Articles by Eric Baldwin

Hines Architecture + Design and Design Collaborative have been selected to design Jamaica‘s new Houses of Parliament in Kingston. Joining Christopher Bent and Gregory Lake, the winning team was selected as the People’s Choice winner and beat out 23 other submissions. Dubbed “Out of Many, One People,” the winning proposal will be constructed in Kingston’s National Heroes Park.

Paradigma Ariadné received an honorable mention in the Budapest South Gate Competition for their masterplan project in Hungary. Working with urban planners Space for Architect, as well as landscape and traffic designers Lépték Terv and Krisztina Mihálffy, the team’s proposal was designed as a new neighborhood in Budapest for university students along the Danube river.

John Wardle Architects‘ Ian Potter Southbank Centre for the University of Melbourne’s Conservatorium of Music has opened to faculty and students. The $109 million project was designed as part of the larger Southbank campus transformation in Australia. Made to house more than 1,000 music students, the project includes a series of performance areas, studios and rehearsal spaces. The Southbank Centre also features one of the world’s largest oculus windows.

Dutch firm Benthem Crouwel Architects have transformed an office building in Amsterdam into the most sustainable renovated property in the Netherlands. Now the new head office for the Dutch Charity Lotteries, the building received BREEAM Outstanding rating for its sustainable design. The adaptive reuse features a series of slender, tree-shaped columns that support an iconic roof with nearly 7,000 polished aluminum leaves.

JKMM Architects has won the competition to design a new museum in the sea side town of Tammisaari outside Helsinki. Organised by the Albert de la Chapelle Art Foundation, the competition aims to create a museum for the foundation’s art collection with space to exhibit the work. JKMM’s entry was designed to act as a landmark and beacon for the city’s cultural quarter to invite the public from the town’s main square.

Studio Gang has been selected to lead the $8.5 billon O’Hare 21 International Airport expansion in Chicago. Chosen from a list of firms including BIG, Calatrava and SOM, the Studio Gang team is part of the Studio ORD partnership. They won the project for the Global Terminal and Concourse with three volumes converging in a central hub. Designed to celebrate Chicago’s history as a city shaped by lines of movement, the project represents O’Hare’s first major overhaul in 25 years.

London-based practice JTP won the competition to create a 760ha masterplan for a new eco-city district in Kazan, Russia. Working with OXO Architects, Terra Scape and XTU Architects, the team proposed the development outside the regional capital of Tatarstan. Dubbed Ecopolis, the design centers on a series of “green fingers” that connect to a landscape ring around the district.

Noor Art & Architecture Studio has completed a digital reconstruction of the Ayine Khaneh Palace of Isfahan, Iran. Based on historic plans and written documents, the project visualizes one of the most important buildings in the city. In 1891, the palace was destroyed by Zello Soltan, governor of Isfahan. The reconstruction was made to create a cultural structure that brings awareness to Safavid era building and Persian architecture.

Architecture practice REX has unveiled the final design for their mirrored Necklace Residence project overlooking Long Island Sound. After winning the competition for the project in 2013, the firm has made a series of changes to their plan. The design includes five private family homes for a husband and wife, their four children, and each of their children’s families. Made to be experienced autonomously and as part of a larger whole, each home rethinks archetypal American houses.

Architecture practice Populous has announced plans for a $50 million esports and entertainment venue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dubbed Fusion Arena, the project will be the home of the Philadelphia Fusion esports franchise as the largest esports venue in the western hemisphere. Seating up to 3,500 guests, the project will host a variety of live entertainment programming and events. The arena was made to be the first of its kind for next-generation consumers.