BIG beats out Foster and Hadid in design competition for Kazakhstan's National Library

Invited as one of five pre-selected architect-led teams that included Lord Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid, Copenhagen-based BIG was awarded first prize in an international design competition for the new National Library in Astana, Kazakhstan. The 33,000-square-meter facility will be organized as a “circular loop of knowledge” that allows for clear, intuitive orientation of the vast collection that will populate the shelves of the library. The building form is composed of two interlocking structures—a circle and a spiral—that will be wrapped in a continuous skin, creating a Möbius strip volume where the facades move from inside to outside and back again. At the heart of the building will be a domed courtyard.

In this exclusive video interview for HorizonTV, Fred Pierce, CEO of Pierce Education Properties, developer and manager of off-campus student residences, chats with Rob Cassidy, Editor, MULTIFAMILY Design + Construction about student housing during the pandemic and what to expect for on-campus and off-campus housing in Fall 2021 and into 2022.

A digital twin of Marishal Square in Scotland

Digital Twin | May 24, 2021

Digital twin’s value propositions for the built environment, explained

Ernst & Young’s white paper makes its cases for the technology’s myriad benefits.

Photo: Adohi Hall at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, designed by Boston-based Leers Weinzapfel Associates.

Wood | May 14, 2021

What's next for mass timber design?

An architect who has worked on some of the nation's largest and most significant mass timber construction projects shares his thoughts on the latest design trends and innovations in mass timber.

A rendering of the four-story Center for Community & Entrepreneurship in New York.

Cultural Facilities | Apr 1, 2021

A Connecticut firm deploys design to assist underserved people and communities

Hartford, Conn.-based JCJ Architecture traces its roots to 1936, when the U.S. was just coming out of an economic depression and its unemployment rate was still 14%. In 2021, with the country trying to recover economically from the impact of the coronavirus, and with questions about social inequity entering the public debate as rarely before, JCJ has focused its design work on projects and clients that are committed to social responsibility and advocacy, particularly for underserved or marginalized communities.