Articles by Annalise Zorn

In their winning competition entry, French architecture firm Ilimelgo reimagines the future of urban agriculture with a vertical farming complex in the Parisian suburb of Romainville. The project integrates production of produce into the city through a 1000 square meter greenhouse that maximizes sunlight and natural ventilation. Recognizing the developing world’s diminishing agricultural space, the project aims to meet the growing demands for crop cultivation in urban environments.

In LEVS Architecten’s newest development Forum City, the firm reinterprets Russian urban life in the center of its fourth-largest city, Yekaterinburg. The nine-building complex, developed by the Forum Group, curates its own metropolitan microcosm inside the larger urban area by combining residential, leisure facilities, and retail inside an archetypal city block.  

FaulknerBrowns Architects have released plans for a revitalization of Queens Parade, a waterfront site in Bangor, Northern Ireland that has long been left underutilized. Situated next to the Bangor Marina, the mixed-used development will include residential, entertainment, and retail buildings in an effort to secure the site as a destination for both locals and tourists to connect with the water.

This week a groundbreaking ceremony was held for Tainan Axis, a project by MVRDV, and local architects The Urbanist Collaborative and LLJ Architects that is set to offer the Taiwanese city a revitalized plaza and green corridor. William Lai, the Mayor of Tainan, joined the Urban Development Bureau of Tainan City and the local architects to mark the beginning of construction.

Lendager Group have released drawings and renderings of Stedsans in the Woods, a farming development currently in progress in the deep Swedish wilderness. A collaboration with restaurant owners Mette Helbæk and Flemming Hansen, the project will feature a permaculture farm, restaurant, and lodging. A focus on sustainability and living off the landscape drives both the architecture and the Stedsans brand, who stress the idea of ‘giving more than we take.’ Located in Bohult, Sweden, the development offers visitors an escape from the city with opportunities for fresh dining and connecting with nature.

In their latest press release, elevator manufacturer ThyssenKrupp announced new information about their cable-free system that rethinks the movement of the 1853 invention. Allowing for both horizontal and vertical transportation, “MULTI” has the capacity to innovate tall building design through its elimination of architectural constraints such as vertical alignment and elevator shaft dimensions. First unveiled as a concept in 2014, MULTI reported this month that the elevator has been installed into a test building and is soon to be implemented publicly into new developments.

Echelon Seaport, a mixed-used development designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) and CBT Architects, will join the growing number of buildings and public spaces slated to revitalize the Boston Seaport neighborhood in the coming decade. The 1.3 million square foot property will accompany projects such as OMA’s 88 Seaport and developments by James Corner Field Operations, Sasaki, and NADAAA.

As part of the Third Istanbul Biennial, NOHlab and architect Buşra Tunç collaborated with HAS Architects to create OCULUS: an experiential light and sound-based installation. The exhibit focuses on employing a historic location, the Single-Dome Hall of the historic Istanbul Imperial Arsenal, to reinterpret a spatial moment using technology and design. The central theme of the project is the experimentation of permanence, illustrated in the juxtaposition between the dynamic visuals displayed on the temporary structure and the 16th-century architecture.

Immortalized through photographs, drawings, and stories, buildings that have been demolished or completely renovated exist in the realm known as “lost architecture.” Either for economic or aesthetic reasons, the old gets torn down for the new, often to the disdain of community members and architects. But demolished buildings tell a story about the ever-changing politics of preservation—and often, they tell it far better than buildings that were actually preserved ever could. As the architectural landscape continues to change around us, it is important to recognize our past, even if its traces have been eliminated from the physical world.

As part of the second Bamboo Biennale held in October 2016, the city of Solo in Central Java received a public Bamboo Bridge courtesy of Indonesian Architects Without Borders (ASF-ID). Connecting the Pasar Gede market and colonial Dutch Vastenburg Fort, the 18-meter bamboo structure offers a revitalization of river life in the historic Indonesian city. Spanning across the Kali Pepe river, residents of Java can traverse the pedestrian bridge on its track that varies in width from 1.8 to 2.3 meters.