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Reframing the Monumental: Reclaiming the Architecture and Public Spaces of the Former Eastern European Bloc

October 30, 2020 Andreea Cutieru 0

Remnants of the Socialist era, the large-scale architecture and urban spaces of the Eastern European Bloc still constitute a challenging legacy, at odds with contemporary urban environments and the values shaping cities today. This ideologically charged architecture is being reclaimed either through the reconciliation of the public opinion with this part of history, adaptive re-use, renovation, or through its re-contextualization as architectural heritage. By (re)introducing the human scale within these monumental architecture projects and public spaces, these entities are being restored to the urban and cultural life of cities.

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Sang-e-Siah Boutique Hotel / Stak Office

October 30, 2020 Hana Abdel 0

This project was defined with the subject of creating a traditional residence in the historical context of Shiraz, Sang-e-Siah neighborhood, between five National Registered Buildings from Ilkhani, Zandeih, Qajar and Pahlavi historical periods. In recent years, context rehabilitation projects have been developed based on the demolition and aggregation strategy, which gradually eliminate the proportions of void and mass, the geometric and communication system of passages and the structure of a significant part of historical context by eliminating fine-grained structures and passages, defining large-scale projects and constructing streets.

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OMA / Reinier de Graaf’s Residential Towers, Norra Tornen, Wins the International Highrise Award 2020

October 30, 2020 Christele Harrouk 0

The International Highrise Award (IHA), organized by the city of Frankfurt and the Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM), has selected Norra Tornen, the residential towers designed by OMA / Reinier de Graaf as the winner of its ninth edition. Granted every 2 years, to architects and developers for buildings of minimum 100 meters in height, completed in the last two years, Norra Tornen was selected from 31 projects from 14 countries.

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Ulaman Retreat / Inspiral Architecture and Design Studios

October 30, 2020 Hana Abdel 0

Located inland in Bali, this wellness retreat has been integrated into a forest that borders luscious rice fields on one side and a dramatic river on the other. The river converges water from the whole area creating a junction of small waterfalls that produces enough flow to power a hydro electric generator that can sustain the power of the buildings within the complex. Merging with nature has been at the forefront in the approach to the design, not just by its operation but by using materials found directly on the site and the immediate locality, therefore enabling the resort to become fully carbon zero.

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Chinese Architect and Planner Wu Liangyong Explores 70 Years of Design and Teaching

October 30, 2020 Eric Baldwin 0

Chinese architect and town planner Wu Liangyong was recently featured in a new interview from the International Union of Architects (UIA) about his life and teaching. As the former Vice-President of the UIA and the Architectural Society of China (ASC), Liangyong won the Jean Tschumi Prize back in 1996. Today, he reflects on his academic career spanning 70 years at the Tsinghua University School of Architecture.

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The Body and “Smart Comfort” in Architecture: A Conversation with Marcelo Ferraz

October 30, 2020 Victor Delaqua 0

Understanding the relationship between body and space is fundamental to offer the many different experiences that architecture can provide. To reflect on the distinctive scales that encompass the work of an architect, from buildings to furniture, we interviewed Marcelo Ferraz, co-founder of Brasil Arquitetura and Marcenaria Baraúna. His outlook and experience illustrate how the body and its symbolism are crucial when designing a project regardless of its scale.

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Built Nature: When Architecture Challenges Human Scale

October 30, 2020 Hana Abdel 0

Going beyond human scale is not a novelty. For centuries, builders, engineers, and architects have been creating monumental edifices to mark spirituality or political power. Larger than life palaces, governmental buildings, or temples have always attracted people’s admiration and reverence, nourishing the still not fully comprehensible obsession with large scale builds.