” Milan-based architects Iosa Ghini Associati have designed an extension to a hotel in Budapest, Hungary, called New York Residence.
The project comprises an extension to the adjacent New York Palace Boscolo Hotel, including 60 new rooms and a floor of offices.
A conference centre attached to the hotel will include an auditorium to seat 500 people, while a commercial gallery and business centre will occupy the ground floor of the building. 140 residential apartments will be located between the first and seventh floors….” Read the rest of the article
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“The AR Awards for Emerging Architecture is one of the biggest international awards for young architects and gives £15,000 in prize money. Inaugurated in 1999, it is sponsored by Buro Happold and Wilkhahn. Intended to bring wider international recognition to a talented new generation of architects and designers, the Awards have attracted entries from more than 90 countries, representing every inhabited continent.

Awards are for built or manufactured work only, and besides buildings, the full range of design activity, from landscapes and urban spaces to furniture and cutlery can be submitted.

The Jury for 2008 was Sir Peter Cook (architect and critic, London), Peter Davey (Former Editor of The Architectural Review), Sou Fujimoto (AR Awards winner in 2006 and twice highly commended, Tokyo, Japan), Edouard Francois (Paris, France), Sheila O’Donnell (O’Donnell & Tuomey, Dublin, Ireland) and Paul Finch (Editor of The Architectural Review and Chairman of the Jury).
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THE THREE WINNERS
Hotel: Hotel Aire de Bardenas by Emiliano López and Mónica Rivera Arquitectos (Tudela, Navarre, Spain)

Hotel Aire de Bardenas by Emiliano López and Mónica Rivera Arquitectos (Tudela, Navarre, Spain)
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Houses: HOMEmade village family houses and DESI building (Vishnupur, Bangladesh) by Anna Heringer (in collaboration with BASE habitat, BRAC University and Dipshikha (NGO) (Rudrapur, Bangladesh)

HOMEmade village family houses and DESI building (Vishnupur, Bangladesh) by Anna Heringer (in collaboration with BASE habitat, BRAC University and Dipshikha (NGO) (Rudrapur, Bangladesh)
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Office and Shop: BIP Computers by Alberto Mozó (Santiago, Chile)

BIP Computers by Alberto Mozó (Santiago, Chile)
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FURTHER COMMENDED PROJECTS AND HONORABLE MENTIONS ALSO INCLUDED:

Apartments: Yuji Nakae + Akiyoshi Takagi + Hirofumi Ohno (Tokyo, Japan)
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Housing: Bjarke Ingels Group (Copenhagen, Denmark)
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Mobile Shelter: Sanei Hopkins Architects (near Snape, Suffolk, UK)
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Offices: Camenzind Evolution (Zurich, Switzerland)
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House: Masahairo Harada + Mao / Mount Fuji Architects Studio (Tokyo, Japan)
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Mixed-use Development: Bucholz McEvoy Architects (Dublin, Ireland)
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Garden Pavilions: DSDHA (Potters’ Fields, London)
Images: AR Awards
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He acknowledged the lure of the idea but conceded — or should that perhaps be hoped? — that “probably, when the foundations were dug, something would appear, delaying the proof of the Great Freedom: pottery shards, a gold coin, the turban of a nomad, indecipherable drawings etched on stone.”

These mixed emotions are doubtless familiar to the seven architectural teams that entered the invited competition to masterplan the new South Korean city of Saemangeum earlier this year. In terms of scale alone, the undertaking was fantastically daunting: when it is completed, Saemangeum will occupy an area of 396sq km — about two-thirds the size of Singapore. However, if that were not challenge enough, the feat of imagination required of the competitors was made infinitely greater by the nature of the site. At present, the vast bulk of the land on which Saemangeum will be built lies underwater.

The project has been in development since the late eighties, when the South Korean government proposed the estuarine landscape at the convergence of the Dongjin and Mangyeong rivers as the site for one of the largest land reclamation projects ever undertaken. The intention was for the land to support a mix of agriculture and industry, and for a newly constructed port to enable the city to forge trade links, particularly with China’s north-east coast just across the Yellow Sea. In 1991, work began on containing the site by means of a sea wall spanning 33km between the headlands that lie to the north and south.
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From the start, the project attracted a huge amount of controversy, particularly in relation to its anticipated environmental impact. Campaigners were concerned about the loss of mudflats on the site, which have always been an important feeding ground for the 400,000 shore birds which migrate annually from south-east Asia to Russia and Alaska. Arguing that the project’s construction would contribute to the decline of several endangered species, they succeeded in halting construction using supreme court challenges in both 1999 and 2005. Ultimately, that campaign proved unsuccessful, and work on the wall was completed in April 2006.

As a consequence, the land behind the wall has been transformed into a vast freshwater lake. Work is now under way to lower its level by 1.5m, a process that requires fresh water to be discharged daily into the sea via a series of sluice gates when the tide is low. Eventually, this will make 67sq km of currently submerged land available for use. The larger part of the new city — a further 270sq km — will be built on ground created by adding landfill to the lake bed…..” Read the rest here
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“The key to preserving a suggestive, lively and attractive city capable of preserving the quality of living standards, lies in the hands of its citizens, the emotional (and functional) relationship they establish with it, and their ability to construct, to self construct even, its own identity. Not so much a collective identity, widespread and large-scale, but an intimate almost domestic identity, shared by those who are nearest to one another and in connection with what lies within closest range. A fast active identity sustained on a daily (not a centennial) basis. It is in this sense that the idea of Event is essential. Events are our means of approaching certain parts of the city; events weave an emotional web with places, acting as the raw material the city offers its users in order to transform them into citizens. Events are generated at a collective and programmed level (the Olympic Games, the Forum 2004 are examples of large-scale events designed for mass communities), and at a virtually private de-programmed level. If urban space encourages the incidence of close-range direct experiences, we are well on the way to creating an urban event culture. The crucial forms of expression that arise in urban environments include those produced on levels ranging from one-to-one, one-to-multiple, multiple-to-one and multiple-to-multiple basis. In emotional terms, our first kiss on a park bench will remain forever engraved in our memory, as will the football matches we played in a certain square and the concerts and parties we attended. Such situations, however domestic and unassuming they may seem, have the kind of impact that the Situationists termed psychogeography. We cannot trust that all our citizens will strategically and deliberately become Situationist converts, in accordance with the political terms discussed by the Situationist International in the fifties and sixties, but we should create a type of urban space – and above all a public space – able to stimulate relationships between equals. In other words, if identity is based on nostalgia and memory, we should be able to provoke reminiscences –– perhaps not general mythic memories, ideological or collective, but reactive, domestic memories generated from either personal or restrictively communal experience. Instead of encouraging action from a premise rooted in the past, we should seek to create continual action and intensive use of public space, a fundamental platform for social relations.
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The conditions of this type of public space are based on urban density, which favours frequent non-programmed encounters; on the neutrality (not the generic nature) of urban space, in other words avoiding the specialisation of public space (areas designed exclusively for children, for dogs, for bowls players, etc.); and on a certain degree of continuity in town planning –– streets aren’t dead areas, but on the contrary can be understood in a variety of ways as platforms for action. In the city of Barcelona we come across examples of an urban event culture in specific areas of the Raval district. In spite of its problems, Raval is an alfresco laboratory that analyses the challenges of the contemporary city, such as multiculturalism, diversity, a high density of population (over 20,000 inhabitants per square kilometre), lack of safety on the streets, etc. And yet it also presents the liveliest social fabric of today’s city. Recently opened restaurants and other amenities, ‘new’ means of expression and interethnic co-existence are some of the proposals convening in this central district, particularly in North Raval. So our intention is to ‘Ravalise’ the whole of Barcelona, spreading the cultural virus of the ideas in action proclaimed by organisations based in the district until they converge with the advantages of the new city, overcoming problems such as the insalubrity of old run-down housing, the exceptionally narrow streets and the lack of public facilities. To ‘Ravalise’ Barcelona means to stimulate the social fabric of the city starting from urban tactics, from well-equipped public space, meeting basic housing needs. If Raval is dense, then the density of the city in general should be emphasised; if Raval is multi-layered, we should ensure the whole town is multicultural; if Raval is mixed-use, the city should be re-integrated. The idea that this district’s identity is rooted in the past is not quite true, for until a short time ago neither nostalgic myths nor ancient history seemed to bear any traces of it. Raval is in the process of shaping its own identity on paper, and it is doing so from the worst conditions possible (multiculturalism, lack of social services, stifling public spaces, etc.). So our intention is not to see Raval in a mythical light, but to draw the necessary conclusions from the reality of its thriving social fabric that will enable the other “cities within the city” to create their own logic of events.

Raval is also plays significant in another fundamental aspect of town planning, as the former dichotomy between the city centre and the outskirts disappears as a result of the existence of more than one ‘centre’. The centre, as such, is a key feature for establishing distance (both physical and emotional) as a unit of measure. The centres of European towns influence their entire metropolitan areas. Conceiving the new city implies envisaging this new centrality.

Built-up urban areas in medium-sized European cities like Barcelona cannot continue to present one single unit of measure. On the contrary, while town centres are vital in some capacities, the outskirts prove central in others. The emergence of multiple centres gradually cuts into the isolation of the periphery, marking the need for a certain degree of specialisation –– the oldest quarter should not necessarily also embrace the political centre, the cultural and the social heart of the city. New centres must be generated in each of the city’s fresh challenges. Thus, Sagrera must take advantage of the intermodal railway station to re-centre the approaches to Barcelona. As the means of access to the city for millions of people arriving by train, it must be alluring and appear as another ‘Plaça Catalunya’ for those who are visiting the city for the first time. In its specialisation, the district of Sagrera must welcome the possibilities for economic exchange provided by business, and the opportunities for cultural and social exchange offered by tourism and recreational urban activities. Railway infrastructures have the advantage of penetrating into the very heart of the city (as opposed to the peripheral condition required by airports), a key factor in the new centrality of Sagrera. As the new city rises to the surface, it must display Barcelona’s main feature: its domesticity. Visitors find Barcelona (or should we say each of the various ‘Barcelonas’) striking, because all parts of the city are equally prepared for active public life. People can eat, go out for a drink, take a stroll, go to the cinema or shop in most districts –– in short, they can live anywhere. Barcelona is domestic and familiar, it is apprehensible, easily ‘understood’ and experienced –– the same cannot be said of all cities. Its value resides in the number of people liable to wander as they leave the railway station, and in its ability to administer this domesticity for the continual arrival of new and experienced visitors and residents.

Bearing in mind these considerations, the new Barcelonas will be ‘glocal’, acting on a global scale as poles of attraction to promote relations on a local scale between current and future inhabitants and urban space.

Public versus Private: The Sphere of the Possible

Cities have traditionally been divided into these two distinct categories, public space versus private space, with no intermediate areas. Yet if a city is able to knock down this mental (and often physical) barrier, its urban mass will be much more receptive, osmotic and permeable.

This can be done by broadening the scope of possibility between clear-cut public and private space, providing the city with a whole range of new intermediate areas. This does not mean mixing public and private, merely creating a buffer between the two, able to generate an active transition between what takes place on a large scale and what is individual. To a certain extent what is called for is a redefinition of the initial dichotomy by creating spaces that are semi-public, others semi-private, and spaces of approximation –– in short, enhancing the range of possible relations between citizens and their immediate environment. Although this is not a new idea perhaps it hadn’t been clearly expressed until now. In the refurbished inner courtyards of the blocks in the Eixample district designed by Cerdà, open public use of space co-exists with the private appropriation of these areas by adjacent buildings. These hybrid spaces are officially public, yet in practice they are enjoyed by local neighbours. Designing such spaces increases the possibilities for interaction between the city and its citizens. What the tourist may miss will be enjoyed by the city-dweller, the connoisseur of the town, district or street in question. The idea is to create an urban fabric on a scale smaller than that of great streets, squares and buildings; channelling public space towards the private spheres of homes and offices; designing not specific corners, twists and turns, but rather areas in which citizens can voluntarily disappear, sheltered from cars and protected from public gazes. The reinvention of the street, of front and back, of what is exposed and what remains secluded, lies precisely in this transitional realm between public and private, mass and individuality. Such polyhedral cities, full of delicate ramifications, encompass manifold interpretations and recuperate the Situationist idea of drift (dérive) or détournement.

Repetition versus Variation: The System

When we speak of a certain ‘model’ of city we usually resort to generalisations that are unable to capture the necessary nuances of living cities. The model refers to a masterly solution, almost an ideological vision of a solution, an idea that is usually greatly impoverished when the conditions in which it is applied are not those best suited to the model’s co-ordinates.

To model complexity is an extremely difficult task when it comes to contemporary cities. Variables are affected by the constant fluctuation of determinants, leading to models that are either too general (and therefore unable to assume the nitty-gritty of their actual application), or too specific with regard to local detail (and therefore not applicable in other suppositions). To counteract the dysfunctions of a given model we shall adopt the idea of the system.

The city considered as a system is understood as an unfolding of platforms intended to develop simultaneous situations, multiple actions and experiences. The variables of such systems must be clearly established, in particular the scope for transformation they are able to assume. Systems are more flexible than models; they have a wider range of application in changing environments and are more liable to provoke appropriate responses. A certain behavioural logic, certain guidelines and codes of reaction to change underlie all systems, guaranteeing adaptive transformations and pertinent solutions to varying demands.

The city appears a system of systems, all interconnected, interwoven and interdependent, systems covering different areas of the city superimposed on other systems of greater scope. Such systems are not conditioned by aesthetic precautions such as variations or repetitions to taste. Systems have a self-programmed logic that depends on the external forces to which they are subjected; in fact, systems are mutable and their forms are directly related to their own pre-existing conditions. Form, therefore, is not an essential feature, a trait neither definitive nor definitional of the system’s functionality. Form does not exist inasmuch as it is not established a priori; it exists as a final result of an urban process of calculation. The issue is not of course merely to translate the resultants of density, buildability, usage, etc., into spatial factors, but to work out the degree of density of the event in programmatic-spatial terms, the definition of all sorts of variables (immigration, mobility, scheduled uses, interaction, dependence, independence and interdependence, etc.), using algorithms that will express the extreme yet necessary complexity of cities.

In Favour of a Liveable City

As opposed to the inhumane breaking up of the generic city and the romantic tyranny of the recognisable city, with its nostalgic codes of identity and associations with totality, we propose a polyhedral city –– a city of multiple gazes, a macro-regional, macro-architectural, macro-territorial and micro-urban city. A city of encounters, of voluntary drifts and on-demand references; a city of the hustle and bustle of shopping and of our first furtive kiss; a city of urban event culture and private domestic culture; a city interconnected with the world and intra-connected with our most intimate imaginary. We propose a city of multiple identities rather than official identity; a city of artificial domesticity and urban naturalness; a city that reacts to indifference, to all that is generic, to shallow standardisation. We propose a city that welcomes the tension of contradictions, of exchange and responsibility. A city both functional and emotional; a city of experience and invention; a city that is increasingly POLIS and decreasingly MEGA. A city of value and countervalue, of tradition and innovation, of narrative and poetry, of confluence and dispersal. A city that offers a choice, a city that adapts; a city of public space charged with capacities and possibilities; a city that must be re-visited from without and re-envisaged from within. A complex city with coincidental limits; a city not of perplexity but of paradox. In short, we propose a city mirrored on the men and women who inhabit it, a city to live in… a Liveable City.” Archikubik

“Slovenia-based OFIS Arhitekti have won the first prize in the invited competition for a student dormitory in Paris’ Route des Petits Ponts. The project had to deal with an odd-shaped site, tight completion deadlines, accessibility for handicapped people, and high demands in sustainability due to the city of Paris’ climate plan. The architects decided not just to integrate a building into its environment but rather to integrate a piece of street, a facade composed of buildings and landscape.

Competition winning student apartment complex in Paris, France by OFIS Arhitekti
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From the designers:
General Description:
The project involves a dormitory with 180 studios on the site of the Stade de Ladoumègue in Paris in 19th district. The plot of the building is part of urban development done by Reichen & Robert architects.

Competition winning student apartment complex in Paris, France by OFIS Arhitekti
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By early 2012, the Paris tram will pass by the site, and the goal is to complete the project before the opening in 2011. Another project goal is to achieve a building consumption with very little power, joining the desire of the city of Paris through its “climate plan”. The major objectives of the project is to design a home to accommodate students able to offer them a healthy environment for study, learn, have fun, meet … The building must be “energy efficient” and be built at the end of 2010. To achieve these objectives with energy performance and construction time table plan the focus was to design a simple, well insulated and ventilated object which will function at best during all seasons.
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Architectural, urban and technical proposal
The parcel has a very particular configuration; 11 meters in width and extends about 200 meters long in north-south axis, which foreshadows the importance of processing the eastern facade overlooking the extension of the street of small bridges (des Petits Ponts). In addition, this street will host the tram, a road cyclist and pedestrian walkways. The extension of the street of small bridges also leads to the Canal de l’Ourcq, hence the priority treatment landscaped plot to accompany this urban landscape.
In our case, it is not just a building to integrate into its environment but rather to integrate a piece of street, a facade composed of buildings and landscape.
The residence follows the urban plot which are two blocks divided by sharing landscape garden.

Competition winning student apartment complex in Paris, France by OFIS Arhitekti
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Both parts are organized according to a simple and functional frame for a logical and economic optimization. On ground floor are the lobby, the rooms, common areas opened over the course and some studios (accessible for the disabled). Upstairs are all studios and a terrace.

The plans are organized according to simple management and maintenance. Also the task was to provide students environment of indoor and outdoor quality with creating the meeting places in which each student can feel good and enjoy the indoor and outdoor landscape. Access to the residence is between the 2 buildings. For security and management reasons, there is only one entry. We used the system of horizontal flow; taking into account technical constraints related to sports complex vis-à-vis the main housing openings. The circulations are naturally lit and ventilated, and allowing East-West views.

Studios_concept_sustainability
The residence comprises 192 studios. Studios are accessible to disabled persons on the ground floor. All rooms are equipped with the same principle throughout the residence for better optimization.
There is also studio with two bedrooms on each floor. There are seven in total throughout the building, which used to meet expectations in terms of student housing for couples. The concept key point is inside the studios: work on light and air quality and spaces.

Competition winning student apartment complex in Paris, France by OFIS Arhitekti: Concept + circulations + facades
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The accommodations are crossing, allowing for natural light throughout the apartment. The design of housing was thought to offer comfort, brightness and functionality. The layout is rational and allows modularity. The apartments are mechanically ventilated with a double shift VMC. The breakdown by VMC is much more economical and offers students an air and a healthy environment, necessary and vital for the smooth functioning of the individual. The majority of the studios have a unique outdoor space with loggias which are actually an extension of interior spaces. The loggias create intimate outdoor spaces and offer views of the surrounding neighborhoods.

In view of the targets on energy performance, thermal insulation and soundproofing of the building will be extra efficient. The isolation of the project is done by outside isolation 16cm thick, to reduce heat loss. This insulation thickness makes the building very well insulated, while opening large bay front to let maximum light into the apartments. This insulation is of course both thermal and acoustic proof.
The structure of the building next to the wall of the SMR is insulated to prevent heat transfer between the two structures, and of course acoustic insulation for the building site maintenance
To avoid the problem of thermal bridges of balconies and loggias we integrate the structure of the elements of broken bridges thermal type SCHÖCK. It avoids thermal losses and especially sustainable balance investment costs over time.

The Elevations
The facades will have a major impact on environment because of the length of the plot. The eastern facade of the building looks towards the sport field, and is formed by main entrance gang. The eastern facade is composed of loggias covered in bamboo. They appear on the cover as wooden cocoons and are randomly oriented to diversify the views and rhythm to the facade. The arrangement of the elements creates dynamic surface and breaks the scale of the building at the same time.

Competition winning student apartment complex in Paris, France by OFIS Arhitekti: Program
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The use of bamboo for the loggias has human scale and environmentally approach. The bamboo is environmentally friendly material. The loggias are equipped with bamboo sunscreens to control sunlight on the balconies and interior. Bamboo is also used on the western front as horizontal blade to manage the sunshine of the passageway. At the same time it protects the corridors from the sport field.

The climbing plants will be grown to serve as visual and environmental filters: In summer, the facade will be refreshed by the thickening of the filter plant and in winter the facade work normally, everything perfectly fits into the environment by creating seasonal facades.

The Structural Composition
The complex consists of two rectangular blocks. The first block dimensions are 30×11m and the second 65×11m. The overall building rises at 29.2 meters.

Competition winning student apartment complex in Paris, France by OFIS Arhitekti: Section and floor plan of a typical unit
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The building structure is reinforced concrete. Foundations are types of piles, 12 to 15m deep. They are connected by sills. The floors are rational and identical. They are made of reinforced concrete floors on the 2-way and are supported by walls and poles. Both parts of the building have its communication core which serves all floors. All the walls are reinforced with a thickness of 20 cm.

The Landscape
the space between the two parts of the building will be used as a garden, which will have the same functions than Parisian court in function to shift from one building to another, for meeting and relaxation. It will be a common landscape, leaving a visual opening to the garden. The garden is accessible from outside access for fire site of the SMR (magnetic card or key).
The garden located north of the plot has more private character but also provides transparency with the street. It is used as a park on a small scale. Covered in wood, it is a place of relaxation and calmness for students. This may be a place of rest or work. The garden is arranged in levels to respond to the work of art that will be seen from the tram, but also to collect views from the Canal de l’Ourcq or the surroundings with a panorama in altitude. All green spaces (common and technical) are equipped with automatic sprinkler dropper, which requires less maintenance manager of the residence and consumes much less water.

Accessibility for the Disabled
The building was designed to accommodate also disabled people and provide them the best environment. The residence includes more than 10% of homes directly accessible for the disabled (23 units). These accommodations are arranged on ground floor and first floor for easy access and proximity to allow common areas, facilitating the social integration of individuals with reduced mobility.” Bustler
Images: OFIS Arhitekti
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“The AIA’s California Council presented an Honor Award for Urban Design to Culver-City, California-based ah’bé landscape architects for its streetscape for “South,” the first new high-rise residential development in downtown Los Angeles in 23 years and a key part of its revitalization. The award, which was presented at the AIA California Practice Conference in San Diego, California, on November 14, recognizes outstanding urban design.

The new streetscape provides a lively pedestrian experience with new street trees, lighting and street furniture. (Photo: Jack Coyier)
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The five-acre South development, bordered by Hope Street to the west, 11th Street to the north, Grand Avenue to the east and 12th Street to the south, has become a 24-hour urban neighborhood with the infusion of new residents and businesses. In addition to nearby dining and entertainment options that create a vibrant urban lifestyle, South offers Angelenos pedestrian-friendly streetscapes and green spaces where residents and visitors can relax and mingle.

Designed by ah’be landscape architects, South’s new streetscape was planned to encourage interaction at the street level and to complement the architecturally striking surroundings, as well as to incorporate environmentally friendly storm-water management practices. Specific elements include extra-wide sidewalks (24 feet instead of the typical 12 feet), sustainable plantings, shade trees, pedestrian lighting, bike racks and street furniture. Curb bump-outs (curb extensions) slow traffic and provide extra visibility to pedestrians crossing the street.

Storm-water infiltration planter. (Photo: Courtesy ah’be landscape architects)
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“In order to encourage visitors and residents to interact with their surroundings and one another, we have developed a mix of public and private outdoor green spaces that function as oases of green in the city,” says Calvin Abe, FASLA, president of ah’bé landscape architects.

The streetscape’s accessible outdoor spaces include a 6,267-square-foot landscaped garden that is open to the public during the day and gated for security at night. This is the first time that the public has had access to a development’s private open space in Los Angeles, according to Tom Cody, principal at Gerding Edlen, a partner in The South Group.

Public/private street-level courtyard and park. (Photo: Jack Coyier)
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“In keeping with our overall ‘green’ mission, creating a welcoming environment for pedestrians was a key component of South’s Master Plan,” says Cody. “To that end, we worked with the City of Los Angeles to stop a planned street widening, so that we could introduce wider sidewalks for strolling and café seating.”

The South Group’s “South” development in Downtown Los Angeles consists of a trio of buildings: Elleven, Luma and the 24-story Evo, which opened to the public on October 5, 2008. All three buildings include landscaped areas by ah’bé landscape architects. Evo is expected to become only the third residential building downtown to earn a coveted LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. (The other two are Elleven and Luma.)

Residents build community on upper terraces, with opportunities for interaction around the pool, spa, outdoor fireplace and barbeque area at Luma. (Photo: Courtesy ah’bé landscape architects)
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“The South Park neighborhood streetscape in downtown Los Angeles is a leadership project in terms of storm-water infiltration and we are really pleased with the work of ah’bé landscape architects in their design of it. We hope to see more of these around the City. This streetscape, one of two that ah’bé landscape architects is doing in the City, is setting the standard for the kind of forward-thinking green infrastructure planning that we want to create throughout Los Angeles,” says Commissioner Paula Daniels of the Los Angeles Department of Public Works. Daniels heads the City’s Green Streets initiative, which is tasked with updating design guidelines for street planning throughout all of Los Angeles. ”
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“Oppenheim Architecture + Design have unveiled plans to build an art storage facility in Miami, USA.
The facade of the 11-story, 140,000 square foot building will display artwork by emerging and established artists.
Designed for art services company Artemundi & Company and referred to as The Vault, the development will include a conservation laboratory, showrooms and exhibition spaces.

Construction is due for completion in 2010.”
Check the rest of the article at Dezeen
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“The new Norwegian Embassy is built on the north end of the existing embassy site in the Patan part of Kathmandu. The building is integrated into the slope of the site, allowing plateaus of outdoor space to extend into the building. A south facing intimate patio is directly linked to the vestibule inside.

The facade, facing the Himalayan Mountains, is architecturally expressed by an added volume, which raises above the main entrance of the otherwise single-storey building. This added volume contains - among other functions - the Ambassador’s office and is accented by a dynamic zigzag panoramic window, which footprint makes a tribute to and reflects the Himalayas.

The Embassy is constructed from local materials, with local labourers, and the intention is to integrate the building with the surrounding city texture.”

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Project Details:
Location: Kathmandu, Nepal
Building type: Representation and Offices (Consulate) Project Scope: Full contract
Client: Statsbygg, The Directorate of Public Constuction and Property
Design team: Kristin Jarmund, Ola Helle, Graeme Ferguson
Size: 800m2
Budget: 10 MILL. NOK
Schedule: Completed June 2008
Photos: Kristin Jarmund Architecs

Here is also an article in a nepalese paper: http://www.nepalitimes.com.np/issue/2008/08/22/Nation/15158
Official embassy pages:
http://www.norway.org.np/culture/architecture/contemporary/ambassade+nepal+en.htm
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“Marrakech / Morocco – November 13, 2008 – The winners of the second Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction from across region Africa Middle East were announced at a ceremony in Marrakech. Total prize money of USD 270,000 was presented to eleven projects that illustrated the broad scope for applying sustainable construction approaches to the built environment across public and private architecture, urban planning, and environmental remediation.
The Swiss-based Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction conducts the competition in parallel across five regions of the world. Almost 5,000 projects from 90 countries entered the competition which aims to promote sustainable responses from the building and construction industry to technological, environmental, socioeconomic and cultural issues. The ceremony in Marrakech featured a diverse and international group of project teams and demonstrated that sustainable construction is truly of global concern.”
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Revitalization of the Fez River in Morocco wins Gold Award
A remediation and urban development scheme for the river precinct in Fez, Morocco received the top prize of USD 100,000 and the Holcim Awards Gold 2008 trophy for combining a comprehensive socio-cultural and economic program within the core environmental remediation initiative. The landscape design by Moroccan architect Aziza Chaouni and American-resident Japanese planner Takako Tajima includes water quality improvement, remediation of contaminated sites, creation of open spaces and the enhancement of existing resources for economic development.

Gold: River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco: Chouarra tanneries pit restoration and path remediation.
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Gold: River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco: Sebou River watershed and water quality.
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Gold: River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco: Detail section of restorer.
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Head of Jury and acclaimed architect Joe Addo, praised the approach of coupling environmental remediation with a comprehensive socio-cultural and economic program. “While mitigating the threats of pollution and declining water supply to this historic lifeline traversing the medina of Fez, community-supported programs such as a leather craft center, recreation facilities, water-cleaning wetlands and botanical gardens will restore vitality to the city in a truly sustainable way,” he said.
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School and orphans home in Uganda receives Silver Award
The Holcim Awards Silver was presented to the low-cost Mukwano Home in Rakai, Uganda created by Japanese architect Koji Tsutsui. The new homes reflect local social traditions and habits, provide shelter and offer health care, education spaces and leisure facilities. The long-term goal of the project is to provide the children with basic building skills and a chance of future work, and to develop effective social and contextual impact by providing a solid community for children orphaned by the impact of HIV/AIDS.

Silver: Low-cost school and home for HIV orphans, Rakai, Uganda: Expanding Mukwano Village.
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Silver: Low-cost school and home for HIV orphans, Rakai, Uganda: Center courtyard of the Mukwano Home: basic huts gather and become the home with connecting canopies. The huts surround an existing tree in the center court.
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Bronze Award for Lighthouse Tower in the United Arab Emirates
The submission by UAE-resident South African architect Shaun Killa for the iconic, 400m tall Lighthouse Tower in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) was commended for demonstrating in a convincing manner that high-rise buildings also have significant potential to be designed and constructed to meet sustainability targets. The 53-story building incorporates passive cooling, optimizes use of daylight through a responsive façade, and will include wind turbines and photo-voltaic panels to generate most of the energy needs of the building – and is therefore projected to achieve energy savings of around 50% compared to a conventional office tower.

Bronze: Lighthouse tower with low-carbon footprint, Dubai, UAE: DIFC Lighthouse: a functional, physical and metaphorical beacon for future low-carbon, sustainable and environmentally responsive design.
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Bronze: Lighthouse tower with low-carbon footprint, Dubai, UAE: Wind engineering.
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Acknowledgement prizes for projects in South Africa, Tanzania, and the UAE
Five submissions, three from South Africa and one each from Tanzania and the UAE received Acknowledgement prizes for their approaches to housing, infrastructure, and urban planning. An integrated theater and orphanage compound in Moshi, Tanzania and a mixed-used responsive urban planning strategy for the Xeritown development in Dubai, UAE were selected in addition to three projects from South Africa: a school infrastructure project in Vele and Vryheid, a stabilized earth visitors’ center in the Mapungubwe National Park and a low-impact environmentally-responsive private home in Cape Town.

Acknowledgement: Low-impact environmentally-responsive house, Cape Town, South Africa: A house that breathes.
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Acknowledgement: School infrastructure from local resources, Vele and Vryheid, South Africa: Vele High School & Lakeside Primary School represent the first phase in the program. Site analyses and design responses are presented.
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Acknowledgement: Stabilized earth visitors’ center, Mapungubwe National Park, South Africa: Pools reflect sun and cool air.
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Acknowledgement: TunaHAKI integrated theater and orphanage, Moshi, Tanzania: South view of the orphanage.
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Acknowledgement: Xeritown responsive urban planning strategy, Dubai, UAE: Active urban edge: architecture, infrastructure and landscape come together defining a space of intensified urban life.
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“Next Generation” prizes for project visions
For the first time, the Holcim Awards competition included a category for the visions of young architects and designers. Two innovative projects from Nigeria were both awarded equal First prize in the “Next Generation” category. A concept for amphibious dwellings which use low-lying and flood prone areas in informal settlements of Lagos to provide safe housing close to residents’ source of income by American-resident Nigerian architect Akinlabi Afolayan was selected for its fresh approach to improving squatter settlements. In addition, the First-prize-winning dune anti-desertification architecture created by Swedish architect Magnus Larsson received the top accolade for applying cutting-edge biotechnology to stop desert encroachment in Sokoto. A waterfront sustainable development project for Mombasa, Kenya by local architects Maranga Njoroge and Benedette Nthale also received a “Next Generation” prize and was applauded for its holistic intervention in the commercial development of a prime beach area.

“Next Generation” 1st prize: Amphibious dwellings in informal settlements, Lagos, Nigeria: Amphibious dwellings enabling sustainable growth of community like Makoko: an alternative to “slum-clearance programs”.
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“Next Generation” 1st prize: Dune anti-desertification architecture, Sokoto, Nigeria: Final render of the scheme.
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“Next Generation” 3rd prize: Waterfront sustainable development concept, Mombasa, Kenya: Offshore breakwaters: a sustainable invention.
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Independent jury of international experts in architecture and sustainability
Competition submissions for projects in region Africa Middle East were evaluated by an independent jury hosted by the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg: Joe Addo (Head of jury, Ghana), Rachid Benmokhtar Benabdellah (Morocco), Dominique Drouet (Morocco), Daniel Irurah (South Africa), Nina Maritz (Namibia), Amer Moustafa (UAE), Hans-Rudolf Schalcher (Switzerland), Holger Wallbaum (Switzerland), and Eyal Weizman (Israel) used the “target issues” for sustainable construction developed by the Holcim Foundation to evaluate submissions. The “target issues” address the triple bottom line of economic, environmental, and social factors together with architectural quality and the potential to apply the innovation in other locations.

International series of five ceremonies
The prizes for region Africa Middle East were conferred at the awards ceremony held in Marrakech, attended by more than 320 representatives of government, business, architecture and related disciplines from 24 countries. Chairman of Holcim and of the Advisory Board of the Holcim Foundation, Rolf Soiron, welcomed all. On behalf of Moroccan Minister of Housing and City Planning, Ahmed Taoufiq Hejira, General Director of architecture and urban planning, Abderrahmane Chorfi, provided a keynote address which emphasized the important role of the built environment of achieving sustainable development.

The Marrakech event was the fourth of five ceremonies. The results for Europe, North America and Latin America have also been announced, and the results for Asia Pacific are still to be celebrated in New Delhi. Gold, silver and bronze prize winners from each region automatically qualify for the global Holcim Awards competition. The projects will be further evaluated by a global jury and the winners proclaimed in Switzerland in 2009.

The Holcim Awards is an international competition of the Holcim Foundation which seeks innovative, future-oriented and tangible sustainable construction projects and offers prize money of USD 2 million per three-year competition cycle. The competition is run in cooperation with renowned partner universities: The University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa; Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Switzerland; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA; Tongji University, China; Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico; and the Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil.

The Holcim Foundation is supported by Holcim Ltd and its Group companies in more than 70 countries, but is independent of its commercial interests. Holcim is one of the world’s leading producers of cement and aggregates, and was recently named “Leader of the Industry” in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the fourth year in succession.”
Images: Holcim Foundation
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In reaction to US President-elect Barack Obama’s Sunday’s declaration on CBS ’60 minutes’ on 16.11.2008 (his first sit-down interview since winning the November 4 presidential election) where he has confirmed his intention to close Guantanamo’s Detention Center, here is zerOgroup’s proposal ‘I LOVE GITMO’ to upgrade the American enclave in Cuba into a mass tourism destination.

zerOgroup is a multidisciplinary structure working in the fields of architecture, culture and urban design. zerOgroup is based in Manaus/Brussels (Brazil/Belgium) and has been founded by the architect Laurent Troost.

The ‘I LOVE GITMO’ proposal is one of the works that have been elaborated at the ‘Con Embargo Sin Embargo’ workshop organized by Supersudaca, supported by the Prins Claus Fund, and held at the IaaC Barcelona (Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalunya) in September 2008.

The workshop has explored with architects, urbanists and landscape architects the potential shift in tourism and developed territorial speculations in Cuba in a post embargo context. ‘Con Embargo Sin Embargo’ has promoted the production of creative scenarios for a highly specific territory with a strong socio-political identity that would change drastically after the lifting of the economic restraints of the embargo. The topic has been explored in multiple locations and scales promoting studies and proposals that varied from prototypical to the particular, from the abstract to the concrete.

More Information about zerOgroup: www.zerogroup.org
More information about Supersudaca: www.supersudaca.org
More Information about the ‘Con Embargo Sin Embargo’ workshop: www.sinembargo.org
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I LOVE GITMO by zerOgroup [Laurent Troost]

Cuba is a major destination for sex tourism.
Cuba is located in the middle of American springbreakers ultimate spots.
Cuba is the attractive ‘illegal’ destination for American tourists that love to try to sneak in.
Cuba is ‘the’ place of fake cigars, fake rum and other black markets.
Cuba is nowadays surrounded by countries rivalizing in casinos, and used to be the major destination for gambling and alcohol in the 50’s when those were illegal in the States.

It would be pure non-sense to try to deny and erase this image linked with vices and prohibition. But the current Cuban political situation doesn’t allow anymore the flourishment of features that are illegal in the US.

Not only the US Army Institutions, but also President Barack Obama, are seriously considering shutting down Guantanamo’s Detention Center. And for the first time since its creation in 2002, the US Army is officially speaking of reconversion of the site.
Guantanamo is the perfect location for a combination of political systems in one place where all vices could simultaneously coexist!
On the country scale, the dual destination Guantanamo-Santiago could counterbalance the other dual destination of the island, Habana-Varadero, which attracts most of the tourism market.

In terms of landscape and nature, Guantanamo is a very scenic place.

But probably one of the major advantages of the place is that the existing Guantanamo already gathers the conditions to receive mass tourism: 3 international airports, naval infrastructure for cruise ships, efficient road system, a golf course and various fast-foods. Guantanamo also has a strong potential for on-land and off-shore territorial development, plus an inherent potential for specific tourism development: bunkers, 6-inch battery, training camps, X-Ray rooms, museums, etc. Another advantageous feature of the naval base is that it has been self-sufficient in terms of energy since 1964, when Castro cut off power and water to the base.

But the main interest is the possibility of combining political systems in one place, which would lead to cultural cohabitations never-seen before.

Nevertheless, the negative image of the place has to be washed away. Therefore, a branding strategy should promote ‘GITMO’ (nickname used by US soldiers).

The branding of GITMO is easy in the sense that it gathers all what a certain type of American tourists are looking for: excess, vices, ‘illegality’, etc combined with the more ‘typical’ Cuban tourist features: rum, cigars, prostitution. And the place has an additional strong selling feature: its military history!”
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