It has been just announced; the winner of the Architecture Foundation’s initiative has been found. This was a competition based on finding the best design of a modular, secure cycle and portable parking method or system to be used in the Bankside of London. This is thinking of those that use bikes as their standard transportation.

Studio Meda’s design, which was the winner of the competition, has a great roof structure that looks good from the ceiling to the outside. It is meant to provide substantial protection to bikes parked under it and be a noticeable trait easy to find in every Bankside parking lot.

The finalists or the shortlist was taken from more than 50 possible winners by a group of outstanding architects, and analyzers such as Deborah Saunt, Giles Semper and others.

The idea of this project is enhancing the area’s environment as well. For example, pushing workers to think of bikes as a good transportation method is a direct way to reduce the amounts of cars in the streets and, therefore, the amount of smog in the air. The materials used for the parking lot is also very environment-friendly. It takes almost no natural resources and it can be recycled. The idea is to keep the region clean and safe and promote cycling as a transportation method for working matters, such as visiting the Bankside area of London.

The idea of this project is enhancing the area’s environment as well. For example, pushing workers to think of bikes as a good transportation method is a direct way to reduce the amounts of cars in the streets and, therefore, the amount of smog in the air. The materials used for the parking lot is also very environment-friendly. It takes almost no natural resources and it can be recycled. The idea is to keep the region clean and safe and promote cycling as a transportation method for working matters, such as visiting the Bankside area of London.

The main objectives of the project was to creat a simple core design that would count with a roof to protect bikes from both sun, rain and other climate issues, and enough locking systems to avoid any robberies. However, the area is very safe and robberies are rarely heard. The locking systems are mostly to provide confidence to the rider and to make them feel sure about leaving their bikes in the lot. The second priority was to make the place elegant but simple at the same time. This means that the style has to be very fresh and functional, but it has to maintain a certain amount of elegance.

There is an idea of adding lockers to the area in which bikers could leave their stuff overnight and pick them up again. That sounds like a great idea, mostly for those that will use the lot for working porpoises. The roof structure is accompanied by a set of horizontal cross bars that will provide better stability to the bikes parked. This will also provide a personal space for each bike and will avoid scratching bikes with other bikes parked in the place.

Modern buildings started to reject wood as their principal base material. This made people stop using wood in general, especially when building. This is somehow something to worry about. Some people are not aware of how good wood is to build. New materials that are cheaper are now available in the market. However, wood is something kind of unbeatable when it comes to quality and flexibility. Most of all architects agree that flexibility is one of the most important characteristics in a building. The flexibility of a structure will define its capacity to resist an earth shaking, or an earthquake. This is a concept that was defined in the middle 50’s. Before that time, people thought that strongest buildings were those that are hard and “indestructible”. This was that way until earthquakes started being more frequent in Asia and Europe. This brought the architecture world to a moment of research. After some time of studying the ground and its movements, it was very wise to define that the safety of a building was directly affected by the flexibility of its structure. After this was found, architects found that the best material to keep a structure flexible and strong at the same time was wood. Wood has a very important trait, and that is its natural design. Wood is naturally designed to be extremely strong and almost unbreakable in some cases. However, we still see trees waving left and right. Why is this like that ? Well, the material is flexible but its fibers are very well joined and strong. This is the same way a building would resist an earthquake. Buildings that are made out of wood are designed to simply wave left and right without having any damage or braking. Maybe the shaking will feel slightly stronger. However, the structure will remain intact, and most importantly, so will all the people inside.

Well, the usage of wood was lowered in the last 20 years. However, in the last years, there has been a project taking place is Seville, Spain. There is a new building concept of wood and glass. It impresses how the architecture of the place remains so elegant and fresh at the same time. The colors and quality building traits are what make this building one of the most outstanding buildings in the history of the past 3 or 4 centuries. It is qualified to be the biggest wooden structure of the whole history. It is located at Plaza de la Encarnacion. The place has just been opened for the public. All of those that have visited it are totally stunned by the design and the modern concept.

The honey wood that was selected seems to match the exact color and texture that was needed by the incredible team of architects. It is very important to give all credit to the architect firm that is responsible of this incredible creation. The firm is called J. Mayer H. Architects. Their creation started as a little planning and a couple of drawings in pieces of paper. However, today, a few years later, the building is finally done and ready to impress people with its looks.

The place was originally meant to be a parking lot. However, after the authorities saw the way the place was taking shape, they decided to make it something more like a museum and art center. It certainly is very artistic and gives a great look to Seville. The building’s color is a great match to the city’s medieval general design. This was also something they had to take care of when designing it.

There is a medium town in Morocco called Fez. This place has been chosen for a competition made by architects from different parts of the world. This competition has as objective to design the Rehabilitaion  of a place is the city known as “ Place Lalla Yeddouna”. This is a public square area in which there is normally fair public activity. However, it is intended to be a public area in which people could actually come and take time to spend in the area. For this, it is necessary to respect an architectural standard. This means that the place has to be somehow attractive in order to get people to visit it and to enjoy being there. After all, what people really want is to enjoy moments wherever they go. So, that was the objective of the competition. Lots of architects and firms presented different designs with very good ideas each. The special thing about this plaza in the center of Fez is that in 1981 it was declared to be a World Heritage site. This means that the place saves an important amount of history in its buildings and style. This is something that the architects in the competition had to really take into consideration. The idea was not to modernize the area and loose all the ancient looks it had. The idea was to actually modify these looks in order to make the place look newer, but somehow an imitation of the original place. This will probably require some modern details to be added in the construction. However, it is not enough to make it loose its classic Morocco style.

The place counts with two kinds of buildings. There are some that are too old and have been totally deteriorated by climate and general time. These buildings will have no other option but to be destroyed and rebuilt from 0 to 100. However, there are other buildings that have a more significant meaning to the city. The architecture of these buildings is very complex and unique. They are from the 14^th and 15^th century originally, as well as the bridge and the river found in the area. The center of the plaza is fairly small.

The site will have to maintain its ancient traits as much as possible. This is probably the biggest problem for the architects to face. They will have to make the place new again, and keep the same designing line that the architects from 500 years ago kept. So, that was the competition’s theme and subject. The competition was interesting enough for hundreds of architects to try to enter the match. However, just a few made it to the final line. There were some that were chosen as second and third place of the competition. However, only the first place was able to be the one to design the place and bring it up all over again. The people of Fez had a important objective for the plaza besides making it good to go with their families and friends. The main objective is to attract those foreign people that visited morocco to enjoy the ancient looks of the area. It is also designed for artistic centers to be placed inside the plaza. This means that it is not a place for restaurants and clothing shops. It is actually a place to provide artistic traits of the area such as its music, paintings and literature. This is the main concept of the area, and it sounds great. The winner of the competition is the Mossessian & Partners from London UK.



Neo-Classicism. Baroque. These two terms define a certain era and a tendency regarding arts. Both had a very strong impact in what architects design today. There were other movements that affected literature, painting, and so. However, these two are considered the mother currents of the architecture we know today. Some people, however, think that these two are synonymous. But Neo-Classicism and Baroque both have different characteristics and effects in people’s arts, especially in architecture.

Let’s start with Neo-Classicism. This current impacted practically all the art in Europe. It affected people such that it was easy to notice in both their thoughts and their buildings. Even though this movement affected all arts media, architecture was the medium most affected. This is easy to see when observing the ancient Greek and Roman buildings. These structures and the way they were decorated are at once very artistic. During this era architecture began to be viewed as art. So, buildings were no longer merely functional, but also a true piece of art.

A lot of new architectural concepts were defined thanks to Neo-Classicism.  For example, both Rome and Greece started building offices, halls, schools and even museums. A new way to live, the village concept, was created. All of these existed thanks to the neo-classic impact in arts. Also, all of these new buildings and houses were, in and of themselves, art pieces.

Even though Neo-Classicism began in 1750, it is important to go about 40 years earlier in order to understand its impact in architecture. 40 years before Neo-Classicism impacted Europe there was an architect in England called Lord Burlington. An author of many publications on architecture, he was the one to begin applying real art in buildings. A new flow of ideas came to this architect’s mind. Then he was joined by Colen Campbell.  After that, Robert Alan adopted the influence and later he had a very strong roll in Neo-Classicism as we know it today. Lord Burlington, it can be argued, indirectly founded Neo-Classicism. Had he not created his new design techniques, and demonstrated them to other architects, Neo-Classicism may not have had its impact.

Now, what is Baroque? Baroque architecture describes the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, utilizing the humanist Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and the absolutist state. It featured new explorations of form, light and shadow and dramatic intensity. The Baroque era was mostly a period in which architecture became more complex, more ornate, than before. Distinctive features of Baroque architecture can include:

• In churches, broader naves and sometimes given oval forms
• Fragmentary or deliberately incomplete architectural elements
• Dramatic use of light; either strong light-and-shade contrasts (chiaroscuro effects) as at the church of Weltenburg Abbey, or uniform lighting by means of several windows (e.g. church of Weingarten Abbey)
• Opulent use of colour and ornaments (putti or figures made of wood (often gilded), plaster or stucco, marble or faux finishing)
• Large-scale ceiling frescoes
• An external façade often characterized by a dramatic central projection
• The interior is a shell for painting, sculpture and stucco (especially in the late Baroque)
• Illusory effects like trompe l’oeil and the blending of painting and architecture
• Pear-shaped domes in the Bavarian, Czech, Polish, and Ukrainian Baroque
• Marian and Holy Trinity columns erected in Catholic countries, often in thanksgiving for ending a plague

It is very easy to notice the somber baroque style in today’s Rome and Greece. Examine the outside of a church or an academy.

Though neoclassical architecture employs the same classical vocabulary as Late Baroque architecture, it tends to emphasize its planar qualities, rather than sculptural volumes. Projections and recessions and their effects of light and shade are flatter; sculptural bas-reliefs are flatter and tend to be enframed in friezes, tablets or panels. Its clearly articulated individual features are isolated rather than interpenetrating, autonomous and complete in themselves.

The general consensus is that the world of architecture will always be a step ahead in times with its visionary ability to shape future evolvements. The recent past has witnessed significant evolvements in the sphere of architecture in relation to public impact, technology and varying economic pressures on a global context.

A combination of issues on a world wide scale such as social networking, ethical awareness, green movement, sustainability of designs, shifting of energy codes, enhanced ethical awareness, population changes, evolving marketing principles and globalization has all contributed in shaping up the present trend in architecture.

The architectural vogue today replicates the alert optimism as seen in many of the developed economies around the globe. The trend is towards forward looking, solid and functional design concepts portraying the height of creativity as never seen in the history of architectural world.

The next generation architectural predictions

Stone colors and dark irons seem to be the popular choice to emphasize architectural exteriors while cool pastels have replaced the deeper iron and brick interiors.

The preference for spacious multi purpose rooms will continue with the concept of combining eating, meeting and recreation all in one large airy space.

When it comes to furniture and interior equipment the buzz word today is Minimalism’. With the widespread recession effectively moderating tastes of extravagant and non essential accumulations, simple geometric designs will introduce a touch of elegance and sophistication enhancing the visual quality of architectural facades.

With ‘go green’ concept being hyped up like never before, architects are also focusing on all natural schemes in their designs. The concept of minimalist and naturalist will be applied in many world class construction projects using brandable cement, sustainable woods and an emphasis on solar beautification systems.

It is forecasted that architectural horizons will expand to embrace different international cultures and ancestral influences to evolve stunning masterpieces of houses, hotels, offices and other edifices.

Magnificent architectural wonders in the pipeline

Technology is changing faster than a blink of an eye. Today, we observe dynamic changes in architectural projects with technology and innovation making ground breaking news on a world wide scale. These following projects are definitely worth following progress as they are poised to initiate a new era of architectural engineering with their sheer brilliance in creativity and design.

Watch out for these architectural marvels in Capital Gate, Abu Dhabi in UAE, Michael Schumacher World Champion Tower in Abu Dhabi, Dream Hub Yongsan Development in South Korea, Copenhagen Gateway in Denmark, Cybertecture Egg in India, Sandton City Shopping Center in Johannesburg, South Africa, 60-70 St Mary’s Axe in London UK, and the London Broadway Malyan.

Some of the mega billion architectural projects taking place around the world include some vacation hotspots right in the middle of Persian Gulf to complex navigation systems such as water diversion projects. The South Valley Development in Egypt is forecast to cost $90bn, while the Dubailand architectural visionary will top up over $64bn.

Striking architectural concepts and elements are seen in the recent restoration of Nathan Phillips Square revitalization program in Toronto Canada, where amazing architectural designs has reanimated Toronto’s iconic urban space with sustainability and total impact. Switching on to Enschede Netherlands the Roombeek the Brook pays homage to architectural phenomenon where a small underground stream has been beautifully brought in to the surface and formed as the central point of the district with its impressive spectacle of supreme creativity.

Line up of important architectural events

The calendar for 2011 is jam packed with a variety of important architecture related events, conferences and seminars. Some important events to remember for ardent architecture fans out there would be in April, Future Lighting Europe taking place in Amsterdam Netherlands, JAX London and Architecture + Philosophy 2011 in Boston USA. The month of May is filled with a variety of conferences including design + computation in Montreal Canada, ICIBM in Sydney Australia. The Green Infrastructure show will take place in June in Vancouver Canada and Ecocity World Summit in August in Montreal Canada.

Images via:
www.capitalgate.ae
www.mswct.com
www.stevenholl.com

The first project in Vietnam for British practice Foster + Partners, the VietinBank Business Centre in Hanoi, has broken ground with a big ceremony last Friday. The landmark towers, strategically located between central Hanoi and the airport, bring together the Bank’s headquarters, conference, hotel and leisure facilities.

The 300,000-square-meter mixed-use development comprises two towers, connected by a seven-story podium building containing conference facilities, luxury shops, cafes and restaurants and topped by roof top gardens. The taller tower, at 68-storys, will provide an energy-efficient new headquarters for VietinBank, one of Vietnam’s largest banking groups. The second, 48-story tower will house a five-star hotel, spa and serviced apartments.

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As the venue for Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid, the Lusail Iconic Stadium will provide a world-class football facility for 86,250 spectators during the opening ceremony, group games and final. Reflecting Doha’s culture and heritage, the stadium is designed to be highly energy efficient and capable of performing in extreme summer climatic conditions.

The stadium has a near-circular footprint and sits on the masterplan’s primary axis, which divides the stadium precinct into two halves. Encircled by a reflective pool of water, spectators cross the ‘moat’ to enter the building via six bridges. An outer pedestrian concourse extends from the water towards an array of smaller amenity buildings and a hotel at the stadium’s perimeter.

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The city council of Slovenian capitol Ljubljana approved the project “Shopping Pillow Terraces” designed by. Construction for this new mixed-use building on Ljubljana’s main pedestrian street is scheduled to start in mid-2011. “Shopping Pillow Terraces” is the result of an invited competition from 2009.

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