AIA Announces Winners of the 2009 CAE Educational Facility Design Awards

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on Architecture for Education (CAE) have selected 13 educational and cultural facilities for this year’s CAE Educational Facility Design Awards. The purpose of the design awards program is to identify trends and emerging ideas, honor excellence in planning and design, and disseminate knowledge about best practices in educational and community facilities.
Image above: ASU Polytechnic Academic Complex, Mesa, Arizona by RSP Architects, Ltd.
in association with Lake|Flato Architects

from Bustler.net News by Vanilla Hustler

Foster + Partners Unveil Energy-Efficient Heathrow Airport Terminal

Heathrow Airport is the world’s busiest airport for international travelers, and anyone who has flown through Heathrow knows it can be a bit chaotic there. BAA, who owns and operates Heathrow, recently unveiled a massive renovation project worth £4.8 billion that includes completely rebuilding Terminal 2 to help ease the congestion. Designed by Inhabitat favorite Foster + Partners, the new super-efficient, solar and renewable energy powered airport terminal will cost £1 billion and will produce 40% less carbon than the existing building.

from Inhabitat » Architecture by Bridgette Meinhold

The Black Cloud by Heather & Ivan Morison

Artists Heather & Ivan Morison, in collaboration with architect Alex Sash Reading, designed a temporary structure called The Black Cloud, situated in the Victoria Park in Bristol, UK. The structure is a deconstructed geodesic dome, made up of 152 unique timber triangles, creating a form that appears to lurch across the park. The Black Cloud will remain in place over the next months hosting programmed events, as well as events by local residents and visitors.

from CoolBoom by Sylvia

zaha hadid architects: chaoyangmen SOHO III

zaha hadid architects recently unveiled plans of their project chaoyangmen SOHO III, located in the city center of beijing. with the headquarters building of the ministry of foreign affairs on its east and chaoyangmen soho I and II on its north, it is surrounded by different urban amenities including outdoor space, offices and residential spaces. the total construction area of the project is 334,000 square meters, of which 166,000 and 86,000 square meters are designated for offices and retail uses respectively.

from Designboom - Weblog

jarmund/vigsnaes architecture: svalbard science centre

the svalbard science centre, located in longyearbyen, norway, has a copper clad roof specially designed for the location’s climate. the building by jarmund/vigsnaes architecture is an addition to an existing building, that added around 4 times more space for the svalbard museum and university research lab. the skin was specially designed based on the region’s harsh wind and snow conditions, prevent the snow from accumulating in unwanted areas. the new building was built using wood on elevated poles to prevent thawing the permanent frost. inside, the architects wanted to create a public space for gathering in the cold dark winters. they also used lots of vivid colours inside with warm timbre cladding to further enhance the space for the climatic conditions.

from Designboom - Weblog

Revolutionary Development for Turkey / RMJM

Internationally recognized practice RMJM Architects have recently announced their groundbreaking $1 billon mixed-use complex for the Atasehir district, the growing residential and business area of Istanbul, Turkey. RMJM’s complex will allow the new business center to flourish by serving 20,000 people and providing for a variety of their needs. The project will be revolutionary for Turkey as it will become the country’s first LEED-certified mixed-use development upon its 2011 completion date.

AIA Selects Three Projects for National Healthcare Design Awards

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Academy of Architecture for Health (AAH) have selected the recipients of the AIA National Healthcare Design Awards program. The AIA Healthcare Awards program showcases the best of healthcare building design and healthcare design-oriented research. Projects exhibit conceptual strengths that solve aesthetic, civic, urban, and social concerns as well as the requisite functional and sustainability concerns of a hospital.

from Bustler.net News by Vanilla Hustler

ShowCase: City of Culture of Galicia

As construction continues on the six-building City of Culture of Galicia, the first completed building, the Galician National Archive, opened to employees this spring. The Archive is the southernmost building in the complex and, at 86,000 square feet, one of the smallest. Its undulating form and that of all of the buildings evolved from the layering of three sets of information on the hilltop site. First, the plan of the medieval center of Santiago de Compostela, a historic, religious pilgrimage city, was placed on the site.