A floating roof airport by Rafael Vinoly, the world's largest earthquake-proof building opens in Istanbul and a new sustainable community for Canada.
URUGUAY
Rafael Vinoly Architects' first ever airport terminal is to open next month in Montevideo. The Carrasco International Airport has a 366m long roof and offers abundant space and natural light. With glazing on all four sides and thin structural supports, the roof seems to float above the building. Arrivals and departures are separated vertically, with arrivals on the ground floor and departures on the first floor with separate drop-off and pick-up services for each.
ISTANBUL
The world's largest earthquake-proof building has opened. Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen International Airport terminal, designed by Arup, is capable of withstanding a magnitude 8.0 earthquake, and remaining completely operational afterwards. New seismic building technology and advanced computer simulations that are able to predict how a building will react to an earthquake were used in the design.
CANADA
BDP has won a competition to design a sustainable new community for 70,000 people in Seaton, Toronto. The community, BDP's first project in Canada, is intended to create 35,000 jobs based around green industries and new energy technologies and solutions. The masterplan is expected to be complete by April 2010.
UNITED KINGDOM
Archial Architects has won the 2009 Doolan Prize with its new Small Animal Hospital for the University of Glasgow. The judges' citation reading said "Its great triumph is the unique and ingenious way it integrates a very substantial medical facility within the parkland setting of the Garscube estate. This is a highly complex work of architecture which sets new standards in the design of buildings for veterinary medicine." Archial Architects walks away with approximately $45,000 in prize money.
CHINA
The Singapore Pavilion at 2010's Shanghai World Expo will be named Urban Symphony and, according to Archi-Europe, will be a "tribute to how Singapore houses a delicate harmony of cultures coexisting together in a city-state." Designed by Kay Ngee Tan Architects, the Pavilion resembles a musical box. Pictures of Singapore line the way to the atrium space and main hall of the first floor. It also has a rooftop garden, reinforcing Singapore's reputation as a garden city.
