Month: May 2020

A new build house for a family of young couples and four children was requested at a site located in residential Setagaya Ward, Tokyo. Most of the neighboring houses were built on top of leveled land formed by enormous concrete walls to accommodate the hilly terrain. However, at this specified site, no preparation for construction had been carried out. Therefore, the earth itself with a rough slope – a height difference of 3.5m – was available. Several small areas were dug out to make the most of the terrain’s nature. Height differences in the ground level emerged by these digs, and various retaining walls to suit each level were designed. Then, “five small retaining walls” that merge nature and artefact appeared on site. 

The Architectural League of New York has announced the winners of the 2020 Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers. Focusing on fresh talent, North America’s most prestigious award encourages the development of distinctive individuals and underlines their work.

The OMA-Designed CMG Qianhai Global Trade Center has broken ground in Shenzhen. Unveiled during the inauguration ceremony for Qianhai Significant Projects in China, the mixed-used 360,000 square-meter development will create a Micro-City environment, blurring traditional boundaries between building and city.

Vitra Design Museum has debuted Chair Times, a 90-minute film that describes the history of seating furniture. Focusing on 125 objects from the collection of the Museum, the film explores the development of chairs over centuries, examining them as “portraits of their users.” Arranged according to their year of production, they are organized to form a timeline of modern seating design.

Contemporary Egyptian architecture draws from a rich history. As a cradle of civilization, the transcontinental country has influenced diverse building styles and design cultures. Home to some of the earliest urban developments and centralized governments, Egypt is defined by its geography and its multicultural background. Today, its modern architecture must contend with a legacy of building that spans millennia.

It’s the story of an inside / outside house on a peninsula. In the trees, around a square and towards the sea: the Mediterranean Sea.  “La place du village” is the heart of the project. This square dominates the site, looks towards the sea, and articulates the places. We treated it like an urban plot: limestone pavers, concrete borders, a long bench, and in the middle, a very beautiful strawberry tree. Slightly offset, this tree is planted as if it had always been there.

The Chocolab is a center for development and innovation whose main objective is to stimulate cultural and knowledge exchange that promote social transformation and sustainability. The project itself is an example of what is achievable with local materials and technologies that respond efficiently to the environment. The design of the building is based on passive strategies that reduce energy consumption throughout the lifecycle of the building. The project actively involves the community in the construction process; it serves as an educational program on the transformation and use of wood. The building seeks to give a new meaning to traditional local construction and serves as a location that the community can embrace as its own.