October 30, 2008 | Broadcast | News
Graeme Massie to design Scottish pavilion for 2009 Kolkata book fair
Graeme Massie Architects has won the competition to design the Scottish pavilion at the Kolkata book fair in India on January 28-February 2009, when the book fair will have a Scottish theme overall.
See bdOnline.co.uk for more details
October 30, 2008 | Broadcast | News
Thai Temple Built From One Million Recycled Bottles
The Wat Pa Maha Chedio Kaew temple has found a way to bottle-up Nirvana, literally. The temple, which sits in Thailand’s Sisaket province, roughly 370 miles northeast of Bangkok is made of more than a million recycled glass bottles. True to its nickname, “Wat Lan Kuad†or “Temple of Million Bottles†features glass bottles throughout the premises of the temple, including the crematorium, surrounding shelters, and yes – even the toilets. There’s an estimated 1.5 million recycled bottles built into the temple, and as you might have guessed, they are committed to recycling more. After all, the more bottles they get, the more buildings they are able to construct.
More from Inhabitat.com
October 30, 2008 | Broadcast | Competitions | News
09 Skyscraper Competition – eVolo
The annual Skyscraper Competition organized by eVolo has become an important architectural prize with high media attention.
The 2008 edition was published by more than ten architecture and design magazines and by several news, fashion, and art publications.
The eVolo Book with the best projects of the first three years has received excellent reviews and has been included in the catalog for the Book Expo America, Frankfurt Book Fair, and Beijing Book Fair.
For the 2009 edition eVolo invites architects, engineers, and designers to continue exploring on new ideas and concepts for vertical density.
Skyscrapers have been springing up in fast-developing countries without careful consideration of the urban fabric, environmental effects, and quality of life.
The 2009 competition calls for innovative designs for the XXI Century
which takes into consideration the historical and social context, the
existing urban fabric, the human scale, and the environment.
There is no restriction on site, height or shape.
The idea is to give the designers enough freedom to address the challenge
in the most creative and innovative way.
Designs must be technologically feasible and environmentally responsible.
The projects should also investigate on the urban and private space as
well as the definition of new programmes for a vertical structure.
Eligibility
All students, architects, engineers and designers are invited to
participate. It is encouraged to have multidisciplined teams. There is no
limit on the number of participants in a team. Individual etries are
accepted.
Registration Fee: 50 Dollars (per team)
As soon as the competition entry fee is received, the participation number
which will be used later on in the submission boards, is sent to the
entrant.
Awards
First Prize: 2.000 Dollars
Second Prize: 1.000 Dollars
Third Prize: 500 Dollars
Schedule
16 June 2008: Competition annuncement, registration begins, acceptance of
questions
10 November 2008: Acceptance of questions deadline
24 November 2008: Answers to questions will be posted on website.
12 January 2009: Registration deadline
19 January 2009: 23:00: Submission deadline
16 February 2009: Winners announced
October 24, 2008 | Broadcast | Competitions | Events | News
First winners announced at World Architecture Festival
They are as follows:
Civic – Guangzhou Baiyun International Convention Center, China, by Buro II
Culture – Oslo Opera House in Norway by Snøhetta
Energy, Waste and Recycling - Landscape restoration of the Controlled Rubbish Dump “La Vall d’en Joanâ€, Spain, by Batlle & Roig Architects
Health – Centre pour le Bien-être des Femmes et la prévention des mutilations génitales féminines ‘G.Kambou’, Burkina Faso, by FAREstudio
Holiday – Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre, Canada (pictured)Â , by Hotson Bakker Boniface Haden Architects
Housing – Mountain Dwellings, Denmark , by BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group
Learning – Universita Luigi Bocconi, Italy, by Grafton Architects
Nature – Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle Art Museum, United States of America, by Weiss/Manfredi Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism
Along with the nine winners from tomorrow, these will go forward for consideration by the super-jury on Friday. There will also be an announcement of highly commended projects on Friday.
Paul Finch, Festival director, said: `I am delighted by the first day´s results. It shows what a wealth of architectural talent there is around the world.´
To the World Architecture Festival Newsroom
October 24, 2008 | Broadcast | News
The world’s most forward-thinking architectural and engineering firms name their newest green products and systems
Innovation from the Innovators
Metropolis asked some of the world’s most forward-thinking architectural and engineering firms to name their newest green products and systems. Their responses provide a snapshot of state-of-the-art green building.
Metropolis Mag reports
October 23, 2008 | Broadcast | Events | News
World’s Architectural Community Gathers in Barcelona
The best that global architecture has to offer will be on show this week at World Architecture Festival, a unique event celebrating the world’s finest work from the world’s greatest architects. The festival starts today (Wednesday 22nd October) and runs until Friday 24th October at the CCIB International Conference Centre in Barcelona.
World Architecture Festival is set to become one of the most significant dates in the global architectural calendar.
At the heart of the Festival is the World Architecture Festival Awards (WAF Awards), the biggest architectural awards programme in the world, which celebrates the work, concerns and aspirations of the international architectural community. It is the biggest architectural awards programme in the world, which looks beyond borders to celebrate the finest work from the world’s greatest architects.
Over 2,000 delegates attending the Festival from 66 countries, have access to something previously reserved for a select few – the opportunity to hear and see a shortlist of 224 architects from 42 countries present their schemes to a panel of expert judges.
A star studded super jury of distinguished architects and renowned industry figures from around the world has been lined up to judge the WAF Awards. Each of the 17 category winners announced during the Festival will compete against each other to win the ultimate best in show prize, the World Building of the Year. The winner will be announced at the end of the Festival by Lord (Norman) Foster at a glittering Awards ceremony on Friday 24th October.
Throughout the Festival delegates will be able to view all 722 Award entries from 63 countries in the Awards Entry Gallery and listen to the shortlisted candidates explain the challenges they faced in creating their vision.
Some of the world’s leading architectural figures, including Stefan Behnisch and Robert Stern, will provide their invaluable insight on critical areas in the dynamic and increasingly fast-changing world of global architecture.
Alongside the Awards presentations, the Festival programme is made up of six seminars each day, ending with a keynote address from prominent architectural figures. In many sessions the debate will be thrown open to the floor for discussion with audience not only of architects, but students, critics, policy makers and their influencers, providing a unique and comprehensive insight into many of the critical issues affecting the industry.
Paul Finch, Editor of The Architectural Review and Programme Director of the World Architecture Festival, commented: “The inaugural World Architecture Festival has captured the interest and enthusiasm of the architectural community worldwide, with buildings of exceptional quality and diversity submitted by practices from over 60 countries. The jury will judge each building on its merits, irrespective of scale, location or prestige, and this presents a very real opportunity for less well known practices.”
Delegates will also be able to visit a thematic exhibition and seminar on ‘Height – Between Possibility and Responsibility’. The exhibition examines the relationship between architecture and the factors which influence the creation of tall structures. It takes 12 tower designs from around the world, designed to take into account a series of differing context: climate, cost, energy, and social conditions.
In search of the ‘starchitects’ of the future, six architectural schools from around the globe will be competing at the World Architecture Festival (WAF) student charrette, where they will have just 36 hours to redesign a brownfield site in Barcelona. The two day charrette is themed around the use of water to revitalise a forgotten site in the city and takes place from 22nd to 23rd October. Each school will be briefed to redevelop a large redundant industrial complex in the Barcelona suburb of Sant Andreu, which was formerly the Fabra i Coats factory.
The site, selected by Oriol Clos, Barcelona City’s head of urbanism, will challenge the undergraduates to address challenges such as; the relationships between old and new, appropriate use of site planning to provide both cultural and community buildings, and the generation of new design ideas to transform the site into a public urban space. Students will have 10 minutes to present their ideas to a judging panel, which includes British Professor David Dunster of Liverpool University and Barcelona architect David Mackay, on Thursday 23rd October. Visitors at the Festival can watch the judging on Thursday afternoon. The winner will be announced at the Festival Awards Ceremony on Friday evening.
During the three days, architects from many different countries will be able to network and do business. Visitors keen to see the architectural heritage that Barcelona has to offer can take advantage of the architectural city tours who will be guided around the city by a local expert from the Collegi d’ Arquitectes de Catalunya.
Architects love good products, which is why the Festival also includes a product showcase, with star products specially chosen by architects themselves.
For more information on WAF and to buy visitor tickets visit www.worldarchitecturefestival.com where you can also view the full festival programme.
October 23, 2008 | Broadcast | News
Keeping Bangladesh afloat
Architect-turned-activist Mohammed Rezwan is determined to prove that Bangladeshis can survive the climate change scenario, in which land steadily vanishes beneath relentlessly rising water, by staying afloat. “This is the future – various climate change forecast models have predicted that one-fifth of Bangladesh could be under water by 2050,” he said.
More at IrinNews.org
October 22, 2008 | Broadcast | Events | News
How will we decide on the ‘best’ building in the world?
Architecture is finally getting some real international airtime.
In late October, Barcelona hosts the World Architecture Festival during which the great and good will attempt to choose the best building in the world.
CNN will get exclusive access to the event, the nominations, and the jury which includes some of the world’s greatest architects.
Also: Don’t miss other programs from CNN like The Spirit Of Space
October 22, 2008 | Broadcast | News
‘Leapfrogging’ in China’s race to innovate
How China and other developing countries are skipping the ‘standard solution’ and inventing a new approach.
Slideshow, pictures and more at The New York Times
October 22, 2008 | Broadcast | News
The end of a wild, delirious ride?
The wild, delirious ride that architecture has been on for the last decade looks as if it’s finally coming to an end. And after a visit to the Chanel Pavilion that opened Monday in Central Park, you may think it hasn’t come soon enough.
Nicolai Ourousoff, the New York Times’ architectural critic, picks up on the latest installation in Manhattan’s Central Park; a travelling Pavilion commissioned by luxury brand Chanel and designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect Zaha Hadid. With the economic downturn rearing its ugly head, does this signal the end of such examples of architecture’s honeymoon-period of its flirtation with fashion and art?
More from The New York Times
October 18, 2008 | Broadcast | News
In the Philippines, architects warn of “topsy-turvy urban planning” not tied to a master plan – and call to be part of the planning process
Davao City – Architects warn anew of topsy-turvy urban planning among cities: …”many emerging cities now are going the way of the mistakes of Metro Manila because of the lack of centralized planning.” — United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) – Business Mirror
October 18, 2008 | Broadcast | News
Architects Hit Hard by Financial Crisis
As of August, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI), which the American Institute of Architects compiles in part from statistics provided by firms, had dipped below 50 for seven straight months. Anything below 50 represents a billings decrease.
Architectural Record – The plunging financial markets this month, followed by unprecedented responses from the federal government, have left many Americans bracing for a deep recession. In the architecture profession, however, the downturn has already arrived, according to a key measure of the market for architectural services… more here
October 18, 2008 | Broadcast | News
Global Truths about International Practice
The conventional wisdom about international practice is part myth, part reality. Can you tell one from the other?
1. The best way to get international work is through a personal relationship.
Answer: True
2. If work dries up at home, it’s smart to shift your focus to international projects
Answer: False
3. A small, lesser known practice can never land a major overseas project
Answer: False
4. Clients in China, the Middle East, and elsewhere in the developing world depend heavily on Western expertise
Answer: True—but not for much longer
5. Female architects have a tough time working in non-Western countries
Answer: False—for the most part
6. Entering competitions is a good way to get a foothold in an overseas market
Answer: True—but proceed with caution
7. You must have a full-time local presence in the project city to ensure that construction meets your standards
Answer: True—but that presence can take different forms
8. Getting paid is tricky
Answer: True
9. If you haven’t worked in China yet, you should get on a plane today
Answer: False
and Jet Better: Survival tips for the traveling architect
Get the full text at Architect Magazine Online
October 18, 2008 | Broadcast | Events | News
I.D. Magazine Annual Design Review
I.D. is now accepting entries into the 2009 Annual Design Review. Winners will appear in the July/August 2009 issue of I.D.
Since 1954, the Annual Design Review has recognized the best in product, furniture, graphic, and environment design, from the iconic to the obscure. Throughout the years, this annual showcase has chronicled the evolution of design, and highlighted its impact on our material and visual culture. Each year, the featured work is chosen by a jury of leading practitioners, who, along with I.D.’s editorial team, focus the abundance of submissions into a clear survey of the state of design. The resulting overview is published in the July/August issue of I.D. magazine — the Annual Design Review issue.
Beginning this year, the Annual Design Review will also feature a new category for Student Work, replacing the Student Design Review. Students should now enter the competition using the standard Annual Design Review entry form.
… click here for a downloadable PDF entry form
View a slideshow of the 2008 winners!
From ID Mag
October 18, 2008 | Broadcast | News
Masdar set to hold two architectural competitions
Sustainable city planned for Abu Dhabi on the look out for green practices to produce designs for zero carbon hotel – BDOnline.co.uk
October 18, 2008 | Broadcast | News
Will the future be Dubai or Masdar?
BDOnline.co.uk’s Phil Clark reports on the Cityscape conference held in Dubai last week, and it seems a showdown is emerging between the opulent excess of Dubai, and the cool green friendliness of its neighbour-to-be, Masdar city in Abu Dhabi.
Read more at BDOnline.co.uk
October 15, 2008 | Broadcast | News
The World’s Most Competitive Cities
Saskia Sassen on why Europe and Asia are overtaking America in the race to create new hubs of world commerce.
The network of major global cities—seats of commerce and finance—has been expanding dramatically. Back in the 1980s when globalization took off, only New York, London and Tokyo functioned as “global cities,” places that could act as bridges between vast emerging global markets and national economies. Today, there are more than 20 major global cities and about 50 minor global cities. A new study released in June by the MasterCard Worldwide Centers of Commerce compares how these cities perform as global hubs, shedding light on city evolution. The biggest shift is the ascendancy of Asia and Europe relative to America.
More on Newsweek.com
October 15, 2008 | Broadcast | Events | News
when exhibition becomes inhibition
Robert Campbell, architectural critic for the Globe, writes about how a recent exhibition at Harvard University’s Gund Hall manages to address everything about design, except its users. The critique extends beyond Massachussetts and onto the international stage, which Campbell cites as a growing source for new architecture students that are looking to do more with architecture than just create an inward looking, pseudo-intellectual veil behind which design can hide – calling for the architecture schools of today to look to addressing the goals of the emerging cohorts.
This leads us to question the needs and wants of today’s emerging students from this part of the world, and to ask if architecture schools here are addressing specific student needs.
Read the exhibition review at Boston.com
