on the boards: European Central Bank

Austrian architects Coop Himmelb(l)au have won a competition with a 185 metre tall, double-towered design for the European Central Bank headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany.

on the boards: Kunstmuseum Extension

Christ + Gantenbein architects have been awarded first prize in a competition to design an extension to the Kunstmuseum in Basel, Switzerland.

Metropolis Next Generation Competition

landscape ::: Montser's Footprints

designed by Chinese architects MAD, this project was created as part of the Hong Kong and Shenzhen Architecture and Urbansim Biennale. Dubbed the Monster’s Footprint, the project consists of 120 square metres of pink rubber laid over a site of dunes and valleys.

Architecture Revolution

The Architecture Revolution design competition was born out of the instability of the architecture industry and decades of recessions to generate productivity, through the development of architectural, artistic & media activity

blog wunderlust : 28 December 2009

The blog wunderlust is a weekly round up summarizing the architectural highlights, news and web links, that don't otherwise fit the format of this blog. If you have any to share feel free to drop me an email

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decade in detail | National Gallery of Jamaica | Furniture by David Adjaye | Ground Zero subway | Gehry to design non-profit theatre in nyc | images of Beirut between 1991 to 2003 | Abitare interview with Renzo Piano | carpark as a way of life | Autodesk video game | 10 houses to see before you die | best architecture of the decade | poorly designed public buildings: Turkey

podcast on ecological urbanism

Architecture is a continuing dialogue between generations which creates an environment across time.

Vincent Scully

Pritzker Prize ::: 2010 Prize - revisted

Due to the overwhelming votes in favour of Steven Holl - approximately 50% at last count, we've decided to revise the polls on the 2010 Pritzker Prize. Instead the we are making it a three way poll Holl against Japanese architects Shigeru Ban, known for his innovative work with paper and Toyo Ito equally admired for his highly conceptual works. Aside from the previous laureates, these architects are defining contemporary architecture in their own unique way.

House of the Week 051: Casa Santa Margarita

a single family house in Santa Margarita, northeast Mallorca, Spain by SCT architects. The residence is a dialogue between the solidity of the concrete, the lightness of the wood and the fragility of the glass.

more in Spanish

Shigeru Ban

Happy Holidays enjoy this Shigeru Ban Interview by L/Studio

blog wunderlust : 21 December 2009

thermae bath spa by Nicholas Grimshaw Architects

102 and still counting, happy birthday Oscar Niemeyer | a pair of pixelated high rises by SAKO | aerial photos of England | smashing windows - criminal art | Frank and the Rabbi | gingerbread architecture

WAN posters now available

The sun never knew how wonderful it was until it fell on the wall of a building

Louis Kahn

Studio Banana TV ::: Toyo Ito

Studio Banana TV interviews Japanese architect Toyo Ito on the occasion of his lecture at and with the sponsorship of the European University of Madrid.

Saving Lieb House

Director Jim Venturi documents the epic journey of the Lieb House designed by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown (his parents), as it makes it's trek over land and sea to its new home in Long Island in the film Saving Lieb House. More

on the boards: Faroe Islands Education Centre

Danish architects BIG with local collaborators Fuglark have been awarded first place in a competition to design an Education Centre in Marknagil on the Faroe Islands housing a both a Technical College and a Business College as well as a Gymnasium in one building. With a capacity of 1,200 students and 300 teachers the facility, when complete, will be the largest building on the islands.

Call from Proposals ::: Triple Canopy

Triple Canopy - a collective of with writers, artists, researchers and other collaborators on projects that deal critically with culture and politics, and the ways people engage them, both online and in the world at large, is holding its first call for proposals. They will be commissioning a variety of projects outlined below. Submissions and proposals are due by 15 February 2010.

Research Work
Internet as Material
Thinking through Images
New Media Reporting Project
New Programming

For more detailed information, visit.

inflatable architecture

The notion of a less dangerous Hindenburg blimp, as seen in Archigram's Instant city slowly hovering the English countryside has proven to be fertile ground space to a new generation of designers.

hot air blog

Spacebuster ::: an installation by Raumlabor a German student led collective that aims to create ephemeral places or shelter-bubbles in public space. And a peanut shaped tea-house by Kengo Kuma

and now Abitare are annoucing at DS+R have proposed an inflatable extension to the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington DC.

blog wunderlust : 14 December 2009

Lady Gaga Gehry | Swarovski Crystal Palace | top 10 buildings of the decade and the top 5 architectural bloopers | RIP FOA | rethinking Dubai | Italian Prime Minister attacked with a cast model of the Duomo Cathedral in Milan ( not the The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore as previously stated) | bigger buildings may not be better


new links ::: an international architecture guide for your iPhone and a site devoted to leadholders and mechanical pencils

It is essential to an architect to know how to see: I mean to see in such a way that the vision is not overpowered by rational analysis.

Luis Barragan

Starck Tv ::: Design for Life

Design for Life from design on Vimeo.

Philippe Starck has a new show out called “Design for Life” on the BBC.

Studio Banana TV ::: Juan Navarro Baldeweg

Studio Banana TV features the Canal Theatre building in Madrid with explanations by its author, Spanish architect Juan Navarro Baldeweg.

on the boards: Mill Centre of the Arts

The proposal for the Mill Centre of the Arts by New York based architects Easton + Combs

on the boards: Glen Oaks Branch Library

This proposed 18,000 sf LEED certified library designed by Marble Fairbanks replaces an existing one story facility building with a programme that includes collections, periodicals, community meeting rooms and reading areas for adults and children.

House of the Week 050: the Cube (Lac Superieur)

Located near the ski hills of Mont Tremblant in Quebec, Canada this vacation home - dubbed the Cube by locals for its composition of intersecting volumes, was designed by architects Saucier + Perrotte in 2004. The volumes hold the three functional areas, sleeping on the top, middle for entry and living and the lowest for play.

also take a look at a recent feature in the times called Recycled Houses

on the boards: Quad cinema + arts centre

Competition entry for a new cinema and arts centre complex in Derby by Rick Mather Architects.

2010 Pritzker Prize...

Developing from to a recent conversation about who the next Pritzker Prize laureate would be I have decided to run a poll to run 2010. Please vote and email if your candidate isn't on the list.

added to the side pane

on the boards: Vallentuna Library

A proposal by architects Larsson Lindstrand Palme for a library and culture house in commissioned in 2008 by the Vallentuna municipality, Sweden.

Open Source House Design Competition

The Open Source Housing initiative is hosting an International Design Competition starting on 15th January 2010 and is open to team or individual participation. The challenge is to design an expandable and sustainable house. The modular construction should be suitable for local implementation and affordable for its future owners. The winner will have their design built in Ghana.

blog wunderlust : 07 December 2009

The blog wunderlust is a weekly round up summarizing the architectural highlights, news and web links, that don't otherwise fit the format of this blog. If you have any to share feel free to drop me an email.

dispatchwork | They may make a living at the drafting table, but on the road they can't seem to draw the line | the Guyana project | the glass house is in vogue and the thermae vals is model architecture | living with things | RIP Malcolm Wells | Peter the Pritzker peddling hermit genius

Also make sure and check out the Archinect competition Switzerland we have a problem

Fashion is architecture: it is a matter of proportions.

Coco Chanel

Wallpaper* Future 30

Wallpaper* future 30 at the 4th International Architecture Biennale in Rotterdam, Netherlands

TED talks ::: Magnus Larsson

Architecture student Magnus Larsson elaborates on his concept to reduce the growth of the Sahara desert by creating dunes made from sand and bacteria.

on the boards: Rue Rebière

Swiss architects EM2N have proposed this housing block along a thin landscaped strip on Rue Rebière, Paris as part of a 180 room project to include blocks designed by Avignon Clouet, Atelier Bow Wow, among others.

House of the Week - a retrospective

Over the last 50 weeks we've presented contemporary houses from around the globe (US, Japan and Australia mostly) and from a variety of architects - houses with odd titles, some that render the function of the house and others that seem to follow the alphabet.

001 TDA House, Mexico
002 Casa Bellicini, Italy
003 Terrace House, Israel
004 Casa San Isidro, Argentina
005 McKinley Compound, California
006 Tattoo House, Australia
007 Surfhouse, California
008 Blackwell House, Arkansas
009 700 Palms, California
010 Haus W, Germany
011 Raumati House, New Zealand
012 Ant Farm, Taiwan
013 Sculptor House, Chile
014 House in Curitiba, Brazil
015 Eggo House, Czech Republic
016 Hanghaus Weidling, Australia
017 NX House, Portugal
018 5ive, Minneapolis
019 Loblolly House, Maryland
020 Azuma House, Japan
021 Clontarf, Australia
022 Cliffhanger, Greece
023 Slot House, New York
024 Villa Cote d'Azur, France
025 Grangegorman, Ireland
026 Phoenix, Jamaica
027 Cascade House, Canada
028 Desert Nomad House, Arizona
029 Lake House, Washington
030 Brosmith House, California
031 House 2, India
032 House in Kasumi, Japan
033 Residence F, Germany
034 Thiang Residence, Australia
035 Villa Malaparte, Italy
036 Bangkok House, Thailand
037 Sumaré, Brazil
038 T-House, New York
039 Casa N, Mexico
040 Villa Dall'Ava, France
041 N-House, Japan
042 Otake House, Japan
043 Big Sur, California
044 Farnsworth House, Illinois 
045 K18V123, Netherlands
046 Heeren Shophouse, Malaysia
047 Tubac, Arizona
048 Sorrento, Australia
049 Spaghetti House, California

We are seeking suggestions for the next 50 especially from countries not listed.

Barratt Homes has the best deals on homebuy direct in the UK.

criticism: what's next for Dubai?

With news of the financial crisis in Dubai, and now their requests to have a 6-month reprieve on their debt payments (nearly 60 billion) I'm left to wonder about its architectural implication. Not that there won't be any more symbols of excess in the desert by signature architects, rather the next step in this rapid evolution. Dubai in the first decade of the 21st century has created a legacy in architecture arguably on par with the reconstruction of post-war Europe. But with that the great implication lies. Shall these works be torn apart and the scraps be sold to recover it's debt? With everyone from Sotheby's to Christies cashing in on the fetish of parts. Or shall special interest groups similar to the Royal Society or DOCOMOMO come to the rescue lobbying to preserve their architectural interests? The tide is changing, will this too be carried out to sea?

blog wunderlust: 30 November 2009

green architecture, design and façades | LEGO challenge (video) | matching art and architecture in Miami | the banality of evil fashion | floating among the stars | twitter's office | fabric re-hab

another preview of My Playground (what is it about architecture documentaries and the use of the word "my")