Are bug-like designs becoming the latest trend?
German architect Achim Menges’ futuristic installation called the Elytra Filament Pavilion (“elytra” being the wing casings of a beetle), with its 2,000-ft span, can be seen in the courtyard of London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.
And recently the Architectural Competition Concours d’Architecture (AC-CA) awarded first prize to Iranian architect Maryam Fazel and German architect Belinda Ercan, who work out of HLM Architects’ office in Sheffield, England, for their insect-inspired design of the new Moscow Circus School, located in that city’s Twerskoy District, which boasts an up-and-coming artistic scene.
The aim of the single-stage competition, according to AC-CA’s website, was to design a new Circus School to serve as an academy for young aspiring circus performers. The competition was announced on October 27, 2015, and closed for submissions on February 20. First prize was US$3,000, and the first-, second-, and third-prize winning designs would be published in magazines in several countries. The winners were selected in March.
Arch Daily reports that the design proposal—coincidentally called Elytra—opens upward to create a protective shell, as a bug’s might. Roof access would be available to the public (which the school is not, currently), with the goal of creating a cultural hub with waiting and exhibition areas.
HLM Architects' winning design proposal makes the school's activities more visible to the public. Image: Arch Daily.
“Central to this design is its transparency of activities,” stated HLM. The heart of the school will be an open-air amphitheater with wide programming opportunities. The elytra part of the building tower will include training and academic zones, as well as offices and service areas.
“Using the competition as a mechanism within the HLM Academy to further explore different design processes and form making led to a series of extremely interesting and thought-provoking submissions, which challenged our regional teams to deliver ideas within an extremely short space of time,” says Jeremy Picard, HLM’s design director. “We are extremely pleased with the result.”
Related Stories
University Buildings | Feb 18, 2022
On-campus performing arts centers and museums can be talent magnets for universities
Cultural facilities are changing the way prospective students and parents view higher education campuses.
Resiliency | Feb 15, 2022
Design strategies for resilient buildings
LEO A DALY's National Director of Engineering Kim Cowman takes a building-level look at resilient design.
Cultural Facilities | Jan 27, 2022
Growth in content providers creates new demand for soundstage facilities
Relativity Architects' Partner Tima Bell discusses how the explosion in content providers has outpaced the availability of TV and film production soundstages in North America and Europe.
Cultural Facilities | Jan 18, 2022
A building in Times Square aspires to be a marketing and arts tool
The 580-ft TSX Broadway will have several LED signs on its exterior, and host an existing 27,000-sf theater that was hoisted 30 ft above street level.
Cultural Facilities | Dec 16, 2021
Museums and other cultural spaces reconsider how to serve their communities
Efforts to raise capital for cultural buildings became necessary during the COVID-19 health crisis.
Giants 400 | Nov 19, 2021
2021 Cultural Facilities Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. cultural facilities sector
Gensler, AECOM, Buro Happold, and Arup top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest cultural facilities sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2021 Giants 400 Report.
Cultural Facilities | Nov 19, 2021
Goettsch Partners completes Lincoln Park Zoo’s Pepper Family Wildlife Center
The project doubles the size of the previous lion habitat.
Cultural Facilities | Nov 17, 2021
Henning Larsen-designed Shaw Auditorium opens at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
The project celebrated its grand opening as part of HKUST’s thirtieth anniversary celebration.
Cultural Facilities | Oct 19, 2021
Niagara Falls is getting a bigger Welcome Center
The GWWO Architects-designed building will mostly sit on the site of the center it replaces.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Oct 13, 2021
Restoration of Ramova Theater in Chicago’s Bridgeport Neighborhood begins
The building was originally built in 1929.
