This year's second installment of Index Design's Master Classe series will feature architect Brendan MacFarlane on March 24, 2015, from 6:00 to 8:00PM in Montreal. MacFarlane, co-founder of the internationally-acclaimed design firm Jakob + MacFarlane, will discuss his iconic and award-winning work, and his pursuit of creating architecture that "leaves nobody indifferent." To purchase tickets and for more information, visit masterclasses.index-design.ca.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill's (SOM) latest endeavor, a Four Seasons Hotel called Bahrain Bay, has been officially opened. Occupying a private 12-acre island, the hotel creates a dynamic new focal point and a thriving destination for the developing Bahrain Bay district. As part of SOM's masterplan, the hotel is an important milestone in activating the waterfront area.
Read on after the break for more on the hotel's program.
The 2015 Australian Achievement in Architecture Awards have been allocated by the Australian Institute of Architects in Melbourne. The prestigious awards honor emerging and seasoned architects, students, and academics whose interdisciplinary designs have excelled in embracing the possibilities of the profession. Granting 14 awards in 9 categories, the recipients’ work spans a wide range of subject matter and addresses various aspects of architecture’s inherent influences both locally and globally.
The highest award, the Gold Medal, was awarded to Peter Stutchbury, whose lifelong commitment to architecture has spanned education, professional practice, and involvement in organizations. His international work consistently speaks to its specific cultural and site conditions, while adhering to sustainable design principles.
See all the 2015 award winners, after the break.
The 2015 Fairy Tales competition, hosted by Blank Space, has drawn to a close with four winners and 11 honorable mentions emerging victorious. Now in its second year, the competition attracted over 1,200 entries from 65 countries and challenged participants in a number of fields to design architectural projects inspired and accompanied by fictional stories.
Check out the winning designs after the break.
In an effort to combat the economic conditions that have plunged one-fourth of its population into poverty, Egypt's ambitious development plan for a massive new capital city is soon to be underway. Roughly the size of New Cairo, the privately-funded city hopes to become the new administrative center, as well as a bustling metropolis of shopping, housing, and tourist destinations to generate economic activity. Plans were solidified at a foreign investment conference where the official project details were unveiled on March 13 in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Read on after the break for more on the $45 billion plan.
"We know that buildings are destroying the environment as well as building the environment." In the latest Archiculture extras interview from Arbuckle Industries, architect and CIO of AECOM Joe Brown talks about the changes and challenges he has witnessed in the architecture industry. He discusses the dynamics of being part of a multinational firm and the effects it has on design, as well as the political notions embedded in the field. Additionally, Brown touches on the problems associated with the built environment and how they are inspiring change in the next generation of designers.
Nine finalists have emerged in the Boston Living with Water design competition. The ongoing initiative challenges competitors to address shifting climate conditions and sea level rise at one of three Boston sites anticipated to be affected by 2100. Although the 50 participating teams took different approaches to designing for climate change, all the submissions treated the rising sea level as a positive design force in Boston's built environment.
Check out the finalists, after the break.
Do you have a stimulating read on architecture, landscapes, or urbanism you want to share with the world? Places Journal has launched an innovative interactive feature called Reading Lists designed to spread the word. Whether you have videos and websites to share with a peer, articles and books to compile for future perusal, or an annotated bibliography to create, Reading Lists is sure to simplify the process through its user-friendly and interdisciplinary platform. Check out the Featured Lists for inspiration and start your own list, here.
Tallinn Architecture Biennale has announced the vision competition “Epicentre of Tallinn” to find a design solution for intersections in the future, when only self-driving cars will drive on the city streets. The international one-stage architecture competition invites entries by the end of May. Read on to learn more.
The competition to host the new Barack Obama Presidential Library has generated quite a stir, attracting proposals from cities across the United States with Chicago emerging as the current front runner. Amid the debate, that is expected to end with a decision later this month, a new controversy has surfaced on the coattails of the University of Chicago's speculative plan. The proposed concept involves a land transfer for the library to occupy one of two historic parks designed by iconic landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in the 1870s. Read more about the heated debate over using public parkland to house the library, here.
The winners of the 2015 Civic Trust Awards have been announced. Recognizing design excellence in all aspects of the built environment since 1959, the Civic Trust Awards span three categories and are granted to designs around the world. From the King's Cross Station renovation in London to the Via Verde in New York, this year's recipients represent a mix of ultra-modern structures, prized cultural sites, and innovative landscapes. See all the 2015 recipients, here.
This active multi-use pavilion by Bence Pap and Parsa Khalili took second prize in the OUE Artling ArchiPavilion Design Competition in Singapore. Designed around the principles of continuity and flexibility, the Artling Pavilion provides an adaptable space that accommodates evolving programs and ensures constant adherence to the occupants' needs.
Three grand prize winners and seven special mention recipients of d3's Unbuilt Visions 2014 (UV2014) competition have been revealed. Open to professionals and students alike, the annual competition challenges participants to use stellar unbuilt concepts as vessels for conversation. Spanning the realm of architecture, urbanism, interiors, and designed objects, Unbuilt Visions recognizes projects that spark interdisciplinary debate and exploit the innovative spirit of the 21st Century.
Learn more about UV2014 and check out the winning projects, after the break.
"[Architecture] shapes people's lives, it shapes people's understanding of cities for generations to come... Architecture as a discipline is extremely powerful." In the latest of Arbuckle Industries' Archiculture interviews, architect, professor, and dean of Pratt Institute Tom Hanrahan discusses his views on the convergence of architecture and education. He addresses the uniquely public character of architecture schools in comparison with other fields of study, as well as qualities of both professors and students that foster the best educational environment. Additionally, Hanrahan touches on how the public image of big cities, particularly New York City, can influence our perception of them.
The first-place competition winner from KM 429 architecture, this proposal for the Isola Garibaldi Civic Center draws inspiration from Milan’s historic architectural tradition superimposed within the modern urban context. Through its refusal to be monumentalized, the Civic Center generates a new language within its neighborhood and looks to the city's past to create a vital civic architecture to serve present, and future, needs.
Five finalists have emerged from the 196 submissions of Toronto’s first international Winter Stations design competition. Drawing proposals from 36 countries around the world, the competition challenged entrants to transform the lifeguard stations on Toronto’s east beaches into public art pieces for the winter. The finalists’ designs were constructed in mid-February and will be displayed until March 20, 2015.
Take a look at the completed installations, after the break.
From bricks grown from bacteria to cement derived from the reef building process of coral, biomimicry has taken the world by storm. A collection of products inspired by this phenomenon are showcased in Bloomberg’s article “14 Smart Inventions Inspired by Nature: Biomimicry,” ranging from transportation breakthroughs to ingenious feats of engineering. Read on after the break for two highlighted architectural inventions inspired by the natural world.
"...In many of our architecture schools [...] we're finding that the students themselves are asking for a more socially-conscious and a more environmentally-conscious kind of architecture, a kind of architecture that really serves human needs." In the latest Arbuckle Industries' Archiculture interview, former Boston Architectural College President Ted Landsmark discusses his experience in the industry. He delves into the demographic trends that make up the field of architecture today, and the influence these have on the work that is being done. He also touches on the "privileged" ideology associated with architecture, and how the shifting global demands and client preferences are abandoning this mentality.
.jpg?1426109812 "Water FUN(d). Image Courtesy of Boston Living with Water")
