The final component in the Rockbund project in Shanghai, which David Chipperfield Architects has been working on since 2006, has been granted façade construction approval by the Shanghai Municipal Housing and Urban Construction Committee.

Rockbund 6 is a 14-storey tower that will mark the transition between the renovated low-rise buildings of the historic quarter and the high-rise city beyond. Incorporated into its base are the original three storeys of the 1897 Andrews & George building, constructed from the same red brick as the other buildings in the row.

Mindful of its transitional role, David Chipperfield Architects designed the façade of the tower in matching red brick. However, current local building regulations preclude the use of brick façades for buildings over 24 metres in height, so in collaboration with the Shanghai Real Estate Science Research Institute, DCA developed a method of reinforcing brick cladding using steel wires.

This approach has now been approved, and the cladding of the tower, which topped out in March, should begin shortly.

Docomomo Journal 56 (The Heritage of Mies) features an essay by Martijn Jaspers, architect at DCA Berlin, on the ongoing refurbishment by the practice of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Neue Nationalgalerie. ‘The Neue Nationalgalerie: the refurbishment of a Modern Monument’ sets the project in its historical context and details the meticulous refurbishment process.

The International committee for documentation of buildings, sites and neighbourhoods of the modern movement, (docomomo) is a non-profit organisation that aims to protect and promote modernist buildings.

David Chipperfield Architects Berlin and the French developer Emerige have received planning permission for Morland Mixité Capitale in Paris. Construction is scheduled to start in December 2017.

The project will involve the refurbishment, remodelling and extension of the existing ensemble, designed by the architect Albert Laprade for the prefecture of Paris and built between 1957 and 1964. Designed to have a campus feel, Morland Mixité Capitale will accommodate a wide range of uses including housing, offices and a hotel.

The current, rather forbidding complex will be transformed into a lively, inviting space, with vaulted arcades at ground-floor level leading to a new public route from the Boulevard Morland to the River Seine. The arcades will run beneath two new buildings facing the boulevard and the river, which will form bridges between the existing wings, with generous new courtyards within.

The top two floors of the central tower will be open to the public, offering views across the city, along with an inhabitable installation by Olafur Eliasson and Sebastian Behmann from Studio Other Spaces, as well as a bar and restaurant.

The British architect Sir John Soane (1753-1837) was an avid collector, scholar and teacher but, above all, a practising architect who was deeply engaged in building the city around him.

Inspired by this legacy, David Chipperfield has been working with fellow trustees of Sir John Soane’s Museum in London to initiate the new award, which is intended to recognise architects, artists, writers and others whose work has enriched the understanding of architecture and the built environment.

The inaugural Soane Annual Lecture will be delivered by Rafael Moneo, whose career has embodied the idea of architecture as something that resides not just in the structure and the materials of a building, but in time and place, word and image, people and community.

In addition to the lecture Moneo will be awarded the Soane Medal (pictured), a copy of the medal presented in 1835 to Sir John Soane by ‘the Architects of England’, in recognition of his ‘essential services to Architecture’.

David Chipperfield said: ‘We are delighted to announce this new Soane Annual Lecture and Medal, and look forward to the significant voices and ideas it will bring to the museum. Our aim is to promote architectural culture, as Soane himself worked so tirelessly to do, and we hope it will become an important event in the London calendar.’

Rafael Moneo’s lecture will take place at 7pm on Wednesday 1 November at the Royal Institution in London.

Image: ‘Soane Medal', from the Architects of England, presented to Sir John Soane in 1835, Photo: © Sir John Soane’s Museum, London

David Chipperfield talks to Magali Robathan about past and current projects, the importance of international collaboration and why criticism is a key part of the planning process in the latest issue of Clad Magazine.

On July 14, David Chipperfield and DCA London launched a new foundation in Spain. The Fundación RIA (Rede de Innovación Arousa) was announced at a public presentation attended by the President of Xunta Galicia, Alberto Núñez Feijoo, and the Conselleiras of Ordenación del Territorio y Medio Ambiente and Mar, Beatriz Mato and Rosa Quintana.

With support from members of regional universities, researchers, field experts, industry representatives and local government, the foundation’s aim is to preserve the unique character and ecology of the remarkable Ría de Arousa coastal region, with its thriving fishing and agriculture industries, while also working to restore the balance of its built and natural environment.

During the presentation of work undertaken over the last year, a number of pilot studies were proposed for five specific locations, which include strategies for the future development of industry, preservation of the natural environment, urban regeneration, and the successful integration of essential infrastructure.

The president of Xunta Galicia, Alberto Núñez Feijoo, also spoke at the presentation, and added his support for the initiative, which he welcomed as an excellent framework for future policy developments.

The next phase for the Fundación RIA will involve seeking funding, developing further studies and preparing specific proposals for the different administrations in the region.

Image by Adrian Capelo

The opening ceremony for the Carmen Würth Forum in Künzelsau, southern Germany, took place on 18 July 2017.

The event coincided with the 80th birthday of Carmen Würth, wife of the entrepreneur Reinhold Würth, whose company is one of the leading international retailers of assembly and fastening materials.

Designed by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin, this new culture centre comprises a large events space, a chamber music hall, a sculpture park and a forum for open-air events.

Among the speakers were Winfried Kretschmann, Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg, as well as Reinhold Würth and David Chipperfield, who stressed the building’s ability to bring people together, reflecting the client’s deep commitment to nurturing the arts, culture and society. A conference centre and a museum for the Würth art collection are to follow in a second construction stage.

Image © Andi Schmid, Munich

An inauguration ceremony on 18 July marks the opening of the first construction phase of the Carmen Würth Forum, which comprises a large events space and a chamber music hall.

The Adolf Würth company is one of the world’s largest retailers of assembly and fastening materials, with its headquarters situated near the town of Künzelsau, in southern Germany. Dedicated to the wife of the company’s owner Prof. Reinhold Würth, the Carmen Würth Forum is a new congress and culture centre, situated in close proximity to the main office complex. The opening coincides with Carmen Würth’s 80th birthday and is followed by a week of events, including an open-air concert by Sting and a performance by the new Würth Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Kent Nagano.

David Chipperfield joined Amanda Levete, Odile Decq, Elizabeth Diller and Ma Yansong for a discussion on how architects can better engage in the process of city-making. Chaired by Sarah Gaventa, the session formed part of the Royal Institute of British Architects’ (RIBA) International Conference. 

A new chapel and visitor centre in Inagawa, Japan, designed by David Chipperfield Architects, opens 30 June 2017. Commissioned by the Boenfukyukai Foundation, it sits at the foot of a steep hillside cemetery in the Hokusetsu mountains, 40km north of Osaka.

The building marks a threshold between the outer world and the cemetery, providing a quiet space for contemplation. A single sloping roof plane follows the line of the hillside and shelters a non-denominational chapel, visitor centre and a memorial room, all grouped around a secluded central courtyard.

David Chipperfield discusses his education and early career, the challenges of balancing commercial and intellectual ambitions, and the importance of engaging with social issues in the July/August issue Frame magazine.

David Chipperfield will take part in the ‘Change in the city: Opportunities for architects in the New Urban Agenda’ conference taking place at the Royal Institute of British Architects’ (RIBA) as part of the RIBA International week.

The New Urban Agenda was agreed at the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN Habitat) conference in October last year, and aims to guide sustainable urbanisation efforts around the world. This conference will consider the role of the architect in a series of discussions based around three key themes; housing, a cohesive society and cultural heritage.

Further speakers include: Dr Joan Clos, Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme; Ma Yansong, Founder and Principal Partner of MAD Architects; Saskia Sassen, Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology at Columbia University; Amanda Levete, Founder and Principal of AL_A and Suzanne Hall, Director of the London School of Economics (LSE) Cities Programme.

4 July, 09.00 – 18.30, 66 Portland Place, London

Tickets can be purchased from the RIBA website.

Image: United Nations

‘Whereas a painting is the final thing a painter produces and a sculpture the final thing a sculptor produces, the architect’s final act does not result in the building itself, but a set of instructions for the architecture of the building’ – Farshid Moussavi

As curator of the Architecture Gallery for this year's RA Summer Exhibition in London, Farshid Moussavi invited entrants to show material celebrating architecture as an 'instruction-based art'.

DCA is represented with recent drawings for the ongoing refurbishment of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin alongside a print of an original 1966 construction drawing for the building. Both focus on the glass detailing of the entrance hall, one of the key components of the practice’s renovation. 

The exhibition is open from 13 June and runs until 20 August 2017.

DCA Berlin is supporting the Alexander Haus project and has drawn up a masterplan for a new seminar complex, to be built entirely from wood. 

Alexander Haus is a small lakeside house in Groß Glienicke, near Potsdam, dating from 1927. Built by the Jewish physician Dr Alfred Alexander who fled Germany in 1936, the house narrowly avoided demolition in 2005 after falling into disrepair. A campaign by members of the Alexander family and local residents led to the house becoming a protected monument in 2014. It is currently undergoing restoration and, combined with further development of the site, the complex will become a centre for ‘Education and Reconciliation’, hosting events, seminars and workshops with the aim of bringing people from different backgrounds, cultures and religions together.

Sketch © Alexander Schwarz for David Chipperfield Architects

‘What if there were no cultural institutions and we reinvented them again?’ This question will be discussed by a panel featuring David Chipperfield at the Robert Bosch Academy in Berlin 2 June. Also taking part are: Charles Landry, Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow at the Robert Bosch Academy; Paul Spies, Director of the Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin; Charles Saumarez Smith, Director of the Royal Academy of Arts; and others from the world of art and culture. The Robert Bosch Foundation is a social research initiative funded by the eponymous German engineering and electronics company, and the Academy offers a space for interdisciplinary dialogue.  

The Architektenkammer Rheinland Pfalz organises regular architecture talks at the Hambacher Schloss in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse. The latest in the series takes place 1 June under the theme Schweres Erbe (Difficult History), with a focus on memory and architecture. Berlin partner Martin Reichert will present the practice’s plans for the Haus der Kunst in Munich, discussing the challenges and controversies surrounding working on a Nazi-era building. This will be followed by a second talk by architect Peter Weber and a panel discussion featuring both speakers.

Date: Thursday 1 June 2017

Time:  18:00 – 21:00

Venue: Hambacher Schloss in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse

Attendance is free

DCA Milan opens its atelier and archive to the public Saturday 27 May on the occasion of Open!. Promoted by the Italian National Council of Architects, this nationwide event aims for all architectural practices to open their doors to the wider public.

The atelier and archive of the Milan office will be exhibiting a number of study and presentation models as well as drawings and images developed over the last 10 years.

Open Saturday 27 May, from 10:00 until 18:00

Via Vigevano 8, Milan

Image © Paola Pansini

'It was announced today that the host venue for Turner Prize 2019 will be Turner Contemporary in Margate.

'One of the best known prizes for the visual arts in the world, the Turner Prize aims to promote public debate around new developments in contemporary British art. Every other year, the prize leaves Tate Britain and is presented at a venue outside London. In 2019 it will be presented at Turner Contemporary which, since opening in 2011, has had a catalytic effect on social and cultural regeneration in Kent, and has established an international reputation.'

Image © Simon Menges

The Valentino Old Bond Street flagship store, developed by DCA Milan, won a London Regional Award from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) at a ceremony in London on Monday evening. The jury, chaired by David Howarth, gave the following citation:

'Located in the heart of the West End shopping district, the project provides a new flagship store for the Italian fashion house. The store replaces a 1950’s building with a new five storey structure; incorporating a new façade which has been designed to engage with the streetscape of Old Bond Street and the wider Mayfair Conservation Area.

'The façade is a confident addition to the street, composed of two layers: an inner layer of cast terrazzo and an outer layer of natural Portland stone. A series of well-proportioned openings are framed by the stone elements; with a top floor loggia providing consistency with the geometry of the neighbouring buildings, while articulating a decorative façade.

'The standard of detail resolution, finish and build quality is exquisite. The Venetian terrazzo, which forms the inner layer of the façade and lines internal walls and floors, exudes permanence. The giant Carrara marble columns and plinths of the interior, order the space and the handcrafted oak staircase and lift enclosure add to the material richness.

'David Chipperfield Architects have successfully re-interpreted the fashion store as an integrated piece of architecture. They have designed a building which responds to both the specificity of its urban context and the interior retail environment; beyond what could be achieved through a mere shopfront and fit-out. The building is an exemplar project within the sector and both architect and client should be highly commended.'

Image © Rik Nys

The Neues Museum in Berlin is the subject of a feature article in the May issue of French architecture journal, L'Architecture d'Aujourd'hui. Under the issue’s theme of ‘Ruins’, architect and writer Andreas Kofler describes the ‘geological’ process of the building’s reconstruction.

Friedrich August Stüler’s Neues Museum originally opened in 1859 and lay in ruins for over sixty years following World War II. David Chipperfield Architects won the competition for its rebuilding in 1997 and the museum reopened in 2009. As part of the wider masterplan for Museum Island, the neighbouring James Simon Galerie is due to open at the end of 2018.

An open letter initiated by David Chipperfield and signed by 20 British architects has been published in The Guardian. It calls for the UK Government to immediately clarify the status of EU citizens working in the UK.

The architectural profession, as well as the wider body of creative and cultural industries, are extremely concerned about the impact of the decision to leave the EU.

Regardless of the inevitable commercial damage, most of us believe this will have deeply negative consequences by severely limiting the transfer of information, ideas and influence, as well as restricting common programmes of education and research.

While we are fearful about the future in general, we are particularly concerned about the Government’s attitude towards EU nationals. We have benefited enormously from the transfer of knowledge and influence that results from EU nationals working in the UK. Furthermore, we have benefited from our ability as individuals and as companies to trade services and knowledge with our European neighbours, creating a better understanding between peoples.

Within this context, we are appalled that the Government should use those who have made considerable personal and professional commitments to this country, and who enrich our own culture, as a negotiating chip. This is not the behaviour of a civilised society, and certainly runs counter to the respected British traditions of decency and fairness.

We have no doubt whatsoever that the people of this country would not accept the eviction of EU nationals and we therefore see no reason why this unusable threat should remain on the table. We ask that the Government immediately clarifies this situation, otherwise we will not only lose our place in Europe but we will lose our dignity in the process.

Signatories:

Bob Allies, Will Alsop, Ron Arad, Adam Caruso, David Chipperfield, Peter Cook, Trevor Dannatt, Tony Fretton, Michael Hopkins, Patty Hopkins, Eva Jiricna, Amanda Levete, Farshid Moussavi, Eric Parry, John Pawson, Richard Rogers, Alan Stanton, Peter St. John, Paul Williams, Chris Wilkinson

Lisa O’Carroll, Brexit correspondent for The Guardian, highlights the vital roles played by EU nationals in British architecture, and the importance of cultural cross-fertilisation for the creative sector in general.

Italian publisher Corriere della Sera, has released a new Berlin architectural guide. The volume forms part of their Archittetture e Interni Urban series and features several DCA projects including the Gallery on Kupfergraben and Neues Museum. It is available for purchase from the Corriere della Sera store.

The Naga Site Museum plans will go on display this week in an exhibition at the Art and History Museum in Geneva entitled ‘New Museums: Intentions, Expectations, Challenges’.

Curated by Art Centre Basel in collaboration with Musées d’Art et d’Histoire de Genève, the exhibition examines, through contemporary project studies, how museums position themselves as places of exchange and communication. A two-day ‘Museums of the 21st Century’ colloquium will be hosted as part of the programme on 1-2 June.

The Naga Site Museum is designed to protect part of the archaeological site of Naga, an ancient city in modern-day Sudan. It functions primarily as a facility for storing transportable findings from the site in a secure environment, while also serving as a rudimentary exhibition hall. This approach merges the discovery, study and display of an artefact, integrating archaeological process and exhibition.

The exhibition opens 10 May and will run until 20 August.

Following an international two-stage competition, a team led by DCA London has been selected by the International Music and Performing Arts Charitable Trust (IMPACT Scotland) to design a new 1,000-seat concert venue in the heart of Edinburgh’s New Town.

The venue will serve as a permanent home for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and provide a new space for a range of musical performances much needed in a city which hosts the world’s largest arts festival. In addition to the main hall, the programme includes a smaller studio, educational facilities and an open, public lobby.

Together with Arup, WME, Theatre Projects and Gross Max, we aim to develop a design that sensitively integrates into the New Town and we look forward to working closely with the acoustician Nagata to create excellent performance spaces. 

The Ria de Arousa study project will be presented by David at the 4th annual Foro de Rehabilitación in Rianxo, Spain. The talk will address issues of the area’s urban and economic development in parallel to cultural and environmental protection, focussing on the coastal margins from which the area derives much of its identity.

Hosted by the local council, the Foro de Rehabilitación was set up as part of a scheme started in 2008 to develop local understanding of restoration and renovation, and to consider the best ways to approach the rehabilitation of degraded or historical buildings in towns around the region. The forum runs 5-7 May with David’s talk taking place at 12.00 on Sunday 7 May.

Tickets (10 euros) can be purchased through the Oficina de rehabilitación: odr@concelloderianxo.gal

The Hepworth Wakefield featured in a double-page spread in last Saturday’s Guardian entitled ‘People’s Palaces’. Each of the five contenders for the Museum of the Year is championed by a different advocate. Martin Parr, who held an exhibition, The Rhubarb Triangle and Other Stories, at the museum last year writes about the Hepworth Wakefield, describing it as ‘a fantastic space, beautifully designed and functioning very well’.

The £100,000 prize, which is given annually by the Art Fund charity, rewards museums that deliver innovative programmes and outreach. The other contenders are the Sir John Soane Museum and Tate Modern in London, The National Heritage Centre for Horseracing and Sporting Art in Newmarket and the Lapworth Museum of Geology in Birmingham.

In the last year, the Hepworth has seen visitor numbers increase dramatically and has held several well received exhibitions. Currently showing is ‘Disobedient Bodies’ a retrospective of the fashion designer J.W. Anderson which juxtaposes sculptural work from artists such as Henry Moore and Louise Bourgeois with his own creations.

The exhibition runs until 17 June while the Museum of the Year winner will be announced 5 July.

Libin Chen, partner in the Shanghai office, will give a lecture at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou Friday 28 April. Titled ‘The extraordinary in the ordinary’, the talk will use examples of current and previous work to demonstrate the practice’s design approach. The talk will start at 13.30 in the An'zhong building and is open to the public.

The new Valentino flagship store, located on Chuo-dori, Ginza’s main shopping avenue opened last Thursday. It forms part of the recently completed Ginza Six, a mixed-use development which is currently the largest retail facility in Tokyo’s famous shopping district.

Designed by DCA Milan, the five-storey store has an area of over 1,330 m² making it one of the largest Valentino flagships and the design represents a further evolution of the established concept. The main façade, which covers all five floors, is a contemporary interpretation of the traditional Japanese Noren and Shoji screens. Made of a stretched aluminum mesh and featuring integrated lighting, the screen generates different levels of permeability/visibility during both day and night.

DCA Milan has been working with Valentino since 2008.

The first few weeks of the second phase of the Ria de Arousa research project have seen the team focussing on the region’s urban and port areas as well as its infrastructure. Establishing and cataloguing land and building usage, and setting these into the wider urban context, they have been investigating the role of the ports, their future use, and how they can help re-connect the towns with the sea. The region’s infrastructure has also been analysed and will inform a plan for more sustainable mobility and access as well as improved roads.

In parallel to this research, meetings have been held with representatives from the Galician government, local authorities, fishing industries and sustainability bodies as the team seeks to build new and strengthen existing connections.

Progress will next be presented to the public at the 4th annual Forum of Restoration in Rianxo on 7 May.

The Ria de Arousa research project began in 2016 and its second phase started in February of this year.

Image by Adrian Capelo

Over 1000 people visited the David Chipperfield Architects Milan archive and atelier over the weekend, the opening of which coincided with the Fuorisalone 2017. The extensive archive contains original documents and models which were on display to the public. 

Image © Paola Pansini

Wish Magazine, a monthly supplement in The Australian, features an article by Luke Slattery based on an interview with David.

An exhibition of recent work by Chinese artist Song Dong is on display at the Rockbund Art Museum. The entire building, which was restored and extended by the practice in 2010, has been transformed for the exhibition which is divided into seven ‘chapters’ following the Chinese literary tradition. Each of the building’s six floors are dedicated to a chapter, with the seventh, ‘Illumination’ reserved for the building’s exterior. LED lighting traces the contours of the 1933, former Royal Asiatic Society building’s façade.

The exhibition is open until 11 June.

Image: Zhexu Du for DCA

David Chipperfield Architects Milan opens its doors to the public this weekend, on the occasion of Fuorisalone 2017. Together the atelier and archive hold around 70 study and presentation models developed over the last 10 years.

Open from Friday 7th until Sunday 9th April, from 10:00 until 18:00

Via Vigevano 8, Milan

Image © Paola Pansini

DCA Milano has designed a temporary installation in the Cortile d’Onore of the Palazzo Brera for the Milan design week. It is included in the White in the City exhibition curated by Giulio Cappellini, part of the Fuorisalone. Entitled Walking through Whiteness, the installation fuses the essential qualities of white – its nature, science and symbolism – into a single experience.

A white cube enclosing a room, the work is a space in which the qualities of white as the achromatic colour of maximum lightness and clarity can be explored.

Externally, it measures as a perfect 2.5m cube composed of white chalk beams. These beams, the first of three components that form the installation, are cut by Laboratorio Morseletto and slot together forming the horizontal courses of the structure.

Internally, the surfaces merge to create a space of whiteness in three dimensions, dissolving any sense of materiality. Covering the floor is the second white component: salt. This crystalline mineral element, an enduring symbol of life and purification, accumulates from the square perimeter of the room into a round central mound like a naturally occurring salt cone.

The third white component is a 5000-degree Kelvin beam of LED-light piercing through an aperture in the ceiling. Made by Viabizzuno, it is one of the whitest lights in existence and illuminates the salt crystal cone which reflects white light onto surrounding surfaces to generate an interplay of white references: concentrated/unsaturated, light/shade, smooth/rough, matte/bright – contributing to the sense of metaphysical space.

Image © Paola Pansini

David Chipperfield Architects - Empirismo Idealista, has been published by the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. This new, 144-page, pocket-monograph was produced in collaboration with the Architecture and Urban Studies Department of Politecnico di Milano and Abitare magazine. It features projects from all four offices and includes an interview with Prof. Ferruccio Izzo and Francesco Prosperetti. The volume can be acquired directly from Corriere della Sera.

Margit J Mayer talks with David in a wide-ranging interview published in the latest issue of German art magazine Blau. The article is the transcription of a conversation held at an event in Berlin earlier this month. Among the topics covered are the differences between artists and architects and the advantages of working within the cultural sector. 

In 2015 the Berlin office supported an exhibition at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt which drew attention to the social isolation of refugees in Germany. Inspired by contacts made, and realising that more could be done, the office subsequently set up a one-year trainee program for refugees which has been in place for over a year.

This commitment has now been formalised through a partnership with ‘Wir Zusammen’ (We together), a platform designed to assist companies looking to help refugees into the German workforce. Work is an important basis for integration in to a new environment and almost 200 companies have now signed up, recognising the many skills that migrants can offer. Beyond professional training, the practice enables the new employees to make contacts and learn a new language.

Last year, a research project was launched for the Ria de Arousa in Galicia, (in the north of Spain) which looked at ways of developing local economies and protecting natural and cultural assets in this unique coastal area. The first phase ended last July with a draft report presented to the regional authorities. A small team has now moved in to a temporary office in Ribeira, as the project enters its second phase. For the next five months, the team will map out issues relating to development and environmental protection through research and field work. 

A series of workshops and public presentations are to be held over the coming months and the findings of the study will be developed into a set of actions and strategies that centre around urban, architectural, environmental, cultural and economic issues. 

Image: View over A Pobra do Caramiñal and the Ria de Arousa by Adrian Capelo

Following an international competition, the Berlin office has been commissioned to build a mixed-use complex on a site to the north of Munich’s central station. The area is presently dominated by manufacturing and light industry and the project supports its transformation into a more urban neighbourhood.

A new cubic volume with pre-fabricated concrete elements with added natural stone aggregate will bear reference to the freestanding industrial buildings in the vicinity. Mainly dedicated to office use, it will feature a central, internal courtyard framing a publicly accessible square. The project is due to complete in 2020.

Six years after completing the restoration of several historic colonial buildings in central Shanghai, the final piece of the development, a tower on the southern fringes of the site, has topped out. The tower is one of the new additions to the historic ensemble and rises from the 1897 Andrews & George building, adding eleven storeys above the three-storey listed façade. Clad in red brick, it refers to the urban fabric of the colonial buildings while its height mediates between the historic Bund and the high-rise city beyond

The Rotary Club in Zurich is hosting a lunch 17 March with David giving a lecture on the Kunsthaus project. Work started last autumn on the construction of the new building facing the existing museum across Heimplatz.

On 1 April the institution will host an open day, including hardhat tours of the construction site, with members of the project team. Construction progress can be followed via webcam.

Work on the conversion of the former St. Vincenz hospital into a new headquarters for a family-run company in north west Germany, has started. The existing ensemble emerged from the war-damaged ruins of a former 17th century Capuchin monastery which had become a hospital. The project involves the removal of the post-war additions, exposing the historic building fabric, and the introduction of contemporary structures. 

Two Swedish architecture magazines, RUM and Arkitektur have published interviews about the Nobel Center in Stockholm, which recently gained detailed planning approval.

In the latest issue of Arkitektur, David speaks with Julia Svensson about the increasing role of private finance in public building and how the architect can attempt to bridge the gap between commercial and public gain.

The February issue of RUM, which can now be read online, includes an interview with Mark Isitt about the role of criticism in shaping architecture, the civic nature of the Nobel Center and the consequences for the programme of altering the building’s size. The interview is accompanied by case studies of selected projects, including the Neues Museum, the Hepworth Wakefield and the private house in Corrubedo. 

Following a meeting on 3 March with the acting governor of Perm, Maxim Reshetnikov, David Chipperfield Architects has been invited to develop design proposals for a new free-standing building for the Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre on the southern bank of the River Kama.

The exisiting opera house is one of the oldest and most important in Russia with historic and artistic ties to Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky and Sergey Diaghilev. Today it houses one of Russia's most prominent opera and ballet companies and the MusicAeterna orchestra and chorus, under the overall artistic leadership of Teodor Currentzis.

In 2010, the practice won an international competition for the refurbishment and extension of the historic opera house, pictured.

Construction on a new headquarters for Korean cosmetics company Amorepacific has reached a key stage with a topping out ceremony held on site in Seoul. The final beam was ceremonially raised to the top of the 22-storey tower. The building is designed around a central courtyard and has three large openings puncturing the squat volume, bringing light and air into an otherwise deep building plan. These openings will contain elevated gardens with generous views across the city. As well as office space, the new building will contain conference facilities and a new home for the Amorepacific Museum of Art. The project will be fully occupied in 2018.

The Royal Academy will hold its annual dinner and auction Tuesday 14 March to help raise funds for the RA Schools.

The practice is currently overseeing the remodelling and redevelopment of the Royal Academy of Arts which will see Burlington House, home to the RA since 1868, connected to 6 Burlington Gardens, a 19th century building to the rear. A central public link will connect the two Grade II listed buildings, opening up access to the Royal Academy Schools and creating new public areas. Casting of the sculptural bridge that will connect these two buildings began on site last week. The project is expected to complete in time for the RA’s 250th anniversary in 2018.

To support the RA Schools, you can bid online until Monday 13 March.

David will take part in the third edition of the New York Times' 'Art for Tomorrow' conference in Doha next week. The conference brings together artists, architects, curators, museum directors and other cultural professionals for a series of discussions revolving around the theme of ‘Boundaries, Identity and the Public Realm’.

David will join Pedro Gadanho, artistic director of the MAAT (Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology) in Lisbon, for a discussion on the role that museums – both the buildings and the collections themselves – can play in defining national identity. The discussion will be moderated by Robin Pogrebin of the The New York Times and will take place at 10am local time on Saturday 11 March. 

A reception to mark the launch of the UK-India Year of Culture 2017 was held at Buckingham Palace on Monday. A programme of exhibitions and activities in both countries will celebrate their close ties, with a focus on collaboration and interactivity. The practice’s first project in India, the Mughal Museum, is currently being built on a site close to the Taj Mahal in Agra.

Image: British Ceremonial Arts Limited

For the ‘Picture of my life’ feature in the German Art magazine Weltkunst, David Chipperfield reflects on his personal fascination with Roger Fenton’s 1854 photograph of the Rievaulx Abbey ruins in Yorkshire.

Image: Gilman Collection, Purchase, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Gift, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 2005

A retrospective of one of Mexico’s best known conceptual artists, Ulises Carrión recently opened at the Museo Jumex in Mexico City. Under the title ‘Dear Reader. Don’t Read’ the exhibition contains nearly 350 pieces of the late artist’s work including books, magazines, film and sound pieces arranged across the naturally lit top floor galleries.

Carrión’s interest in structure and language, which was developed through his work as a writer and editor, takes shape through a series of freestanding cabinet-like structures forming a rough grid which refers to, but is separate from, the geometry of the gallery space. The cabinets contain printed artworks, writing and objects with videos shown on low tables and the perimeter walls.

The exhibition is open until 13 April.

The Valentino Bond Street flagship store is included in the latest issue of the German architecture and interiors magazine AIT which looks at the theme of 'Retail and Presentation'. The store, which opened last year, is part of an ongoing creative collaboration between David Chipperfield Architects Milan and Valentino.

Mark Randel, partner in the Shanghai office, gave a public talk at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre on Friday 17 February as part of the Bangkok Design Festival. He spoke on dealing with historic fabric, the significance of ‘useless spaces’ and the importance of material choices, using projects from all four DCA studios. The conference was organised by ‘Art4d’, a Thai architecture and design magazine.

The first event of the British Council’s EU-UK Culture and Education Series took place in Berlin on Thursday. David Chipperfield delivered the opening statement and participated in the day’s sessions. He spoke of his deep regret in seeing the UK vote to leave the European Union and the difficulties facing the creative industries moving forward.

Two further events in the next six months will gather together policy makers and representatives in the fields of culture, research and education from across Europe to discuss the practical implications of Brexit.

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission has given their consent for a six-storey apartment building located in the Greenwich Village Historic District. The revised scheme is inspired by the local vernacular and utilises slender red bricks with recessed lintels of pre-cast concrete and windows with bronzed frames. It will contain seven residences across six floors including two townhouses and a large penthouse at the top.

The Nobel Center in central Stockholm has been granted detailed planning approval by the Stockholm County Administrative Board who have dismissed all remaining appeals against it. David Chipperfield Architects Berlin won the international competition to provide a home for the Nobel Prize on a prominent waterside location on the Blasieholmen peninsula in 2014. 

Coverage of David Chipperfield Architects Berlin’s plans for the renovation of the Haus der Kunst in Munich has continued with an interview in the latest issue of German current affairs magazine Der Spiegel.

In an interview with Bumillo, David Chipperfield explains the practice's plans for the refurbishment of the Haus der Kunst in Munich. Südlicht will air 8 February at 22:45 (CET) on the television channel Bayerischer Rundfunk.

A new oil lamp designed by David Chipperfield is being shown at the Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair, part of the Stockholm Design Week. The lamp is made of sanded brass with two movable polished plates, which reflect the flame. It belongs to the Holocene series, by Swedish lighting company Wästberg, which also includes an oil lamp by Ilse Crawford and a candle holder by Jasper Morrison. The same company released the David Chipperfield-designed w102 table lamp in 2010. The Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair runs 7–11 February.

Image © Simon Menges

David Chipperfield Architects has been shortlisted for a 1,000-seat concert venue in central Edinburgh. The new building will be located adjacent to the Grade A listed Royal Bank of Scotland headquarters on St Andrew Square, designed by William Chambers in 1771. It will provide a new home for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra as well as offering an additional venue for the Edinburgh International Festival. Richard Murphy, Barozzi Veiga, Allies and Morrison, KPMB Architects and David Adjaye make up the rest of the six-strong shortlist which was compiled from 69 expressions of interest. The winner will be announced in April.

Director of the Haus der Kunst Okwui Enwezor has written an article in Saturday’s Süddeutsche Zeitung on the restoration plans for the building. He points out that since World War II all exhibitions have acknowledged or even counteracted the building’s raison d'être and is adamant that it should be the institution’s programme, rather than the building itself that confronts the legacy of its Nazi-era construction. He is interested in repositioning the museum and transforming it into a contemporary institution while maintaining a serious rapport with its historical memory.

In a letter published in The Architects’ Journal, David Chipperfield has defended the practice's plans for the renovation of the Haus der Kunst in Munich, which some critics have argued 'glorifies' the Nazi architecture. Questioning the need to hide the building, the scheme proposes removing the line of trees and opening the building up to the city. ‘The building that houses [the Haus der Kunst] must now assume new responsibilities beyond those inherited from its dark history, not by hiding its 'guilt' but by living with it, overcoming it, subverting it and leading it into an alternative future.’

In response The Architects’ Journal's editor-in-chief Christine Murray has written an opinion piece in which she calls the proposals ‘a brave leap in reclaiming this building for the city’.

Work on the shell of the Zhejiang Museum of Natural History has completed in China. Set in an area of natural beauty amongst the forests and hills of the Zhejiang province, eight low-rise pavilion buildings are arranged around a central garden which serves as the main social area for the museum. Utilising the sloping topography, the landscape flows through the buildings towards a lake at the foot of the site. Green roofs and a façade of rendered plaster referencing the local earth tones strengthen the idea of a museum integrated into the landscape. With a total area of 54,000 m² the museum will be one of the largest in the world. It is expected to open to the public in March 2018.

The Carmen Würth Forum will officially open on 18 July 2017. The new building is situated in an open landscape in Künzelsau, southeast Germany. It houses an event hall with a capacity of 3,500 people and a chamber music hall with seating for 580. The uppermost level of the event hall rises as a glazed box above the surrounding landscape while the more intimate concert hall is situated below ground level. The forum will host company and external cultural events, providing an important new venue in the region. Shell construction of the project has now completed and work is set to begin on the interiors.

Image © David Chipperfield Architects

Best wishes for the new year from the DCA family.

This year will see the opening of The Bryant tower – a hotel and residential building in New York, the first phase of the Carmen Würth Forum – an event and chamber music hall in southern Germany, and on the other side of the globe the Inagawa Reien chapel project, set on a steep mountainside in central Japan.

Work will continue on numerous projects including Kunsthaus Zurich, Nobel Center in Stockholm, Amorepacific HQ in Seoul, the James Simon entrance building and the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, the Royal Academy of Arts and the conversion of the former US embassy in London. In China, work is expected to start on several new projects including the Zhejiang Medicine Headquarters and Shanghai Expo tower.

Further flagship stores with Valentino and Bally will complete and a first collaboration with SSENSE, the global online retailer, will see their inaugural store open in Montreal.

In addition to the built work, a major exhibition in Italy and a series of publications reflecting on the work of the practice are currently being developed.

Image © Ute Zscharnt for David Chipperfield Architects

Detail Inside, a special edition of the German architecture magazine focusing on interior projects, features a six-page article on the Valentino Flagship Stores in Rome and New York. The article describes the design concept of the Stores, the materials used and includes detailed sectional drawings of the shelf fittings, internal walls, and frames.

David Chipperfield Architects Milan has been working in close collaboration with Valentino creative management since 2008. The concept looks to create spaces of permanence and simplicity reminiscent of classical palazzi. A sequence of rooms, often in enfilade formation, are accessed through threshold portals and inhabited by seemingly transient lightweight display elements. Differing colours, textures, and light allow each space to possess a distinct atmosphere.

Image © Santi Caleca

David Chipperfield has been named as an ambassador for the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 in a press conference held at the Altes Museum in Berlin. Funded by the European commission, the European Cultural Heritage Year will celebrate common cultural heritage in all its forms. In light of a heterogeneous European social structure and against the background of current political, social and economic change, the potential for identification, participation and development will be brought into focus. A programme of events across Europe in 2018 aims to raise awareness and education among younger generations.

‘The highlighting of our shared European heritage comes at a significant moment in our history. In these uncertain times, particularly for us British, it is a moment to reflect on the common values and shared history that unites us. Europe is a fascinating collage of cultural connections and differences. Nowhere is this more clearly documented and recorded than in our cultural patrimony. Alongside the other arts which are easier to acknowledge and protect, architecture and our built environment are more fragile representations of our shared cultural history. The future development of our cities and our society depends on an appreciation and understanding of the physical achievements of the past. The architecture of our cities is a physical record of our cultural and societal visions and a living document of the continuous sedimentation of the practical and the artistic, the monumental and the mundane.’

— David Chipperfield, 19 December 2016

Image © Dirk Dehmel

From left to right: Hermann Parzinger, David Chipperfield, Kathrin Hahne (BKM),

Helene Blum, Harald Haugaard, Janne Teller, Uwe Koch (DNK), Martina Münch

The remodelling of the Royal Academy of Arts is the subject of a feature article in the London Evening Standard. Architecture critic Robert Bevan visited the construction site of what will be the Royal Academy’s largest expansion since 1868. The masterplan includes a redevelopment of the two historic buildings which make up the Royal Academy: Burlington House, and the newly acquired 6 Burlington Gardens, situated to the north of the original building. A central link will connect these two buildings and open up access to previously unseen parts of the complex, while creating a public route between Piccadilly and Burlington Gardens. Coinciding with the Royal Academy’s 250th anniversary, the project is due for completion in 2018.

The ongoing refurbishment of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Neue Nationalgalerie is the subject of an eight-page article in this month’s Bauwelt magazine. The museum was completed in 1968 and is currently undergoing major renovation for the first time in its history. Every detail of the building has been closely scrutinised to maintain the integrity of the original. The article describes the challenges of the restoration and includes recent photographs from the construction site.

David Chipperfield Architects Berlin was appointed to the project in 2012. The museum closed for refurbishment in 2015 and is due to reopen in summer 2020.

David Chipperfield Architects is the 6th largest architecture practice in Italy according to a new report released this week. The report, edited by Aldo Norsa, Professor of Architecture Technology at the IUAV (Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia), was published in Edilizia e Territorio, the weekly supplement of Il Sole 24 ore, Italy's business newspaper. The annual survey ranks Italian architecture and design firms by turnover. David Chipperfield Architects Milan recorded a turnover of 7 million Euros, a significant increase of 60% on the previous year. The result comes as the Milan office celebrates its 10th anniversary.

David Chipperfield and Christoph Felger will travel to Sydney next week to present the office's proposals for the Circular Quay Tower competition. To mark the visit David Chipperfield will give a public lecture focussing on the practice's recent work. The lecture is scheduled for Tuesday, 6 December at 6:30 pm at the Eternity Playhouse in the Darlinghurst district of the city

David Chipperfield Architects Berlin and the University of Stuttgart’s Institute for Public Building and Design have guest curated the December 2016 issue of the German architectural journal Baumeister.

The issue focuses on questions of perception and understanding of architecture. Gottfried Semper’s ‘Theorie des Stoffwechsels’, formulated in his opus 'Der Stil' (published in 1860) is used as a starting point. Usually translated as ‘metabolism’, in German the term ‘Stoffwechsel’ is more ambiguous, but it can be literally translated as ‘change of material’ (Stoff: material / Wechsel: change).

The magazine features articles by 13 different authors, an interview with David Chipperfield and Alexander Schwarz, and a series of photos taken in the shell construction of the James Simon Galerie on Museum Island in Berlin.

The German issue is available for purchase and an English version will be released shortly.

Ein Eingang für die Ewigkeit (An entrance for eternity) is a 45-minute documentary on the James Simon Galerie, the new entrance building for Berlin’s Museum Island, designed by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin and currently under construction. It is the 11th documentary on Museum Island by German filmmaker Carola Wedel, who has followed the rebuilding and restoration of the World Heritage site since 2001. Previous films include a 2009 documentary on the renovation and reconstruction of the Neues Museum. The programme will air on 26 November at 21:45 on the German channel 3Sat, with repeats on 4 December (ZDF) and 20 December (ZDFinfo).

 
Image © Ute Zscharnt for David Chipperfield Architects

The first phase of a major redesign and refurbishment of Selfridges’ Accessories Hall opened to the public today. The Accessories Hall occupies the ground floor of the classic East building and a later addition to the rear known as the SWOD (Somerset, Wigmore, Orchard and Duke Street) building. The redesign will give a consistent identity to these two spaces while a new entrance hall, the Somerset Street Link Building, will be inserted in between, connecting them together. The first phase sees the opening of the SWOD building section. The full project, including the Somerset Street Link Building, is due to open in 2018.

Image © Edward Park

A new sculptural prize, a first for the UK, was awarded to Helen Marten in a ceremony at the Hepworth Wakefield on Thursday. Created to celebrate the gallery's 5th anniversary this year, the biennial prize aims to demystify contemporary sculpture and is named after the great British artist Barbara Hepworth. David Chipperfield participated in the jury.
 
An exhibition featuring recent and new work by the four finalists, which also included Phyllida Barlow, Steven Claydon and David Medalla, opened in October and marks one of the most significant events in the gallery’s programme to date.
 
The exhibition is open until 19 February.

Image © Simon Menges

Following public consultation, the renovation and conversion of the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square, London, received conditional planning permission on Tuesday. David Chipperfield Architects will convert the iconic mid-twentieth century building, designed by Eero Saarinen, into a 137-room hotel with additional restaurants, retail and events space. The transformation centres around the preservation of the Modernist design while offering an accessible plan for its new purpose. All security measures and defensive characteristics will be removed, allowing the building to reconnect with the public realm of Grosvenor Square. The West side of the building will reopen the street, further reintegrating the site to its Mayfair surroundings. A vertically extended storey with a pavilion above will form a new crown for the building, and the landmark gilded eagle will remain on the façade. The project is expected to go on site following the embassy’s move to Nine Elms.

David Chipperfield Architects has received planning permission from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea for the redevelopment of 60 Sloane Avenue. The proposals will now be put forward to the Greater London Authority. Built in 1911 to house Harrods’ motor car garage and workshops, the historic building is to be converted from office facilities to residential properties. Forty-nine lateral apartments of varying sizes will be arranged over six floors around a central open courtyard. The public realm at ground floor level will offer extensive retail spaces, as well as discreet residential lobbies and service yard facilities, with additional basement levels to house supporting technical functions and leisure facilities.

The redevelopment, inspired by the vision of the original architect C W Stephens, will complete the volume he intended. It replaces a three-storey glass extension from the early 1990s, with a stripped-down interpretation of the Harrods buildings' signature terracotta façade. An additional storey of attic style loggias extends the building, with a penthouse level above set back to recede within the townscape setting. 

A private studio, recently completed, is the subject of an extensive feature in this month’s Domus magazine. The two-storey former boathouse, which served as winter storage for the boats of the German lifeguard service, was given a new external cladding of glass and green timber elements. By placing this new façade in front of the former exterior walls, the original concrete remains visible while a dialogue is created between inside and outside, old and new. While the main characteristics of the original building, with its solid appearance remains preserved, the lighter skin lends the building a new openness. Generous floor-to-ceiling windows allow daylight to permeate the exhibition spaces and offer spectacular views over the lake.

Image © Ute Zscharnt for David Chipperfield Architects

A foundation stone laying ceremony for the extension of the Kunsthaus Zurich took place on Tuesday 8 November. Guests from politics, business and culture attended the ceremony where David Chipperfield was one of six key figures to give a short speech. A time-capsule containing notes written by the speakers was subsequently buried on site.
 

Designed by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin, the Kunsthaus Zurich extension will sit opposite the existing museum on a square in central Zurich. It will display a collection of classic modernism, the Bührle Collection, a contemporary art collection and temporary exhibition space. The distinct feature of the new building is the central entrance hall which connects a garden at the rear with the square at the front. This hall allows visitors to experience art in a publicly accessible space outside of the general museum activities.

image © Juliet Haller

To mark the occasion of the groundbreaking of the Kunsthaus Zurich extension David Chipperfield will give a public lecture at the Schweizer Baumuster-Centrale (Building Centre) in Zurich on 8 November. The Baumuster-Centrale is a public institution, founded in 1929, offering a forum for the display and discussion of materials and construction prototypes. The lecture will centre on the design for the Kunsthaus Zurich extension which will face the existing museum building across Heimplatz, a square in central Zurich. In keeping with the centre’s mission, the focus will be on the materiality of the new building.

David Chipperfield has contributed an interview to the recently published book ‘Baukollegium Berlin’, edited by Berlin Senate Building Director Regula Lüscher. The Baukollegium is an independent advisory body made up of experts in the field of architecture, planning and urban development. The book reflects on the body’s role in the development of the city. It promotes the culture of building with examples that present their working methods and includes interviews and essays about Berlin. In his interview, David Chipperfield discusses the importance of good urban planning, looks at the differences between Berlin and London while considering the dangers Berlin faces moving forward.
 

Museo Jumex in Mexico City has been placed on the final shortlist for the Royal Institute of British Architects’ inaugural global architecture award, the RIBA International Prize. Hundreds of entries from 50 countries were considered, with an initial shortlist of 30 including three of David Chipperfield Architects’ buildings, Moganshan Road, Saint Louis Art Museum and Museo Jumex. Today it has been announced that both the latter are among 21 buildings to receive an RIBA International Award for Excellence, with Museo Jumex one of six to be further considered for the ultimate RIBA International Prize.

A Grand Jury will visit the shortlisted projects in the coming weeks with the final winner being announced on Thursday 24 November. The jury includes Philip Gumuchdjian, founder of Gumuchdjian Architects and Chair of RIBA Awards, Billie Tsien, founding partner of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, Kunlé Adeyemi, founder and principal of NLÉ, Marilyn Jordan Taylor, Dean of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Fine Arts, and will be chaired by Lord Richard Rogers.

The Museo Jumex houses part of the Colección Jumex, one of the largest private art collections in Latin America. Defined by its tight, triangular plot, the ground level opens up to the city. Clad in locally sourced travertine the building is crowned by a distinctive sawtooth roof that brings natural light into the top floor galleries.

Image © Iwan Baan

Work is now on site for the Mughal Museum in Agra near the eastern gate of the Taj Mahal. The project is part of a larger masterplan led by Archohm for the surrounding area, which also comprises the Taj Orientation Centre and the Taj Ganj Visitors' Centre. The museum will accommodate 5,200 m² for permanent and temporary exhibitions and is dedicated to the history and culture of the Mughals, a dynasty that ruled over Northern India for over three centuries. Construction is scheduled to be completed next year.
 

A ceremony marking the topping out of the Bryant in New York was held Tuesday evening on the tower’s 32nd floor. Invited guests and key journalists ascended the tower for a celebratory toast followed by a brief speech by David Chipperfield. The tower, which overlooks Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan, will contain a hotel and private residences as well as retail units on the ground floor. It follows the traditional New York tower tripartite arrangement of base, shaft and crown. Expected to be completed next spring, the Bryant is David Chipperfield Architects’ first residential tower in the United States.

Photograph by Billy Prendergast

Xixi Wetland Estate has won a LEAF (Leading European Architecture Forum) Award in the category of residential building of the year – multiple occupancy. The project, which was designed by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin and Shanghai, is located in a national wetland park on the outskirts of Hangzhou. The buildings are placed on stone plinths and sit in a water garden reminiscent of the wetland park.
 

The awards ceremony took place on the 14 October in London with the winner decided by a panel of nine judges.

Image © Simon Menges

Almost 300 members from all four offices in London, Berlin, Milan and Shanghai gathered in La Serenissima last weekend. All staff met in the Biennale grounds before visiting other sites in various parts of the city culminating in a grand party at the recently restored Scuola Grande della Misericordia in Cannaregio. The party was organised by David Chipperfield Architects Milan to celebrate their 10th anniversary and to mark the occasion of this remarkable gathering a photograph of the united offices was taken in the Giardini.

Image © Andrea Avezzù  

On Monday 17 October David Chipperfield will give the 10th annual Arthur Rosenblatt Memorial Lecture, an annual lecture on excellence in museum design hosted by the American Institute of Architects New York (AIANY) Cultural Facilities Committee. The lecture will centre on museum projects and look at the changing role of the museum.
 

Arthur Rosenblatt was the Vice President for Architecture and Planning at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for 19 years and director of the Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the lecture series was set up to honour his long-term commitment to museum design. Notable former speakers include Richard Meier, Mosche Safdie, Todd Williams and Billie Tsien.
 

The event will be co-chaired by Scott Briggs and Heidi Kippenhan of the AIANY and hosted by the Center for Architecture in New York.

Image © Violet Office

In his new book ‘Nahaufnahmen – Fünfzig Gespräche mit dem Leben‘, the author, director and TV producer Gero von Boehm publishes 50 interviews with, amongst others, Lars Eidinger, Federico Fellini, Karl Lagerfeld, Arthur Miller, Helmut Newton, Peter Handke, Jonathan Meese, Susan Sontag, Patti Smith, Norman Mailer and David Chipperfield.

 

The family of art collector and curator Heiner Bastian has donated the gallery building ‘Am Kupfergraben 10’ in Berlin to the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz (Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation) to be used as a centre for cultural education and communication. Completed in 2007 and designed by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin, the building is located in direct vicinity to Berlin’s Museum Island. The Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz will use the new centre for workshops, lectures and roundtables relating to museum visits.

Image ©Ute Zscharnt for David Chipperfield Architects
 

The Neues Museum is featured in the 4th edition of the Lisbon Architecture Triennale. The Triennale is an open platform for debate, research and the promotion of contemporary architecture. This year’s edition, entitled ‘The Form of Form’ and curated by André Tavares and Diogo Seixas Lopes, aims to explore the possibility of architecture as a cultural device. The programme is structured around three core exhibitions: ‘The Form of Form’, ‘Building Site’ and ‘The World in Our Eyes’ as well as a number of further exhibitions and associated projects.

The ‘Building Site’ programme features a drawing mapping out the restoration of the ceiling of the Roman Room at the Neues Museum. The museum on Berlin’s Museum Island was rebuilt by David Chipperfield Architects and reopened in 2009, after more than sixty years as a ruin. The complex mapping of the restoration strategy demonstrates the multitude of individual procedures that were necessary for the conservation of the fragile original material. The drawing captures three distinct layers of information: the printed layer is a survey of the existing conditions prior to restoration; various codes and hatches instruct the conservators on how to treat the building surfaces; and the hand-drawn pencil annotations are added on-site, recording the work that has been done.

The Triennale takes place from 5 October to 11 December 2016. 

Construction of the Carmen Würth Forum has reached a key stage with the topping out of the ‘event and chamber music hall’. The project, located adjacent to the Würth headquarters in Künzelsau, Southwest Germany, was designed by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin. The building is embedded in the landscape and will create a new plateau, with two retaining walls made of in-situ concrete framing an open courtyard in front of the main entrance. This space can be used for open-air concerts and other activities. The large indoor event hall is accessed from a naturally lit foyer. While the lower part of this hall is sunk, the upper part is glazed and rises above the terrain. A small chamber music hall is placed adjacent to the main hall and is only perceptible from the outside as an undulation of the landscape. Completion of the ‘event and chamber music hall’ is due in July 2017. A conference centre and a museum for the Würth art collection are to follow in a second construction stage.

David Chipperfield will give the keynote lecture at the 6th Baltic Sea Region Cultural Heritage Forum in Kiel today. The conference aims to raise awareness of post-war built cultural heritage and brings together experts from the heritage sector, architects, planners, researchers, politicians, property owners, developers and other related professions.
 

Under the title: ‘Restorations and reconstructions: reflections on Berlin’, the lecture will centre on work in Berlin and specifically the 11-year restoration of the Neues Museum and the ongoing refurbishment of Mies van der Rohe’s Neue Nationalgalerie. The former is a balancing act between repairing, conserving, restoring and recreating while the latter is closer to the meticulous restoration of ancient monuments. Reflecting on different approaches the lecture will argue that energetic public engagement is crucial to the ongoing debate about the development and protection of our cities.

Image © Jörg von Bruchhausen

Following a public talk given by David Chipperfield at the Haus der Kunst in Munich on Friday 16th September, this weekend’s Süddeutsche Zeitung featured an article on the practice’s vision for the renovation of the museum. In conversation with museum director Okwui Enwezor, David Chipperfield elaborated on issues surrounding the design and renovation of landmark buildings before presenting his draft concept for the Haus der Kunst. The article discusses plans to better integrate the building into the city fabric and to bring parts that have been closed off for years back into public use.

Two Valentino flagship stores in London and Rome are the subject of an extensive feature in this month’s Domus magazine. David Chipperfield Architects Milan has been working in close collaboration with Valentino’s creative directors since 2008. The concept is centred on the idea of creating spaces of permanence and simplicity reminiscent of classical palazzi. The format replaces the usual superficial decoration and scenography often used for retail spaces with a timeless expression of architectural form in durable and solid materials. Both the London and Rome stores mark an important step in the store concept’s evolution. The store on Bond Street occupies the entire building with a new façade which introduces Portland stone to the palette, while a core element housing the lifts and staircases is entirely made of oak. Returning to Valentino’s original roots in Rome, new materials and local techniques have been added to the established vocabulary. Non-structural arches on the first floor have been finished with polished white plaster while on the ground floor double layers of brick combine both loadbearing and reinforcing arches.