Senior Editor at ArchDaily based in Los Angeles.
French architect Dominique Perrault has revealed the new masterplan and vision for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic village. Located in the city's Seine-Saint-Denis district, the village was designed to integrate with the existing urban fabric along the banks of the river. Combining housing and offices with diverse programs, the project spans over 119,000 square meters across its entirety. At the conclusion of the games, the village is designed to become a new permanent community in Paris.
Rafael Viñoly's 125 Greenwich Street skyscraper in downtown Manhattan has topped out. The 912-foot-tall luxury condominium skyscraper was designed as a slender structure with exposed concrete columns. Rising 88 storys, the project includes a curved glass façade to enhance the panoramic views of the Hudson River, the Statue of Liberty, the World Trade Center Complex, and the New York City skyline.
As a space to unify and reveal, the Wangari Maathai Center in the Saint-Blaise area of Paris was made to break free from constraints. Designed by Bruther, the center was created so inhabitants could appropriate the space. Now photographer Alexandra Timpau has captured the sports and cultural center through a series of new photographs. Through the images, Alexandra worked to show how the building adapted to the needs of the people living inside, through decoration, new temporary enclosures, and through the facade.
Dutch practice Mecanoo has created a new skyscraper design for the Hengli Group Headquarters in Shenzhen, China. In the city's dense urban context, the design will host the world's largest weaving enterprise in two volumes above a commercial plinth. Inspired by the Hengli Group’s textile tradition, a bronze metal grid wraps the transparent volumes like threads on a loom. As a Shenzhen Bay landmark, the project was designed to display the company’s culture and embrace new urban design strategies.
Design studio Space Encounters has partnered with Creative Holland to build a temporary museum for Milan Design Week. The installation is made to combine room for art and design, with atmospheres that promote relaxation, contemplation and focus amidst the pace of the Salone di Mobile. The Museum was designed as a journey through different spaces in which visitors constantly interact with Dutch creativity.
Danish studio Henning Larsen has won the competition to design a new four-star hotel in Tórshavn, the capital city of the Faroe Islands. The project centers on a new social commons and grand foyer made to create connections and give the hotel an active role in city life. The design taps into the Faroese landscape to create a heart of new activity in the city center. The project was made to be an inviting landmark for guests and an active commons for Tórshavn’s locals.
Arts & ecoculture festival Art WIth Me has announced the 2019 program in Tulum, Mexico. The community driven event combines art, music, cultural experiences and workshops while building awareness around environmental issues. The festival features over 100 art exhibits, large scale installations, and interactive art experiences. The program is focused around the core mission of bringing ecological awareness, sustainability, and waste management to Tulum and beyond.
Los Angeles International Airport has broken ground on its Automated People Mover, an elevated train designed to carry passengers and connect to LA's light rail. Mayor Eric Garcetti joined city officials to celebrate the kick-off last week as LAX hopes the project will improve connections between terminals and cut down on auto traffic in and out of the airport. Linked to the new consolidated rent-a-car facility, the People Mover aims to provide congestion relief for one of the world's busiest airports.
Greek architect Giannis Giannoutsos has created a new chapel design for a small church in western Greece. Sited in Stratos, the project explores the juxtaposition between an existing and a new religious structure in the same space. Rising next to the ruins of a 19th century country church called Asprocclesia, or White Chapel, the design creates a space of introspection and enclosure in the middle of an open field.
New York City’s Hudson Yards has opened its doors to the public, and the reviews are flooding in. Built on Midtown Manhattan’s West Side, the project is New York’s largest development to date and the largest private real estate venture in American history, covering almost 14 acres of land with residential towers, offices, plazas, shopping centers, and restaurants. A host of architecture firms have shaped the development, including BIG, SOM, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Rockwell Group, and many others.
Read on to find out how critics have responded to Hudson Yards so far.
Cambridge-based design practice WOJR has designed House of the Woodland, a pyramidal house grounded in framing and symmetry. Designed around rituals of respite, the project utilizes a nine-square grid structuring four plywood trusses resting atop eight cinder block walls. Sited in the Berkshires, the design makes its grid organization visible through the roof's large-scale coffers. The project explores a series of dichotomies through materials, space and form.
The Architecture Foundation has announced the winning design for Antepavilion, the annual installation program in London. Chosen from more than 200 entries and six finalists, Maich Swift Architects ‘Potemkin Theatre’ features “colorful panels of painted canvas, which will act as both a canalside theatre and a rooftop cinema.” The design perches on the rooftop of a warehouse along east London’s Regents Canal, creating a visible landmark in the low-scale neighbourhood.
Danish architectural firm COBE has designed a new mixed-use affordable housing development in downtown Toronto. Working with architectsAlliance, the team has designed three buildings that contain over 760 market rental units, 30% of which are affordable. Sited in one of the fastest growing areas of Canada, the new community project is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification. The development aims to combine spaces for recreation, living and working.
Italian practice Studio Fuksas has been selected to build the new International Congress Center of Jerusalem. Sited in the “City Gateway”, the project is part of a larger expansion of the city's central business district. The new Congress Center will be built around the existing Ussishkin Hall Building, which will be redesigned to host international shows and conferences. The expansion will make the Jerusalem ICC the largest conference center in the Middle East.
Architect Rafael Viñoly has revealed new images for NEMA, a skyscraper set to become the tallest residential rental tower in Chicago. Designed to evoke the structural system of the Willis Tower, the project is sited on the southwestern edge of Grant Park. The 76-story residential tower will create 800 rental units and is designed to be LEED Silver. The new skyscraper will include expansive views of the city's skyline as it frames Lake Michigan and Grant Park.
The Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum sculpture garden will be renovated for the first time since the 1980s by Japanese artist and architect Hiroshi Sugimoto. Currently featuring works by Auguste Rodin, Jimmie Durham, and Yoko Ono, the sculpture garden will be opened up to the National Mall and create space for large-scale contemporary works and performances. The new concept aims to raise visibility for the garden and welcome more visitors to the museum.
The Royal Institute of British Architects have announced fourteen buildings shortlisted from 48 entries for this year's RIBA South West Awards. The work includes six projects are by new and established practices based in the South West, as well as a series of new and reconfigured houses. All shortlisted buildings will be assessed by a regional jury with the winning buildings announced at an awards ceremony this May.
Space Saloon has announced a new week long experimental design-build festival in Southern California. Dubbed FIELDWORKS, the festival aims to rethink design-build and hands-on education. Following the success of the first workshop, LANDING, the group is returning to Southern California and the Morongo Valley. The community-in-residence program brings teams of students and designers together to develop site-specific projects that question notions of context and place.
