We don’t really think about it day to day but we live in an energy grid, a complex system of infrastructure and activity of which we know only the vaguest details and definetly rarely think about beyond plugging the light in when its dark. But that really has to change soon, if we are [...]
The results of Europan9 in Finland are out. With three competition areas in Finland Kotka, Vantaa, and Espoo, it was the winner of the Espoo site which stood out for me as being able to create a real quality set of shoreline spaces without being twee or contrived. Clear connections to the existing infrastructure [...]
The Aalto Database is now open in Engish and Finnish, based on Dr Göran Schildt’s book Alvar Aalto. A life’s Work. Architecture, Design and Art (1994). It covers built and unbuilt work, competitions and masterplans and gives a summary of each building with a photo. Locations, dates and type are easily searchable. But I would [...]
Estonia has just opened an embassy in second life, being the second country to do it officially behind Sweden. Interestingly Estonia’s official second life embassy is different from Swedens offering in a few subtle ways that seem to me to make it a more thoughtful offering. The Architecture is especially of interest to [...]
Some weeks ago our office went to Copenhagen on an Architecture excursion and I’ve been sitting on a few posts about my time there because of lots of other things were taking priority, but I have a little time now so first post up is about a wonderful exhibition about the most influential man in [...]
A new island forms the centrepiece of an expansion of the Otaniemi campus of Helsinki university in Espoo. The competition won by NRT Architects is for office and teaching space for 1500 people with a further 700 residences. Its a major addition adn improvement to the campus which already contains some world class Architecture.
An update of sorts on a previous post finding architecture I posted over a year ago now. MIMOA is a new website for finding good Architecture in Europe. A database like nextroom but with a social aspect with the ability to contribute, comment and print off projects when travelling. I have held off mentioning it [...]
The Oslo Ski Jump Competition Winner has been announced. JDS Architects based in Copenhagen won the international competition. It looks great and has a viewing platform at the top so you can get a little of the experience of making a jump yourself. Here is the article about it.(via)
Fuji Kindergarten by Takaharu + Yui Tezuka is a lovely design. An eliptical roof covers the open rooms and encloses a courtyard where the roof also becomes an outside play area. The children come first and the playground is integral to every aspect of the programme and the childs learning.
View the slideshow about it and [...]
In Finland few places make a worse case for Architecture or Urbanism as practised then Espoo City Centre. It was supposed to be a modern centre for the post war burgeoning metropolis of Espoo now the second biggest city on Finland. But lets be honest its an embarrassment really, an indictment of all that is [...]
