Flores & Prats + Ouest Architecture win the competition to renovate the Ancien Théâtre des Variétés in Brussels, Belgium, converting it into an International Laboratory for Artistic Creation conceived as an open, inclusive public space.
Director Ang Lee talks about movies in this way, “I think we directors are just like conductors. We sense something and then convey to the public through ourselves, stimulating their emotions, imagination, and thinking. This is what we say about making a film. ” This collaboration with FAB Cinema made me suddenly realize that as a designer, I also seemed to be a space director. I felt the power of life acting on me and cut out beautiful freeze-frames and close-ups, fabricating unreal dreams, mobilizing and stimulating the audiences’ emotions and imagination, and then conveying them through the carrier, space.
As one of the fastest growing cities in the Hebei Province, the spatial layout of Xingtai’s old town is currently struggling to meet the needs of this rapid urban development. The new Grand Theater is the anchor of a new master plan in Central and Southern parts of the Province, forming a new cultural monument.
– Xingtai is looking towards the future while remaining grounded in its rich history, says Snøhetta founder Kjetil Trædal Thorsen. – The Grand Theater is an important cultural initiative to carry forward this city’s legacy and culture.
The project was designed with the university premise of having an auditorium where diverse artistic activities could take place, as well as conferences or symposiums. The project is part of the Anáhuac University’s master plan development. Classrooms and workshops were contemplated to allow the support of artistic formation and to strengthen the cultural life of the University’s Coordination of Art and Culture.
It is a multifunctional space for conferences, concerts, theater, dance, opera and academic acts. It includes: a vestibule that allows for temporary expositions to be mounted; a sculpture space; rehearsal rooms; dressing rooms and offices. The School of Arts resides in the Ground Floor, whose bachelor´s degrees in Plastic Arts, Contemporary Music, Theatre and Performance have been taught in the University for years.
The first exhibition at MICA, the new art museum of Changsha Meixihu International Culture & Arts Centre, is now open.
‘Flowing Eternity’ is an immersive exhibition by MOTSE, a group of 40 artists and scientists based in Shenzhen whose collaborative, interactive works use innovative technologies in new media to explore contemporary culture.
Seven-theater cinema with cultural space, community center with concert space and dance studios, 342 residential units, a shared garden,bespoke artwork, and retail space Three residential buildings offering exceptional views of the great Parisian landscape anchor three corners of a mixed-use block. At the heart of the project is a cultural center for the new ZAC Clichy-Batignolles district in Paris’ 17th arrondissement: a seven-theatre cinema and a community center. These public volumes, anchored to the ground, give way to the public realm and are crowned with hanging gardens. Three residential blocks emerge from this base, climbing up to 50 meters. This simple distribution of masses effectively resolves the inscription of a complex program on a high-density site. Thickened facades permit a band of generous loggias around the residential blocks. Architectural precast concrete on the buildings’ facades situate the project within the material tradition of Parisian stone and concrete and gives each of the three buildings a singular expression from the ground to the sky: the twisted form with its torqued effect (sand colored), the chiseled bar with continuous balconies (in white) and the pleated tower with its progressive fold (in white).
As a “living memorial” for President John F. Kennedy, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts takes an active position among the great presidential monuments in Washington, D.C. Through public events and stimulating art, the Kennedy Center offers a place where the community can engage and interact with artists across the full spectrum of the creative process. The REACH expansion, designed by Steven Holl Architects, adds much-needed rehearsal, education, and a range of flexible indoor and outdoor spaces to allow the Kennedy Center to continue to play a leadership role in providing artistic, cultural, and enrichment opportunities.
The design for The REACH merges architecture with the landscape to expand the dimensions of a living memorial. The landscape design includes a narrative reflection on the life of President Kennedy: a grove of 35 gingko trees, which will drop their golden autumn leaves in late November, acknowledges John F. Kennedy’s position as the 35th President of the United States; and a reflecting pool and mahogany landscape deck are built in the same dimensions and mahogany boards of Kennedy’s WWII boat, the PT109.
The project is aimes to achieve the functional restoration of the former Saint Rocco’s church, for cultural purposes, while transforming it into a permanent theater and a multi-purpose hall.
Mildly maintained over the years, the building has been affected by general renovation works on the roof with the addition of a reinforced concrete curb stiffened by transversal steel tie rods and the replacement of the original roof with a concrete and masonry structure.
Being the building bound and of secular construction, however having a public non-religious theatrical destination from an earlier period to 1967, the works of stage adjustment, maintenance of the installations, safety and furnishing were necessary to make the hall functionally suitable to be used as a conference room and theater hall.
This base is a high-end commercial complex with 6 high-rise towers containing offices, hotels and business apartments. Adjacent to the CBD district, it is also located between two central parks in Shenzhen. URBANUS’ design task was to construct a 100,000 m2 loft of apartments and offices on top of a shopping center larger than 60,000 m2.
To release the enormous pressure from the vertical dimension of the high-rise tower, we take advantage of the large area of the LOFTs, creating two artificial mountain volumes, in response to the huge scale of the towers. At the same time, the design connects the project to the natural form of the surrounding Lianhua and Bijia Mountains. This design also encloses a quiet space, by connecting the 3-4 level high-density office LOFT through exquisite sidewalks, creating a small town with rich spatial variation. There are also some public spaces, such as the LOFT Theater and the Trading & Exhibition Center that gradually transform the “big” and “solid” periphery space to the “small” and “dynamic” inner region. The Loft Town has accommodated a shopping mall, business offices and apartments, creating a new model of settlement which integrates residents, offices, shopping malls and cultural spaces.
Team: Su Yan, Zhang Haijun, Lin Junyi, Wang Yanping, Sun Yanhua, Zang Min, Cao Jian, Han Xiao, Zhang Ying, Wang Ping, Li Nian, Chen Guanhong, Yu Xinting, Xie Shengfen, Liu Kan, Silan Yip, Darren Kei, Sam Chan, Neo Wu, Danil Nagy, Daniel Fetcho, Yuan Nengchao, Lian Lili, Wang Lianpeng, Chen Hui, Zheng Zhi, Li Weibin, Milutin Cerovic (Architecture) | Fang Xue, Liu Nini, Chen Biao, Li Xintong, Li Yongcai, Zhu Yuhao, Gao Jieyi, Chen Zhenzhen (Interior) | Lin Ting, Zhang Yingyuan (Landscape) | Xu Luoyi (Technical Director) | Wang Fang, Wang Yingzi, Wen Qianyue, Tang Disha, Guo Xusheng, Su Wushun, Tian Ye, Wang Jiahui, Tian Tao, Li Jiapei, Yu Kai, Shi Xianlin, Zhang Zhimin, Lin Xiaoyan (Internship)
Yiwu, in China’s Zhejiang province, has established itself internationally for its strong economy, as the world’s largest wholesale commodities market. Domestically, it is traditionally known as a city of trade, thus making it an integral part of the country’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative.’ While being a hub of growing international commerce, the city decided in 2018 that it would focus on culture to further elevate its soft power, and hosted an international competition to design the ‘Yiwu Grand Theater.’ MAD Architects, led by Ma Yansong, competed against four other global architecture firms, coming out ahead of Arata Isozaki & Associates, Atelier Christian de Portzamparc, GMP, and KDG, to secure the project.
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