2008 in architecture
Encyclopedia
The year 2008 in architecture involves some significant events.
Buildings
- January 1 - China Central Television Headquarters building, by Rem KoolhaasRem KoolhaasRemment Lucas Koolhaas is a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist and "Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design" at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, USA. Koolhaas studied at the Netherlands Film and Television Academy in Amsterdam, at the Architectural...
and OMAOffice for Metropolitan ArchitectureOMA , is a Rotterdam based architecture firm of Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas.The firm was founded in 1975 by Rem Koolhaas and Elia Zenghelis with Madelon Vriesendorp and Zoe Zenghelis.-History:...
, officially opens in BeijingBeijingBeijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's... - January 12 - New Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station officially inaugurated.
- January 28 - Beijing National Aquatics Center, known as the "Water Cube", completed for the 2008 Summer Olympics2008 Summer OlympicsThe 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
. - March 26 - Terminal 3 of the Beijing Capital International Airport opens, designed by Foster + Partners.
- March 27 - London Heathrow Terminal 5 opens, by the Richard Rogers Partnership.
- April 12 - New National Opera House opens in OsloOsloOslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
. - June 28 - Beijing National StadiumBeijing National StadiumBeijing National Stadium, also known officially as the National Stadium, or colloquially as the Bird's Nest , is a stadium in Beijing, China. The stadium was designed for use throughout the 2008 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.-History:...
designed by Herzog & de MeuronHerzog & de MeuronHerzog & de Meuron Architekten, BSA/SIA/ETH is a Swiss architecture firm, founded and headquartered in Basel, Switzerland in 1978. The careers of founders and senior partners Jacques Herzog , and Pierre de Meuron , closely paralleled one another, with both attending the Swiss Federal Institute of...
(known as the "Bird's Nest"), opened for the 2008 Summer Olympics2008 Summer OlympicsThe 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
. - August 1 - Opening of the Beijing South Railway StationBeijing south railway stationThe current Beijing South Railway Station is a large railway station on the south side of Beijing that opened on August 1, 2008. The new station replaced the old Beijing South Station, first known as the Majiapu Railway Station and later known as the Yongdingmen Railway Station before 1988, which...
designed by Terry FarrellTerry Farrell (architect)Sir Terry Farrell, CBE, RIBA, FRSA, FCSD, MRTPI is a British architect.-Life and career:Farrell was born in Sale, Cheshire. As a youth he moved to Newcastle upon Tyne, where he attended St Cuthbert's High School. He graduated with a degree from Newcastle University, followed by a Masters in urban...
. - August 28 - Shanghai World Financial CenterShanghai World Financial CenterThe most distinctive feature in the design of the building is an aperture at the peak. The original design specified a circular aperture, in diameter, to reduce the stresses of wind pressure, as well as serve as a subtext for the design, since "Chinese mythology represents the earth with a square...
completed in PudongPudongPudong |Bank]]") is an area of Shanghai, China, located along the east side of the Huangpu River, across from the historic city center of Shanghai in Puxi. Formerly a little-developed agricultural area linked only by ferries, Pudong has grown rapidly since the 1990s and emerged as China's financial...
, ShanghaiShanghaiShanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, ChinaPeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, designed by William PedersenKohn Pedersen FoxKohn Pedersen Fox Associates , an architectural firm responsible for several world-renowned buildings, provides architectural, interior and urban design as well as programming and master planning services for clients in both the public and private sectors...
. - November - Transformation AGO (Art Gallery of OntarioArt Gallery of OntarioUnder the direction of its CEO Matthew Teitelbaum, the AGO embarked on a $254 million redevelopment plan by architect Frank Gehry in 2004, called Transformation AGO. The new addition would require demolition of the 1992 Post-Modernist wing by Barton Myers and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg...
) renovation by Frank GehryFrank GehryFrank Owen Gehry, is a Canadian American Pritzker Prize-winning architect based in Los Angeles, California.His buildings, including his private residence, have become tourist attractions...
is completed. - November 20 - Peter B. Lewis Library at Princeton UniversityPrinceton UniversityPrinceton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, by Frank GehryFrank GehryFrank Owen Gehry, is a Canadian American Pritzker Prize-winning architect based in Los Angeles, California.His buildings, including his private residence, have become tourist attractions...
, officially dedicated. - November 22 - Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, in QatarQatarQatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
is completed, by architect I.M. Pei. - Mountain DwellingsMountain DwellingsMountain Dwellings is an award-winning building in the Ørestad district of Copenhagen, Denmark, consisting of apartments above a multi-storey car park. The building is designed by Danish architectural practice Bjarke Ingels Group...
, designed by Bjarke IngelsBjarke IngelsBjarke Ingels is a Danish architect. He heads the architectural practice Bjarke Ingels Group which he founded in 2006. In 2009 he co-founded the design consultancy KiBiSi...
, is completed in CopenhagenCopenhagenCopenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. - Linked HybridLinked HybridLinked Hybrid is a building complex built in Beijing, China designed by Steven Holl Architects. It was built from 2003 to 2009. Linked Hybrid consists of 644 apartments. It is recognized for its environmental design and uses geo-thermal wells for cooling and heating...
, a nine-tower high-rise housing project by Steven Holl ArchitectsSteven HollSteven Holl is an American architect and watercolorist, perhaps best known for the 1998 Kiasma Contemporary Art Museum in Helsinki, Finland, the 2003 Simmons Hall at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the celebrated 2007 Bloch Building addition to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City,...
, is completed in Beijing, ChinaBeijingBeijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. - Torre Caja MadridTorre Caja MadridThe Torre Caja Madrid is a skyscraper located in the Cuatro Torres Business Area in Madrid, Spain. With a height of and 45 floors, it is the tallest of the four buildings in the Cuatro Torres Business Area complex, surpassing Torre de Cristal by less than a metre, and the tallest building in...
(Caja Madrid Tower) completed in Spain, designed by Foster and PartnersFoster and PartnersFoster + Partners is an architectural firm based in London. The practice is led by its founder and Chairman, Norman Foster, and has constructed many high-profile glass-and-steel buildings....
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Events
- June 20 - The Architects (Recognition of European Qualifications etc and Saving and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2008 comes into force in the UK.
- July 8 - The first in Francesco da MostoFrancesco da MostoFrancesco da Mosto is an Italian architect, author, historian, film maker and television presenter. He presented the three BBC 2 series Francesco's Venice and Francesco's Italy: Top to Toe where he explored the country in his Alfa Romeo Spider and Francesco's Mediterranean Voyage which sees him...
's television series Francesco's Mediterranean VoyageFrancesco's Mediterranean VoyageFrancesco's Mediterranean Voyage is a BBC Television documentary series first aired in 2008. It follows Venetian architect Francesco da Mosto as he follows the historical Venetian trading route from Venice through the Adriatic Sea, Corinth Canal, Aegean Sea and Dardanelles to Istanbul. This route...
is broadcast. - October 2 - The William L. Slayton HouseWilliam L. Slayton HouseThe William L. Slayton House located in the Cleveland Park neighborhood in Washington, D.C., is a house that was designed by I.M. Pei in the International Style...
, designed by I. M. PeiI. M. PeiIeoh Ming Pei , commonly known as I. M. Pei, is a Chinese American architect, often called a master of modern architecture. Born in Canton, China and raised in Hong Kong and Shanghai, Pei drew inspiration at an early age from the gardens at Suzhou...
, is listed in the US National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. - 23 Marina23 Marina23 Marina is a residential skyscraper in Dubai and was built by the Hiranandani Group based in Mumbai, India. The tower has 90 floors and is . It is the world's Tallest all-residential building...
complex is a residential skyscraperSkyscraperA skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
currently under construction in DubaiDubaiDubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
. The tower is set to have 89 floorStoreyA storey or story is any level part of a building that could be used by people...
s and will rise to 395 m (1,296 feet). When this supertall building is complete in 2008, it will bring back the title of the world's tallest residential tower back to Dubai, taking the title from the Q1 TowerQ1 (building)Q1 is a supertall skyscraper located in Surfers Paradise, on the Gold Coast. It is the world's third tallest residential tower after the 348 metre building The Marina Torch in Dubai won formal recognition as the tallest residential building in the world on 29 April 2011 by the Emporis...
in Gold Coast, QueenslandGold Coast, QueenslandGold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
. However, its reign as the world's tallest residential tower will not last for long, as Princess TowerPrincess TowerThe Princess Tower is a residential skyscraper that is under construction in Dubai. It will rise to and have 101 floors. The building was originally proposed at only 90 floors. The supertall will become the tallest residential building in the world and the second tallest building in Dubai upon...
, another building in the same city, is scheduled to take the title in 20092009 in architectureThe year 2009 in architecture involves some significant events.-Buildings:*January 17 - Copenhagen Concert Hall, designed by Jean Nouvel, opens.*January 31 - Porsche Museum, Stuttgart, designed by Delugan Meissl Associated Architects, opens....
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Awards
- American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal – Richard MeierRichard MeierRichard Meier is an American architect, whose rationalist buildings make prominent use of the color white.- Biography :Meier is Jewish and was born in Newark, New Jersey...
- AIA Gold MedalAIA Gold MedalThe AIA Gold Medal is awarded by the American Institute of Architects conferred "by the national AIA Board of Directors in recognition of a significant body of work of lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture."...
- Renzo PianoRenzo PianoRenzo Piano is an Italian architect. He is the recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, AIA Gold Medal, Kyoto Prize and the Sonning Prize...
(Italy). - Architecture Firm AwardArchitecture Firm AwardThe Architecture Firm Award is the highest honor that The American Institute of Architects can bestow on an architecture firm for consistently producing distinguished architecture.Prior recipients of the AIA Architecture Firm Award include:...
- KieranTimberlake AssociatesKieranTimberlake AssociatesKieranTimberlake is an American architecture firm, founded by Stephen Kieran and James Timberlake and located in Philadelphia. The firm espouses a philosophy of sustainable design, collaborative design, and in-depth research...
. - Emporis Skyscraper AwardEmporis Skyscraper AwardThe Emporis Skyscraper Award is an award for architectural excellence regarding the design of buildings and their functionality.The award is presented annually by Emporis to the building representing the "Best new skyscraper for design and functionality". To qualify, nominated buildings must have...
- Mode Gakuen Cocoon TowerMode Gakuen Cocoon Toweris a 204-metre , 50-story educational facility located in the Nishi-Shinjuku district in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. The building is home to three educational institutions: Tokyo Mode Gakuen , HAL Tokyo , and Shuto Ikō...
in Shinjuku, TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. - Grand Prix de l'urbanismeGrand Prix de l'urbanismeThe Grand prix de l'urbanisme is awarded for urban planning in France by the Ministry for Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and Planning. The prize has been awarded annually since 1989, except during the period from 1994 until 1998, when it was not awarded.A book is published each year,...
- David Mangin. - LEAF Award, Grand Prix - schmidt hammer lassenSchmidt hammer lassenSchmidt hammer lassen architects is an international architectural practice founded in 1986 in Aarhus, Denmark. It currently has four offices in Aarhus, Copenhagen, Oslo and London....
for Performers HousePerformers HousePerformers House is a folk high school in Silkeborg, Denmark, specialized in offering programs for young people with a special interest in music, dance and theatre.... - Pritzker PrizePritzker PrizeThe Pritzker Architecture Prize is awarded annually by the Hyatt Foundation to honour "a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built...
- Jean NouvelJean NouvelJean Nouvel is a French architect. Nouvel studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was a founding member of Mars 1976 and Syndicat de l'Architecture...
. - RAIA Gold MedalRoyal Australian Institute of Architects Gold MedalThe Gold Medal is the highest award of the Australian Institute of Architects awarded annually since 1960. The award was created to recognise distinguished service by Australian architects who have:* designed or executed buildings of high merit;...
- Richard JohnsonRichard Johnson (architect)Richard Anthony Johnson MBE B.Arch M. Phil F.RAIA, MDIA, AJIA is an Australian architect best known as the creator of some of the Australian most important and iconic cultural buildings and spaces.-Academic career:...
. - Royal Gold MedalRoyal Gold MedalThe Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture....
- Edward CullinanEdward CullinanEdward Cullinan, CBE, is a British architect.Cullinan was educated at Cambridge University, the Architectural Association, and the University of California, Berkeley before working for Denys Lasdun where he designed the student residences for the University of East Anglia.Cullinan's practice,...
. - Stirling PrizeStirling PrizeThe Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects...
- Feilden Clegg Bradley StudiosFeilden Clegg Bradley StudiosFeilden Clegg Bradley Studios is a British architectural design firm, established in 1978, with offices in London and Bath, United Kingdom. The studio won the Stirling Prize in 2008, and is known for use of solar design and sustainable design....
& Alison Brooks Architects & Maccreanor Lavington. - Vincent Scully PrizeVincent Scully PrizeThe Vincent Scully Prize was established in 1999 to recognize exemplary practice, scholarship or criticism in architecture, historic preservation and urban design...
- Robert A. M. SternRobert A. M. SternRobert Arthur Morton Stern, usually credited as Robert A. M. Stern, is an American architect and Dean of the Yale University School of Architecture....
. - Twenty-five Year AwardTwenty-five Year AwardThe Twenty-five Year Award is an architecture prize awarded by the American Institute of Architects to buildings and structures that have "stood the test of time for 25 to 35 years", and that "[exemplify] design of enduring significance." The project receiving the award can be located anywhere in...
- The AtheneumNew Harmony's AtheneumNew Harmony's Atheneum is the visitor center for New Harmony, Indiana. It is named for the Greek Athenaion, which was a temple dedicated to Athena in ancient Greece...
. - UIAInternational Union of ArchitectsThe International Union of Architects is an international non-governmental organization that represents over a million architects in 124 countries. The UIA was founded in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1948. The General Secretariat is located in Paris...
Gold Medal – Teodoro Gonzalez de LeonTeodoro González de LeónTeodoro González de León is a Mexican architect.- Biography :Gonzales de León studied at the Escuela Nacional de Arquitectura of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México from 1942 to 1947. Thanks to a scholarship by the French government, he worked in France for 18 months with Le Corbusier,...
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Deaths
- January 1 - Harald DeilmannHarald DeilmannHarald Deilmann was a German architect.Born in Gladbeck, Westphalia, Deilmann was best known for his work on public spaces, such as opera houses and museums, throughout Germany and worldwide...
, German architect (b. 19201920 in architectureThe year 1920 in architecture involved some significant events.-Buildings:*The Cenotaph in London, designed by Edwin Lutyens, is completed.*The Legislative Building in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada is completed.-Awards:...
) - January 30 - Fernando HiguerasFernando HiguerasFernando de Higueras Díaz was a Spanish architect. He was one of the most famous architects in the world during the 1970s. He was born in Madrid. He graduated as an architect from the Superior Technical School of Architecture of Madrid in 1959...
, Spanish architect (b. 19301930 in architectureThe year 1930 in architecture involved some significant events.-Buildings:* June 9 – The Chicago Board of Trade Building, designed by Holabird & Roche opens....
) - March 5 - Nader KhaliliNader KhaliliNader Khalili was an Iranian-born architect, writer, and humanitarian who received his philosophical and architectural education in Iran, Turkey, and the United States....
, Iranian architect, writer, and humanitarian (b. 19361936 in architectureThe year 1936 in architecture involved some significant events.-Buildings:* Johnson Wax Headquarters designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.* Obelisk of Buenos Aires designed by Alberto Prebisch.* Florin Court, London, by Guy Morgan and Partners....
) - March 24 - Victor Christ-JanerVictor Christ-JanerVictor F. Christ-Janer was an American modernist architect.Victor Christ-Janer was born in Elysian, Minnesota on March 27, 1915 and raised in nearby Waterville. Mr. Christ-Janer trained in liberal arts, sculpting, painting, and architecture at St. Olaf College from the years 1933-1935...
, American modernist architect (b. 19151915 in architectureThe year 1915 in architecture involved some significant events.-Buildings:* April - The Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition, designed by Jan Letzel, is opened. Today, it is known as the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.-Awards:...
) - March 29 - Ralph RapsonRalph RapsonRalph Rapson was the head of architecture at the University of Minnesota for many years...
, American architect (b. 19141914 in architectureThe year 1914 in architecture involved some significant events.-Buildings:* August 15 - The Panama Canal opens.* Helsinki railway station, designed by Eliel Saarinen is opened.* Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, Paris, designed by Paul Abadie is completed....
) - March 31 - David ToddDavid ToddDavid F. M. Todd was a New York City-based American architect. Todd was best known for designing the Manhattan Plaza complex and serving as chairman of the Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1989 and 1990....
, American architect (b. 19151915 in architectureThe year 1915 in architecture involved some significant events.-Buildings:* April - The Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition, designed by Jan Letzel, is opened. Today, it is known as the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.-Awards:...
) - June 15 - Walter NetschWalter NetschWalter Netsch was an American architect based in Chicago. He was most closely associated with the brutalist style of architecture, as well as the firm of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill. His signature aesthetic is known as Field Theory and is based on rotating squares into complex shapes...
, American architect (b. 19201920 in architectureThe year 1920 in architecture involved some significant events.-Buildings:*The Cenotaph in London, designed by Edwin Lutyens, is completed.*The Legislative Building in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada is completed.-Awards:...
) - July 6 - George TibbitsGeorge Tibbits (composer)George Richard Tibbits was an Australian composer and architect.Tibbits was born in Boulder, Western Australia, to a family of mining prospectors, and when his father returned wounded from the First World War, the family moved to Colac, Victoria, to take up dairying...
, Australian composer and architect (b. 19331933 in architectureThe year 1933 in architecture involved some significant events.-Buildings:*Completion of the Myer Emporium renovation, on Bourke Street, Melbourne....
) - September 18 - Abdur Rahman Hye, Pakistani architect (b. 19191919 in architectureThe year 1919 in architecture involved some significant events.-Buildings:* Grosses Schauspielhaus by Hans Poelzig opened in Berlin* McMahon Building, better known as the World's littlest skyscraper, by J.D...
) - November 14 - Sir Bernard FeildenBernard FeildenSir Bernard Feilden, CBE, FRIBA was a conservation architect whose work encompassed cathedrals, the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal.Feilden was born in Hampstead, London...
, conservation architect (b. 19191919 in architectureThe year 1919 in architecture involved some significant events.-Buildings:* Grosses Schauspielhaus by Hans Poelzig opened in Berlin* McMahon Building, better known as the World's littlest skyscraper, by J.D...
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