Magazine

After a summer spent putting on events in a parking garage due to the pandemic, the next iteration of MPavilion will return to Melbourne's Queen Victoria Gardens and a new structure to be designed by Venice's MAP studio. John Hill

The State of Illinois has issued an official RFP for the sale of the 17-story James R. Thompson Center in Chicago's Loop. Designed by Helmut Jahn in the 1980s, the controversial icon of postmodern architecture faces potential demolition. John Hill

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced that Robert Ivy will retire by the end of the year as the Institute's Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer, leadership roles he has held since 2011. John Hill

LUO studio's Zheshui Natural Library in Shanxi Province has won the top prize in the architectural design category of the 2021 Design Educates Awards, which are given out by Laka Foundation, the non-profit organization and international network "focused on social impact via design and... John Hill

Lemay and Atelier 21 have won the Innovation in Architecture Award for their refurbishment of the Grand Théâtre de Québec’s exterior envelope, and Elsa Lam and Graham Livesey have won the President’s Award for Multimedia Representations of Architecture for their book Canadian Modern... John Hill

La Biennale di Venezia has announced that Spanish architect Rafael Moneo is recipient of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, which he will be given on May 22, 2021, at the opening of the 17th International Architecture Exhibition. John Hill

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Committee on the Environment (COTE) have revealed the ten winning projects for 2021 that meet the committee's "rigorous criteria" and are making "significant achievements in advancing climate action." John Hill

The team of Basel's Christ & Gantenbein and Barcelona's Harquitectes has won the international competition to extend the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA), as decided by a 21-member jury. John Hill

As part of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects' (CSLA) 2021 Awards of Excellence, the transformation of a former quarry along the Bow River in Calgary into Dale Hodges Park has been awarded the Jury's Award of Excellence. John Hill

The Fundació Enric Miralles, with the support of Barcelona City Council and the Generalitat of Catalonia, has launched MIRALLES, a series of exhibitions and events celebrating the life of Enric Miralles, the still-influential Catalan architect who died in 2000. John Hill

The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts has announced that set designer Mimi Lien will turn the plaza at the heart of its iconic 1960s campus on Manhattan's Upper West Side into "The GREEN," a park-like "site of social infrastructure." John Hill

During a virtual press conference on Monday, April 12, Biennale president Roberto Cicutto announced this year's exhibition will indeed open on May 22. Curator Hashim Sarkis also outlined the expanded program that will take place over its six months. John Hill

Genevese architect/landscape architect Georges Descombes is one of three recipients of the Swiss Grand Award for Art / Prix Meret Oppenheim for 2021, alongside curator Esther Eppstein and artist Vivian Suter. John Hill

London's National Gallery has announced the six shortlisted teams vying to work with the museum on "a suite of capital projects," including a reconfiguration of the famous Sainsbury Wing, to mark its bicentenary in 2024. John Hill

The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art has revealed plans for a major expansion designed by Safdie Architects, the architect of the original museum that opened in Bentonville, Arkansas, in 2011. John Hill

Vienna's Coop Himmelb(l)au has won an international design competition to design the "SCA Arena and Park" in St. Petersburg. Their design follows follows the tradition of Russian Constructivists El Lissitzky and Vladimir Tatlin. John Hill

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has announced that Frank Gehry's renovation, reorganization, and expansion of the museum's 93-year-old landmark building will open to the public on May 7, 2021. John Hill

The University of Virginia and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello have announced that Francis Kéré is the recipient of the 2021 Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Architecture. John Hill

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) has announced that architects Brigitte Shim and A. Howard Sutcliffe are recipients of the 2021 RAIC Gold Medal, "the highest distinction the Institute can bestow in recognition of a significant and lasting contribution to Canadian... John Hill

On March 20, Louis Vuitton opened its transformed Ginza Naminki store in Tokyo, where Jun Aoki has wrapped the building in wavy dichroic glass and Peter Marino has designed the interiors.  John Hill

Barcelona's Miralles Tagliabue EMBT has been selected to design the Shenzhen Conservatory of Music, one of ten new cultural landmarks being funded by the Shenzhen Municipal Government for sites in and around the Chinese metropolis.  John Hill

The Shenzhen Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau has announced the winners of two international design competitions: for the Shenzhen Opera House and the Shenzhen Maritime Museum, two of ten new cultural attractions in the city. John Hill

Indian architect Bijoy Jain and his office, Studio Mumbai, have won the 14th Alvar Aalto Medal, conferred by the Alvar Aalto Foundation, Museum of Finnish Architecture (MFA), Finnish Architectural Society, Finnish Association of Architects (SAFA), and the City of Helsinki. John Hill

French architects Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal have been selected as laureates of the 2021 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the award given out by the Hyatt Foundation and widely considered "architecture’s highest honor." John Hill

Construction has begun on "Welcome, feeling at work," the office building in Milan's Parco Lambro district designed by Kengo Kuma & Associates for Europa Risorse. John Hill

Hugh Newell Jacobsen, an architect based in Washington, DC, known for high-end houses organized as pavilions with gabled forms, died at an assisted-living center in Front Royal, Virginia, on March 4 — exactly one week shy of his 92nd birthday. John Hill

La Biennale di Venezia has announced that the famous "Italian architect, designer, scenographer, artist and critic naturalized as a Brazilian citizen" will be given a Special Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in memoriam when the Biennale opens in May. John Hill

The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) has announced that MARABAR, Elyn Zimmerman's site-specific installation in Washington, DC, has been saved from demolition and will be moved to a new location. John Hill

As part of Reconstructions: Architecture and Blackness in America, now on display at MoMA, a sign bearing Philip Johnson's name has been covered by the manifesto of the Black Reconstruction Collective. John Hill

The Underline is a multi-phase transformation of the space beneath Miami’s MetroRail into a park, trail, and art destination. The first phase, a half-mile section in downtown, opened to the public on Friday, February 26. John Hill

Foster + Partners has released a website with immersive tours of the exteriors and interiors of 22 of the firm's UK projects, from the 1966 Creek Vean House to the 2017 headquarters for Bloomberg. John Hill

Metsä Group, Aalto University, and the Finnish Ministry of the Environment have announced the winners of the Urban Adaptation competition, which asked architects and students to design adaptable modular buildings made from wood. John Hill

US President Joe Biden has revoked Executive Order 13967, "Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture," that former President Donald Trump signed on December 18, 2020, one month before the end of his term. John Hill

The Chicago Architecture Biennial and the Danish Arts Foundation (DAF) have announced the winning team for DAF Open Call, a commission for Chicago's North Lawndale neighborhood that is part of the fourth Biennial opening in September. John Hill

Two years after Diller Scofidio + Renfro's competition-winning design was unveiled, the Centre for Music at the Barbican has been cancelled, with the City of London focusing on refurbishing the Barbican Centre instead. John Hill

The Tainan Public Library, designed by Dutch firm Mecanoo and Taiwan's MAYU architects, opened last month in Tainan City, in southern Taiwan. John Hill