Project

MVRDV has unveiled details of its proposed design for Canada’s LGBTQ2+ National Monument.

To deliver the design named the Lens, MVRDV partnered with visual arts and landscape architecture Fathom Studio and Two Row Architect under the name Team Durling. It is one of five teams shortlisted to design the monument, which will be installed close to Parliament Hill in Ottawa’s Capital Plateau.

The monument will be built on behalf of the LGBT Purge Fund and the Government of Canada. Situated on a 6,300m² site facing the Ottawa River, the monument is intended to serve as a recognition of the discrimination experienced by Canada’s LGBTQ2+ people, specifically during the LGBT Purge, a discriminatory federal government campaign that ended in the 1990s.

MVRDV partner Fokke Moerel said: “The Monument offers a literal embrace for people that have been historically excluded and will provide a safe space to heal, reflect and grow.”

The Lens is designed as an expansive canted form pointing toward the Capital Plateau. The ring in cross-section is a triangle that was once a tool of persecution. The triangle, which now represents a positive symbol of self-identity, is extruded into a circle to resemble a concave lens.

The winning design will be announced in late 2022 while the project is slated for completion in 2025.

Image: Illustration of MVRDV’s proposal for Canada’s LGBTQ2+ National Monument.

Credit: MVRDV.

Image: Artist rendering of a building in the Masaar project. Credit: Arada Developments

Project

Select Group unveils plans for Peninsula Two tower in Dubai

Emirati property developer Select Group has shared details of the Peninsula Two tower, which it plans to build in the heart of Dubai’s Business Bay.

Peninsula Two will provide waterfront living with a mix of residential and commercial units, including studios, one and two-bedroom apartments.

These will be located next to a 66,000ft² community mall, which will feature a large-scale upmarket supermarket, waterfront cafés and restaurants among other amenities.

The units at Peninsula Two are designed to offer views of Burj Khalifa, the Downtown skyline and the Dubai Canal.

Project

Design unveiled for Zugló City Centre in Budapest, Hungary

Zaha Hadid Architects has unveiled the architectural design for Zugló City Centre mixed-use scheme in Budapest’s 14th district in Hungary.

Planned to be built on nearly 7ha site between Bosnyák Square and Rákos Creek, the new centre in Zugló will be developed in phases by Bayer Construct Group.

The construction of the project is scheduled to start in 2022, with completion planned for 2029.

The project will feature new civic spaces together with restaurants and cafes, shops, apartments, offices, a new medical clinic and a town hall. It will also have a network of interconnected gardens and plazas.

Qatar unveils seventh stadium for FIFA World Cup 2022

Qatar has unveiled Stadium 974 (Ras Abu Aboud), the seventh stadium for the FIFA World Cup 2022. Located near Doha Port, the 40,000-seat stadium was constructed using 974 modified shipping containers and modular steel elements. It is designed by Fenwick Iribarren Architects and intended to be fully dismantled and recycled after the tournament.

Willmott Dixon gets approval for special needs school in the UK

Willmott Dixon has received approval to construct a £29m net-zero carbon school in North Wiltshire in the UK. Set to open by September 2023, the new school will be located at Silverwood School’s Rowde campus near Devizes. It will be equipped to offer facilities for 350 pupils with special education needs or disabilities. The building will use biomass boilers and photovoltaic solar panels to help meet its energy needs.

Morgan Sindall selected to deliver new Hertfordshire university building

Morgan Sindall Construction has been selected to deliver the new School of Physics, Engineering and Computer Science for the University of Hertfordshire in the UK. Planned to be built on a central 165,000ft² site at the College Lane Campus in South Hatfield, the building will comprise four separate internal blocks that will be divided by a central atrium. The firm will partner with ADP Architecture and Aecom to design the new five-storey steel-frame building.

Strabag subsidiary and partner to deliver Helaba’s office tower in Germany

Ed Züblin, a subsidiary of Strabag Group, and its consortium partner Dobler Metallbau have received a contract to deliver a 205m-tall office tower for Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen in Frankfurt, Germany. Designed by KSP Engel, the building will be a ‘slender’ office tower with a double, stepped building structure featuring a transparent glass façade. It will have 52 floors above and five below ground.