Hasta La Ideas

Dezeen Wire: U.S. opinion columnist Harold Meyerson has written an article for the Washington Post in which he challenges assertions made in Walter Isaacson’s bestselling biography of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs that it is America’s ability to produce innovators such as Jobs that will keep them ahead of emerging industrial powers such as China and India.

Meyerson opines that Silicon Valley’s creativity and technical expertise are not enough to revitalise the American economy, arguing that it is more important that Apple consider relocating production back to the U.S. He concludes his piece by stating that: “Absent manufacturing, innovation, even at its Jobsian heights, can’t do much for the U.S. economy — save, perhaps, dazzle us on our journey downward.”

See all of our stories about Steve jobs and Apple.

Dezeen Wire: the winning designs in 12 of the completed project categories at the World Architecture Festival awards have been announced. The winners were selected from over 700 entries from 66 countries around the world and will now go forward to compete for the overall prize of World Building of the Year 2011, to be announced tomorrow together with the prizes for Structural Project of the Year 2011 and Future Project of the Year 2011.

Winning projects included a waste treatment facility in Barcelona that is integrated into its surroundings, a speed skating stadium in Inzell, Germany and a church converted from an old metal workshop in the USA. Full details of the category winners are listed below.

Four more awards for completed projects will be announced today, as well as nine future project winners. A ‘super-jury’ of influential architectural and urban designers, led by distinguished urban design specialist Michael Sorkin, will then deliberate on the overall winners.

The World Architecture Festival is currently taking place at the Centro de Convenciones Internacionales de Barcelona until 4 November, alongside the Inside world festival of interiors. Dezeen are also in Barcelona for the event this week and you can find out what we’re up to here.

Here is some more information from the World Architecture Festival:

WAF Awards Day One Category Winners Announced at World Architecture Festival Awards 2011

Twelve buildings from around the world have today been announced as winners on the first day of the World Architectural Festival (WAF) Awards 2011.
The presentation of the WAF Awards is taking place during the largest global celebration of architecture – the World Architecture Festival, which is being held in Barcelona (CCIB) this week.

Speaking at the WAF Awards 2011 Paul Finch, WAF Programme Director, said: “The World Architecture Festival is the world’s largest, live, truly inclusive and interactive global architectural awards programme. Attracting entries from internationally renowned practices to small local architects, the stellar quality of this year’s designs demonstrates their commitment to designing the world’s most exciting buildings. This year we’ve attracted more entries than ever before, with more than 700 submissions from 66 different countries. Our congratulations go to the winners for truly accomplished projects.”

The WAF Awards day one winners are as follows:

World Holiday Building of the Year:

Raas, Jodhpur, India, The Lotus Praxis Initiative, India

A luxury boutique hotel in the old city of Johhpur, which features 17^th and 18^th century period structures that have been restored using traditional crafts and materials, to provide visitors with a sensual contemporary experience.

World Production, Energy, & Recycling Building of the Year:

Waste Treatment Facility, Barcelona, Spain, Batlle & Roig Architects, Spain

This facility consists of two large treatments at different levels, under one roof, which aims to integrate with the land.

World Villa of the Year:

InBetween House, Nagano, Japan, Koji Tsutsui & Associates, Japan

Surrounded by Japanese larch trees in a mountainous region of Karuizawa, Japan, this 178sqm house sits on an artificially levelled area of the site created thirty years ago and left unused – see our previous story.

World Landscape Project of the Year:

A Mother River Recovered – The Sanlihe Greenway, Qian’an City, China, Turenscape, China

Transformation of a former garbage dump and sewage drainage facility into a ecological landscape and habitat for native biodiversity, integrating pedestrian and cycle paths for recreation and commuting uses.

World Transport Building of the Year:

Kurilpa Bridge, Brisbane, Australia, Cox Architecture/ Cox Ryaner Architectects, Australia

Kurilpa Bridge provides a new pedestrian and cycle connection across Brisbane’s river but also forms a new public space, as well as a symbol for art, science, technology and healthy living.

World House of the Year:

Small House, Sydney, Australia, Domenic Alvaro, Australia

The ultra-compact vertical house is located in an urban setting and features an outdoor room on the top floor. It was designed by Alvaro not only to be his own home, but also to test a development model for downtown urban living as an alternative to the ubiquitous luxury apartment.

World Civic and Community Building of the Year:

Saint Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church, USA,  Marlon Blackwell Architect.

The church is the result of a transformation of an existing metal shop building into a sanctuary and fellowship hall in anticipation of a larger adjacent sanctuary on the same site. The simple original structure is enveloped by a new skin, obscuring and refining the original gabled form.

World New & Old Building of the Year:

Puzzle Piece, Canary Islands, Spain, Romera y Ruiz Arquitectos, Spain

A cover for a patio in a nursery school for children to protect their play area from sun and rain, allowing all-weather play. The cover is shaped like a puzzle piece with gaps allowing light in.

World Learning Building of the Year:

Sainsbury Laboratory, Cambridge, UK, Stanton Williams, UK

The Sainsbury Laboratory is an 11,000 sq.m. plant science research centre set in the University of Cambridge’s Botanic Garden, and brings together world-leading scientists in a working environment of the highest quality. The design reconciles complex scientific requirements with the need for a piece of architecture that also responds to its landscape setting – see our previous story.

World Office Building of the Year:

Media-ICT, Barcelona, Spain, Cloud 9, Spain

The project was commissioned by The Consortium of the Zona Franca CZFB and @22Barcelona, an experimental district in the city. The architects were extremely interested in the digital city model based on information, communication and technology, with the idea of a city where what matters is knowledge, added value and patents.

World Culture Building of the Year:

Shima Kitchen, Tonosyotyo, Japan, Architects Atelier RYO ABE, Japan

An arts centre and restaurant situated on a rural island in Western Japan. The building features an awning made of charred timber shingles, which are tied loosely to the main frame of the building to create an illusion of shimmering feathers in the wind.

World Sport Building of the Year:

Speedskating Stadium Inzell – Max Aicher Arena, Inzell, Germany, Projektarbeitsgemeinschaft Behnisch Architekten Pohl Architekten, Germany

Intelligent roof free of interior columns, built over pre-existing speed-skating track, which allows athletes and spectators continuous panoramic views over the Bavarian Alps.

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Inside 2011: finally, Table No.1 by NHDRO wins the bars and restaurants category at the Inside awards in Barcelona.

See all our stories about restaurants and bars here.

We’ve been posting the winners on Dezeen Wire as they’re announced throughout the day  – see all the shortlisted projects here and all the announcements here.

Inside world festival of interiors is taking place on the third floor of the Centro de Convenciones Internacionales de Barcelona until 4 November – see all our stories about Inside here, including interviews with the judges on Dezeen Screen.

Inside 2011: Bar Code Office by Singapore studio Ministry of Design has just been announced as the winner of the offices category at the inaugural Inside awards in Barcelona.

See all our stories about offices here and more work by Ministry of Design on Dezeen here.

We’ll be posting the winners on Dezeen Wire as they’re announced throughout the day  – see all the shortlisted projects here and all the announcements here.

Inside world festival of interiors is taking place on the third floor of the Centro de Convenciones Internacionales de Barcelona until 4 November – see all our stories about Inside here, including interviews with the judges on Dezeen Screen.

Inside 2011: in our next round of Inside awards in Barcelona, Strelein Warehouse by Ian Moore Architects has just been announced as the winner of the residential category.

The project involved converting a former grocery warehouse in Sydney into a two-storey home.

See all our stories about residential interiors here.

We’ll be posting the winners on Dezeen Wire as they’re announced throughout the day  – see all the shortlisted projects here and all the announcements here.

Inside world festival of interiors is taking place on the third floor of the Centro de Convenciones Internacionales de Barcelona until 4 November – see all our stories about Inside here, including interviews with the judges on Dezeen Screen.

Here are some more details from Ian Moore Architects:

This project is the conversion of a late 19th century former grocery warehouse into a 2 level, one bedroom residence. In the mid 20th century it had 35 years of use as an engineering workshop before being converted to an artist’s studio and residence in the 1970s.

The property has 2 street frontages, allowing clear separation of pedestrian and vehicle entries. The new front door is located in the former loading dock at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac, adjacent to a heritage listed sandstone wall. The entry is defined by a full height steel plate portal, adding to the palimpsest of former window openings and recycled brickwork that make up this façade.

Internally a 1.7 metre height difference between the 2 streets is utilised to create the tall volume of the living space, with its’ floor to ceiling wall of books. The kitchen occupies the half level above, overlooking the living area and is screened by a black steel plate structure incorporating a built-in black leather bench seat. The garage opens off the kitchen, with its’ internal dimensions defining the major strategic move within the design. Once the guest bathroom/laundry/storage and the stair opposite were deducted from the internal width, together with the minimum width required for the garage, the remainder was 10 millimetres with which to construct the wall between the garage and stair. This led to the adoption of the 10 millimetre thick steel plate structure that flows through to the entry portals, the kitchen surround and bookcase.

All existing structure has been retained, lined and painted white, while all new elements are painted black. This concept is carried through to the black and white rubber flooring. All joinery is finished in black anodised aluminium, including the bathroom on the upper level, which maintains the datum established by the height of the original window openings. The clear glazing above allows light from the new clerestory window to illuminate the formerly dark centre of the deep open planned space. Internally the bathroom is lined with Corian on both walls and floor.

The main street façade reinterprets the original but in steel rather than timber, with the address spelt out in water jet cut steel letters reflecting the original engineering workshop signage. The contrast between the precision of the steelwork and the patina of the original brickwork summarises the transformation from 19th to 21st centuries and from industrial to residential.”