UNITED STATES
New images of the design for the National September 11 Memorial Museum have been released. On 24 August, the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site was opened to the public, where renderings and models of the museum are on display. The images show the interior of the three-levelled museum where visitors can witness the remaining elements of the twin towers. "The site of the NS11 Memorial Museum comprises the footprints of the twin towers and the space between them, and echoes the boundaries of the Memorial Plaza above. Extending down nearly 70 feet from the plaza, the museum is grounded in 'bedrock'. It is here ... that the physical outline and structural remnants of the two towers can still be seen," the architects' design statement reads.
UNITED KINGDOM
Pascall+Watson architects will assist with the new station concourse for the Shard, the $819 million skyscraper at London Bridge. Renzo Piano Building Workshop appointed the firm because of its experience and expertise in maintaining operations of stations during construction periods. The Shard will become the tallest building in Western Europe when it is completed in 2012, standing at 310m. Pascall+Watson, with Turner & Townsend, WSP, Arup and Mace, will deliver the $48 million station concourse which forms part of the London Bridge Quarter planning obligations.
IRELAND
Heneghan Peng has won a contest to design the University of Greenwich's $116 million school of architecture. Almost 80 firms entered the competition to design the 17,000 sqm scheme. In a joint statement Roisin Heneghan and Shih-Fu Peng said "We look forward to working with the University of Greenwich and the local community to create a building that can provide a platform for the highest educational standards and make a positive contribution to the town and its residents." Heneghan Peng, based in Ireland, competed against David Chipperfield, Rafael Vinoly, Allies and Morrison and Wilkinson Eyre to take out the design competition.
ITALY
The Port Authority of Venice has proposed a regeneration plan of the industrial zone around Porto Marghera. The $2.5 billion scheme to redredge the lagoon, build a port to capitalise on routes between Venice, central Europe and the Balkans and bring bigger ships close to the city, has received strong opposition from Venice in Peril. The British organisation is dedicated to preserving Venice and believes that the scheme could destroy the city, which is a Unesco world heritage site. "The fact that big ships have access to the lagoon has important consequences for its health," said Jane da Mosto, an environmental scientist for Venice in Peril. "Apart from environmental concerns, the problem of the high tide is accentuated, so it means more flooding for Venice."
