The new Opera House is an important part of a new urban c for Shanghai that aims to place the city at the forefront of the globe, economically, scientifically, and culturally. The Opera House is expected to become one of the major cultural landmarks of Shanghai – the country’s 13th Five-Year Plan names it as the most important initiative to strengthen Shanghai’s cultural and global influence.
“The Shanghai Grand Opera House is a natural progression of our previous work with designing performing arts centers,” says Snøhetta Founder Kjetil Trædal Thorsen. “It is a culmination of the competence and insight gained through projects such as the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, the Busan Opera House in South Korea, the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts in Canada, and the Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers renovation in Paris. The Shanghai Grand Opera House is a product of our contextual understanding and values, designed to promote public ownership of the building for the people of Shanghai and beyond”.
Being part of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation expansion plans, the Fiocruz Ceara Campus is a key equipment of the Industrial and Technological Health Hub (ITHH), located on the municipality of Eusébio in the metropolitan region of Fortaleza.
The main objective of the Campus is to expand research laboratory areas related to the development and innovation of pharmaceuticals drugs, health equipment and materials, in addition to the development of scientific research directed to the environmental and epidemiological reality of the region and the dissemination of knowledge through post-graduate courses.
Located in the new district of Tongzhou in Beijing, this project is the first step of a large industrial conversion into office and business park. The old factories, property of the Beijing Printing Company in the past now empty, occupy an area of 40,000 sqm. The new master plan includes not only office spaces but also restaurants, cafes, auditorium, outdoor events space among other services.
On an elevated site, Milstein Family Heart Center bows gently outward toward the view, drawing attention to the extraordinary landscape of the Hudson River and New Jersey Palisades beyond.
Despite the necessary density of the plan, natural light is plentifully present in the interior. With its flanking neighbors, the new building reads as part of an ensemble of different but complementary parts.
The monumental metal sheet factory (Zware Plaatwerkerij) on the former shipyard in the heart of Vlissingen, and the adjacent site, have been transformed into a residential care centre. The residential centre has 55 apartments for somatic care, 6 group accommodation units for psychogeriatric residents and 54 care and/or assisted-living apartments. In addition, the ground floor accommodates a restaurant, a training and education room, studios, a hairdresser, a shop, a physiotherapy room, a theatre auditorium and a parking garage.
Timeless architecture is the philosophy of Mecanoo & MAYU’s design for the National Taiwanese Archive: a building that hosts the memory and the collective identity.
The National Archives building is composed of two volumes: one that extends horizontally, forming a large canopy, protecting the ground floor, establishing the relation interior-exterior; the other, a perfect cube, landed on top of the horizontal volume.
Following its clear shape, the building is also organized in two zones: the public and the restrict access areas. The public zone is located in the east part of the site, connected to Wenhuayi road, while the restrict access area is organized on the west part.
A new £15m GW Annenberg Performing Arts Centre has opened at Wellington College in Berkshire.
The main 1,400 capacity auditorium’s circular shape is inspired by historic Greek amphitheatres, creating a building with no angles: a form that sits within its forest setting. Designed with high quality acoustics and efficient circulation in mind, the Performance Arts Centre is the venue for students to showcase their creative talents in a formal setting.
Letovo School is a special school for talented children. The school is located southwest of Moscow in the newly developed Novaya Moskva district. The establishment of the school is an idea of benefactor and entrepreneur Vadim Moshkovich. “It was my dream to offer talented children from all over the country access to high-quality education, regardless of the financial capacity of their parents. This makes it possible for them to continue studying at the 10 best universities in the country or at one of the 50 best universities in the world “.
Architectus faced several challenges when designing a new maritime passenger terminal for Fortaleza: complying with the diverse rules of the sector; operating under a reduced timeline; attending to the needs of the building’s various users; designing a building with flexible use and a striking form; and working in an area of the city with great touristic and scenic potential.
With the aim of providing infrastructure for the 2014 World Cup games that would be held in the city, the Fortaleza Maritime Passenger Terminal was designed from the beginning as a multipurpose space, taking into account both the needs of maritime tourism as well as creating spaces for events, exhibitions, parties and shows. The design also took into account the seasonality of its use as a cruise destination, with demand in the South Atlantic peaking from October to May.
Oodi represents a new era of libraries. The newly completed building in the heart of Helsinki consists almost entirely of public space and offers a wide selection of services. It will become the new central point for the city’s impressive public library network.
The design divides the functions of the library into three distinct levels: an active ground floor, a peaceful upper floor, and an enclosed in-between volume containing the more specific functions. This concept has been developed into an arching form that invites people to utilize the spaces and services underneath, inside and on top of it. The resulting building is an inspiring and highly functional addition to the urban life of Helsinki and the Töölönlahti area.
Software used: Revit, Autocad, Rhino, Grasshopper, V-Ray, 3dS Max
Client: City of Helsinki
Team at ALA:
Competition Phase: Competition phase: ALA partners Juho Grönholm, Antti Nousjoki, Janne Teräsvirta and Samuli Woolston with Aleksi Niemeläinen, Jussi Vuori and Erica Österlund, as well as Willem Barendregt, Martin Genet, Vladimir Ilic, Tiina Liisa Juuti, Julius Kekoni, Auvo Lindroos, Pekka Sivula, Pekka Tainio and Jyri Tartia
Implementation Phase:
Project Architect: ALA partners Juho Grönholm, Antti Nousjoki, Janne Teräsvirta (until 2015) and Samuli Woolston with Niklas Mahlberg
Interior Architect: Jussi Vuori, Tuulikki Tanska, Tom Stevens, Heikki Ruoho
Team: Nea Tuominen, Pauliina Rossi, Anna Juhola and Miguel Silva, as well as Michal Bala, Marina Diaz Garcia, Jyri Eskola, Zuzana Hejtmankova, Harri Humppi, Mette Kahlos, Anniina Kortemaa, Felix Laitinen, Malgorzata Mutkowska, T. K. Justin Ng, Marlène Oberli-Räihä, Olli Parviainen, Alicia Peña Gomez, Anton Pramstrahler, Jack Prendergast, Akanksha Rathi, Niina Rinkinen, Mikael Rupponen, Mirja Sillanpää and Pekka Sivula