Architects Jarrik Ouburg and Laura Alvarez sent us their "Hortus conclusus" scheme in the recently concluded E12 of the Europan Norway competition. This year's theme focused on the future development of three Oslo-region municipalities projected to grow within the next 25 years: Bærum, Asker, and Ås.
Alvarez's and Ouburg's collaborative entry won second prize in the Ås category.
— bustler.net
The municipality of Ås, the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, and the architects will discuss the proposal in early 2014 to develop a new and more detailed masterplan of the specific site. Here's a glimpse of the proposal: View full entry
Although superlative residential architectural works are elegant mirrors of their times and an important aspect of the city’s cultural heritage, the pressures of property values, changed styles of living (the craze for open kitchens and great rooms have doomed many period homes), and property owners’ rights often outweigh the glories of the past. The demolition of amazing, one-of-a-kind architectural homes is an all too frequent occurrence in LA, despite epic efforts by preservationists. — la-confidential-magazine.com
"are the skyscrapers that tower over the Corniche, Doha's Waterside Drive, and it's an amazing skyline...There's a building that looks like a great blue cylinder whose top...It looks like Darth Vader helmet at the top of it...a building that looks like a big pickle with a toothpick stuck out of the top and another that's kind of like a vase on a potter's wheel...it looks as if it was a huge architectural competition and everybody won and everybody got to design a building." - Robert Siegel — All Things Considered - NPR
In a piece about Qatar's National Food Security Program, Robert Siegel examines the challenges and opportunities of food and water security in the Gulf nation. While visiting Doha to speak with Fatah al-Attiya, director of the program, Mr. Siegel reflects on the wealth/success/growth for... View full entry
Christmas came early for Heneghan Peng Architects: the Irish firm was announced on December 23 as the final winner of the international competiton for Moscow’s new National Center for Contemporary Arts (NCCA). — bustler.net
Previously: Three finalists for Moscow’s New National Center for Contemporary Arts (NCCA) View full entry
This ice castle—or, ice bank fortress—is perhaps the most spectacular entrant in the 30th annual International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival in the northeastern Chinese city of Harbin. A sign hanging outside the sculpture suggests it’s intended to look like a branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the nation’s biggest bank. — qz.com
Many of the contested demolitions in 2013 involved structures that were once considered innovative, but just a few decades later, have been labeled "obsolete." This fact heats up some food for thought: Just how future-proof are the "futuristic" buildings that are being proposed and built now? — theatlanticcities.com
In the summer of 2011, photographer Victoria Cohen heard that the Chelsea Hotel would undergo drastic renovations to the structure, which was built in 1884. She spent three weeks documenting every nook and cranny of the building and the result is Hotel Chelsea, a collection of photographs of the interior in its authentic, untouched state, as so many knew and loved it. — Fast Company
While still fresh in our minds, architecture in 2013 had as much to do with culture and technology as it did design. We saw technology’s influence expand enormously -- through design, production, clients and criticism -- simultaneously enriching and conflicting our relationship to the built... View full entry
Its style is “brutalist,” which looks exactly like it sounds: big, blockish, hulking. Basically, a fortress of concrete... But what if these homely structures are actually tomorrow’s historic architecture? What if we just don’t appreciate them yet, and later generations will embrace them even though we think they’re monstrosities? — radioboston.wbur.org
A forthcoming report from the Municipal Art Society, called “The Accidental Skyline,” bemoans what’s happening on 57th Street, absent New Yorkers’ input. It suggests any new tower casting a shadow over Central Park should require the approval of the City Planning Commission. That’s a plausible trigger for public oversight, dependent on city commissioners with backbone who understand design. — nytimes.com
MASS found a critical flaw in the ad hoc system: contaminated waste was being dumped illegally, frequently ending up right back in the water table. In response, MASS designed a facility with two distinct but equally vital jobs: it treats both people and their waste water. — Wired
Kyle Vanhemert talked with Michael Murphy CEO and co-founder of MASS Design Group, regarding their design for the first permanent cholera treatment center in Haiti. View full entry
The prevailing issues up for discussion this year ran the gambit from the precisely technical to the dizzyingly ontological -- in short, questions that will always be up for debate. Below are the 13 most visited Discussion threads during 2013. These do not represent the most commented threads... View full entry
Below are Archinect's 13 predictions for 2014. For a full list of all of our top 13 lists for 2013, click here. .... Click here for Archinect's full 13 Top 13 for '13 list! View full entry
More than 81 people have been injured, seven seriously, when part of a theatre in London's West End collapsed onto a packed audience during a performance.
Fire crews had to rescue people from the Apollo theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue, which was showing a performance of the hit show The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time.
— theguardian.com
UPDATE: Apollo theatre collapse due to 'old' materials View full entry
The most visible legacy of Communist rule, the grand and often eye-catching buildings have become a source of heated debate in Poland with critics condemning them as an ugly and unwanted reminder of a past best forgotten. Defenders stress their architectural merits and argue that the buildings are now part of the national heritage. — economist.com
Related: Winner of Changing The Face 2013 to revamp Warsaw’s saw-toothed Rotunda View full entry