Photo: Jiri Havan.
Part of the well known MVRDV Barcode masterplan for Oslo, DNB’s new bank headquarters has recently been completed. The building has 17 unique floors and is described by the architect as “pixelated”. It is planned around small scale working units of 6m x 6m considered by the bank to be the ideal size for a project team. This unit of space also gives the massing of the building volume an opportunity to respond to the varying urban context. Read more
Images: Populous.
The architects of the London 2012 Olympic stadium have been selected as the designers for the Rostov Stadium in Russia, one of the venues where the 2018 World Cup will be held. The cities where the 64 matches will be played are: Kalingrad, Kazan, Moscow, Nizhny, Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don,Samara, Saransk, St Petersberg, Volgograd and Yekaterinburg. Read more
Photo: National Cathedral of Brazil.
One of Brazil’s most famous sons, and perhaps the last great Modernist, Oscar Niemeyer, has died aged 104. From Rio de Janeiro he was born in 1907, graduated in the mid 1930s and worked until well after his 100th birthday. As a life long communist he was forced into exile in 1964 when his country was taken over by a military dictatorship. He moved to France but his work took him all over the world. He returned to Rio in the 1980s.
He planned the city of Brasilia and designed many of its key buildings including the National Cathedral, the key ministries, and the National Museum of Brazil amongst many others. He also designed much of its housing. Brasilia is now a Unesco World Heritage site, and is the only modern city to be afforded such recognition. Read more
Photos: Erieta Attali.
Recently, strange stories have emanated from the media of people in Athens covering-over their swimming pools to avoid the gaze of satellites. I do not know if such stories are true, but I do know that it would take more than a tarpaulin to cover the elegant features of this Athenian house designed by Divercity Architects.
The house is based on a mysterious core that contains a chthonic temple to art and the gas-guzzling deities of the automobile world. Many of these creatures have long-since receded to the underworld to be admired only by the high priests of curation and business. The core of this temple, or gallery as it is also known, is clad in stone and is inspired by the imagery of the quarries and landscape of the Attica.
The second element sits on the core and is “amphitheatrical” in form. It was conceived as a pair of binoculars affording views of the city beyond. Here are housed the private areas of the residence. A third element is a transparent living area that sits between the them. These strong sculptural forms sit within a landscape of water, terraces and lush verdure. Read more
LO series maglev train.
Nothing quite prepared me for the first time I saw the Japanese “bullet train”, it left me scrambling for my camera to get the shot as it pulled into Tokyo station. I now know that the train that so impressed me was the 500 series from 1995.
There have been five bullet trains in total, but at a recent press conference a prototype for a new magnetically levitating train will surely out-do them all to take the title of “bullet train” . Read more
