Sasaki Associates, with RDG Planning & Design and Applied Ecological Services (AES), were recently announced as the winning team of the Water Works Parkitecture Competition. The international design competition entailed the creation of a conceptual plan for Water Works Park to form dynamic relationships between the river, the watershed, and the community. Education and the connection between the river and the community were highly stressed in Sasaki’s winning proposal. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Here in the Lower 48, winter weather has been hard to come by. However, Alaska’s snowy landscape has inspired us to compile a list of images, previously featured on ArchDaily, that capture architecture amongst a pristine, white blanket of snow.
Three libraries in USA, one in Canada and Dominique Perrault’s National Library of France. All part of our 9th selection of previously featured libraries. Check them all after the break.
Palo Verde Library and Maryvale Community Center / Gould Evans and Wendell Burnette Architects Designed by Gould Evans in association with Wendell Burnette Architects, the Palo Verde Library and Maryvale Community Center is a multi-use facility that includes a large public library collection area, a 150-seat auditorium for recital, drama and public lectures, and a community center that includes a park, pool, basketball courts, running track, and gym (read more…)
In 2011, a volatile Architecture Billings Index (ABI) reflected the unstable conditions U.S. practices were struggling to deal with. However, the year ended optimistically as the ABI remained at 52.0 for the month of December. So far, January has prolonged the hopeful outlook for the American design and construction industry, as many reports highlight a “modest recovery” in the nonresidential sector for 2012 and an even stronger upturn in 2013.
“Spending on hotels, industrial plants and commercial properties are going to set the pace for the construction industry over the next two years,” said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA. “The institutional market won’t experience the same growth, but healthcare facilities and places of worship are poised for a positive economic outlook in that sector.”
Am I bothering you with my petty contract? Is this job just not your “ideal” project? Doesn’t it fit into your “body of work”? your “oeuvre”? Is this project not going to win you any awards?
I know you’re talented. I know you know more about building and design than I EVER will. In fact that’s why I hired you. I need your help. I need you to help me realize this project. I need your skill. I need your experience. And yes, I need your passion.
But, I don’t need any more of your bullshit.
I don’t want you to show me what to build. I want you to include me in the process. I’m not paying you for the privilege of your “vision”. I’m paying you to help me solve this. I assumed I would be a part of that process.
Recently we had the chance to visit Allied Works office in NY to interview the firm’s founder Brad Cloepfil. It was a great interview, and I really liked the atmosphere of the office: A young team, many abstract study models, beautiful drawings on the boards, and a subtle music playing in the background, it was like seeing the inside of a creative machine at work.
The aim of Bike The Floating Stadium by architects Quentin Perchet & Gabriel Scerri is to design a gift to the city, a symbol of sustainability, and a 24/7 open public space gathering in an exemplary way for leisure, entertainment, and philanthropy. Their concept consists in driving bicycles and pedestrians from their homes to an exceptional viewing platform of the city, through a promenade along the water in the Noord 7 area of Amsterdam. More images and architects’ description after the break.
As part of the European Capital of Culture Maribor 2012, the architectural exhibition, ‘Unfinished Modernisations / Between Utopia and Pragmatism’ will be taking place at the Maribor Art Gallery from February 10 – April 22. The presentation of architectural projects and large-scale urbanistic plannings which denote the period of (socialist) Yugoslavia is a long-expected project that will focus on the milestones and visions of the (unfinished) modernisation of cities during socialism as well as answer the questions about their role and legacy in the successor countries. More information on the exhibition after the break
Above is a video of the Redbull New Headquarters in Amsterdam designed by Sid Lee Architecture. Their main goal was to combine the almost brutal simplicity of an industrial built work with Red Bull’s mystical invitation to perform. In the architecture, they offer, nothing is clearly set; all is a matter of perception.
Starting tomorrow, the five design teams selected to redesign the outdoor spaces of Chicago’s Navy Pier will begin to reveal their schemes to the public. Lead by AECOM, Aedas Architects, James Corner Field Operations, !melk and the Xavier Vendrell Studio, each team will be given thirty minutes to present their ideas, followed by a ten minute question and answer session. The presentations will take place on January 31st and February 1st at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Continue reading for the presentation schedules and more information on the competition.
Projects from China, UK, The Netherlands and Czech Republic, as well as our special inforgraphic on the Serpentine Gallery Pavillion’s 11 years. Check the best of last week after the break.
Administration Building of the North Shanghai Gas Company in Jiading / Atelier Deshaus This is the administration building of the North Shanghai Gas Company in Jiading. The needs of the function of this building are generally simple. With surrounding the undeveloped constructional land, the site is small, and the only feature of the site is the river landscape close to the northern side. The final form of the building completely responds to the landscape in the northern side (read more…)
Every January the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat conducts a review of skyscraper construction and compiles all the data from the previous year. The trend since 2007 has seen record breaking years for buildings taller than 200 meters completed, with 88 skyscrapers completed in 2011. Even as the global economy is slowly recuperating from the 2008 financial crisis, it would appear as though this trend will remain relatively stable. China, leading the pack at 23 completed towers is predicted to remain at the forefront of skyscraper market, followed by Middle Eastern countries in the next decade. UAE, South Korea, and Panama City – an up and coming cosmopolitan city – rounded out the top four. Of the towers completed in 2011, 17 have made their way into the top 100 tallest buildings – Shenzhen’s Kingkey 100, at 442 meters crowning this year’s list. More after the break.
The AIA recently unveiled their 2012 legislative agenda, and has made it clear that creating jobs in the design and construction industry are a priority. We have been covering the numerous initiatives that the AIA has been implementing over the past year ranging from the Stalled Building Index, the regularly updated Architectural Billing Index and their update of the 2030 Commitment Reporting Tool. Of particular importance, especially for those of us who are running small firms or contemplating breaking into this fragile market as a sole proprietor, is an emphasis on fostering our growth. With the bulk of firms falling into this category – 95% of all firms in the US employ 50 or fewer people – this initiative should put some pressure on the political machine that has the authority to reign in the tax rates on small entrepreneurs and stimulate growth through the reevaluation of private sector lending. In tandem with this concerted effort by the AIA, it is practically imperative as a small business owner, that we take control and become much more fluid in an increasingly amorphous and uncertain environment. Whether it is by seeking out non-traditional design opportunities, or introducing new initiatives that are unique to your firm, we as a design community are certainly up to the task. (See Jennifer Kennedy’s recent article on the topic here.)
By David Fano and Steve Sanderson, edited by Julie Quon
A well-known and often cited truism of architecture notes that forty (as in years) is considered young for an architect and most don’t start hitting their stride until they’re seventy. This may partially explain why well-known architects seem to live forever… they’re simply too busy to die.What is often omitted from this narrative is how the architects spent the first twenty (or so) years of their careers as freshly minted graduates prior to being recognized by their peers in the profession as “making it”.
If you approach any architect about their early-career experience in the profession you will get slightly different versions of the same story. They are all, in essence, about paying your dues.
Taking a low-paying position for an A or B-list architect, where the compensation for long hours is the privilege of anonymous design on important projects, and in return a few hours are spent outside of the studio (usually with a group of similarly indebted classmates) on open design competitions that pay trifle stipends.
Taking a low-paying adjunct teaching position, ideally in a design studio, where compensation for long hours is the privilege of working on your design interests with students in order to become a part of the elite tastemakers and to one day be shortlisted for an exclusive cultural competition.
Taking a slightly better paying position with a corporate firm and spending your hours outside of work designing kitchens and bathrooms for wealthy friends and family with hopes that their social reach is broad enough to lead to additional commissions that will one day be substantial enough to make a living.
Taking a slightly better paying position with a corporate firm and slogging through the incredibly tedious intern development and professional registration process in order to move up the corporate hierarchy. The goal is to eventually become a principal or partner with an established firm or even break off on your own with some of the established firm’s clients.
In each of these scenarios, the only path to a significant commission is to spend the few hours outside of these paying jobs in the pursuit of establishing credibility and reputation through exposure in architectural publications. In any case, it seems that around the age of forty is when all of this hard work finally begins to pay off with consistent commissions. For the vast majority that never succeed by following these models, there is usually a ‘pivot’ (in startup terms, a change in approach) that leads to a stable corporate position, a full-time teaching post, or an exit from the profession altogether (we did the latter, see Fed’s post). The difficulty of ‘being’ an architect is branded about in schools (oftentimes by people with little to no actual experience in the field) as a source of pride, a perverse hazing ritual intended to weed out all but the most dedicated adherents to the ideals of architecture as a pure form of expression, a rationale which further reinforces architecture as an intellectual pursuit for the privileged (that topic is for another post).
Designed as a learning space for the future, LAVA‘s design focuses on an environment that is sustainable, integrates with the landscape, connects with the school environment, and is suitable for prefabrication and mass customization. Relocatables are the decades old solution to changing demographics, remote community needs, and natural disasters. Unsightly, they are perceived as cheap and unpleasant spaces. This idea is upturned with spaces that are sustainable, practical, cost effective whilst making learning fun and exciting. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Known for drawing in a diverse background of well-known architects, Carnegie Mellon School of Architecture‘s spring 2012 lecture series began January 23rd with Jesse Seppi and concludes with Tatiana Bilbao on April 23rd. All events will take place at the Carnegie Museum complex and the series is co-sponsored by the Heinz Archiectural Center at Carnegie Museum of Art. A schedule of the lecture series can be viewed after the break.
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) is pleased to announce a “Call for Proposals” for its 2012 International Research Seed Funding initiative – culminating with an award of US$20,000.
Architect: Kengo Kuma & Associates Location: Besancon, France Associated Architect: Archidev Client: City of Besançon, Region Franche-Comté Engineer: EGIS Est Landscape engineer: L’agence L’Anton et associé Acoustic engineer: Cabinet Lamoureux Scenographic engineer: Changement à vu Quantity survivor: Cabinet Guy Cholley Environment engineer: Alto Façade Detail Manufacturers: LAUBEUF Site area: 23,000 sqm Total floor area: 11,925 sqm Project Year: 2007-2012 Photographs: Nicolas Waltefaugle & Stephan Girard
In their Europan 11 Proposal, titled ‘Nudge City’, RIO Agency’s main goal was to build on a critical vision of sustainability as it is often promoted today. In their approach, the urban project cannot be a goal in itself. It has to be a frame of incentives, building on the territory’s ability to attract energies, leaning on individual aspirations to create a sustainable city. Nudges are sparks: public interventions which, designing one use, open way for a tree of possibilities. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The first prize proposal in the Europan 11 competition in Hungary, Szeged by AMK+ Studio is before a functional transformation and with the cooperation of the city and the site owner, the integration of the site into the urban tissue is the main goal. Designed by Tamas Kun, Gergely Almos, and Tamas Mezey, their design suggests a kind of framing building line – an ‘intelligent wall’ – which is formed by many aspects. These aspects manage all the mutual reactions between the mainly residential environment and the rehabilited industrial – new ‘city center’ – block. A ‘bridge’ connects the place formally, in scale, by material use and with functionality. More images and architects’ description after the break.
