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House in Tsubaki / PANDA
Alexandria House 2 / Pivot
Daniel Libeskind Releases Design for Vilnius Leisure Center
Daniel Libeskind has been commissioned to design a leisure destination for the Lithuanian city of Vilnius. Perched on the highest point in the city, between Vilnius’ historic center, business district and airport, the “Vilnius Beacon” aims to become a cultural and recreational attraction at the Liepkalnis Ski Hill that offers a range of summer and winter activities.
“I was inspired by the landscape of this beautiful city. My goal with this project was to bring an exciting dimension of architecture that respects the natural elements, while providing a year- round sustainable center for the citizens of Vilnius,” said Libeskind. “The Beacon is set to become a new epicenter of entertainment, leisure and culture for the city.”
La Rufina House / Federico Olmedo
Architects: Federico Olmedo
Location: Córdoba, Córdoba Province, Argentina, Argentina
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Gonzalo Viramonte
Location: Córdoba, Córdoba Province, Argentina, Argentina
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Gonzalo Viramonte
Want a Virtual Reality Headset? Make One For Almost Nothing With Google Cardboard
One of the most hyped stories in the world of technology is the development of powerful, affordable virtual reality headsets for the commercial market. For architects, the ability to immerse yourself in an imaginary world is an enticing prospect, for both professional and recreational uses – but at $200 and upwards for what is still a product under development, devices like Oculus Rift are not for the faint-hearted.
But now Google, ever the ambassador for the more fiscally-cautious tech junkie, has a solution that won’t break the bank. Their contribution to the emerging virtual reality market is “Google Cardboard,” which creates a simple headset from an Android-powered smartphone and – you guessed it – some cardboard. Read on to find out how it works.
Elizabeth Chu Richter Inaugurated as 2015 AIA President
Elizabeth Chu Richter, FAIA, CEO of Richter Architects in Corpus Christi, Texas, has been inaugurated as the 91st President of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), succeeding Helene Combs Dreiling, FAIA, in representing over 85,500 AIA members.
“As architects, we use our creativity to serve society—to make our communities better places to live. Through our profession and our life’s work, each of us has shaped and re-shaped the ever-changing narrative that is America in both humble and spectacular ways,” said Richter. “We have created harmony where there was none. We have shown we can see what is not yet there. We have shown we have the courage to grow, to change, and to renew ourselves.”
Read on to learn the three critical issues Richter plans to address during her presidency.
IN|OUT / WNUK SPURLOCK Architecture
Architects: WNUK SPURLOCK Architecture
Location: Stinson Beach, CA, USA
Principal In Charge: Joseph E. Wnuk, AIA, LEED AP; Steven L. Spurlock, FAIA, LEED AP
Year: 2012
Photographs: Bruce Damonte
Location: Stinson Beach, CA, USA
Principal In Charge: Joseph E. Wnuk, AIA, LEED AP; Steven L. Spurlock, FAIA, LEED AP
Year: 2012
Photographs: Bruce Damonte
AD Classics: United States Embassy in Havana / Harrison & Abramovitz
The United States’ diplomatic presence in Cuba is housed in a severe, early-1950s office building perched on the shoreline over Havana Bay. Walled off from the city and pulled back from the street, the building has the uneasy presence of a haunted castle – shunned and maligned by its neighbors, but subjected to the unending scrutiny of suspicious eyes and intrigued gossip of the locals. With its regimented orthogonalities and the unmistakably foreign imprint of modernist efficiencies, both the embassy’s architecture and the optimistic political spirit it embodies seem to belong to another era, a cooperative past no longer conceivable in the wake of a half century of underhanded diplomacy, calumnious propaganda, and failed attempts to restore relations between the embattled countries.
Bill Clinton to Deliver Keynote Address at 2015 AIA Convention
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced that former president Bill Clinton, founder of the Clinton Foundation, will give the keynote address on May 14 at the 2015 National Convention in Atlanta. Learn more, after the break, and view the convention’s complete schedule, here.
Chefs Club by Food & Wine / Rockwell Group
Architects: Rockwell Group
Location: The Puck Building, 295 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10012, USA
Area: 6000.0 ft2
Year: 2014
Photographs: Emily Andrews
Location: The Puck Building, 295 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10012, USA
Area: 6000.0 ft2
Year: 2014
Photographs: Emily Andrews
6 of Russia’s Best 21st Century Projects
Given the country’s rich architectural history spanning almost the entirety of the 20th century, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the fall of Russian Communism in the early 1990s might have sparked an exciting new era in design. That promise hasn’t exactly been fulfilled, but as The Calvert Journal reports, a few promising recent projects are hinting at a Russian Renaissance.
The last twenty years of architecture has added little but bog-standard steel-and-glass office blocks to the limited palate of the Russian cityscape — the usual glinting onion domes, pompous Stalinist neoclassicism and crumbling tower blocks. But lately some architects have dared to differ and turned bold blueprints into bricks and mortar. Read on after the break for our pick of the best Russian buildings of the last decade.
Adaptable Sneaker Boutique / UP
Architects: UP
Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Concept, Architecture, Design & Motion Graphics : UP
Area: 1860.0 ft2
Year: 2014
Photographs: Carlton Beener
Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Concept, Architecture, Design & Motion Graphics : UP
Area: 1860.0 ft2
Year: 2014
Photographs: Carlton Beener
AD Interviews: Uma Adusumilli
With more than half of the world’s population living in cities today, a process that will only accelerate in the near future, the dynamics of large metropolitan areas –especially in the emerging world have– have become an object of study and urban experimentation. India is one of the regions where this process is happening at a fast pace. With a current urbanization rate of 32%, it is expected to grow up to 40% in the next 15 years.
India’s fast-growing economy and accompanying rural-urban migration has led to many environmental issues caused by the explosive growth of slums in metropolitan areas such as Mumbai. Currently the largest human settlement in India, a population of 21 million people makes it one of the top ten most populated urban agglomerations in the world.
During the Moscow Urban Forum we had the chance to talk with Uma Adusumilli, the chief of planning at the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), to understand the problems that Indian cities are facing due to this rapid urbanization, and how architecture –even at the smallest scale–can play a crucial role in improving quality of life.
Annual Architecture at Zero Design Competition Winners Announced
Recently, the Architecture at Zero design competition, sponsored by Pacific Gas and Electric Company, came to a close. Open to a variety of fields and skill levels, the competition challenged entrants to create a zero net energy (ZNE) design specific to an Oakland-based site run by the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC). ZNE buildings maintain equal amounts of energy input and output annually, and thus function as independent sustainable units, making them a smart solution when considering future impact.
View the winners after the break.
AM Apartment / SuperLimão Studio
Architects: SuperLimão Studio
Location: São Paulo – State of São Paulo, Brazil
Area: 180.0 sqm
Photographs: Maira Acayaba
Location: São Paulo – State of São Paulo, Brazil
Area: 180.0 sqm
Photographs: Maira Acayaba
When Does A Restoration Become A Replica?
Following the unfortunate series of events that saw the Glasgow School of Art’s (GSA) iconic Mackintosh Library devastated in a fire in May of last year, a leading Scottish architect has stated that he is “seriously against the idea of remaking the library” as a replica of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s original acclaimed design. Talking to the Scottish Herald, Professor Alan Dunlop has stated that “there is actually no way you can replace it as it was [as] there was 100 years of age and patina that you would have to replicate.” Furthermore, he believes that it would not be something that “Mackintosh would do,” citing the expansion of “his work in the years between each part of the Mackintosh Building being built [in 1899 and 1909]” as justification. It is his feeling that “the former library had essentially become a museum [and] not a viable working room for students and staff.”
Casa en Praia dos Santos / M-Arquitectos
Architects: M-Arquitectos
Location: Ponta Delgada, Portugal
Authors: Fernando Monteiro, Marco Resendes, Miguel Sousa
Architect In Charge: Fernando Monteiro
Project Team: Marco Resendes, Miguel Sousa, Pedro Furtado, Diana Policarpo, Maria Melo Bento, Carolina Oliveira
Project Area: 320 sqm
Project Year: 2013
Photographs: Paulo Goulart
Location: Ponta Delgada, Portugal
Authors: Fernando Monteiro, Marco Resendes, Miguel Sousa
Architect In Charge: Fernando Monteiro
Project Team: Marco Resendes, Miguel Sousa, Pedro Furtado, Diana Policarpo, Maria Melo Bento, Carolina Oliveira
Project Area: 320 sqm
Project Year: 2013
Photographs: Paulo Goulart
Piri Reis Maritime University / Kreatif Architects
Architects: Kreatif Architects
Location: Piri Reis Üniversitesi, 34940 Tuzla/istanbul/İstanbul, Turkey
Architectural Design: Kreatif Mimarlik
Design Team: Aydan Volkan, Selim Cengic, Onur Arat, Aysegul Kapisiz, Nihat Kalfazade, Ufuk Berberoglu, Erhan Ilicali
Area: 60000.0 sqm
Year: 2014
Photographs: Yercekim Photography-Omer Kanipak, Cemal Emden, Yercekim Photography-Orhan Kolukisa
Location: Piri Reis Üniversitesi, 34940 Tuzla/istanbul/İstanbul, Turkey
Architectural Design: Kreatif Mimarlik
Design Team: Aydan Volkan, Selim Cengic, Onur Arat, Aysegul Kapisiz, Nihat Kalfazade, Ufuk Berberoglu, Erhan Ilicali
Area: 60000.0 sqm
Year: 2014
Photographs: Yercekim Photography-Omer Kanipak, Cemal Emden, Yercekim Photography-Orhan Kolukisa
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