EUROPE
Daniel Libeskind has taken prefabrication to the extreme with his latest creation – a 515sq m, two storey crystal-like villa that he is describing as “unprecedented around the world”. The villa has everything from a sauna in the basement to a solar thermal system and it can be shipped and assembled anywhere. The home will cost between $3.5 and $5.25 million, depending on the destination within Europe. “This is really the first time I’ve taken on the issue of doing something which is a limited artistic edition of a new space, of a new way of living,” Libeskind said.
UNITED STATES
The University of South Florida Polytechnic has hired Santiago Calatrava to overhaul the campus plan for its new Lakeland site and to design the first building. The Spanish architect will start creating conceptual designs for a (AU) $59 million, 9,300sq m science and technology building, due to open in late summer 2012. The project is underway thanks to a combination of public and private funding.
UNITED KINGDOM
Not ones to shy away from the fantastic and surreal, British title Architects’ Journal has compiled a list of its top 10 buildings from the Star Wars films. The Second Death Star tops the roll: “Despite rumours of construction over-runs and structural weakness, this menacing spherical chunk of Brutalist infrastructure has made its impression on architects from Ledoux and Boullee to Heerim Architects’ lunar hotel,” the journal claims. More…
CANADA
Support is mounting for Canada’s first new school of architecture in 40 years. Advocates claim the proposed Northern Ontario School of Architecture (NOSOA) would re-energise the city of Sudbury, the economy of which has been centered on forestry and nickel mining. First classes would begin in 2011 and take on 70 undergraduate and professional-degree students, the school is planned in association with Laurentian University, which is likely to give a formal thumbs up for a curriculum this month.
AUSTRALIA
The Bond University Mirvac School of Sustainable Development on the Gold Coast by Arup has won the Sustainability in the Built Environment award at the 2009 EPA Sustainable Industries Awards. Arup’s Cathy Crawley said: “It took a hands-on, dedicated approach and a great deal of ingenuity and commitment from Bond University and the project team to achieve the best possible sustainable outcomes”. This building is the first educational building in Australia to achieve a 6 Star Green Star - Education PILOT Certified Rating and it has achieved an 82 per cent reduction in operational carbon emissions and over 50 per cent reduction in potable water use compared to a standard building.
