6.4: Architecture for the 21st Century

Introduction

Architecture is the art and process of designing and constructing buildings, both small and large. Architects accomplish practical and expressive requirements to provide both functional and artistic ends. Contemporary architecture is a compilation of many styles with no dominant hierarchy. From traditional to highly conceptional, the square buildings of the twentieth century have given way to buildings with the look of a sculptural piece of art. With the use of digital technology, the pencil has been replaced. We have entered a process of digitized architecture, transforming societies' way of life and raising awareness of the global environmental damage caused by the overuse of natural resources. New technologies challenge gravity as they spiral higher into the atmosphere as competitions become the highest.[1]

Architecture is one of the significant developments in building design in the new millennium, developing new concepts and designing mixed-use facilities to fit into compact settings with public transportation. The pressures of energy requirements to meet radical design turned the architects into efficient and functional artists. The concepts of immense towers caused adjustments in lifestyles and the concepts of where we live, work, transportation needs, and supporting public lands requirements. 

The building materials of the new millennium are prefabricated on-demand using computer-aided machines to cut, construct, and process raw materials into pieces transported to the job site. The use of robotics guarantees the accuracy and continuity of the fabricated components and reduces human error. Testing labs for earthquake stability, wind stability, and fire prevention are essential for the design. More than half of the world's population resides in urban cities, and contextual models have become important.

The invention of CAD (computer-aided software) in 1961 had the most significant impact on architectural design. The realistic representations, speed, accuracy, and affordability make the CAD programs valuable for architects. Today's CAD programs incorporate 3D visualizations and simulations without the need to create physical models. Virtual tours offer exact views of the architectural design. Architects can draw a set of plans for the construction company to build the structure, also making a mock-up model in three dimensions as an example for the client to physically see the design. Today, architects use computers to help design and draw the final plans and make live 3-dimensional models viewable from different angles. 

Contemporary Architecture design continues into the twenty-first century; however, the transformation from standard upright buildings to organically designed with diverse functions and connections to the surrounding environment takes precedent. Architects are challenged to create unusual designs using twenty-first-century materials and engineering techniques.

Zaha Hadid

Zaha Hadid (1950-2016) was an Iraqi-British architect artist and designer born in Baghdad, Iraq. She planned and pushed the boundaries of building design with computer-aided design technology. Hadid embraced new materials and designed intelligent buildings to represent the future. She was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize of Architecture, the Pritzker Prize, and the Queen of England made her a Dame in 2012 for her contributions to the art of Architecture. She has been described as the "Queen of Curve," liberating architectural geometry and giving architecture a new life and identity.[2]

Growing up in an upper-class Iraqi family, Hadid studied mathematics at the American University of Beirut and moved to London to study at the Architectural Association School of Architecture. After graduation, Hadid opened her firm, Zaha Hadid Architects, in London and continued her unique modern styles, setting her apart from other architects. Her pioneering vision redefined architecture worldwide as she transformed concrete, steel, and glass into free-flowing virtuosic construction. "Experiencing Hadid's architecture yields an understanding that the quest for beauty alone was not her modus operandi. Her buildings are beautiful—and beauty may account for their seductive urban presence, for their hold on the eye—but the beauty and virtuosity within her work are married to meaning. Her architecture is inventive, original, and civic, offering generous public spaces that are clearly organized and intuitive to navigate."[3]

The Phaeno Science Center (8.4.1) in Germany was completed in 2005 and is considered a "hypnotic work of architecture—the kind of building that utterly transforms our vision of the future." The building itself stands on stilts creating a covered plaza, allowing people to walk under the building. The structure is 27,000 square meters of concrete and steel girders laid out in distinct patterns and includes workshops, laboratories, theater, and shopping. The free-flowing space does not have any right angles, and the different floors are intertwined, giving the visitor a unique experience. It has been described as a spacecraft that has just landed and put out the welcome mat. The original design used digital animation to conceptualize the spatial diagram of the building and its contents. 

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Phaeno Science Center (2005, Germany) by Nikola350, CC BY-SA 4.0

The interior (8.4.2) needed to house an exhibition space with plenty of room for young visitors to explore. The open floor arrangement encourages children's learning experience, free of dogmatism or any pedagogical paradigm based on the approach to learning.

Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): Interior of Phaeno Science Center by Florian-schäffer, CC BY-SA 3.0

The new Library and Learning Center of Vienna University (8.4.3) in Austria is one of the tallest and largest pieces of architecture on campus. The polygonal cube design has both inclined and vertical facades and two elements of contrasting colors separated by glass. However, as you move inside, it becomes curvilinear, creating a free-form inner canyon. The building contains classrooms, an auditorium, cafeteria, social rooms, administrative offices, and an extensive library. The multiple spaces are joined together with ramps and bridges overlooking the great hall filled with light. The operational plan was to define the different areas of use into blocks of sites. The library can accommodate 25,000 students and 1500 staff for gathering, learning, and meeting. The facade of the building is made from maintenance-free Corten steel, which will age over time. There are over 100,000 square meters of floor space with 4,000 rooms, 90 auditoriums and classrooms, and over 3,000 workstations.

Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\): Library and Learning Center of Vienna University (2013, Austria) by Böhringer Friedrich, CC BY-SA 3.0

The Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center (8.4.4), located in Azerbaijan, challenges the concepts of geometry and gravity, giving way to all form and no structure. The flowing architecture curves in sweeping shapes containing halls and a museum without a right angle in sight. As the fluid form of the outside topography merges, the entrances are found in the surface folds. 

Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\): Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center (2012, Azerbaijan) Public Domain

When viewers enter the center, the building folds inside decrease, becoming part of the interior (8.4.5). The 57,506 square meters are made from glass-fiber-reinforced polyester panels, which are seamless as the building undulates like a giant wave. The interior is a large-scale column-free space created by a concrete structure and a space frame system showing off the hypermodern world wrapped inside. Inside the curved wave of white glass fiber, reinforced polyester plastic covers the visitors in the sense of comfort. Hadid's design continuously self-transforms into many different directions with no terminus and little sense of boundary.[4] The center is so large it can host several events simultaneously. The core of the building is a large atrium with floor-to-ceiling glass panels allowing sweeping views of the grass landscape.

Figure \(\PageIndex{5}\): Interior of center. CC BY-SA 3.0

Guangzhou Opera House (8.4.6) overlooks the Pearl River in Guangdong Province, China, and is one of China's most prominent theatres. Hadid designed the building to interplay between architecture and nature, engaging the ideologies of erosion, geology, and topography. The two buildings resemble two large rocks washed up on the river. The auditorium was made of concrete with large swaths of glass and granite blocks. The unique contoured twin boulder design has a promenade from the land across the water. 

Figure \(\PageIndex{6}\): Guangzhou Opera House (2010, China) CC BY-SA 3.0

The 1800 seat auditorium (8.4.7) houses the latest acoustic technology and the smaller 400 seat performance hall for opera and concerts in the round. The cultural development will combine land and sea together in harmony.

Figure \(\PageIndex{7}\): Interior of opera house. CC BY-SA 2.0

Ole Scheeren 

Ole Scheeren  (1971-) is a German architect and urbanist who creates contemporary architecture in large cities worldwide. He is the son of a German architect, Dieter Scheeren, and by the age of 14, he was working with his father designing furniture. He graduated from the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. After ten years, Scheeren started his own company, Buro Ole Scheeren Group. The Interlace (8.4.8) in Singapore won Scheeren the World Building in 2015. Scheeren employed a modernist style in many of his designs using Form Follows Function.[5] The Interlace is a vertical community of living and social spaces combined with the natural ecosystem. Completed in 2013 on eight hectares of property, it houses 1,040 families, amenities, parking, and retail over 170,000 square meters.

Instead of a stacked cube building, The Interlace incorporates thirty-one apartment blocks, six stories tall, stacked in a hexagonal arrangement around eight large courtyards. The blocks are arranged in three peaks of twenty-four stories to resemble the city's dramatic mountains. The six floors create picturesque terraced gardens giving the illusion the buildings are part floating, part resting on each other. This "interlaced" construction gives the residents choices for interacting with other inhabitants, projecting a sense of freedom. The central courtyard includes picnic areas, pet zones, organic gardens, tennis and basketball courts, and a one-kilometer running track. The building incorporates low impact passive energy using wind, solar, and daylight analysis, winning the Urban Habitat Award.

Figure \(\PageIndex{8}\): The Interlace (2005, Singapore) by Jérémy Binard, CC BY-SA 2.0

The CCTV Headquarters (8.4.9) in Beijing, China, became an icon when it was finished. It is not a predictable building; it is a three-dimensional experience of geometric and social connections. The Headquarters were completed in 2012 on a twenty-hectare site and are 599,000 square meters. The two towers rise from the ground and intersect at the top, producing a cantilevered connection. The two L-shaped high-rise towers are connected at the bottom and the top in a Z-crisscross. The building was difficult to engineer from the design of two 6-degree leaning towers, bent at 90-degrees at the bottom and the top providing a continuous loop. A diagrid exoskeleton construction system was adopted on the external faces of the building that resists gravity and other lateral forces.[6] A butterfly plate links perimeter columns, braces, and beams giving it stability to cope with different load conditions and earthquakes. The façade of the building is a network of diagonal steel beams with inlaid glass panels creating a soft grey color.

Figure \(\PageIndex{9}\):CCTV Headquarters (2012, Beijing) by Dayton12345, CC BY-SA 4.0

Eduardo Souto de Moura

Eduardo Souto de Moura (1952-) is a Portuguese architect and won the Pritzker Prize in 2011 for the Estadio Municipal de Braga, the home ground of the Sporting Clube d Braga. It is the largest stadium in Portugal. A graduate of the Porto School of Architecture, Souto de Moura began his career in the 1980s and is known for his formal yet straightforward, serious, and dramatic designs. He uses natural colors and materials mixed with versatile and contextual designs, seldom affected by contemporary trends.

In Portugal, the Municipal Stadium of Braga (8.4.10) was built in 2003, a striking, contemporary, and award-winning designed stadium. Capable of holding 30,286 fans, it was carved into the side of the mountain, a Monte do Castro quarry, a large part of the construction costs. Its organizational scheme is determined by two tribunes that face one another: one is carved into the rock, and sixteen concrete ribs hold the other.[7] Large canopies connected by dozens of steel strings are between the seating, a design inspired by the Incan bridges in ancient South America. Souto de Moura designed a light, precision simplicity in form and details as he was determined to fit the stadium into the quarry.

Figure \(\PageIndex{10}\): Municipal Stadium (2003, Portugal) CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The site in Portugal for the Paulo Rego Museum (8.4.11) was a fenced forest area with a clearing in the center. An ideal spot for the new museum, Souto de Moura considered the terrain and the natural setting surrounding the museum. The eucalyptus and pine trees became essential elements during the project as the building was a configuration of four unique wings of different lengths. The museum's interior was subdivided into halls with an elevated central volume, and the natural colors contrast with the cold blue marble of Cascais. The interplay between the green forest and the red-orange of the exterior concrete are complimentary colors. A hierarchy was created with the two large pyramids at the entrance axis marking the gift shop, library, and restaurant locations. The pyramids are reminiscent of ancient Portuguese architects, like the chimney of the Alcobaca Monastery. All the exhibition halls have glass openings towards the green forest, which surrounds the building providing views of the natural versus the concrete and abstract contemporary building.

Figure \(\PageIndex{11}\): Paula Rego Museum (2008, Portugal) by visit welovelisbon.net,  CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Frank Gehry

Frank Gehry (1929-) is a Canadian American architect from Los Angeles, California. Gehry won the prestigious Pritzker Prize for the Walt Disney Concert Hall in 1989, located in Los Angeles. Gehry graduated from the School of Architecture at the University of Southern California. After service in the United States Army, Gehry established his architecture firm to design complex and unique buildings. Gehry believed there were too many cold and metallic modernist buildings dotting the skylines in cities worldwide. He wanted to build unique and quirky structures and approached architecture as a sculptural object, light and airy. By the 1990s, Gehry's trademark style was in high demand worldwide.

The Walt Disney Concert Hall (8.4.12) was completed in 2003 to great acclaim. The home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the concert hall is internationally acknowledged as one of the most acoustically sophisticated concert halls in the world. The stainless-steel curvature of the exterior embodies the energy and creative spirit of the building, while the interior, in contrast, is wood-paneled, creating a harmonic feeling. More than 6000 panels create the skin of the hall's exterior and reflect like silver sails. There are massive columns in the lobby which resemble tree trunks and serve as the house lighting, heating, and air conditioning systems. 

Figure \(\PageIndex{12}\): Walt Disney Concert Hall (2003, California) Public Domain

The 2,265-seat auditorium (8.4.13) is an independent concrete box with vertical grain Douglas fir walls, while the floor is red oak. The large skylights allow natural light when used during the day. One of the focal points is a 50-foot organ with over 6,000 pipes ranging in size from a pencil to a telephone pole. The entire project cost well over 275 million dollars.

Figure \(\PageIndex{13}\): Interior Disney Concert Hall. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The Biomuseo (8.4.14) is a natural history museum in Panama designed by Gehry. The museum opened in 2014 and is located on the Amador Causeway facing the Pacific Ocean. The museum provides panoramic views of ships entering the canal. Gehry donated his design to the people of Panama because his wife is a Panamanian. The museum concentrates on the history of the isthmus of Panama and how it changed the world. The heart of the building is a significant public atrium protected by large colorful metal canopies to ward off the frequent rain and contrast with the tropical green ecosystems. On the second-floor atrium level, visitors are treated to a view of the surrounding city and the Panama Canal. The colorful canopies are joined together by large I-beams of steel, like arms holding up the colorful steel plates. The fragmentation of the canopies is designed to be an independent roof hovering over the rest of the buildings.

Figure \(\PageIndex{14}\): Biomuseo (2014, Panama City) CC BY-SA 2.0

The Marques de Riscal (8.4.15) is a luxury hotel locate in Elciego, Spain, and is the crown jewel of the Marriot International hotel chain. The hotel is set in one oldest wineries in Spain, with traditions going back over 200 years. The surrounding sandstone buildings are an integral part of the heritage, and Gehry needed to marry the traditional with the future. The hotel combines the most profoundly rooted winemaking tradition with an avant-garde design, luxury, and the most advanced technology of the 21^st century.[8] Finished in 2006, it stands out with its stunning forms and skyline. The building is only 35 meters tall, so it does not surpass the nearby church bell tower. It was essential to preserve the identity of the La Rioja region of grapes and peace. 100,000 square meters of the complex is devoted to producing the wine, two gourmet restaurants, and 44 exclusive hotel suites. Gehry's design mimics the form and gestures of the grapevines growing in the fields. The metal framework on the exterior provides shade in the hot summers of Spain. The colors of purple and green tones pay homage to the tradition of winemaking.

 A marvelous creature, with its hair flying in all directions launching itself over the vineyards—Frank Gehry

Figure \(\PageIndex{15}\): Marques de Riscal (2006, Spain) CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Moshe Safdie

Moshe Safdie (1938-) is a Canadian architect born in Israel and moved to Canada. Known for his designs that bend lines and curves to create geometry, the concept had never been defined before. "His designs emphasize the need to create meaningful, vital and inclusive spaces that enhance the community, with attention to the buildings particular locale, culture, and geography."[10]

Located in Singapore, Marina Bay Sands (8.4.18) is 845,000 square meters with three-tower structures containing a casino, hotel, mall, theatre, convention center, restaurants, and even an ice-skating rink. The resort is located on sixteen hectares of reclaimed land and is fifty-five stories tall. Across the top of the three buildings is the 340 meters long cantilevered Sky Park to anchor all three buildings together.

Figure \(\PageIndex{18}\): Marina Bay Sands Hotel (2010, Singapore) by dronepicr,  CC BY 2.0

The Sky Park (8.4.19) looks like a boat on top of the three buildings allowing people to view the surrounding landscape. A 150-meter infinity pool overlooks the bay. The sky park extends sixty-five meters beyond the buildings giving the building its graceful lines in the sky. The developers had originally requested a single large building, but Safdie convinced them to build three buildings with space between them so the city could still see out to the ocean. "There is no city if all we build is towers. We have to find a way to deploy towers in a way that creates public place, public realm," Safdie[11]. The Marina Bay Sands is a continuous ribbon of public spaces and waterfront activity in keeping with Singapore's image of a city in a garden. The Gardens by the Bay connect to the land with Marina Bay Sands.

Figure \(\PageIndex{19}\): Aerial view of rooftop. CC BY 2.0 

Gardens by the Bay (8.4.20) sits on 101 hectares of land and contains conceptual designs to transform the city into a 'city in a garden.' The Park has three waterfront gardens and is part of the government's plan to create a garden in the city and enhance the quality of life with beauty, flora, and greenery. The central feature is the two column-less glasshouses made of sustainable materials covering the flower gardens. 

Figure \(\PageIndex{20}\): Garden by the Bay.  CC BY-SA 4.0

The Super-trees include ferns, orchids, bromeliad, and other exotic plants. They function like regular trees and include photovoltaic cells to harness the sun's energy for lighting. The trees also collect rainwater used in the fountains and irrigation as part of the conservatories' intake and exhaust air system. Elevated between two Super-trees (8.4.21), the walkway gives visitors a panoramic view.

Figure \(\PageIndex{21}\): Overview of the gardens. CC BY-SA 4.0

Cloud Forest (8.4.22) is a garden replicating the colder moist conditions generally found 1000 meters above sea level. Rainwater is collected for the cooling system connected to the Super-trees and used to cool the circulated water and vent the hot air. The Super-trees are vertical gardens twenty to fifty meters high and planted as environmental engines for the gardens.

Figure \(\PageIndex{22}\): Cloud Forest. CC BY-SA 4.0 

Safdie designed The Khalsa Heritage Memorial Complex (8.4.23), located in Anandpur Sahib, India, to celebrate over 500 years of Sikh history. The center was designed to be rooted in the surrounding landscape and seems to rise out of the grass, appearing as sand cliffs. The upwardly curving roof lines are like the traditional gold domes crowning Sikh buildings. The western complex houses galleries, a library, and a 400-seat auditorium connecting with reflecting pools—the eastern complex houses five galleries of Sikh history. The five virtues of the Sikh religion are incorporated into the museum, with symbolic themes of earth and sky, mass and lightness, and depth and ascension, all represented in the sandstone towers and reflective silver roofs.[12]  The entire structure is covered with local sandstone and craftsmanship. The Khalsa Heritage Memorial Complex is a true pilgrimage destination.

Figure \(\PageIndex{23}\): Khalsa Heritage Memorial Complex (2009, India) by Sanyambahga,  CC BY-SA 3.0

Norman Robert Foster

Norman Robert Foster (1935-) was born in England and studied architecture at the University of Manchester and Yale University. Foster designed Apple Park (8.4.24) in Silicon Valley, California, dubbed the spaceship. When Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, planned to build a new facility for the employees, he wanted the site to focus on the landscape with groves of trees, gardens, orchards, and meadows all designed to be environmentally friendly supportive. However, the enormous building still dominates the site, with a courtyard covering over twenty acres inside the center. The outer walls are a continuous wall of curved glass, the building powered by renewable energy with a solar roof covering the entire building. 

Figure \(\PageIndex{24}\): Apple Park (2018, California) CC BY-SA 3.0

The unusual theater (8.4.25) has glass walls and no visible sign of supporting pillars with a facility for product launches, ample meetings, and press reviews.

Figure \(\PageIndex{25}\): Apple Park Theatre. CC BY-SA 4.0

Fernando Romero

 Fernando Romero (1971-) is a Mexican architect who studied at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. Romero started his firm in 2000, designing elaborate homes for wealthy Mexicans. He is known for his focus on sustainability and environmental integrity, leaning toward urban cities to be vehicle-free. The Museo Soumaya is one of the most visited museums in the world. The museum is free to all visitors and houses some of the Romero family art they collected. The Museo Soumaya (8.4.29) is a museum in Mexico City housing over 66,000 pieces of art from over 30 centuries and opened in 2011. The finished building is 46 meters high and is covered with 16,000 hexagonal aluminum tiles. 

Figure \(\PageIndex{29}\): Soumaya Museum (2011, Mexico City) CC BY-SA 3.0

The form, a rotated rhomboid, is supported by a steel exoskeleton of twenty-eight vertical curved columns and seven beams that encircle the structure (8.4.30). The fabrication of the beams had zero tolerance for fitting together with the tiles, and laser topography was used for alignment. The exterior walls support the interior walls, but instead of aluminum tiles, there are several layers of gypsum panes, insulation, plaster, and then a product to weatherproof the building. The conceptual form of the building stands out when you first see the building. As you enter the museum, the interior stairs lead you around and around the exterior of the building on ramps with art at your fingertips. The building was constructed with locally sourced products, Mexican plaster, and aluminum.

Figure \(\PageIndex{30}\): Soumaya Museum Exterior during construction. CC BY 2.0

The millennial architecture demonstrates that "if you can dream it, we can build it" assertiveness. With the advent of CAD, laser scanning topography, and new materials, the sky is the limit and not the imagination of architects. The evolution of materials is taking architecture to new limits of design.

Kazuyo Sejima

Kazuyo Sejima (1956-) is a Japanese architect known for her clear modernist elements with shiny, slick, clean surfaces. After graduating from Japan Women's University, she worked for another architect. Sejima founded Kazuyo Sejima and Associates (SANNA) as a worldwide studio for innovative building designs. Sejima redefined her style, and instead of narrowing down a design, she used models to finalize what she calls "process designs." Sejima was the second woman (Zaha Hadid was the first) to win the coveted Pritzker Prize in 2012. 2016 Fast Company named SANNA one of the 50 Most Innovative Companies.

The Sumida Hokusai Museum (12.4.1) in Tokyo is dedicated to the work of the great print artist Katsushika Hokusai. The monolithic block is five stories with angular cutouts bringing light into the museum's center. A patchwork of residential, commercial, and light industrial zones surrounds the building. She had to fit the building into an environment of the architectural hodgepodge. Sejima divided the building into several units of various sizes so the entire building did not overwhelm the neighborhood.[2] The geometric forms continued inside, creating walkways with a triangular appearance. The outside of the structure is clad in aluminum panels that softly reflect the skies, and there are huge windows for natural light, producing a fluid passage between inside and outside. One of the design challenges Sejima confronted was to minimize the amount of sunlight to protect the delicate prints of Hokusai's artwork. Leveraging the slanted wall, she allowed sunlight into the building using the A-frame construction.

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Sumida Hokusai Museum (2016, Japan) (Kakidai, CC BY-SA 4.0)

SANAA Sumida Hokusai Museum

A visit to Sanaa's Hokusai Museum in Tokyo. I think the building itself is quite beautiful. The brushed metal clad facade and triangular cut wedges are proportionately well balanced, but that's where it all stops. SANAA, Kazuyo Sejima and Rye Nishizawa received the Pritzker prize in 2010 for being "deceptively simple" and for their architecture which "stands out in direct contrast with the bombastic".

 

In 2007, The New Museum of Contemporary Art (12.4.2) opened its doors to 5,453 square meters of changeable exhibition spaces as an incubator for new ideas. The bold decision to stack boxes on each other allowed Sejima to create a harmonious symbiotic connection to the surrounding neighborhood. The seven boxes are of various sizes and heights (53 meters), giving the appearance of a child stacking blocks before they fall. The four public galleries are located on the first through the fourth floor, with educational centers and offices occupying the rest of the building. The light and airy spaces are covered in a seamless, anodized, and expanded aluminum mesh wrapped to mimic soft, shimmering skin. Visitors are drawn into the museum through large 4.5-meter glass doors stretching the entire width of the building. The grey concrete sidewalks change into the grey concrete polished floors inside the doors.  

Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): New Museum of Contemporary Art (2007, New York) (MusikAnimal, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Shigeru Ban

Shigeru Ban (1957-) is a Japanese architect born in Tokyo and attended the Southern California Institute of Architecture. Ban is known for his innovative and temporary prefabricated cardboard houses for disaster victims. In 2014, Ban was named the 37^th recipient of the Pritzker Prize for modern architecture. "The Pritzker Jury cited Ban for his innovative use of material and his dedication to humanitarian efforts worldwide, calling him "a committed teacher who is not only a role model for the younger generation but also an inspiration." [3] Marrying his Eastern philosophy with Western building materials, Ban creates minimalistic structures, unlike others.

Located in the heart of Aspen, Colorado, the Aspen Art Museum (12.4.3) is a remarkable facility that boasts of an impressive 10,058 square meters of space. The museum, which opened its doors to the public in 2014, is a must-visit for art enthusiasts and nature lovers alike. The museum consists of four levels, including six gallery spaces, an outdoor commons, and a rooftop sculpture garden, providing visitors with a serene environment to appreciate art while enjoying the beauty of nature. The Grand Stair, a magnificent architectural masterpiece that spans three levels, is one of the museum's most striking features. The stairway intersects with a glass wall, allowing natural light to stream in and seamlessly blend the indoor and outdoor spaces. The exterior wood screen, crafted from a composite of paper and resin and adorned with a wood veneer, adds a touch of elegance to the museum's exterior. As you stroll through the rooftop sculpture garden, you'll be treated to breathtaking views of the Rocky Mountains. The garden is a tranquil oasis where visitors can appreciate art while taking in the stunning surroundings. 

Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\): Aspen Art Museum (2014, Colorado) (Bkthomson16, CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Nomadic Museum (12.4.4) is a unique art exhibition that showcases the Ashes and Snow exhibition, created by Canadian photographer Gregory Colbert. What sets this exhibition apart is its innovative design, which makes it possible to transport it from one city to another. The museum is crafted entirely from repurposed shipping containers, large paper tubes, and a tubular triangle roof truss that supports the fabric roof panels and offers the illusion of a European Gothic church nave. The museum's construction typically takes place on a pier, and it spans an impressive 205 meters, consisting of two parallel rows of containers arranged in a checkered pattern. To create this masterpiece, Colbert enlisted the expertise of renowned architect Shigeru Ban, who designed a mobile building that would perfectly showcase the Ashes and Snow exhibition. The Nomadic Museum first opened on New York's Pier 54 and went on to travel to other cities, offering visitors a one-of-a-kind, breathtaking artistic experience. 

Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\): Nomadic Museum (2005) (Paolo Mazzoleni, CC BY-SA 2.0)

Visitors are guided through a spacious walkway constructed with eco-friendly scaffolding wood (12.4.5), while the rest of the floor is adorned with river rocks to evoke a sense of calmness and harmony. The museum's minimalist design, created by Ban to emphasize the art on display, is accentuated by this layout. One of the most remarkable aspects of this mobile museum is its standardized containers, allowing for rental in any port city where the exhibit is situated. Not only is this design cost-effective due to the use of recycled materials, but it also produces a visually stunning gallery that is easily moveable.

Figure \(\PageIndex{5}\): Interior of Nomadic Museum (PaoloMazzoleni, CC BY 2.0)

Yasmeen Lari

Yasmeen Lari (1941-) is Pakistan's first female architect and received the Royal Gold Medal in 2023, the first recipient King Charles III approved in his newly established reign. The award is given to some who have significantly influenced architecture. After receiving the award, Lari said, "I never imagined that as I focus on my country's most marginalized people—venturing down uncharted vagabond pathways—I could still be considered for the highest honors in the architectural profession." And she concluded, "Totally delighted." [4]The award was based on her work to create emergency shelters and housing for Pakistan's people devastated by earthquakes, floods, and conflicts. Lari created simple designs to rebuild from the debris available during disasters. She worked with a foundation to build 50,000 accessible dwellings from found materials, focusing on low cost and zero carbon. Previously, Lari received an award for designing and implementing a smokeless cooking device made from mud and quickly constructed by local people, an alternative to the polluting stoves generally used by Pakistanis.

Lari's life as a child was focused on her father and his work on development projects in different cities where she was exposed to architecture. As a teenager, she went to school in London, followed by attending Oxford Brookes University in the School of Architecture. After graduating in 1964, Lari and her husband returned to Pakistan, where she opened her own company. The time was difficult as construction site workers constantly challenged her authority and expertise because she was a woman. She built a successful architectural career designing office buildings, hotels, and apartments. The latter part of her career was spent with her Heritage Foundation to help people restore their lives, dignity, and homes after disasters. Lari called it "Barefoot social architecture," using naturally available materials of mud, bamboo, and recycled materials. She also set up training programs to educate local people on building safer, inexpensive dwellings with their own hands. Lari's concepts are the opposite of the usual "international colonial charity model that believes in treating people as victims, giving them handouts, telling them to use concrete and all kinds of materials that are going to be even more destructive to the planet." [5] She believes that the approach does not work.

Lari called it "Barefoot social architecture," using naturally available materials of mud, bamboo, and recycled materials.

Since 2010, Pakistan has endured multiple significant floods and earthquakes, destroying the homes of already impoverished people. Lari believed the usual tents sent by charity groups to house people were not long-lasting and did not fit with the people's lifestyles. Lari designed shelters or living places (12.4.6) made from bamboo, mud, and lime, locally sourced, sustainable materials. The latched roofs and supporting bamboo poles were constructed first, followed by mud/lime bricks. The walls were covered with smoothed mud and frequently decorated with local designs. A family could build one or more of the structures. The building could be built on stilts for flood-prone areas, mud floors, or platforms. The people were trained in simple construction techniques and could create their own housing. Thousands of these styles of houses have been constructed in Pakistan. The video is a TED Talk by Lari.

 Figure \(\PageIndex{6}\): Pakistan dwellings (BBC Urdu, CC BY 3.0)

No to Handouts

Award-winning architect and humanitarian Yasmeen Lari says it’s time to redesign foreign aid to promote self-reliance rather than dependence on handouts. As Pakistan’s first female architect, Yasmeen led a glittering career designing government complexes and major landmarks. After retiring, she shifted her focus to building sustainable low-cost homes in some of Pakistan’s poorest areas, and shares her passion for how to deliver social and ecological justice through architecture. Yasmeen Lari is a world-famous pioneer of zero carbon architecture and designer of over 50,000 zero carbon, low-cost homes in her home country of Pakistan. Yasmeen Lari qualified as Pakistan's first female architect in 1963, and lives in Karachi. She rose to become a nationally famous 'starchitect' during her early career. Since her official retirement from architectural practice in 2000, her UN-recognised charity 'Heritage Foundation Pakistan' has built thousands of zero carbon homes for some of the poorest rural villages in Pakistan. She was awarded the Fukuoka Prize in 2016, and the Jane Drew prize in 2020.

Additional text/introduction.

Toyo Ito 

Toyo Ito (1941-) was born in Korea to Japanese parents living in Korea during the war. The family returned to Japan, where Ito attended school and graduated from the University of Tokyo. He worked for several architectural firms before starting his own company in 1979. Ito is called "one of the world's most innovative and influential architects."[6] He received multiple awards, including the Pritzker Prize. 

Ito had specific design principles he used to combine traditional Japanese features and modern concepts and methods. Ito stated, "Architecture tends to be too conventional and is often out of touch with time and social context, especially in public buildings."[7] He used architecture as a transformation tool based on ideas found in geographical locations, meeting the needs of the time and space to support the user's needs. Ito also believed in using natural elements for construction, minimizing environmental destruction, and having large open spaces to integrate nature. 

A Piece of Clothing 

Pritzker Prize-winning architect Toyo Ito tells Dezeen that, while his buildings vary in material and style, the key to all of them is their close relationship with the people that inhabit them. He adds: "When I think about architecture, I think of it as a piece of clothing that must be wrapped around human beings." Ito says that many of the forms he uses in his buildings are taken from the natural world.

 

Taiwan's National Taichung Theater (12.4.7) was one of Ito's most ambitious projects. The theater is three-in-one, with common areas and distinct theaters. One section contains the 2,000-seat Grand Theater, another the 800-seat Playhouse, and the third is a 200-seat theater with an adjacent amphitheater when the sliding doors open. The entire theater is made from concrete and glass with immense hourglass-shaped areas (12.4.8). The unusual shapes define how the inside is formed as the walls roll in and out with remarkable plasticity. The walls created deep caverns and towering canyons in the building. The lack of straight, continual walls changes the viewer's perspective, and the curving surfaces play with the movement of light. The structure uses non-geometrical lines, immense glass walls, and significant interior space to create a structure in tune with nature. Light, water, and sounds flow freely, "intertwining with art to transcend impressions of time and space."[8] The vast lobby is an entrance to all the theaters, filtering viewers through a labyrinth of tunnels. Ito also placed holes (12.4.9) at different places in the inside walls to allow light and air to flow through and give the space an open feeling. On top of the structure are gardens (12.4.10) with seating and pathways.

Figure \(\PageIndex{7}\): Outside of National Taichung Theatre (2014) (Wpcpey, CC BY 4.0)

Figure \(\PageIndex{8}\): Front of National Taichung Theatre (李家宇, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Figure \(\PageIndex{9}\): Level 2 breathing holes (Wpcpey, CC BY 4.0)

Figure \(\PageIndex{10}\): National Taichung Theatre garden (Wpcpey, CC BY 4.0)

Tama Art University Library was built on the Tokyo side. The original building on the site was a cafeteria used by staff and students, a common place to gather. For the new library, the same feeling remained, and the first floor is a space for people to gather or pass through to other buildings. The arches were made with steel plates covered with concrete. The arches (12.4.11) are very slender at the bottom and still support the heavy load of concrete and steel. Inside the ground floor are large glass tables for students to use while waiting or meeting others. The library starts on the second floor (12.4.12), and the rounded sections feel like caves as light streams through and bounce off the unusual angles.

Figure \(\PageIndex{11}\): Tama Art University Library (2007) (Marco Capitanio, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Figure \(\PageIndex{12}\): Inside Tama Art University Library (Marco Capitanio, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

The design for the Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture was made into two separate buildings, one named the Steel Hut and the other the Silver Hut. Each space had different functions; one hut was an exhibition space, and the other was a place for workshops, lectures, and discussions. Silver Hut (x.x) was based in Ito's house in Tokyo, a memorial to his deceased wife. The building had shiny, metal roof vaults and round windows shaped like portholes. He used the vaults and windows to light the gathering place for people to work and discuss. Although the shiny building seems out of place in the tranquil seaside hills, the structure appears as distant clouds or islands as the rounded roofs move across the space. 

The Steel Hut (x.x) was placed down the pathway and differed from the other hut. The dark polyhedral shapes are mostly windowless, and the structure resembles an alien concept. The modules composing the building were assembled and placed loosely with each other, with little definition of walls or floors. As visitors move between rooms, "the inclined walls unfold panoramically. This unique quality of the space enables unusual exhibition methods that are completely different from the orthodox exhibition space based on a standard grid. A double-height polyhedral stack for the entrance hall, three chambers packed horizontally carrying the main exhibition spaces, and a four-story tower serving as a beacon."[9]

Figure \(\PageIndex{13}\): Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture (kentamabuchi, CC BY-SA 2.0)

Figure \(\PageIndex{14}\): Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture (Japanexperterna, CCBYSA)

Arata Isozaki

Arata Isozaki (1931-2022) was born on Kyushu, one of Japan’s islands. As a child, he lived through World War II and post-war Japan. His vivid memory of seeing the atomic bombing of Hiroshima across the shore of his home influenced his future designs. He stated, "I grew up on ground zero. There was no architecture, no buildings, and not even a city. So, my first experience of architecture was the void of architecture, and I began to consider how people might rebuild their homes and cities."[10] Isozaki received a degree from the University of Tokyo in 1954 and his doctorate from there in 1961, and opened his own company. His early work focused on daring geometric concrete shapes of cylinders, cubes, pyramids, and spheres. At first, Isozaki focused his work on Japan and was considered by some as the "emperor of Japanese architecture." As he moved to contemporary designs, he incorporated Japanese ideas of emptiness and darkness and how they created shadows. Later in his life, Isozaki received the prestigious Pritzker Prize for architecture. 

Time and Space Existence

PLANE—SITE met with Japanese architect Arata Isozaki in his studio to have a conversation and explore the topics of time, space, and existence in architecture. Isozaki discusses his philosophy on architecture as it relates to space, as well as his intention to never fall into one specific style of design, but create different and unique styles for each distinct environment.

 

The Harbin Concert Hall (12.4.15) is a performing center in Harbin, China. Although the venue contains space for multiple performances, the Harbin Symphony Orchestra was one of China's first major orchestras. The central concert hall has 1200 seats, and the small one has 400 seats. The floor space covers 20,000 square meters and a surrounding area of 13,000 square meters. Isozaki designed the building to resemble a floating ice crystal, and the translucent opening in the ceiling allows bright pinpoints of light to reflect into the night sky. Over seventy-two light LED panels hang from the ceiling and can change colors from pastel to saturated shades. 

Figure \(\PageIndex{15}\): Harbin Concert Hall (2014) (Caliva, CC BY-SA 4.0)

The National Convention Centre Qatar was considered one of the most exceptional convention centers ever constructed. The center was based around the 'Sidra Tree'. The tree has grown in Qatar's countryside for generations and is considered a sign of comfort in the desert heat. Groups of trees allowed travelers a place of refuge, and the tree represents perseverance and determination. The tree (12.4.16) is the primary design focus of the center and is 250 meters wide and almost five stories high. The two steel-intertwined trees support each other on the outside of the building, and inside are decorative leaves (12.4.17) from the tree. The center was also constructed with the latest in water conservation and energy efficiency. The conference hall holds 4,000 seats, three auditoria, 40,000 square meters of exhibition space, and other meeting rooms. 

Figure \(\PageIndex{16}\): Sidra tree (oriordain, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Figure \(\PageIndex{17}\): Leaves of the Sidra tree (ToGa Wanderings, CC BY 2.0)

Isozaki won the 2019 Pritzker Prize for his design of the Ark Nova, an innovative design that is a tribute to his ability to change and create new ideas over his career. The committee stated, "Possessing a profound knowledge of architectural history and theory and embracing the avant-garde, he never merely replicated the status quo, but his search for meaningful architecture was reflected in his buildings that, to this day, defy stylistic categorizations, are constantly evolving, and always fresh in their approach."[11]

The idea for the building came after the earthquake and tsunami hit in 2011 and the major devastation of the affected communities. With all the cultural buildings destroyed, people had no venue for concerts, shows, or exhibitions, all the elements to raise the people's spirits. So, Isozaki, along with the artist Anish Kapoor, designed a traveling concert hall. The building was thirty meters across and eighteen meters high. Art Nova was made from an unusual eggplant color. The membrane was filled with air and could be inflated, deflated, and folded to move to another location. The inside space was open without any posts or interfering structures and accommodated up to five hundred people. 

Opening Ark Nova

The goal of the project, which was initiated by Michael Haefliger, Executive and Artistic Director of LUCERNE FESTIVAL, and Masahide Kajimoto, President of KAJIMOTO, is to contribute to the cultural reconstruction of the region in Northeastern Japan which was affected by the major disaster of 11 March 2011. An inflatable, mobile concert hall that was designed by the British artist Anish Kapoor in collaboration with the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki. 

 

Lu Wenyu and Wang Shu 

Lu Wenyu (1967-) and Wang Shu (1963-) are a husband-and-wife team. Lu was from a remote province of China. One of her teachers was previously an architect and taught Lu how to draw. Lu studied architecture at the Nanjing Institute of Technology. Wang was also from another remote province of China. As a child, he was self-taught in art, studied at the Southeast University in Nanjing, and received bachelor's and master's degrees. 

Lu and Wang married, and they started the architectural firm Amateur Architecture Studio. They chose an unusual name for their company to protest China's soulless, mass-produced architecture. They use traditional and salvaged materials to build new structures with style and character. They believed globalization had removed unique attributes and characteristics in today's cities, leaving soulless buildings. Lu and Wang developed a vision of creative and innovative buildings using materials available in a specific location. Wang was awarded the Pritzker Prize in 2012 for his architecture that invoked the past, re-invigorated tradition with cultural continuity, "opening new horizons while at the same time resonates with place and memory."[12]Although they both worked on the projects, Lu did not receive the prize. She did not complain, only saying she preferred to avoid public recognition. 

Lu and Wang like to recycle materials. Machine-made tiles, rocks, and pebbles (12.4.18) not only form the wall but also add architectural interest and detail. Concrete and recycled tiles (12.4.19) demonstrate how large, thick slabs of cement can be layered with old tiles for building. They also add visual interest by laying bamboo stalks (12.4.20) into wet concrete and creating a natural-looking design to remove the starkness of a plain concrete wall. Using old bricks (12.4.21) can bring a pattern based on both the color and different sizes of the bricks. These material building styles were used in the Ningho Museum of History.

Figure \(\PageIndex{18}\): Machine-made tiles, sedimentary rocks, and pebbles (Jenny Mackness, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Figure \(\PageIndex{19}\): Concrete and recycled tiles (Jenny Mackness, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Figure \(\PageIndex{20}\): Concrete imprint of bamboo weaving (Jenny Mackness, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Figure \(\PageIndex{21}\): Recycled bricks (Copyright; author via source)

The Ningbo History Museum (12.4.21) is in the province of Zhejiang, China, and is 30,000 square meters. Previously, the area was covered with traditional Chinese villages, which were demolished due to China's push to build tall, metal, dull buildings to house people. The demolished villages also shattered the cultures and customs of the people. Wang wanted to create the museum with the materials recovered from the debris of the villages and found beautiful materials everywhere. He said, "I wanted to build this museum for the people who were originally living here so they can keep some memories."[13] 

Figure \(\PageIndex{21}\): Ningbo Museum south gate (2008) (Siyuwj, CC BY-SA 3.0)

The museum walls (12.4.22) were made from recycled bricks and tiles, some of the materials over a thousand years old. The retrieved material was built using wapan, an ancient, traditional method. The recycled bricks, tiles, and stones were stacked together in thin layers of lime, creating a woven pattern for stability. In 2000, the Chinese government banned solid clay construction for large buildings to reduce CO2 emissions. Building in wapan style was once only for people experiencing poverty. Since the museum was built, the example of transforming old materials into new construction is accepted as a modern standard. Wang said, "During the design and construction process, I was accused of creating something that reflects the most outdated appearance of Ningbo in the most modernized district of the city."[14] Now, the museum is a standard for recycling and using traditional methods to construct new buildings. 

Figure \(\PageIndex{22}\): Museum windows and walls (Siyuwj, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Pritzker Architecture Prize

The Pritzker Architecture Prize – Interview with Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu at the 107th Annual Meeting of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture in Pittsburgh, PA.

 

Tadao Ando 

Tadao Ando (1941-) and his twin brother were born in Osaka, Japan, during the beginning of World War II. His family separated the brothers to lessen the likely effects of wartime bombing. Ando first worked as a boxer before deciding to be an architect. An essentially self-taught architect, he learned from correspondence courses and night classes and started his architectural firm. Ando was heavily influenced by religion, and his work emphasized the beauty of empty space and the importance of spatial interaction with complex structures as an essential part of architectural design. Ando believed architecture changed society and said, "To change the dwelling is to change the city and to reform society."[15] Ando followed the religious concepts of Zen to give his work a feeling of weightlessness. He has a simplistic feel to his design, yet the spatial relationships with light, space, and water bring the power of his design to life. Ando generally creates buildings with dimensional circular pathways interweaving through interior and exterior geometric shapes, keeping spaces in between. His preferred material is concrete; however, his concrete is known to be as smooth as silk. Ando has received multiple awards, including the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize. 

When Ando saw the unusual mountaintop site for the museum SAN, he wanted to create a different world. He stated, "I always wished to create a place that could provide the "energy for life" — nourishment for the mind that will last even when one becomes a hundred years old, restoring the energy to children to run and shout for joy in nature, who had lost their vitality overstressed by the cramming educational regime. Therefore, I did not want to build an ordinary museum that is like a silent box, and this site was a perfect spot for realizing my plan."[16] He didn't want the museum to be a silent place with art hung on the walls. Ando developed a complete plan integrated with nature and the environment while supporting the artwork and the needs of the people for the museum SAN.

His design included a welcome center, multiple gardens (stone, flower, water), a main building, and a unique exhibition hall. The museum covers 700 meters on the mountain. The structures are constructed with rectangular, triangular, and round spaces. These geometric shapes are part of Ando's philosophy of linking the sky, earth, and humans in a reflective environment. The water garden (12.4.23) has an extended cutout wall reflecting the water in concert with the sky and trees. The stone garden (12.4.24) reaches out across the mountain with formal mounded stone and flat stone areas. Trees are strategically placed and reflect in the sunlight. Inside the building (12.4.25), Ando uses the same metal, stone, and light structures. He added a specific meditation room (12.4.26) to enhance the contemplative nature of the site. 

Figure \(\PageIndex{23}\): Museum SAN water garden (©museumsan.org)

Figure \(\PageIndex{24}\): Museum SAN stone garden (©museumsan.org)

Figure \(\PageIndex{25}\): Museum SAN inside (©museumsan.org)

Figure \(\PageIndex{26}\): Museum SAN meditation Room (©museumsan.org)

Museum San

The Museum SAN(Space Art Nature) is peacefully located in Oak Valley, in the mountains of Wonju, South Korea.

 

The Hill of the Buddha demonstrates spirituality as the viewer only sees the top of the Buddha's head (12.4.27), piquing the imagination and wondering what this looks like. Along the way is a water garden (12.4.28) that captures the sky's reflection and surroundings with a sense of serenity. A forty-meter tunnel provides the walkway to the statue, and the walls amplify the sounds of footsteps. The last step is arrival at the roofless hall (12.4.29), where the 13.5-meter-high Buddha (12.4.30) sits above the stairs, patiently waiting. Around the massive site are 150,000 lavender plants with their purple carpet of flowers over the hills. The pathway moves through the lavender to reach the Buddha from the outside and look the statue in the face.  

Figure \(\PageIndex{27}\): Hill of the Buddha (2015) (mightymightymatze, CC BY-NC 2.0)

Figure \(\PageIndex{28}\): Reflecting pond at Hill of the Buddha (2015) (SqueakyMarmot, CC BY-SA 2.0)

Figure \(\PageIndex{29}\): Hill of the Buddha (Appie Verschoor from Rotterdam, the Netherlands, CC BY-SA 2.0)

Figure \(\PageIndex{30}\): Hill of the Buddha entrance (CC BY 2.0)

Vo Trong Nghia Architects

Sometimes, just one person is not the only building designer; an entire firm is frequently responsible for the design. Vo Trong Nghia Architects were commissioned to design a welcome center for the Grand World Phu Quoc based on Vietnamese cultural ideals. The principal architects were Vo Trong Nghia and Nguyen Tat Dat, along with others from the architectural firm. They wanted to base the structure on environmentally compatible and native materials. The structure was centered on a spacious floor of 1,460 square meters. The building took 42,000 bamboo culms (the hollow stems of bamboo), a replaceable material growing throughout Vietnam. Bamboo is considered the "green steel of the 21^st century." The structure was designed with arches, domes, and grids covering a broad, open expanse inside. The bamboo framework was based on an open design, and light shone through all building parts. The roof was thatched with skylights for additional light.[17] The video demonstrates the beauty of the structure and the use of natural materials. 

Grandworld Phu Quoc Welcome Center

Vinpearl Project is the welcome center of the Grand World Phu Quoc master-plan, which is the center of the massive Phu Quoc United Center. The client asked us to make a bamboo structure that embodies the Vietnamese cultures and becoming a symbol of the entire master-plan project, attracting tourists to Grand World Phu Quoc. The scope of the project is massive, with the building area of 1,460 m2. We managed to satisfy the requirements of the client, creating a unique bamboo structure that embodies Vietnamese culture and is a symbol of Grand World Phu Quoc. The lotus and the bronze drum, two traditional Vietnamese symbols are sculpted into the dense layers of bamboo grid, expressing the traditional Vietnamese cultures.

Additional text/introduction.

WOHA 

WOHA is a Singapore architectural company that designs sustainable structures and includes solutions to accommodate climate change and urbanization. Their buildings provide a better quality of life for the inhabitants and include an unusual integration of a large amount of vegetation, trees, grasses, shrubs, climbers, or flowers. Their designs are sustainable and environmentally composed, including natural ventilation instead of air conditioning, which they call "breathing architecture."[18] Their Parkroyal on Pickering (12.4.31) is an environmentally inspired building with passive strategies such as naturally ventilated corridors, solar-powered irrigation, rainwater retention, and sun shading.[19] The building is structured similarly to rice terraces (12.4.32), bringing tropical garden views to every room.

Figure \(\PageIndex{31}\): Parkroyal on Pickering (Erwin Soo, CC BY 2.0)

Figure \(\PageIndex{32}\): Parkroyal on Pickering close up (Inhabitat, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Parkroyal on Pickering, Singapore

Watch how the building sits pretty in its urban, cultural and environmental context in Singapore's Chinatown district.

 

 

 

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[1] HOKUSAI MUSEUM

[2] New York Times

 [3] Shigeru Ban named 2014 Pritzker Prize Winner"

[4] Yasmeen Lari Awarded 2023 RIBA Royal Gold Medal

[5] Architect Yasmeen Lari: ‘The international colonial charity model will never work’

[6] toyo ito

[7] Toyo Ito - Design Philosophy of His Notable Projects

[8] The National Taichung Theater

[9] Toyo Ito Museum for Architecture

[10] New York Times 

[11] Ark Nova 2013

[12] WANG SHU - AMATEUR ARCHITECTURE STUDIO

[13] De Zeen 

[14] ACSA 

[15] Masao Furuyama. “Tadao Ando”. 

[16] The Place of "Energy for Life"

[17] De Zeen 

[18] WOHA's 'Breathing Architecture' Exhibition

[19] WOHA 

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[1] Narvaez, M. (2016). Six concepts about the architecture of the new millennium. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/40636706/Six_concepts_about_the_architecture_of_the_new_millennium?email_work_card=title

[2] Vyas, K. (2018). 17 Most inventive architects of the 21^st Century. Interesting Engineering. (3) (21).

[3] Retrieved from https://www.zaha-hadid.com/people/zaha-hadid/

[4] Giovannini, J. (2013). Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center, Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects. https://www.architectmagazine.com/design/buildings/heydar-aliyev-cultural-center-designed-by-zaha-hadid-architects_o

[5] Vyas, K. (2018). 17 Most inventive architects of the 21^st Century. Interesting Engineering. (3) (21).

[6] Retrieved from: https://www.designbuild-network.com/projects/cctv/

[7] Retrieved from: https://arquitecturaviva.com/works/estadio-municipal-de-braga-7

[8] Retrieved from:  https://www.marquesderiscal.com/en/marques-de-riscal-hotel

[9] Retrieved from: https://www.interactiongreen.com/sum...kazuyo-sejima/

[10] Vyas, K. (2018). 17 Most inventive architects of the 21^st Century. Interesting Engineering. (3) (21).

[11] Winston, A. (2014). Moshe Safdie on Marina Bay Sands: a single tower would have been “unberable”. (11) (10).

[12] Retrieved from: https://architizer.com/projects/khalsa-heritage-centre/

[13] Shigeru Ban named 2014 Pritzker Prize Winner". ArchDaily.