Articles by Eric Baldwin

Danish studio Henning Larsen has won the competition to design a new four-star hotel in Tórshavn, the capital city of the Faroe Islands. The project centers on a new social commons and grand foyer made to create connections and give the hotel an active role in city life. The design taps into the Faroese landscape to create a heart of new activity in the city center. The project was made to be an inviting landmark for guests and an active commons for Tórshavn’s locals.

Arts & ecoculture festival Art WIth Me has announced the 2019 program in Tulum, Mexico. The community driven event combines art, music, cultural experiences and workshops while building awareness around environmental issues. The festival features over 100 art exhibits, large scale installations, and interactive art experiences. The program is focused around the core mission of bringing ecological awareness, sustainability, and waste management to Tulum and beyond.

Los Angeles International Airport has broken ground on its Automated People Mover, an elevated train designed to carry passengers and connect to LA’s light rail. Mayor Eric Garcetti joined city officials to celebrate the kick-off last week as LAX hopes the project will improve connections between terminals and cut down on auto traffic in and out of the airport. Linked to the new consolidated rent-a-car facility, the People Mover aims to provide congestion relief for one of the world’s busiest airports.

Greek architect Giannis Giannoutsos has created a new chapel design for a small church in western Greece. Sited in Stratos, the project explores the juxtaposition between an existing and a new religious structure in the same space. Rising next to the ruins of a 19th century country church called Asprocclesia, or White Chapel, the design creates a space of introspection and enclosure in the middle of an open field.

New York City’s Hudson Yards has opened its doors to the public, and the reviews are flooding in. Built on Midtown Manhattan’s West Side, the project is New York’s largest development to date and the largest private real estate venture in American history, covering almost 14 acres of land with residential towers, offices, plazas, shopping centers, and restaurants. A host of architecture firms have shaped the development, including BIG, SOM, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Rockwell Group, and many others.

Cambridge-based design practice WOJR has designed a woodland pyramid house grounded in framing and symmetry. Designed around rituals of respite, the project utilizes a nine-square grid structuring four plywood trusses resting atop eight cinder block walls. Sited in the Berkshires, the design makes its grid organization visible through the roof’s large-scale coffers. The project explores a series of dichotomies through materials, space and form.

The Architecture Foundation has announced the winning design for Antepavilion, the annual installation program in London. Chosen from more than 200 entries and six finalists, Maich Swift Architects ‘Potemkin Theatre’ features “colorful panels of painted canvas, which will act as both a canalside theatre and a rooftop cinema.” The design perches on the rooftop of a warehouse along east London’s Regents Canal, creating a visible landmark in the low-scale neighbourhood.

Danish architectural firm COBE has designed a new mixed-use affordable housing development in downtown Toronto. Working with architectsAlliance, the team has designed three buildings that contain over 760 market rental units, 30% of which are affordable. Sited in one of the fastest growing areas of Canada, the new community project is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification. The development aims to combine spaces for recreation, living and working.

Italian practice Studio Fuksas has been selected to build the new International Congress Center of Jerusalem. Sited in the “City Gateway”, the project is part of a larger expansion of the city’s central business district. The new Congress Center will be built around the existing Ussishkin Hall Building, which will be redesigned to host international shows and conferences. The expansion will make the Jerusalem ICC the largest conference center in the Middle East.

The Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum sculpture garden will be renovated for the first time since the 1980s by Japanese artist and architect Hiroshi Sugimoto. Currently featuring works by Auguste Rodin, Jimmie Durham, and Yoko Ono, the sculpture garden will be opened up to the National Mall and create space for large-scale contemporary works and performances. The new concept aims to raise visibility for the garden and welcome more visitors to the museum.