Haworth Tompkins architects spent nine years transforming the rundown historic Everyman Theatre in Liverpool into the building it is today. Those nine years were well worth it, as Haworth Tompkins just won the prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize 2014 for the UK's best new building of the year. — bustler.net

The World Architecture Festival 2014 at the Marina Bay Sands closed on a festive note with the final top-prize winners being announced during a gala dinner and awards ceremony on October 3...The WAF "super jury" awarded the overall winning World Building of the Year award to The Chapel in Vietnam designed by Vietnamese architecture firm a21studio. Three projects in Victoria, Canada, Australia, and China also won major top awards, and two Inaugural Prizes were given. — bustler.net

Michael Bloomberg's Bloomberg Philanthropies revealed the winners of its first European edition of the Mayors Challenge. More than 150 top cities from 28 European nations entered the competition, which asked participants to send their most innovative ideas that address Europe's timely pressing issues like unemployment, energy efficiency, obesity, aging, and improving government efficiency. — bustler.net

“The cities we’re working on were neglected by Saddam Hussein, so they have little basic infrastructure,” says Elliot Hartley, 36, a director of Garsdale Design. But why can’t Iraqis redesign their own cities? “There has been a massive brain drain of professionals from Iraq over the years, and a lack of investment in local government planning departments, which means that the skills aren’t there – yet,” [...].

More improbably yet, only one member of the family firm [...] has set foot in Iraq. — theguardian.com

Someone has told the bouncers to be nice. It is now standard for architectural anoraks like myself to find ourselves challenged by smile-less security as we go about our blameless business – no loitering, no photography, no looking, as if al-Qaida scouts would do their dastardly work in this way or as if, years after the invention of the camera phone, photography can be controlled as it could in the age of the tripod. But not at the base of the Cheesegrater. — theguardian.com

Fleets of self-driving lorries could be tested on UK roads as soon as next year, according to reports. [...]

The initiative would cut fuel consumption, backers said.

However, the plan has been criticised by motoring groups which said such a fleet would be "intimidating" to other road users. — bbc.com

Concrete was the building material beloved by councils as they embarked on post-World War Two development.

But it is fair to say many people were never quite as taken with grey skyscrapers and suspended walkways.

Now several of the cities defined by concrete - Birmingham, Coventry, Hull and Portsmouth - are undergoing multimillion-pound makeovers.

But what are they losing in their quest to be the "modern cities" of the 21st - rather than the 20th - Century? — bbc.com

It's that time of year again. The Institution of Structural Engineers revealed the 2014 shortlist for their annual Structural Awards today. The awards recognize achievement, innovation, and excellence in the field of structural engineering in addition to promoting its significant role in the creation of inventive design solutions. — bustler.net

SURE Architecture's "The Endless City in Height" skyscraper is all about going with the flow while making a bold statement. Proposed for the SkyScraper & SuperSkyscraper Competition, the entry recently won first place in the international competition. Designed to integrate itself with the surrounding streets in London, pedestrians discover the skyscraper's vertical city inside while walking up and down the "endless" interweaving ramps that wrap around the tower. — bustler.net

This year’s contenders for the prestigious Stirling Prize were recently announced. The prize is supposed to be “presented to the architects of the building that has made the greatest contribution to the evolution of architecture”. “Evolution” is an interesting choice of term, and the prize has a long way to go if it is to achieve this goal. [...]

Each year the Stirling prize inevitably raises a discussion about architectural values. What is good architecture? — theconversation.com

More than 3,000 homes are to be built at the eastern edge of Canary Wharf after Tower Hamlets council gave the green light for the project, the first extension to the financial district since the banking crisis struck in 2008. [...]

Its centrepiece, at 211m the tallest building, is a 57-storey cylindrical residential skyscraper facing the waters of South Dock, designed by Herzog & de Meuron [...] — theguardian.com