Top contenders for brick award revealed
The final stage is underway in the hunt for the best brickwork in Britain and the rest of the world
Hundreds of companies have entered this year’s prestigious Brick Awards, one of Britain’s most widely respected design competitions.
A judging panel chaired by this year’s Royal Gold Medallist for architecture Edward (Ted) Cullinan have decided upon a shortlist for each of 12 categories. Among the categories, best private housing development, best commercial building, innovative use, best craftsmanship and best international project. Designs chosen represent the very best in design and construction using brick. Among those through to the final round, the stunning craftsmanship on show at London’s St Pancras station, work on the Imperial College, a school in the States, and even a private house in Moscow.
The full shortlist can be found on the project page
Waterloo City Square shortlist announced
South Bank Employers’ Group today announces the four shortlisted design teams selected to progress to the second and final stage of the Design Team Competition to create a vision for Waterloo City Square. The intention is to transform this key central London site from a series of complex and confusing subways circling the BFI IMAX into a unified, high quality public space. The new square will simplify pedestrian routes and ease interchanges at one of the capital’s busiest transport hubs.
The shortlisted design teams are: DSDHA; EDAW; Lab Architecture Studio; Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands.
Peter Bishop, Chair of the Waterloo City Square Judging Panel comments: “The plan to create Waterloo City Square is exciting and ambitious. The open competition attracted an extremely high level of interest. We are confident that each of the four finalists will develop ideas which will challenge our perceptions of the site and excite and inspire local communities, commuters and Londoners as well as the international audiences who know and visit the South Bank.”
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South Korea’s new cultural tower designed to educate and unify
The concept for Cheongna City Tower in Incheon, South Korea, differs from other highrises in both purpose and message. Designed to emanate a sense of hope throughout the world, GDS Architects’ ‘invisible’ 446m tower design (aka Tower Infinity) illustrates a humbleness and innocence from which a cultural centre, observation deck and other community facilities will function.
GDS beat 146 entries from 46 countries to win Korea Land Corporation’s design competition in March with their crystalline shard design that they gave the slogan ‘In the absence of matter is the presence of hope’.
Charles Wee, Design Principal at GDS Architects said: “Too often in modern times, the phrase ‘Landmark Tower’ is indicative of a nation’s desire/ego to showcase a level of economic prosperity and technological achievement for others to envy. Rather than fall victim with trying to compete with the great iconographic landmarks of the world or develop another version of the “tallest observation tower”, our heart, minds and motivation were set to represent the Power of Absence and the Strength of “Nothingness” often referred to by Louis Kahn.”
Covering 110,425 sq m of site space the development will house a culture park, performance center, indoor waterpark, kids town, retail space, a museum, sports and fitness facilities and the second highest tower observation deck in the world at 392m.
Focusing on the educational purpose of the structure the tower uses technical ingenuity and innovation to create a space where experience and education combine. Michael Collins & Scott Callihan, Senior Associates at GDS said:
“Our shared belief in Society’s obligation for educating and mentoring our youth and steadfast determination to shy away from the typical themepark ride clichés led us to create more stimulating and rewarding user experience venues. This can be seen in the Views of the World, where users enter the elevator and upon ascent to the observation level, begins a user experience where all walls transform into actual views at their corresponding heights from significant observation towers/buildings around the world.
"This simulated experience is not intended to replace the actual experience, but inspire people to travel to these worldly destinations and discover an interest in cultures other than their own.”
Groundbreaking for Tower Infinity is scheduled in 2010 and completion in 2013. Niki May Young
News Editor
Project Team:
Charles Wee, AIA- President/Principal Designer
Scott Callihan-Senior Associate/Project Designer
Michael Collins-Senior Associate/Project Designer
Seonghee Kim, Brandon Sakuma, Humberto Barraza (USA)
Jae Young Jang, Goon Bo Hyun, Soobok Park, Sang Joon Park, Juneui Yu (Korea)
Major Palladio exhibition comes to London
Eric Parry Architects has been appointed by The Royal Academy of Arts to design the exhibition devoted to the 16th century master architect Andrea Palladio, which opens in London in January 2009.
The most significant exhibition of Palladio’s work in more than 30 years, some 200 exhibits will be displayed in a series
of themed rooms designed to appeal both to scholars and the wider public. The design of the gallery spaces will reflect
the intimacy and immediacy of Palladio’s own drawings and the completed vision through the display of stunning
contemporary models.
Eric Parry of Eric Parry Architects said:
“This is a wonderful opportunity to share the vision of one of the world’s most significant architects with the general public”.
The exhibition has been organised by the Royal Academy of Arts, London in collaboration with the Centro
Internazionale di Studi di Architettura Andrea Palladio and the Royal Institute of British Architects to mark the
quincentenary of Palladio’s birth.
The exhibition is open to the public from Saturday 31 January – Monday 13 April 2009.
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