04:00

While no one can claim that they understand where inspiration comes from, most would agree that it doesn't hurt to have an unfettered view of nature in an architecturally inventive setting. Norwegian architects Reiulf Ramstad are among the seven finalists in the Ross Pavilion International Design Competition to design a new cultural pavilion for Edinburgh's West Princes Street Gardens, and their plans reveal a glass-walled, timber-framed structure that attempts to harmoniously look toward the future while not alienating the centuries-old architecture surrounding it.

Image: Forbes Massie Studio

The result is a surprisingly timeless pavilion that encourages contemplation, relaxation, and an appreciation of the Gardens.

Image: Forbes Massie Studio

As the architects explain, "The Ross Pavilion will be the focal point of the city of Edinburgh and its many visitors, but it can also be a symbolic place for all of Scotland as well. The intervention into the Gardens ...