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In response to the all-too-familiar “nature-deficit disorder” in society these days, participants in this year's competition had to create inventive “Playsages” that would inspire, if not remind, today's tech-savvy kids — and adults — to spend more time outdoors. Out of 162 proposals from 30 countries, six lucky designers had the winning schemes that will be exhibited during the 2017 International Garden Festival starting June 23. — Bustler
Here's a glimpse of the winning projects:↓ LA CHRYSALIDE by landscape architects Gabriel Lacombe & Virginie Roy-Mazoyer↓ PAYSAGE EUPHONIQUE by MANI↓ L'ESCALE by Collectif EscargoHAIKU by architects Francisco A. Garcia Pérez & Alessandra VignottoSOUNDCLOUD by Johanna Ballhaus... View full entry
This morning Governor Cuomo announced that the state would invest in building a $200 million Empire State Trail that would span 750 miles connecting the bottom of Manhattan all the way to the border of Canada. The project would build upon two existing but incomplete trailways—the Hudson River Valley Greenway and the Erie Canalway—and become the largest, state multi-use trail in the nation. — 6sqft
Did architects have sustainability figured out in the 1970s, and can the lessons they learned help contemporary architects design for the challenges of climate change? In an attempt to answer this question, Canada is taking a closer look at its previously built sustainable architecture during the... View full entry
What better way to teach high school-age students how to tackle the problems of urban planning than with Legos? This was the thought of the Urban Land Institute, which according to this article in Metro News put on a workshop for an 11th grade class in Toronto to help them plan a city that, while... View full entry
After two more glass panels were ruined on the Peace Bridge, Calgary's top transportation official revealed that vandals have, overall, caused more than $200,000 in damage to the bridge, forcing the city to upgrade the security camera system in the area.
The helical steel pedestrian bridge, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and spanning the Bow River, was closed for several weeks this summer while a contractor replaced half a dozen cracked panels.
— Calgary Sun
Apparently, eight glass panel have been replaced in total since the bridge opened in 2012. Glass handrail panels have been shattered. And, earlier this year, all the light fixtures had to be replaced because the original ones kept burning out during the cold winter months.As a deterrent, officials... View full entry
The Prize celebrates a single work of architecture that is judged to be transformative within its societal context and reflects Moriyama's conviction that great architecture transforms society by promoting social justice and humanistic values of respect and inclusiveness. [...]
"the conversation about architecture in Canada needs to include what our peers are doing around the globe ... we wish to be there when the best architecture is discussed, wherever it might have been constructed."
— bustler.net
The new Canadian prize, which includes CAD $100,000 and a sculpture by Canadian designer Wei Yew, will celebrate its second year in 2017. Li Xiaodong won the prize's inaugural award in 2014 for his Liyuan Library in China, and will now serve on the international jury for the 2017 prize—beginning... View full entry
Recently concluding its 2017 edition, architects got to submit their most innovative designs for a temporary winter-hut installation. Once the winners are selected, they travel to Winnipeg near the end of January to bring their warming huts to life, and for all to enjoy during the winter months. — Bustler
Winnipeg locals will get to see the latest winning designs of the highly anticipated Warming Huts Art + Architecture Competition next January, in time for the winter season. The 2017 edition recently concluded with three winners, a special invited installation by esteemed London-based artist... View full entry
There is a city which is suffering a worse property bubble than Sydney, whose residents are more priced-out than Londoners, and where there is a greater divide between the housing haves and have-nots than even San Francisco.
That city is Vancouver, and in response to these mounting challenges, the west-coast Canadian metropolis recently imposed an extraordinary new tax on foreign buyers – whose impact is now being watched closely by other cities grappling with bloated property markets.
— theguardian.com
Related stories in the Archinect news:Mayor of London launches probe into the impact of foreign investment in city's real estateAnother case of "poor door" for proposed Vancouver high-riseCan Vancouver break out of its 'boring-architecture' mold with these new ambitious skyscraper View full entry
Greenpeace, Sierra Club BC, and Stand.earth formed the Rainforest Solutions Project as part of the Tides Canada Initiative. The coalition has spent nearly two decades developing a sophisticated legal and policy framework called Ecosystem-Based Management to tackle the persisting struggle over Canada's treasured Great Bear Rainforest, while also negotiating the conflicting interests of multiple groups. — Bustler
Winning over six equally worthy finalist teams, the Rainforest Solutions Project addresses both natural and cultural preservation, and it enforces stronger ecological responsibility in industrial economic pursuits. The Project resulted in a landmark 250-year agreement between all stakeholders... View full entry
Bing Thom, the lauded Canadian architect, died of a brain aneurysm at age 75 while on a trip to Hong Kong, the city of his birth.Thom was one of Canada's most admired architects. He was awarded the Order of Canada, the Golden Jubilee Medal, the RAIC Medal, the Margolese Prize, as well as honorary... View full entry
When it hits its completion date, which is expected to be in time for Canada’s 150th birthday next July 1, it will cover about 24,000 kilometres...But some think The Trans Canada Trail is better in concept than in execution...Some early adopters of the trail...claim that some parts of it are off limits to bicycles while other parts are spread out and hard to actually access. — cantechletter.com
Since construction began in 1992, the Trans Canada Trail — which is now being promoted as The Great Trail — is 87 percent complete. Organizers of the recreational trail claim that Canadians will be able to use the route from coast to coast once it's complete next year. But unsurprisingly... View full entry
With the U.S. presidential election coming up, a few Americans are considering moving to Canada, a move that actually might be lucrative if you're an architect. Responding to the forces of globalization, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is aiming to inject new economic life into his country... View full entry
Details are scant, there's only one rendering, and yet according to on-the-nose-named developer PortLiving, Shigeru Ban has designed the world's tallest timber hybrid apartment complex. Called Terrace House, the sloping glass-encased, timber-framed, concrete and steel-cored building will... View full entry
Researchers from the University of British Columbia have suggested that modular construction techniques are key to assuaging cities' housing shortages.Associate engineering professor Kasun Hewage at UBC, along with PhD candidate Mohammad Kamali, conducted "the first comprehensive review of... View full entry
After winning the competition way back in July 2009, OMA's Pierre Lassonde Pavilion is ready to make its public debut tomorrow. Nestled within Quebec City's 17th-century architecture and located at the historic National Battlefields Park, the Pavilion is the shiny new kid on the block with its... View full entry
