Finnish design firm ALA Architects Ltd. has won the architectural competition for Finlands Helsinki Central Library. Selected from six entries in stage two of the competition, ALAs entry, Knns, proposes a 172,000-square-foot facility consisting almost entirely of public spaces. Boasting an arching form, the design divides library functions into three distinctive levels: an active ground floor, a calm upper floor, and an enclosed space in between catering to more specific functions. The firm won 50,000 euros for its first-place finish.

The competition jury commended ALAs submission for its cityscape, functionality, and eco-sensitive design. The architecture of the proposal is of a very high quality, executed with relaxed, broad strokes, and memorable, jurors noted. The proposal provides excellent premises for the development of a completely new functional concept for the library. The building has a unique appeal and the prerequisites to become the new symbolic building which Helsinki residents, library users, as well as the staff, will readily adopt as their own.

Entrants were evaluated on criteria such as usability, sustainability, and feasibility, as well as their ability to fit into the existing urban structure. No second prize was awarded, but Playa Architects Ltd and Verstas Architects Ltd shared the third-place prize of 31,500 euros each. The jury called Playas entry, Liblab, not only distinct and sculptural but also suitable for public purposes while recognizing its "well-thought-out glass surfaces in the most important directions. Verstas submission, Kasi, was acknowledged as appealing and approachable. Jurors also praised the design for its separating walls, ceiling, and massive wooden elements.

The library is scheduled to open in 2018.

Playa Architects: Liblab

Verstas Architects: Kasi

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ALA Architects Wins Helsinki Library Design Competition

IE Paper Pavilion by Shigeru Ban Architects
Last March IE Inaugurated the IE Paper Pavilion, a sustainable building designed by renowned Architect Shigeru Ban (Shigeru Ban Architects Europe) and built ...

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Campus Development Forum - EHL students and architects working together
EHL students and architect Hilario Dahl Rocha talk about the Campus Development Forum and how it is for them to collaborate.

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Last fall, architect-designer Michael Graves lamented the current state of architecture in an op-ed for the New York Times. Contemporary architects, he wrote, seem all too willing to realize the death of drawing in favor of the unlimited operations offered by computers. Graves, though, just couldnt imagine a practice without its most powerful means of conceptualization and representation: sketching.

Ironically, Gravess argument reveals more about the preoccupations and worries of the aging architect himself than about current methods for making architecture. Nearly all students and practitioners agree that sketching continues to be critical to the design process. A series of drawing apps, along with the responses to Gravess article itself, attest to that fact.

A:LOG, a new sketchbook made expressly for architects (and by architects), is the latest of these drawing-centric projects. Developed by three students at Columbias Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (GSAPP), A:LOG does what no other sketchbook can. According to creators Paul Chan, Richard Angus Duff, and Ebberly Strathairn, the book was designed to solve architect problems.

The trio means the time-intensive task of looking up building details, dimensions, and other stupid facts that take away from design. A:LOG incorporates this information into a portable drawing-friendly format. The group has launched a Kickstarter to put their prototype into production, and support for the project has proved overwhelming. With 10 days to go, the campaign has already exceeded its $25,000 goal.

Strathairn tells Co.Design that the team came up with the idea after working collaboratively on several projects in and outside the studio. These design challenges exposed a gap between the design work and professional resources, such as technical reference books, that are necessary to fleshing out a project.

The team thought to simplify the entire model. We set out to create a notebook for ourselves, but that turned into our obsession about creating the best notebook for architects. They combined a sketchpad with a professional design manual to make the ultimate architecture sketchbook.

We think its rather odd that there arent more notebooks tailored to different professions on the market, Strathairn says. While we love that Moleskine offers a wide variety of paper and cover choices, the A:LOG really focuses its content for architects and designers toward their specific design needs.

The A:LOG notebook is split up into two (unequal) parts. The first comprises some 30 pages of useful design information, including building elements and dimensions, technical guidelines, and more. The books remaining 130 pages are devoted entirely to sketching, with gridded paper that lets the user sketch to four different scales. The dot grid is open-ended and given over to everything from doodles and form-finding sketches to plans and sections. (Strathairn and his cohorts plan to invite architects, designers, and artists to fill up their own A:LOGs and to host an exhibition displaying the results.)

Its ironic, given the teams reverence for drawing, that all three were trained in the first paperless architectural school. We love exploring different digital platforms, but sketching remains a vital part of design, Straithairn says. Theres just something about the ease and speed of drawing on paper, he underscores.

Still, contra-Graves, theyre not inclined to romanticizing or privileging drawing over other design processes. Whether its digital or physical, it doesnt really matter. Its more about not trying to hammer in a nail with a screwdriver," Straithairn says.

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Kickstarting: A Sketchbook Designed For Architects, By Architects

Architectural rendering of the proposed design of downtown Raleigh's future train hub, presented on Wednesday, June 26, 2013.

CLEARSCAPES

RALEIGH City leaders and residents got their first look Wednesday at the proposed design of downtown Raleighs future train hub, as architects released their first renderings.

Amtrak passengers will enter through a civic plaza shaded by a large urban canopy, crossing under railroad tracks into the former Dillon Supply Viaduct warehouse. Theyll await their train in the cavernous main room of the Grand Central-style station, or grab a bite upstairs with a view of Raleighs skyline.

Those are a few of the plans that Clearscapes architect Steve Schuster unveiled Wednesday. The train station for the capital of North Carolina has to be authentic, has to be memorable and has to be unique, he said.

Design work for the station is moving ahead despite recent news that the project is no longer fully funded. The N.C. Department of Transportation shifted $15.1 million of the stations $60 million in previously announced funding to a Raleigh-to-Charlotte rail line. It now will have to find more money or settle for a scaled-back project, possibly opting for a temporary station and shelving Schusters blueprints for years. Raleigh Planning Director Mitchell Silver alluded to the shortfall at Wednesdays meeting.

We are here to assure you that this project is a high priority for both the city and the state Department of Transportation, he said. We are proceeding with the design while actively seeking out funding for the next phase of the project.

The construction phase will raze a vacant car dealership at West and Martin streets to create a hard-to-miss entryway. The civic plaza would serve as a gateway to downtown and host up to eight food trucks and pop-up retail spaces along with a performance and gathering spot. Those events would get shade from the urban canopy hanging over the plaza and the vehicle entrance to its south. The canopy shape is similar to a traditional railroad semaphore signal.

Its picking up on the railroad and industrial heritage of the place, Schuster said.

The design drew praise from Raleigh City Councilman Thomas Crowder, whos also an architect. I love the canopy, he said. Its a fabulous entry into the complex.

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Architects offer first look at planned Raleigh Union Station

TORONTO, June 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - Bridgepoint Active Healthcare officially opened its new hospital yesterday in Toronto. As the largest health care facility of its kind in Canada, the 464-bed facility is a major milestone in Bridgepoint's vision to become Canada's leading centre for rehabilitation and patients living with complex health conditions. The adjacent pre-Confederation Don Jail was also restored to become the hospital's administrative offices.

This epic project is based on master plan developed by Urban Strategies in 2006 and designed and constructed by two teams recognized as leaders in healthcare design and architectural excellence: Stantec Architecture / KPMB Architects are the Planning, Design and Compliance Architects for Bridgepoint responsible for the project specific outline specifications (PSOS) and the Design Exemplar; HDR Architecture / Diamond Schmitt Architects are the architects to the Design, Build, Finance and Maintain consortium responsible for the design as constructed and are the Architects of Record. The two architectural teams delivered the project under a two-tiered design and delivery process under Infrastructure Ontario's Alternate Financing and Procurement program.

The ceremony, attended by Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Minister of Health and Long-Term Care Deb Matthews, celebrated the opening of the Hospital and the transformation of the historic Don Jail as the first phase in the realization of the campus of care. It also marked the beginning of the next phase to complete the redevelopment of the site as an interconnected, pedestrian-friendly campus with landscaping and gardens.

Every element and detail was strategically designed to bring the community to the hospital and to maximize connections with the city and with nature to optimize healing. Key strategies are integrated through every level, from the ground floor 'Porch' which is accessible to the community, to the windows that allow patients lying in bed to have unobstructed views, to a green roof that provides access to the outdoors in the upper levels of the hospital.

In addition to the completion of the overall site redevelopment, the project is undergoing the most rigorous hospital facility Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) in the history of Canada to measure and assess the effect of architecture on well-being and health outcomes. Bridgepoint Active Healthcare will be an exemplar for evidence-based design to 'demonstrate substantive outcomes related to capital investments' and to ultimately contribute to international research in the field of healthcare design.

Image with caption: "Bridgepoint Health Active Healthcare Opened June 25, 2013 (Credit:Jesse Jackson) (Source:Stantec Architecture/KPMB Architects/HDR Architecture/Diamond Schmitt Architects Inc.) (CNW Group/KPMB Architects)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130626_C3351_PHOTO_EN_28514.jpg

Image with caption: "Bridgepoint Health Active Healthcare Opened June 25, 2013 (Credit:Jesse Jackson) (Source:Stantec Architecture/KPMB Architects/HDR Architecture/Diamond Schmitt Architects Inc.) (CNW Group/KPMB Architects)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130626_C3351_PHOTO_EN_28515.jpg

Image with caption: "Bridgepoint Health Active Healthcare Opened June 25, 2013 (Credit:Maris Mezulis) (Source:Stantec Architecture/KPMB Architects/HDR Architecture/Diamond Schmitt Architects Inc.) (CNW Group/KPMB Architects)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130626_C3351_PHOTO_EN_28541.jpg

Image with caption: "Bridgepoint Health Active Healthcare Opened June 25, 2013 (Credit:Maris Mezulis) (Source:Stantec Architecture/KPMB Architects/HDR Architecture/Diamond Schmitt Architects Inc.) (CNW Group/KPMB Architects)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130626_C3351_PHOTO_EN_28542.jpg

Image with caption: "Bridgepoint Health Active Healthcare Opened June 25, 2013 (Credit:Maris Mezulis) (Source:Stantec Architecture/KPMB Architects/HDR Architecture/Diamond Schmitt Architects Inc.) (CNW Group/KPMB Architects)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130626_C3351_PHOTO_EN_28543.jpg

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Stantec Architecture | KPMB Architects - HDR Architecture + Diamond Schmitt Architects: Bridgepoint Health Active ...

Sang Architects: Vertical Limits
Ron Sang discuss his design philosophy for this residential house in Remuera, Auckland, New Zealand for Trend Magazine. Visit http://sangarchitects.co.nz/ fo...

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Surfaces Reporter DP Architects@Singapore

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Fictional Architects x Breaking and Entering

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Grow Apollo Architects Associates Modelagem Sketchup

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