The Darwin Centre at the Natural History Museum in London, designed by C. F. Møller Architects, has been announced winner of the prestigious 2011 Civic Trust Award.

The Civic Trust Awards scheme was established in 1959 to recognise the very best in architecture, design, planning, landscape and public art. Awards are given to projects of the highest quality design, but only if they are judged to have made a positive cultural, social or economic contribution to the local community.

The jury commented on the awarding of the Darwin Centre:

This stunning modern building is an important new addition to The Natural History Museum, bringing people closer than ever before to the important scientific work it carries out by revealing the scientists at work. The contemporary extension offers visitors greater insight into the full spectrum of the museum’s activities. The ‘Cocoon’ at the centre of the design is a beautiful and mysterious object, captured within a spacious glass atrium and the Angela Marmont Centre for UK Biodiversity and the Attenborough Studio inspire a new generation of scientists with their amazingly energetic and helpful staff. The new Darwin Centre makes an enormously positive and extremely elegant contribution to communities far beyond South Kensington, and is a fitting building to inspire scientists of every age.

The Darwin Centre, image courtesy C. F. Møller Architects

C. F. Møller Architects was chosen for the commission in 2001, in competition with 59 other international architectural firms. The Darwin Centre was inaugurated in late 2009, and has won a number of awards for its spectacular and unusual architecture.

Apart from the Civic Trust Award, C. F. Møller Architects has recently been awarded  numerous international prizes including the Residential of the Year WAN AWARDS 2010 for the Siloetten silo-conversion, the Malmö Stadsbyggnadspriset for the Emergencies & Infectious Diseases Unit at Skåne University Hospital, as well as the RIBA International Award and Worldwide Brick Award for the A. P. Møller School in Schleswig.

+ Click here to read earlier story on +MOOD

The Darwin Centre, image courtesy C. F. Møller Architects

Portuguese designer Gonçalo Campos has recently created the Placa Lamp. The lamp shades simply placed on a wooden board. The impact that such a simple premise brings is unexpected. Besides creating a “stage” for placing other objects of interest, (effectively turning into a plinth) it provides room for the relationship between its elements to develop.

The lamps point towards the other essential element in this composition, the switch, creating a special dynamic between all of the elements. The switch is also placed on the wooden board instead of in the cord, making it a part of the lamp, and not just an appendix.

A lamp that despite it’s simplicity boasts character and highlights it’s structure and materials. Keeping this lamp to the very minimum, a base, a lampshade and a switch, makes it all the more impressive.

The base of this lamp is made in solid ash wood and the lampshade in black velvet.

Available in 1, 2 or 3 lampshade versions. Dimensions: 55x100x35cm

Placa lamp is produced by Show Me Gallery editions, sourcing Portuguese artisan’s wisdom and experience.

+ Designer: Gonçalo Campos | http://www.goncalocampos.com/

Placa Lamp, image courtesy Gonçalo Campos

Placa Lamp, image courtesy Gonçalo Campos

Placa Lamp, image courtesy Gonçalo Campos

Placa Lamp, image courtesy Gonçalo Campos

Placa Lamp, image courtesy Gonçalo Campos

WINNERS OF THE 2011 SKYSCRAPER COMPETITION ORGANIZED BY EVOLO MAGAZINE IN NEW YORK CITY

eVolo Magazine is pleased to announce the winners of the 2011 Skyscraper Competition. Established in 2006, the annual Skyscraper Competition recognizes outstanding ideas that redefine skyscraper design through the use of new technologies, materials, programs, aesthetics, and spatial organizations, along with studies on globalization, flexibility, adaptability, and the digital revolution. This is also an investigation on the public and private space and the role of the individual and the collective in the creation of a dynamic and adaptive vertical community. The award seeks to discover young talent, whose ideas will change the way we understand architecture and its relationship with the natural and built environments.

The Jury of the 2011 edition was formed by leaders of the architecture and design fields including: Juan Azulay [principal Matter Management, professor at Southern California Institute of Architecture], CarloMaria Ciampoli [port director Live Architecture Network], Mario Cipresso [principal Studio Shift, professor at University of Southern California], Ted Givens [principal 10 Design], Eric Goldemberg [principal Monad Studio, professor at Florida International University], Jose Gonzalez [principal Softlab, professor at Pratt Institute], John Hill [editor Archidose], Mitchell Joachim [principal Terreform One, professor at New York University], Andrew Liang [principal Studio 0.10., professor at University of Southern California], Javier Quintana [principal Taller Basico de Arquitectura, Dean of IE School of Architecture], Rezza Rahdian [Architect, Second Place 2009 Skyscraper Competition], Michel Rojkind [principal Rojkind Arquitectos], and Michael Szivos [principal Softlab, professor at Pratt Institute]. The Jury selected 3 winners and 32 honorable mentions. eVolo Magazine received 715 projects from all five continents and 95 different countries.

The first place: Atelier CMJN

The first place was awarded to Atelier CMJN (Julien Combes, Gaël Brulé) from France for their 'LO2P Recycling Skyscraper' in New Delhi, India. The project is designed as a large-scale wind turbine that filters polluted air with a series of particle collector membranes, elevated greenhouses, and mineralization baths.

The second place: Yoann Mescam, Paul-Eric Schirr-Bonnans, and Xavier Schirr-Bonnans

The second place was awarded to Yoann Mescam, Paul-Eric Schirr-Bonnans, and Xavier Schirr-Bonnans from France for a dome-like horizontal skyscraper that harvests solar energy, collects rainwater, and preserves the existing urban fabric at ground level thanks to its large skylights and small footprint.

The third place: Yheu-Shen Chua

The recipient of the third place is Yheu-Shen Chua from the United Kingdom for a project that re-imagines the Hoover Dam in the U.S. as an inhabitable skyscraper that unifies the power plant with a gallery, aquarium, and viewing platform that engages the falling water directly.

Among the honorable mentions there are "waterscrapers" that clean oil spills and desalinate sea water, inverted skyscrapers for a floating Olympic villa, recycling towers, research skyscrapers that harvest lightning power, vertical cemeteries and amusement parks, sports skyscrapers, fish farms, and "living mountains" for desert climates. Other proposals use the latest building technologies and parametric design to configure environmentally conscious self-sufficient buildings.

eVolo Magazine would like to acknowledge all the competitors for their effort, vision, and passion for architectural innovation and the members of the Jury for their knowledge, time, and enthusiasm during the long review process.

eVolo Magazine is also pleased to announce the publication of a Limited Edition  book (only 500 copies) that celebrates the sixth anniversary of the prestigious international Skyscraper Competition. With more than 3,000 projects received, we are showcasing the best 300 proposals from the past six years, including 2011, in a large-format hardcover book. Our goal is to edit a true gem of contemporary architecture printed in over one-thousand full-color pages.

+ To order this Limited Edition Book go to http://www.evolo.us/shop

+ All images courtesy eVolo