The proposal for the Yashiki Mori competition by HOLDUP elaborates on the Yashiki-rin housing typologies as a protection from environmental aggressions: windbreak forest (hot summer wind, cold winter wind, sandblast), barrier against fire, sunshade, air-purifier (carbon dioxide absorber and oxygen provider), sound-proof shield, etc. This natural eco-system composed of hedges and high trees circling the house could preserve wildlife, supply bamboo or lumber as construction material, fuel or fertilizer. It perfectly fits today’s concerns, i.e. keeping some distance with the surroundings but preserving openness at the same time. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Chosen for its outstanding construction management techniques and environmental sensitivity, the North Las Vegas City Hall and Civic Plaza was recently named 2012 Project of the Year by the American Public Works Association (APWA). Designed by Fentress Architects, the project was completed $17 million under budget in 2011 and as a result of a downtown revitalization effort, North Las Vegas’ new City Hall successfully consolidates the city’s departments into a one-stop-shop offering convenience, efficiency and ease of navigation for both city staff and residents. More architects’ description after the break.

Since it’s opening on May 22, the Tokyo Skytree has already experienced an overwhelming amount of visitors. As reported by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), the 634-meter (2,080 feet) structure has surpassed the previously tallest communications tower, Canton Tower in China, by 34 meters. The Tokyo Skytree took four years to construct and is double the height of Japan’s 333-meter Tokyo Tower.

Tokyo Skytree’s name and design concept is described by the developer as, “The creation of city scenery transcending time: A fusion of traditional Japanese beauty and neo-futuristic design”. Continue reading for more.

The London Festival of Architecture is a city-wide celebration of architecture and architectural talent in the UK capital. It brings architects and communities together to examine how we make London a better place. The theme of the 2012 Festival – ‘The Playful City’ – responds to the presence in London of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Powerhouse Company, an office that focuses on the fields of architecture, urban design and research, was recently awarded the Nykredit Motivation Prize 2012. The prize of over 13.000 euros was handed out by the Danish Minister for Culture, Uffe Elbæk, at a ceremony held at Nykredit’s headquarters in Copenhagen. A practice established by architects Nanne de Ru and Charles Bessard with offices in respectively Rotterdam and Copenhagen, they are an example of one of the new global-Danish architectural practices starting to mark its presence on the Danish architectural scene. More information after the break.

Hosted by the New York Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects, and sponsored by Urban Office and GGI, this summer event involves a fun evening of networking, cocktails, and hors d’oeuvres. You will have the opportunity to follow design, architecture, development, real estate, and construction professionals at the beautiful midtown offices of Urban Office. The event will be held at the Urban Office Showroom in New York on June 28 from 6:30pm-9:00pm. For more information, please visit here.

Open to students and professionals worldwide in architecture, planning and urban design studios, the Architecture at Zero 2012 challenges participants to design a zero net energy (ZNE) student housing or administrative office building design for the University of California Merced in Merced, California. As part of the challenge, entrants will also be asked to create a diagrammatic district energy plan for the Bellevue Gateway development. Organized by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) San Francisco chapter and the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) Zero Net Energy (ZNE) Pilot Program, in partnership with the University of California, Merced, this unique event explores the cutting edge of energy efficient design. The deadline for submissions is October 1. For more information, please visit here.

Designed by Olson Kundig Architects, the Foss Waterway Seaport, Puget Sounds premier maritime heritage, education and recreation center began undergoing historic rehabilitation and adaptive re-use. When building rehabilitation is completed, the new 45,000 square foot public facility will feature an expansive maritime heritage museum, compelling indoor program spaces (including a K-16 marine science and environmental education center), a heritage boat building shop and the “Discovery Wharf” childrens learning center. More images and architects’ description after the break.

In continuing with our coverage of the research of the GRASP Lab based out of the University of Pennsylvania, this recent TEDTalk 2012 outlines some of the unique opportunities that can be explored and possibly implemented in the near future with robots that fly. From an architectural and construction perspective, a wide variety of tasks can be accomplished. While still only on a small scale, the demonstrations in the video showcase a myriad of diverse abilities that are achievable. The quad rotor robots are able to navigate complex geometry through the use of onboard laser scanners and cameras. The video also demonstrates the ability of these robots to work together in swarms for tasks such as assembling a scale building based on a programmable blueprint. Watch the video to see what the future may hold for a fully automated construction site.

Designed by LYCS Architecture, the Spruce Art Center recently commenced construction in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Flush with mature spruce trees and a pre-existing one story abandoned structure, the design is a mixture of two fundamental challenges in architecture: to evoke new spatial meaning while reconciling an existing structure, and to produce a formal language that can be dynamic and strong, yet carefully caress spruce trees. More images and architects’ description after the break.

‘Water Memory’, a proposal by Ayrat Khusnutdinov, Zhang Liheng, and Alexey Bychkov for the Rethinking Shanghai competition, focused on a strategic vision to manifest the undeletable importance of Suzhou creek waterfront to Shanghai. Using existing bridges as the main axis of their development and arranging high-rise commercial areas along them, they created a cohesive system that would connect now fragmented past and recent developments where water wouldn’t divide to play a connective role. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The above video, filmed and edited by DUOSEGNO Visual Design, features a look into the new Careggi entrance in Florence, designed by Ipostudio which becomes the ‘gateway’ to the hospital campus as it acts as both an urban junction as well as an architectural presence. The new entrance does not just function as a door to get inside, but is an area for strolling, for spontaneous interaction, and a place which represents the intricacy of the largest hospital development in all of central Italy. Through a new ‘square’, a new archway for Florence, this covered plaza, which draws inspiration from the grand urban traditions of the Florentine porticos, allows for this to happen.

IAPA shared with us their proposal for the Guangzhou Daily Group of Culture Center, a large multi-purpose building complex, which recently won the excellence award in the International Architecture Design Competition. The center, which includes office, exhibition, commercial, hotel, culture, and service space, creates a building complex with a vivid image, unique content and regional cultural features. More images and architects’ description after the break.

We’ve passed the 80,000 photos in our Flickr Pool! Keep sending yours, as we really enjoy looking for the best of the best to makes this selections. Remember you can submit your own photo here, and don’t forget to follow us through Twitter and our Facebook Fan Page to find many more features.

The photo above was taken by kwikzilver in Venlo, The Netherlands. Check the other four after the break.

If you happen to be wandering around Los Angeles, New York City or Washington D.C. this weekend, download the pilot AIA Broadcastr App and transform yourself into a multimedia tourist. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is forming a partnership with Broadcastr to create an app that offers in-depth building information, exclusive interviews with architects and a vast library of narratives from local professionals that reveal the stories and facts behind buildings of architectural significance based on your location.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected the 10 recipients of the 2012 Housing Awards. The AIA’s Housing Awards Program, now in its 12th year, was established to recognize the best in housing design and promote the importance of good housing as a necessity of life, a sanctuary for the human spirit and a valuable national resource.

Continue after the break to view the 2012 recipients.

Earlier this month, The New York Times’ Michael Kimmelman tackled a common narrative in the architecture and urban planning community. It goes like this: once upon a time, in the 1990s, Medellín, Colombia, was the “murder of the capital of the world.” Then thoughtful architectural planning connected the slums to the city. Crime rates plummeted and, against the odds, the city was transformed.

Well, yes and no.

What happened in Medellín is often called “Urban Acupuncture,” a way of planning that pinpoints vulnerable sectors of a city and re-energizes them through design intervention. But Kimmelman reports that while the city has made considerable strides in its commitment to long-term, urban renewal, it has prioritized huge, infrastructural change over smaller solutions that could truly address community needs.

Urban Acupuncture needn’t be expensive, wieldy, or time-consuming. But it does require a detailed understanding of the city – its points of vulnerability, ‘deserts’ of services, potential connection points – and a keen sensitivity to the community it serves.

So what does this have to do with food? Our food system presents seemingly unsurmountable difficulties. In Part II, I suggested that design could, at the very least, better our alienated relationship with food. But what if we used the principles of Urban Acupuncture to bring Agriculture to the fore of urban planning? What if we used pinpointed, productive landscapes to revitalize abandoned communities and help them access healthy foods? What if we design our cities as points of Urban “Agripuncture”?

What would our cities look like with Urban Agripuncture? Read more after the break…

Missed Part I and Part II? You can find the whole series here.

In the proposal for the Re-qualification and Redevelopment of the Beach and Seafront of Figueira da Foz and Buarcos by Labor4plus, the large expanse of the beach offers the unique opportunity to redefine the esplanade and to make better use of the beach as a public space. Their design envisions a landscape park which represents a natural passage from the beach to the city with its dunes and pine groves, which invites users to stay and offers various spaces for recreational activities. These spaces are connected on the one hand to the city and also with each other by beach trails. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Architect: Camilo Rebelo + Susana Martins Location: Ilha de Antiparos, Greece Client: Oliaros SA Collaborators: Cristina Chicau, Maria Sofia Santos, Patrício Guedes, Miguel Marques. Photographs: Courtesy of Camilo Rebelo

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Designed by architect Nicolas Maugery, the Kobenhavn Student Center attempts to explore the impact of the development of a student housing project outside a campus. Located in a suburb of Kobenhavn, Denmark, doing so would allow a new daily life with the recreation of small shops and a new public building that creates a sense of cohesion between the generations. More images and architect’s description after the break.

SCI-Arc will be presenting two main exhibitions this upcoming month. The Ball-Nogues Studio: Vevrus 1, Negative Impression exhibition starting June 1 until July 8 that will host Benjamin Ball, Gaston Nogues and Hsinming Fung to discuss the installation on Monday, June 25 at 7pm. The site specific installation is a disposable architecture of literal references that calls into question the contemporary architectural vogue for digital complexity and abstraction. The cast impressions of 1973 Volkswagen Beetles and speedboats unite to form a strong structural whole that serves as a lookout tower. Then, two projects by SCI-Arc students will be featured this year at the AIA LA hosted 2×8 exhibition, opening June 5, 6-9pm at the A+D Museum in Los Angeles. Fore more information on the events, please visit here.

The ReSpace Design Competition: ‘You Design It! We Build It!’, which focuses on small space design, green building, and sustainability, is currently accepting entries. They are on the hunt for talented architects, artists, builders, and dreamers with a knack for innovation. The challenge: Design a small, unique, and transportable structure that can be built with reuse materials. The grand prize winner receives $1,000 and a chance to see their design come to life. The winning design will be constructed in a 48 hour build overseen by Habitat for Humanity Wake County using materials from their Raleigh, North Carolina ReStore. A total of $3,000 in awards will be presented to multiple winners. Registration ends June 15 with the deadline of submissions August 15. For more information, please visit here.