Last fall, we spotlighted a mesmerizing exhibition by UK-based rAndom International called “Rain Room.” While we at Architizer sadly missed out on the installation in London, we are thrilled to announce that “Rain Room” is coming to MoMA on May 12th! Now we New Yorkers have the chance to walk through a downpour, without being touched by a single drop of water! And what a relief that will be after a long and gloomy winter. Click through to see more! 

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This project won the 2013 Architizer A+ Jury and Popular Choice Awards in the art galleries category. See the full list of winners here. 

In another Architizer A+ Award upset, “DOMUSae, Spaces for Culture,” an exhibition at Madrid’s Salón de Reinos, swept both the Jury and Popular Choice Prizes for best art gallery. Appealing to professional critics and architecture fans-at-large, “DOMUSae, Spaces for Culture” fuses contemporary gallery spaces with a historic baroque armory. By showcasing a selection of canonical Spanish buildings within an opulent historic edifice, Architects Aparicio + Donaire celebrates the extensive architectural patrimony of Spain in downtown Madrid.

The architects were thrilled to be able to exhibit within Salón de Reinos, a 17th-century wing of the Royal Buen Retiro Palace. The grand halls of the former armory are capped with fresco-covered vaults and elaborate plasterwork from the former days of the colonial Spanish Empire. Chief project architect Jesus Donaire says that the opportunity to use the uninhabited building to house the exhibition “enabled us to construct an exhibition route through the building’s empty spaces. This means that the visitor can simultaneously enjoy the content of the exhibition and experiment by way of spatial transition with new ways of seeing the original building.” Read more after the jump!

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It’s the outhouse refined. The “Superlative Space” room (original Japanese name: gokujo no heya) is an immersive installation that brings the garden into the bathroom, or vice-versa. Designed by architect Naruse-Inokuma Architects and botanical artist Makoto Azuma for the HOUSE VISION 2013 in Tokyo, the room is quite the head trip, a jarring collage of organic plant life, cold white walls, and pristine bathroom fixtures. The latter were furnished by TOTO, who, along with window maker YPP AP, sponsored the project. The room is part of a 1:1 mock-up house, one of the nine that make up the exhibition. Click for more.

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Sketch for Jewish Museum, Berlin

World-famous architect, artist, and set designer Daniel Libeskind produces work that engages the memories and emotions of the public. This force also shines through in his drawings–free-form, elaborate, textural artworks that hypnotically draw the eye into a maze of shades and angles. Hardly resembling architectural sketches, these blueprints offer a peek into his painstakingly intense visioning process.

An ample collection of these stunning drawings will be on view for the first time in Rome. Opening March 11 at the Ermanno Tedeschi gallery, “Never Say the Eye Is Rigid: Architectural Drawings of Daniel Libeskind” features 52 original drawings. The show will then travel to Milan, Turin, Tel Aviv, and New York. Read more!

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Project: BVLGARI Pavilion

Architect: Not a Number Architects

Location: Abu Dhabi

Function: You might have just seen Architizer CEO Marc Kushner’s captivating pictures of his trip to Abu Dhabi on our blog. It reminded us of an amazing installation for Abu Dhabi Art 2012 by Not a Number Architects that was on display from June until November. Commissioned by luxury jewelry brand BVLGARI, this temporary exhibit created a wholly new spatial experience — by using packed acrylic tubes — while remaining faithful to BVLGARI’s heritage. The lounge was conceived as an exclusive and private venue with live music, a bar, and a specially curated selection of BVLGARI’s high-end jewelry. Read more about this project in the Architizer database.

Photos © NaNa

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It’s always great to see what happens when design fields from different ends of the spectrum, say fashion and architecture, mix. Typically, architecture is used as a backdrop to showcase a deisgner’s selected fashions, with the building forms complementing (or contrasting) the clothes and models on display. Still, there is always an exception to the rule— case in point, Joshua DeMonte’s line of wearable accessories that scale down pieces of architecture for the body. The collection incorporates elements of classical architecture such as porticoes, aqueducts, staircases, and arcades into over-the-top collars and  twisted, brick-laden bangles. Read more.

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Project: ICEBERG Montréal

Architect: ATOMIC3

Location: Montréal, Canada

Function: The wildly colorful ICEBERG installation is the latest architectonic spectacle commissioned by Montréal’s Quartier des Spectacles Partnership, which brings cultural enrichment to the city’s prominent urban spaces. ATOMIC3′s installation is formed by series of angled archways that can be passed through, triggering an interactive light and sound show. The dynamic groupings of archways recall icebergs fragmenting from larger ice sheets, starting with passages large enough for adults and gradually shrinking to accomodate children alone. Read more about this project in the Architizer database.

Think you’ve got a better project? Submit it for an Architizer A+ Award!

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Have you ever been to a 55,000-square-foot playground? No? Well, luckily for you (or at least New York City residents) that’s exactly what visual artist Ann Hamilton has installed at the city’s Park Avenue Armory. On display through January 6, 2013, “The Event of a Thread“ is an interactive exhibition that invites visitors to participate in the multisensory installations housed within the space, including taking a ride on the 42 swaying swings. Read more.

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The eighth edition of Design Miami is officially open! This year, Snarkitecture has designed an inflatable pavilion, ”Drift,” that will greet visitors as they arrive at the event. Luckily for us, Architizer’s fearless leader Marc Kushner is there and has been gracious enough to send us a few shots, up close and personal with the enormous suspended structure. Click through to see the photos!

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Salvador Dalí, Mae West Lips Sofa, 1936

“I don’t know the question, but sex is definitely the answer”, Woody Allen once said. Yet designers, more often than not, tend to ignore this piece of wisdom and carefully conceal any references to eros. The Triennale Design Museum chose to exclude the prudes from its new show: KAMA, Sex and Design, on show between December 5 and March 10 2013, showcases a vast selection of works that don’t shy away from carnal matters. Continue.

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