In case you haven't checked out Archinect's Pinterest boards in a while, we have compiled ten recently pinned images from outstanding projects on various Archinect Firm and People profiles. (Tip: use the handy FOLLOW feature to easily keep up-to-date with all your favorite Archinect profiles!)... View full entry
“Protecting heritage is inseparable from protecting populations, because heritage enshrines a people’s values and identities,” she said. “Serious damage has already been inflicted on Syria’s heritage. The destruction of sites such as the historic souk [market] in Aleppo has made headlines around the world. I urge all parties to take all necessary precautions to stop the destruction of Syria’s cultural heritage.” — Al-Ahram Weekly
Previously: Aleppo landmark Mosque, a Unesco world heritage site, has been destroyed View full entry
We noticed in Journal 2013 Issue I’s case study on Kingdom Tower, Jeddah, that a fair amount of the top of the building seemed to be an unoccupied spire. This prompted us to investigate the increasing trend towards extreme spires and other extensions of tall buildings that do not enclose usable space, and create a new term to describe this – Vanity Height, i.e., the distance between a skyscraper’s highest occupiable floor and its architectural top, as determined by CTBUH Height Criteria. — CTBUH
Nuremberg plans to spend up to 70 million euro restoring the sprawling complex used by Adolf Hitler for his mass rallies, as debate continues in Germany over what to do with Nazi-era architecture.
“This is a job of national importance, we cannot take it on alone,” said Ulrich Maly, the Social Democrat mayor of the Bavarian city, who added he would ask for federal funds to complete the project.
— rt.com
It turns out pedestrians couldn’t be bothered to detour through the pixellated concrete compound. “Stairs were too steep, and people preferred crossing Blaak [the street passing under foot] at ground level,” van Schaik explains. “This left the bridge with serious problems. Most shops were vacant, as was the Supercube for a long time." — fastcodesign.com
Polish firm MUS architects has shared with us the concept RTND 2.0, an entry to the ongoing competition Changing the Face 2013 Rotunda Warsaw which seeks to revitalize Zbigniew Karpiński’s iconic 1960s landmark building in central Warsaw. — bustler.net
Frank Herfort is fascinated by the uniquely shaped buildings that have seemed to sprout from the ground since the end of the Soviet era.
Some of the German photographer's images of these eye-catching structures are published in his new book, "Imperial Pomp: Post-Soviet High-Rise." [...]
"I want to show the reputation there, the power," he said. "It's also a signal of the new Russian time."
— CNN Photos
The harbor-front project "Kalvebod Waves" officially opened on Aug. 30 at the Kalvebod Pier [...] in Copenhagen. The design by Julien de Smedt Architects and KLAR with support from Sloth Møller and Niras Engineers won first prize in a competition from December 2008. Not far from the popular Islands Brygge Park in the city, Kalvebod Waves is the latest phase of a long-term plan that aims to revive a formerly desolate section of the pier into a welcoming hub for urban and water activities. — bustler.net
Corporate America is moving away from conventional layouts where an employee's status is measured by the amount of space he occupies. Instead, more compact, playful designs are coming into favor.
People can do their jobs almost anywhere with their cellphones and laptops, the reasoning goes, so let's make the office a place where people are stimulated by close interaction at their workstations and chance meetings in inviting public spaces such as lounges and coffee bars.
— latimes.com
Panicky cost-cutting measures during construction left out elements that would have made the exterior and lobby more dazzling and the hall more flexible. The Music Center, which maintains the hall, seems in danger of taking the venue for granted, not eager to invest in it when it can bask in glory by doing nothing. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is planning a subway line under the hall, raising concerns that train vibrations will spoil the sound. — latimes.com
The Stage 2 shortlist for the new U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon has now been narrowed down even further. — bustler.net
As the Department of State's Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) reports, these three design teams were selected for Stage 3 evaluation: Diller Scofidio + Renfro Mack Scogin Merrill Elam / AECOM Morphosis Architects Earlier this year in June, the Stage 1 shortlist still included Rafael... View full entry
Back in July, we published the selected finalist teams for Ground/Work, the design competition for Van Alen Institute's new street-level space in New York City. The three competition finalists—Collective-LOK, EFGH, and Of Possible Architectures—spent the last few weeks developing their design ideas which were presented to the public today. — bustler.net
The public is now invited to vote on the best proposal and contribute to the jury process. Voting will take place from September 4 to September 10, 2013. Full details on the finalist teams and their proposals can be found at the Ground/Work online gallery at www.vanalen.org/groundwork... View full entry
And just as prisons in the U.S. are now designed to look not just secure and largely windowless but so nondescript that they practically disappear, architecture firms often coat their prison-design work in several layers of euphemism.
Prisons and jails become "correctional facilities." On the website of the large corporate firm HOK Architects, which designed the 1997 Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown L.A., they are tucked into a broader portfolio of "justice buildings."
— latimes.com
The design called for a series of rectangular buildings skewed on an axis comprised of ground-floor retail, office development and proposed residential and flex office space and the upper section would be a hotel, according to city officials.
“I have to say that the Metro Pacific is a beautiful project and you look at it and it’s stunning architecturally,” Davis said. “The affordable housing is kind of an afterthought … . It’s a little unclear of how many units we are going to get.”
— smdp.com
"Homes of Tomorrow", a new radio program from London's "radical alternative" radio station, Resonance 104.4 fm, will explore the atmosphere and legacy of modernist architect Ernö Goldfinger’s utopian visions. Broadcasting Wednesdays at 10pm (BST) through September, the program features... View full entry