I really believe that the role of the museum is to go beyond the boundaries of the building and to engage in contemporary life, so by creating a new public outdoor space – a new courtyard, a new place – we’ve renegotiated the relationship between street and museum

In this video from CNN Style, director Matthew Donaldson takes us inside the just completed courtyard entrance and extension of London’s V&A Museum, the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design. Designed by AL_A, the newly completed space features 11,840 square feet of flexible gallery space and the world’s first public courtyard constructed entirely of porcelain, paved with 11,000 tiles in 15 different patterns handcrafted by Koninklijke Tichelaar Makkum, the Netherlands' oldest registered company.

Featuring narration by Amanda Levete, founder of AL_A, the video offers an intimate look at the project’s above- and below-ground spaces, including the entry pavilion, sleek new stair and skylight-lit galleries.

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SHoP Architects has been selected as lead master planners and designers of the campus for Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV) to be located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The new university, announced in 2016 by President Obama on his visit to the country, is Vietnam’s first independent, non-profit institution of higher education. The university was established with the goal of offering innovative teaching programs and impactful research that will serve the country’s continued development and finding solutions to the large problems facing Vietnam and the world.

Danish practice 3XN Architects has revealed design plans for what will be the world’s largest fish market in Sydney, Australia. Selected from a submission pool of more than 60 international design studios, 3XN’s design will relocate the existing Syndey Fish Market from its location in Pyrmont to a nearby wharf in Blackwattle Bay on Bridge Road in Glebe, creating a new food and dining destination on the Sydney inner harbor.

“Sydney Fish Market is a beloved institution among Sydneysiders, Australians and international visitors,” said Sydney Fish Market General Manager Bryan Skepper. “Therefore, it was integral to select a design team that will modernise and improve the site whilst recognising its longstanding heritage and retaining the authentic experience that attracts customers and visitors."

Videos

New images have been revealed of SANAA’s design for the expansion of the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, as the project has received a $244 million AUD ($186 million USD) commitment from the NSW Government, more than two-thirds of the project’s total estimated budget. A supplemental campaign will be launched later this year for the remaining $100 million, $70 million of which has already been pledged.

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Los Angeles’ newest skyscraper, the Wilshire Grand Center, opened to the public this weekend, earning the crown of the United States’ tallest building west of the Mississippi River. Topping out at 1,100 feet, the building eclipses the nearby U.S. Bank Tower by about 82 feet, thanks to its glass crown and decorative spire that rise from above the 73rd floor.

Designed by AC Martin Partners, the structure also represents a major change in Los Angeles tall building design as the first skyscraper completed since the city’s 2014 decision to remove the stipulation that all buildings over 75 feet must feature a flat roof to serve as a helipad.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected 11 recipients of the 2017 Small Project Awards. This is the 14th edition of the program, which was established to recognize "small-project practitioners for the high quality of their work and to promote excellence in small-project design."

This year the winners have been placed into three categories: 

• Category 1: small project construction, object, work of environmental art or architectural design element up to $150,000 in construction cost
• Category 2: small project construction, up to $1,500,000 in construction cost
• Category 3: small project construction, object, work of environmental art or architectural design under 5,000 square feet

This year’s winners include a wide variety of program types and sites. Continue after the break for the list and descriptions of the projects.

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The Olympic Museum and Hall of Fame (USOM) has broken ground in downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the 60,000-square-foot building will be dedicated to the celebration and education of “the Olympic and Paralympic athlete and the unique human spirit that creates Olympians,” displaying the artifacts, media, technology and stories of American athletes and the historical power of the Olympic Games.

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The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced 49 exemplary projects as winners of the 2017 RIBA National Awards. This year’s list features projects from a wide range of typologies and leading architecture firms including Herzog & de Meuron, Foster + Partners, WilkinsonEyre, and Caruso St John Architects.

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Nine projects have been announced as winners of Docomomo US’ 2017 Modernism in America Awards, honoring projects within the United States that highlight and advocate for the restoration of postwar architecture and landscapes.

Now in its fourth year, the Modernism in America Awards were founded to celebrate "the people and projects working to preserve, restore and rehabilitate our modern heritage sensitively and productively. The program seeks to advance those preservation efforts; to increase appreciation for the period and to raise awareness of the on-going threats against modern architecture and design."

Foster + Partners has revealed new renderings of their designs for Bloomberg’s new London headquarters as the project races toward anticipated completion this autumn. The first building worldwide to be wholly owned and constructed by Bloomberg, the design of the London HQ has been guided by principles of collaboration, innovation and productivity, resulting in a structure that enhance both the workplace environment and the public realm.

The City of Los Angeles has revealed preliminary designs for seven different downtown segments of the Los Angeles River revitalization master plan, envisioned by Gruen Associates, WSP, CH2M, Chee Salette, Mia Lehrer + Associates, AECOM, and Tetra Tech. The project, known as the LA River Downtown Design Dialogue, asked designers to create potential schemes for development of the Downtown Corridor that “focus on interventions to improve connectivity and access to the river” and “imagine how to achieve function while embracing bold, world-class design,” while integrating in river adjacent projects currently in development, such as BIG’s 670 Mesquite.

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Foster + Partners and Juan Cabanelas have unveiled updated designs for the refurbishment and extension of the Ourense FFCC Station in Galicia, Spain. The firm was originally selected as the winners of an international competition for the design in 2011 with an expansive new structure spanning the tracks. The new scheme will instead utilize the existing station building, expanding with a series of columned canopies arranged to create a new urban square and easily-accessible multi-modal hub.

New York City’s fast-tracked Penn Station transformation project is moving forward, as Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced the closing of the $1.6 billion deal to redevelop a large section of the James A. Farley Post Office into the new “Moynihan Train Hall.”

The project will consist of a new 255,000-square-foot terminal for the Long Island Railroad and Amtrak, increasing Penn Station’s total concourse floor space by more than 50 percent, while an additional 700,000 square feet will be developed for commercial, retail and dining spaces to create a new mixed-use civic space for West Manhattan.

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Diller Scofidio + Renfro has revealed designs for the Juilliard School’s first overseas campus as the project breaks ground in Tianjin, China. One of the world’s foremost performing arts schools, Juillard had previously tapped DS+R for the design of their New York City campus.

Located within the Yujiapu Pilot Free Trade Zone, the Tianjin Juilliard School will become a center for performance, practice and research, and will welcome in the public with a series of communal spaces and interactive exhibitions focused on the creative process and performance of music. Upon completion, the campus will serve as an international hub for artists to learn and meet, as well as become the first performing arts institution in the country to offer a US-accredited master’s degree.

Foster + Partners has been selected as the winners of an international competition to design a new office tower for Sydney’s Circular Quay, steps away from the city’s harbor and iconic Opera House. Located between George and Pitt streets, the tower will serve as a centerpiece of the urban district’s reinvigorated masterplan, featuring a scheme characterized by its array of pedestrian pathways that cross through the site at multiple levels. Injecting life into the area, the laneways will be lined with retail shops, cafes and bars, helping Sydney maintain its identity as a unique cultural destination.

Renderings have been revealed for a new 832-foot-tall skyscraper that will rise from a current vacant lot on Chicago’s historic Michigan Avenue. Known as 1000M, the tower has been designed by JAHN, the practice helmed by one of Chicago’s most prolific architects, Helmut Jahn. The 74-story building will feature a blue-green glass curtain wall subdivided with metal horizontal spandrel panels, and a metallic mesh crown hovering over a rooftop terrace.

With Design Miami/ Basel 2017 well underway (from June 13-18), ArchDaily has compiled a list of the best architect-designed furniture pieces on display at the event. This year, notable items include works by MAD Architects, Christ & Gantenbien, Trix & Robert Haussman, John Lautner, Jonathen Muecke, Jean Prouvé and Sou Fujimoto.

“The world’s most sustainable eco-city,” Masdar City, is preparing for its next phase of development, as unveiled in the award-winning detailed master plan (DMP) by CBT. Depicted in a comprehensive masterplan by Foster + Partners, Masdar was originally envisioned as a carbon-neutral elevated city without cars, instead featuring pod-based transportation located below the podium. As the first phase was constructed, including the Masdar Institute of Technology, a new vision for the city began to emerge, eventually leading to CBT’s pedestrian-oriented innovation community plan for Phase 2.

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