Named 1111 Lincoln Road, the concrete building with floor slabs supported on wedge-shaped columns was completed in 2010 to offer naturally lit parking levels that can also be used for other activities above a row of shops and restaurants.

"I had the opportunity to change people's perception of what parking is and to build a type of building that becomes a social gathering space and a public space" says Wennett. "Everything we do in the garage is not what you expect in a parking garage."

He goes on to explain how the building contains "a grand central staircase" rather than an enclosed stairwell and is also filled with public art. "To want to go to a parking garage, versus wanting to exit it as soon as possible becomes a new paradigm," he declares.

Finally, Wennett explains that he lives in an apartment on the top floor of the building. "People always ask me 'why would you want to live inside of a parking garage?' but the moment they arrive they never ask me the question again," he says.

Directed and produced by Elizabeth Priore, the movie is a semi-finalist in the Focus Forward filmmaker competition. Five winners are due to be announced in January.

We first revealed designs for 1111 Lincoln Road back in 2008, before featuring photographs of the completed building after it opened in 2010.

Herzog & de Meuron also recently completed a gallery that looks like a pair of barns in Long Island.

See more stories about Herzog & de Meuron, including interviews we filmed with both Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron at the opening of their Serpentine Gallery Pavilion this summer.

See more photography by Hufton + Crow on Dezeen or on their website.

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by Herzog & de Meuron appeared first on Dezeen.

The Design Republic Commune, designed by Neri&Hu, contains a new flagship store for the architects' design retail brand Design Republic, as well as a centre for exhibitions and events.

Neri explains how restoration projects like this are common in the west, but that in China you are more likely to find entirely new interiors within historic buildings, which he describes as a "bling-bling experience". However, he insists that interest in conservation is growing.

"The western media likes to portray China as this big behemoth, bigger, better, richer, crasser version of America," Neri says. "[But] you would be surprised. Because there is actually a group of people that are interested - even in the government, even in the business sector, even in the banking sector - in the small, the delicate, the things with meaning and purpose."

This aspect of China has not been highlighted, he adds, "because it doesn't sell newspapers".

The Design Republic Commune features a restored exterior while the interior retains traces of its previous incarnations in the form of sections of exposed beams, brickwork, plaster and timber laths as well as salvaged signage. "I think it's very important for people who come into a historic building to have certain pieces of reality, to be able to touch the inside of the building," adds Hu.

See more images of the Design Republic Commune in our earlier story, or read our interview with the architects about how Chinese architects need to develop their own design manifesto.

See all our recent stories about Shanghai »
See more stories about Neri&Hu »

Photography is by Pedro Pegenaute.

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as this big behemoth" - Neri&Hu appeared first on Dezeen.

Officially the award was given to the architects for the cooled conservatories at Bay South, but at the ceremony director Paul Finch explained that they wanted to recognise the whole team that worked on the enormous tropical garden in Singapore, which also features tree-like towers covered in climbing plants.

"One of the rather amazing things about Singapore is that things do grow," says Baker, discussing these vertical gardens. He explains how around the world vertical planting requires "a lot of irrigation and a lot of work" but in this project they could easily "put things in the air and get them to survive".

Bay South is the largest and first to complete of three landscaped gardens at the 100-hectare Gardens by the Bay site, which is sited on reclaimed land that had been a park before. Baker discusses how the government took a "brave decision" to keep the area as a large park, which in turn "increased the commercial value" of land at the perimeter. "I think they had some very good foresighted thoughts about how to make this a special place," he says.

Read more about Gardens by the Bay in our earlier story. You can also watch our interview with Baker just after receiving the award, or hear more about the project from architect Chris Wilkinson.

We’ve published a series of interviews with award winners at the World Architecture Festival. See all the movies, plus more stories about WAF 2012.

Photography is by Craig Sheppard.

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- Paul Baker on Gardens by the Bay appeared first on Dezeen.

"We, the Vietnamese, need to think about climate change, so we should make a house, a school, a building using less energy," says Nghia, as he explains how the rising sea levels caused by climate change are a frequent cause of flooding to the country.

The architect describes how Binh Duong School was designed without air conditioning in the classrooms. Instead, vertical louvres and perforated screens covering the facade allow air to flow freely across the external corridors and into each room. "The louvres stop the direct sunlight," he says.

Located in the town of Di An, just north of Ho Chi Minh City, the school comprises a single five-storey building for junior and high school students. Nghia explains how he'd like to design a similar type of building for offices in the city, where ventilation is provided naturally and only computers are relient on the electricity, which he says often cuts out.

To conclude, the architect describes how he believes low-energy buildings would be welcomed by the people of Vietnam. Describing the humid climate, he claims that stepping out of the "terrible hot" into a "green building" makes people "feel good".

Read more about Binh Duong School in our earlier story, watch our first interview with Vo Trong Nghia about his design for the Stacking Green house or see all our stories about Vo Trong Nghia.

We've filmed a series of interviews with award winners at the World Architecture Festival. See all the movies we’ve published so far, including our interview with architect Chris Wilkinson about the World Building of the Year.

See all our stories about WAF 2012 »

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- Vo Trong Nghia on Binh Duong School appeared first on Dezeen.

Hill, an Australian architect, moved to Singapore in the late 1970s and he describes how "the standard of architecture" and the "sense of architectural community" has significantly improved since then. "More and more the quite important and certainly the more interesting buildings are being done by home-grown Singaporeans," he explains.

Martin No. 38 is the architect's first housing project in Singapore and comprises a series of apartment blocks in a former warehouse area near to the Singapore River. The architect describes how the building was driven by the climate as much as the programme. "The trick with building in the tropics is not to exclude the sun, but to invite it in through a series of filters," he says.

These filters take the form of a louvred facade system that residents can control, allowing them to "mediate climate, noise and privacy". Each apartment also has an open-plan layout for additional flexibility, while terraces are created at the base of each building as "outdoor living spaces".

However, Hill also explains how he thinks the design scene "isn't just about apartments" in Singapore. "I simply think that Singapore is maturing and the design community is emerging as a force," he says. "It is a place today where developers understand that good design sells."

We’ve filmed a series of interviews with award winners at the World Architecture Festival. See all the movies we’ve published so far, including our interview with architect Chris Wilkinson about the World Building of the Year.

See all our stories about WAF 2012 »

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- Kerry Hill on Martin No. 38 appeared first on Dezeen.