NEWS

ARCHITECTURE COMPETITION

Register: MAR/24/2020, Submit: MAR/31/2020, Eligibility: Undergraduate students of architecture, urban design, urban planning, urban studies, landscape, arts, design; individually, teams, Fee: Free, Awards: Each of 4 locations (Wa On Lane sitting-out area, Kau U Fong children’s playground, Cochrane Street sitting-out area, Lok Hing Lane temporary sitting-out area): Winner: 800 USD, Runner-up: 200 USD, Honorable Mentions; all prizes are tax inclusive

Hong Kong has been defined as an “IntenCity”, a word that expresses a combination of different urban qualities. These include concentration, density, complexity, and verticality, whose overlapping exhibits a new level of intensity that is somehow more than the sum of its parts (Shelton, Karakiewicz, and Kvan 2011). However, in this complex urban structure, most of the public spaces, especially those in old urban areas, are poorly managed and designed. These spaces, created by adopting a rigid, top-down approach and general solutions to a variety of sites and different urban conditions, are not attractive and do not facilitate social interaction and community activities. High-quality open public spaces can significantly increase a city’s attractiveness by encouraging business investment and improving living conditions.

ARCHITECTURE COMPETITION

Register: MAY/12/2020, Submit: MAY/12/2020, Eligibility: All, designers, architects, engineers, landscape architects, material scientists, educators, researchers, students, artists; interdisciplinary teams, Fee: Free, Awards: Total prize pool: 100,000 USD (up to 10 winning entries per 10,000 USD each)

The Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT) of Abu Dhabi invites you to participate in a global creative ideas competition to improve outdoor thermal comfort in public spaces by mitigating the impact of the Urban Heat Island Effect in the city. The winning entries will represent the most original and innovative ideas that attempt to reduce Heat Island Effect in a prototypical urban site in Abu Dhabi through design interventions or material and scientific innovations. Entries are not limited to architectural design interventions and are encouraged to work across scales, technologies, systems, and materials. The DMT is responsible for initiating, driving and supporting Abu Dhabi’s urban development strategies. By materializing the Emirate’s vision and overarching principles into physical settings, the DMT develops strategic plans that shape the future of the Emirates.

ARCHITECTURE COMPETITION

Register: APR/15/2020, Submit: APR/15/2020, Eligibility: Everyone, architects; teams, Fee: Free, Awards: 1st Prize: 50,000 CNY (Chinese Yuan Renminbi) (around 7,200 USD), 2 x 2nd Prize: 30,000 CNY (around 4,320 USD) each, 3 x 3rd Prize: 20,000 CNY (around 2,880 USD) each; 5 x Anticipation Awards (Best Creative Space Award, Best Content Innovation Award, Best Song Culture Communication Award, Best IP Script Award, The Most Popular Award): 5,000 CNY (around 720 USD) each; all pre-tax amounts

Located in the mid-east region of Henan Province, China, Kaifeng is the emerging sub-center city of Henan Province, city of core development zone of Central Henan Urban Agglomeration and core city of Zhengzhou metropolitan area. With a long history and abundant tourism resources, Kaifeng, the ancient capital of eight dynasties, is also the gathering place of intangible cultural heritage. With the planning advantage of integrated development of Zhengzhou and Kaifeng, the tourism economy and tertiary industry in Kaifeng enjoy further development.

ARCHITECTURE COMPETITION

Register: APR/27/2020, Submit: APR/27/2020, Eligibility: Everyone, professionals, architects, urban planners; teams, Fee: Free, Awards: 1st Prize: 2,000 EUR, 2 x 2nd Prize: 1,000 EUR each; curator’s fee: 25,000 EUR

Tallinn Architecture Biennale (TAB) is an international architecture festival which addresses relevant issues in architecture and delves into the present and the future of the field. TAB is intended for both experienced and young architects as well as members of the general public interested in architecture.

ARCHITECTURE COMPETITION

Register: APR/15/2020, Submit: APR/15/2020, Eligibility: Architects, urban planners; legal and natural persons, Fee: Free, Awards: 1st Prize: 30,000 EUR, 2nd Prize: 15,000 EUR, 3rd Prize: 7,500 EUR, Honorable Mentions

Banja Luka’s strategic goal is to become a developed capital of the Republic, a regional center in the Southeastern Europe, and a modern, European city. Among its developmental focuses towards the implementation of these strategic goals are the plans for strategic development of culture, tourism and services. Banja Luka already has dozens of cultural institutions and organizations, an increasingly vibrant cultural scene, a developed and even more demanding audience for cultural events. Such an environment also requires new, adequate facilities for concerts, theatre pays, operas, exhibitions, events of various kinds, therefore, a new and larger concert hall and theater hall. The existing capacities of the Banski Dvor or the city theaters, as the epicenter of indoor cultural events, have long been insufficient.

ARCHITECTURE PROJECT

Location: Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel
Architects: Paz Gersh Architects
Photographs: Neve Tzedek, Amit Geron

The House is set in one of the historically preserved neighborhoods’ of Tel Aviv. The M-house design concept was planning a modern urban villa which combines local vernacular with modern architecture. The program has given described a vacation home for a European family which hosts relatives and friends all year long. The house had to accommodate the various function and still keeping a “cozy atmosphere” for the inhabitants. M house is a typical row house with two facades one facing north and the other facing south. The exterior garden is located on southern elevation; it was planned as an extension of the interior space of the living room. The northern elevation was designed as a patio that acts as outdoor foyer between the house and the street. Furthermore, the patio functions as a translucent “light well” which attracts reflected northern sunlight during the day.

ARCHITECTURE PROJECT

Location: Beirut, Lebanon
Architects: Herzog & de Meuron
Photographs: Iwan Baan, Bahaa Ghoussainy, Trevor Patt

The city of Beirut lies in the heart of the developing Middle East. Having always been a cosmopolitan city, it is a focal point of the region as a cultural and geographical link between Europe and the Middle East. The history of Beirut could hardly be more diverse; remains of Phoenician, Roman, Mamluk, Ottoman and Colonial rule have shaped the city and its buildings. The design of Beirut Terraces was quite literally influenced by the layers of the city’s rich and tumultuous history. It is a history now also marked by inescapable traces of an eventful present. For generations to come, the people of Beirut will remember the assassination in 2005 of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, when a car bomb detonated in front of St. Georges Hotel. The resultant devastation is still visible as a daily reminder. Despite a scarred history, there is a clear vision to rehabilitate the area, with a master plan well under way that aims to rebuild and revitalize this part of Beirut.

ARCHITECTURE PROJECT

Location: Quarteira, Portugal
Architects: Corpo Atelier
Photographs: Ricardo Oliveira Alves

Empty plots of similar shapes and sizes are aligned along a golf course, setting a frame for new urbanization of detached houses. Nothing was built. Due to the degree of uncertainty regarding future constructions, the house becomes introverted. Two white walls (almost) completely withdraw any direct contact from future neighbors, setting clear boundaries. Between them, an architectural inner landscape of cubic shapes, each arranging a single function, provides a sense of security and protection while carefully framing the distant landscape. Only a horizontal volume, containing the swimming pool, contradicts this logic projecting itself to the South, emerging from the walls to offer a possibility of volunteered exposure, for a brief moment, before returning to the house.

ARCHITECTURE PROJECT

Location: El Paso, Texas, United States
Architects: Hazelbaker Rush
Photographs: Casey Dunn

The Franklin Mountains extend into the north end of El Paso like a peninsula of rocky wilderness into the urban landscape of the city, rising 2500 feet above the Rio Grande river valley. The home site is set in the foothills of the Franklins 800 feet above the city perched just above a small canyon with unobstructed views of downtown El Paso and Juarez to the south. As the raw and rugged native landscape comes down the slope and meets the masses of the house the land starts to feel more controlled and cultivated. The steep site becomes a series of terraces that catch and slows the flow of water and the flow of life here. This mountain side oasis becomes enriched with native succulents and cacti, colorful grasses and aromatic herbs. A sustainable ecosystem on a small scale for a family that has turned a “hard” site into their sanctuary on the hillside. 

ARCHITECTURE PROJECT

Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 

Architects: Design Unit Sdn Bhd 

Photographs: Lin Ho Photography 

The steeply sloping site for this 7000 sf house, orientated approximately east-west, falls by 11.5 m from the road to the rear with rainforest views to the east of this 7000 sf house. The house is designed to ‘float’ over the site – touching it lightly, and allowing the natural slope to remain, heightening our awareness to & informing us about the natural site contours. Consisting 2 independent structures – a 2 storey living & bedroom block constructed of exposed structural steel supported on a ‘forest’ of irregular spaced columns that enhance the feeling of ‘floating’. This steel structure is cantilevered over a lower independent structure housing an art gallery & cinema and is constructed of off-form concrete and includes a green roof garden and swimming pool.