ARCHITECTURE - MSC NewsWire

New partnership to support Boon Edam’s expanded operations in Australasia

Global entrance solutions leader Boon Edam has partnered with leading New Zealand door installation and service company Commercial and Industrial Doors to support the expansion of their operations in Australasia. Boon Edam specialises in architectural revolving doors and security entrance systems. Boon Edam Australia Managing Director, Mr Michael Fisher explained that the two companies will partner nationally in the sales, installation, maintenance and retrofit of Boon Edam’s entry technologies, which serve dozens of Fortune 500 companies. According to Mr Fisher, Commercial and Industrial Doors is an acknowledged national leader in its field, being extensively involved with major private commercial and…

Huge "horizontal skyscraper" rises in China

Raffles City Chongqing's "horizontal skyscraper" is named the Conservatory and measures 300 m (984 ft)-long

China boasts more than its fair share of impressive engineering feats, including the world's second-tallest skyscraper and the highest bridge. We can soon add highest skybridge to the list too, courtesy of Moshe Safdie's Raffles City Chongqing project, which is currently under construction in southwest China.

Value of Design report released

A nationwide study into design’s economic contribution to New Zealand’s economy was released today. The ground-breaking research shows that during the last year alone design contributed $10.1b to New Zealand’s GDP (approximately 4.2 per cent). The results of the Value of Design report, which was started in 2013, launched today in Wellington by Hon. Steven Joyce Minister of Finance. The study was undertaken by PwC and commissioned by a national design consortium DesignCo, which comprises Massey University’s College of Creative Arts, the Designers Institute of New Zealand, Otago Polytechnic School of Design, NZTE (Better By Design programme), AUT School of…

Stainless-steel extension to CTLES archive reflects its rural surroundings

This pair of enormous mirrored-steel boxes connected by a glazed bridge were designed by Antonini + Darmon and RMDM, to complement and extend an aluminium-clad archive facility outside Paris. The CTLES (Technical Centre for Books of Higher Education) is a national public administrative institution located in the Parisian suburb of Bussy-Saint-Georges, around 25 kilometres east of the city centre. The facility is operated by the Ministry for National Education, Higher Education and Research, and is responsible for the preservation and communication of documents for universities and research centres in Paris. Continue to the full article here on de Zeen

New ways of building: PrefabNZ CoLab 2017

The 2017 PrefabNZ CoLab conference day took place at AUT in central Auckland on Tuesday 21 March. Amelia Melbourne-Hayward reports back. The 2017 CoLab conference kicked off rather differently to previous years, with the launch of PrefabNZ’s new ‘logs4jobs’ initiative, which aims to encourage women to enter the construction industry and to help fill the skilled worker shortage we are currently battling in New Zealand. Warren Quinn, chief executive of BCITO, explained that only 237 women are being trained with the company at present – this equals a measly 2.35 per cent of trainees in construction. Although the statistics may…

Supertall skyscraper hangs from orbiting asteroid in Clouds Architecture Office concept

In a bid to get around terrestrial height restrictions, Clouds Architecture Office has proposed suspending the world's tallest skyscraper from an asteroid, leaving residents to parachute to earth. New York-based Clouds Architecture Office drew up plans for Analemma Tower to "overturn the established skyscraper typology" by building not up from the ground but down from the sky by affixing the foundations to an orbiting asteroid. "Harnessing the power of planetary design thinking, it taps into the desire for extreme height, seclusion and constant mobility," said the architects, who have previously drawn up proposals for space transportation and a 3D-printed ice…

Composites will be Part of the World’s First Rotating Skyscraper

Over the past few years, Dubai has produced some incredible composites innovation, including the world’s first 3-D printed office building, materials for Apple’s new campus roof, passenger-carrying drones and components for the Boeing 777X, among others. By 2020, the region hopes to add another industry-changing innovation: the world’s first rotating skyscraper. Leading the project is Italian firm Dynamic Architecture, led by architect David Fisher. The skyscraper, aptly named the “Dynamic Tower,” was inspired by Fisher taking in the view from the Olympic Tower in New York City in December 2004. He noticed from a certain spot, he could see the…

USA, Australia and New Zealand agree reciprocal architecture licensing

Architects certified in either the USA, Australia or New Zealand are now able to gain reciprocal licenses in all of the three countries thanks to a new agreement. The Mutual Recognition Arrangement between the trio of architectural licensing authorities came into effect at the beginning of 2017. Spearheaded by the USA's National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), the arrangement was signed by the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia (AACA) and the New Zealand Registered Architects Board (NZRAB). "The arrangement is an exciting opportunity for architects seeking to expand their careers internationally," said NCARB president Kristine Harding. "NCARB Certificate holders…

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