Legendary Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer celebrated his 100th birthday this past Saturday and is still hard at work. In fact, he spent the day talking about his next project: the Centro Cultural de Aviles, a $45 million arts center along Spain’s northern coast. Image courtesy Oscar Niemeyer Oscar Niemeyer has unveiled plans for the Centro Cultural de Aviles, a $45 million arts center along Spain’s northern coast. Related Links: Niemeyer to Celebrate 100th Birthday Niemeyer says the building will be one of his most beautiful yet. The design includes his trademark curves, made famous by his flying saucer-shaped National Museum,
Tis the season for the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to unveil the winners of its awards for 2008, several more of whom were announced today: Richard Meier’s Atheneum, in New Harmony, Ind., will be honored with the Twenty-Five-Year Award; Norma Merrick Sklarek, FAIA, will be recognized with the Whitney M. Young Jr. Award; and Thomas L. McKittrick, FAIA, will receive the Edward C. Kemper Award. The Twenty-Five-Year Award goes to a work first recognized by the AIA at its completion and whose design has held up well after its silver anniversary. The Atheneum is a visitors center for the
Can an iconic new building by a world-renowned architect boost the global profile of an already well-regarded higher education institution? Officials at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University hope so. Last week they unveiled the competition-winning design by London-based Zaha Hadid for an interdisciplinary hub that will be home to its school of design, which BusinessWeek ranked among the top 60 worldwide in 2006. She beat out SANAA, of Japan, and Sauerbruch Hutton Architects, of Germany, to win the commission. Images: Courtesy Zaha Hadid Architects The shape of Hadid’s new tower for the Hong Kong Polytechnic University is reminiscent of a
The Architectural Billings Index rebounded in October, after two straight months of steep losses, gaining 1.1 points for a score of 53.2. The American Institute of Architects, which compiles the index based on surveys sent to 300 mainly commercial architects, says that this indicates fallout from the credit crunch has not worsened. Although the index of new business inquiries slipped 4.2 points to 58.1, its lowest level in 16 months, any score above 50 indicates growth.
“A bird’s nest for a greedy pterodactyl” is how French architect Rudy Ricciotti describes a bamboo building he has designed in Paris. The $41 million project, dubbed T8 after its plot number, will provide offices, shops, and some 40 apartments overlooking an irregular-shaped courtyard pool. Built on a concrete platform astride a railway line, the seven-story, 47,684-square-foot building will occupy a two-acre rectangular site in the up-and-coming Tolbiac Chevaleret quarter, opposite the French National Library. Images: Courtesy Rudy Ricciotti Rudy Ricciotti surrounded the exterior of the T8 apartment building in Paris with a screen of bamboo, resembling a bird’s nest.
Rem Koolhaas’s Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) is designing a condominium tower in Manhattan for developer Slazer Enterprises above a Creative Artists Agency screening room at Madison Square Park.
Progressive Architecture, Interiors, World Architecture, Architecture, Nest: Publishing is a fickle business, and the death knell has clanged particularly loudly for magazines devoted to architecture and design. That point resonated last month, when Condé Nast publications president and CEO Charles H. Townsend announced that the December 2007 issue of House & Garden would be its last, citing, “We no longer believe it is a viable business investment for the company.” House & Garden had been shuttered once before, in 1993, corresponding with Condé Nast’s purchase of Architectural Digest. The parent company re-launched House & Garden three years later under editor-in-chief
A civil judge in Bilbao, Spain, has ruled against Santiago Calatrava in his suit challenging Arata Isozaki’s addition to his 1997 footbridge over the Nervión River. The addition was built without Calatrava’s knowledge and opened last February.
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