Articles by Nour Fakharany

The new Aalto2 Museum, designed by A-Konsultit Architects, will showcase the cultural legacy of the architecture and design of renowned architect Alvar Aalto. The Museum will open to the public on 27 May 2023, fulfilling the architect’s desire to establish a venue for the fusion of various mediums and art forms at the Ruusupuisto park in Jyväskylä, in Central Finland.

In May this year, The Centre Pompidou in Paris will debut the largest retrospective of Norman Foster’s work from the past six decades. The exhibition spans nearly 2,200 square meters, exploring the various phases of the renowned architect’s career. Essential works including the Hong Kong and Shanghai Baking Corporation’s headquarters (Hong Kong, 1979–1986), the Carré d’Art (Nîmes, 1984–1993), the Hong Kong International Airport (1992–1998), and the Apple Park (Cupertino, United States, 2009-2017) will be on display.

The Developer Red Sea Global has partnered with the wellness brand Clinique La Prairie to develop a high-end health resort in Amaala, located on the northwest coastline of Saudi Arabia. The resort will host 13 villas and 52 houses and suites. It will also feature a diagnostics lab, a museum, a beach club, workshops, training rooms, private dining spaces, and a cooking school, activities that ensure that the visitors embark on a journey of rejuvenation and self-discovery.

The finalists for the Opera of the Future competition have been announced. This urban planning competition, commissioned by the state capital of Düseldorf, was created to select a location for the new cultural institution. After an extensive examination of potential site locations, the two options for the competition proposals were: Heinrich-Heiene-Allee, where the current opera house is, and Am Wehrhahn.

In this edition of the 2023 Venice Biennale, the Korean Pavilion, curated by artistic Directors Soik Jung and Kyong Park, presents “2086: Together How?” bringing together architects, community leaders, and artists to explore how people can cooperate in withstanding the current and future environmental crisis until 2086 when the global population is said to peak. The exhibition invites visitors to imagine an eco-cultural revolution by critically reassessing the world’s capitalist, globalist, and colonial history. The viewers will be encouraged to reconsider current conditions through a participatory video game and a series of multidisciplinary installations that include photographs, drawings, models, videos, and architectural installations.

MAD Architects, Led by Ma Yansong, has just revealed its design for the Danshuis, dutch for The Dance House. The project will transform the riverfront Provimi warehouse into a cultural destination in Rotterdam. The Danshuis initiative seeks to convert the old warehouse into a vibrant multi-use studio based on movement and performing arts, a vibrant place to exchange world dance culture. The Droom en Daad Foundation, the primary client of the project, hopes to place Rotterdam on the map as a world leader in arts and culture.

The Diversity in Architecture Award (DIVIA) has selected its 5 finalists, from a list of 29 nominees: Tosin Oshinowo (Nigeria), May al-Ibrashy (Egypt), Marta Maccaglia (Peru), Noella Nibakuze (Rwanda), and Katherine Clarke and Liza Fior (UK). The prize, dedicated to women architects, celebrates female figures by awarding and validating their work. Based in Berlin, the award platform promotes equality between men and women, making the discipline observable to all, and setting an example for the next generation of younger women architects.

With many high streets hollowing out and the National Health Services Association pushed to its limits, Heatherwick Studio is calling for a new kind of health space in metropolitan cities. The Health Street initiative is placed right at the heart of urban communities, reimagining the way we look at well-being and the holistic health of complete localities. Moreover, this radical approach to health creation is based on integrating community-led facilities into the local high streets.

At the 2023 Biennale Architettura, Finland’s Pavilion will present its exhibition Huussi, which deals with the architecture of water and nutrient circulation, questioning the water toilet and Its implications for the future. “Huussi” is the Finish word for an outhouse, a small compost toilet commonly used by Finns in rural settings and holiday homes. The exhibition, curated by The Dry Collective, a group of Finish architects, presents this typology as a starting point for the mismanagement of wastewater, inspiring professionals to start envisioning new sanitary solutions. At the core of the presentation, the exhibition questions the consequences of waste in the context of the current climate crisis the world is going through.

The 2023 Winter Stations has just announced eight winning projects for their 9th annual international competition. The winners were chosen from hundreds of entries from around the world, along with three student designs from Toronto Metropolitan University, Waterloo Department of Architecture, and Guelph University. The competition was first launched at Woodbine beach by RAW design, Ferris + Associates, and Curio, to capture the imagination of designers and architects to create bold designs that spark conversation, transforming lifeguard stations at Toronto’s Woodbine beach. Furthermore, since these lifeguard stations are usually dormant throughout the winter, the exhibition inspires artists to bring the public back outdoors with their unique designs.