Luca Peralta Studio shared with us their design concept for the Helsinki Central Library competition. Their ‘three cubes on a leaf’ concept is designed with the intent of creating an animated light in the distance. As a result, their project becomes an urban lantern that attracts and guides you on your journey in the direction of the city center. This light emanates from geometric objects, with a modern and minimal design, gently suspended on the landscape. More images and architects’ description after the break.

NEX recently won the Cadogan Café design competition, organized by Malcolm Reading Consultants. The £2 million project for a new café, which will sit near the entrance to the Saatchi Gallery in Duke of York Square in Chelsea, is an organic coiled form. Their design features a roof terrace and incorporates an ingenious glass wall that rises and falls depending on the weather. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Designed by Tomas Ghisellini Architetto, the proposal for the new “Malga Fosse” refuge, which won an honorable mention, chooses the language of the rough and simple local construction scattered among the mountains. In doing so, their design builds up the impression of an old archetypal building surrounded by valleys and peaks of great beauty. Aimed at being an unforgettable place right in the heart of the Dolomites, the old is here replaced by a fascinating and iconic architectural body. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The proposal by Josep Ferrando, David Recio, and Rafael Aliende for the new crematorium in the Hörnli cemetery respects the identity of the protected existing building while establishing a void between it and the upper street level, an “entrance space”. This “empty-built” space between the two buildings, the existing one and the new one, becomes the entry square because of their connection in the underground level. This way, the new building appears as a visually independent and representative piece, isolated among the trees. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Christmas has come early for the international community of architects and preservationists, as an anonymous benefactor has saved the endangered David and Gladys Wright House in Phoenix, Arizona. Culminating a six month saga, the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy is proud to announce that it has facilitated the purchase of the historic property through an LLC owned by an anonymous benefactor. The transaction closed today, December 20, and is no longer a demolition threat.

The Wright home will now be transferred to the hands of an Arizona not-for-profit organization responsible for the restoration, maintenance and operation of the structure. The change in ownership guarantees the house will survive and be preserved. Landmark status is expected to follow shortly.

More information on the David Wright House after the break…

It’s a race to the top as developers are reaching higher and higher with impressive glass skyscrapers that house exclusive apartments and panoramic views across Manhattan, level with some of the city’s tallest buildings. Gary Barnett of Extell Development Co. is the man behind the 1,005 foot high One57 tower in Midtown Manhattan. He announced last month that he would be developing the tallest residential building in New York City (without the help of a spire). Adrian Smith, chosen as the architect for the job, is best known for his work on the Burj Dubai. The new building, still in its early stages of design planning and financing, will tower over the Empire State Building at a planned 1600 feet, that’s just 176 feet shy of World Trade One, the tallest building in Manhattan.

The New York Public Library (NYPL) has unveiled the details of their controversial plan to renovate the 20th century, Carrère and Hastings “masterpiece” on 5th Avenue. Designed Foster + Partners, the $300 million dollar proposal is a response to the cultural shift from traditional stacks to online resources, as the library has experienced a 41% decrease in the use of collections over the last 15 years.

Sensitive to concerned critics, the renovation promises to preserve the building’s legacy as it integrates a new, state-of-the-art Circulating Library into its flagship Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on 42nd Street. Foster’s “library within a library” will transform seven floors of stacks, currently occupying the back of the building, into an aesthetically, technologically and environmentally advanced public space that meets the needs of our 21st century society.

“We need to be respectful of the beloved, iconic building and to create a new inspiring space,” Anthony W. Marx, the library’s president, said in an interview with the New York Times. “At a time when people wonder about the future of libraries, we’re going to create the greatest library the world has ever seen.”

Learn all the details and see the renderings after the break…

The University of Manitoba’s Visionary (re)Generation competition is inviting some of the world’s most accomplished urban thinkers to re-imagine the University of Manitoba’s Fort Garry campus. Focused on innovative and sustainable design, the two phase competition is a once-in-a-generation chance to transform their university into a place like no other that enriches the daily lives of all who learn here, work here, play here or call it home. Submissions for the first phase are due March 11. To register and for more information, please visit here.

Award-winning London based architecture practice Piercy & Company recently revealed their proposal for Drayton Green Church in Ealing, London, a new building for the International Presbyterian Church (IPC). Their scheme retains an existing Grade ll listed chapel – originally built as an annex to the previously adjacent St Helena’s Home for ‘fallen women’ – and encloses it within a larger scheme. This new design includes an entrance hall, administrative and meeting spaces, and a worship space for up to 200 people. They are anticipating to start construction in the summer of 2013. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The main objective for the Detroit River Front proposal is to create a new image of the city, an exclusive and unique landmark that glances to a future Detroit involved in its nature that it forgot for a long time. Designed by Architetto Matteo Ascani (AMA), the project for the redevelopment of Hart Plaza is divided in major guide lines: water, nature, history. They provide a new landscape system, where water enters inside the plaza by canals that redesign the cost line, as the river comes closer to the downtown. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The redevelopment of the park, with the “Stadium in the Park” design concept, is an exciting urban design effort that encompasses a renovated stadium and arena, development of 300,000 sf of retail, renovation of heritage buildings, and an urban park for the people of Ottawa. Designed by Cannon Design, the project enhances both the history and the identity of the park by taking advantage of its location on the Rideau Canal. The result is a stadium in the park. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Photographer Cameron R Neilson, who we introduced in our earlier post about Oslo’s ripening real estate market, has produced some fantastic views from within Oslo. As part of the Straight Up project, Neilson is challenging both the way in which city-scapes and skylines are photographed and the way that our eyes navigate the urban environment.

Check out the remarkable photographs after the break.

The Miami Herald has just announced that Zaha Hadid will be designing her first skyscraper in the Western hemisphere in Miami: America’s Next Great Architectural City. The female powerhouse has been commissioned to transform a waterfront property, currently occupied by a BP Station at 1000 Biscayne Boulevard, predominantly into a residential high rise. The skyscraper will rise above the neighboring Museum Park and fill a void in the wall of towering condos, commonly referred to as the “Biscayne Wall”. Details of the design are expected to be released next year.

This news comes shortly after Zaha’s loss to Norman Foster in an intense competition to design New York City’s next high-profile office tower on 425 Park Avenue. You can watch the A-list architects battle it out here as they present their ideas to the jury.

As we reported last year, Zaha was also selected to design a Miami Beach parking garage at Collins Park, which was approved for construction by the Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board last month.

Check out the preliminary renderings of the Collins Park garage, after the break…

The numbers are in and the American Institute of Architects’ November Architecture Billings Index (ABI) has revealed positive business conditions for all building sectors for the fourth consecutive month.

As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. Understanding this, the AIA is pleased to report that November has reached a five-year high with a score of 53.2, slightly up from 52.8 in October. Since August, the national billings index has continued to increased above 50.0 – the break-even point between contraction and growth – reflecting a steady rise in demand for design services. The West seems to be the only region in contraction, coming in at a score of 49.6.

Additionally, November also sees the Project Inquiry Index at 59.6, marking the 47th straight month in which inquiries into architectural services has been increasing.

“These are the strongest business conditions we have seen since the end of 2007 before the construction market collapse,” said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA. “The real question now is if the federal budget situation gets cleared up which will likely lead to the green lighting of numerous projects currently on hold. If we do end up going off the ‘fiscal cliff’ then we can expect a significant setback for the entire design and construction industry.”

View the ABI highlights in greater detail, after the break…

The Mersin Chamber of Commerce and Industry Building proposal by Ziya Imren and Onat Öktem has placed itself in an important position for the development of city of Mersin and its surroundings. Located at the intersection of the two main axes of the city, the proposal will play a major role in this new developing urban area of the city. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Populous was recently selected as the designers of the new Rostov Stadium in Russia, which will be the fourth Populous-designed stadium in the country to be used for the 2018 World Cup, together with Kazan, Saransk, Sochi. Part of an overall landscape, this urban design is planned for the whole region. It is inspired by the ancient earthworks along the banks of the river, the Kurgans. These archaeological mounds of earth were used for burial pagan rituals, creating major forms in the landscape. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Sasaki Associates, along with Ross Barney Architects, Alfred Benesch Engineers, and a broader technical consultant team, were tasked this year with creating a vision for the six blocks between State Street and Lake Street in Chicago. Building off previous studies, the team’s Chicago Riverwalk Concept Plan, which is currently in progress to be completed, provides the last, critical link between the lake, the city’s circulation, and the river’s urban branches. Once a meandering marshy stream, the river became an engineered channel to support the industrial transformation of the city, making this riverwalk an instrumental design in the city. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The McCarthy, Brooks + Scarpa, and HMC Architects team just released their proposal for the Design Excellence/design-build competition for new United States courthouse in Los Angeles. Selected to compete thru the General Services Administration two-stage Design Excellence Program, the team is challenged with the approximately 550,000 sq. ft. high-rise building located at 1st and Hill Street. Aiming to be certified LEED Patinum, the design delivers functional efficiency, security, and accessibility for the Court, the U.S. Marshal Service, and the other tenants and users. More images and architects’ description after the break.