GERMANY
German architect Ferdinand Ludwig is creating a new branch of architecture that involves using plants to build structures. 'Building Botany' is examining how effectively willows can grow around steel pipes at the University of Stuttgart's Institute of Basics in Modern Architectural Design. The researh group has already built its first structures. On Lake Constance a group of willows surround a metal walkway and in the Bavarian Forest, trees form a diagonal support frame for a bird watching station. Plans are also underway for a 'green room' in Stuttgart. The project, dubbed 'Satellite' will consist of a 120 sqm pavilion for exhibitions and concerts.
NEW YORK
The Museum of Modern Art will host Bauhaus 1919-1933: Workshops for Modernity from 8 November 2009 to 18 January 2010. The Bauhaus school in Germany, the most famous and influential school of avant-garde art in the twentieth century, brought together artists, architects and designers, shaping our contemporary visual world. The exhibition brings together over 400 works that reflect the range of the school's productions, including industrial design, architecture, graphics, textiles, ceramics and painting, including works by Anni Albers, Josef Albers, Herbert Bayer, Marianne Brandt and Marcel Breuer.
RUSSIA
UNStudio has won a design competition for a 21,000 sqm dance theatre in St Petersburg. The new complex, housing The Eifman Ballet of St Petersburg and the Dance Palace, forms an integrated part of the European Embankment city quarter masterplan for a new urban square in the city. UNStudio's design for the Dance Palace includes an open theatre building, housing up to 1,300 guests. Integration with the existing neighbouring buildings is achieved through both the scale of the building, which follows St Petersburg's typical 28m roofline, and the transparency which is introduced by a facade system of triangular cladding panels. "The vertical foyer provides a high level of transparency from inside to outside, whilst also presenting a kind of stage for visitors to the theatre; a place to see and be seen," architect Ben van Berkel said.
THAILAND
OMA partner Ole Scheeren is planning to build the country's tallest tower in Bangkok, the MahaNakhon. The 77-storey, 150,000 sqm hotel is shaped in a spiral, rising from the seven storey retail base to a Sky Bar triplex and affording a range of terraces and mid-air living room scenarios. The building is a joint venture between developers PACE Development Company and Industrial Buildings Corporation for the residential portion, managed by The Ritz-Carlton, with the 140-room hotel spawned by Marriott International and Ian Schrager.
UNITED KINGDOM
Scotland's centre for architecture and design, The Lighthouse, has been hit by another funding problem after long-time tenant, Vitra, announced it was closing its showroom later this year. A spokesperson for The Lighthouse said that a meeting on 4 August is expected to decide what level of job cuts will have to be made. The meeting is part of a planned six month review of the centre's finances. The centre was opened in 1999 and was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and redeveloped by Page & Park. Gordon Murray, a member of The Lighthouse board believes that more should be made of the centre's status. "It is an essential part of Scotland's cultural life and is the one element that focuses on architecture and the built environment," he said.
