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After years of accommodation in temporary premises, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has revealed its design for new permanent headquarters by schmidt hammer lassen architects (SHL). The Danish office was selected in a prestigious architectural design competition with a twenty strong international shortlist including David Chipperfield, Mecanoo Architecten, OMA/Search, Ingenhoven, Wiel Arets, and Kengo Kuma & Associates.

“To the victims, to their families and to the world, the ICC building must communicate respect, trust and hope. This building cannot be anonymous; it must have the courage to express the values and the credibility of the ICC,” said Bjarne Hammer, Co-Founding Partner and Creative Director of schmidt hammer lassen architects. He continued: “The building is designed as an abstract and informal sculpture in the landscape. This way, it becomes a backdrop for the ICC to communicate trust, hope, and most importantly, faith in justice and fairness.”

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New York, March 8, 2010 – eVolo Magazine has announced the winners of the 2010 Skyscraper Competition. Established in 2006, the annual Skyscraper Competition recognizes outstanding ideas that redefine skyscraper design through the use of new technologies, materials, programs, aesthetics, and spatial organization. The award seeks to discover young talents whose ideas will change the way we understand architecture and its relationship with the natural and built environments.

The Jury of the 2010 edition was formed by leaders of the architecture and design fields including: Mario Cipresso, Kyu Ho Chun, Kenta Fukunishi, Elie Gamburg, Mitchell Joachim, JaeYoung Lee, Adelaïde Marchi, Nicola Marchi and Eric Vergne. The Jury selected 3 winners and 27 special mentions among 430 entries from 42 countries. Images and short description of the three winning projects after the break.

Images Courtesy eVolo Magazine

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Portland Fire and Rescue in partnership with Portland State University’s School of Architecture announced the winner of a competition to design the Portland Firefighters Memorial. After an eight month, two-stage competition with input from firefighters and the general public, the selection committee members unanimously selected the design by Aaron Whelton / Whelton Architecture as the competition winner.

The Portland Firefighters Memorial will be located on the east bank of the Willamette River adjacent to Fire Station no. 21 and directly across from downtown Portland. Whelton Architecture’s design establishes two discernable experiential zones: at the ground level, low horizontal stone benches and walls are rooted into the earth; and in the sky, tall vertical lanterns gently sway overhead. These elements are organized across the memorial field in a series of parallel lines whose overall figure is greater than any one individual mark. More images and info after the break.

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At a ceremony in the Jordanian capital, His Excellency Omar Maani, the mayor of Amman, announced the new King Abdullah II House of Culture & Art by Zaha Hadid Architects – a performing arts and cultural centre that includes a 1600-seat concert theatre, 400-seat theatre, educational centre, rehearsal rooms, and galleries.

At the directives of His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein, the Greater Amman Municipality is creating a new venue for performing arts and culture in a prime location in the centre of Amman. Conceived as a place to rehearse, discuss, teach, study and perform, the King Abdullah II House of Culture & Art will be the premiere venue for theatre, music and dance performance and education in Jordan – a vital element in the cultural life of the city and country, bringing together all members of the community in the shared experience of art and music.

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U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Louis B. Susman, and Acting Director of the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, Adam Namm, announced today that KieranTimberlake of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has won the design competition for the New London Embassy.

KieranTimberlake’s design met the goal of creating a modern, welcoming, timeless, safe and energy efficient embassy for the 21st century. Their concept most fully satisfied the requirements outlined in the design competition’s mission statement. The concept holds the greatest potential for developing a truly iconic embassy and is on the leading edge of sustainable design. KieranTimberlake is an architectural firm known for its commitment to innovation and environmental responsibility. More images and info after the break.
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© Sam Fentress

ST. LOUIS – J.D. Power and Associates has given the HOK-designed Col. H. Weir Cook Terminal at Indianapolis International Airport its highest marks in passenger satisfaction in a survey of 64 major airports. The $1.2 billion terminal earned 777 points – the most of any airport surveyed – in airport accessibility, baggage claim, check-in and baggage check-in process, terminal facilities, ease of security checks, and food and retail services. The terminal, which debuted in 2008, was the first designed with new security protocols following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

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Main Entrance Hall at the Neues Museum in Berlin, Germany by David Chipperfield Architects (Photo: Fabrizio Bensch)

Last Wednesday, Israel’s Wolf Foundation announced that British architect David Chipperfield is being recognized for overseeing the reconstruction of Berlin’s Neues Museum in a building that had been abandoned since World War II. His new building incorporated bricks, stairs and bullet holes from the original museum, which opened in 1855.

The other Wolf Prize laureate, American architect Peter Eisenman, designed the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin, inaugurated in 2005. The foundation says Eisenman’s work “provides a new paradigm for memorialization.” The winners will share the $100,000 award.

Looking over the Memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe towards the Tiergarten in Berlin, Germany by Eisenman Architects

The Wolf Foundation says 38 past winners have gone on to win Nobel prizes. The winners will receive the awards in a ceremony on May 13. The Wolf Foundation was founded by the late German-born Dr. Ricardo Wolf, an inventor, philanthropist and former Cuban ambassador to Israel. The private nonprofit foundation’s council is chaired by Israel’s education minister.
Via: Bustler

Project: Hotel and Hotel Center
Author: SHL Architects
schmidt hammmer lassen architects
Project Partner: Kim Holst Jensen, schmidt hammer lassen architects
Project Architect: Kristian Lars Ahlmark, schmidt hammer lassen architects
Location: Helsingborg, Sweden
Client: Midroc Property Development (Sweden)
Area: Hotel and congress 16,900 m2/ Housing and shops 17,100 m2
Competition year: 2009
Competition type: Property development competition
Contractor: Midroc Property Development
Landscape architect: schmidt hammer lassen architects in collaboration with Masu Planning Landscape (Denmark)
Executive consultants: Sweco (Sweden)

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IaaC is pleased to invite you to it´s public Lecture “The Specialist Modelling Group at Foster+Partners : A case study” by Prof. Xavier De Kestelier

Thursday, January 14th. 2010
Free Entrance
IaaC Conference Hall, 19:30hrs
Pujades 102, baixos. Poble Nou

Prof. Xavier De Kestelier
Associate Partner at Foster+Partners
Xavier De Kestelier was educated in Belgium and the United Kingdom and holds an MSc in Urban Design from The Bartlett School of Architecture. Since 2002, he has been part of the Specialist Modelling Group at Foster+Partners. In this position he has worked on a broad range of projects such as Beijing Airport, Yacht Plus BoatFleet, MASDAR and Spaceport. Besides this he is also responsible for new rapid prototyping and manufacturing developments at Foster+Partners. In 2008 he became Associate Partner at Foster+Partners

His area of research is the application of parametric software to solve complex geometry, the redefinition of the role of architects as a designer within the digital environment, and the application of digital fabrication and rapid manufacturing techniques in architecture. He has been a critic and lecturer at a wide range of universities and conferences:  Smartgeometry, Berlage, Architectural Association, MIT, The Royal Institution, ACADIA, Bridges. Since 2006, he has been a professor at the University of Gent, where he heads the education and research in digital design in architecture. He is also Adjunct Professor and studio master at the Syracuse University in London.

In fall 2009, the entry by Californian firm DRDS Architecture won the first prize in the architectural design competition for the new KNN Media Center in Busan, Korea. The project, located in the new Centum City district, includes new broadcast facilities for KNN, office condominiums, retail spaces, and a museum. The winning proposal was a collaboration of DRDS with local design firm Ilshin Architects. More info and images after the break.

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MISHAWAKA, INDIANA – The new 254-bed Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, located on the 90-acre Edison Lakes Medical Campus in Mishawaka, Indiana, has opened. The new 663,000 square-foot hospital and 155,000-square-foot medical office building serves the Northern Indiana region.

HOK provided the architectural design, planning, structural engineering and interior design services for the new $224 million replacement facility, which is a member of Trinity Health. More info and images after the break.
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Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world was inaugurated this Monday by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, with a height of 828 meters the Burj Dubai oficially becomes the tallest building in the world, having surpassed the Taipei 101 building in Taiwan. The inauguration of the tower coincided with the accesion to power of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Mohammad Ali Al Abbar, Chairman of Emaar real estate company said the company decided to launch the tower on this date as a gesture of gratitude towards Shaikh Mohammad, who is considered the builder of modern Dubai.

The Burj Dubai houses residences and commercial spaces, apart from Giorgio Armani’s The Armani Hotel & Residences. It also anchors Downtown Burj Dubai, a Dh73 billion mixed-use mega project, already a bustling community described as the new “heart of the city”.

On november we featured a video from the top of the Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world. This time we present you a new video filmed on December 31. The Burj Dubai is finished and will be oficially inaugurated on January 04, 2010

Nicknamed the “Blue Volcano”, Njiric+ Arhitekti’s large stadium is designed to push the boundary of “human experiences of public spaces.” The overwhelming built form creates a presence in the city that distinguishes it as a new landmark for the area.  The stadium was conceived not as a building typology but rather as a topography. Using the natural undulation of the landscape, the new civic arena is housed within an artificial hill made of recycled rubber and blue pigment sprayed onto corrugated aluminium sheets.

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© Gale International

INCHEON, SOUTH KOREA – The new 300-room, five-star-rated Sheraton Incheon Hotel recently opened in New Songdo City, Korea, offering a new state-of-the-art facility in the heart of a new urban center. The new 25-story hotel is adjacent to the city’s new Convention Center, the Northeast Asia Trade Tower and a large retail mall. HOK provided architectural design, landscape design and sustainable design services for the new 500,000-square-foot, LEED® certified hotel.

© Gale International

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