Snøhetta have revealed designs for Europe’s first underwater restaurant in the coastal village of Båly, inNorway. The structure, which also houses a marine life research center, teeters over the edge of a rocky outcrop, semi-submerged in the ocean. Built from concrete, the monolithic structure will come to rest on the sea bed five meters below the water’s surface; here, it will “fuse” with the ecosystem of the concealed shoreline. Below the waterline, the restaurant’s enormous acrylic windows will frame a view of the seabed.
The sleek, streamlined form of the building is encapsulated in a concrete shell with a coarse surface that invites mussels to cling on. Over time, as the mollusk community densifies, the submerged monolith will become an artificial mussel reef that functions dually to rinse the sea and naturally attract more marine life to its purified waters.
According to the designers, parts of the restaurant will be dedicated to a marine biology research outside of the restaurant’s opening hours. “Researchers from Norwegian research centers will seek to train wild fish with sound signals, and will study whether fish behave differently throughout different seasons.” The researchers will also help to optimize conditions on the seabed so that fish and shellfish can thrive in proximity to the restaurant.
As visitors begin their journey through the restaurant they descend through three levels. From the entrance, where the tidepool is swallowed by the sea, guests enter the wardrobe area. Visitors are then ushered down one level to the champagne bar, which marks the transition between the shoreline and the ocean. From the bar, guests can also look down at the seabed level of the restaurant, where two long dining tables and several smaller tables are placed in front of the large panoramic window.
Grand Prix winner: Umkhumbane Museum, South Africa / Choromanski Architects. Image Courtesy of Africa Architecture Awards
The winners of the inaugural Africa Architecture Awards have been announced. Established by St. Gobain with the goal of “stimulating conversations about African architecture as it cements its place in a global continuum,” the event represents the first ever Pan-African awards program of its kind, with more than 300 projects from 32 African nations being considered by a steering panel led by Professor Lesley Lokko, ambassador Phill Mashabane, advisor Zahira Asmal, and architect David Adjaye.
“The Africa Architecture Awards are very critical,” said Adjaye. “Now is the time to promote excellence and best practice on the continent. The Africa Architecture Awards are particularly important because this is the moment that a lot is happening on the continent in terms of development, in terms of the architecture that’s being produced.”
An initial shortlist of 21 projects was chosen earlier in 2017 by the competition jury, which comprised leading African architects and academics including Anna Abengowe (Nigeria), Guillaume Koffi (Côte d’Ivoire), Professor Edgar Pieterse (South Africa), Patti Anahory (Cape Verde), Tanzeem Razak (South Africa), and Phill Mashabane (South Africa).
From those 21 projects, winners were chosen in 4 categories, with an overall Grand Prix winner taking home the top prize of $10,000 USD. Find the list of winners below.
Built and Grand Prix Winner
Umkhumbane Museum, South Africa / Choromanski Architects
[The Umkhumbane Museum] provides the opportunity for contemporary culture and powerful heritage to converge, serving as a tool for social, economic and ecological regeneration. As part of a broader urban strategy, the site seeks to activate and network various cultural nodes within the community of Cato Manor through community involvement, local artists and leaders.
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Grand Prix winner: Umkhumbane Museum, South Africa / Choromanski Architects. Image Courtesy of Africa Architecture Awards
The urban strategy aims to use technology and public space innovatively to access, network and enhance the culture, serving as a tool for community members to leverage in the co-creation of today’s Umkhumbane Culture. The stories of Umkhumbane in the 1940s were example of diversity and community during apartheid. Cato Manor today could provide much needed stories of regeneration and redress in South Africa.
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Grand Prix winner: Umkhumbane Museum, South Africa / Choromanski Architects. Image Courtesy of Africa Architecture Awards
Critical Dialogue
Forum de Arquitectura / CEICA, Angola
“Fórum de Arquitectura” (which means Architecture Forum) is an annual event that takes place in October, in the historical heart of the city of Luanda, where it is located at the Lusíada University of Angola. It began in 2006, as part of the activities of the Department of Architecture and restricted to its teachers and students. Today, after years of continuous battles and perseverance, it can be said that it is the largest academic event in the area in Angola, which celebrates not only Architecture, but also everything that surrounds it. It raises debate on several disciplines, promotes interchange between universities at international level, has developed, over the years, own identity, and established a tradition in the angolan academic world.
Speculative
The Territory In-between, Cape Verde / Guinea’s Aissata Balde, Graduate School of Architecture, University of Johannesburg
We live in an era of unprecedented migration. According to the UNHCR, the world is currently experiencing more human displacement and migration than after World War I. This project explores the interplay between physical and imagined spaces, through the fluidity and stasis of human mobility in Cape Verde in ways that allow us to rethink our ways of understanding the state, boundaries and space.
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Courtesy of Africa Architecture Awards
Emerging Voices
The Exchange Consulate: Trading Passports for Hyper-Performative Economic Enclaves, South Africa/ Nigerian student Ogundare Olawale Israel of the Graduate School of Architecture, University of Johannesburg
Located in the CBD of Johannesburg City and known to only the elite few, otherwise considered as the ‘outsiders or travellers”, lies a hidden architecture created by economic enclaves for ‘informal’ residents of the city including foreign migrants.These enclaves are organised activities, conducted by minority groups in order to maintain strong boundaries and a sense of identity within places they find themselves. Through these enclaves, migrants in Johannesburg city are able to access and obtain social and economic benefits that sustain their stay within the city.
In this, we discover the existence of a “neo” form of “passport” that determines when and how enclaves of Johannesburg city are accessed by migrants. These passports are in different forms ranging from ethic group, to language, to cultural beliefs and apparel. By way of appearance, a migrant urban dweller for example is able to have access to work opportunities within a particular space in the city. This access comes by way of identity, acceptance and a sense of belonging for the migrant, and trust and reliability for those providing the opportunity. We therefore find apparel to be one of the many passports used by those otherwise considered “outsiders”.
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Courtesy of Africa Architecture Awards
“Although this is only the first edition of the Africa Architecture Awards, we believe we have captured an incredible moment in time for Pan-African architecture,” commented MD of Saint-Gobain Retail Division, Evan Lockhart-Barker. “Having launched the first-ever awards of its kind, we’ve seen the incredible response from architects working across the continent. The values and aspirations displayed in the awards have led to incredible insights about the continent and its shape-shifting ways.”
“Yet we still have a way to go to write our own story about architecture and its role here. Africa is indeed rising… but due to the continent’s resourcefulness and complex regional identities, we’ve already learnt that our awards programme requires even more diversity to capture Africa and all its spectrums. We look to future editions of the awards to achieve this.”
More information about the awards can be found on the official website, here.
Hariri Pontarini Architects and Pinnacle International have unveiled the design of three glassy skyscrapers that will make up a new development on the Toronto waterfront.
Known as One Yonge, the complex will consist of over 4 million square feet of mixed-use space spread across five new buildings and a total renovation of the existing Toronto Star building.
On the northern side of the site, three residential towers capping out at 95, 80 and 65 stories will comprise hotel, affordable housing, retail and a community center. The southern block will be more commercial-oriented, with two new office towers and the reclad Toronto Star building.
The development will connect to the Toronto’s underground pedestrian system, the PATH, as well as public transportation and simple, safe pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure.
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Courtesy of Hariri Pontarini Architects
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Courtesy of Hariri Pontarini Architects
“We are looking forward to developing this landmark community on Toronto’s revitalized waterfront”, said Micheal De Cotiis, President and CEO of Pinnacle Internationa.
The first phase will encompass the 65-story tower, and which is expected to break onto the market in the next few months, with subsequent phases to follow.
The Greenwich Design District is the next phase in London‘s largest single regeneration project – a new creative hub providing affordable workspaces and studios. Eight up and coming architecture practices have ‘blindly’ designed two buildings each, independently from one and other. The result is an amalgamation of ‘architectural anarchy’ and a ‘neighborhood of playful contrasts.’
Urban developers Knight Dragon are coordinating the entire development of Greenwich Peninsula, celebrating the diversity of art, design, technology, music, and food industries that this innovative district will be the home of. The mix of architecture stays true to the ideals of the district, presenting a provocative front of ‘unexpected contrasts’ brought together by the same natural paving throughout the pedestrianized quarter designed by Schulze+Grassov to encourage communication and interaction between the public.
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Courtesy of Knight Dragon
Open studios are set around a large public square with workshop space starting at £10 per square foot, allowing the creative economy to grow whilst the businesses trade and intersect. As well as the studios for 1,800 of London‘s creatives, the district will host a market hall, basketball terrace on the roof and retail spaces for the work produced in the district.
The architecture firms that were involved are listed below:
Inspired by the male and female figures, Mole Architects play with the robust and delicate metal exteriors as one building is clad with CorTen weathered steel and the other is finished with iridescent paint whilst being equally sensitive on the interior with exposed beams and warm wooden ceilings.
The rawness of the nearby construction sites influenced these two buildings to exemplify the roughness of semi-completed forms. The architects’ exploration into raw beauty juxtaposes the tranquil interior for concentration and calmness.
These two buildings are a ‘pair of un-identical twins’ that form similarities around the cut-out viewpoints in the rectangular form and ‘colored blockwork on the concrete frame’. On the lower levels, there are larger spaces which lend themselves to the narrower studio space on top.
Social interaction is key in these designs, integrating large flexible spaces that can adapt to suit the inhabitants as well as leisure activities such as the basketball court on the roof terrace and pop-up bar. The contact with the public is further prompted by an external staircase that can be accessed at all times.
Designed for the artists, photographers, and sculptors, the building is clad in a polished aluminum. Based on the time of day or year, the reflection is everchanging and brightens the surrounding area.
Introducing nature into their buildings, their transparent market hall is caterpillar-shaped and filled with trees and foliage for visitors to sit and eat amongst. A winter garden adorns their second building to create a calm entrance for the workers and anyone else.
Both buildings have a crisp, outer exterior undulating in either a vertical or horizontal formation, capturing the views based around each. An informal aesthetic is created from the unexpected twists and forms of the shell of the building whilst the white visual keeps it sleek.
Traditionally built with red bricks, a green metal grid surrounds both the buildings which refer to the celebrated British architect James Stirling. One building hosts an illuminated sign on the roof whilst the other has a roof terrace overlooking the central park and will bear six new sculptures commissioned every year.
The Design District is only a small phase in the overall Greenwich Peninsula regeneration but will feature in the center by the O2 arena and North Greenwich tube station. The entire £8.4billion transformation will create 15,720 new homes in 7 new neighborhoods, lining 1.6 miles of the River Thames. Calatravahas also designed a new mixed-used tube station as part of the project.
Buying “the perfect computer” comes with equal parts indecision and excitement—we put in hours of research, weigh brands, compare specs, read product reviews, and ask around for advice and suggestions. For the uninitiated, it often means wading through lots of technical jargon. i7? Intel? SSD? Quad-core? For others, it may mean being spoilt for choice and finding it difficult to shortlist options. Architect, writer, and entrepreneur Eric Reinholdt’s latest video on his YouTube channel 30X40 Design Workshop tackles the tricky subject of choosing the right computer for architecture, breaking the topic down into 6 simple steps.
So what’s the best choice for you if you’re an architect, architecture student, draftsperson, or someone whose work demands similar computer specs? Reinholdt himself prefers using a 27-inch iMac but stresses how both Windows and Mac systems are equally reliable; choosing either of the two should be dependent on your budget, which software you use on a daily basis, and how adaptable or “future-proofed” you want your computer to be.
But when it comes to choosing between a desktop and laptop, he’s quick to point out that for many it’s best to buy the latter, especially if you’re a student. Architects travel often—be it a site visit, field work, client meeting, or other remote project—and a laptop’s portability is convenient. Portable, however, doesn’t have to mean light-weight. A powerful CPU, a 15-inch or 17-inch screen (the bigger the better!), and upgraded hardware comes with a bit of weight, which is an acceptable compromise to make.
And what about all the hardware-related specs that you need to get right? Thankfully, the video makes all of these less complicated to understand as well. From pixel density, RAM, drives and graphics cards, to differences between cores and single- and multi-threaded tasks, Reinholdt sums it all up neatly. Perhaps the process of buying your next computer won’t be as complicated as you thought it would be: watch the 14-minute video above for the full discussion.
Architect and author of the Architect + Entrepreneur book series Eric Reinholdt recently released a videodetailing the results of his research into the best drone for architects and designers. The drone he chose is the Mavic Pro from DJI, which he says balances multiple factors like cost, portability, camera quality, stability, ease of operation, and flight time. The only major negative Reinholdt mentions is the camera’s fixed aperture; he recommends counteracting this by purchasing neutral density filters, which help adjust the camera’s exposure. But why architects? Reinholdt mentions the variety of possible uses for a drone throughout a project, but most importantly, he sees video as the future of telling the story of architecture. Through video, you can simulate a user’s movement through spaces and mimic the experience of architecture.
Beginning with site analysis, a drone can be useful for aerial views, sightline analysis, and even topography mapping, which can be done by combining your drone with an app. During the construction phase, drone footage can be used to share progress with faraway clients or to check progress in less-easily-accessible areas, such as roofs. Other drone possibilities for the future include urban planning and traffic pattern analysis, investigation into otherwise inaccessible disaster areas, and even material delivery or construction tasks, in Reinholdt’s opinion.
On the pragmatic side of things, Reinholdt covers some necessary laws you should be aware of if you plan on flying a drone, including where flying is allowing and when. Thankfully the DJI app uses geofencing to ensure you don’t go out of bounds. Reinholdt recommends other apps useful for aspiring drone pilots, including Airmap, another app for determining where you’re allowed to fly, weather apps that show when conditions are favorable for drone flying, and Sunseeker, which allows you to track when and where the sun will be on your site to help you plan your videography. Watch the video above for Reinholdt’s full analysis of the strengths of the Mavic Pro and his advice on how to get started with a drone.
Archy Naija 