Taking place September 29-30, Data Lab is a two-day workshop, put on my modeLab in Brooklyn, on advanced topics and data structures in Grasshopper for Rhinoceros. In a fast-paced and hands-on learning environment, they will cover the fundamental concepts of data structures as well as strategies for working with lists, sequences, and data trees in the newly released version of Grasshoppper 0.9. They will engage a series of design problems which highlight the limitations of standard parametric design workflows and serve as catalysts for discussions related to best practices, linear versus non-linear design processes, and the re-use of files. Each design problem will require either the specific use and manipulation of data structures or the extension of Grasshopper through add-ons. For more information, please visit here.
The AIA California Council Residential Design Awards 2012 competition will recognize the best in residential architecture and design in the state of California. The competition will highlight residential projects constructed in the state, and architects and firms who shape the landscape of architecture and design throughout the state and beyond. Entry is open to both members and nonmembers with projects in California or, California architects who have completed work elsewhere. Eligible projects include those completed after January 1, 2007. The deadline for submissions is September 19. For more detailed information, please visit here.
Designed by a team of graduate students, including Tabitha Nzilani, Obare Joash, Lomole Daniel, and Kuria Eric, their second prize winning proposal in the Kenya Judicial Architectural competition embraces the people coming to seek justice. The project invites visitors in through the adoption of a semi-circular form, which is inward curving to the entrance, and vertical elements which are also receding inwards. Anchoring on a central core that has two wings, these wings are representative of the scale of justice: on one side being the law and on the other the deed. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Conceived by Mexican architect Ivan Juárez from X-Studio, the Lightweave Palm Observatory consists of a dialogue with the natural landscape context of Bahia de Todos os Santos, Brazil. The project explores a local artisanal textile technique using the coconut palm leaf found in the island as raw material. It then forms an interior space for personal reflection which creates a visual dialogue between the interior and exterior landscape that it delimits. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Todd Saunders, founder of Saunders Architecture, will be delivering a lecture at Cornell University on the topic of ‘Architecture in Northern Landscapes’ on October 15. Bringing together dynamic building and material experimentation with traditional methods of craft, the Bergen, Norway–based practice has worked on cultural and residential projects in Norway, as well as England, Denmark, Italy, Sweden, and Canada. Led by a strong contemporary design sensibility, the studio believes that architecture plays an important role in creating place, using form, materials, and texture to help evoke and shape memory and human interaction. Fore more information on the event, please visit here.
The competition winning proposal for the Jiaxing College Library & Media Center, designed by LYCS Architecture, seeks to break antiquated design conventions by intelligently negotiating contemporary architectural design into the traditional Chinese campus. Surrounded by rich woods and luscious water, the 42000m2 library plays with hierarchy – the hierarchy of multiple, increasingly private spaces; the hierarchy of the pace of spatial experience; and the hierarchy of introversion and extroversion. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Designed by Complex City in an area of Toulouse, France, the Mediatheque is built through network connections and brick concepts. As a place of network connections, the media library becomes a space which preserves and gives access to audio-visual contents, sound documents and video recordings, material considered as cultural testimony with the same value than written documents. This building also has the purpose of exalting the brick, an architectural material considered as a cultural patrimony of this region. More images and architects’ description after the break.
AIA San Francisco and the Center for Architecture + Design is currently hosting their ninth annual Architecture and the City Festival, which will be going on until September 30. The event, which takes place in San Francisco every September, is the nation’s largest architectural festival of its kind. The month-long celebration features behind the scenes and walking tours, films, exhibitions, lectures and more, providing opportunities for participants to engage with the local architecture community and experience design in a myriad of ways throughout the city. For more information, please visit here.
Challenged to define a distinctive image that would reflect Al Hilal Bank’s unique brand while also setting an international aesthetic, Goettsch Partners designed a bold, contemporary tower that shifts in massing as it rises. The flagship commercial development, located in the heart of Abu Dhabi’s Al Maryah Island, formerly known as Sowwah Island, conveys a timeless image through its distinct architectural form. With an expected competition in the last quarter of 2013, the new 24-storey speculative office tower will be a key element for the central business district. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Chad Oppenheim, the founding principal of Oppenheim Architecture + Design, will deliver a lecture at the annual HD Boutique Exposition and Conference on September 12th from 11:15am-12:15pm. Taking place at the Miami Beach Convention Center, the boutique-style trade show is know for the best in hospitality design, architecture, operation, and development. Oppenheim’s design strategy is to extract the contextual essence from the building program – creating an experience that is dramatic and powerful. His landmark designs demonstrate a climatic response while strengthening the relationship between people and nature. During the event, he will be showcasing his designs that simultaneously solve complex challenges while engaging all the senses.
Speculating on the potential and possibilities to develop culture in the Gold Coast, professor Sir Peter Cook and Gavin Robotham, directors of CRAB Studio, investigated this idea through the making of a large hanging sculptural piece: The WRAP, and a set of drawings and watercolors. The result is a public art exhibition, ‘Speculator’ in collaboration with Bond University, in Contemporary Temporary Gold Coast Arts Gallery, Surfers Paradise, Australia. The ‘WRAP’ aims to inspire that architecture can be the catalyst for transformation. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Located in Chengdu’s prosperous and rapidly expanding business district, the innovative office building design for Pinncale One by Make Architects will be an impressive addition to the growing urban landscape, known as the financial hub of Western China. Currently under construction, the new international Grade-A office tower forms part of the Chengdu Daci Temple Cultural and Commercial Complex, a mixed-use development by Sino-Ocean Land and Swire Properties. More images and architects’ description after the break.
de Architekten Cie. and Lada Hršak from Bureau LADA recently won the competition for the Public Service Hall in Georgia. Held by The Ministry of Justice of Georgia, the project supports the countrywide reform for renewal of public services. Their design proposes an elevated square being the roof of the building to connect the public space with the roof auditorium which becomes the new civic place for the city. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), together with the Foundation for Design and Architecture in Norway and Dokkhuset, recently launched their Fall 2012 Guest Lecture Series in architecture. The lectures take place at 7pm in Dokkhuset, Dokkparken 4, Trondheim, Norway and are free and open to the public. Many keynote speakers are featured including EM2M, Rintala, and Moussavi. For more information, please visit here.
The lighting for the Central Bus Terminal in Munich by pfarré lighting design aims at giving the appearance of a building floating on a cushion of cold white light. As a result, warm light is used in the upper floors and in the exterior space while a softly shimmering façade evokes a powerfully glowing orange. More images and their description after the break.
Taking place September 14-16, Open House Helsinki, which is free of cost, allows visitors into places which normally are not available to the public. Guided by designers and specialists, the weekend event includes guided walks in fascinating interior spaces, interesting parts of the city, and both old and new architectural points of interest. No tickets or enrollment is required. The participants are taken in the order of arrival or drawn out in a lottery. For more information, please visit here.
Ever wonder how you could have the ability to replicate the historic ‘Italianate’ buildings without having to be artistically skilled? Well, all you need is a set of Paper Neighborhood Stamps. Twenty-one pieces make up the collection of wood and rubber branding objects that can be used after their simple depression against an ink pad. Steam Whistle Brand delivers this Cincinnati Society of Rubber Architects kit, comprising individual components of civic and residential structures—more specifically, ‘Italianate Trappings.’ Cornices, friezes, dentils, columns, round-headed and bracketed hood windows, decorative capitals, doors, arches and ornaments enable you to build your own classically inspired edifice in your notebook. Text courtesy of Amelia Roblin on trendhunter.com.
To celebrate the 150 year anniversary of the Utility and Amenities Company of the city of Zweibrücken, Germany, the company decided to donate a roundabout to the city which was to deal with the present and the future of Zweibrücken and the company itself. Located at the point dominated by advertising, commercial buildings and an enormous amount of tall lighting masts, Molter-Linnemann Architekten was asked to design the third, last roundabout, aka “the roundabout at the movies”. Just as at the time of the movies creation, when traffic began to dominate the environment, today again we are facing chances that will shape our world anew. To make this new condition visible, the architects wanted the design to be larger-than-life, similar to the portrayal of Tatis “modern world”. More images and architects’ description after the break.
