Month: June 2019

Kapsimalis Architects has published details of their proposed Vineyard House on the Greek island of Santorini. The design concept was for a main housing space under a roof of artificial earth, with a perimeter-free view of the landscape. To achieve this, a piece of land is elevated by 2.6 meters to form a living space below and progressively sculpted in the spirit of the natural erosion of volcanic rocks and caves.

During Milano Arch Week 2019, we had the chance to speak with one of the most influential Swiss architects, Mario Botta. Defining himself as a stonemason, Botta has been working since the age of 16, realizing a vast number of projects of different typologies — from private homes to museums and churches.

China seems to be at the peak of a refurbishment fever. Not only hutongs in historic downtowns, but abandoned industrial factories are becoming new tech or cultural hubs, and even buildings in the risk of collapse are refurbished to extend their lifespan. Why is this happening? Who is investing? How could this happen in a country where you cannot buy properties?

Benthem Crouwel Architects has been announced as the winner of a competition to design a new residential district in Prague, presented in collaboration with local firm RA15. The competition, organized by Penta Real Estate, saw 160 entries distilled down to 44, and then 5 finalists. In a unanimous verdict, the jury praised Benthem Crouwel’s decision to integrate a large, publically-accessible park into the project.

During the worldwide celebration of Olympic Day, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) inaugurated its new headquarters, Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland. Designed by Danish architecture firm 3XN, the project aims to bring together the IOC staff – 500 employees currently spread across Lausanne in four locations – under one roof at a single site. The new headquarters was made to further the mission of international cooperation, transparency and sustainability.

The A’ Design Award was “born out of the desire to underline the best designs and well-designed products.” It is an international award whose aim is to provide designers, architects, and innovators from all design fields with a platform to showcase their work and products to a global audience. This year’s edition is now open for entries; designers can register their submissions here.

Etienne-Louis Boullée, though regarded as one of the most visionary and influential architects in French neoclassicism, saw none of his most extraordinary designs come to life. Throughout the late 1700s Boullée taught, theorized, and practiced architecture in a characteristic style consisting of geometric forms on an enormous scale, an excision of unnecessary ornamentation, and repetition of columns and other similar elements.

The building is a single-family residence designed specifically for an archaeologist. The volume is a simple parallelepiped with a rectangular base in which other blocks of cubic form, completely covered with stone, have been inserted and fixed.