In a world where architects can use computers to produce representations of designs with new levels of accuracy and artistry, software fluency is becoming increasingly necessary. With that in mind, last month we asked our readers to help us develop a comprehensive list of tutorials. After studying the comments and scouring the internet for more sources, we have developed this improved list, which we hope will help you to discover new work techniques and better ways to apply different programs.

Of course, it's unlikely that any list of internet resources will ever be complete, so we're hoping to continually update this list with the web's best learning resources. If there are any tutorials sites we've missed which you found helpful, let us know in the comments!

The abundance of information can make it hard to find relevant content, so we are once again turning to our readers' expansive experience and interests to assist us in making the pursuit of technical knowledge less demanding. To make the tutorials easier to navigate, we have once again categorized the list based on which software they focus on:

Pre-Production Modeling and Drawing: this category covers software like AutoCAD, Rhinoceros and BIM programs.

Image Production: Primarily concerned with rendering programs, this category includes programs such as 3ds Max and V-Ray.

Post-Production Image Manipulation: Programs like Photoshop fall into this category.

We also have a General Purpose category for sources that address more than one category or contribute to educating software users without directly providing technology lessons.

Pre-Production:

• Shoegnome: Jared Banks’ website is a great place to learn about uses of BIM software. Featuring a variety of YouTube tutorials and articles, Shoegnome can educate novices and seasoned veterans alike through Banks’ blend of reader-friendly content and technical subject matter.
• ThinkParametric: Many of our readers called for us to include ThinkParametric in the list despite the fact that it requires a subscription fee. This website organizes instructional videos into courses on a range of topics, including Grasshopper, Rhino, and Revit. It also includes project-based courses in which students learn to use software by recreating built projects. ThinkParametric has a fourteen day trial period to experience its teaching methods and topics.
• The Revit Kid: Offering a combination of video and text based instruction, Jeffrey Pinhiero’s blog addresses topics primarily in BIM systems and Revit. The Revit Kid.Com’s library of sources is extensive, with numerous pages of relevant content, and also includes supplemental material such as a newsletter, and (paid) ebooks and videos.
• The Grasshopper Website: The official website for Grasshopper includes several video tutorials for beginning users, as well as links to outside sources which cover additional related topics. Within the website is also a link to a free download of the 157 page Grasshopper Primer, which covers topics relevant to all levels of users.
• Digital Toolbox: Focusing on Rhino and Grasshopper, Digital Toolbox, developed by Scott Leinweber and Tam Tran, has hours of tutorials on topics ranging from the most basic uses to more involved processes. Digital Toolbox has a somewhat small collection of videos, but the content is nonetheless valuable.
• Autodesk's Youtube Channel: It almost goes without saying that Autodesk offers a wide range of resources for their own software. Their Youtube channel contains a number of instructional videos alongside showcases of new features and promotional videos - the list can be overwhelming at first, so unless there's something specific you're searching for keep an eye out for anything labeled "Getting Started."
• Bond-Bryan BIM Blog: Bond Bryan's Rob Jackson has been publishing on the company's "BIM Blog" since 2013, focusing on BIM-related news, case studies and guidance for using ArchiCad, the BIM tool used by his company.
• Nick Senske on Youtube: Created for the course he runs at UNC Charlotte, Senske's video tutorials largely focus on modeling in Rhino
• Plethora Project: Jose Sanchez's series of tutorials focus on a number of tools that are perhaps less "standard" in architecture, including the Unity3d game engine, Autodesk's Maya software for animations, and C#, Python and Javascript. However, the site also includes the more usual Rhino and Grasshopper tutorials, meaning there is something for almost everyone here.
• NYCCTfab on Vimeo: New York City College of Technology's Department of Architectural Technology Fabrication Lab has created an astonishing number of videos on modeling software, including Revit, Rhino and Grasshopper - they even have a series of videos on GIS.

Image Production:

• Evermotion: Evermotion has a huge range of tutorials, including guides for exotic visualization programs such as Unreal Engine 4 and Cinema 4D,in addition to more common programs like V-Ray and 3ds Max. It also includes an image gallery, which is an excellent way to discover new techniques.
• SketchUp Artists: Although it only focuses on rendering within SketchUp, this website has an impressive volume of tutorials and instructions for ways to use several different rendering engines, as well.
• Maxwell on Youtube: Maxwell Render’s YouTube channel has hours of instruction about various features in their programs. The large number of videos Maxwell has produced can make it a challenge to find meaningful content, but viewers can navigate to helpful guides by using the “playlists” tab.
• Arch Viz Camp: Arch Viz Camp has a small but useful set of video tutorials dealing primarily with 3ds Max and Vray; the website's easy to understand instruction makes it accessible to novices and experienced users alike. 
• Simply Rhino Webinars: Although not the most comprehensive of tutorial platforms, this Youtube channel has a series of videos about V-Ray for Rhino totaling over five hours.
• Visual Dynamics Website: This V-Ray reseller is gradually adding sets of tutorials for the software in 3ds Max, Rhino and Sketchup, among others. So far, only the 3ds Max tutorials are particularly developed, but watch this space for more.
• Official V-Ray Website: In a similar vein, the official V-Ray website has a range of tutorials, mostly focusing on 3ds Max and Maya.

Post Production Image Manipulation:

• Pixelflakes: This visualization studio has produced renderings for some of the largest and most influential architecture firms in the world. Their Vimeo channel breaks down some of their images into thorough lessons in the firm’s workflow.
• CG Architect: Under CG Architect’s “features” tab is their tutorials section, which shows the visualization artist’s production process from a digital model to a completed image. Most of the projects on this website are architectural, but others show the design and visualization process for different fields, which could provide insight into different methods of working.
• Photoshop.Architect's YouTube Channel: In spite of having a rather small collection of videos, this source includes tutorials for slightly unconventional rendering practices. In Photoshop.Architect's videos, viewers can find examples of rendered plans, sections, and night scenes.
• Adam Kormendi on YouTube: Adam Kormendi’s YouTube channel features tutorials in Photoshop which cover advanced techniques for adding realistic details and atmospheric elements to images. Kormendi also includes a few videos on 3ds Max and V-Ray and several breakdowns of completed images which supplement the finished work in his tutorials.
• Vyonyx Tutorials: London-based visualization studio Vyonyx offers a small set of tutorials, largely focusing on how to achieve certain effects in Photoshop. They also include a small number of tutorials focusing on modeling software such as Rhino and 3ds Max.
• ARQUI9 Visualisation on Youtube: Another visualization studio who are sharing their knowledge online, ARQUi9 have only five videos to date, but their tutorials are clearly presented and cover useful techniques on Photoshop from adding people to images to creating convincing reflections in water.

General:

• learnarchviz.com: With tutorials on Photoshop, V-Ray, and 3ds Max, learnarchviz.com offers a fairly large collection of free videos in addition to paid courses that go into greater detail on visualization topics. Users can access the paid courses for relatively low price by signing up with learnarchviz.com on the homepage.
• Lynda.com: You may have heard of this site, which offers over 3,500 courses and hundreds of thousands of individual video tutorials in everything from photography and business to architectural software. What many students don't know is that their university may be able to provide them with a free subscription.
• Visualizing Architecture: Alex Hogrefe has created a comprehensive list of tutorials for creating compelling images, split conveniently into four sub-categories. Most of the tutorials focus on techniques that can be simply achieved using just SketchUp and Photoshop.
• Ronen Bekerman: Ronen Bekerman's blog is, above all, a fantastic place to see case studies. Bekerman regularly features contributors who showcase their own work, explaining how they created a single render from the modeling stage to post-production.

We hope to keep building on this list, so please post more tutorials in the comments section below!

Main image via Shutterstock.com

• Architects: MW works
  
• Location: Case Inlet, Washington, USA
  
• Area: 2600.0 ft2
  
• Project Year: 2011
  
• Photographs: Jeremy Bittermann
  

From the architect. The lot is 20 acres on the Key Peninsula overlooking the Case Inlet and the Olympic mountains beyond. The owners had been coming to this site for several years, visiting in summers to camp in the sunny meadow along the ridge and paddle the sound from the end of the winding path below.

When they were ready to build a permanent cabin, the relationship the shelter should have to the land was very clear. The design brief was to create a modern but humble, low maintenance retreat that would at once provide a sense of shelter but also a transparency and connection to the land. The building should be comfortable for two but at ease entertaining for larger groups.

The solution was a building of simple forms that unfolds into the landscape, offering a unique interaction with the site in each room. The living space projects west into the tree canopy on a cantilevered platform capturing views of the water and sunset. The kitchen shares those views but the Ipe decking of its floor extends south beyond a sliding glass wall to engage the meadow and the afternoon sun. In the master suite, a notch is removed from the building to create an outdoor room for bathing in the forest. With a skylight overhead and a sliding glass door toward the view, this room has become the owners favorite spot to enjoy a glass of wine at day’s end.

A balance of simple clean lines and rugged low maintenance materials, this modest retreat is a welcome sanctuary from the city.

With the opening ceremony of SelgasCano's Serpentine Gallery pavilion earlier today, the Serpentine Gallery has released a set of images by Iwan Baan, capturing the riotous color explosion delivered by the pavilion's ETFE wrapping. Always one of London's most popular architectural attractions over the summer, this year marks the pavilion's 15th anniversary, and will be on display until October 18th.

Read on after the break for more images - and stay tuned to this posts for updates throughout the day!

Below are two videos shared with us by Daniel Portillo - to see all of Portillo's photos from the opening event, check out our earlier post.

To see ArchDaily's image sets of previous Serpentine Pavilions, check out the following links:

Smiljan Radić, 2014

• Smiljan Radic’s Serpentine Pavilion / Images by Hufton+Crow
• Smiljan Radic's Serpentine Pavilion / Images by Danica O. Kus

Sou Fujimoto, 2013

• Serpentine Pavilion / Sou Fujimoto

Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei, 2012

• First images of Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei's Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2012
• Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2012 / Photos by Julien Lanoo

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has shortlisted four buildings for the annual "Best Tall Building Awards." Considered to be the four best skyscrapers of the year, the buildings have been named from each of the four competing regions in the world - Americas; Asia and Australia; Europe; the Middle East and Africa - from nominees representing 33 countries. One of the buildings will be crowned the world's best at a ceremony this November. 

The four top skyscrapers for 2015 are...

SOM's One World Trade Center (Americas) is "a bold new icon for New York City built on the World Trade Center site, whose design acknowledges the adjacent memorial, and whose symbolic importance to the city and the country cannot be overstated. Its form calls to mind several  classical New York skyscrapers for which the city is best recognized. The building had high design expectations which the jury felt were met and exceeded," says the jury.

Toyo Ito and RSP Architects' CapitaGreen (Asia and Australasia) is "outstanding in that green living vegetation covers 55 percent of the perimeter of its façade, giving the landmark its iconic appearance. The jury noted that the building presented a new way forward for high-rise vegetated façades by placing them within the double skin, offering the potential for solar shade and even agricultural output, as well as environmental and psychological benefits."

Boeri Studio's Bosco Verticale (Europe) is "unprecedented in its deployment of greenery at such scale and height. The building’s intensive “living façade,” incorporating numerous trees and 90+ species of vegetation, is an active interface to the surrounding environment. The scheme is exceptional in that the plants act as an extension of the tower’s exterior envelope. The jury called this exploration of the viability of greenery at such heights groundbreaking."

Foster + Partners' Burj Mohammed Bin Rashid Tower (Middle East and Africa) "blends into its cultural and geographic context both through its design and its use. The jury appreciated that the tower’s undulating cladding creates a mirage effect that alludes to its desert ambience. A marketplace based on the traditional souk, with offerings ranging from modern luxury goods to regional artisanal crafts, helps integrate the tower to its surroundings."

Each tower was chosen for their "strong commitment to sustainability" and for being an exemplar in the use of greenery as "both to enhance the comfort of the building’s users and reduce the environmental impact of the building." Others were lauded for their "dramatic sculptural form and urban presence."

Project descriptions provided by the jury. 

• Arquitectos: FP arquitectura
  
• Ubicación: Uramita, Uramita, Antioquia, Colombia
  
• Área: 768.0 m2
  
• Año Proyecto: 2015
  
• Fotografías: Alejandro Arango , Cortesia de FP arquitectura
  

• Equipo Proyecto: José Puentes, Iván Forgioni, Juan José López.
  

From the architect. Uramita is a small municipality in the western part of the department of Antioquia, selected to host one of the first eighty Educational Parks to be built in the department.

In the words of the Governor of Antioquia, Sergio Fajardo, an Educational Park “ is a public space for the gathering of the citizens in the 21st century. An open space for the whole community… bet that makes public education of quality, science, technology, entrepreneurship, innovation and culture, privileged actions, from the potential and the richness of our regions, that allow combating social inequalities, violence and the culture of illegality.”

Uramita is a municipality with a shortage of public spaces and with a rural population greater than the urban population, therefore the Educational Park is conceived as an open structure that will accommodate and integrate the entire population of the municipality, putting in evidence the mountainous landscape that surrounds it.

Being located in an area whose climate is tropical dry, with an average temperature of 26 °C and an annual precipitation of 1000 to 2000 mm, it is proposed as a reference element of the project and its thermal comfort, al large pergola that contains and protects all of the parts of the Educational Park that has direct solar incidence at midday and in the afternoon.

• Architects: Paolo Cesaretti
  
• Location: Bologna, Italy
  
• Area: 700.0 sqm
  
• Project Year: 2014
  
• Photographs: Lorenzo Pennati
  

• Design Team: Paolo Cesaretti, Michela Pinna, Debora Palmieri, Claudia Astarita
  
• Styling: Fulvia Carmagnini, Laura Mauceri
  
• Contractor: La Bottega
  

From the architect. When an international brand asks for a new stand design usually is to mark a shift in perception. As part of an ongoing expansion strategy, in 2011 the Turkish Kale Group established Kale Italia as qualified hub for all the western operations. Opening to a world of possibilities, this sensible switch – along with a roster of hi-quality design-edge new products – brought fresh new energy and ambitions to raise the brand value.

Cersaie 2014 resulted to be the first official worldwide presentation of this new venture. A 700 sqm stand had for the first time to gather five different brands belonging to the Kale Group, with the aim to show clearly its presence in any segment of the market.

The design agency of Architect Paolo Cesaretti - in charge of the new stand design and visual communication - decided to stage the tangible energy of this moment in the Group’s life through a vibrant outer skin tying together the five brands. In balance between analogic and digital, the skin was solid but transparent, enclosing but lighting. A digital pattern made of a natural material, thousands of MDF blocks.

The skin - an attracting element from outside - left edgeless the space inside. Here a central spine - hosting services such as reception, business lounge, meeting rooms, private offices, storage rooms - was organizing and connecting all the exhibition areas. Inside the stand all the actions were focused on directing the attention of the visitor to the displays. With a no lost space attitude, simple fluid paths invited the visitors to discover and stop. Clear perception meant clear information along with a remarkable experience.

Two main different ways of displaying were designed. The From ambient to hype type - discarding the traditional idea of the room-replica display - consisted in a wireframe cage organizing shifted ceramic surfaces. Hosting moodish and stylish sets evoking interior decor solutions, it was used mainly for products belonging to the residential segment. The Extended display type was instead intended for large extensions of product display and consisted in plywood panel+platform display units. Used in all the brand areas for products with a more technical vocation.

Additionally, bespoke display types were studied for the Edilgres hi-end collections. Here the ceramics became a landscape of sculptural surfaces organized around two chandelier-like installations made of hundreds of workshop lamps.

The stand design resulted to be symbolic, evocative and flexible. With a strong identity, adaptable to Kale’s changing needs and visions.

The World Architecture Festival has announced the shortlist for its 2015 awards. The world's largest architectural awards program, WAF received more than 700 entires from architects and designers representing 47 countries. Some of the shortlisted architects include Foster + Partners, Zaha Hadid Architects, Herzog & de Meuron, OMA, Buro Ole Scheeren and BIG.

All finalists will be invited to present their project live at the festival in November at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore to a "super jury" that will include Sou Fujimoto, Peter Cook, and ArchDaily editor-in-chief David Basulto. A winner for each of the awards' 27 categories will be selected. From this, an overarching World Building or Future Project of the Year award will be selected. Book your tickets today (here) and read on to for the complete WAF 2015 awards' shortlist. 

COMPLETED BUILDINGS 

Civic and Community

• Greenland Shanghai Hongqiao World Centre Gallery (HWC Gallery), Shanghai, China, / Aedas
• Soma City Home for All, Soma-shi, Fukushima / Klein Dytham Architecture
• Dlr Lexicon, Dún Laoghaire Co. Dublin, Ireland / Carr Cotter & Naessens
• Stonehenge Exhibition + Visitor Centre, Wiltshire, UK / Denton Corker Marshall
• Tucheng Community Sports Center, New Taipei City, Taiwan / QLAB
• The Presidential Archive of Korea, Sejong, Korea / SAMOO Architects and Engineers
• Zhonghe Community Sports Center, New Taipei City, Taiwan / QLAB
• All-year-round Sports and Leisure Center by Lake Ukiel, Olsztyn, Poland / Dżus Gk Architekti
• Cam Thanh Community House, Hoi An, Vietnam, by 1+1>2 International Architecture
• Rore Kahu - Marsden Cross Heritage Centre, Northland, New Zealand / Cheshire Architect
• The Hacienda Community House, Laguna, Philippines / Jorge Yulo Architects Associates
• Dakar Congress Center, Dakar, Senegal / Tabanlioglu Architects
• Halifax Central Library, Halifax, Canada / Schmidt Hammer Lassen

Culture

• Liupanshui City Museum, Liupanshui, China / City Turenscape
• Naturum Laponia, Stuor Muorkke (Stora Sjöfallets Nationalpark), Sweden / Wingårdh Arkitektkontor
• Science Hills Komatsu, Ishikawa-Ken, Japan / UAO
• Hermitage State Museum in the General Staff Building, St. Petersburg, Russia / Studio 44 Architects
• New Power Station, Baku, Azerbaijan / Erginoğlu & Çalışlar Mimarlık
• The Stanislavsky Theatre, Moscow, Russia / Wowhaus Architects
• Shanghai Natural History Museum, Shanghai, China / Perkins + Will
• Nazrul Tirtha, Kolkata, India / Abin Design Studio
• Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand / Mitchell & Stout Architects
• Soma City Home for All, Fukushima, Japan / Klein Dytham Architecture
• Australian Pavilion, Venice, Italy / Denton Corker Marshall
• The Weston Library, Oxford, UK / Wilkinson Eyre Architects

Display

• Christchurch Botanic Gardens Centre, Christchurch, New Zealand / Patterson Associates
• DECK, Prinsep Street, Singapore / LAUD Architects
• The Art of Norra Länken, Stockholm, Sweden / Sweco Architects
• USA Pavilion Expo Milano 2015, Milan, Italy / Biber Architects
• Malaysian Pavilion, World EXPO 2015, Milan, Italy / Hijjas Kasturi Associates
• Brazilian Pavilion, Expo Milan 2015, Milan, Italy / Studio Arthur Casas
• Perth Zoo Orang-utan Exhibit- Jungle School, Perth, Australia / Iredale Pedersen Hook Architects

Health 

• The University of Queensland Oral Health Centre, Brisbane, Australia / Cox Rayner Architects
• Griffith University Health Centre, Gold Coast, Australia / Cox Rayner Architects
• Kathleen Kilgour Centre, Tauranga, New Zealand / Wingate + Farquhar
• Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland / Scott Tallon Walker Architects
• Lady Cilento Children's Hospital, Brisbane, Australia / Lyons
• Walumba Elders Centre, Warmun, Australia / Iredale Pedersen Hook Architects
• Al-Ghanim Ali Mohammed Thunayan Al-Ghanim Center, Kuwait city, Kuwait / AGi architects
• Surgeons Rooms, Melbourne, Australia / FMD Architects
• Centre Public Hospitalier Bretagne Atlantique, Vannes, France / Atelier Arcau
• Hitachino Orthopedics Clinic, Ibaraki, Japan / Matsuyama Architect and Associates
• Maggie's Centre, Oxford, UK / Wilkinson Eyre Architects

Higher Education and Research

• The University of Queensland Oral Health Centre, Brisbane, Australia / Cox Rayner Architects
• Heriot Watt University Malaysia, Putrajaya, Malaysia / Hijjas Kasturi Associates
• University of Greenwich - Library and Academic Building, London, United Kingdom / Heneghan Peng Architects
• Nan Tien Institute and Cultural Centre, Wollongong, Australia / Woods Bagot
• Toho Gakuen School of Music, Tokyo, Japan / Nikken Sekkei
• JRC Advanced Technology Center, Nagano, Japan / Nikken Sekkei
• Nanyang Technological University, Singapore / Heatherwick Studio
• Ngoolark Building 34 Student Services, Perth, Australia / JCY Architects & Urban Designers
• Research Center and Lecture Hall, Kampaeng Saen, Thailand / Chiangmai Life Construction
• Faculty of Engineering + Information Technology, Sydney, Australia / Denton Corker Marshall
• Charles Perkins Centre, Sydney, Australia / Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp
• Melbourne School of Design, Melbourne, Australia / John Wardle Architects
• Case Western Reserve University Tinkham Veale University, Cleveland, Ohio / Perkins + Will
• Westmead Millenium Institute, Sydney, Australia / BVN
• Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts, New Taipei City, Taiwan / Kris Yao Artech
• John Phillips Library, University of Western Sydney, Australia / Allen Jack + Cottier Architects
• Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies, Doha, Qatar / Qatar Foundation

Hotel and Leisure:

• Öijared Hotel, Floda, Sweden / Kjellgren Kaminsky Architecture
• Edison Residence, Montreal, Canada / KANVA
• Olive Grove, Banks Peninsula, New Zealand / Patterson Associates
• St Regis Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey / EAA Emre Arolat Architects
• Lanserhof Lake Tegern, Bavaria, Germany / Ingenhoven Architects
• Sandibe Safari Lodge, Okavango, Botswana / Michaelis Boyd Associates
• Yacht Club de Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco / Foster + Partners
• Youth hotel in iD Town, Shenzhen, China / O-office Architects
• Maxx Royal Kemer Resort and Spa, Antalya, Turkey / Baraka Architects
• Thermal Spa Hotel, Eskisehir, Turkey / GAD Architecture
• Ulrichshof, Rimbach, Bavaria, Germany / noa*
• G Kelawai Hotel, Singapore / K2LD Architects

House

• Premaydena House, Tasmania, Australia / Misho + Associates
• Kangaroo House, Seongnam-si, South Korea / Hyunjoon Yoo Architects
• Termitary House, Da Nang City, Vietnam / Tropical Space
• Saigon House, Hochiminh, Vietnam / a21studio
• Howe Farm, Buckinghamshire, UK / Ecospace/IPT Architects
• HIZA, Kumrovec, Croatia / Proarh
• Tower House, Melbourne, Australia / Andrew Maynard Architects
• With 3 Kids, 2 Dogs and the Jungle, Hyogo, Japan / Osamu Morishita Architect & Associates
• Scrubby Bay, Banks Peninsula, New Zealand / Patterson Associates
• Cornwall Gardens, Singapore / Chang Architects
• Davenport/Wilson House, Brisbane, Australia / Shane Thompson Architects
• Pound Ridge House, Pound Ridge, New York, United States / Kieran Timberlake
• Tangbei House, Suzhou, China / Lacime Architecture Design
• Project Zero, Alderely, Queensland, Australia / BVN
• The Flint House, Waddesdon, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom / Skene Catling de la Peña
• House TU14, Vilnius, Lithuania / Trimonis Architects
• Villa Am Steinbruch, Oberbozen/Soprabolzano, Italy / noa*
• Warragul House, Warragul, Victoria, Australia / Architects Corner P/L

Housing

• 3x1_Aldeire, Aldeire, Spain / Romera y Ruiz Arquitectos
• Just Be, Mexico City, Mexico / Arqmov Workshop
• The Interlace, Singapore / Buro Ole Scheeren
• Hönekulla, Mölnycke, Sweden / Sweco Architects
• Vertical Itaim building, São Paulo / Studio MK27
• Studio Santral, İstanbul, Turkey / Erginoğlu & Çalışlar Mimarlık
• Artesia, Mexico City, Mexico / Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos
• Viking by Crown, Sydney, Australia / MHN Design Union
• Natura, State of Mexico, Mexico / Archetonic/Jacobo Micha Mizrahi
• Riachuelo, Montevideo, Uruguay / ZIP Arquitectos
• Urban Hamlet, Donges, France / Atelier Arcau
• SkyTerrace @ Dawson, Singapore / SCDA Architects
• Park Tower, Antwerp, Belgium / Studio Farris Architects
• Blue Pool Road, Hong Kong / Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates

New and Old

• Queens, London, United Kingdom / Stiff + Trevillion Architects
• The Wilson: Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum, Cheltenham, United Kingdom / Berman Guedes Stretton
• 8 St James's Square, London, United Kingdom / Eric Parry Architects
• Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu, Chengdu, China / The Oval Partnership
• The Cranes, Singapore / ONG & ONG
• Courtyard House Plugin, Beijing, China / People's Architecture Office
• Beyoglu Municipality, İstanbul, Turkey / Erginoğlu & Çalışlar Mimarlık
• King Fahad National Library, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia / Gerber Architekten
• Rebirth of the Offset Printing Factory, Beijing, China / Origin Architect
• Shepherd's Bush Pavilion Hotel, London, United Kingdom / Flanagan Lawrence
• Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch, New Zealand / Warren and Mahoney Architects
• Rehabilitation of the Dorm, Shenzhen, China / O-office Architects
• The Infill House, Singapore / RT+Q Architects
• Wholesale Conversion of Industrial Building into Genesis, Hong Kong, China / Barrie Ho Architecture Interiors
• An Art Gallery in Ruin, Shenzhen, China / O-office Architects
• FA house - Father's house and Farmhouse, Dalat, Vietnam / Atelier tho.A
• Dilworth Park, Pennsylvania, United States / Kieran Timberlake
• Inner City Warehouse, New South Wales, Australia / Allen Jack + Cottier Architects

Office

• 8 Chifley Square, Sydney, Australia / Lippmann Partnership
• Otsuka Group Osaka Head Office Building, Osaka, Japan /  Nikken Sekkei
• HIGO, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan / Nakayama Architects
• Blackpool Council Offices, Blackpool, United Kingdom / AHR
• Baku White City Office Building, Baku, Azerbaijan / Baku White City
• Maslak No 1 Office Tower, Istanbul, Turkey / Emre Arolat Architects
• Buenos Aires Ciudad Casa de Gobierno, Buenos Aires, Argentina / Foster + Partners
• Fusionopolis 2A, Singapore / JTC Corporation
• 5 Broadgate, London, United Kingdom / Make Architects
• LayerScape, Đà Nẵng, Vietnam / Kientruc O
• 102 Rivonia - EY Head Office, Johannesburg, South Africa / Boogertman + Partners
• ONS Incek Residence Showroom; Sales Office, Ankara, Turkey / Yazgan Design Architecture
• Box Office, Melbourne, Australia / COX
• IRENA Headquarters, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates / Woods Bagot
• 1 Valentine Place, London, United Kingdom / Stiff + Trevillion Architects

Religion

• Catholic City Hub, Singapore / Eco.id Architects
• Ribbon Chapel, Hiroshima, Japan / Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP
• Light of Life Church, Gapyeong Gun, South Korea / Shinslab Architecture
• Floating Moon Temple, Suining County, China / Turenscape
• Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies, Doha, Qatar / Qatar Foundation
• Mahabodhi Monastery, Singapore / Multiply Architects
• Stella Maris, Jakarta, Indonesia / Denton Corker Marshall Jakarta/PT Duta Cermat Mandiri
• Pagoda, Nha Trang, Vietnam / a21studio
• Cardedeu, Lago de Coatepeque, El Salvador / EMC Arquitectura

Schools

• Ivy Bound International School, Bangkok, Thailand / Eco.id Architects
• Kollaskolan, Kolla, Sweden / Kjellgren Kaminsky Architecture
• Waseda University Senior High School, Auditorium, Tokyo, Japan / Nikken Sekkei
• Burntwood School, London, United Kingdom / Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
• Extension of the Professional Hotel School "Savoy", Merano, Italy / Stifter + Bachmann
• Penleigh and Essendon Grammar Middle Girls School, Melbourne, Australia / McBride Charles Ryan
• Ballet School, St. Petersburg, Russia / Studio 44 Architects
• Tac-Sev New Campus, Mersin, Turkey / Erginoğlu & Çalışlar Mimarlık
• Gammel Hellerup High School, Copenhagen, Denmark / BIG
• Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Ngati Kahungunu o Te Wairoa, Wairoa, New Zealand / RTA Studio
• Shunde Primary School, Guangdong, China / K2LD Architects
• Bethel Secondary School Project, Burkina Faso, Africa / Article 25

Shopping

• Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu, Chengdu, China / The Oval Partnership
• The Row - Melrose Place, California, United States / Montalba Architects
• The GPT Group's Wollongong Central, Wollongong, Australia / HDR Rice Daubney
• Upper Queen Street, Nelson, New Zealand / Irving Smith Jack Architects
• Hiroshi Senjyu Museum Karuizawa Cafe & Shop, Karuizawa, Japan / Hideo Yasui + A.I.T
• Riverside 66, Tianjin, China / Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates

Sport

• Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi / Pattern Design
• San Mames Stadium, Bilbao, Spain / ACXT-IDOM
• Adelaide Oval Redevelopment, Adelaide, Australia / COX
• Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne, Australia / NH Architecture
• Lugnet Ski Jumps, Falun, Sweden / Sweco Architects
• Lidingövallen, Lidingö, Sweden / DinellJohansson
• London Aquatics Centre, London, UK / Zaha Hadid Architects
• Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi, Russia / Populous
• Steyn City Clubhouse, Johannesburg, South Africa / Boogertman + Partners
• Sports centre Zaanstad-Zuid, Zaanstad, Netherlands / UArchitects

Transport

• MIT Manukau & Transport Interchange, Auckland, New Zealand / Warren and Mahoney Architects
• The Bridge of Sundvall, Sundsvall, Sweden / Rundquist Architects
• Fulton Center, New York City, USA / Grimshaw
• Footbridge for Thau primary school, Barcelona, Spain / MMI Gestio Arquitectura I Paisatge SLP
• BRT Station, Belo Horizonte, Brazil / Gustavo Penna Arquiteto Associados

FUTURE PROJECTS

Commercial Mixed-Use

• Mianshi Xidiwan Commercial complex, Chengdu, China / Tianhua Architecture Planning Engineering
• The Heart of Yiwu, "An Urban Living Plaza", Yiwu, China / Aedas
• The Post Building, London, United Kingdom / Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
• Twist, London, United Kingdom / Belatchew Arkitekter
• Cloud City, Singapore / Union of Architects of Kazakhstan
• Gardens by the Waterway Neighbourhood Centre and Polyclinic, Singapore / Multiply Architects
• Diamond Hill, Shenyang, China / 5+design
• Pasar Mama-Mama, Jayapura, Indonesia / Hadiprana Design Consultant
• Mango West Bund Plaza, Shanghai, China / Benoy
• Boroshovskoe Shosse-Mixed Use, Moscow, Russia / Blank Architects
• Suzhou Center, Suzhou, China / Benoy
• Urban Block, Taguig City, Philippines / WTA Architecture + Design Studio
• Tanjong Pagar Centre, Singapore / Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
• The Bay, Chroy Changvar, Phnom Penh, Cambodia / Ong & Ong
• Robinson Tower, Singapore / Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
• Marina One, Singapore / Ingenhoven Architects
• New Development High Street Putney, London, United Kingdom / Grid Architects

Competition Entries

• Cairns Cultural Centre, Cairns, Australia / Cox Rayner Architects
• Guangzhou Museum Competition, Guangzhou, China / TFP Farrells
• The Ark, Borne, Netherlands / AMi
• Mandai Nature Safari Park, Singapore / Aedas
• Architect's Village, Bamboo Skyscraper, Singapore / CRG Architects
• Udarnik Contemporary Arts Center, Moscow, Russia / Emre Arolat Architects
• Quay Quarter, Sydney, Australia / Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp
• Qatar Courthouse, Doha, Qatar / AGi architects
• Lyrical Seashore: Kaohsiung Maritime Culture and Pop Music Center, Kaohsiung, Taiwan / Form 4 Architecture

Culture

• Cairns Cultural Centre, Cairns, Australia / Cox Rayner Architects
• Odawara Performing Arts and Cultural Center, Kanagawa, Japan / Chiaki Arai Urban and Architecture Design
• China Green Canal Museum, Tianjin, China / Archiland Consultant International
• Theatro Municipal - Fábrica de Espetáculos, São Paulo, Brazil / Studio MK27
• Antrepo 5 - MSGSU Museum of Painting and Sculpture, Istanbul, Turkey / Emre Arolat Architects
• Erciyes Congress and Cultural Center, Kayseri, Turkey / MuuM
• Wembley Theatre, London, United Kingdom / Flanagan Lawrence
• Petra Museum, Wadi Musa, Jordan / Maisam Architects & Engineers
• Revolution Square, Moscow, Russia / Wowhaus Architects
• Dublin City Library & Parnell Square Cultural Quarter, Dublin, Ireland, Landscape / Moore Ruble Yudell Architects & Planners

Education

• A E Shool, Kerala, India / Arkind Architects
• UNRN University Campus, Bariloche, Argentina / Paulo Gastón Flores Arquitecto Leandro Barreiro Arquitecto Asociado
• Tree Cube, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia / Kenneth Tan Design Architect
• Konya Food & Agriculture University, Konya, Turkey / Yazgan Design Architecture
• Skyline, Constanța, România / S.C. Novelty AE S.R.L.
• Baldivis Secondary College, Baldivis, Australia / JCY Architects & Urban Designers
• Wellington College Performing Arts Centre, Crowthorne, United Kingdom / Studio Seilern Architects

Experimental

• Gravity-Less: structural construction against gravity, Dubai, United Arab Emirates / Sarl Algeria Constructions
• Experimental Logistics 2030, Düsseldorf, Germany / Office 25 Architects
• Corporate Research and Innovation Centre, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil / Perkins + Will
• Home Farm, Singapore / Spark
• Freedom in Future Architecture, Amsterdam, Netherlands / Arup
• Solar Orchid, Singapore / Spark
• Las Heras, Girona, Spain / aLL Design

Health

• LOSEV Natural Life Center & Drugless Therapy, Cankiri, Turkey / MuuM
• Hartford Hospital Orthopaedic Bone and Joint Institute, Hartford, Connecticut / Perkins + Will
• New North Zealand Hospital, Hilleroed, New Zealand / New North Zealand Hospital
• Organic Architecture for Therapy Center in Cieneguilla, Lima, Peru / Organica Arquitectura
• Legacy, Beclean, România / S.C. Novelty AE S.R.L.
• Al Maha Centre for Children and Young Adults, Doha, Qatar / HDR Rice Daubney

House

• Yuhe Quadrangle Courtyard, Beijing, China / Tianhua Architecture Planning & Engineering
• Issa Grotto/Hill House, Vis, Croatia / Proarh
• A Home With Many Moons, Santa Elena, Philippines / CAZA
• Sea Song, California, USA / Form 4 Architecture
• Halcyon Pin Mill, East Sussex, United Kingdom / De Matos Ryan
• Moor House, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom / De Matos Ryan

Infrastructure

• Cukurova Regional Airport Complex, Adana, Turkey / Emre Arolat Architects
• Canada Street Bridge, Auckland, New Zealand / Monk Mackenzie Architects
• Digital Realty Data Centre Osaka, Osaka, Japan / Greenbox Architecture
• The Spiral Pedestrian and Cycle Link, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia / Eleena Jamil Architect
• Arkitektbron (The Architect Bridge), Gothenburg, Sweden / Erik Andersson Architects

Leisure-Led Development

• Water Park, Hong Kong, China / Aedas
• London Olympic Stadium Transformation, London, United Kingdom / Populous
• Vommuli Eco Awareness Resort, Maldives / WOW Architects Warner Wong Design
• Bedok Integrated Complex, Singapore / ONG & ONG
• Hua mu lian Spa Center, Yichun, Jiangxi province, China / Shenzhen HOOP Architectural design
• Iride 01_ The Floating Suite, Paris, France / Torrisi & Procopio Architetti
• Shenming World Leisure City, Chongqing, China / PH Alpha Design
• Isla Pasión, Cozumel, México / Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos
• Rosewood Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand / Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates

Masterplanning

• Griffith University Gold Coast Campus Master Plan, Gold Coast, Australia / Cox Rayner Architects
• Battersea Power Station Masterplan, London, United Kingdom / Cascade Communications
• Mandai Nature Safari Park, Singapore / Aedas
• Television Centre, London, United Kingdom / Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
• Development Concept for the Historic Centre of Kalingrad, Kaliningrad, Russia / Studio 44 Architects
• Mersin Space and Youth Park, Mersin, Turkey / EAA Emre Arolat Architects
• Asker "In the Loop", Asker, Norway / DARK Architects
• Hawley Wharf, London, United Kingdom / Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
• Cali City, Cali, Colombia / Benoy
• Makkasan Creative Park, Bangkok, Thailand / Shma Company Limited
• Mariana - MG | Urban Strategy in 3 acts, Mariana, Brazil / Gustavo Penna Arquiteto & Associados

Office

• Ilbank Head Office & Ankara Region Headquarters, Ankara, Turkey / Suyabatmaz Demirel Architects
• Prague Turkish Embassy, Prague, Czech Republic / Emre Arolat Architects
• Mersin Greater City Municipality Buildings, Mersin, Turkey / Emre Arolat Architects
• Reservoir, Rajasthan, India / Sanjay Puri Architects
• Phare Tower, Asunción, Paraguay / Carlos Ott Architects in association with Carlos Ponce de Leon Architects
• Oasis: The Great American Corporate Center, California, USA / Form 4 Architecture
• AMA Bank Financial Centre, Mandaluyong City, Philippines / Villegas-Roxas Consultants
• 142, Rashbehari, Kolkata, India / Edifice Consultants
• Central Bank of Libya, Tripoli, Libya / Tabanlioglu Architects

Residential

• Suites in the SKAI, Dubai, United Arab Emirates / Atkins
• Peninsula Town, Thousand-island Lake, Chun'an County, Zhejiang Province, China /Tianhua Architecture Planning & Engineering
• University of Queensland Student Accommodation, Brisbane, Australia / Nettleton Tribe
• 190 Strand, London, United Kingdom / Grid Architects
• Vancouver House, Vancouver, Canada / BIG
• E37 Street Residential Tower, New York, USA / Perkins + Will
• Slalom House, Astana, Kazakhstan / Union of Architects of Kazakhstan
• Affordable Box, Almaty, Kazakhstan / Union of Architects of Kazakhstan
• Quadrant 4, London, United Kingdom / Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
• White Clouds, Saintes, France / MORE
• Mixed Development Alexandria, Sydney, Australia / BKA Architecture
• Adventz Tower, Dubai, UAE / LW Design
• One Blackfriars, London, United Kingdom / SimpsonHaugh and Partners
• Battersea Power Station Residential Homes, London, United Kingdom / Michaelis Boyd Associates
• Kundu, Antalya, Turkey / Gad Architecture
• Incek Loft, Ankara, Turkey / Tabanlioglu Architects
• Nelson on the Park, Vancouver, Canada / Chris Doray Studio

Landscape

• Chiltern House, Singapore / WOW Architects Warner Wong Design
• A Resilient Landscape: Yanweizhou Park / Jinhua City Turenscape
• City Fields, Montreal, Canada / Kanva Architecture
• Culhuacan Squares Redevelopment, Mexico City, Mexico / 128 Architecture & Urban Design
• Botanica Khao Yai, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand / TROP: Terrains + Open Space
• Novo Nordisk Nature Park, Copenhagen, Denmark / SLA Architects
• Value Farm, Shenzhen, China / Thomas Chung + The Chinese University of Hong Kong
• Louvre Lens Parc, Lens, France / Mosbach Paysagistes

SMALL PROJECTS

• Soma City Home for All, Soma-shi, Japan / Klein Dytham Architecture
• 'The Flow' - A Multipurpose Pavilion, Chonburi, Thailand / Department of Architecture
• Rore Kahu - Marsden Cross Heritage Centre, Pureura Penninsular, Northland, New Zealand / Cheshire Architect
• The Bamboo Playhouse, Perdana Botanical Garden, Kuala Lumpur / Eleena Jamil Architect
• Surgeons Rooms, Melbourne, Australia / FMD Architects
• Maggie's Centre, Oxford, United Kingdom / Wilkinson Eyre Architects
• Grotto Sauna, Canada / Partisans
• Wild Rocket Restaurant, Singapore / Produce Workshop
• Hiza, Kumrovec, Croatia / PROARH
• Dune House, Terschelling, Netherlands / Marc Koehler Architects
• Dreamcatcher, Melbourne, Australia / Fiona Winzar Architects
• Canada Street Bridge, Auckland, New Zealand / Monk Mackenzie Architects
• Hiroshi Senjyu Museum Karuizawa Cafe and Shop, Karuizawa, Japan / Hideo Yasui + A.I.T
• Box Office, Melbourne, Australia / COX
• Lidingövallen, Lidingö, Sweden / DinellJohansson
• BRT Station, Belo Horizonte, Brazil / Gustavo Penna Arquiteto & Associados

COLOR

• Wholesale Conversion of Industrial Building into Genesis, Hong Kong, China / Barrie Ho Architecture Interiors
• ONS Incek Residence Showroom & Sales Office, Ankara, Turkey / Yazgan Design Architecture
• Box Office, Melbourne, Australia / COX
• Saigon house, Hochiminh, Vietnam / a21studio
• Tucheng Community Sports Center, New Taipei City, Taiwan / QLAB
• A Glowing Lantern for "Little India", unknown location / Robert Greg Shand Architects
• Lady Cilento Children's Hospital, Brisbane, Australia / Lyons
• Al-Ghanim Ali Mohammed Thunayan Al-Ghanim Center, Kuwait city, Kuwait / AGi architects
• Viking by Crown, Sydney, Australia / MHN Design Union

More information about each shortlisted project can be found here.

• Architects: Tzannes Associates
  
• Location: Sydney NSW, Australia
  
• Builder: Paul King
  
• Landscaping: William Dangar & Associates
  
• Project Year: 2015
  
• Photographs: Michael Nicholson
  

From the architect. The project is for a new house set in a compact urban site. Within this dense situation we have created a relaxed yet rich garden landscape of interconnected indoor and outdoor rooms.

The new house was positioned to maximise access to northern light. To achieve this, the home hugs the bent southern boundary and is split into two distinct wings around the point of rotation; formal and informal areas split with the kitchen acting as fulcrum between the two. A dialogue is established between the two components of the house: the entertaining or public space/room, a large double height space with fireplace, dining and seating areas, and the more intimate private rooms for family use, which include a family room, bedrooms upstairs and a study/nanny’s room or grandmother’s apartment with its own bathroom downstairs.

Gardens surround the building. The house is open on all sides with many views through the plan linking rooms. The character of a house in a garden is immediately apparent through its soft presentation to the street with the only built structures being the entry gate and garage. The gardens extend to the footpath edge with the boundary fence absorbed by planting.

Sustainability

The house addresses sustainability in a number of key areas. The strategy and the client’s ambition for the site addresses questions of urban density and how this can be resolved with the apparently contradictory concerns of a large house on a relatively small lot, issues of privacy and impacts on surrounding properties resulting from urban density as well as how these issues might be addressed within a garden setting.

The house is oriented and designed to maximise northern solar gain whist providing opportunities to control this solar access through operable blinds and eave overhangs. In contrast, the elevations to the east west and south are considerably more closed, controlling both solar gain and heat loss. Both the building plan and its facades have been designed to facilitate cross ventilation (air conditioning is only provided to the main bed, living and dining rooms). Thermal mass is provided in the building interior to maximise the benefits of these strategic moves.

Direct detailing and a restricted material palette favouring integral finishes limit the need for ongoing maintenance. Face brickwork is paired with oiled hardwood in sheltered locations, protected steel and oxide-tinted concrete.  

The house also implements a series of traditional passive design strategies as well as provides some energy generation infrastructure. LED lighting, photovoltaic cells, stormwater and rainwater retention are also provided by the development.

• Architects: L'EAU Design
  
• Location: 9-12 Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
  
• Architect In Charge: Kim Dong-jin
  
• Design Team: Jeong Sunjun, Kim Taeyeon
  
• Area: 743.0 sqm
  
• Project Year: 20058
  
• Photographs: Park Wan-soon
  

• Site Area: 274.62㎡
  
• Client: Kim Sanggyo
  

From the architect. Expansion of Commercial District and Destiny of Residential Area.

In between Apgujeong-dong where the middle class gathered and high tech business town Samsung-dong with Teheran-ro as a center, Cheongdam-dong remained in relatively quiet residential area but alleys are gradually changing in the aftermath of surrounding commercial district. Other than having great market value of apartment and land and advantage of school district in this town, it still has good residential environment, but despite of thorough city planning like district units plan, it has possibility of threatening the residents as target of unwanted commercial district.

Expansion of commercial district which invade residential area might seem like a good news to the residents at first as it increases property values, but we experienced the town becoming uninhabitable as stores are continuously flooded thoughtlessly.  We are witnessing that one of the residential areas with unique characteristics, Banpo Seorae Village and quite Garosu-gil (Tree Lined Street) in Sinsa-dong cannot predict their future as famous brand shops of major companies and indiscreet stores are penetrating into these areas.

Commercial facilities are facilities that provide various convenience facilities and basic commercial facility and that are closely connected to residential life. As long as it meet the legal requirement and guarantees profitability, commercial facilities can be utilized as method of business which aims for earning from leasing according to maximized area. Flood of indiscreet stores hinder qualitative living environment of residents. Thus, detailed alternative of guaranteed neighborhood of living environment and research of neighborhood living, which can vitalize local community and embrace commercial function, culture, and life pattern, are needed. The small scale commercial facilities planning and research that consider public can establish new relationship between street and architecture.

These commercial facilities function as interaction of street and architecture in residential area of city should have good accessibility from the street, avoid vertically severed structure, and play a role of communication that allows interchanging according to the flow. Spatial structure system should be provided which allows people to move smoothly throughout the building with proper use of stair and slope to maximize artificial land use, such as, sunken garden, terrace, roof garden, and mezzanine. Therefore, a volume where interaction occurs in interior to exterior should be provided. This planned commercial facilities with architectural history will provide two hares: cultural convenience of residents and satisfy business need.

Vertical Expansion of Continuous Space

Leasing building is being programmed with flexible vertical relationship and three dimensional layout strategy. The spaces are arranged by considering minimizing severance of floors, smooth vertical circulation and combination, and independency. Basement is a connection to the ground level with possible sunken garden and secure another ground connecting level. 2nd floor can be accessed from terrace, which is created from expanded balcony, to allow independent access without passing through interior public hall. 3rd floor can be shared with 2nd floor through open space of mezzanine. 4th and 5th floor creates double layered space with roof garden as its center. By effective stacking strategy, use of artificial levels can enrich the space as much as natural land. The smooth spatial flow of building interior develops disconnected surrounding relationship through continuous surface that twist around volume and program.

• Architects: Crossboundaries
  
• Location: Si Ping Lu, Shanghai Shi, China
  
• Architect In Charge: Binke Lenhardt, Dong Hao
  
• Project Designers: Anne-Charlotte Wiklander, Irene Solà, Gao Yang
  
• Project Year: 2015
  
• Photographs: Courtesy of Crossboundaries
  

• Interior Design: Crossboundaries
  
• Collaborating Architect And Engineer: Shanghai Xian Dai Architectural Design Group
  
• Client: Children Enterprise (UK) Limited
  

From the architect. Family Box, an already established children’s facility chain in China, was ambitious to set their first step in metropolitan Shanghai by transforming the space into a dynamic and cheerful play environment for children. The existing premises of 2,100sqm in a residential area was extremely dark and unattractive as the façade cladding covered most of the windows and a chaotic organization of columns, beams and cores was revealed inside. Crossboundaries reorganized the space and created logic to the sequence of experiencing the facility.

From the entrance the visitor can immediately see the dominant green staircase volume, which serves as the prime circulation path between ground floor and the swimming pool as well as the changing rooms upstairs.

Following a clear sequence, the parents and children are led from the reception on the ground floor, passing by water-play, open-play and café areas next to the staircase. Each area differentiates from the other by pyramid ceilings and is framed in wood defining the thresholds. A continuous link across the areas is optimized by a color scheme led by a fresh, strong green, used behind perforated panels and at window openings combined with wooden benches.

On the second floor, the corridor adapts to the chaotic cores guiding the visitors toward the swimming pools, with recessed connections to the changing rooms along the way. The green is again applied, in niches along the corridor, combined with a lighter blue and grey base palette throughout. Divided into two, the pool area has a shallow section for beginners and deeper water for swim training, over which three big pyramid ceilings with skylights add height and light to the generic swimming hall that previously existed.

• Architects: Stu/D/O Architects
  
• Location: Kosum Ruam Chai Soi 7, Khwaeng Don Mueang, Khet Don Mueang, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10210, Thailand
  
• Area: 4000.0 sqm
  
• Project Year: 2014
  
• Photographs: Ketsiree Wongwan
  

• Structural Engineer: Panit Supasiriluk
  
• Mechanical Engineer: MEE Consultants
  
• Interior Architect: Stu/D/O Architects
  
• Landscape Architect: Teerachai Tharawongthawat
  
• Graphic Designer: Amnaj Suriyawongkul
  
• Lighting Designer: Siriluck Chinsaengchai
  

From the architect. Kurve 7 is a community mall located within a dense residential district in the Eastern part of Bangkok, Krungthep Kreetha 7. Using a series of soft curvature strategies to define, frame, lead, and connect, Stu/D/O is able to realize their goal of creating a new neighborhood commercial space that is linked together by a series of open air garden and public space rather than creating a large enclosed community mall. 

Due to zoning restrictions, the massing is divided into nine separated blocks with the commercial area no larger than 300 square meters each. The small commercial blocks are organized into two longitudinal groups in the front and rear, opening up a curve promenade that elongates the corridor space while providing new visual interests. In order to visually link the separated programmatic massing together, a continuous curved roof is used to architecturally connect the blocks. The center of this exposed concrete roof is lifted up 1.5 meters in its vertical axis, creating a sloped roofline that defines the main entrance. The ground plane at the entry sequence is then lifted up in a similar manner to create a gently sloping ramp, connecting the furthest boundary to the center. Together with the curving plan that pulls in the entry way, these three curves define the main approach and create an intimate space that becomes an open air amphitheater and garden for the public.

The treatment of materials is used to emphasize each architectural elements of the project. The continuous curved roof plane is constructed from exposed concrete, while the ground plane is defined by wood planks and greenery. The straight vertical planes are treated with a dark rough concrete texture while the curving front facades are treated with floor to ceiling glazing and metal framing details. Existing trees are well preserved and surrounded with terraces, defining a main dining area of the project.

• Architects: Valia Foufa, Panagiotis Papassotiriou
  
• Location: Pera Melana 223 00, Greece
  
• Project Year: 2014
  
• Photographs: Erieta Attali , Pygmalion Karatzas
  

• Civil Eng : Kratimenos Antonis
  
• Mechanical Eng : Kabilis Nikos
  
• Topographical Survey: Bokolas Dimitrios, Koulos Evangelos
  
• Civil Eng Consultant: Taraviras George
  

From the architect. The project was awarded to us by a family leaving in Athens keen on a new country house in the Arcadian Landscape.  Design started mid-2012 and work on site was completed at the end of 2014.  

The program

It all started as a simple snapshot; At a very steep site with clear view towards the sea a holiday retreat protects its inhabitants from the sun heat and the strong winds while soothing the senses under the moonlight.

We have placed the building at the only available naturally formed plateau of the site in order to avoid unnecessary groundworks that could spoil the relief. 

Simple elements to deal with a difficult and very unstable and steep terrain. The endless of the sea view and the enormity of the open horizon is overwhelming and therefore no great attempt is needed to frame the views.

The structure is defined by 3 volumes that are placed along the contour lines. The end product is a result of the division of a rectangular volume into 3 parts while staggering the middle part towards the east.This break is enhanced by the use of various materials and alteration of the design.

The main features of the central volume (where the day activities are hosted) are the cladding with local Arcadian stone - dry stone construction both internally and externally on concrete frame and brick infill -, pitched gabled roof with roofslates and the fireplace on the narrow end framing the view. The design has references to the local architecture (where the Tsakonian “Makrinaria” are met) incorporating changes to the form and size of the openings in order to achieve better results on the bioclimatic output and view.

Floor to ceiling openings enhance the dual aspect feature without affecting the monolithic quality while the views cross on all sides. The staggering of the western wall from the outline of this volume creates a long and narrow circulation area under a flat parapet roof that connects all three volumes.

Two white blocks are set back on either side of the main volume (where the bedrooms and wc’s are hosted) acting as reference to the minimalism and sincerity of our attempted architectural language away from heavy decorative features and overstatements.

At the intersection of the three volumes two fair faced concrete beams act as “connectors” subtly underlining the junction of the 3 blocks.  

Finally, white render reflects the sun, the stone cladding offers its thermal mass connecting the building with the surroundings and together protect the inhabitants from the weather conditions. A configuration revealing the endless view to the horizon and was born out of consideration for the steep relief and the local traditional materials.

• Architects: HASCHER JEHLE Architektur, mitiska wäger architekten
  
• Location: Montfortgasse 1, 6800 Feldkirch, Austria
  
• Team Competition: Johannes Raible, Lars Gebhardt, Ricardo di Parodi, Wojtek Kaminsky, Jürgen Postai
  
• Project Head: Frank Jödicke, Gorch Müllauer, Markus Mitiska
  
• Project Year: 2015
  
• Photographs: Svenja Bockhop, Benjamin Marte
  

• Assistance: Kralyu Chobanov, Christine Dorn, André Flaskamp, Lars Gebhardt, Anja Haferkorn, Oliver Heinicke, Carsten Krafft, Beata Maciak, Benjamin Marte, Ralf Mittmann, Max Porzelt, Jürgen Postai, Dorota Przydrozna, Anita Sinanian, Clemence Touzet, Martin Tschofen, Markus Wäger
  
• Interns : Mark Friedrich, Amaya Riero Diaz, Lubomir Peytchev
  
• Construction Management: Baumeister Ing. Michael Hassler, Dornbirn
  
• Interior Design: Mitiska ● Wäger Architekten + HASCHER JEHLE Architekten
  
• Acoustic Planning: Graner + Partner, Bergisch Gladbach
  
• Structural Consultant : Bernard & Brunnsteiner, Hall in Tirol
  
• Heating, Ventilation, Electro Planning: Dick + Harner, Salzburg / BHM Ingenieure, Feldkirch
  
• Construction Physics: IPJ Ingenieure mit ISRW Klapdor, Köln-Düsseldorf
  
• Soil Report: Geotek, Feldkirch
  
• Surveyor: Markowski, Feldkirch
  
• Light Planning: LDE, Eschen (Liechtenstein)
  
• Structural Fire Protection : IBS, Linz
  
• Mediaplanning: Graner + Partner, Bergisch Gladbach
  
• Stage Technique: LDE, Eschen (Liechtenstein)
  
• Client: Stadt Feldkirch, Bauamt, vertreten
  
• Floor Area: 10.840 qm
  
• Total Area: 13.435 qm
  

The new Montforthaus is a multi-purpose cultural centre for the people of Feldkirch and the surrounding region. It is versatile enough to host conventions, balls, trade fairs, classical concerts, pop concerts and theatre performances. The Montforthaus is harmoniously embedded in the historical urban grain of the medieval old town of Feldkirch. While its formal articulation is demonstratively modern, its materiality picks up the traditional Jura marble of the region, setting up a dialectical frisson between the two while simultaneously weaving the new insertion into the existing fabric of the town.

Like a pebble in the riverbed of the town, the new cultural centre sits in the flow of urban space between three adjoining squares which fuse into a single large urban space. The same natural flow of space continues into the building, leading visitors into a four-storey landscape of foyers and open galleries beneath a naturally illuminated glazed atrium roof. With its transparent front the Montforthaus is inviting passers-by into the Montforthaus. It leads directly into the almost 15 metre high, brightly lit open foyer. The seamless flow of space from outside to inside and the fully glazed walls of the foyer make the surroundings part of the space and contribute to the sense of an expansive interior. A broad sculptural stair leads visitors up from the entrance to the gallery levels, the small auditorium, seminar rooms and from there on to the roof terrace.

The spatial continuum that extends the entire height of the building with its galleries and myriad visual connections is especially suitable for large events. Multi-purpose spaces can be opened up or closed off as needed to suit a wide range of different needs and constellations. The new public building provides a total of 12,700 m² of gross floor area. The core functional elements of the building are distributed directly around the foyer and can be joined or separated as required. The extensive foyer zone forms a spacious entrée to the large concert hall. The large and small concert halls as well as the multi-purpose spaces are articulated as a single large organic volume, the form of which can be seen from outside.

The aim of creating an acoustic environment in the Montforthaus that offers both the musicians playing in the orchestra and the audience an aural experience comparable to that of a philharmonic hall was a significant challenge. More than 300 m² of the internal surfaces have been made adjustable, for example 6 movable acoustic sails in the ceiling. Of the various elements, some are motorised and some mechanically operated – depending on the use of the hall – so that specific acoustic configurations can be activated or deactivated. As such, the reverberation time can be optimised to meet specific requirements. As with the acoustics, the planners had to find a balance between the very different staging demands of concerts, conventions, balls, etc. Each of these different kinds of events involves aspects that have different and sometimes conflicting technical requirements. As a consequence, certain building elements were designed to be multi-functional from the outset.

The wish to be able to achieve rapid scene changes seemed at first glance impossible given the building height limitations of the urban plan – a typical fly tower needs to be three times the height of the stage opening. The fly tower in the Montforthaus is divided into segments with a fly system, segments with equipment catwalks, and segments without. An arrangement of this kind has not been used before in this configuration and is therefore an innovation specially developed for the building. Aside from the custom solutions for staging technology, a further special development is the lighting of the halls and foyer. The lighting design office LDE Belzner Holmes, which specialises in architectural and stage lighting, designed a lighting scheme that complements the underlying architectonic idea of the building. The artificial lighting of the interior augments the incident daylight from the generous roof glazing to create a sense of uniform natural illumination throughout the entire foyer. The centrepiece of the foyer is a modern interpretation of a chandelier, with a form that echoes and illuminates the organic triangular shape of the glazed roof of the foyer. Like the other lights in the public areas of the building, the light temperature of the chandelier can also be adapted to suit the respective occasion.

The vertical patterning of the natural stone façade made of light Jura limestone underlines the sculptural form of the building without requiring curved sections and lends the building a sense of elegant restraint. The Jura limestone façade, comprised of 30 cm wide, 4 cm thick and at times over 200 cm long hung stone panels, has a total surface area of 2150m². The vertical panel edges are precisely milled to allow them to overlap, obviating the need for open panel seams. The Montforthaus has been planned in accordance with “Green and Smart Building” concepts. During all stages of the design process, opportunities to exploit synergy effects between the architecture, technical services and building physics were investigated. The integral life cycle concept reduces both the investment as well as the running costs. Coatings, paints and insulation materials, as well as the façade materials, were selected and used according to environmental criteria. Parking spaces for electric bicycles and charging stations for electric vehicles complement the sustainability credentials of the building.

The Montforthaus conforms to Energy Efficiency Class A. Even the restaurant on the upper storey uses predominantly local produce. The operator has likewise embraced the building’s sustainable concept and has been awarded Austrian Environmental certification as a “venue for green meetings and green events”.

Moreau Kusunoki, based in Paris, have been announced as the winners of the Guggenheim Helsinki competition following a year of shortlisting, refining and deliberation. Their proposal—entitled Art in the City—"sums up the qualities the jury admired in the design" noted Mark Wigley, chair of the jury. He continued: "the waterfront, park, and nearby urban area all have a dialogue with the loose cluster of pavilions, with people and activities flowing between them. The design is imbued with a sense of community and animation that matches the ambitions of the brief to honor both the people of Finland and the creation of a more responsive museum of the future."

The announcement was made this morning in Helsinki by Richard Armstrong, Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation. Also present was Professor Mark Wigley, chair of the jury and Dean Emeritus of Columbia GSAPP, Jussi Pajunen, Mayor of Helsinki, Ari Lahti, chairman of the Guggenheim Helsinki Supporting Foundation, and the architect team.

According to the Guggenheim Foundation, Moreau Kusunoki's design "invites visitors to engage with museum artwork and programs across a gathering of linked pavilions and plazas organized around an interior street. Clad in locally sourced charred timber and glass, the environmentally sensitive building would comprise nine low-lying volumes and one lighthouse-like tower, connected to the nearby Observatory Park by a new pedestrian footbridge and served by a promenade along Helsinki’s South Harbour." Furthermore, "the jury found the design deeply respectful of the site and setting, creating a fragmented, non-hierarchical campus of linked pavilions where art and society could meet and intermingle."

Richard Armstrong, Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, said: "rarely has such a concentration of architectural intelligence been directed at a single design challenge. Nearly two thousand designers from around the world turned their thoughts to the future of Helsinki’s South Harbour and the possibilities of a museum for the twenty-first century. By making these competition entries available online, we also have contributed an unprecedented volume of design information that is now freely available for study and use. For this reason, while the design competition has now ended, we are confident that its contribution to architectural discourse and the public imagination has only just begun."

In a joint statement, Nicolas Moreau and Hiroko Kusunoki of Moreau Kusunoki said:

"Thanks to the bold vision of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and the City of Helsinki, the international open competition process offered a unique challenge for practices around the world to partake in this exceptional project. Such events represent great hope for architects. We are delighted and honored to have been selected from among 1,715 entries. We are happy to share this victory with all the people we work with: our staff, our partners, and our clients. This great adventure brought us energy, joy, and dreams. The adventure now continues with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, the people of Helsinki, and lovers of architecture and art."

The first round of the open competition held in June 2014 generated 1,715 anonymous entires submitted from 77 countries. In December of 2014 the jury revealed a shortlist of six designs, each selected for their potential "in engaging with the site on Helsinki’s South Harbour, contributing to the urban context, advancing sustainable architecture and challenging, or expanding on, conventional museum practice." Each of these proposals were then developed as finalists. In keeping with European Union and Finnish procurement rules, the identities of the firms responsible were announced but not matched to the submissions. Participating practices included:

• AGPS Architecture (Zurich, Switzerland and Los Angeles, USA)
• Asif Khan (London, UK)
• Fake Industries Architectural Agonism (Cristina Goberna, Urtzi Grau) , Jorge Lopez Conde, Carmen Blanco, Alvaro Carrillo (New York, USA; Barcelona, Spain; and Sydney, Australia)
• Haas Cook Zemmrich STUDIO2050 (Stuttgart, Germany)
• Moreau Kusunoki Architectes (Paris, France)
• SMAR Architecture Studio (Madrid, Spain and Western Australia)

Moreau Kusunoki will receive a cash award of €100,000 (approximately $109,000), while an award of €55,000 (approximately $60,000) will be given to each of the five finalist teams.

The eleven-strong independent jury comprised of:

• Mark Wigley (Professor and Dean Emeritus of Columbia GSAPP) - chair
• Mikko Aho (Director, City Planning and Architect, Helsinki City Planning Department)
• Jeanne Gang (Founder and Principal, Studio Gang Architects)
• Juan Herreros (Professor, and Founder, Estudio Herreros)
• Anssi Lassila (Architect, Founder, OOPEAA Office for Peripheral Architecture)
• Erkki KM Leppävuori (Professor, and President and CEO)
• Rainer Mahlamäki (Professor, and Founder, Lahdelma & Mahlamäki Architects)
• Helena Säteri (Director General, the Ministry of the Environment, Finland)
• Nancy Spector (Deputy Director and Chief Curator, Guggenheim Foundation)
• Yoshiharu Tsukamoto (co-founder, Atelier Bow-Wow)
• Ritva Viljanen (Deputy Mayor, City of Helsinki)

The City of Helsinki and the State of Finland will determine whether to proceed with developing a Guggenheim Helsinki. If the project moves forward, funding will come from public and private sources, including the non-profit Guggenheim Helsinki Supporting Foundation.

About Moreau Kusunoki Architectes

Nicolas Moreau and Hiroko Kusunoki founded Moreau Kusunoki Architectes in Paris in 2011. Kusunoki, who earned her degree from the Shibaura Institute of Technology in Tokyo, began her career in the studio of Shigeru Ban. Moreau, who trained at the Ecole Nationale d’Architecture de Belleville in Paris, worked in the studios of SANAA and Kengo Kuma. In 2008, Moreau and Kusunoki left Tokyo together, so that Moreau could open Kengo Kuma’s office in France. Notable projects include the Théâtre de Beauvaisis in Beauvais, the House of Cultures and Memories in Cayenne, the Polytechnic School of Engineering in Bourget-du-Lac, and the plaza for the Paris District Court (designed by Renzo Piano) at the Porte de Clichy.

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York will host a free public program on the 1st July at 18.00 in its Peter B. Lewis Theatre, led by Cathleen McGuigan (editor-in-chief of the Architectural Record), introducing Moreau Kusunoki.

See how Malcolm Reading Consultants analysed the initial competition results here. Read the full jury citation here.

See All 1,715 Entries to the Guggenheim Helsinki Competition Online

32 "Discarded" Helsinki Guggenheim Proposals

The search for a design for Helsinki's new Guggenheim Museum is well under way. Over a thousand entrants submitted anonymous proposals for the harbor-side museum, and though six finalists have now been chosen, the incredible wealth of talent and effort present in the submissions is hard to ignore.

6 Final Designs Unveiled for Guggenheim Helsinki

The Estonian Centre of Architecture has launched its two-stage public international curator competition to decide Estonia’s project at the next Venice Biennale. The first stage of the competition will close August 31, 2015, with three proposals moving onto a second stage and the winner being announced on November 10, 2015. Proposals are open to art theorists, art historians, architects, designers, interior designers, historians or curators of fields related to architecture. Entries must be in either Estonian or English and international entries are expected to include team members familiar with Estonian architecture. Although the general theme of the 15th Venice Biennale has not been revealed yet the proposal should reflect current global issues and important aspects of the ideas and practice of modern Estonian architecture.

"What would inspire the interest of the architecture audience that gathers in Venice this time? Probably projects that have the ability to both spot global patterns and visualize them through the lens of the Estonian context, the Estonian exposition. In other words, a novel focus of the topic and a high level of research make a strong proposal," says jury member Veronika Valk, who is an adviser on architecture and design at the Estonian Ministry of Culture.

This will mark the eighth Estonian pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Past projects include 2014’s, “Interspace,” which focused on public space as the meeting of an official ideology and its personal interpretations (curated by Johanna Jõekalda, Johan Tali, Siim Tuksam); and 2008’s, “Gas Pipe,” a life-size gas-pipe-shaped installation extending from the Russian to German pavilion (curated by Maarja Kask and Ralf Lõoke from Salto Architects, sculptor Neeme Külm and architecture historian Ingrid Ruudi).

The competition and the Estonian exhibition at the 15th Biennale di Venezia Architecture Exhibition are organized by the Estonian Centre of Architecture in co-operation with the Union of Estonian Architects and with support from Estonian Ministry of Culture and Estonian Cultural Endowment.

• Title: Open Call: Represent Estonia at the 2016 Venice Biennale
  
• Website: http://www.arhitektuurikeskus.ee/events/venice-biennale-of-architecture
  
• Organizers: Estonian Centre of Architecture, Union of Estonian Architects, Estonian Ministry of Culture , Estonian Cultural Endowment
  
• Registration Deadline: 20/08/2015 00:00
  
• Submission Deadline: 31/08/2015 15:00
  
• Venue: Venice Biennale
  

Izaskun Chinchilla Architects have made their recycled, upcycled, and bicycled “Organic Growth Pavilion” a reality on New York’s Governors Island. One of two winners of the “City of Dreams” pavilion competition (hosted by AIANY Emerging New York Architects Committee and the Structural Engineers Association of New York), Izaskun Chinchilla Architects carried out a kickstarter campaign to fund the pavilion’s construction.

The Organic Growth Pavilion is predicated on two simple, yet profound, ideas: adopt architectural and structural principles from the morphology of adaptive plants and organisms, and source all components from secondhand and recycled materials.

All the components involved in the structure’s assembly were used before as something else. Structural framing consisted of used umbrellas, stools and tripods. Shading devices were built out of umbrella tops and recycled bicycle wheels. Izaskun Chinchilla Architects’ intention for the Organic Growth Pavilion was to be able to dismantle and reassemble as needed, potentially building more smaller constructions, or combining it into a larger one in the future.

In March of 2015, the architects launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the material acquisition and construction of the Organic Growth Pavilion. Over 450 individuals and organizations pledged to help financially, as well as with physical labor. 

See all our coverage of Izaskun Chinchilla Architects here.

• Architects: Smith-Miller+Hawkinson Architects
  
• Location: 405 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019, USA
  
• Project Construction Budget: $55,000,000
  
• Area: 176000.0 ft2
  
• Photographs: Michael Moran, Courtesy of Henry Smith-Miller, Razmmedia
  

From the architect. The project is a multifamily building on a 300’ long, Mid-block, through-lot site on 53^rd Street, Clinton Hill neighborhood, Manhattan. The site was a surface parking lot, which was a lot combination from the previous demolition of several tenement buildings.

The project finds precedent in New York City’s historically innovative residential design. It projects a dense fabric for city living, joining maisonette, duplex, triplex, and studio apartments in a cosmopolitan weave. This configuration pays homage both to the ubiquitous New York City brownstone block and LeCorbusier’s “Ville Radieuse” as well as descendants such as Gordon Bunshaft’s Manhattan House, James Freed’s Kip’s Bay, and Oscar Stonoroff’s NYU Housing.

As an extensive low rise and mid-block project, the building replaces open parking lots and derelict structures with an optimistic premise drawn in part from Jane Jacob’s observations of city life. In an innovative response to the restrictive zoning, our through-block site hosts both the customary residential tower with repeating floor plans and an a-typical model; a bar building combining maisonettes, skip stop duplex and skip stop triplexes with roof top cabanas all served by underground self-parking facilities. The assemblage of these elements results in a building section of remarkable economy and presents a new typology for urban living.

The project has an informal quality that appears to step down the street. The unique folded façade offers views across and along the street, westward to the Hudson River and eastward for early morning light. All units optimize the available light and view, many enjoying both southern street side and northern court exposure with natural cross ventilation. The maisonettes’ small street-side forecourts buffer domestic activity while affording direct street access.

The diversity of housing types offered avoids the "cookie-cutter" aspect of much currently offered housing and reflects the social organization of the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood resulting in a seemingly casual appearance. Careful interior detailing of frameless windows, along with the directed views, mark the uniqueness of this residential project.

Site, Sustainable elements, Urban Context

The building’s high density low-rise multi-family composition allows it to benefit from the inherent environmental efficiencies of city living. A dense weave of varied living spaces fully embedded in its urban environment; walkable to Central Park, major transportation and all Midtown West amenities the project provides a platform for sustainable living.

Embedded in a sloping grade down 53rd Street toward the Hudson River, the project’s midblock location and large through-block site prompted the design team to carefully consider the topography and edges in relation to the surrounding city fabric. The project was designed as a low rise/high density proposal appropriate within the district’s height constraints and historic low rise character. Stacking skip-stop floor-through units on maisonettes and a below grade parking garage creates a building section of remarkable economy. The building’s perimeter is purposely animated in its presentation to the street. Entry courts for the maisonettes enliven and buffer the street and sidewalk from ground floor dwelling units while folded upper story units offer oblique visual access to down and up-street views. The project provides a platform for a variety of city living types/habitats through the uncommon diversity of the units offered. Units range from studios to 5 bedroom apartments and townhouses and 57 of the 83 residential units have unique floorplans. The 300’ south facing street façade was designed as a high performance curtain wall to provide access to daylight, ventilation and to maximize view and connection to the city. The north facing court was designed around ground floor garden court spaces. These views are carefully modulated utilizing low-e coatings and lenticular films to minimize solar gain and create privacy from the street, between units and adjacent buildings. Internal solar shades and projected sash windows give inhabitants the ability to further modulate the environmental quality inside the units. The parallel projected sash units ventilate up and down simultaneously increasing the efficiency and depth to which the fresh air is circulated within the unit. Most units enjoy southern street side and northern court exposure with natural floor-through ventilation.

The project has many outdoor spaces that were designed to accept landscape elements that would serve to collect and retain storm water. Over half of the units have access to at least one private space and many have access to multiple outdoor spaces. All units have access to a shared terrace and other building social amenities. Each of these outdoor spaces was designed to allow maximum flexibility for the inhabitants of the units to create quality of life and environment enhancing spaces.

Thanks to the increasing availability of giant LED screens, the Golden Age of Neon has quietly faded in Las Vegas. For decades casinos defined their visual identity with colorful neon signs and competed for the most innovative signage. But with casinos closing, being refurbished and the arrival of new lighting technology a lot of neon signs were replaced, and for many years the Young Electric Sign Company kept the old neon signs in their "boneyard" for storage and recycling. Fortunately historic preservation groups rescued these signs. With support of the arts council The Neon Museum was born to save neon treasures and to educate the public.

Read on to explore Las Vegas' luminous landmarks and The Neon Museum.

When Las Vegas was incorporated as a city in 1911, the now-famous Fremont Street was the main road leading to the railroad station. The first illuminated signs appeared there in 1906, in combination with the street lights to create focal points, and around 1920 visitors were already attracted by a growing number of light advertisements. The occasional animated border of lamps even introduced dynamic lighting - based on manually operated switches.

Due to the gigantic Hoover Dam construction in the 1930s, Las Vegas did not suffer from the effects of the Great Depression like the rest of the USA, and developed its characteristic luminous identity. It was during this period, when neon lights began to shape Fremont Street, that the Las Vegas Review stated: "The Overland Hotel is displaying a new Neon gas-electric sign, of the most modern design, adding considerably to the appearance of that section of the city."

Many of these very expensive neon signs were arranged as lease agreements by the lighting companies that included a service contract. When returned, the companies reused the valuable components to assemble new signs, or they moved the signs to designated boneyards outside the city. Parts of these collections were later donated and eventually built the basis for the The Neon Museum in Las Vegas.

With the size of signs increasing and multi-colour displays on the front canopies of buildings, an intense lighting competition for more attractive neon signs began on Fremont Street in the 1940s. The casino and club scene evolved to become Las Vegas' primary industry, and left the former "Old West" theme for tourists behind. "Glitter Gulch" became the brand name for Fremont Street, with its buzzing gambling blocks and distinctive illuminated signs. While neon lost favor in other regions of the USA, the interest in this linear lighting technology continued in Las Vegas. The tough competition for an eye-catching visual language led to a new strategy in the 1950s, when sign designers collaborated more intensely with architects. Most prominently, the Mint hotel and casino represented this new approach and introduced Modernism to Fremont Street with its asymmetrical vertical blade sign and geometric structural forms. The historic “Old Western” style of the surrounding casinos was left behind in order to highlight the neon age at the Mint.

Another huge light facade emerged with the famous Stardust casino in 1958. The 65 meter long and 8 meter high facade included 11,000 flashing light bulbs and about 2,100 meters of neon tubing, with numerous stars and cosmic rays that mirrored the American ambition to win the space race of the 1960s. The luminous facade covered the unappealing building behind, and thereby convincingly symbolised the "decorated shed", which Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown and Steven Izenour discussed in their well-known 1972 publication Learning from Las Vegas. In a way, the color-changing Stardust facade anticipated the debate about contemporary media facades that act to some extent as superficial beautifications for uninteresting architecture.

Through the growing number of illuminated high-rise hotel towers, Las Vegas started to develop a night-time skyline for the first time in the 1980s. With the arrival of pictorial architecture in the south of Las Vegas, the desire for flashy neon signs faded significantly by the 1990s. The Excalibur casino with its stylized image of a castle or the Luxor casino with the Egyptian pyramid are typical representatives of the new themed architecture. These buildings were nonetheless strikingly illuminated but no longer with neon. Additionally, signs with new LED technology came into sight and replaced the incandescent and neon lamps.

In order to counteract the rise of the south Las Vegas Strip in comparison to the less vivid downtown district, Fremont Street received a barrel vault canopy for entertainment in 1995. The popular light shows there start by turning off the old lights of the buildings, followed by impressive animations on the 460 meter long screen that convert the vault into a luminous ceiling, banishing any feelings of nocturnal fatigue. Originally equipped with four colored incandescent light bulbs per pixel, the installation received a technical update with LEDs in 2004 that considerably improved issues of lamp maintenance and energy consumption. The famous Vic sign with the neon cowboy from 1951 and Vickie, the female counterpart, appear now as lonely relics of neon's golden age under the spectacular LED shows.

To grasp a feeling of the golden age of neon, The Neon Museum has preserved over 150 neon signs, with an outdoor exhibition that includes iconic signage from the Moulin Rouge Hotel, the Stardust, Desert Inn and Caesars Palace amongst many others. Restoring historical signs is part of their mission as well. These remarkable neon signs could once be seen throughout downtown Las Vegas. Visitors can also explore an extraordinary visitor center at The Neon Museum that demonstrates a sophisticated respect to the city's history with the restored lobby shell from the defunct La Concha Motel by architect Paul Williams, who also worked on the futuristic Theme Building at Los Angeles International Airport along with William Pereira, Charles Luckman and Welton Becket. Take some time when visiting Las Vegas and stop at The Neon Museum for a guided tour – and a dive into the luminous history of the glamour capital.

Further reading:

• Melissa Johnson, Carrie Schomig and Dorothy Wright, "Spectacular: A History of Las Vegas Neon" (The Neon Museum, 2013).
• Rudi Stern, "The New Let There be Neon" (ST Publications 1996)
• Martin Treu, "Signs, Streets, and Storefronts: A History of Architecture and Graphic along America's Commercial Corridors" (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012).

Light matters, a monthly column on light and space, is written by Thomas Schielke. Based in Germany, he is fascinated by architectural lighting and works for the lighting company and academy DIAL. He has published numerous articles and co-authored the book “Light Perspectives”. For more information check www.arclighting.de or follow him @arcspaces. The visit to Las Vegas and the Neon Museum was part of the lighting field trip by the University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf, which was kindly supported by Zumtobel and feno.

• Architects: AS/D Asociación de Diseño
  
• Location: Jurica, Santiago de Querétaro, Qro., Mexico
  
• Design Team: Santiago García de Letona, Adela Rochmann, Eduardo Palomino, Piergianna Mazzoca, Fernando Polidura
  
• Architectural Design: AS/D Asociación de Diseño – Paola Morales Orantes + Fernando Velasco RiveraTorres
  
• Area: 270.0 sqm
  
• Project Year: 2014
  
• Photographs: Rafael Gamo
  

• Contractor: VQZ Arquitectura + AS/D
  
• Structural Engineering: Carlos Vargas
  

From the architect. This weekend house located in the Jurica Campestre community seeks to redefine the concept of a retreat home by defragmenting its core program in 4 main volumes. The house is conceived as a central house and 3 independent suites or volumes. This configuration of modules makes the house central core a plaza where one can enjoy a variety of outdoor activities. These main spaces of the house create an interior-exterior relationship where the interior is well connected to nature and its surroundings, creating this way its own context.

The house form the beginning was placed on a 5m by 5m grid and this helped position and have flexibility during the creative process where one could reconfigure the relationship between volumes. The name Casa 4.1.4 derived from its massing consisting of one central house, 4 main volumes, one central plaza and four plazas or patios.

The project takes a starting point by placing the 4 components of the house on the site. The main house of approximately 155 sq.meters, is lived from a central courtyard that acts as a  distribution of program such as kitchen living, dining, and main bedroom, as well as filters light to all the public areas. The suites (cubes) of just 25 sq.meters makes a playful shadow and depth of field and  creates its own context by being placed around the central plaza, these rooms allocate a bedroom, a bath, dressing room, panty-coffee space so they can operate independently form the house and provide privacy.

These volumes having unobstructed views generate intimacy among them. This relationship between architecture and landscape results in a field of vegetation diversity.

• Architects: Andrés Jaque / Office for Political Innovation
  
• Location: 22-25 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City, NY 11101, USA
  
• Architects In Charge: Andrés Jaque, Patrick Craine, Jocelyn Froimovich, Roberto González García
  
• Design Team: Laura Mora, Sebastian Bech-Ravn, Yannan Chen, Ilgaz Kayaalp, Nicolò Lawanski, Jorge López Conde, Senne Meesters, Jorge Noguera Facuseh, James Quick, Jarča Slamova
  
• Project Year: 2015
  
• Photographs: Miguel de Guzmán
  

• Research On The Politics Of Water: Iván López Munuera
  
• Research On Urban Infrastructures And Water In New York: Esteban de Guido de Backer
  
• Structure Engineering: BAC Engeneering and Consultancy Group / Xavier Aguiló i Aran, Rodrigo Martín, Jaume Vallès, Hugo Díez
  
• Ecosystem Design: Asepma / Jochen Scheerer
  
• Hydraulic Engineering: ARUP / Sebastian Lopez, David Dubrow
  
• Electrical Engineering: ARUP / Michael Incontrera
  
• Lighting Engineering: Antonia Peón-Veiga
  
• Nyu Department Of Interaction Science: Arlen Bitsky, Ernie Gerardo, Hovsep Agop, Oskar Noam, Anneka Goss, Charles Deluga, Omayeli Arenyeka, Leslie Martinez, Sriya Sarkar, Nadia Palachkina, Dana Karwas
  
• Models, Web Platform And App: Miguel Mesa del Castillo, Joaquín García Vincente, Anna Melgarejo, Tatiana Poggi, FABLAB, PROYECTOS ARQUITECTÓNICOS, UNIVERSIDAD DE ALICANTE, AD HOC
  
• Audiovisuals: Bollería Industrial / Paula Currás, Ana Olmedo, Eugenio Fernández Sánchez, Enrique Ventosa
  
• Voice Artist: Lee Buckley
  
• Nyc Department Of Environmetal Protection: Corinne Martin, Kim Estes-Fradis
  
• Ecosystemic Production: Michelles Hofet, Abreu Lucas, Rennie Lauren Jones, J. P. Buonocore, Yoonseok Lee, Michelle Ida Kleinman, Yannan Chen, Jiaying Fan, Dihua Yan
  
• Botanical Advise: Queens Botanical Garden / Rebecca Wolf
  
• Gardens And Ecosystems: Balmori Associates, Camilla Hammer, GRNASFCK, Julia Frederick, Patio Interior and Marc Pascal, Regina Galvanduque and Andrés Mier y Terán, wHY, Paula Livingstone, Sofia Armanet, Verdant Gardens
  
• Advise: Storefront for Art and Architecture, Pepe Cobo Gallery, Queens Botanical Garden
  

From the architect. More than 2 billion gallons of water circulate everyday beneath New York City. COSMO is a movable artifact, made out of customized irrigation components, to make visible and enjoyable the so-far hidden urbanism of pipes we live by. An assemblage of ecosystems, based on advanced environmental design, engineered to filter and purify 3.000 gallons of water; eliminating suspended particles and nitrates, balancing the PH, and increasing the level of dissolved oxygen.

The United Nations estimates that by 2025 two thirds of the global population will live in countries that lack sufficient water. COSMO is designed as both an offline and an online prototype. Its purpose it to trigger awareness, and to be easily reproduced all around the world, giving people access to drinking water, and to a dialogue about it.

But above all, COSMO is a party-artifact that moves to go there wherever the party happens. It is a device meant to gather people together, as pleasant and climatically comfortable as a garden and at the same time as visually rich as a mirrored disco ball. As a result of a complex biochemical design, its stretched-out plastic mesh glows automatically whenever its water has been purified. With COSMO, the party is literally lit up every time the environment is being protected.