Midtown Blogger/Manhattan Valley Follies: Architectural Daily

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FeaturedVilla el Libertador Príncipe de Asturias Municipal Hospital / Santiago Viale + Ian Dutari + Alejandro Paz

FeaturedHealth Sciences and Student Resources Building at North Seattle College / Schacht Aslani Architects

Editor's ChoiceInvisible Solar Harvesting Technology Becomes Reality

Chinese Boxes / thescape

Architects: thescape
Location: Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Architect In Charge: KyungHwan Chun (jaeminahyo.com)
Area: 237.0 sqm
Year: 2013
Photographs: SungKyung Choi

Rain Shelter House / y+M

Architects: y+M
Location: Japan, 〒683-0805 Tottori Prefecture, Yonago, Nishifukubara, 6 Chome−2−45 ＳＡＮロイヤル
Year: 2014
Photographs: Yohei Sasakura / Sasa no kurasya

Roman Villa / Marte.Marte Architekten

Architects: Marte.Marte Architekten
Location: 6830 Brederis, Austria
Architects In Charge: Bernhard Marte, Stefan Marte
Area: 42.0 sqm
Year: 2008
Photographs: Marc Lins

Video: Paulo Mendes da Rocha’s Cais das Artes / Pedro Kok

<a href="http://www.vimeo.com/91548899">http://www.vimeo.com/91548899</a> This video by architecture photographer, Pedro Kok, takes us behind the scenes of the construction of the Cais das Artes (Quay of Arts) building in Brazil. Located in the southeastern coastal city of Vitória, the building was designed by Paulo Mendes da Rocha in collaboration with METRO Arquitetos.
The video was produced for La Triennale di Milano’s exhibition, “Paulo Mendes da Rocha – Technique and Imagination,” and captures – through impeccable shots – the work that went into constructing the enormous cultural complex.

Emperor Qianmen Hotel / asap

Architects: asap
Location: Dongcheng, Beijing, China
Area: 7500.0 sqm
Year: 2013
Photographs: Jonathan Leijonhufvud

Apple Awarded Patent for Flagship Store Design

The US Patent and Trademark Office have awarded a patent to Apple for the design of their flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York, reports MacRumors. The patent, applied for by Apple in 2012, applies to the above-ground glass cube, which was originally designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and – after a renovation in 2011 – is made of just 15 glass panels with minimal steel fixings. More on the patent after the break.

VARA / Studio O+A

Architects: Studio O+A
Location: 1880 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA
Design Team: Primo Orpilla, Denise Cherry, Perry Stephney, Clem Soga, Jeorge Jordan, Will Chu, Alma Lopez, Caren Currie, Olivia Ward, Justin Ackerman, Al McKee
Year: 2013
Photographs: Jasper Sanidad

Move Over, Green Walls: Living Canopy Comes to West Vancouver

Imagine walking beneath an illuminated canopy of lush greenery, in the form of inverted pyramids sculpted to perfection. In early August 2014 visitors were welcomed by this succulent living roof to the Harmony Arts Festival in West Vancouver, British Columbia. Guests were guided through the fairgrounds beneath the 90-foot long canopy, creating an immersive sensory experience befitting the interdisciplinary creative arts festival. Designed by Matthew Soules Architecture and curated by the Museum of West Vancouver, Vermilion Sands was created as a temporary installation for the ten day festival.
Submerge yourself in Vermilion Sands with photos and more info after the break.

PortMiami Tunnel / ArquitectonicaGEO

Architects: ArquitectonicaGEO
Location: Miami, FL, USA
Year: 2014
Photographs: Robin Hill

New York’s Oyster Bar: Serving up Reefs and Resiliency

Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects' designs for Pier 42. Image Courtesy of Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects — Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects’ designs for Pier 42. Image Courtesy of Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects

As part of Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects‘ ongoing blog at Metropolis Magazine about effective implementation of landscape design principles, this article discusses one of the more unusual methods developed to create resilience and prevent storm damage: oysters. Drawing on her experiences creating an oyster reef at Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects’ Pier 42 project in New York, Johanna Phelps explains the challenges and opportunities that arise in establishing this unusual type of natural infrastructure in an urban location.
Since Hurricane Sandy struck New York in 2012, the city’s waterfront design discussions have focused on ideas of resiliency and planning for storm events. The recent Rebuild by Design competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Presidential Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, featured six winning proposals that all envisioned a beefed-up Manhattan shoreline capable of handling large storm events and other hazards effects of climate change. Of the handful of ambitious designs, Scape/Landscape Architecture’s Living Breakwaters plan was the most interesting: the project called for the reestablishment of New York’s erstwhile oyster reefs, which the architects said would improve local ecology.

Penthouse Plata / Greenfield

© Documentación Arquitectónica - Adrián Llaguno — © Documentación Arquitectónica – Adrián Llaguno

Architects: Greenfield
Location: San Pedro, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
Design Team: Kenji Rivera, Samuel Contreras, Alain Navar, Julia Briones, Dolores Maximino, Antonio Flores, Marisol Barrios.
Area: 600.0 sqm
Year: 2013
Photographs: Documentación Arquitectónica – Adrián Llaguno , Courtesy of Greenfield

The Rockefeller Foundation Kicks Off its 100 Resilient Cities Challenge

OMA’s proposed Hoboken Waterfront for the “Rebuild by Design” competition, which focused on resilience, sustainability and livability. Image Courtesy of OMA

The Rockefeller Foundation has kicked off its 2014 100 Resilient Cities Challenge, which aims to help “build resilience to the social, economic, and physical challenges that cities face in an increasingly urbanized world.” Each of the 100 cities selected will receive funding to hire a Chief Resilience Officer and assistance in developing and implementing a resilience strategy.
“We can’t predict the next disruption or catastrophe. But we can control how we respond to these challenges. We can adapt to the shocks and stresses of our world and transform them into opportunities for growth,” the 100 Resilient Cities’ site reads. While shocks include events like earthquakes, fires and floods, stresses include high unemployment, inefficient public transportation, endemic violence or chronic food and water shortages. The Challenge aims to help cities be better prepared for these adverse events and better able to deliver basic services in both good and bad times to all members of the population.
Learn more about the Challenge after the break…

Google Launches New Virtual Experience that Takes You Inside Alvar Aalto’s Works

The Alvar Aalto Foundation has begun a collaborative project with Google to make Aalto buildings even more accessible to the public. Using Google’s revolutionary Street View navigation tool, along with its virtual Cultural Institute, the project offers a look inside some of Aalto’s most iconic works of architecture. Learn more about this initiative and see the virtual journey for yourself after the break.

Villa Shinsyo / Szki Architects

Architects: Szki Architects
Location: Makinohara, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
Area: 66.0 sqm
Year: 2011
Photographs: Katsuya Suzuki’

Mecanoo Begins Work on Vast Cultural Centre in Shenzhen

Courtesy of Mecanoo / Christopher Malheiros Architectural Visualization

Dutch based practice Mecanoo, nominated for this year’s RIBA Stirling Prize for the Library of Birmingham, have begun work on vast cultural centre in Shenzhen marking their first project to break ground on Chinese soil. Comprising of a large public art gallery, a science museum, a youth centre, and a book mall, the 95,000 square metre development will strengthen Longgang District’s identity by “providing citizens and visitors with a renewed sense of place.” Forming a dynamic link between the high-rise of the city’s commercial district and the open spaces of Longcheng Park, the four sculpted forms emerge from the ground to create a series of arches and sheltered spaces to facilitate public events.
See the full set of images and an illustrative film after the break.

Midtown Blogger/Manhattan Valley Follies

Translation from English

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Architectural Daily