2022 art recap: reimagining the future of arts
by Vatsala SethiDec 31, 2022
•make your fridays matter with a well-read weekend
by ABBPublished on : Dec 15, 2021
The popular video series from ABB, Frozen Music, features innovative buildings around the world and the architects behind them. It explores building design in the context of location, impact, purpose and new technologies. The videos are published globally, and are showcased with localised subtitles in numerous languages, from Turkish to Chinese, Dutch to Spanish.
The idea to the video series sprung off during the first lockdown of the pandemic in March 2020. The task here was to find a substitute to the attendance and support of live-events for architects like festivals, conferences, and exhibitions. By presenting architectural projects and their architects in a dedicated video series, ABB shows its deep interest in architecture and strong support for the design industry. The focus is on the creative side of the project, its origin and exceptionality, but also briefly touching the complexity of incorporated technologies.
"Frozen Music has evolved from a situation in March 2020 that we would not have dreamt of just a few months before. How can we support architects during the time of lockdown and home-office? We knew right away that we have to give architects the opportunity to have their projects presented through us to a global community. This is how we made up Frozen Music. And now we are in the middle of our Second Season of Frozen Music videos, how fantastic is that?" says Katrin Foerster, ABB´s International Key Account Manager for Architects and Interior Designers, and presenter of the video series.
"Katrin and her team found a brand-new way to support the design-industry during the pandemic. We are very proud of the format "Frozen Music". The variety of buildings and architects introduced is simply exciting and you never know what project is next, in which country it is, and which of our ABB solutions help to make these buildings eco-friendly, human-centered and safe," shares Adalbert Neumann, Senior Vice President Head of Global Marketing and Sales Electrification - Smart Buildings; CEO Busch-Jaeger Elektro GmbH, ABB.
The videos will appeal also to planners, developers, hoteliers and everyone who is interested in good design. The title 'Frozen Music' comes from the inspirational phrase "architecture is frozen music", which was made popular by authors such as Wolfgang von Goethe .
Season 1 of Frozen Music travels to the UK, Sweden, Estonia, India, Russia, Vietnam, Chile, Denmark, Turkey, Australia, Finland and Canada. Season 2 started with China and Germany. With the latest episode surprising viewers with a brilliant design of a family home on stilts, offering picturesque views of the Jungfern Lake close to Berlin.
To find out more about the videos, visit the Frozen Music webpage and sign up to ABB's newsletter for architects to not miss the next episode of Frozen Music.
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The 1st episode features Darcies Mews in London, by Crawford Partnership. The video gives an insight into an alternative and modern interpretation of a traditional Mews Development. These houses are built to enhance the lives of their residents and to add a new and inspiring spirit to the area.
The 2nd episode features the AC Hotel Ulriksdal, located in Stockholm, Sweden, close to the city center. The hotel was designed by interior architects from Living Design, and they are featured along with their CEO, Tarek Hegazy. The film gives insight into how the classic Scandinavian style, gently mixed with urban chic, creates a both vibrant and timelessly elegant atmosphere for guests and visitors.
The 3rd Frozen Music episode explores how the UNESCO World Heritage Building in Tallinn, an ancient fortress tower called "Fat Margaret", becomes home to a medieval shipwreck - and now hosts the Estonian Maritime Museum. The innovative designers of this unique project are KOKO architects.
The 4th Frozen Music episode shows what happened to the neglected site of an Art Deco grand hotel from the 1950s in Chennai, India.
WOW Architects of Singapore brings back beauty and magic to this place with a condominium, AZURE The Oceanic, that offers incredible views that frame the Bay of Bengal.
The 5th episode of Frozen Music leads us to an old chocolate factory in Moscow. Learn how sweet treats were delivered to the Family of the Czar of Russia before the business was renamed "Bolshevik" during the Russian revolution and fell into oblivion in the 1960s...
Witness how a new stunning residential complex rose like a phoenix from the ashes on the original site, capturing the Muscovites with its historic and modern charm. A fantastic redevelopment.
The 6th episode of Frozen Music will take you along to Hanoi, Vietnam. Experience how exquisite architecture helps employees identify with their working environment and connect with each other. Carlos Gerhard and his team from Gensler designed the magnificent new headquarters of Viettel in Hanoi, bringing a completely new optical and emotional experience both to the working environment and to the city itself – combined with technology that will help lead Vietnam into a cleaner and more sustainable future!
The 7th episode of Frozen Music takes us to Santiago de Chile. Opening a new hospital in April 2020 was a challenge for Cristobal Tirado and his team at Bbats+Tirado in Santiago de Chile. Join us for a look at Hospital Clínico Félix Bulnes, serving patients from across the country in a region prone to earthquakes!
In the special edition episode #8 we travel to Billund, Denmark to introduce two master architectural offices. Learn from Brian Yang and Erik Nissen how to "tell a story through design"! Explore BIG's LEGO House and see the genius architecture behind a building made for play and enjoyment! Watch dressed up ABB robots come to life in LEGO's MINI CHEF restaurant, created by Stylt Trampoli!
In our 9th episode of Frozen Music we visit the new Istanbul Museum of Painting and Sculpture, holding 15,000 pieces of fine art.
Emre Arolat and his team at EAA created a truly remarkable building that becomes a masterful work of art itself through the brilliant design and use of lighting and colour.
In our 10th episode of Frozen Music, we visit Australia's first 10 star-rated home in Adelaide! Multiple factors considered at an early stage and combined during the design process made it possible for SUHO to build one of the most environmentally friendly homes on the continent! A blueprint for the future, this brand new and well-conceived 3-bedroom house earned 10 out of 10 stars for energy efficiency.
Travel with us to Helsinki for the #11 Episode of Frozen Music. We'll explore Oodi, the modern Central Library located opposite the Finnish parliament and designed by ALA Architects. It is inviting with its fresh angles, flowing forms, pleasing views and surprising solutions for utilizing space. Meet, interact, absorb, create, dream - and read. Here you'll forget about time.
In our Episode #12 we feature a brilliant building cut in two halves in Montréal. Watch how architects Provencher_Roy designed a dramatic fault-line right through the middle of Îlot Balmoral, the eye-catching new home to the National Film Board of Canada and the School of Digital Arts, Animation and Design. Creating light-flooded perspectives from above, uniting people in the atrium and expanding the urban momentum, this building is a fabulous addition to Montréal's Quartier des Spectacles.
Episode #13 whisks us away to Chengdu in China, to explore the design of Tianfu Airport, whose grand opening took place this summer. The architects of CSWADI (China Southwest Architectural Design and Research Institute) took inspiration from ancient symbolism of the Shu dynasty in Sichuan to create the remarkable form and positioning of the 4 airport terminals and administrative buildings: Embracing the local culture while connecting with the rest of the world.
In our Episode #14 of Frozen Music videos, Berlin Architect and Family-Man Carlos Zwick has the dream to find a perfectly suited plot of land nearby a lake to build a home for his partner and 6 children. Yet, what he purchases at the Jungfernsee in Potsdam is a site with decaying but listed ruins and a total ban on altering the lakeside terraces!
Watch how Carlos' spirit, creativity and endurance pays off: building a family-home that floats three meters above the ground, casting a spell on everyone who puts an eye on it. Please enjoy this wonderful story with us.
Episode #15 impresses us by highlighting how intelligent architecture, combined with technology can "enable" people with diverse abilities and needs to live a life in dignity and independence. Travel with us to Sydney, where Australian architect Aaron Stevens and developers DPN conceived Casa Capace. A welcoming home for everyone.
With Episode #16 we cruise along the Yangtze and Jialing rivers, and enjoy the breathtaking views of soaring skyscrapers in the background. Witness a project of outstanding scale and significance: Raffles City Chongqing, a complex of eight skyscrapers by Moshe Safdie.
Can contradictory architectural interventions create a masterful edifice? With Episode #17 we are inspired by INNOCAD architecture's geometric play in "The ROCK," a Radisson RED Hotel in Austria's capital city of Vienna.
Episode #18 takes viewers on a tour of this austere, spacious, and bright Portuguese villa tucked away in the picturesque Algarve, Portugal. The contemporary family residence designed by Marlene Uldschmidt Architects includes a tennis court, several skylights, and a Mediterranean landscape.
Adding to London's towering, sparkling city skyline is the city's second tallest building. Episode 19 introduces viewers to 22 Bishopsgate designed by PLP / Architecture, set a new benchmark, creating a culture for great places to work.
In Episode #20 of ABB's video series Frozen Music, the exploration is of an impressive building complex located in the Swiss Alps that has undergone a remarkable transformation. Burkhard Meyer Architekten BSA took charge of the reconstruction and modernization of the Sportzentrum Kerenzerberg, leaving a lasting impact.
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make your fridays matter
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