This past Tuesday, Kengo Kuma of Kengo Kuma and Associates, Tokyo, lectured at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD). His discussion centered around the epochal challenge architecture must respond to following the great disaster of March 11, 2011. The tsunami, which flattened the Tohoku coastline in a matter of seconds, and catastrophic nuclear accident that followed proved our infrastructure to be insufficient in the age of technology. With this realization, Kuma understands that we must learn from what happened and “start again from scratch”.

Architects: Nuno Flores + Sofia Neves Location: Parafita, Montalegre, Portugal Architects: Nuno Flores + Sofia Neves Project Year: 2012 Photographs: Manuel Correia

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Norman Foster is undoubtedly one of the most influential architects of our time. Since establishing his award-winning practice in 1967 – originally titled Foster Associates – the Pritzker Prize laureate has grown Foster + Partners into an international powerhouse, with project offices in more than twenty countries.

Architects: ONG&ONG Pte Ltd Location: Bukit Timah, Singapore Design Team: Diego Molina, Maria Arango Project Year: 2011 Photographs: Derek Swalwell

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Yesterday, October 10, Studio Daniel Libeskind celebrated the “Topping Off” ceremony for Toronto’s “L Tower” with aerial acrobatics dancing across the North face of the structure. The 58-storey skyscraper, located at the intersection of Yonge Street and The Esplanade, is part of the redevelopment of the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts. It was designed to be an architectural transition between the towers of the financial district to the west and the historic residential St. Lawrence neighborhood to the east. A 5000 square-feet public plaza along the redevelopment’s west side will serve as an additional public space for the theater, L Tower residents and the downtown community. Continue reading for more.

Beginning on October 16th, 2012, Galeries Lafayette in Paris, France, will be celebrating the 100 year anniversary of the Dome designed by architect Ferdinand Chanut and glass artist Jacques Gruber in 1912. 100 years under the Dome will be held at the flagship store of the boulevard Haussmann, a true Parisian symbol. In addition, the gallery will launch an exhibition called 1912-2012. Chronicles of a Creative Itinerary by architect Rem Koolhaas and his studio OMA, along with a collaboration called Chrysalide between visual artist Yann Kersalé and Djuric Tardio – Architectes.

Join us after the break for more stunning images for the anticipated celebration.

Designed by dom arquitectura, the masterplan in Huizhou, China focuses on the traditional Chinese cultural concepts and social issues. Their response was to group housing towers in two lines, with an staggered arrangement, forming a double perimeter line and leaving a large green space in the site centre. The concentration of a big green space will enhance the CO2 consumption and improve the users air quality. More images and architects’ description after the break.

After months of anticipation, October 13th, 2012 (a.k.a. TEDxCity2.0: A day of urban inspiration), is around the corner! This Saturday, TEDx communities around the world, made up of “urban innovators and organizers, stewards and artists, builders and taste makers,” will get together and share their stories of urban inspiration.

Architects: Pardo + Tapia Arquitectos Location: Toledo, Spain Design Team: Fernando Pardo Calvo, Bernardo García Tapia Project Year: 2010 Photographs: Courtesy of Pardo + Tapia Arquitectos

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Our Swedish friends from Visiondivision are back with their latest residential project for a family in Tampere, Finland - an extension that offers a quirky departure from a traditional “addition” as the architecture provides an entire “village” of units to meet optimal flexibility and potential. The village idea offers an interesting structure for the clients to inhabit and one that can be experienced in a variety of ways to inspire the residents during their everyday activities.

More after the break. 

Taking place at the California College of the Arts in San Fransisco October 13th from 10am-4pm, The Missing 32%,’ features leading professionals from around the country to discuss the role of women in architecture in the 21st century. In the United States, women represent about 50% of students enrolled in architecture programs, but only 18% of licensed architects are women. Throughout the day, attendees will hear from a broad range of speakers who represent different career paths in the profession ranging from those working for large firms to those choosing to start their own practice. The day will begin with a brief overview of statistics that detail the current leadership structure of architecture firms. The event is presented by AIA San Fransisco. For more information, please visit here.

Architects: Sharon Neuman Architects Location: Lehavot Haviva, Israel Project Year: 2011 Photographs: Amit Gosher

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Architects: BB Arquitectes Location: Capdepera (Mallorca), Spain Design Team: Antoni Barceló Baeza, Bàrbara Balanzó Moral Project Year: 2009 Photographs: Jaime Sicilia, Sebastià Bonet

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Architects: José Luis Rodríguez Gil Location: Granadilla, Canary Islands, Spain Project Year: 2010 Photographs: Courtesy of Estudio José Luis Rodríguez

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The primary condition for the first prize winning design of the new headquarters of Congresso Nacional dos Municípios (CNM) is the creation of a metropolitan area in line with the urban context of the city of Brasilia. Designed by Luis Eduardo Loyola and Maria Cristina Motta, the project is embodied along an axis in the form of a white metallic volume floating gently on a concrete basement. The transparency of the volume creates a special relation with their surroundings. More images and architects’ description after the break.

What began as an academic initiative to improve the quality of life of poor strata of the population has meanwhile become a professional “do tank” offering services that cover the entire spectrum of urban development. Alejandro Aravena (1967 Santiago de Chile) founded Elemental in 2001 in his hometown with the goal of alleviating social deprivation directly instead of hoping for a balance of income relations. Besides building public facilities and public housing, Elemental also develops new approaches for the reorganization of resources and the potential of cities by means of projects devoted to infrastructure and transportation. This publication documents the social activity and history of the international architectural team and sheds light on its financing strategies, for example through participative building.

OMA has shared with us their proposal for the new National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) in Beijing. The Rotterdam-based practice is one of the all-star contenders competing to design the 1.3 million square feet NAMOC that will be built next to the Herzog & de Meuron-designed Bird’s Nest. Even though rumors are flying about a potential winner, the jury won’t announce the final results of the competition until November.

Given the epic proportions of the NAMOC, OMA has chosen to treat the massive structure as a small city by integrating a variety of city-like districts throughout. The proposal includes a range of experiences in both “classical, orthogonal” museum spaces as well as contemporary, open-plan areas. Continue after the break to learn more.

Great architecture photography from our Flickr Pool. As always, remember you can submit your own photo here, and don’t forget to follow us through Twitter and our Facebook Fan Page to find many more features.

The photo above was taken by Kaleidelika in Valencia, Spain. Don’t miss the other four after the break.

Rio de Janeiro-based writer Robert Landon has shared with us his experience exploring the work/live space of Atelier Gados, designed by female-led powerhouse of Rahbaran Hürzeler Architekten.

Thrusting out of a green hillside in an upscale suburb of Basel, Switzerland, Atelier Gados seems deliberately to announce its difference from its staid neighbors – as it should. For Atelier Gados — the work of the young Basel-based Rahbaran Hürzeler Architekten — is not just another conventional family residence, but the workshop of an avant-garde Basel clothing designer. In a little bourgeois valley otherwise divided into atomistic, private worlds, Atelier Gados is a place of commerce, a site of creation, an unlikely threshold where public and private are made to meet.

Continue after the break for more.

JA+U presents this brief interview with Japanese Architect Kumiko Inui of the Office of Kumiko Inui. The interview gives an inside look at to how architects choose to design. In Inui’s case, she explains how drawing and sketching is a way for her to explore her ideas in concepts, schematics and tectonics. Sometimes these ideas are not fully formed and Inui uses sketching as a strategy to let her mind wander and unfold her various thoughts on the architectural problems before her. Through iteration and reinterpretation, Inui explains how an idea from the depths of her subconscious, eventually surfaces.

This Friday, October 12, CityVision will celebrate its second year during the event UNKNOWN, a special event that will take place at Galleria di Architettura “come se”, a Roman architecture space devoted to creativity and innovation. The event will feature the winners of New York CityVision International Competition, which were recently featured here and the competition Awards Ceremony. During the event CityVision Magazine # 7, the new issue of the international free press on contemporary architecture, will also be presented and free distributed. it will be also possible to have a look at the site specific artwork made by SBAGLIATO for CityVision about the theme Past Shock. Another capital moment of the event will also be the seventh edition of PECHA KUCHA NIGHTTM ROMA.

RETHINK REUSE recently announced the winning entries in their Transforming Seattle’s 520 Floating Bridge 2012 International Design Ideas Competition. With the goal of envisioning new, innovative reuse strategies, the winners successfully answer the questions: What is a floating bridge when its function is no longer needed? What can designers do when faced with the design problem of reusing thirty-three floating concrete pontoons? More images and information on the winners after the break.