The Bass and Flinders Gateway development project, designed by Spark, sits at the very threshold of Wollongong, one of New South Wales’ most beautiful cities. The 35,000 sqm scheme consists of a 300 unit residential development, supported by a modicum of commercial space. The Flinders Gateway development sits on the narrow coastal plain between the Illawarra Escarpment and the Ocean and draws its inspiration from the meeting of these two primeval elements. It is Spark Studio’s first project in Australia and it’s expected to begin construction in 2015.

The apartments are arranged as “coal measures” within linear stacked seams shrouded by a symbolic wave that in part shades the apartments’ terraced gardens. The vivid form of The Bass and Flinders Gateway development offers playful experience of livable and joyful residential neighborhood. Five separate volumes of this mixed-use complex are connected underground with two-level garage space. The public plaza, formed between the high-rise volumes, is cascaded, enabling sheltered common places for gathering and socializing.

SPARK Studio is an award-winning international design practice that aim at creating distinctive buildings for clients and great places for people. They focus on architecture’s potential to contribute positively to the experience of the city while addressing the pragmatic issues that govern each project. Spark works with the bold yet common sense vision of enlarging the spaces of the city into their buildings, and of unfolding our buildings into the city – creating opportunities for layered experiences and engaging places. Read the rest of this entry »

Foster and Partners’ headquarters tower for Citic Bank has a prominent location in Hangzhou, on a main axis through a new central business district being constructed next to the Qian Jiang River. The site is also adjacent to one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks – the distinctive golden sphere of the Intercontinental Hotel. The challenge for its design therefore, has been to create a new building that harmonizes with its surroundings, yet has its own integrity and presence and provides an iconic headquarters for the Bank. The design draws inspiration from the elements of traditional Chinese culture – using the symbol of wealth, dignity and stability.

The tower has a striking geometric form – the diagonally-braced façade is pulled inwards to form a symmetrical V-shape across the south-facing elevation. Wrapped in a bronze-colored diagrid lattice, the floor plates widen as the building rises, expanding to provide panoramic views of the river and the surrounding public plaza. The design maximizes the available area within a compact rectilinear footprint, while respecting views of neighboring structures. The tower will provide the highest quality office space – tailored to the current needs of the Bank, but with the flexibility to anticipate future working patterns and demands.

A-frame canopy stretches 72 meters across the ground, in order to create a dramatic entrance experience. This leads to the heart of a diamond-shaped central atrium, which rises up through the full height of the 20-storey tower and helps to encourage natural ventilation during the mid-seasons. Sky-gardens line the perimeter of the upper floors and a generous winter garden with a mezzanine level accommodates VIP club and meeting spaces at the top of the building. The tower is naturally ventilated for part of the year, grey water will be recycled and local materials utilized where possible to reduce embodied energy. Read the rest of this entry »

The architectural vision for the Mandarin Oriental high-rise by Urban Office Architecture explored the idea of a complete merging of architecture, city, the river and the surrounding urban landscape. The base concept of a morphing floor plan allows the building structure to enjoy a “dancing” form. The floor plates change at all levels, therefore accommodating variety of programmatic requirements as well as making a unique environment for each occupant.

The building responds to the surrounding both at larger – metropolitan and local scale. The three sided lower floor plates address both mixed-use program and the converging urban forces. A base plinth allows users to interact with the building while bridging between the structure height and the human scale, acting as urban catalyst. It allows citizens and tenants to meet, mingle and enjoy dining, shopping and various cultural events.

The complexities of the programmatic needs are met by highly functional, but ever morphing floor plates. The building features a two-sided and three-sided organization plan around the central core, both for the office and hotel levels. This enables tenant to organize their spaces with great flexibility while taking advantage of the most natural daylight. As the building rises vertically into a rectangular floor plate, the opportunity of full floor suites is emphasized together with maximum access to daylight on all sides.

The tower is designed so that maximum use of the floor plates is achieved. Going from three sided to a two sided to a single layout four public spaces organize distribution of program vertically, allowing for interaction and sharing of these areas by variety of users. Read the rest of this entry »

MAD’s Beijing Chaoyang Park Plaza breaks ground. It is a realization of the concept “Shanshui City” and the project pushes the boundary of the urbanization process by creating a dialogue between artificial scenery and natural landscapes. The Plaza development is located in the central business district of Beijing and due to its proximity to the park it will highly impact the skyline of this metropolis.

A pair of asymmetrical towers creates a dramatic skyline in front of the park. Ridges and valleys define the shape of the exterior glass facade, as if the natural forces of erosion wore down the tower into a few thin lines. Flowing down the facade, the lines emphasize the smoothness of the towers and its verticality. The internal ventilation and filtration system of the ridges draw a natural breeze indoors, which not only improves the interior space but also creates an energy efficient system.

Landscape elements are injected into the interiors of the towers to augment the feeling of nature within an urban framework. The two towers are connected by a tall courtyard lobby with a ceiling height of up to 17 meters. The site and sounds of flowing water make the entire lobby feel like a natural scene from a mountain valley. At the top of the towers, multi-level terraces shaped by the curving forms of the towers are public gardens where people can gaze out over the entire city and look down at the valley scene created by the lower buildings on the site.

Located to the South of the towers, four office buildings are shaped like river stones that have been eroded over a long period. Smooth, round, and each with its own features, they are delicately arranged to allow each other space while also forming an organic whole. Adjacent to the office buildings are two multi-level residential buildings in the Southwest area of the compound. These buildings continue the ‘mid-air courtyard concept, and provide all who live here with the freedom of wandering through a mountain forest.

The project was awarded the “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)”Gold certificate. By exploring the symbiotic relationship between modern urban architecture and natural environment, Chaoyang Park Plaza revives the harmonious co-existence between urban life and nature. Read the rest of this entry »

“The City Rises” is Urban Office Architecture proposal for Parramatta’s architectural competition. They proposed a set of “Siamese pair” of towers, which would represent diversity rising out of unity. The unique form performs better and more efficiently from the heat loss-gain point of view as less dispersion is generated. It also reacts better to structural and lateral forces. However its ultimate advantage is that of offering unique interior opportunities for the office requirements. In particular, as the building rises offices take advantage of the relationship with the vertical public spaces, allowing for an innovative and pleasant working environment.

From urban point of view, the building is envisioned as an extension of the public spaces. Its outermost layer is composed by a vertical circulation which allows pedestrian to climb to the building top via an enclosed glass circulation system – glass boxes. While rising, the visitor will stop at suspended publicly programmed “floating rooms” – black boxes. At a distance the building is seen as both one and two separate buildings, but most importantly as an asset to the public realm rather than a form isolated from the field.

Located on the northern exposure, the black and glass boxes become both an effective filter for the entire building, collecting, harvesting and re-circulating water, light, and energy. The sinuous building shape is ideal against winds and sun glare. The building skin is made of several layers of glass with an inner photosensitive film who is able to adjust to the amount of solar impact and become more or less transparent. Read the rest of this entry »

The site of Huangdu Art Center by MAD Architects illuminates controversial issue in urban sprawl. Positioned in close proximity to the heart of old Beijing, and close to historically significant architecture such as the Forbidden City and opposite the National Art Museum of China, the site straddles this divide -small scale hutongs – remain at the sites western edge, yet the east is bounded by a modern axis of major city routes, commercial malls and hotels.

In MAD Architects they quote Lao She who states that the beauty of old Beijing exists in the empty space between architecture, where trees grow and birds live.  As such, the buildings themselves do not have to show any special shape in order to be unique.

Old Beijing is built of a tight network of closely woven districts of communal courtyard housing blocks. The basic typology of these districts is one-storey buildings which form distinct geometric patterns repeated at high density. This historic urban fabric is increasingly under threat and it is now forced to retreat for the larger, monumental modern architecture of contemporary Beijing.

MAD proposes to create a building established on many small hutong-scalar pieces that collectively achieve the overall volume. Huangdu is designed by layering different courtyard vertically, resulting in multifaceted, semi-solid volumes, which maintains the spatial relationships and hollow cores of the courtyards. Huangdu is an urban instrument signifying Beijing’s aspirations to be a forward looking city yet always respects its roots and its past. MAD’s proposal extends the city fabric from small to large, negotiating the two scales at work here on site, and provide a means to reconcile two worlds of Beijing today. Read the rest of this entry »

UNStudio has been chosen to remodel and renovate Hanwha’s headquarters building – the facade, the interior of the common spaces, lobbies, meeting levels, auditorium and executive areas, along with the redesign of the landscaping. Several important variables were required to be incorporated into the redesign, most essentially the surroundings, nature and the environment. Their concept for the project resulted in the design of a responsive facade which prioritizes and integrates groups of key parameters: program – exterior and interior, indoor climate and environmental considerations.

The existing façade contains horizontal bands of opaque paneling and single layers of dark glass. In the remodeling this is replaced by clear insulated glass and aluminum framing to accentuate views and daylight. The geometry of the framing is further defined by the sun and orientation factors to ensure user comfort inside and reduced energy consumption.

The basis for the facade expression is largely formed by the program. By varying the placement of the facade panels a variety of program-related openings are created. The North facade opens to enable day lighting within the building but becomes more opaque on the South façade, where the sun would otherwise have too much impact on the heat load of the building. Openings within the facade are further related to the views: opening up where views are possible but becoming more compact on the side adjacent to the nearby buildings. Direct solar impact on the building is reduced by shading which is provided by angling the glazing away from direct sunlight, while the upper portion of the South facade is angled to receive direct sunlight. The facade is animated by individual LED pixels, with dynamic lighting reflecting different parts of the building and highlighting areas of activity within. Read the rest of this entry »

800m Tower for China by MAD Architects questions what the future skyscraper should be. Unlike the traditional skyscraper that embodies its greatness in height and monumental form, the 800m Tower declares its significance in the unique way in which it relates to the city around it. The institutional framework of the traditional skyscraper is limited – it is defined by a simple, linear structure and mediocre duplication in business districts across the globe. At a time when the height record for such buildings is almost instantly replaced, the building’s landmark status quickly wanes as taller versions rise around it. As such, it becomes increasingly necessary for a building to create and realize a higher level of complexity in its expression of modern city relationships.

The two towers are connected with a cable car at the top, allowing all people from the city to make the journey around it and through it, echoing the dynamism and movement of the city. The previous conception of form and style establish landmark appears outdated by contrast.

The 800m Tower will not act as an office machine. On contrary, it will become a living admixture. Space for commerce, service and entertainment are elevated to the same level as the office and hotel functions, forming a solid city element that makes the sister towers and its users part of the metropolitan life.

Exciting and dynamic, the 800m tower will house office spaces and a hotel, on a 310,840sqm area. Read the rest of this entry »

UNStudio designed Grand Musée de l’Afrique in Algiers, Algerie, for ARPC – Agence Nationale de Gestion des Realisations de Grands Projects de la Culture. The museum is designed as an amalgamation of history, geography, ecology, culture and presents itself as a sensitive, context-conscious modernizing impulse. The Grand Musée de l’Afrique of Alger is designed to bring Algeria and Africa a manifestation of its cultural and natural richness. Its architecture is a medium to generate a ‘trait d’union’ between African cultures, while blending into Algeria’s city fabric.

The museum highlights the diversity and multiplicity of the African continent due to the language of aggregation which was deployed in the design, acting as an organizational system. The varied nature of the collection led to a concept for a museum that reflects the idea of variety and diversification, where the program aggregates in a range of flexible scenarios by alternating exhibition and performance spaces. The logic of program distribution within the museum sets itself apart from the more classical notion of museum program distribution. By intertwining the narrative and the routing, diversifying the visitor experience into a mixed space with a loose start and a loose end, the Grand Musée de l’Afrique presents a unique museum experience.

The intensification of urban activities promotes the site as an urban destination, a social and cultural meeting point. Museum garden unveils several types of African ecologies, where a route of 2km crosses several landscape ecologies and the various gardens will allow for art work to be placed outside in a landscape scenario.

The winners of the international tender for the Italian Pavilion at Expo 2015 are studio Nemesis & Partners Proger of Pescara and Rome with BMS Projects in Milan. The winning concept is rooted in the idea that the architecture should act as a system for generating relations – the way in which these relationships are organized and expressed gives the life to set of volumes that further build architectural landscape, evoking the image of an urban forest. The design of the pavilion comes together in one volume, very rigorous and unified, in order to meet the functional requirements.

The main theme of the whole Expo is “feeding the planet”. In the Italian Pavilion’s brief the key words – life, transparency, changeability, all focused on the visitor’s experiences into the space.

The volume of the pavilion is articulated in four main blocks, arranged around central void – the square. The dynamism of architectural massing is obtained through inclined surfaces of the interior of the square. Within the pavilion macro key functions required by the Preliminary Document are organized – exhibition area, auditorium, offices and Meeting. The four architectural volumes, as if they were trees, have the support massive point on the ground that simulates large “roots” of the exhibition on the ground floor.

In the words of the jury, the highest ranked project plays with special care and self-expressive formal comprehensive architectural imprint the theme – Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life, with pre-figuration introduced by the concept. Read the rest of this entry »