hdm have done it before; a concert hall in switzerland planned for the “Festival de Musique du Haut-Jura”. this in 2006, but still; is the pyramid the new black?

Herzog and de Meuron is going for the pyramid in paris… 180 to 210 m (depending of sources). And the question remains; the bigger the better? More here.

Voussoir Cloud’s design, by IwamotoScott Architecture, explores the coupling of potentially conflicting constructional logics – the pure compression of a vault with an ultra-light sheet material. Can be seen if visiting Los Angeles’ SCI-Arc Gallery from Friday, August 08, 2008 to Sunday, September 14, 2008. Others read more here.

Earlier this week, Claus and Kaan Architects showcased their design for the

Palace of Justice, which will be build on the new IJdock, in Amsterdam.

(more…)

Archigram’s brain and builder of the Kunsthaus Graz Peter “moving city” Cook will hold a lecture together with founder of London based architectural practice Studio 8 C.J. Lim (more on this guy below)

Date and Location:
Audimax, Getreidemarkt 9
Monday June 16th 6:00 PM

From http://www.scottisharchitecture.com

Born in Ipoh, Malaysia in 1964, CJ Lim is founder of leading edge London based architectural practice Studio 8, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. Since 1989 Lim has also taught widely in architectural schools, including the Architectural Association, London, University of East London and University of North London.

[…]

CJ Lim’s work challenges architectural traditions - he is as likely to be influenced by cinematography and storytelling as traditional architectural elements of space, form and light. The architect’s extraordinary talent as a draftsman is also widely celebrated. This first became evident at the Architectural Association (1982-87) and he became one of a generation of students who demanded a reappraisal of the status of drawing within the architectural practice. Archilab described Lim’s drawing as, ‘a fantastic virtuoso performance of line and paint, deliberately and obstinately abstract’.

Ateliers Jean Nouvel won the competition for the Tour Signal in la Defense, Paris.

This 301 meter high tower is (architect’s terms) filled and made with symbols - the life of the agglomeration will be concentrated in this one building.

The other finalists were Jean-Michel Wilmotte, Jacques Ferrier, Sir Norman Foster and Daniel Liebeskind. My first reaction to this news was “Oh great, of course he won now that he got the pritzker” and i really thought we had to deal with some political interference in the final choice. But go check out the other projects and make your own idea:

(from left to right: ferrier, foster, liebeskind, nouvel, wilmotte)

I have to say that Nouvel is the only proposing a tower with some identity, and not some casual skyskrper which might fit in any metropolis of this planet. Lokk at this Freedom Tower: Reloaded by Liebsekind ! He must be kidding. Jurys do make their jobs after all.

more information on the official site of the competition: click here.

Design if you give a damn….Cameron Sinclair and his team certainly give a damn, they are not building one icon after another, they are not talking about “what is architecture?” they make a change with and not for architecture.

http://www.architectureforhumanity.org/

In his influential writings on urbanism, Rem Koolhaas’ rhetoric brings to mind that of Shakespeare’s Mark Antony: he is here to bury the city, not to praise it. And his words have worked well. Koolhaas’ insights have lent the world new sharpness and compelled us to choose sides. Like the crowd before Antony, the profession has been swayed. Yet, for all his eloquence, Koolhaas seldom offers counsel. Only in few cases does he offer strategies for managing or improving the conditions he identifies and describes. Amoral and pragmatic, he dismisses concerns for collective good and derides nostalgia. His words draw out battle lines, identify new alliances and spread new hope for what will be when we find ourselves at peace with our urban world. But do they offer a program? I would argue so. For, on beyond the seductive allure of Koolhaas’ arguments, it is possible to discern the programs that they imply - both those which Koolhaas himself continues to pursue, as well as other, possibly more powerful projects that he may have left behind. (more…)

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