Casanova+Hernandez architects | News

Helena Casanova has been invited as a Keynote Speaker to inaugurate the International Symposium ‘Stretch the Edge’ at the Ancient Monastery of Santa Chiara in the Repubblica di San Marino. In the words of the organizers ‘the symposium intends to be a place ​of exchange for practices and processes in which design –acting as a bridge between people, economics, environment and society– is considered a key element for the reactivation, regeneration and enhancement of these territories.’​
The lecture will take place on Thursday 22nd June at 10.30 am.

The work of Casanova + Hernandez will be presented at the IBA’27 Festival in the city of Stuttgart.
2027 is the exhibition year of the International Building Exhibition (IBA) of the Stuttgart City Region. This year, the first big IBA’27 festival, will run with street festivals, performances, innovation workshops, and the big IBA’27 exhibition. In this exhibition some national and international building projects will be shown as exemplary and inspirational architectural solutions from all over the world. The exhibition will run for three months and will open at the start of the festival on June 23, 2023.

On May 3th, Casanova+Hernandez Architects in joint venture with MetroPOLIS has presented the definitive design of the masterplan of Gjirokastra Castle in Gjirokastra. The presentation was open to the public and was attended by Mr. Flamur Golemi, Mayor of Gjirokastra, representatives of the Municipality of Gjirokastra and the Ministry of Culture. The project will reclassify the castle as a tourist attraction and will update its facilities and cultural offer for residents and visitors to the city.

Casanova+Hernandez Architects, together with local partner iRI, have presented the concept design for the New National Historical Museum in Tirana.

With a team of 31 (international and local) senior experts from different fields and our curators and regular collaborators, a museum for all kinds of target groups has been defined, open to all, understanding it as a meeting point in the city of Tirana. The new design envisages more permanent and temporary exhibition spaces, making it as dynamic as possible. It is also planned to have more educational spaces for activities for children, as well as rooms for experts’ meetings, workshops, bookstores, facilities for visitors and spaces dedicated to the digitization and restoration of the artifacts.

https://eu4culture.al/experts-discuss-new-design-for-the-national-historical-museum/

The Guardian has included the Marubi Museum in its list of ten European museums featuring ‘amazing design, insights into history and gorgeous outdoor spaces’. Over the Marubi Museum in particular they mention that ‘The Marubi National Museum of Photography in the northern city of Shkodër is a marvel’.

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2022/oct/06/readers-favourite-museums-and-galleries-in-europe

ALMONIT project aims to increase and improve connectivity between Italy, Montenegro and Albania through multidimensional rehabilitation of inland vessel traffic, piers, new routes for maritime transport and other studies in maritime sectors.

Casanova+Hernandez Architects have participated in this program by raising public awareness about it through the development of a musealization project focused on transport and navigation along Buna River and Shkodra Lake between Italy, Albania and Montenegro considering the interpretation of the history and nature of Shkodra Lake and Buna River.

Casanova+Hernandez Architects have also been responsible for the cross border, regional and local workshops related to information and visibility of ALMONIT project and have also created an Awareness Campaign for the promotion of ALMONIT project through the publication of articles, the creation of videos and the spreading of information through social media and public activities in the public space.

In this meeting between the representatives of Shkodra Municipality, ADF, Tivar Municipality and other actors, Casanova+Hernandez Architects, one of the main contributors to the development planning in the area of the Lake and the entrance to the city of Shkodra, have presented the vision for an integrated development of the entire area.

ALMONIT Project is financed by the European Union, through the IPA Adriatic CBC Program Italy – Montenegro – Albania and it is implemented by the Albanian Development Fund.

Casanova+Hernandez Architects have been awarded, together with their joint venture partners SRP Schneider & Partner (Germany) and SRP Albanian Engineering, the master plan for the development of 250 Ha for the Experimental University Farm and the Agro-Tourism Recreational Space of the Agricultural University of Tirana (UBT), financed by the Albanian Development Fund.

Only 10 km from Tirana, this development project will focus on the sustainable development of the territory by treating it as a micro-region and will include: physical transformation of infrastructure including environmental regeneration, development of human resources, application of innovative models of food production and circular economy, oriented towards the future, technology, and information, creating synergy between interest groups and transforming the space into a center of human capital and knowledge.

The theme park will also serve as a unique destination in the list of regional attractions, functioning as a magnetic pole providing opportunities for family entertainment by creating nature sports activities and interactive learning. Educational activities will be planned for children and young people who can spend their time in nature learning about work processes and planting products or even tending farm animals.

Casanova+Hernandez Architects have been awarded, together with their joint venture partners iRI, the “Restoration, Reconstruction, and Musealization project of the National Historical Museum in Tirana”, Albania.

The National Historical Museum is the most important and the largest museum in the country, and it hosts a number of exhibitions featuring artifacts and representing narratives of different historical periods.

The award-winning team is made up of 31 (international and local) senior specialists from different fields, including, apart from several architects and exhibition designers, Albanologists, historians, archaeologists, ethnographers, iconographers, audience experts, marketing-business experts, multimedia experts, experts in lighting design, archivists, experts in the specific requirements to preserve and storage cultural heritage assets, and curators. This team will work closely together with our regular team of architects and designers.

The project is funded by the European Union and is implemented by UNOPS in close partnership with the Albanian Ministry of Culture and it aims as well at remedying the damages created by former earthquakes in Tirana.

On June 14, 2022 in the framework of the project “Master Plan of Interventions for the Entrance of the City of Shkodra and the Requalification of the Western Shore of Lake Shkodra”, Casanova+Hernandez Architects, in joint venture with SRP Albanian Engineering and SRP Schneider & Partner Ingenieur-Consult GmbH, have held a stakeholders’ presentation with the presence of the chairman Mr. Bardh Spahia, the staff of Shkodër Municipality and the staff of the Albanian Development Fund, headed by its director, Mr. Dritan Agolli for the presentation of the Final Idea Project.

This project will re-qualify the park at the entrance of the city, giving a new vision for the sustainable development in the service of tourism for the entrance gate of Shkodra.

Our project Albanian Carpet for the city of Shiroka, Shkodra, has been selected for the final round of the European Prize for Urban Public Space 2022 .

From a total of 326 entries, the Jury has selected 25 works. In the Prize Archive our project will be featured among the best projects that have presented for the Prize since it was first awarded in 2000.

The European Prize for Urban Public Space is a biennial initiative of the Centre of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona (CCCB) and according to the organizers: ‘it aims to recognise and make known the best works creating, recovering and improving public space in Europe.’

Our project Albanian Carpet for the city of Shiroka, Shkodra, has been awarded in the SRC Design Award 2021, professional category.
According to the organizers, the award is given to ‘organizations and individuals whose work leads the way in creating innovative and dynamic streetscape’.

With pleasure we would like to announce that our project for the Requalification Western Coast Shkodra Lake in Shiroka, Albania, has been nominated for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in its 2020-2022 cycle.

As the organizers self state in their website: the Aga Khan Award for Architecture is given every three years to projects that set new standards of excellence in architecture, planning practices, historic preservation and landscape architecture.

Our project Albanian Carpet for the city of Shiroka, Shkodra, has been shortlisted for the final evaluation of SRC Design Award 2021, professional category.

The final winners will be announced soon.

According to the jury: The participating projects of this SRC Streetscape Design Award have strong comprehensiveness, high quality and good completion, which represent the future development direction of the city’s streetscape.

CHA has been awarded with his joint venture partners SRP Schneider & Partner (Germany) and their Albanian subsidiary company, SRP Albanian Engineering, for the “Development Concept, master plan of interventions at the entrance of Shkodra and the project of requalification of the western shore of Lake Shkodra”, Albania, financed by the Albanian Development Fund.

Our project Albanian Carpet for the city of Shiroka, Shkodra, has been nominated for the Archdaily Awards.

Voting is open for the next two weeks!

Our project Albanian Carpet for the city of Shiroka, Shkodra, has been awarded winner in the category Landscape and Urban Design:

Our project Albanian Carpet for the city of Shiroka, Shkodra, has been awarded winner in the category Urban Design:

Our project Albanian Carpet for the city of Shiroka, Shkodra, has been awarded the best project in the category Landscape-Public Space:

It is an honor to announce that our project ‘Albanian Carpet’ is part of the longlist of Dezeen Awards 2021.
From over 4,700 entries from 87 countries to Dezeen Awards this year, our project is at the moment one of 305 architecture projects that are in the running for awards in the 12 different architecture project categories.

We are very happy to be part of June issue of the German magazine ‘Art’. On one page you have an article about Beuys and on the following one, you can read something about our work. A great honor!

CHA has been awarded with his joint venture partners MetroPOLIS l.t.d. and G & K ltd., for the “Gjirokastra Castle Sustainable Management and Tourism Valorization Masterplan”, Albania, financed by the Albanian Development Fund. This is a Project for Integrated Urban and Tourism Development (PIUTD).

Our work is published in the issue of June dedicated to Green Infrastructure and Sustainable Design.
According to the Editor: ‘Fortunately, with the development of our profession, there are more and more people focusing on the hard work and devoting themselves into fundamental research and efforts of this kind’

The Marubi Museum has been selected by leading professionals in the field of museology who have acted as judges for the European Museum of the Year Award as one of the 50 most influential museums of the last 40 years.

Marubi Museum is selected together with the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the British Galleries at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London among others in this publication.

According to the authors:
Revisiting Museums of Influence presents 50 portraits of a range of European museums that have made striking innovations in public quality over the past 40 years. In so doing, the book demonstrates that excellence can be found in museums no matter their subject matter, scale, or source of funding.
…the portraits describe museums that had, or should have had, an influence on other museums around the world.

The “Marubi” file is now ready for submission to UNESCO. The file will be submitted for candidacy to UNESCO, in the program “Memory of the World Register”.

The design of CHA for House Museum Ismail Kadare consists of the restoration and musealization of the birth house of the Albanian writter Ismail Kadare in Gjirokastra.

The project includes the interior design, the exhibition design of the permanent and temporary exhibitions, the museum’s visual identity and the business and management plan for the first five years.

The design of CHA for the new Ethnographic Museum of Gjirokastra consists of the restoration and musealization of the birth house of Enver Hoxha in Gjirokastra.

The project includes the interior design, the exhibition design of the permanent and temporary exhibitions, the museum’s visual identity and the business and management plan for the first five years.

With pleasure we would like to announce that our project for the Requalification Western Coast Shkodra Lake in Shiroka, Albania, has been nominated for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture-Mies van der Rohe Award 2022.

As the organizers self state in their website: the prize, that is granted every two years, aims to recognise and commend excellence in European architecture in conceptual, social, cultural, technical and constructive terms.

With the project “Public Space Acupuncture after the corona crisis” CHA is investigating the impact of various degrees of (temporary) Corona measures on the design and layout of our public spaces.
Together with engineering and consultancy firm Arup and the municipality of Amsterdam, research is being conducted into how resilient Post-Coronavirus cities can be built in the future. To this end, the research analyzes various ‘Windows of Opportunity’ that emerged from the crisis period and that can improve the design of public space in terms of sustainability, mobility and social cohesion.
The intended results are a catalog with temporary solutions to adapt public spaces to the crisis situation, various essays and a concrete test case in Amsterdam Oud-West. These will eventually result in lectures, workshops, a website and a publication.

The project is conceived as a network of landscape and architectural interventions located along the Drin river cascade that includes the National Museum of Albanian Hydropower, Koman Lake Visitors Center, viewing platforms, scenic paths, and three harbors. The main objective of the project is to create new fluvial and terrestrial eco-tourism routes that highlight the cultural and natural values of the area to stimulate the cultural tourism and local economy.

CHA has contributed to the publication with the essay ‘Building Knowledge in Interdisciplinary Design’. The book, published by Nobuko, Argentina, has been edited by the Spanish professors Daniel Gimeno and Miguel Guitart, with prologue from Alberto Campo Baeza, Spanish professor from ETSAM. The essay analyses CHA design methodologies and practical experience leading multidisciplinary teams to give answer to complex international commissions.

The project, financed by the World Bank, consists of the design and supervision of a tourist-friendly museum system in the UNESCO city of Gjirokastra. The system proposes new museums, cultural uses and activities in the frame of a coordinated business plan. The project includes the restoration of historical buildings and museums, which are activated with new museological projects, interior designs and exhibitions. It also includes the design and interpretation project of historic paths and squares linking the different museums.

CHA has contributed to the publication with the essay ‘The Future of ADL Dwellings-Experimental Re-Designs for the Impaired’. The book, published by Routledge in London, has been edited by the Swedish professors Sten Gromark and Bjorn Andersson. The essay analyses CHA experience building special dwellings for people with severe mobility restrictions that allow them to live independently helped by home automation and punctually by qualified assistants.

Our zero-emissions building for the new Municipal office building and the City Museum of Tirana is finalist in a restricted international competition. Our team of experts has developed an innovative building for 1380 employees based on the zero carbon / zero energy / zero water / zero waste approach. The building is designed to obtain the LEED Zero (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certificate.

The development plan set the guidelines for the sustainable development of an area of 77.8 ha. along the Drin River cascade and three hydropower plants. The plan restores the landscape along the river and interprets the tangible and intangible cultural values helping to develop the region as a recreational and tourist area compatible with its environmental and cultural values.

The experts panel of the competition Urban Confluence Silicon Valley has recommended our submission to the Jury for consideration, along with 46 other submissions after the CCP reviewed and rated all 963 qualified submissions. The CCP is comprised of 34 local community leaders, artists, architects, environmentalists, and business leaders and has convened for two days of deliberation sessions.

The reconstruction of Shiroka Square in Shkodra lake which covers an area of 20.000 m2 is near completion. Shkodra Lake, Albania.

As the client states: ‘The reconstruction of the square of Shiroka is a project that is expected to be joined in the future with the other project related to the reconstruction of the western shore of the Lake Shkodra. The investment aims to turn the village of Shiroka into an important recreational, cultural and tourist center, urging activities that take place near the lake and to renew the history and tradition of the area.’

The building should be a zero-emmissions one and will include the new room for the plenary sessions of the Municipality of Tirana, Albania.

The main objective of this commission is to carry out the analysis of the historical and socio-economic values of the study area, and to develop a plan for transforming the Drin Cascade zone into a tourist asset leading to the improvement of the area for both inhabitants and tourists alike.
Vau i Dejes, Komani, Fierza, Albania.

Both plans form part of an urban acupuncture strategy focused on regenerating the urban fabric damaged by earthquake that took place in November 2019. New residencial buildings where the affected families will be relocated are mixed with preserved existing buildings, new facilities and public space interventions. Durres, Albania.

The architectural and museological projects of the Ethnographic Museum and the Kadare House Museum in Gjirokastra enter their definitive design phase.

The two existing buildings will be restored and fully upgraded to international contemporary museological standards in order to improve tourism and local economy in the UNESCO city of Gjirokastra.

The reconstruction of Shiroka Square in Shkodra lake has started and will cover an area of 20.000 m2.

Helena Casanova has participated as an expert in devising and implementing urban planning processes that are inclusive and that give residents and other stakeholders a greater role than in standard top-down planning during the workshops of the Lab#5 held in Nissewaard on Feb 20-21 and organized in the framework of the “New Towns, Arrival Cities” programme 2017-2019.

Thursday February 25, 2019
De Vuurvogel School (tbc), Nissewaard

The Marubi National Museum of Photography has been selected for the BIG SEE Architecture Award 2019. The project has also been nominated for the Best Project (Grand Prix) in the category Public and Commercial Architecture.

Big Architecture Festival on April 17, 2019
Ljubljana, Slovenia

The project named Design and Supervision Gjirokastra System of Museums, in the UNESCO protected city of Gjirokastra is part of the Project for Integrated Urban and Tourism Development (PIUTD) program.

It includes among others the re-qualification of the Castle of Gjirokastra / Museum of Gjirokastra / National Museum of Armaments / Prison Museum / Ethnographic Museum / Ismail Kadare House / The Cold War Tunnel.

The project consists of the design and supervision of the building site of a tourist-friendly museum system and includes the restoration, renovation and definition of new uses of the existing museums; curatorial projects; exhibitions design; business models for all the museums; definition of activities program for the museums; thematic interpretative paths (public spaces) among museums; and the activity program in the study area.

The proposed strategy for the regeneration of the site aims to provide varied recreational and cultural programs in the different parts of the site attractive for all kinds of target groups. It reuses existing structures and creates new landmarks, all of them characterized by a specific identity and storytelling.

The strategy recreates the three historical and cultural landscapes of the site: the natural landscape, the fishery landscape and the industrial landscape through three thematic paths: the Forest Path, the Fishermen Path and the Dockyard Path.

Helena Casanova has been invited to participate as a Panel Member in one of the round tables of the International New Town Day organized by INTI in Rotterdam.

Thursday, November 15, 2018 / 14.45
http://www.newtowninstitute.org/spip.php?article1285

Frampton Marsh is on the Lincolnshire shore of The Wash, the most important estuary for wildlife in UK. The reserve is an internationally important place for wintering wildfowl and a crucial place for both migrating and breeding waders.

CHA will realize will realize some landscape interventions where culture, history and nature will be combined.

Casanova+Hernandez has been invited by Het Nieuwe Instituut to be part of their first series of Studio Visits. During this visit, the office will show their work, will explain their position as international designers and their design methods.

Studio Visits is a series of evenings dedicated to contemporary architectural practice, its challenges and possibilities.

Friday June 15, 2018 / 17.00
Lombardkade 23a, Rotterdam

Jesus Hernandez will give a lecture and will participate in a round table at the Bizkaia Aretoa auditorium within the frame of the BIA congress about Landscape and Territory / Productive Landscape: How to produce taking into account distribution, waste, consumption? How to generate short cycles, local productions and eco-sustainable territorial strategies? What role can urban agriculture play in the redefinition of country-city boundaries?

Wednesday June 20, 2018
Bizkaia Aretoa / Abandoibarra Etorb. 3, Bilbao / Spain

Short-listed proposals have been selected based on their innovative and sustainable approach.
The public presentation will take place on March 22nd at Factory Berlin in Mitte. The presentations are scheduled to start at 20.00

Frampton Marsh is on the Lincolnshire shore of The Wash, the most important estuary for wildlife in UK. The reserve is an internationally important place for wintering wildfowl and a crucial place for both migrating and breeding waders.

Helena Casanova will give a lecture at the School of Architecture of the University of Navarra in Pamplona.

Friday February 16, 2018 / 12.30 PM
School of Architecture. University of Navarra / Calle Universidad, B33 / Pamplona, Spain

The Marubi National Museum of Photography has been shortlisted as one of the candidates for the Big Architecture awards, category of landscape architecture.

Helena Casanova and Jesus Hernandez, guests professors at the University of Navarra, Architectural Design Department.

Presentation of the course at the Main Auditorium of the School of Architecture on Friday January 12, 2018 / 9.30 AM

Helena Casanova will give a lecture at Ryerson University, Toronto. The lecture will form part of the Department of Architectural Science, Ryerson, 2017/18 lecture series.

Thursday January 25, 2018 / 6:30 PM
Ryerson University / 325 Church Street / Toronto, Ontario

Marubi National Museum of Photography is presented by Jesus Hernandez in the 10th Regional Restoration Camp in Gjirokastra, Albania. The event is organized by the Albanian brunch of the Cultural Heritage Without Borders organization.

Casanova+Hernandez architects has been selected to participate in the New Town Lab of Alamar organized by INTI (International New Town Institute). During the New Town Lab, a team of international designers and experts will come up with a convincing and innovative concept for the future of Alamar, combining three topics: participation, food production and water.

This task combines the technical and architectural issues of water collection, the design and incorporation of food production in the district, and the social question of the mobilization of residents. The purpose of the workshop is to unite all these aspects in the design of public space.

The design phase of the master plan for the requalification of the western part of the Shkodra Lake has started comprising a study area of 115 Ha.

79,300 m2 of recreational areas, beaches, public spaces and facilities will be built together with the new Shkodra Lake Museum and the renovation of the waterfront facade of Shiroka village.

With pleasure we would like to share with you that the Marubi National Museum of Photography has been nominated for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture Mies van der Rohe Award 2017.

As the organizers self state in their website: the prize, that is granted every two years, aims to recognise and commend excellence in European architecture in conceptual, social, cultural, technical and constructive terms.

The proposal works as an urban connector articulated around a rich public space designed for linking citizens to nature and to the industrial heritage, but also for linking the inhabitants living in the different districts of the Hybrid City among them.

The project aims to mix urbanity with nature thanks to a new sinuous and iconic lakefront that maximizes the views over the lake. The plan proposes a hybrid mobility system that seeks to reduce daily commuting and it also minimizes the use of private vehicles in the area.

With pleasure we would like to share with you that the Marubi National Museum of Photography has been nominated for the EMYA 2017 (European Museum Year Award).

Forty six museums have been shortlisted this year. The award ceremony will be held in Zagreb in May 2017.

The article written by Casanova+Hernandez “The Future of ADL dwellings: Innovation at multiple levels” has been published by the architectural magazine De Architect.

The article analyzes the importance of the ADL dwellings for the social integration of handicapped people, and underlines the crucial role of design innovation, social innovation and financial innovation to create a new generation of ADL dwellings.

The Korean publisher Damdi has released a new architectural monograph focused on the work of 18 design teams around the world.

The book analyzes the relation between architectural conceptualization and its presentation to the public. The publication illustrates the communication tools of the different offices with 18 PowerPoint presentations and interviews to the architects.

The competition is focused on the transformation and extension of an abandoned military bunker built by the Japanese army in the city of Busan. The proposal extends the existing bunker with a star-shaped land-art intervention named “Open Bunker” that works as a public plaza excavated in the hill, equipped with cultural and recreational facilities.

The intervention is a new urban landmark that marks the access to the site, makes the bunker visible to the public and brands the new cultural complex and the city of Busan.

After its opening to the public, the Marubi National Museum of Photography in Shkoder has become the focus of attention of the Albanian media being visited by hundreds of Albanians and tourists during the first days.

The new building and its museographic project open a new generation of contemporary museums in Albania, which not only aims to restore and protect the Albanian cultural heritage, but also to work as an attraction pole for local and foreign visitors with the final objective of spreading locally and internationally the richness of the Albanian Culture.

Casanova+Hernandez has initiated the diffusion of the research “The Future of the ADL-cluster: social integration of people with disabilities”. The research aims to arise the public debate about the social integration of handicapped people in the Dutch society via ADL dwellings and to promote new projects and programs in this field in collaboration with municipalities, health organizations, housing corporations and organized groups of people with special needs.

The spreading will consist of a series of lectures, debates, articles and a publication on the topic.
Parties interested in the diffusion of the research can download a short resume in the attached link.

The Prime Minister of Albania, Mr. Edi Rama, and the Minister of Culture, Mrs. Mirela Kumbaro, have opened officially the Marubi National Museum of Photography designed by Casanova+Hernandez Architects in Shkoder.

The public ceremony has been programmed during the day of Europe, May 9th, and has been followed by many European representatives such as the ambassador of the Netherlands Mrs. Dewi van de Weerd, the European Union ambassador, Mrs. Romana Vlahutin, and representatives of other European embassies.

This 2-years research has been financed by the Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie and developed by Casanova+Hernandez in collaboration with the sociologist Dr. M.I.M. Schuurman and the economist Prof. Dr. Van de Klundert, from the Erasmus University.
The research focuses on the complete social integration of handicapped people thanks to the Dutch ADL housing program that allow people with severe physical handicaps to live autonomously in adapted houses, within clusters where standard houses and a 24-hour care unit are also available. A short essay can be downloaded in the attached link.

Building Knowledge in Interdisciplinary Design

Tuesday 29th March 2016 (15.00)

School of Architecture at Alcalá University. Master en Proyecto Avanzado de Arquitectura y Ciudad

Helena Casanova, together with Olof van de Wal (architecture curator), André Kempe (Atelier Kempe Thill, Rotterdam), Madir Shah ( Urbanoffice Architects, Amsterdam) and Jonathan Woodroffe (S333, London-Amsterdam) are the new board members of the Europan organization in the Netherlands and the founders of the new Europan NL foundation.

Public Space Acupuncture

Tuesday 1st March 2016 (19.00)

Kent State University. Florence program. Palazzo Vettori. Lecture Hall. Via Cavour 26. Florence

Building Knowledge in Interdisciplinary Design

Thursday 18th March 2016 (12.30)

Auditorium School of Architecture of Valencia (ETSAV). Camino de Vera s/n. Valencia

Casanova+Hernandez in collaboration with the local partner SON engineering & construction has won the international competition for the renovation of a central historical building and its transformation into an experimental cultural center that will encourage the active participation of citizens in a vibrant cultural program.
The project, the same as the National Historical Museum which has been recently won by Casanova+Hernandez, is part of a new cultural, educational and tourist infrastructure of Tirana named Culture Quartet focused on the restoration and activation with new cultural programs of relevant historical buildings of the city.

Casanova+Hernandez in collaboration with the local partner SON engineering & construction has won the international competition for the renovation and modernization of the most iconic museum of the Albanian capital.
The project is part of an ambitious plan to regenerate the cultural, educational and tourism infrastructure of Tirana named Culture Quartet. The strategy presented by Casanova+Hernandez follows a symbiotic approach that links unused historical buildings of the city with new cultural programs and activities to generate a new and dynamic network.

The Korean Publisher Damdi presents a detailed analysis of the work, design processes and strategies of Casanova+Hernandez in the issue 42 of the DD Series.

Together with a critical essay on the practice of the office, this richly illustrated volume features more than 30 projects covering the fields of collective housing, public space, public buildings, and hybrid urbanism.

From 14 to 18 October Actar Publishers presents the book Public Space Acupuncture at the Frankfurt Book Fair (Hall 4.1 K100)

The works for the renovation of the historical building that hosts the Marubi Museum in Shkodër have reached the top and the facade facing Kole Idromeno street is now under restauration. The works also include the extension of the historical building with a new wing that will host the national photo archive, now under construction.

The project is included in a urban development designed by B+B urban planners, with landscape design from Karres & Brands. The house is part of a series of buildings of different sizes and programs designed by Casanova+Hernandez for this plan, that experiment with topics such as scale, perception and identity.

The design is characterized by a three-dimensional skylight that combines the structural properties of the glass with the interior spatial quality of the house and its exterior architectural expression.

PUBLIC SPACE ACUPUNCTURE

Wednesday 5th August (18.00-19.30)

RMIT Design Hub. Melbourne

PUBLIC SPACE ACUPUNCTURE

Wednesday 29th July (18.00-20.00)

Austral Bricks Design Studio. Ground level, 50 Carrington St. Sydney NSW 2000

The book Public Space Acupuncture, written and edited by Helena Casanova and Jesus Hernandez, has been published by Actar Publishers (New York). It presents contributions by Oriol Bohigas at the introduction and the analysis of the urban sociologist Arnold Reijndorp.
Public Space Acupuncture combines the study of innovative strategies to activate or regenerate the urban public space with projects and test cases developed by Casanova + Hernandez around the world in collaboration with municipalities, universities and private and public organizations.

On 15th May the construction of the Marubi National Museum in Shkodër has officially started. The works will consist of the demolition of existing small constructions, renovation of a monumental protected building to host the Marubi Museum and the construction of a new annex building to host a library, administrative spaces and the Albanian National Photo Archive.

On 6th March, Jesus Hernandez presented to the Ministry of Culture and the directors of the main museums of Albania the museographic project and detailed design project for Marubi Museum in Shkodër.
The Ministry appreciated the global vision of the museum that integrates museographic project, monument renovation, architectural extension and integral interior and graphic design.

24th Feb. 2015 – 17th May 2015. ICO Museum. Zorrilla 3. Madrid

On November 10th, the awarded urban plan “Hybrid City” designed by Casanova+Hernandez for Lichterfelde Süd has been presented to the public in the Carl Schumann sports hall.

The Ceramic Museum and the Mosaic Park designed by Casanova+Hernandez in the Chinese city of Jinzhou, has been the focus of attention of many international magazines and books such as L’Arca International, Atlas of World Landscape Architecture, Lera, Building as Ornament or UW, becoming the front cover of some of them.

Helena Casanova presents Marubi Museum and other public building projects at Tirana Architecture Week (TAW).

Wednesday, October 1st (10.00) at POLIS University in Tirana, Albania.

On September 23rd, Helena Casanova presented the urban plan for Lichterfelde Süd in Berlin, during the press conference that took place in the town hall of Zehlendorf.

“Hybrid City”, designed by Casanova+Hernandez, has been awarded with the first prize in the international competition for the urban development of Lichtherfelde Süd.
The plan of 39 Ha combines 2500 housing units with cultural, educative and social facilities organized around the former training camp of the US army transformed into the Green Heart of the new neighbourhood.

The book presents nineteen architecture offices from all around the world. The offices are asked to define who and what is an architect, through examples of their work, sound advice and personal anecdotes with which readers can build a broader picture of the discipline.

Link to the video animation presented by Casanova+Hernandez in the competition for the Marubi National Photomuseum in Shkodër, Albania.

Link to the video of an interview broadcast live on Albanian TV news.

The winner proposal designed by Casanova+Hernandez has enjoyed a national repercussion due to the historical importance of the photographic legacy to be exhibited in the museum and its symbolic significance.
Jesus Hernandez presented the project to a large audience, in which the Prime Minister and the Minister of Culture were present, and the event was broadcast live on TV for the whole country.

Tuesday 18th March (19.00) at auditorium City Campus University of Antwerp

In the frame of the Spring 2014 lecture series, organized by the Flemish Architecture Institute and the University of Antwerp, Jesus Hernandez will present several built projects and installations designed by Casanova+Hernandez Architects in The Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and China.

5th March (20.00) at Architectuurcentrum Aorta. Utrecht

Helena Casanova will take part in the debate about the state of public space in Utrecht together with representatives of the main political groups.
To initiate the debate, she will introduce the politics of public space implemented in several European cities which has been analyzed by Casanova+Hernandez in the research Public Space Acupuncture.

The book is internationally available at specialized bookshops or it can be ordered via the main bookseller websites:
Wasmuth (Germany)
Nai Publishers (The Netherlands)
Architectura & Natura (The Netherlands)
Barnes & Noble (USA)
Amazon (International)

RE-SOCIAL HOUSING
11th December (14.30) at Politecnico di Milano. Aula Gamma, Via Ampère 2, Milano. Italy

The Ceramic Museum and the Mosaic Park designed by casanova+hernandez architects are part of the World Landscape Art Exposition celebrated in Jinzhou City, which will become a large urban park of 176 ha. after the Exposition is closed. Both, park and museum intend to create new links between the citizens and the place arousing the interest about the nowadays forgotten local tradition of the ceramic art. At the same time, they seek to activate the cultural life of the city and to promote the local creative industry by building an emblematic space for the exhibition and sale of local handicrafts.

Ginkgo project designed by casanova+hernandez in Beekbergen, has been published in the issue 155 of the architectural magazine Arquitectura Viva. The magazine presents projects of eight emerging offices in Europe and includes interviews to the architects and essays of David Cohn and Luis Fernández Galiano.

From 24th until 28th of June, casanova+hernandez participated together with MVRDV and Maurer Architecten in a second workshop in Sao Paulo organized by the New Institute and idea! Zarvos. Minister Jet Bussemaker visited the workshop, and a global strategy of Public Space Acupuncture for Vila Ipojuca neighbourhood, developed by casanova+hernandez in collaboration with the Brazilian architectural office FGMF, was presented to the press.

The book Casanova+Hernandez: Scale & Perception has been published by Wasmuth publishers in Berlin. The book presents two recently finished buildings designed by Casanova + Hernandez and analyses the role of scale in design to manipulate the perception of contemporary architecture via architectural drawings, photos of Christian Richters, introduction by Claus Kaplinger and essay written by Helena Casanova and Jesus Hernandez.

The exhibition Casanova+Hernandez: Scale & Perception has been opened in the Architektur Galerie in Berlin. It reflects on the topic of scale and perception in contemporary architecture by linking the multi-sensorial experience produced by two installations in the space of the gallery with the perception of the architecture in the place.
The exhibition will be opened from May 17th until June 29th.

The first phase consists of a ‘Hybrid block’ with 41 apartments for handicapped people and families, 42 ‘Super-shell’ row houses and an underground parking for 160 cars.
The ‘Hybrid block’ promotes social sustainability by mixing family apartments with ADL apartments for handicapped people assisted by a 24 hour health care unit within the building.
‘Super-shell houses’ provide flexible space for the dwellers to personalize them.

The NAi has invited Casanova+Hernandez together with MVRDV and Maurer architecten to participate in the ‘Matchmaking Brazil’ event that will take place in Sao Paulo between the 2nd and 6th of April.

Public Space Acupuncture, ‘The Green Line’ Case Study at Lebanese American University. Lebanon

6th March at Lebanese American University. Lebanon

The book, which resumes the research made by Casanova+Hernandez in collaboration with the urban sociologist Arnold Reijndorp, will be published by Actar Publishers in Barcelona.
The publication analyzes alternative strategies developed in the public space of several European cities to promote urban life and social cohesion. The conclusions will be illustrated via test cases developed by the office experimenting with strategies of Public Space Acupuncture.

Helena Casanova will be jury member of the international architectural competition ‘Archiprix’

The workshop will reflect on the influence in contemporary architecture of what Paul Virilio named as “Aesthetics of Disappearance” by analysing and experimenting with contemporary mechanisms to dissolve, disintegrate, and erase the architectural appearance generating paradoxical examples of the architecture of dis-appearance.

The essay “Time Factor in Urban Regeneration” has been published in the issue 28 of the magazine ‘Elisava Temes de Disseny’ entitled “Speed – Reconsidering Time in Design”.
The essay reflects on the new role that the time factor can play in alternative strategies of urban regeneration that evolve along the time based on temporary, mutant or nomad interventions combined with interactive mechanisms of citizens participation.

CHA is one of the three teams selected to participate in the restricted competition for the design of three housing blocks in the new residential development ‘Nieuw Zuid’ in Antwerp.
The three blocks comprise more than hundred dwellings within a large master plan designed by the studio of Bernardo Secchi y Paola Viganò.

18th December. ExpoGeorgia. Pavillion N3. Tiblisi. Georgia

17th -19th December. ExpoGeorgia. Pavillion N3. Tiblisi. Georgia

The Ceramic Museum and its Mosaic Garden are located in a core place of the Longqiwan Area of Jinzhou City. The site is part of the Jinzhou World Landscape Art Exposition of 2013 that will become a Central Park for the city after the exhibition is finished integrating the small museum in it.

The Workshop ‘Public Space Acupuncture, Shenzhen Urban Village Case Study’ has been led by Casanova+Hernandez architects at the Department of Architecture, College of Architecture & Urban planning at the Shenzhen University.
The workshop has been focused on the urban village of Bai Shi Zhou.

27th June 2012. 3.00 p.m. at De Dependance.
The debate is based on the postgraduate studio entitled “Public Space Acupuncture” guided at the Berlage Institute by Helena Casanova and by Jesus Hernandez.
Participants: Ole Bouman, Helena Casanova, Jean-Louis Cohen, Galit Eliat, Jesus Hernandez, Alessandro Petti, Michelle Provoost, Nanne de Ru, Dietmar Steiner and Elma van Boxel.

The project “Black & White Twins” designed by Casanova+Hernandez Architects in Blaricum has been completed. The project experiments with the spatial and visual integration of compact collective housing solutions sheltering affordable apartments in the new exclusive low rise urban development of Blaricummermeent.

20th April – 12th August 2012. Rotterdam Info Center.

Helena Casanova will be a jury member HEUVELINKPRIJS 2012 in Arnhem. The Netherlands.

26th January – 1st April 2012. Architecture Building University of Houston

12th March 2012 Architectuurcentrum Eindhoven. The Netherlands.

13th December 2011 (8.15 p.m.) ARCAM Architecture Center. Amsterdam

11th November 2011 (6.30 p.m.) SALT Beyoglu. Istanbul. Turkey

4th November 2011 (12 a.m.) School of Architecture of UNAM. Mexico City. Mexico

6th November 2011 (12 a.m.) Centro de Convenciones WTC. Cuernavaca. Mexico

Helena Casanova and Jesus Hernandez will coordinate the research & design studio entitled “Public Space Acupuncture” at the Berlage Institute in Rotterdam.
The studio proposes a critical reflection about role of the public space in our modern society and a deep research on the possible strategies to improve the public life in the public space of our European city centers.

September 15th – October 15th

Casanova+Hernandez has been selected in a restricted competition for the construction of the Ceramic Museum and the Mosaic Garden in Jinzhou. Garden and Museum are integrated in a futuristic crackled landscape inspired by the delicate Longquan porcelain, which was developed in the region along 1800 years of history.

The construction of the nine stories high apartment block designed by Casanova+Hernandez in Groningen has reached the top level. The building, which is part of the awarded project in the Europan 6 competition, mixes family apartments with special dwellings for handicapped people equipped with a 24 hours care unit on ground floor.

The printed glass facade designed by Casanova+Hernandez for the housing project “Evergreen” in Beekbergen has begun to be mounted in the construction site. The glazed facade consists of 256 pieces of glass designed using 68 different prints, which are combined to generate a virtual Ginkgo Biloba tree that wraps the park side facade.

An essay written by Casanova+Hernandez has been published in the international magazine ‘Scape. In this article some of the current problems of the public space of our European cities are analyzed and future strategies to address and solve them are proposed.

The twin apartment blocks designed by Casanova+Hernandez, which are at this moment under construction in Blaricum, the Netherlands, have reached the top level following the planned schedule.

Casanova+Hernandez has been invited to participate in a restricted competition for the design of an exhibition building and a landscape intervention at Jinzhou Expo 2013, China.

Helena Casanova, co-director of Casanova+Hernandez, will be member of the Dutch jury of the international competition Europan 11.

LECTURE
23rd March 2011
4 p.m.
Chalmers School of Architecture. Göteborg. Sweden.

The apartment block and park-dwellings designed by Casanova+Hernandez Architects in Beekbergen have reached the top level with the construction of its roof. The glazed facade, which characterizes the green appearance of the building, has been designed with 296 printed panels created by the combination of 69 different images of Ginkgo Biloba branches and leafs generating a continuous virtual tree that wraps the building.

“Intersections” has been the selected proposal designed by Casanova+Hernandez Architects for a new residential complex for elderly people and a collective care unit.
The proposal experiments with the concept of “collective patio-houses” as new housing typology that combines independency for the new seniors with collective health services.

The construction of two apartment blocks designed by Casanova+Hernandez Architects has begun in Blaricum. The twin buildings, which are based on the same conceptual and technical principles, have been specially developed to shelter selling and renting apartments, keeping at the same time similar appearance to reinforce the visual homogeneity of the neighborhood.

The “Green Room” is designed by Casanova+Hernandez as part of a series of temporary interventions in the public space of several European cities named “Domestic Monuments”.
The “Green Room” experiments with the role of hybrid interventions (mix of landscape+architecture+sculpture) to activate the urban life of our city centres.

CHA have won an invited competition for the design of a tower located at the Cool neighbourhood in the centre of Rotterdam. The plinth of the tower contains a multifuncional program that integrates public functions, office spaces, an automatic parking and a collective roof garden. The project experiments with the mix of housing typologies and the use of large and expresive panoramic balconies that caracterize its vibrant and sculptural exterior image.

The landscape intervention ‘Green Windows’ designed by CHA in Lausanne has been selected among 425 landscape projects to be included in the Biennial catalogue and to be showed in the Biennal exhibition in Barcelona from 29.09.10 till 26.10.10

On Monday 28th of June started the construction of the winner project of the international competition Europan 6 in Groningen designed by Casanova+Hernandez in 2000.
The long-term design process comprised the development of a master plan for an industrial area of 2.9 ha, the landscape design of the public and collective areas and the architectural design for 203 housing units, including an underground parking for 160 cars.

The virtual “green facade” printed on the glazed outer skin of the housing complex designed by Casanova+Hernandez in Beekbergen, combined with the generous outdoor spaces have contributed to integrate the building in its natural surroundings and to have a quick and successful selling process. The construction will start on May 2010.

The Vlaamse Bouwmeester has selected Casanova+Hernandez for a restricted competition for the urban plan for the centre of Harelbeke in Belgium and for the design of the public space of the Marktplein.

Helena Casanova has been elected member of the commission ‘Architecture, Research and Design’ of the ‘Stimuleringsfonds voor Architectuur’, Rotterdam.

CHA has been selected for a restricted competition (Vlaamse Bouwmeester Open Oproep) consisting of the landscaping and re-design of the area of the new ring road that goes through Voetballerstraat in Boom, Belgium.

The intervention ‘Green Windows’, awarded in the international competition ‘Lausanne Jardins 2009’ has been completed.

EXHIBITION
The work of Casanova + Hernandez architects is shown within the frame of the JAE exhibition at Columbia University in New York.

MERIT AWARD
The landscape proposal M.U.G. (Monochrome Urban Gardens) has been awarded in the competition for temporary interventions in the vacant lots of the city of Madrid.

PUBLICATION
The work of Casanova+Hernandez Architects is extenselly published in the architecture magazine Future in a monographic issue about Rotterdam with the work of OMA, MVRDV, Wiel Arets, West 8, Neutelings Riedijk, Kcap among others.
The selected projects are: A012/ A026/ A025/ A033/ A036/ A041/ A053/ A054

Green Windows, the awarded design for the International Landscape Exhibition Lausanne 2009, is being built in The Netherlands as an experiment of a completely prefabricated landscape.
The project has received the support of the Stimuleringsfonds voor Architectuur for its innovation within the field of Dutch design.

LECTURE
05 February 2009
DELFTDESIGN. Delft. The Netherlands.

PUBLICATION – EXHIBITION
MOPU Exhibition Gallery. Madrid.
Casanova+Hernandez Architects has been selected for the exhibition and publication JAE, which shows the work of some of the most relevant young Spanish offices. The publication is forwarded by the articles of Kenneth Framton, Juhani Pallasmaa and Alberto Campo Baeza among others.

AWARD
The proposal “Intertwined landscapes” designed by Casanova+Hernandez architects has been awarded in a restricted international competition to develop two interventions in the public space along the M2 subway line of Lausanne.
The landscape intervention will be built in 2009 and opened in June.

PUBLICATION
The project Folding Walls built by Casanova+Hernandez Architects in Groningen has been published in the book: Spanish Architecture 1997-2007 that “represents the most remarkable Spanish architecture from the recent years”.

MERIT AWARD
Casanova+Hernandez architects has been one of the five selected teams for the second phase of the competition for the design of a 13.400 m2 court building in the Campus of Justice of Madrid and awarded with an honorable mention.

PUBLICATION
The essay “Housing Identity & Individualization” analyzes the paradoxical relation between the collective housing and the individualization process. In this article the architects propose several strategies to redefine the housing identity of the second modernity of the XXI century.

THIRD PRIZE
Casanova+Hernandez architects win the third prize for the design of a 40.000 m2 hybrid complex (dwellings, shopping mall and offices) within the high-speed train station development in Zaragoza.

FIRST PRIZE
Casanova+Hernandez architects win the first prize in the short-listed competition for the design of 48 dwellings in Blaricum. The Netherlands.

PUBLICATION
daab gmbh Köln, pg. 104-107
Germany

MERIT AWARD
Casanova+Hernandez architects win the first honorable mention for the design of a sport center and restaurant in Fuencarral. Madrid.

EXHIBITION
January – May 2007
NAi. Museum park 25. Rotterdam. The Netherlands

EXHIBITION
December 2006 – January 2007
Central Library. Rotterdam. The Netherlands

PUBLICATION
Markus S. Braun / Verlagshaus Braun Berlin.
Berlin. Germany

LECTURE
25 November
Architecture School of Bucharest. Roumania.

LECTURE
23 November
TU Delft. The Netherlands

LECTURE
08 July
Architekturzentrum. Vienna. Austria

MERIT AWARD / EXHIBITION & PUBLICATION
Exhibition: 14 – 23 April. Gyeonggi Provincial Museum, Gyeonggi-do. Korea
Publication: International competition for Jeonggi-do Jeongok Prehistory Museum, pg. 66.
South Korea

EXHIBITION & PUBLICATION
Exhibition: 9th June – 1st October 2006
Publication: “Luminous architecture”, pg. 55
Kunstmuseum Stuttgart. Germany

EXHIBITION
14th – 21st January 2006
Hdlu- dom. Zagreb. Croacia

EXHIBITION AND LECTURE
Exhibition: 1st – 11th December 2005. Stazione Leopolda.
Lecture: 2nd December at 15.00.
Brunelleschi’s Ospedale degli Innocenti. Florence. Italy

PUBLICATION
#11 / November 2005
Published project: Patio Villas. Groningen. The Netherlands. 2001 [A017]

EXHIBITION AND LECTURE
Exhibition: 17th September – 2nd October 2005
Lecture: 17th September at 11.00 a.m.
Magazzini del Sale. Venice. Italy

SHORTLISTED
Casanova+Hernandez architecten have been selected to participate in the short-listed international competition ‘Museum of the History of Polish Jews’ in Warsaw, Poland. Eleven teams have been selected among 240 international offices

EXHIBITION
4th – 29th April 2005
World Trade Center. Schiphol Airport. Amsterdam. The Netherlands

SECOND PRIZE
Casanova+Hernandez architects win the second prize in the open competition ‘Palacio de Comunicaciones’ in Madrid. Spain.

24 January 2005
NAi. Museum park 25. Rotterdam. The Netherlands

Casanova+Hernandez architects win the second prize in the short-listed international competition ”Tittot Museum’ in Taipei. Taiwan

25th October – 20th November 2004
City hall. The Hague. The Netherlands

April 2004
Mies Van der Rohe pavilion. Barcelona. Spain

Published projects: Nam June Paik Museum [A027] / Patio-Villas [A017]
Tokyo. Japan

Lecture: 8 May at 9.00 a.m.
“Athinais” Congress Palace. Athens. Greece
Publication: Europan 7, Europe book

Exhibition: 30 March – 7 May 2004
Publication: Presentation of “De Intense Stad” book: 25 March, 21.30
Groningen City Hall. Gedempte Zuiderdiep 98. Groningen. The Netherlands