Renovation of Marcel Breuer's Robert C. Weaver Federal Building / Brooks + Scarpa. Image Courtesy of Brooks + Scarpa
Exploring architectural projects, competition entries and unbuilt works by renowned architects is an important step in fostering innovation and encouraging cross-cultural exchange and the development of diverse design approaches. Analyzing these unrealized concepts can offer insights into the evolution of architectural thinking, exploring a wider spectrum of approaches and design perspectives. This week’s curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights designs submitted by established architecture practices.
Featuring internationally recognized offices like Brooks + Scarpa, Penoyre & Prasad, Aedas, Pininfarina, and Opposite Office, this selection exemplifies the wide range of projects and interventions designed by architects at various scales and programs. From creative reimaginings of well-known architectural icons to art museums, urban insertions, and conceptual activist proposals, these projects demonstrate the variety of approaches architects take when designing within a specific context and in response to local constraints, challenges and opportunities.
In the ever-evolving realm of architectural design, the trajectory of visualization technologies is propelling us into a future where creativity knows no bounds. A number of new tools are at the forefront of this revolution, offering architects and designers new software that redefine the boundaries of architectural visualization. In this article, we delve into one of these tools, Eyecad VR, and its strengths, exploring how its real-time rendering, immersive experiences, virtual reality capabilities, and extensive 3D asset library are helping reshape the landscape of architectural design.
The MPavilion represents one of the most important architectural events happening annually in Melbourne, Australia. Initiated and founded by the Naomi Milgrom Foundation, the event was first launched in 2014 and has since brought internationally recognized architects to design a temporary structure in Melbourne's Queen Victoria Gardens in a system similar to London’s Serpentine Gallery Pavilion. From Sean Godsell's solar-actioned panels to Studio Mumbai‘s experimental bamboo structure, each pavilion explores craftsmanship and contemporary design while fostering a rich cultural program for several months before being disassembled and donated to one of the city’s parks. As the latest pavilion was recently inaugurated by Tadao Ando, we look back at the previous editions of Australia’s most famous annual structure.
CHYBIK+KRISTOF has won an international competition to design a multifunctional tower as a significant part of Tirana’s evolving landscape. The structure is situated in the heart of the capital city’s culture hub within the New Boulevard, reflecting a shift in Tirana’s urban development. With its distinctive red concrete silhouette, it aims to create a new landmark, signaling the commencement of various other projects outlined in the masterplan.
Amid the ongoing environmental crisis, bioeconomy has gained significance across different domains, particularly in the construction sector, where efforts there is a push to enhance sustainability. This shift in mindset has also influenced the realm of interior architecture. With a growing awareness of climate change and the imperative to protect our planet, architects and designers are increasingly embracing biomaterials. The result is the creation of spaces that not only captivate visually but also demonstrate a proactive commitment to the environment.
The world of architecture is a captivating fusion of artistic expression and scientific precision. My journey in the realm of architecture started with a profound exploration of its rich history. It was the awe-inspiring works of Renaissance masters that propelled me onto a transformative trajectory, guiding me toward harnessing the immense potential of artificial intelligence and algorithms in architectural design.
“Two brains are better than one,” goes the old saying. And with good reason. As the social beings that we are, humans thrive through interpersonal interactions and the dynamic exchange of ideas. It is these collective thoughts that tend to flourish, evolve and reach their full potential, fueled by a diversity of perspectives and experiences. That is precisely why teamwork stands as one of the most valued pillars of any working environment, and also explains why office workers spend an average of 37% of their time every week sitting in meetings. It’s no surprise then that modern office settings embrace meeting rooms as designated spaces for collaborative ideation and decision-making. But not in the way many might imagine. Gone are the days of bland conference rooms with nothing but a large table, uncomfortable chairs and white walls, giving way to new, more innovative models that respond to a shifting paradigm.
In 2022, a wider audience gained access to unexpectedly powerful AI tools, including Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, and DALL-E 2 for text-to-image generation, as well as the human-like chatbot OpenGPT.
One year later, pundits, organizations, and governments have stated these technologies will pose profound risks to society and humanity—from automation-spurred job loss to disrupting democratic processes to the automatization of weapons.
Traditionally relegated to roofs, photovoltaic (PV) panels tend to have a uniform appearance: large black or dark blue rectangular pieces of shiny glass with metal frames. Partly because dark colors better harvest sunlight to be turned into electricity, but also because silicon –the primary material used in most high-efficiency photovoltaic panels– tends to be dark in its crystalline form. Fortunately, there are now technologies to control luster, color and finish that provide aesthetic variety while maintaining high efficiency. SolarLab and other manufacturers are redefining conventional solar panels, introducing design flexibility and material qualities that allow architects to take advantage of large facade surfaces to generate renewable energy without compromising architecturally.
Sir John Soane’s Museum has announced French architecture practice Lacaton & Vassal as the recipient of the 2023 Soane Medal. The award comes in recognition of the office’s work spanning over 3 decades. Through an honest design approach, the office became known for the resourceful repurposing of materials and existing structures to prioritize the needs of residents and local communities. For this approach, the office has been previously awarded as the 2021 Pritzker Prize 2021 Laureate.
Foster + Partners has unveiled the plans for a new multi-purpose design in the heart of Miami Beach. “The Aalton” is a six-story building encompassing ground-level retail, offices, and residential spaces. Positioned at the intersection of Aalton Road and Lincoln Road, the renowned pedestrian shopping street, the building embraces Florida’s architectural heritage.
"Architecture, city, and activism" are the words that define Taller ACÁ, an emerging practice led by Jorge Villatoro and Hans Schwarz in Guatemala City. Among their projects are the Tiny House Quinn and the Community Center Plantando Semillas, which were recently selected as the winners of the Danta Awards at the 2023 Guatemala Architecture Biennial. In the following conversation, Villatoro and Schwarz provide detailed insights into their inspirations, working processes, and future projections for architecture, both in the country and in Central America.
As the temperature drops in the Northern Hemisphere, cold outdoor spaces are overcome with frost, ice, and snow, and we find ourselves rushing from one heated indoor environment to the next, less willing or less able to stop and appreciate the natural world around us.
Apart from dragging a spruce or fir tree inside and dressing it up in yuletide costume, we tend to leave the real natural world to its own seasonal devices until it reemerges in Spring. However, by inviting the positive effects of plant life into our homes, we can improve both our mental health and the air we breathe by filling them with peace and joy all year round, not just at Christmas.
Spacon & X is a Copenhagen-based design and architecture studio that works to create spatial identity across different mediums. Their cross-disciplinary work boasts a fusion between traditionally separated fields, contributing to a holistic physical brand experience. Chosen by ArchDaily as part of our 2023 New Practices, the studio works with an explorative approach to architecture, design, event planning, and production.
The studio is run by three partners who each come from different backgrounds: Architecture, Fashion Design, and Scenographic Design. In an interview with Nikoline Dyrup Carlsen, Svend Jacob Pedersen, and Malene Hvidt, ArchDaily delves into their practice, exploring their distinct skill sets and their collaborative and exploratory work ethic. The interview also goes beyond the practice, discussing their unique methodology and commercial business development strategy. Housing 25 employees with various backgrounds, the studio includes architects, carpenters, building constructors, and craft makers and is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of design and architecture.
In order to secure the food supply for Berlin's rapidly growing population at the end of the 19th century, the Kornversuchsspeicher was built in 1898 on the former site of the Hamburger and Lehrter freight depots. A building with a scientific mission, it served to research new storage methods for grain. After years of vacancy and then interim use as a creative space, the brick building has been carefully renovated in recent years by AFF Architekten, extended with the addition of a seventh floor and transformed into a modern event, gastronomy and office building, with a focus on fully preserving its industrial charm. This was a project that called for great expertise in all areas, including from Solarlux, the specialist called upon for customized window and facade solutions.
Solar heating has existed in architecture since ancient times, when people used adobe and stone walls to trap heat during the day and slowly release it at night. In its modern form, however, solar heating first developed in the 1920s, when European architects began experimenting with passive solar methods in mass housing. In Germany, Otto Haesler, Walter Gropius, and others designed schematic Zeilenbau flats that optimized sunlight, and following the import of “heliotropic housing” to the U.S., wartime fuel shortages during World War II quickly popularized passive solar heating. Variations of this system then proliferated around the world, but it was not until 1967 that the first Trombe wall was implemented by architect Jacques Michel in Odeillo, France. Named after engineer Felix Trombe, the system combines glass and a dark, heat-absorbing material to conduct heat slowly into the house.
https://www.archdaily.com/946732/how-does-a-trombe-wall-workLilly Cao
A new set of images showcases BIG's One High Line development nearing completion. Located on the ‘Architecture Row’ in New York, the coupled twisting towers share the Hudson River skyline with neighbors such as Frank Gehry’s IAC building, Renzo Piano’s Whitney Museum of American Art, and Jean Nouvel’s The Chelsea Nouvel ('100 Eleventh Avenue'), along with future works by Thomas Heatherwick and other renown architects. The two condominium towers designed by BIG are organized to define a central public courtyard, activating the public space with retail and commercial facilities. The towers’ exterior and the majority of the interior are completed, with the courtyard expected to be finished by early 2024.
The 2023 RIBA House of the Year Award has been awarded to “Green House.” Designed by Hayhurst & Co, this polycarbonate-lined residential family home was inspired by nature. The annual award recognizes the house as the best example of residential design in the UK. Described as a “domestic greenhouse” and an “extraordinary ordinary house” by the RIBA jury, the design reflects nature’s ability to influence design.
Despite operating from distinct offices in Portugal, brothers Manoel and Francisco have forged their professional paths in tandem, collectively known as Aires Mateus, a shared surname. As a cohesive duo, these Portuguese architects have left their mark on projects across multiple countries, establishing themselves as a benchmark in contemporary architecture. They are praised for their innovative and elegant designs, gaining global acclaim for their ability to integrate simplicity, tradition, and functionality.
A familiar attraction in more populous cities, bistros are said to have been born in Paris, where enterprising residents would set up makeshift stalls in front of their homes, selling their leftover produce to earn a little extra income. What started out as a neat little side hustle turned into the homely or perhaps even cozy restaurants and café spaces we know as bistros today. With minimal space inside their small-scale premises, these small-scale eateries often continue their ancestors’ traditions and pitch up tables and chairs outside.
Fighting for their lives in the hazy pandemic months, small hospitality spaces took advantage when major cities relaxed their rules surrounding outdoor dining. Anywhere and everywhere from piazza-facing pizzerias in Porto to cobbled back-alley sandwich bars in Edinburgh cordoned off what little space they had with as many tables and chairs as they could. Enabling safe fresh-air dining, the furniture also served to entice customers in – once allowed.
Moderated by David Basulto, Co-Founder and editor-in-chief at ArchDaily, the panel featured Jury Chairs for the Holcim Awards 2023 competition, Lesley Lokko, Belinda Tato, Craig Dykers, Manit Rastogi, and Tatiana Bilbao, who explained how the winning projects contributed to the industry's global knowledge network across regions, and how the construction industry is heading towards a sustainable practice.
The Panel Discussion took place on November 19th, 2023 at the Teatro Piccolo Arsenale, in Venice, Italy.
In 1993 a young professional couple with two toddlers and a large suburban lot in Naarden, a town less than half an hour's drive southeast of Amsterdam, approached Ben van Berkel to design an unusual house. They envisioned it as progressive and innovative in every way possible. More than that, they wanted a kind of building that “would be recognized as a reference in terms of renewal of the architectural language.” Before settling on the architect, they spoke to several candidates, including Rem Koolhaas. They chose van Berkel who five years earlier, together with his then-wife Caroline Bos co-founded their eponymous practice, because as he told me, “I went to the site and studied it carefully and already had ideas about what I called the four quadrants of the landscape. I knew what kind of house it would be. I could see clearly where different rooms would go, how they would be shaped, and how they would relate to each other.” The couple couldn’t resist. Yet, there would be no rush on the project which took five years to complete, most time was invested in its design, going through many iterations and refinements, all based on the Möbius loop.
Moving towards modernity implies questioning established concepts. Today, we are witnessing several projects and approaches in architecture that explore alternatives to energy-intensive building systems, materials, and technologies commonly used in today's construction. These projects, far from adopting approaches that reject technology, seek to promote conscious architectural practices. They aim to go back to basics through passive strategies, using natural materials and a contextual understanding to develop sustainable architecture.
To boost sustainable architecture, it is crucial to have building models and materials that become recognizable icons in their immediate context, thus setting a precedent for the development of future proposals. One such example can be found in Spain, with the "Impulso Verde" project carried out in the city of Lugo which stands out for its construction model based on passive strategies and regional materials. In this project, using natural slate as cladding for the ventilated facade system and employing local resources in the structure was essential for the building's ecological footprint. Additionally, these elements strengthen the building's identity by connecting it to the surrounding landscape.
https://www.archdaily.com/1010187/sustainable-building-models-an-eco-friendly-structure-in-natural-slate-within-a-multi-ecological-neighborhoodEnrique Tovar
Ho Chi Minh City Innovation District / Sasaki. Image Courtesy of Sasaki
As technology and infrastructure rapidly evolve, a new buzzword finds itself in conversations across industries - innovation. The word is more relevant in light of future-facing challenges such as climate change, inequality, and economic crises. As a result of a surging interest in these concepts, innovation hubs have emerged across the world, aiming to foster creative and collaborative economies to spark quick change. What are innovation districts and how do they influence the built environment?
