Norwegian-based firm A-lab and Danish-based SEA have just sent us their winning entry for a competition focusing on a new urban development in Skien Brygge, Norway. The project comprises the transformation of a former harbour area into a new urban community. The four-hectare large harbour site is framed by the water towards the west and a steeply rising landscape towards the east. Skien is one of the oldest cities in Norway established around 1000AD. It is the 11th largest city in Norway with approximately 50.000 inhabitants. Historically Skien is shaped by the development of the harbour and the activities on the waterway.
Here are A-Lab and SEA explaining their concept:

Building a sustainable urban community
The city is – and has always been – characterized by changes. Cities are living organisms that develop according to changes in the financial, technological, and social conditions. The strong point of the city is its diversity, which facilitates meetings between people across interests, age, social status and religious affiliation. The city is a meeting place. We believe successful urban planning takes as a starting point the social interaction between people. ‘A city is a human settlement in which strangers are likely to meet’ [from ‘Fall of public man’ – Richard Sennett]

Hypar Pavilion is a free standing structure home to a new public lawn and restaurant, situated on the edge of Hearst Plaza and 65th Street.

The dual requirements of a destination restaurant and a public green space located within the confines of the Plaza are satisfied with a single architectural gesture. Elizabeth Diller comments, “Hypar Pavilion’s moment of invention came when we discovered how to design a destination restaurant without consuming public space on the Lincoln Center campus. The roof became a new kind of interface between public and private, with an occupiable twisting grass canopy over a glass pavilion restaurant.”

The Hypar Pavilion lawn is accessed at its single point of contact with the Plaza. The 7,200sf lawn surface lifts up at two opposing corners creating a space for the restaurant sandwiched between the Plaza level and the twisting parabolic roof. The resulting topography of the lawn above is oriented away from city noise and traffic, creating a bucolic urbanism.

Zaha Hadid Architects and the Bouregreg Valley Development Agency have just announced the Rabat Grand Theatre
With a dedicated land area of 47 000 sqm and a gross floor area of 27 000 sqm, the Rabat Grand Theatre is a cultural venue of the highest standards. It will include a 2,050-seat theatre, a smaller 520-seat theatre, creative studios and a fully-equipped outdoor amphitheatre with a capacity of up to 7,000 people. The cost of the project is estimated at 1.35 Billion Moroccan Dirhams (120 Million Euros).

Evolving From Moshe Safdie’s Pioneering Habitat, Golden Dream Bay Design Breaks Down Mega-Scale to Maximize Light and Outdoor Space in High-Density Residential Towers.

Safdie Architects announced that it won a competitive bid to design Golden Dream Bay, a residential and retail complex in Qinhuangdao, China, a city of 2.8 million located 300 km east of Beijing.
Building upon Moshe Safdie’s groundbreaking Habitat, the project offers a radical solution for quality, affordable housing in a heavily populated urban area. Golden Dream Bay provides much-needed housing for the city’s growing population while maximizing access to gardens and light at every level through the use of large-scale “windows” throughout the structure. Shared amenities and public spaces foster a sense of community among residents.

Ground has been broken for Maggie’s Centre Gartnavel, a facility in Glasgow providing emotional and practical support for people living with cancer, their families and friends. Designed by OMA, the building, which is located on the grounds of Gartnavel hospital and close to the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre, is one of several Maggie’s Centres in the UK and part of a pioneering project using thoughtful architecture and innovative spaces as tools for solace and healing.

SOM has just celebrated the inauguration of this 59-story mixed use tower in Dubai.

Rolex Tower contains 30 floors of office space, 25 floors of residential apartments and is capped with two exclusive residential penthouses one of which has a private pool on the 57th level. Behind the tower, a 9-story parking garage and entrance plaza leading to the tower’s lobby provides easy access to the tower.


The building’s design, which features a glass curtain wall, embodies a sense of understated elegance amongst the exuberant context of Sheikh Zayed Road.

The size of the site dictated the design of the Rolex Tower along with its close proximity to adjacent buildings. The SOM architects addressed the site by stacking the offices, residential units and amenities, creating a refined columnar shape. Rolex Tower stands as a quiet neighbor amongst the other tall towers along Sheik Zayed Road, reinforcing the existing “urban street wall”.