The Design Museum of London has just announced the contenders for its sixth annual Designs of the Year. The shortlist for architecture showcases some structures that make the jump from buildings to art.
A Room For London, (Southbank Centre), UK: Perched above Queen Elizabeth Hall at London’s Southbank Centre, the boat-shaped, one-bedroom installation offers guests refuge and reflection amidst the surrounding flow of traffic. Designed by David Kohn Architects in collaboration with artist Fiona Banner.
Picture: Michael Day/Flickr
Astley Castle, Warwickshire, UK: A sensitive renewal of this dilapidated castle in rural Warwickshire, the ancient shell forms a container for a dynamic series of interior contemporary spaces. Designed by Witherford Watson Mann.
Picture: Witherford Watson Mann
Book Mountain, Spijkenisse, Holland: This mountain of bookshelves is contained by a glass-enclosed structure and a pyramid roof with a total surface area of 9300sqm. A continuous 480m route culminates at the peak’s reading room and cafe with panoramic views through the transparent roof. Designed by MVRDV.
Picture: Bart/Flickr
Clapham Library, London, UK: This 1765sqm public library is located in the heart of Clapham. It has room to accommodate more than 20,000 books, a new performance venue for local community groups, 136 private apartments, and 44 affordable homes. Designed by Studio Egret West.
Picture: The New Clapham/Facebook
Four Freedoms Park, New York, USA: In the late 1960s, during a period of national urban renewal, New York City Mayor John Lindsay proposed to reinvent Roosevelt Island (then called Welfare Island) into a vibrant, residential area. On March 29, 2010, 38 years after its announcement, construction of Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park began. Designed by Louis Kahn.
Picture: FDR Four Freedoms Park LLC, Steve Amiaga/Paul Warchol/AP
Galaxy Soho, Bejing: Five continuous, flowing volumes coalesce to create an internal world of continuous open spaces within the Galaxy Soho building — a new office, retail and entertainment complex devoid of corners to create an immersive, enveloping experience in the heart of Beijing. Designed by Zaha Hadid.
Picture: Ningbo Ningbo/Flickr
Home For All: Presented at the Venice 2012 Architecture Biennale, Home for All is a proposal to offer housing solutions for all the people who lost their homes in the Japan’s devastating 2011 earthquake. Designed by Akihisa Hirata, Sou Fujimoto, Kumiko Inui, Toyo Ito and Naoya Hatakeyama.
Picture: The Japan Architect
IKEA Disobedients, (Performed at MoMA PS1), New York: Disobedients, an architectural performance by Madrid-based Andrés Jaque Arquitectos, was premiered at MoMA PS1, part of the 9+1 Ways of Being Political exhibition. It reveals how recent architectural practices use performance to engage audiences with architecture in a non-traditional way. Designed by Andrés Jaque Arquitectos IKEA.
Picture: Andrés Jaque Arquitectos
Kukje Art Centre, Seoul: This single-storey building is draped in a stainless steel mesh blanket that fits precisely over its structure and merges with the district’s historic urban fabric of low-rise courtyard houses and dense network of small alleyways. Designed by SO – IL.
Picture: Iwan Baan/SO-ILg
La Tour Bois-Le-Prêtre, Paris: The striking transformation of a run-down tower in northern Paris created an alternative approach to the physical and social redevelopment of decaying post-war housing. Designed by Druot, Lacaton and Vassal.
Picture: Frederic Druot Architecture
Metropolitan Arts Centre, Belfast: Wedged between two existing buildings, on a hemmed-in corner plot that sits beside the city cathedral, sits the Metropolitan Arts centre. The glazed tower sits atop the volcanic stone facade of this performing arts centre to create a beacon above the surrounding rooftops. Designed by Hackett Hall McKnight.
Picture: Christian Richters/Rory Hyde
Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Cleveland. The 3158sqm structure, which is 44 per cent larger than MOCA’s former rented space, is both environmentally and fiscally sustainable. Designed by Farshid Moussavi Architecture.
Picture: Erik Daniel Drost
Museum of Innocence, Istanbul: The Museum of Innocence is a book by Orhan Pamuk, telling the story of a young man named Kemal in 1950s and 1960s Istanbul. Pamuk established an actual Museum of Innocence, based on the museum described in the book, exhibiting everyday life and culture in Istanbul during the period in which the novel is set. Designed by Orhan Pamuk with Ihsan Bilgin, Cem Yucel and Gregor Sunder Plassmann.
Picture: brent granby
Superkilen, Nørrebro, Denmark: Superkilen is a kilometre-long park situated through an area just north of Copenhagen’s city centre, considered one of the most ethnically diverse and socially challenged neighbourhoods in the Danish capital. The large-scale project creates an urban space with a strong identity on a local and global scale. Designed by BIG, TOPOTEK1 and Superflex.
Picture: DAC
Thalia Theatre, Lisbon: Built in the 1840s, the Thalia Theatre has been in ruins almost ever since. This project converts it into a multipurpose space for conferences, exhibitions and events. In order to retain the old walls, the exterior was covered in concrete, while the interior remains in its original condition. Designed by Gonçalo Byrne Arquitectos & Barbas Lopes Arquitectos.
Picture: DMF/onçalo Byrne Arquitectos
The Shard, London, UK: The tallest building in Western Europe, the Shard transforms the London skyline. The multi-use 310m vertical structure consists of offices, world-renowned restaurants, the five-star Shangri-La hotel, exclusive residential apartments and the capital’s highest viewing gallery. Designed by Renzo Piano.
Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
T-Site, Tokyo: A campus-like complex for Tsutaya, a giant in Japan’s book, music, and movie retail market. Located in Daikanyama, an upmarket but relaxed Tokyo shopping district, the project’s ambition is to define a new vision for the future of retailing. Designed by Klein Dytham.
Picture: choo chin nian/Flickr
The Design Museum of London’s Designs of the Year exhibition will be open through July 7, with winners announced on April 17. For ticketing information, head here.