UK entrepreneur Ehab Syed has developed a mushroom-based insulation with his company Biohm, embodying techniques that are “completely natural, biodegradable and vegan.”
As reported by Global Construction Review, the material will come to the market in the coming months, with interest expressed by Tata Steel, Heathrow Airport, and leading UK house builders.
https://www.archdaily.com/903744/biohms-vegan-insulation-system-offers-a-future-for-green-constructionNiall Patrick Walsh
https://www.archdaily.com/903653/barclay-and-crousses-university-of-piuru-edificio-e-in-peru-wins-the-2018-mies-crown-hall-americas-prizeNiall Patrick Walsh
David Chipperfield and Euroboden have collaborated on the design of a five-story building in Munich, located near the city’s Herzog Park. The 2800-square-meter scheme seeks to “fit sensitively into the historic fabric of the neighborhood.”
The design process revolved around the incorporation of history and pattern from the surrounding environment, without copying or resorting to historicization. The result is a scheme which is “simultaneously self-confident yet restrained, a building that integrates itself into its context without subordinating itself.”
New images have been published of Grimshaw and Arup-designed stations for the UK’s ”High Speed 2” railway system. Connecting London to the British Midlands, the mega-infrastructure project will be the UK’s second high-speed rail system, with HS1 already connecting London and the South East to the Channel Tunnel.
The Grimshaw and WSP-designed Curzon Street station in Birmingham will be the first brand new intercity station to be built in Britain since the 1800s, while Interchange Station, designed by Arup, will serve as a gateway station to the West Midlands and Birmingham Airport.
WXCA and Bellprat will design the PolishPavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai, having overcome more than 30 other proposals. The winning scheme seeks to create an “open, tree-like modular structure” inspired by Poland’s rich wildlife.
The pavilion will feature an integrated exhibition with “kinetic flocks of birds floating over visitors’ heads,” referring to the many migratory birds which settle in Poland each year “inspiring legends, connecting minds, and creating the future.”
SLICE consists of a layered module of functional plugins, combined to create basic spatial configurations. In tandem with the design of SLICE’s spatial profile, Shanghai-based Sehat has proposed a shared, on-demand digital service for module rental, maintenance, and payment.
Deltawerk //, which opened September 27th, is envisioned as a “tribute to the majesty and seemingly indestructible power of the Dutch delta works,” shedding new light on the “practice of preserving cultural heritage.”
https://www.archdaily.com/903312/raaaf-and-atelier-de-lyons-monumental-deltewerk-is-a-tribute-to-the-majesty-of-dutch-flood-defensesNiall Patrick Walsh
Across the world, developed cities are rebelling against heavy industry. While some reasons vary depending on local circumstances, a common global drive towards clean energy, and the shifting of developed economies towards financial services, automation, and the gig economy, is leaving a common trace within urban centers. From Beijing to Detroit, vast wastelands of steel and concrete will stand as empty relics to the age of steel and coal.
The question of what to do with these wastelands, with defunct furnaces, railways, chimneys, and lakes, may be one of the major urban questions facing generations of architects to come. What can be done when the impracticality of industrial complexes, and the precious land they needlessly occupy, collides with the embodied energy, memories, and histories which few would wish to lose?
Carlo Ratti Associati has unveiled the "Greenary," a renovated farmhouse designed around a 10-meter-high tree in the countryside near Parma, Northern Italy. The scheme marks the first step of CRA’s winning 2017 masterplan for the Mutti tomato company, driven by a closer integration between nature and the built environment.
The 50-year-old Ficus tree, situated within the main living area, is encircled by stepped areas rising to the treetop, creating six domestic spaces. The house will be coupled with a factory developed in close architectural continuity, due to their physical proximity.
https://www.archdaily.com/903235/carlo-ratti-associati-places-30-foot-high-tree-inside-renovated-italian-farmhouseNiall Patrick Walsh
MVRDV has released details of their proposed renovation of a 19th-century listed building on Slodowa Island in Wroclaw, Poland. The “Concordia Hub” will see the retention of the existing façade, with the addition of a contemporary rear extension to “create a focal point” for the general public and visitors.
The site’s former use as a German artillery base in 1945 means almost all of the island’s structures were destroyed in the closing months of World War II. The Concordia Hub scheme seeks to preserve one of the only surviving heritage structures on the island, while transitioning the building into the modern age.
https://www.archdaily.com/903159/mvrdv-proposes-respectful-renovation-for-19th-century-heritage-building-in-wroclaw-polandNiall Patrick Walsh
Following the announcement by SpaceX founder Elon Musk that Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa would be the first paying customer to visit the Moon, the retail tycoon generated further excitement by declaring he would bring between six and eight artists to accompany him.
The “Dear Moon” project would see a painter, musician, film director, and others, accompany Maezawa in order to “dream dreams that have never been dreamed…to sing songs that have never been sung, to paint that which has never been seen before.”
https://www.archdaily.com/903090/life-on-the-moon-according-to-8-architects-and-artistsNiall Patrick Walsh
The 60,000-square-meter scheme will be located in the Lohsepark area of the city, where it will form part of the HafenCity ensemble of office, commercial, and residential buildings.
https://www.archdaily.com/903088/caruso-st-johns-ceramic-proposal-wins-hamburg-publishing-headquarters-competitionNiall Patrick Walsh
The shortlist for the 2018 Architectural Photography Awards have been revealed, bringing together 20 atmospheric images of the built environment. Categories this year ranged from a “portfolio of an individual building to a single abstract: with a professional camera or on a mobile phone.”
The 2018 edition saw a record number of entries, with photographs from 47 countries, including the UK (28%), USA (20%), Germany (6%), and China (5%). The 20 photographs were selected from four categories: exteriors, interiors, sense of place, and buildings in use.
https://www.archdaily.com/903008/shortlist-for-the-2018-architectural-photography-awards-revealedNiall Patrick Walsh
“Architects don’t even look at it as an opportunity to put any living experience there…we can open that up” muses Sankarshan Murthy, former Tesla and Apple Watch engineer.
As humans inhabit ever-tighter living arrangements, Murthy’s start-up “Bumblebee Spaces” takes a novel approach: put everything in the ceiling.
https://www.archdaily.com/902937/robotics-start-up-proposes-smart-motorized-ceiling-furnitureNiall Patrick Walsh
Award-winning artist and designer Es Devlin OBE is set to design the UK Pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai. The scheme, titled “Poem Pavilion” will highlight “leading British expertise in Artificial Intelligence and Space,” and will be produced in collaboration with global brand agency Avantgarde.
The Poem Pavilion will feature an illuminated “Message to Space,” with each of the Expo’s projected 25 million visitors invited to contribute.
https://www.archdaily.com/902853/es-devlin-to-design-the-uks-poem-pavilion-for-dubai-expo-2020Niall Patrick Walsh
Sir Nicholas Grimshaw has been awarded the 2019 Gold Medal by the Royal Institute of British Architects. Having played a leading role in British architecture for more than half a century, Grimshaw’s acclaimed works include the landmark International Terminal at London’s Waterloo station and the visionary Eden Project in Cornwall.
The medal is awarded in recognition of a lifetime’s work and is approved personally by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. It is given to a person, or group of people, who have had a significant influence "either directly or indirectly on the advancement of architecture." Previous winners include Neave Brown (2018) and Paulo Mendes da Rocha (2017).