I.M. Pei, the Chinese-born, American-trained Modernist architect whose work transformed cities around the world and was widely celebrated by fellow architects, died May 16 at age 102 Ted Tabet – The Urban Developer Pei was lauded for giving “this century some of its most beautiful interior spaces and exterior forms”, said the jury of the Pritzker Prize, which he received in 1983, favouring stone, steel and glass in his creations that bore his hallmark geometry and reverence for light. Continue →

Following the devastating fire that destroyed the roof of Notre-Dame in Paris, architects have stepped forward offering a range alternative proposals for the Parisian landmark By Ted Tabet, The Urban Developer   After Notre-Dame suffered a serious fire last month, President Macron made a televised address promising to restore the cathedral in just five years Last month, French legislators announced that they would be holding an international design competition for how the beloved cathedral ought to be reconstructed. Continue →

Greenwalls have grown significantly in popularity over the last year, and as a result, are more readily available in a variety of designs for bathrooms There are a number of benefits to greening a bathroom, including improved wellbeing and home air quality, absorption of pollutants and noise, and guaranteed aesthetic impact, now home improvement shows are driving the greenwall trend. Continue →

A world-renowned visionary architect will tour five centres throughout New Zealand in October and November Alvin Huang isn’t yet a household name, but in the world of architecture, he’s rapidly becoming one of the most-respected young innovators in his field. Continue →

Designs by five of the world’s leading architects for a landmark high-rise tower in central Auckland have been revealed and the winner will transform Tāmaki Makaurau into a global city The designs include a tower with a Sky Garden representing the Auckland landscape, through to a local design inspired by a Māori korowai (cloak). Continue →

New Zealand’s largest owner of inner-city business space plans to further expand Wellington’s Bowen Campus with two new high-performance buildings As the owners of the Bowen State and Charles Fergusson buildings at 40 and 44 Bowen Street, Precinct Properties’ plans for the new buildings are set to increase the location’s offering with an additional 21,000sqm of office space, which on completion will result in a workforce of 5,000 across the four buildings that comprise Bowen Campus. Continue →

Timber industry and design professionals were honoured for their creativity and ingenuity at a gala event in Auckland last night The Resene Supreme Award went to the iconic He Tohu Document Centre within the National Library, inspired by the form and function of a waka huia (treasure container) Entries in the 2018 NZ Wood-Resene Timber Design Awards demonstrated new and different ways to use timber that nevertheless meet all building codes and criteria as well as being beautiful. Continue →

BIG Partner Kai-Uwe Bergmann is coming to New Zealand in September to headline the Design Experience series and explore the climatic and cultural forces which are shaping global architecture Kai-Uwe is a partner at BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) a Copenhagen, New York and London-based group of architects, designers, urbanists, landscape professionals, interior and product designers, researchers and inventors From the scorching heat of the Arabian Desert to the unforgiving chill of the Finnish tundra, Kai-Uwe will examine the concept of “Hot to Cold” – how are cities and buildings adapting to climatic extremes? Continue →

Leading New Zealand architects Warren and Mahoney are taking on four of the world’s architecture heavyweights in a competition to design a new apartment and hotel development in central Auckland Melbourne-based property development company ICD Property has invited five architects, including renowned London-based firm Zaha Hadid, to create designs for a multi-storey hotel and apartment tower on Federal St. Continue →

NZ Wood has announced Stage Two Finalists for the 2018 NZ Wood-Resene Timber Design Awards 2017 finalists “This is New Zealand’s only timber design award event and allows engineers, architects, architectural designers and builders to showcase innovation using timber,” says Debbie Fergie, NZ Wood’s Promotion Manager. Continue →

New judges and new categories ensure the prestigious 2018 NZ Wood-Resene Timber Design Awards are even more exciting, says NZ Wood’s Promotion Manager Debbie Fergie Supreme winner of the 2017 NZ Wood-Resene Timber Design Awards, Cathedral Grammar Junior School in Christchurch, was one of the first in the country to have structural components engineered off-site to within 0.5mm tolerances, then assembled on site Monday, April 30th is the last day to enter. Continue →

Entries are now open for the prestigious 2018 NZ Wood-Resene Timber Design Awards Supreme winner of the 2017 NZ Wood-Resene Timber Design Awards, Cathedral Grammar Junior School in Christchurch, was one of the first in the country to have structural components engineered off-site to within 0.5mm tolerances, then assembled on site With a record number of entries received in 2017 and enquiries already coming in, NZ Wood’s Promotion Manager Debbie Fergie is anticipating another record-breaking event. Continue →

As cities increase in density, urban design plays a crucial role in creating engaged and connected urban centres   The Urban Developer spent some time researching major urban design trends and changes we’re likely to see in 2018, both in Australia and, perhaps to a lesser degree, locally. Continue →

A Japanese forestry company has unveiled plans to build a 350-metre timber “skyscraper” that would become the world’s tallest when complete Sumitomo Forestry will build the ambitious 70-storey tower, named “W350”, which will quadruple the size of the world’s current tallest timber building, the 18-storey Tallwood House at Brock Commons in Vancouver, Canada. Continue →

Amazon has opened a transparent biodome created to house a rainforest in Seattle The “Sphere” headquarters is filled with 40,000 plants from around the world to provide its employees with a modern work environment that embraces natural elements. Continue →