Architecture and design news:
arts & culture
MVRDV complete futuristic Tianjin library with cascading bookshelves and enormous mirrored 'eye'
by Kim Megson | 02 Nov 2017
Dutch architects MVRDV have completed the Tianjin Binhai Library in China, a 33,700sq m (362,700sq ft) cultural centre featuring a luminous spherical auditorium which doubles as an enormous mirrored ‘eye’. Floor-to-ceiling bookcases cascade organically around the auditorium, forming the building's main spatial device, while also creating stairs, seating, the layered ceiling and louvres on the façade. The five-storey building holds 1.2 million books, which can be taken to a multitude
Culture boost for Margate as Turner Contemporary plans £5.3m expansion
by Tom Anstey | 02 Nov 2017
The David Chipperfield-designed Turner Contemporary is set to undergo a £5.3m (US$7m, €6m) expansion, new plans have revealed. A spokesperson confirmed to CLADglobal that discussions with partners and funders had begun, with the gallery now developing ideas for the attraction. Arts Council England (ACE) has already committed £3m (US$4m, €3.4m) to the plan and Kent County Council will also play a major part in financing the extension, with the authority
Hastings Pier by dRMM Architects wins 2017 RIBA Stirling Prize
by Kim Megson | 31 Oct 2017
Hastings Pier by dRMM Architects has been announced as the winner of the 2017 RIBA Stirling Prize for the UK’s best new building. In a landmark moment for leisure architecture, the public attraction – which was built to restore a seaside pier ravaged by fire – was hailed by the prize’s jury chair, RIBA president Ben Derbyshire, as a “masterpiece of regeneration and inspiration”. “The architects and local community have
Miami's Bass opens following US$12m transformation
by Tom Anstey | 31 Oct 2017
Contemporary art museum The Bass has reopened following a US$12m (€10.3m, £9.1m) renovation headed by project architects David Gauld and Arata Isozaki. The privately run, city-owned museum in Miami Beach, Florida, managed to avoid major damage from the recent Hurricane Irma, but the project had been delayed for more than a year.
David Chipperfield to design masterplan for Minneapolis Institute of Art expansion
by Kim Megson | 31 Oct 2017
The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) has announced it has hired David Chipperfield Architects to create a master plan for its expansion ambitions, following “a thorough and inspiring search.” The design practice will develop prospective design solutions to enhance the museum’s visitor experience and to expand public access to the museum as a community resource. They will consider how to improve visitor circulation, create new public gathering spaces, add more
David Adjaye and Ron Arad chosen to design UK Holocaust memorial and learning centre
by Kim Megson | 24 Oct 2017
Adjaye Associates, Ron Arad Architects and landscape designers Gustafson Porter + Bowman have been selected to design the UK’s new Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre, it was revealed today (24 October). The new national landmark will stand in the shadow of the Houses of Parliament in Victoria Tower Gardens, London. It will honour the six million Jewish men, women and children who were murdered in the Holocaust, and all other
Vegetables given a voice inside Tokyo's interactive greenhouse
by Alice Davis | 24 Oct 2017
A brightly lit, rainbow-coloured greenhouse has popped up in downtown Tokyo, Japan, inviting guests to step inside and interact with the sights and sounds created by its vegetable inhabitants. Japanese creative studio Party, which is headed up by Naoko Ito, created the Digital Vegetables installation to run over a three-week period until 5 November. Inside the greenhouse, which is covered in LED lights, visitors are invited to “Touch Design. Bathe
Yves Saint Laurent museum opens in Marrakech, with architecture inspired by designer's creations
by Kim Megson | 19 Oct 2017
A striking new museum dedicated to the life and work of French fashion icon Yves Saint Laurent has opened today (19 October) in Marrakech, Morocco. French architecture firm Studio KO designed the 4,000sq m (43,000sq ft) terracotta brick home of the Musée Yves Saint Laurent on a site next to the city’s Jardin Majorelle, a garden the designer acquired himself to save it from being destroyed by developers. Saint Laurent
MVRDV win competition for Shanghai Future Park showcasing nature, culture and entertainment
by Kim Megson | 18 Oct 2017
Dutch architects MVRDV are have announced a large-scale leisure project in Shanghai that will see the firm meld nature, culture and entertainment in a huge public park on an island in the Yangtze River. Zhangjiang Future Park will become a new focal point for the district of Pudong, with communal public facilities built into a series of green landscaped buildings surrounded by 10,000sq m (107,600sq ft) of plazas converging towards
Adjaye Associates collaborate with former spy chiefs to design New York museum dedicated to espionage
by Kim Megson | 18 Oct 2017
Adjaye Associates have revealed their design for a new spy museum and interactive experience in the heart of New York, which is set to open this December. The studio’s design for the 60,000sq ft (5,500sq m) building, called SPYSCAPE, is inspired by the architectural language of the world’s largest spy organisations and has been developed in collaboration with former directors of intelligence agencies and station chiefs. Conceived as an “iconic
Nick Starr reveals why he and Nicholas Hytner have built London's first new commercial theatre in decades
by Kim Megson | 17 Oct 2017
London’s first new purpose-built commercial theatre in decades opens tomorrow (18 October) in the shadow of the city’s famous Tower Bridge, with its co-founder hailing the project as “a completely new type of theatre for the city.” Nick Starr, who has established the Bridge Theatre with fellow impresario Nicholas Hytner, told CLADglobal that it “will offer a different level of flexibility for actors, writers and directors working in London.” The
Elizabeth de Portzamparc completes futuristic Roman museum next to ancient amphitheatre
by Kim Megson | 17 Oct 2017
A futuristic home has been built for a Roman museum in the French city of Nîmes – in stark contrast to the real-life Roman amphitheatre next door. Construction has been completed ahead of the opening of the Musée de la Romanité de Nîmes in June 2018, with 5,000 exhibits from a collection of 25,000 set to move in over the coming months. Architect Elizabeth de Portzamparc is behind the striking,
Cornwall’s Tate St Ives re-opens as £20m renewal project comes to fruition
by Alice Davis | 13 Oct 2017
Tate St Ives, the art gallery credited with helping to regenerate the southwest, will unveil its new look tomorrow (14 October) when it re-opens following a £20m redevelopment. Jamie Fobert Architects’ cliffside extension has doubled the exhibition space, with the aim of better accommodating the 250,000 annual visitors to the Cornish attraction. With an additional 600sqm floor space, the gallery will be able to host more exhibits, display more works
Rem Koolhaas and OMA to expand New York's New Museum
by Kim Megson | 13 Oct 2017
International architecture firm OMA are set to design their first public building in New York City, an expansion of the city’s New Museum. Studio partners Rem Koolhaas and Shohei Shigematsu will lead the project, which is being built on a site at 231 Bowery, purchased by the contemporary art museum in 2008. The expansion, first announced in May 2016, will double the museum’s footprint by providing an additional 50,000sq ft
Diller Scofidio + Renfro announced for 'transformative' London Centre for Music
by Kim Megson | 10 Oct 2017
US architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) has been announced as the design team tasked with creating the vision for a new Centre for Music in the City of London. The studio, which will work in collaboration with UK firm Sheppard Robson, has come out on top of a star-studded six-strong shortlist, that also included Snøhetta and the firms led by Amanda Levete, Frank Gehry, Norman Foster and Renzo Piano.
New York's Lincoln Center scraps US$500m Heatherwick and Diamond Schmitt renovation
by Kim Megson | 06 Oct 2017
Plans by Heatherwick Studio and Diamond Schmitt Architects to renovate a concert hall for New York’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts have been dropped. The duo were awarded the US$500m (€427m, £383m) project in 2015 to significantly renovate the interiors of the centre’s largest hall – originally designed by Max Abramovitz and opened in 1962 – to create a 21st-century symphonic concert venue for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra
David Geffen donates US$150m to LACMA building campaign
by Tom Anstey | 05 Oct 2017
Dreamworks founder David Geffen has donated US$150m (€128m, £114.1m) towards the US$600m (€511.9m, £456.6m) campaign creating a new home for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Geffen’s donation is the largest single cash gift from an individual in the museum’s history, with his philanthropic support also making him the largest individual donor to the Building LACMA campaign. “This innovative addition to the LACMA campus will ensure ongoing and
Chicago Shakespeare Theater unveils intimate and innovative new venue on Navy Pier
by Kim Megson | 04 Oct 2017
Visitors to Chicago’s Navy Pier can now enjoy a show inside one of the world’s most flexible theatres, which has been constructed inside the attraction's Skyline Stage. Theatre design consultancy Charcoalblue and design firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG) have collaborated on the ambitious reuse project, called The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare. Rather than constructing a new theatre from scratch, the duo instead designed a fully enclosed, year-round
RIBA opens Pezo von Ellrichshausen and Felice Varini's immense installation for Hull City of Culture
by Kim Megson | 03 Oct 2017
Sixteen giant galvanized steel columns arranged in a grid formation have been installed in front of Hull Minster, forming a new outdoor ‘room’ for the English city. Swiss artist Felice Varini and the Chilean architecture practice Pezo von Ellrichshausen have collaborated on the large-scale project – called A Hall for Hull – which has now been unveiled to the public. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and Hull UK
Henning Larsen win architecture competition for leisure-filled landmark in Manila
by Kim Megson | 02 Oct 2017
Danish architectural firm Henning Larsen have won an international design competition for a striking leisure-filled skyscraper in the heart of Manila, the Philippines. The currently unnamed tower – located in the Bonifacio Global City financial district – will stand at 308m (1,010ft) tall and has been conceived to redefine the city’s skyline with its distinctive pointed form, which will be illuminated at night. According to the design team, the project
OMA's adaptable Melbourne pavilion opens to the public
by Kim Megson | 02 Oct 2017
An adaptable performance installation designed by Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten of architecture practice OMA has opened to the public in Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Gardens today (2 October). Inspired by ancient amphitheatres, the MPavilion 2017 is shaped by two-tiered grandstands – one fixed and the other rotatable – and covered by a floating roof structure. The 19×19m (204x204sq ft) aluminium clad structure will host a free programme of talks, workshops
Finalists announced in design competition for 'world class' Lithuania concert centre
by Kim Megson | 28 Sep 2017
A shortlist of three architecture firms are in the running to design a major international cultural centre in Kaunas, Lithuania, having reached the final in the design competition for the project. Adam Khan Architects, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and a pairing of UAB Paleko Archstudija and UAB Baltic Engineers will now enter negotiations with the city government, who will select a final partner to oversee the “emblematic new building”. The
New design renderings revealed for Adjaye's huge Studio Museum Harlem extension
by Kim Megson | 28 Sep 2017
Sir David Adjaye's US$175m (€148.7m, £131m) vision for Harlem's Studio Museum will break ground next year, marking the institution's 50th anniversary. Since 1982, the museum – which celebrates the work of contemporary artists of African descent – has operated out of the former New York Bank for Saving, being adapted by late African-American architect J. Max Bond Jr following the move. New design renderings for the museum showcase a planned
BIG's Lego House unveiled to the world
by Kim Megson | 27 Sep 2017
Lego fans from around the world will soon be descending on the small Danish town of Billund to a new museum and experience centre dubbed the ‘House of the Brick’. Bjarke Ingels Group have created the 12,000sq m (129,000sq ft) Lego House as a vibrant three-dimensional village of interlocking buildings and spaces, with the structure designed to look like a giant stack of Lego blocks topped by a giant 2x4
San Francisco's Asian Art Museum to undergo US$90m transformation by wHY
by Tom Anstey | 27 Sep 2017
San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum has unveiled a US$90m (€76.6m, £67.2m) plan to transform the institution, a project supported by the largest financial gift in the museum’s history – a US$25m (€21.3m, £18.7m) donation from Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang. Los Angeles-based architecture firm wHY are behind the plans, which the museum says will create new interpretive approaches in its galleries, affirming the local relevance and global impact of Asian art.
Heatherwick Studio to revamp Olympia as 'world-leading arts and leisure district'
by Kim Megson | 25 Sep 2017
Heatherwick Studio and SPPARC Architects have been announced as the lead design team who will comprehensively revamp London’s historic Olympia exhibition centre. The owners of the 130-year-old building, Yoo Capital and Deutsche Finance, want to transform the site into a “world-leading arts, entertainment, exhibition and experiential district whilst staying true to its original heritage as an exhibition business.” Olympia London, located in Kensington, was designed by architect Henry Edward Coe
Plan underway to transform Chicago's Pedway into tourist attraction
by Tom Anstey | 23 Sep 2017
Officials in the city of Chicago are exploring a proposed plan to transform a network of underground tunnels into a tourist attraction, granting a non-profit permission to create more detailed plans for the project. Running beneath the city’s central business district, the Pedway connects more than 50 buildings and offers a convenient way to navigate downtown Chicago, but has been criticised for being difficult to navigate. The non-profit Environmental Law
Architecture competition announced for landmark South Australian art gallery
by Kim Megson | 21 Sep 2017
The government of South Australia is commissioning an international search for a design team to create a second site for the state’s acclaimed art gallery. The project, called the Adelaide Contemporary, will form a new public and cultural space in the city, with the brief calling for an “architectural landmark on the celebrated North Terrace boulevard adjacent to the historic Botanic Garden.” It will house a community meeting place "integrating
Culture at heart of Dubai Expo legacy plans as government unveils District 2020
by Tom Anstey | 19 Sep 2017
Dubai has revealed its legacy plans following the 2020 World Expo, announcing plans to turn the site into a multi-use urban leisure district following the six-month event’s conclusion. More than 80 per cent of the HOK-Arup masterplanned expo site will be reused after the international event closes, with a new community-led development called District 2020 repurposing the site under the government’s legacy scheme. Anchored by 65,000sq m (700,000sq ft) of
Heatherwick Studio transforms Cape Town grain silo into art museum
by Kim Megson | 15 Sep 2017
Heatherwick Studio’s latest completed building, the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) has been unveiled today (15 September) ahead of its public opening next week on Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront. The museum – the largest in the world dedicated to contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora – is housed in 9,500sq m (102,000sq ft) of custom-designed space, carved out of the city’s monumental historic Grain Silo Complex
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