Ron Arad, one of the most influential designers of our time, has been appointed special adviser of Kosova’s Pavilion for the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale. The decision for his selection was made by the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Memli Krasniqi.
The annual students competition “Society for all ages” organized by UN-HABITAT and ICCC (International Council for Caring Communities), have announced the winners of its 2014 edition. Among the winners of the principal awards of the competition, second entry winners were Kosovar students, Dafine Shllaku and Laura Shllaku, with their project proposal for the development of an integrated community.
Anne Guiney, executive director of The Institute for Urban Design – New York was part of Prishtina Architecture Week 2013. Giving a lecture to the PAW audience about how changes in zoning and Urban policies are impacting New York City urban developments.
So we’re back with another Prishtina Architecture Week 2013 lecture. Presenting Lulzim Kabashi, the Kosovan-born architect from Ivanisin. Kabashi. Arhitekti practice, headquartered in Croatia. Kabashi walked the audience through their studio design projects, and the new developing project of “The New Prishtina” – West Zone regulatory plan.
Prishtina capital is starting to flow and projects keep up going, with once again Urban Plus on the spotlight. Bringing a big focus on reusable and adaptable structures with the Green School project, Urban Plus is yet again laying their ambition of creating a school that raises the level of educational facilities in Kosova, providing a beautiful environment for the cultivation of culture, knowledge, art and ethics.
EUROPAN KOSOVA has just published the results for Europan 12 Competition, taking site in Gjilan. Out of 35 projects submitted by young architects that we’re in the look of a more innovative result of urban solutions, with the theme “The Adaptable City”.
The jury of international architects has unanimously announced their verdict of no first prize winner, announcing the runner up entry with code XX634 and a special mention to the entry with code AH655.
Prishtina Architecture Week 2013 hosted a lecture by the respected architect Enric Ruiz-Geli, the founder of Cloud 9. Presenting his practice works, Enric Ruiz-Geli explained to the Kosovarian audience their office commitment to the use of new technological development and the perfomative dimension of architecture, creating smart structures mimicking nature. A great example of his work is Media –TIC an innovative building project with a net-like steel structure, awarder by WAF 2011 World’s Building of the Year.
Bostjan Vuga together with Jurij Sadar is the co-founder of SADAR + VUGA, one of the most prominent practices from the eastern Europe. Participating in many projects in Kosova, such as the redevelopment proposal Arberia Park and being awarded the second prize winner to the Prishtina Central Mosque international competition, Bostjan Vuga came back giving a lecture during the Prishtina Architecture Week 2013.
INNARCH designed the DON Café interiors in Prishtina, Peja and Belgrade around organically shaped wooden elements. The repeated wooden profiles establish the character of the interiors.
Aaron Levy is the founding Executive Director of Slought Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Philadelphia that engages the public in dialogue about cultural and socio-political change. As part of Prishtina Architecture Week 2013, Aaron Levy gave an inspiring presentation exploring the relationship between architecture and its publics.
During the awards ceremony at the Saatchi Gallery London, on 28 November 2013, World Interiors News Annual Awards 2013 have announced the 2013 winners of the bars category, awarding London/Prishtina based firm 4M Group for their design excellence on Hamam Jazz Lounge.
Watch Bujar Nrecaj of BNArchitects giving a lecture during Prishtina Architecture Week 2013, talking about his own architectural studio and the ideas he is applying since his return to Kosovo. This 60 minutes video lecture tours viewers through his intention of creating a meaningful, powerful and simple architecture, along with his effort of recreating and reinterpreting the urban built environment.
Above is the video lecture of Asa Bruno, the directing architect at Ron Arad Architects which highlights their unique philosophy that challenges the relationship between form and function. The video is part of Prishtina Architecture Week 2013, organized from the 1’st to the 6’th of July unfolding theories from around the world with its lectures and events.
Kosovan architect Arbnor Murati director of the “swiss-kosovan” based practice MORKOTE, on his lecture during Prishtina Architecture Week 2013 gave an insight into their past and current works of his practice. Sharing his design challenges and the success story on winning the prestigious international competition of the Campusuniversity USI/SUPSI, Lugano.
Taking place at the Kosovo’s National Museum in Prishtina, on Sunday 10th of November starting from 18:00, Archis Intervention_Prishtina will be presenting their workshop works of the theme “Dynamic City Prishtina”. As a collaboration of Archis Interventions, SEE, Kai Vöckler / Archis Interventions, Prishtina, Florina Jerliu, Visar Geci, Vlora Navakazi and Wilfried Hackenbroich. The exhibition reflects typologies facilitating exchanges and relationships among youth, history, national identity, education, and economy.
Rethink Space foundation recently announced their upcoming lecture and workshop of Snøhetta Studio, an award-winning international architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design firm based in Oslo Norway, which will be giving a lecture to the audience of Prishtina, at the Modelarium of FCEA Dept. of Architecture, during September 18th – 19th.
Further lecture information and the posters after the break.
By ONUP™
by Attila Beksac
Prishtina seems too hasty these days. The city, which is the youngest capital of both Balkans and Europe has lots of problems to solve while ‘turbo-urbanism’ has taken effect in whole its distritcs .
It can be said, this experience that Prishtina has been tasting since the end of Kosovo War is familiar and has taken its roots from the ex-memories of territory’s rich historical cities. ‘Identity crisis’ seems obviously the most suitable topic to call this developments.
Last week during Prishtina Architecture Week, Urban Plus held an open studio session welcoming students and freelancers of the profession to their working environments, to see what’s been happening by looking around the studios and talking to each of the staff personally about their work. Check for more photos after the break.
Most of us might of noticed the cartoon-colored sidewalk concrete protectors on the narrow street by the Swiss Diamond Hotel, or the colored sidewalk across from the Prishtina`s newly built Cathedral, and wondered whether this street art was vandalism or legal art pieces. Fortunately, these art pieces were the winners of an EU-funded project called Culture for All. Managed by the European Union Office in Kosovo and implemented by ARS PROGETTI SpA (Italy) in July 2012, this competition called young artists and artists’ groups from all over Kosovo to participate in a visual arts prize competition for street art, mural paintings, applied arts, photography and/or installations in urban space. On September of 2012 the jury declared the winner artists, among which was Senat Haliti, an architect from the old city of Prizren who authored the “EU Pavilion”.
After a numerous events in Prishtina Archtitecture Week which included many interesting lectures, screenings and exhibitions, this year’s edition of Prishtina Architecture Week ended with different exhibitions and an architectural tour in Prishtina. This time, the open studio was held in Përparim Rama’s 4M office in Prishtina.
The fifth day of Prishtina Architecture Week, started as usual with the workshops underway, trailed up with the exhibitions held at the Modelarium of FCEA Department of Architecture and at Kosovo’s Academy of Science and Arts. Continuing to the open studio of one of the biggest architectural practices in Prishtina – ANARCH.
Yesterday, July 4th, the Architects Association of Kosova held an emergency meeting at the amphitheater of the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning of Kosova. This meeting was called in Prishtina upon the disapointment that a large number of architects, engineers and planners had on the 2011-2014 leadership of this association. According to them, besides the fact that this association has collected membership money each and every year, there hasnt been one single activity organized by them since late 2011, not even membership confirmations via emial or mail (association’s website confirms these allegations).
On its fourth day, the Prishtina Architecture week stayed true to the planned schedule, starting with workshops, exhibits, open studios, and closing the day with lectures and screenings.
The Prishtina based architecture company ArchiEdu presented Graphisoft ArchiCad 17 to the audience, showing the program’s new platform and advanced features which make it a more reliable tool for architects to use.
The third day of Prishtina Architecture Week followed with a rich programme including exhibitions and lectures. Today’s event started off with workshops in the morning, following through different exhibitions and a presentation by Kosovo Architecture Association.
