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  UNStudio's Vision Board for the expansion of Los Angeles' Union Station presented in LA

  27/04/2012

  UNStudio & EE&K's Vision Board for the expansion of Los Angeles' Union Station was presented this week by The Metropolitan Transportation Authority in LA.
  
  Report by Christopher Hawthorne, Architecture Critic of the Los Angeles Times

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  Städelschule Architecture Class welcome applications to the Master of Arts in Architecture programme. Deadline: 15 May 2012

  18/04/2012

  Ben van Berkel and SAC invite applications to the post-graduate Master of Arts in Architecture programme. The deadline for applications is: 15th May 2012

  Website - Städelschule Architecture Class
  
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  Orion City Road Trustee Ltd secures Resolution to Grant Planning for 257 City Road site in London

  16/03/2012

  Orion City Road Trustee Ltd, the vehicle set up by Orion Capital Managers for the redevelopment of 257 City Road, has secured a Resolution to Grant Planning Permission from Islington Council for a 30-storey residential tower designed by UNStudio. The decision recent decision ensures redevelopment of this significant City Road Basin site will begin this year.
  
  The project will comprise a 30-story tower with one and two-bedroom apartments and a selection of luxurious penthouses. Offering relaxed waterside living, the tower will also include a restaurant, swimming pool, health club, media room and 78 parking spaces.

  Ben van Berkel: “The detailing and contrasting materials on the façade and the balconies of the City Road Tower play a key role in the identity of the building and are, in fact, borrowed from furniture design. This is an approach which we more typically apply to designs for smaller private houses. However, following extensive research into the potential for extending durability and maintenance we were able to create unexpected material variations on a larger scale.”
  
  The project lies halfway between the City of London and Angel, Islington and is close to the restaurants, cinemas and retail attractions of Islington while also being in walking distance of Bank.
  
  Publication material from UNStudio's design for 257 City Road will be available later this year.

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  Exhibition UNStudio - ‘Activate’ at Theatre de Vest

  01/02/2012

  On Thursday March 22nd, UNStudio’s exhibition ‘Activate’ will open in Theatre de Vest in Alkmaar, the Netherlands, hosted by the Architectuur Informatiecentrum Alkmaar. Part of the opening event will be a lecture by Ben van Berkel, titled ‘Architecture’s Lost Objectivity’.
  
  The exhibition presents a vision of the role that architecture plays in the activation of social and cultural cohesion in the urban environment. Today architecture faces numerous challenges concerning the activation of the public domain.

  Themes such as colour, culture, transformation and public constructions are addressed in order to illustrate the potential of architecture today. The four themes are points of departure for further investigations and discussions. What is the role of colour in the urban environment? Do cultural buildings enhance social cohesion? How can architects avoid the problems of obsolescence, vacancy and under use from reoccurring in future city centres?
  Within these themes, several UNStudio projects will illustrate the broad social and cultural potential they create for cities.

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  UNStudio's design for The Scotts Tower in Singapore unveiled

  07/12/2011

  UNStudio’s design for The Scotts Tower in Singapore will be the first development to be unveiled today under the Far East Organisation’s new SOHO brand.
  The 18,500m2, 31-storey, 231-unit tower consists of 1 to 3-bedroom apartments and 4-bedroom penthouses; expansive landscaped gardens, sky terraces, penthouse roof gardens and diverse recreational facilities. 
  
    
   

  The Scotts Tower high end residential building is situated on a prime location in Singapore, close to the Orchard Road luxury shopping district and with views encompassing both nearby parkland and the panoramic cityscape of Singapore City.
  
  Project overview
   

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  Ben van Berkel / UNStudio's design for the new Kutaisi Airport officially presented yesterday by the President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili

  23/11/2011

  UNStudio's design for the new Transfer Terminal and Air Traffic Control Tower for Kutaisi Airport was officially presented yesterday by the President of Georgia.
  Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, who personally demolished one of the walls of the old airport yesterday announced, "We will build an international airport here, which will take aircraft from Munich, Rome, Baku and other cities as of next year."
  UNStudio has designed the new Kutaisi Airport which will serve domestic and international flights for use by international diplomats, national politicians and for tourism.
   

  Ben van Berkel: "The design for the new terminal in Kutaisi focuses first and foremost on the experience of the traveller by creating an inviting, safe, transparent and user-friendly airport. The desire to provide for and communicate equally with both international visitors and the local community is paramount."
  UNStudio’s design for the new Kutaisi Airport incorporates both Georgia’s historic landscape and its architecture. The architecture of the terminal refers to a pavilion; a gateway, in which a clear structural layout creates an all encompassing and protective volume.

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  Ben van Berkel joins THNK Advisory Board

  17/11/11

  Ben van Berkel has joined the advisory board of THNK, The Amsterdam School of Creative Leadership.
  THNK's creative leadership program is designed to accelerate the development of creative leaders, turn global challenges and crises into opportunities, and create a more meaningful and sustainable way of life.
  THNK, the Amsterdam School of Creative Leadership, was founded in 2009 as an international educational foundation. 
  “We look forward to tapping Ben’s considerable experience in leading small teams, creating experimental 
  
   

  learning environments and orchestrating dynamic collaborations”, said Menno van Dijk, co-founder and managing director of THNK, “He will help us to have master practitioners work side by side with program participants.”
  In September, THNK announced the starting date of the THNK Creative Leadership Program – 18 March 2012. Its groundbreaking curriculum targets professionals from around the world, with the goal of orchestrating innovation that really matters.

  THNK Website
   

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  Städelschule Architecture Class - applications welcome for Master of Arts in Architecture

  16/11/2011

  SAC invites applications to its post-graduate Master of Arts in Architecture programme. The deadline for applications is: 30th January 2012

  How to apply
  
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  SUTD in Singapore breaks ground

  15/11/2011

  The ground breaking ceremony took place yesterday in Changi for the Singapore University of Technology and Design, attended by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the presidents of SUTD's partners, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Zhejiang University.
  
  Pictured from left to right: Zhejiang University President Prof Yang Wei, SUTD President Prof Thomas Magnanti, Architect Ben Van Berkel and Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Dr Susan Hockfield. (photo: ST photographer CHEW SENG KIM)
  
  
   

  The Singapore University of Technology and Design will offer four key academic pillars: Architecture and Sustainable Design (ASD), Engineering Product Development (EPD), Engineering Systems and Design (ESD) and Information Systems Technology and Design (ISTD). The New SUTD campus will facilitate cross-disciplinary interaction between all four pillars of academia. The orientation and organisation of the campus is designed through two main axes; the living and learning spines which overlap to create a central point, binding together all corners of the SUTD.
  
  SUTD website
   

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  EEA & Tax Offices wins the Bentley 'Be Inspired' 2011 awards for Innovation in Building

  11/11/11

  The recently realised EEA & Tax Offices in Groningen (NL) has won the Bentley 'Be Inspired' 2011 awards for Innovation in Building. Bentley Systems yesterday announced the winners of the 2011 awards which honour the work of Bentley users in improving the world’s infrastructure. CEO Greg Bentley said, “It is my privilege to recognise the exceptional talent and achievements of this year’s Be Inspired Awards winners, as well as of all our nominees this year. Their innovative use of information modeling and best practices has resulted in a legacy of intelligent, better-performing infrastructure

  that will serve many generations of people around the globe, improving quality of life and helping sustain the environment. Their work is very much appreciated, and on behalf of my colleagues at Bentley, I congratulate them for their inspiring projects!”
  The awards were presented at a gala dinner during the annual Be Inspired: Thought Leadership in Infrastructure event, held Nov. 8-9, in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
  
  Be Inspired Awards

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  Mirai House in Leiden celebrates Highest Point

  03/11/2011

  The new laboratory and offices 'Mirai House' for the Japanese pharma concern Astellas celebrates reaching the Highest Point today. Mirai House is located in the Bio Science Park in Leiden. As a centre of innovative Life Science research, Leiden is a national leader in the Netherlands in activities relating to the bio-medical sciences. Mirai House presents an open and transparent working environment for Astellas employees, in addition to an agreeable and welcoming gesture to their international visitors.
  Now visible, the building frame integrates into one gesture three sections of varying heights, which together encircle an inner courtyard garden. Covering six floors on the west side of the building will be the office spaces. A restaurant with a roof terrace will
  
   

  be located on the lower floor of this area. The Eastern section of the building will house four floors of laboratories.
  Glass and aluminium will be the main materials used in the façade in order to provide a lightweight structure which requires less material usage in its foundations. Lamellas will be incorporated on each level of the façade in order to deflect direct sunlight. The glass panes are further coated to additionally reduce heat load to the interior. The building as a whole has an 89%-90% net to gross floor ratio, with an underground energy storage system further reducing energy usage.
  Construction was started on the Mirai House in October 2010 and realisation is scheduled for 2012.

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  Ben van Berkel joins Gehry Technologies (GT)

  18/10/2011

  Ben van Berkel has joined the Gehry Technologies (GT) Advisory Board. GT today announced that that Co-founder and Chairman, Frank Gehry has brought together the world’s most distinguished architects and designers to form a strategic alliance furthering his vision to transform the building industry and the practice of design. As part of today’s announcement, this core group of renowned architects will also serve on Gehry Technologies’ board of advisors.
  The alliance intends to enable new approaches to design through technology, to create more effective industry processes and a higher quality built environment. The alliance will work together to drive technology innovations that support the central role of design in the creation of culture.

  Initial Alliance and Board members include: Ben van Berkel, David Childs , Massimo Colomban, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Greg Lynn, Laurie Olin, Wolf Prix, David Rockwell, Moshe Safdie, Matthias Schuler, Patrik Schumacher and Richard Saul Wurman.
  The advisors will come together today for their inaugural meeting, which will take place at the Marketing Center at 7 World Trade Center in New York. Discussion topics will include: demonstrations of new GT technologies and initiatives; the future of design; and the role of technology in design.
  The board of advisors will continue to meet virtually on a monthly basis, with an annual in-person session.
  
  Further information

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  Galleria Centercity in Cheonan nominated for The Great Indoors Award 2011

  24/09/2011 

  The Galleria Centercity in Cheonan, South Korea has been nominated for 'The Great Indoors Award 2011: In Between'.
  The Great Indoors Award is an international, biennial, interior design award which honours interior design projects in four categories. The Galleria Centercity has been nominated in the category 'Show & Sell'.
  Winners of all four categories will be announced at an awards ceremony in Maastricht on Nov 4th 2011.
  The Great Indoors Award 2011: In Between
  Overview: Galleria Cheonan - Interior

  Overview: Galleria Cheonan - Interior
   

  
   

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  Modular Fabrication wins Blueprint 'Best Stand' award at 100% Design 2011 in London

  22/09/2011

  UNStudio's design for the Premier Composite Technologies stand at 100% Design 2011 in London has won the Blueprint Award for Best Stand.
  
  Covering an area of 5 by 10 metres, UNStudio’s installation develops like a magnified molecular structure, engaging the visitor whilst simultaneously informing about the technological capabilities of Premier Composite Technologies and highlighting the potential for the use of composite materials in architecture.

   

  
   

  'Modular Fabrication' presents a construction based on the repetition of a single geometric module. Molded from carbon glass fibre and epoxy resin composite combined with a structural foam core, the repeated assembled units capitalise on the lightweight and extreme strength properties of the composite materials and create the potential for highly customised architectural configurations.

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  UNStudio’s design for an Observation Tower for ‘De Onlanden’ presented to Natuurmonumenten

  22/09/2011

  UNStudio's design for an observation tower for the nature reserve ‘De Onlanden’ was presented today to Natuurmonumenten (the Dutch Society for the Preservation of Natural Heritage) during the mini-symposium ‘Experience Nature with innovative concrete’ in Peize. The observation tower is the result of a study into the optimal application of Ultra High Performance Concrete by a case study team comprising of UNStudio, ABT, BAM Utiliteitsbouw en Haitsma Beton. Natuurmonumenten received the design as a gift from the case study team.
  The design for the observation tower is the result of a case study which aimed to apply the characteristics of Ultra High Performance Concrete in a functional, operative design. Ultra High Performance Concrete differs from normal concrete as it has a very high density, contains steel fibres and has an extremely fine grain structure. These properties facilitate the application of large compressive stresses in structures of narrow dimensions.
  
   

  The 25 metre high observation tower will be realised on the forested boundary of ‘De Onlanden’ nature reserve on the outskirts of Groningen. Once built, the tower will extend 5 metres above the trees and will offer views over the 3,000 hectares of natural landscape which form the largest water storage area in the Netherlands. The observation Tower is a hybrid construction, consisting of a combination of steel and Ultra High Performance Concrete. Steel is employed where the tensile stresses are foremost, whereas Ultra High Performance Concrete manifests excellent performance properties where the compressive stresses are highest. The parapet around the stairs and platforms is constructed from stainless steel mesh, enabling the combination of both maximum transparency and necessary safety levels.
  
  Project overview

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  Modular Fabrication presented at 100% Design 2011 in London

  22/09/2011

  "MODULAR FABRICATION"  - Premier Composite Technologies and UNStudio at 100% Design London.
  
  UNStudio's design for the Premier Composite Technologies (PCT) stand at 100% Design London presents a construction based on the repetition of a single geometric module. Molded from carbon glass fibre and epoxy resin composite combined with a structural foam core, the repeated assembled units capitalise on the lightweight and extreme strength properties of the composite materials and create the potential for highly customised architectural configurations.
  Covering an area of 5 by 10 metres, UNStudio’s installation develops like a magnified molecular structure, engaging the visitor whilst simultaneously informing about the technological capabilities of Premier Composite Technologies and highlighting the potential for the use of composite materials in architecture.
  
  
  
   

  Designing with the specific characteristics of a material in mind enables the architect to explore the boundaries of the designperformance at its best. For UNStudio prototyping is a fundamental exercise, employed to explore new technological possibilities and their social impact when applied in public installations.
  "Modular Fabrication" presents an all-round concept; a "compressed" (synthetic) statement incorporating some of the most relevant topics in the discipline of architecture today; sustainability, efficiency, capital costs, operational costs, etc., combined with innovation, abstraction and experimental form making on all scales.
  The Premier Composite Technologies/UNStudio collaboration installation will be on display within the 100% Materials section of 100% Design London held from the 22nd to 25th September 2011, Earls Court.
  Modular Fabrication has also been shortlisted for the 'Best Stand' in the Blueprint awards 2011.
   

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  EEA & Tax Offices wins public prize

  29/06/2011

  UNStudio and DUO2's Education Executive Agency and Tax Offices has won public jury Award for Best Building in Groningen.

  >> Day of Architecture website
   

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  Städelschule - applications welcome for 2011-2012

  16/06/2011

  SAC invites applications to its post-graduate Master of Arts in Architecture programme. The deadline for applications is: 30th June 2011
  
  >> How to apply

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  Exhibition MoMA - Building Collections: Recent Acquisitions of Architecture

  09/11/2010
   

  From November 10, 2010–May 30, 2011, MoMA will be showing a selection of models and drawings acquired by the Department of Architecture and Design since 2005, which includes a number of models from UNStudio's Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart.
  The Museum of Modern Art
  11 West 53 Street New York, NY 10019
  
  >> Website MoMA
   

  
  

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  SitTable for PROOFF presented at Interieur Kortrijk

  19/10/2010

  UNStudio's new product, SitTable can be seen at Interieur Kortrijk 2010. The SitTable was Designed for PROOFF and can be seen at their stand in Kortrijk (Hall 4, stand number 403 - 404) until Oct 24th
  
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  New video: profile of UNStudio by the DDFA

  06/10/2010

  The DDFA (Dutch > Design > Fashion > Architecture) have made a new profile of UNStudio, featuring an interview with Ben van Berkel at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart
  
  >> View video

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  The UNStudio Tower in the South Axis of Amsterdam has been realised

  22/09/2010

  The UNStudio Tower is located on the South Axis in Amsterdam, which connects Schiphol Airport to the major business areas of Amsterdam South
  
  >> Project overview

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