Kent State Picks Weiss/Manfredi to Design New Architecture School
(Courtesy Weiss Manfredi)
Marking the end of a design competition for the new home of its College of Architecture & Environmental Design, Kent State University has chosen Weiss/Manfredi’s “Design Loft” over submissions from Bialosky & Partners of Cleveland with Architecture Research Office of New York; The Collaborative of Toledo with Miller Hull Partnership of Seattle; and Westlake Reed Leskosky of Cleveland.
The college is moving from three separate buildings including Taylor Hall, where it has been for decades, and which served as a gathering spot for the 1970 Vietnam War protest that would end in four deaths.
Three Winners Announced to Revamp National Mall
Washington Monument grounds. (Courtesy OLIN & Weiss/Manfredi)
Following a design competition that dramatically reimagined the landscape of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the Trust for the National Mall has announced three winning teams to update various segments of the iconic public space. Union Square, near the foot of the Capitol, will be redesigned by Gustafson Guthrie Nichol and Davis Brody Bond, Constitution Gardens, near the Lincoln Memorial and reflecting pool, will be redone by Rogers Marvel Architects and Peter Walker & Partners, and the grounds surrounding the Washington Monument will be reimagined by OLIN and Weiss/Manfredi.
Redesigning the National Mall: Constitution Gardens
OLIN & Weiss/Manfredi
[Editor's Note: Following the unveiling of proposals to redesign the National Mall, AN will be running a three-part series to display the proposals for each of the three segments of the Mall: Constitution Gardens, Union Square, and the Washington Monument Grounds.]
A 50-acre parcel of the National Mall, Constitution Gardens, lies just north of the Reflecting Pool and east of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Grade changes keep it somewhat hidden from the main stretch of the Mall, and many tourists (and locals) visit the monuments and Smithsonian museums without coming across it. The gardens’ focal point is a small lake with an island that visitors can access by footbridge. The National Park Service has struggled with the site’s poor soil conditions—the ground was dredged from the Potomac River back in the late 19th century—and with upkeep of the paths and other features.
The National Mall Plan of 2010 calls for an “architecturally unique, multipurpose visitor facility, including food service, retail, and restrooms” to be developed at the east end of the lake, as well as a flexible performance space.
National Geographic’s Washington D.C. headquarters will be getting a facelift. New York-based Weiss/Manfredi has been selected to renovate and expand the society’s collection of buildings built over the past century. The firm has been tasked with creating a “dynamic new expression” for National Geographic to facilitate its museum, research activities, media, and international programs. Weiss/Manfredi was selected over Diller Scofidio+Renfro, Diamond Schmitt Architects, and Steven Holl Architects.
Altschul Atrium at Barnard College
Altschul Atrium (Courtesy common room)
In collaboration with New York-based common room architects, students at Barnard + Columbia Undergraduate Architecture (b+c a) designed a temporary installation to transform student space at the school’s Altschul Atrium.
The Altschul building, a modernist structure built in 1969, sits on the northwest corner of Barnard’s campus facing east towards the Weiss/Manfredi-designed Diana Center, which opened in January 2011. The new center houses undergraduate architecture, studio art, and art history departments and has brought increased movement to the center of campus, including students looking for space to sit, read and socialize between class. This addition to the campus has also brought attention to the unused atrium space at Altschul, which houses faculty offices and labs. The the idea behind the atrium installation is to encourage a more interactive relationship with the Altschul space as well as with other neighboring buildings on campus. Students and faculty of b+c a have envisioned an installation that accommodates multi-use programming and one that focuses on the importance of flexibility and function.
Architecture is Frozen Music (with Music Added)
Architectural designer and videographer Sandy Cole made this impressionistic video of the Diana Center at Barnard College, designed by Weiss/Manfredi. For those who don’t have the chance to see it in person, it captures the building’s colored and clear skin, its “slipped vistas” of the campus and city, and its layered interior.–The Editors
VDHRD: ARCH DL V
There’s been a good bit of coverage so far of LVHRD’s increasingly ubiquitous (and expensive: 30 bucks!) ARCH DL, now in its fifth year. But without question, the best so far has been this video produced by Sebastian Howard, for Record. Hats off, sir. (Video, and assorted photos, after the jump.) Read More
Report: World Architecture Festival
courtesy Bjarke Ingels Group
The World Architecture Festival in Barcelona is in its second day and it’s great seeing New Yorkers doing so well in this international competition. Read More
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