Architects: Pitagoras Group Location: Guimarães, Portugal Design Team: Fernando Sá, Raul Roque, Alexandre Lima, Manuel Roque Project Year: 2012 Photographs: Jose Campos

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A huge creative and technical challenge was recently undertaken by Moment Factory. They were invited by the City of Barcelona and the City of Montreal to create the first sound and light spectacle to be projected on the complex façade of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. This 15 minute-long multimedia show, using video mapping techniques and their X-Agora playback system, was presented within La Mercè Festival in Barcelona this weekend. The inspiration: to realize Antonio Gaudi’s dream. The architect wished for the façade to be full of colors.

Design Museum Boston recently announced the call for entries for Street Seats Design Challenge — an international outdoor furniture design challenge that will culminate in new waterfront seating, an outdoor design exhibition, and a walking tour around the channel. The Fort Point Channel links the waterfronts of downtown and South Boston – the seam between the Financial District and the emerging Boston Innovation District. o=Open to local and international artists, designers, and enthusiasts, Street Seats falls into the stated goals for the Fort Point Channel Watersheet Activation Plan, a 2002 vision to establish the Fort Point Channel as the next great (public) place in the City of Boston. Submissions are due no later than February 1. For more information, please visit here.

Architects: ACXT Location: Museo Guggenheim, Bilbao, Spain Architect In Charge: César Caicoya Gómez-Morán Design Team: Beatriz Pagoaga Lighting Consultant: Susaeta Prolighting Project Year: 2011 Photographs: Aitor Ortiz

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Designed by Urban Playground, the ‘Lighthouse for the Dutchman’ project was proposed for the chapel at the entry of the Los Dutchman State Park in Phoenix, Arizona. Through a rearrangement of an embryological, mathematical reference known as “Shrek’s Surface”, spatial varieties are derived as a way to alter the combined experiences of both the spiritual and natural environment in the Arizona desert. The prototypical, curved surface is morphed and manipulated, creating contextual and functional relationships that are then translated into a series of parameters for the building’s morphology. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The Small Project Practitioners (SPP) Knowledge Community presents the ninth annual Small Project Award Program to recognize the work of small project practitioners and to promote excellence in small project design. This Award Program strives to raise public awareness of the value and design excellence that architects bring to all project types, including renovations and additions, no matter the limits of size and budget.

The Junk King – Vince Hannemann - has spent much of his life constructing the Cathedral of Junk in Austin, TX. In 2010, the City of Austin requested a building permit and Vince was forced to tear down nearly half of his creation. Despite this traumatic event and with the help of many supporters, Vince was still able to keep the Cathedral alive and continue its legacy.

Directed: Evan Burns Cinematography: Garyle Morgan & Mitzi Morrow Produced: Eduardo Tobias

Architects: Divece Arquitectos Location: Zamora, Michoacán, México Design Team: Paolino Di Vece Project Year: 2010 Project Area: 348,21 sqm Photographs: Carlos Díaz Corona

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Designed by Tokamarch Architects, the XishuangbanNa Residence deals mainly with the relationship between the modern building and local natural environment. The traditional “Dai” village keeps a great balance with the natural environment in XiShuangBanNa. The boundary of every family is divided by bamboo fences or green plants. Luxuriant and multi-layered primitive woods have brought people a green and lively village, The relationship between the living space and the natural environment is in a harmonous compatible symbiosis. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The RA-50 proposal for the HOME Competition, designed by in situ studio and David Hill, AIA, focuses on building density through alleyway living. By assessing each existing residential parcel in the city of Raleigh, it was apparent that most downtown parcels are larger than the current zoning requirements and will be even larger proportionally once the new UDO is ratified. Therefore, their proposal establishes a new zone within the UDO – alley residential, or RA-50. This new zone would be allowed in any block that is bisected by an existing or potential alleyway and where lots backing up to the alleyways have a surplus of land to shave away and form new, smaller lots that could front the alleyway. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Open to everyone, OUTR (Office of Urban Transformations Research), along with RMIT University School of Architecture and Design, just announced the release of Transiting Cities International Open Design Ideas Competition. How can we rethink, regenerate, rebrand, rework, reactivate cities dominated by singular economies for a vibrant and innovative future? Designing Possible Futures for growth and adaptation of rehabilitated mines, associated infrastructures and the townships that are dependent on their futures. Integrated social, economic, environmental and infrastructural design outcomes. Produce intelligent innovative short and long-term transition strategies for an adaptive and vibrant regional center. Submissions are due November 30. More information on the competition after the break.

Architects: Tectoniques Architects Location: Nimes, France Associated Architects: Atelier GA Photographs: Jerome Ricolleau

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Taking place until October 17th, the Academy of Architecture in Amsterdam is exhibiting ‘OJO – From Solid to Air’ which showcases a selection of the work of the architectural practice Office Jarrik Ouburg. The exhibit can be visited Monday-Friday from 9am-11pm and The address of the Academy is Waterlooplein 211-213 in Amsterdam.

The Building and Social Housing Foundation is now accepting entries for the 2013 edition of the World Habitat Awards!

The World Habitat Awards were established in 1985 by the Building and Social Housing Foundation as part of its contribution to the United Nations International Year of Shelter for the Homeless. Two awards are given annually to projects from the global North as well as the South that provide practical and innovative solutions to current housing needs and problems. An award of £10,000 is presented to each of the two winners at the annual United Nations global celebration of World Habitat Day.

The deadline for submission is 1st November 2012.

The Headquarters Krogmann in Lohne-Kroge, Germany, by Despang Architekten investigates the numerous characteristics and fundamental opportunities inherent within wood and exhibits a modern approach to the craftsmanship of traditional German vernacular. Designed as a new corporate center of operations for the woodworking company Krogmann, this new office would need to succeed not only in handcrafting a new image for them, but also serve as a catalyst for future growth while showcasing their ability as ‘makers’ in the field of construction. Having worked as the builders for several projects for Despang Architekten, their choice to retain them as the design architects for their own project was a natural extension of an already solid relationship built upon the dedication to quality and progressiveness. As an extension of this article, we also had the opportunity to speak with Principal and University of Hawaii Associate Professor Martin Despang about the process involved in the making of this project.

More details and our Q&A with Martin after the break.

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As the “Imagining the Lowline” exhibition comes to a close, we share a recap of our visit to the full-scale mockup created by Dan Barasch and James Ramsey. We have been sharing a steady stream of updates on the project, but nothing quite puts the ideas of this transformative ”urban discovery” into perspective as the ability to experience a portion of their underground public park. The two-week long exhibit in Market Building D in the Lower East Side was aimed at sharing the ideas of the Lowline with the community to hear feedback and gain support to potentially move the project forward. During our visit, we had the opportunity to speak with visitors of all different professions, backgrounds and connections to New York, to hear their first impressions of the project and to see if their support lay behind such an idea.

More after the break. 

Architects: SPACE Location: Pedregal, Mexico City, Mexico Chief Designer: Juan Carlos Baumgartner, Jimena Fernández Navarra Design Team: Sergio Gaytán, Ana Mallón Project Year: 2011 Photographs: Pim Schalkwijk

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Taking place October 10-12 at the University of Stuttgart, Germany, the “Beyond Green! – Tall Buildings in a Sustainable Future” symposium focuses on how tall buildings be designed, built and maintained in a sustainable fashion. The keynote lectures will be held by Christoph Ingenhoven and Helmut Jahn_Murphy/Jahn. The sessions are dedicated to urban development and economy, ecology, planning and realization, structure and skin and building services. More information after the break.

The Battery Conservancy Americas Design Competition 2012: Draw Up A Chair is a unique open call to design students and design professionals living in the North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Design an iconic, movable outdoor seating element for NYC’s 25-acre historic Battery Park, AKA The Battery. The winning design will be fabricated for use in The Battery, which annually welcomes six million visitors. They are offering an earlybird registration rate for all who register by this Sunday, Sept. 30. All design entries are due October 30. To register and for more information, please visit here.

Designed by IaN+, their proposal for the National Museum of Afghanistan aims at harmoniously making it a part of the Afghanistan horizon. They do so by blending with it rather than establishing a conflict in order to restore the relationship between the new, the old and the landscape. By carrying out a ‘fragmentation’ process, through the use and repetition of modular spaces, their combination creates a “space within the space”, letting visitors loose the perception of a coercing container space. More images and architects’ description after the break.

In the past decade Asia’s building sector has slowly come around to the idea of the Green building. The movement has picked up pace since 2005 with the introduction of, at last count, 13 national Green building assessment tools. Despite a steep rise in the number of certified buildings, the approach to Greening is fragmented and cautious at best. The Asian Green building does not do enough to mitigate impact nor do the conventions of Greening address the diverse needs of the region and its people.

Located on a hill, on the open area of the landscape, the simplest of a Greek temple is the templum in antis, a small rectangular structure. Designed by the AG ‘LesoSplaw’ team, in front of the cella, a small porch or pronaos was formed. With the protruding cella walls being the antae, the pronaos was linked to the cella by a door. To support the superstructure, two columns were placed between the fronts of the antae (in antis)using straw for the temple material. More images can be viewed after the break.

Architects: Broissin Architects Location: Coyoacán México DF, Mexico Design Team: Gerardo Broissin, David Suárez, Alejandro Rocha, Rodrigo Jiménez, Mauricio Cristóbal Project Year: 2012 Photographs: Courtesy of Broissin Architetcs, Alejandro Rocha, Paul Rivera

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