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Konrad Frey was a pioneer who designed and built solar houses based on data and scientific insights. Yet Frey and his work are largely unknown. A project by the architectural theoretician Anselm Wagner aims to change that. — Phys org
"The architectural designs of Konrad Frey are characterized by the fact that their form is a consequence of function. Had he worked in Vienna, had his activities started in the urban context, his architecture would have become a topic of research long ago," says art historian and architectural... View full entry
This is a two-part series on housing policy in Vienna and how it could be a model for progressive housing policy in Seattle, where I live, or other American cities struggling with affordable housing. The first part is an overview of financing and subsidies. Part two, coming tomorrow, looks in detail at how zoning and development supports housing affordability. — cityobservatory.org
Mike Eliason, passivhaus designer with Seattle-based Patano Studio, penned an insightful two-part commentary for City Observatory, looking at issues of financing, zoning, affordability, sustainability, and quality of life in a side-by-side comparison of Vienna and Seattle. View full entry
A day after the Austrian government said it was planning to tear down the house where Adolf Hitler was born, the interior minister now says it is likely to be redesigned.
The idea is to prevent the property from being a pilgrimage site for neo-Nazis. [...]
"the new plan comes after members of a government-appointed commission on the future of the house suggested that erasing the house would give the impression Austria was trying to erase its past."
— npr.org
The tricky business of architectural preservation:Plans unveiled to save Aberdeen home of Mitsubishi founderRIP: Bruce Goff's Bavinger House demolishedNo guarantees for historic residential architecture in "real-estate limbo"The price of keeping Britain's 'Downton Abbeys' from crumblingPreserving... View full entry
Very few people have a neutral reaction to Eric Owen Moss: in his conversation and his work, he can be abrasive, challenging, enlightening, and inspirational. For its part, Austria awarded him with its Decoration of Honor for Science and Art on June 21st, celebrating five decades of practice that... View full entry
"Climate change is happening so fast and on such a huge scale that it's forcing us to change the borders of a country," said head of the mapping expedition, Marco Ferrari... The borders of a country are "something we always consider as stable, as a political device, the foundation of the modern state, the most sacred thing, but this huge natural transformation makes clear how disruptive and alarming these changes are," he said. — Vice
"Even the biggest and most stable things, like glaciers, mountains—these huge objects, they can change in a few years. We live on a planet that changes, and we try to make rules, to give meaning, but this meaning is completely artificial because nature, basically, doesn't give a... View full entry
In a joint statement yesterday the Playa Vista, California-based Hyperloop Transport Technologies (HTT) and the Slovak Republic’s economy minister held out the future vision of the Hyperloop whisking passengers at 760 mph between Vienna in Austria, Budapest in Hungary and the Slovakian capital of Bratislava. A Bratislava-to-Vienna route would take just 8 minutes at full speed, while a Bratislava-to-Budapest route would take 10 minutes. — globalconstructionreview.com
Hyperloop previously in the Archinect news:MIT and TU Delft emerge victorious at Hyperloop competition; Elon Musk drops hint about "electric jets"Hyperloop, brought to you by AecomUnpacking the Hyperloop's lofty promises View full entry
Vienna has once more been named the city with the best quality of life for business professionals by Mercer Consulting, the world’s biggest human resources company.
It headed a top 10 dominated by neighbouring cities in Germany and Switzerland, together with Auckland (3), Vancouver (5) and Sydney (10).
The survey is intended to give multinational companies a reference point when deciding how to compensate staff for postings.
— globalconstructionreview.com
According to the Mercer report, the world's most desirable cities for business professionals to relocate to are:Vienna, AustriaZurich, SwitzerlandAuckland, New ZealandMunich, GermanyVancouver, CanadaDusseldorf, GermanyFrankfurt, GermanyGeneva, SwitzerlandCopenhagen, DenmarkSydney... View full entry
A wooden skyscraper that Austrian architects say will be the tallest of its kind in the world is to be built in Vienna next year. The 84-metre (276ft) HoHo project in the Seestadt Aspern area, one of Europe’s largest urban development sites, will house a hotel, apartments, restaurant, wellness centre and offices, and is expected to cost about €60m (£44m). — The Guardian
Designed by Rüdiger Lainer and Partner, the skyscraper would consist of 76% wood. The material choice, according to project developer Caroline Palfy of Kerbler, is largely ecological. While wood requires hewing down trees, its net environmental impact is far lower than concrete: construction... View full entry
A year before discovering the Higgs boson, aka “God”, particle, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) established its own arts residency. Formed in 2011, the Collide@CERN program pairs artists with CERN physicists in Geneva to collaborate on art and research projects, banking... View full entry
It keeps raining fiber-reinforced concrete at Vienna's latest educational facility: A large concrete facade panel weighing 80 kilograms (176 pounds) came crashing down from the Zaha Hadid Architects-designed Library and Learning Center at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, reports... View full entry
We have our book giveaway winner for Adolf Loos, A Private Portrait and Escape Home, Rebuilding a Life After the Anschluss! The two memoirs were each written by family members of Austrian architect Adolf Loos.Adolf Loos, A Private Portrait is the first English translation of the 140-page... View full entry
Time for another book giveaway! We've got two great titles from DoppelHouse Press. The first is the first English edition of Adolf Loos, A Private Portrait by Claire Beck Loos, who was the last wife of Austrian modern architect Adolf Loos. The 140-page biography was originally published in German... View full entry
Power to the people is the driving force behind the Austrian Pavilion for the upcoming 2014 Venice Biennale. The pavilion will include an exhibition that explores the concept of parliament and its architectural influence on the world's more than 200 national parliament monuments. — bustler.net
The pavilion was designed by a collective team including Commissioner Dr. Christian Kühn, Harald Trapp, Coop Himmelb(l)au, Auböck + Kárász Landscape Architects, Kollektiv/Rauschen, and the Vienna University of Technology - Institute of Architecture and Design.Here's a glimpse of the models in... View full entry
After submitting "En Pointe" to the Europan 12 Austria competition, The Open Workshop + Lorena Del Rio Architects team placed as a Runner-Up in a three-way tie for the Kagran site (In other words, a "Winner" title wasn't given.)
"En Pointe" uses the arcade concept and hybrid, multi-functional spaces to improve Kagran's connectivity and potentially enhance the city at an architectural and urban level.
— bustler.net
Here's a preview of their project:Find out more on Bustler.You can also click here to see other Europan 12 entries. View full entry
Shanghai-based architects Ramon Bernabe Simo and Tomas Labanc collaborated to create "OPEN", the winning entry for the Amstetten site in the Europan 12 Austria competition.
As suggested by its name, their team's proposal is a response to improve connectivity, livability, and "opening up" the city to leave room for potential urban expansion.
— bustler.net
Take a peek at their proposal:Renderings by idealarch.com View full entry