Coming Soon To Vacant Lots in St. Louis: Chess, Farming, Sunflower Rehab
A restaurant made from shipping containers was among the winners. (Courtesy Sustainable Land Lab)
The winners of St. Louis’ first-ever “Sustainable Land Lab” competition, put on by Washington University and city officials, attempted to make the most of a regrettably abundant resource: vacant lots.
Local architects took top honors in a competition that garnered some four dozen submissions. Each winner gets a two-year lease on a North St. Louis vacant lot and $5,000 in seed money to realize their ideas. Five winning projects will share four lots (two finalist teams combined their proposals into one new plan) across the city.
Golden Gate National Parks Get Their Due
One of the jewels of the San Francisco Bay Area, the Golden Gate National Parks (including their new visitors centers), last week received the Stewardship Excellence Award from The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF). The award, created in 2001, is given to a person, group, or agency that shares TCLF’s mission of stewardship through education. In this case the groups overseeing the project were The Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and The Presidio Trust, working with the National Park Service. The Golden Gate National Parks was established in 1972 and comprises 80,000 acres of open space and historic districts along the San Francisco and Marin coasts. It is considered one of the nation’s largest urban parks and is used by 16 million people annually.
A Game of Cat’s Cradle with yo_cy
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Cast Thicket is the winning submission of the APPLIED: Research through Fabrication competition. (Kevin McClellan)
Kenneth Tracy and Christine Yogiaman of yo_cy applied research from working with concrete to dispel the singular material tendency of digital fabrication.
Out of 68 submissions from 17 countries across four continents, the winning proposal of Tex-Fab’s APPLIED: Research through Fabrication competition at the University of Texas at Arlington came from Kenneth Tracy and Christine Yogiaman of yo_cy, a collaborative design studio that utilizes digital techniques for maximum design effect. Their winning idea is called Cast Thicket, a study in tensile concrete that takes off in variations like a game of Cat’s Cradle.
“The initial idea was to apply our research toward the competition,” said Tracy. The designers used their experience with an Indonesian material called bilik—a soft, woven bamboo mat typically used as a vertical divider—that helped form a fabric, cast concrete wall for a residential project in Southeast Asia. “We wanted to make something from a construction material that is normally very heavy looking [and] invert the stereotype of the carved aesthetics of concrete to create something that is lacy, thin, and delicate.” Read More
Photo of the Day: Amazing View From One World Trade
View from the top of One World Trade Center. (Courtesy Port Authority)
A couple weeks ago, we took a look at the trippy designs of the newly unveiled observation deck for Lower Manhattan’s One World Trade tower, rapidly adding to its antenna that will take the building to 1,776 feet. But while those renderings were long on the multimedia-rich halls that will presumably be filled with long lines waiting to get to the top, the big unveil was a bit short on the actual view. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has corrected that, however, posting a new photo taken from the very top of the tower, and we’re not disappointed. Note that Cass Gilbert’s 1913 Woolworth Building, appearing as just another tower in the center of the photo, was once the world’s tallest until 1930. See you in line for the view in person!
Preservationists Warn Russia’s Melnikov House at Risk
(Courtesy Docomomo)
One of Moscow’s most iconic pieces of architecture, the cylindrical home of avant-garde architect Konstantin Melnikov built in the 1920s, is reportedly showing signs of structural damage caused by rumbling from neighboring construction projects and is in danger of being demolished. The New York Times reports that preservationists including Docomomo have sounded the alarm that cracks have been forming in the structure and its foundation. Russian preservation group Archnadzor has filed an appeal to President Vladimir Putin in an effort to save the structure from potential collapse.
3D Printing Guru Skylar Tibbits To Lead DesignX Workshop at ICFF, May 21
Ted Fellow Skyler Tibbits is an architect and computer scientist whose work focuses on self-assembly technologies. (Courtesy SJET)
It’s not science fiction. One day, buildings may build themselves. Enter the world of Senior TED Fellow Skylar Tibbits, where “matter programmers” design the characteristics of materials that self-assemble when exposed to air, water, or temperature changes. Join Tibbits on May 21 at a DesignX ICFF workshop for a hands-on lab that will introduce designers to the future of additive manufacturing and programmable matter.
The Shortlist> AN’s Editors Pick Five Competitions of the Week
SOCIALIGHT Competition Photo.
Are you eager to put your architectural design skills to the test? Here are some exciting upcoming competitions that will be sure to present you with the type of challenge you’ve been waiting for. AN‘s editors have combed through our online listing of architecture and design competitions to bring you five of the most interesting competitions happening right now. If you’d like your competition to be included in the listing, please submit it here.
SOCIALIGHT. The Concept Lumière Urbaine invites architects, landscape architects, and urban planners to re-imagine the future role of lighting in urban neighborhoods. The foundation encourages participants to think beyond the practical use of lighting (security, traffic, and signaling) and consider the way that light can affect the emotions and experiences of the residents of a city.
Registration Deadline: September 12, 2013
Submission Deadline: September 13, 2013
Architecture Students To Build A Wind & Solar-Powered Radio Station in Kenya
Jonathan Dessi-Olive with the first arch of his timbrel vault prototype. (Courtesy PennDesign Team)
University of Pennsylvania architecture student Jonathan Dessi-Olive, this year’s winner of the Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA) Travel Fellowship, and three of his colleagues are taking an ancient building technology to Kenya this summer to demonstrate a sustainable alternative to wood construction, which contributes to the devastating deforestation problem in the region. The project, a hybrid wind- and solar-powered radio station on Mfangano Island in Lake Victoria, will introduce local craftspeople to the 600-year-old technique of timbrel vaulting, a system that uses thin clay tiles to create a geometrically-complex and structurally strong building.
Landscape Architect Proposes a Cycling Superhighway Over a London Canal
(Courtesy Design International)
500-cyclists and pedestrians an hour simultaneously traveling along the same route bordering the Regent’s Canal in north London certainly makes for one congested—and with cyclists and pedestrians jockeying for limited space, a treacherous—commute. According to BD Online, landscape architect Anthony Nelson, director at Design International, has proposed a dramatic solution that could resolve the long-standing battle between fast-moving cyclists and slower pedestrians.
Product> Clutter-Free Options In The Hidden Kitchen
B2-kitchen-kitchen tool cabinet by Bulthaup.
As interior footprints shrink, compact organization grows increasingly important—particularly in the kitchen. Below is a compilation of some of the smartest solutions to keep the heart of the home clutter-free.
B2-Kitchen-Kitchen Tool Cabinet
Bulthaup
German manufacturer Bulthaup’s B2 kitchen workshop (above) is the perfect disguise for the home cook. The kitchen implement cabinet is outfitted with multiple compartments to store accouterments from pots and pans to pantry items. Adjustable shelves, formatted containers, and storage systems all fit uniformly behind the folding doors. It works in a loft, studio, or office environment.
AIA Announces 2013 Small Project Award Recipients
Tahoe City Transit Center. (Courtesy AIA)
The American Institute of Architects has announced the winners of the 2013 Small Project Awards, a program dedicated to promoting small-project designs. Since 2003 the AIA Small Projects Award Program has emphasized the work and high standards of small-project architects, bringing the public’s attention to the significant designs of these small-projects and the diligent work that goes into them. This year’s ten winners are grouped into four categories: projects completed on a budget under $150,000, projects with a budget under $1.5 million, projects under 5,000 square feet, and theoretical design under 5,000 square feet.
St. Louis Eyes Shipping Container Architecture
(Courtesy Delsa Development)
A new development in St. Louis has proposed using shipping containers to create a mixed-use building. The project, known as The Grove, is located at 4312 Manchester Avenue. It features a three-story structure of stacked steel boxes with retail on the first level and offices and residential above. The development, which already garnered the support of the Forest Park Southeast Development Committee, is set on the site of a former four-family brick home and is presently awaiting approval from the 17th Ward Alderman.
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