Big news: two architectural heavyweights have joined forces.

Where in the world, as a young architect, would be the best country to find a job in an architecture firm?

Last week, we decided to pose this question and crowd-source our readers’ intelligence for the answer. We received almost 200 comments from ArchDaily readers and Facebook fans all over the globe about the current employment opportunities, design culture, and wages in their respective countries. With many economies experiencing crippling Recession, and recent Architecture graduates suffering most, you’ve helped us generate a vital conversation.

Find out the 9 countries that made the cut after the break. Some may just surprise you…

China’s economy is slowing down. It’s projected growth rate is set to dip down to as low as a modest 6% versus the jaw-dropping double-digit rates of the past decade or more. In March, the government set its growth target for 2012 at 7.5%. It must be remembered that this is no accident. It is a calculated move. In the most recent five-year plan this general cooling-down is part of China’s strategy to avoid the sort of economic meltdown that hit the U.S. in 2008. They read the tea leaves and decided to take measures, as they can in a centrally-controlled economy, to ensure steady, modest growth rather than bubble-producing frenetic growth. Political stability is a huge factor in this. The communist party maintains its mandate as long as the engines of the economy continue to hum relatively smoothly.

Why the slow down? According to a recent special report in The Economist, nearly 48% of China’s GDP in 2011 was dominated by internal investment in infrastructure and city building. This should come as no surprise to foreign architects who have been riding this wave for the last twenty years or so. The scary part of this number is that most of this investment is being done by state owned enterprises (SOES) operating under artificially favorable conditions. On top of this, according to the ratings agency, Fitch, lending has jumped from 122% of GDP in 2008 to 171% in 2011. This “surge in credit” is strikingly familiar because it looks like the beginnings of America’s financial crisis. As The Economist notes, “When Fitch plugged China’s figures into its disaster warning system (the “macroprudential risk indicator”), the model suggested a 60% chance of a banking crisis by the middle of next year.”

Architects: Pb Elemental Architecture Location: Seattle, USA Photographs: Miguel Edwards

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The ‘Sur Mesure’ Sticker Installation, designed by FREAKS freearchitects, was placed onto the facade of Oscar Niemeyer’s Building for French Communist Party Headquarters in Paris this past December. Known forNiemeyer’s simple construction without ornament, the installation creates a simple, yet interesting addition to the building for people around the city. Completed in the early 1980′s, the intention of letting it “breathe” to the city and not break the site generates an open space district with its undulating forms. This then mirrors the continuity of the urban fabric of the neighborhood and frames the plaza. The video shows the process of installing the immense sticker onto the facade. More images of the installation can be viewed after the break.

Richard Meier & Partners recently announced the first retrospective exhibition in Mexico City presented at the Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil on display now until August 26. Exhibiting some of the most emblematic works of renowned architect Richard Meier make it possible to view his design philosophy as a whole and in depth. The retrospective includes a selection of models, original sketches, renderings and photographs. Some of the iconic projects exhibited on the show include the Smith House, The Getty Center, The Neugebauer Residence and the Jubilee Church. More information on the exhibition after the break.

The proposal by PlaC (Plateaux Collaborative) for the Badel Block complex implements an alternative model of urban regeneration. In being sensible to local conditions and open to extra-territorial economic dynamics, equality and the balancing effect become the key-qualities of what they call the ‘CoExistence’ strategy. They measure the plot’s capacity not in terms of maximum square meters for consumers (as in the traditional sense of urban regeneration), but as optimization of the existing capacity. This is then obtained through careful renovation of the Badel assets and a coordinated volumetric upgrade. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Steven Holl and Norman Foster have been chosen to design the next two Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centers in the United Kingdom. As reported by bdonline, Foster will design in his hometown of south Manchester at the Christie hospital, while Holl will design at the St. Bartholomew’s (Barts) hospital in London. This will be Holl’s second UK project, following the Glasgow School of Art.

Continue reading for more information.

By Steve Sanderson

The following Practice 2.0 article is an edited transcript from a presentation that Steve gave at the Intersections: Building Interdisciplinary Pedagogy | Building Integrated Practice symposium organized by the New York City College of Technology.

I’m happy to see so many familiar faces and honored to be included with such an esteemed panel. In fact I feel a bit under-qualified. If my Google searches serve me well, all of my fellow panelists have both undergraduate and advanced degrees in architecture and have held noted academic positions for several years. I, on the other hand, pursued a “non-traditional” path into the industry by first studying interior design then industrial design to doing one year of a MArch program and finally receiving a ME from John’s program at Stevens.

Four innovative towers in Canada, Qatar, Australia and Italy have named the best tall buildings in the world for 2012 by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), the international not-for-profit association. These towers demonstrate the continued renaissance of tall building development worldwide, as a record number of 88 tall buildings soaring over 200 meters were completed in 2011, compared to 32 buildings in 2005. Another 96 tall buildings are projected to compete this year, with China being the largest contributor.

The four regional winners include the Absolute Towers in Mississauga, Canada (Americas); 1 Bligh Street, Sydney (Asia and Australia); Palazzo Lombardia, Milan (Europe); and Doha Tower in Doha, Qatar (Middle East and Africa). Additionally, Al Bahar Towers in Abu Dhabi won the CTBUH’s first Innovation Award for the project’s computer sun-screen.

“The winners display remarkable creativity, as well as a respect for the environment, connection with place, and the urban surroundings,” said Richard Cook, awards committee chairman and founding partner of Cook+Fox Architects.

Continue after the break to learn more.

UP Projects and The Architecture Foundation have announced an Open Call to architects and designers for the 2013 design of the Floating Cinema Project that will cruise the waterways of East London. The design is a followup to the Floating Cinema project of 2011, designed by Studio Weave, a scheme launched by UP Project’s Portavilion series for innovative temporary public art spaces with artists Somewhere (Nina Pope, and Karen Guthrie). The competition will be held in two stages. A pre-qualification questionnaire should be submitted by each entrants (or group), due by 4pm on June 26th. UP Projects and the Architecture Foundation will then select four practices to develop and design the Floating Cinema in response to a brief. More on the competition after the break.

Taking place June 15th from 7-9pm at McNally Jackson in New York, CLOG is inviting the public in their celebration of the launch of their third issue, Data Space.

Last week we presented one of Adamo-Faiden‘s latest housing projects and yesterday we featured Cristobal Palma‘s video for Cien House, home and workshop designed by and for Pezo von Ellrichshausen Architects. Cristobal has just now shared with us another collaboration with Sebastián Adamo and Marcelo Faiden, giving us a tour through Casa Martos in Buenos Aires.

You can check some more videos by Cristobal Palma at ArchDaily:

Architects: JDS; Partners in Charge Henning Stüben, Julien De Smedt Location: Gangnam Bogeumjari District in Seoul, South Korea Client: Shinyoung Collaborators: Junglim Architects Area: 38,000 m2 Budget: 33 million euros Project Leader: Heechan Park Team: Byeongmoo Moo, Francisco Villeda, Amanda Ripoll, Chris Zhongtian Yuan, Marvin Philipp, Mathilde Claus Construction: Autumn 2012

JDS has been commissioned to design a hybrid office and hotel, the Officetel Building, for the new development area of Gangnam Bogeumjari District in Seoul, South Korea. The interesting mixed program, which includes retail, amenities and 700 compact living spaces, has resulted in a textured facade that responds to contextual issues such as sight lines and expose to natural light.

More about the project after the break.

The Processing Environments symposium is organized by the Architectural Association in collaboration with the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and sponsored by the Bilbao Municipality and the Institut Français in Bilbao. It will take place next 19th June at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.

The symposium is directed by Maider Llaguno and Clara Olóriz and some of the invited speakers are Alejandro Zaera-Polo (ex FOA, currently AZPA), Juan Herreros, Iñaki Begisitain, Eva Castro & Alfredo Ramirez (Groundlab), Philippe Rahm, and Efrén García Grinda & Cristina Díaz Moreno.

The admission is free.

More information and the complete program after the break

The Creators Project, VICE and Intel’s art and technology initiative, recently visited Mass Studies, a world-famed Korean architecture firm in Seoul. They spoke to the company’s founder Minsuk Cho who explained how their ultimate goal is to shape a community through space. The vast scope of their work, informed by both pre and post-urbanized Korea can be seen in this video interview here.

Nearly 275 kilos of explosives brought down the first Red Road tower block this past weekend, marking the beginning of a controlled demolition process that will completely remove the infamous residential complex from the Glasgow skyline by 2017. In a response to the post-war housing crisis, the Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) flats were constructed between 1964 and 1969 in an effort to provide the ultimate modern community for almost 5000 residents.

Continue reading for more on the iconic Red Road flats and a video of the demolition.

Have you ever dreamed of customizing you own house and transforming it into… maybe an indoor skatepark? In collaboration with Redbull, that’s exactly what Philipp Schuster did in an old house in Slazburg, Austria. It’s an inspiring DIY project with a good deal of concrete bags and a few hard working friends. You can watch the construction process video after the break.

SCI-Arc will design and build two new arts venues that will energize and transform downtown Los Angeles, while an undeveloped light rail station in Minneapolis accelerates transit oriented development by transforming into a cultural gateway and arts market, and an abandoned six-building, two-block public school campus in New Orleans’ Tremé neighborhood will be redeveloped into an arts and education center that will provide 73 units of affordable live/work space for low income families.

Creative placemaking initiatives are sweeping the nation, and the three projects above are just a few examples of what’s going to become of it. ArtPlace has awarded 47 projects across the United States with $15.4 million in grants in order to support the use of the arts and design to improve quality of place and transform communities.

“As a result of these Artplace grants, 47 art and cultural projects will play a critical role in 33 local communities, driving the revitalization of a diverse group of neighborhoods across the country,” said philanthropist and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “This is an important, innovative program that highlights the positive impact and essential contribution the arts can have on the economic vitality of neighborhoods and the communities they serve.”

Continue after the break to review all 47 projects and see what may be happening in your city!

The Capilla del Retiro (Retirement Chapel) by Chilean office Undurraga + Devés has been announced as the winner of the prestigious Premio Internazionale di Architettura Sacra Frate Sole, now in its 5th edition.

Kevin Roche: Architecture as Environment will be opening June 16th, 2012 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. The exhibit, organized by Yale Institute, will celebrate Kevin Roche’s expansive portfolio, from his early days as Eero Saarinen’s “right-hand man” through the founding of his practice in the 1960s with John Dinkeloo (KRJDA). The exhibit will include images, drawings, interviews, models, as well as original slide presentations to clients. More on the exhibit after the break.

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Since 1999, Architecture for Humanity has been putting Architects in service of those communities who need them most. After disaster strikes, AfH uses its expansive network of contacts to get well-designed buildings built – and fast. Today, AfH has built over 2,000 structures that have positively impacted about 2 million people worldwide.

Co-founders Kate Stohr and Cameron Sinclair (you can find our interview with Sinclair here) also run design competitions, manage the Open Design Network, WorldChanging, and have published the best-selling books Design Like You Give a Damn and Design Like You Give A Damn . Together, and with the Architects who work for them, they are redefining the role of Architecture and Design: to truly make an impact on our world.