Huaxi Urban Center Tower in Guiyang by Tom Wiscombe a showcase of the recent renaissance of investigation, regarding structure of contemporary high-rise buildings, material capacities, dynamic lateral forces and legal constraints. The list of most used and known structural types – moment frames, braced frames, trussed tubes and shear wall systems has been successfully expanded in order to include new morphologies and materials, including non-metric cellular formations, exo-skeletal lattices and futuristic carbon fiber composite networks.

This particular project revisits the problem of “architecturalizing” tower infrastructural systems, in author’s own words. What the architects chose is to create technological ambiance, rather than express the literal image of technology. The created ambiances defined by translucency, shrouding, color effects and pretty exotic lighting, but it is also an outcome of hybridizing mechanical with other building systems, in a way that the synergistic forms are created.

The duct work is allowed to migrate out of the central core towards exterior and the glass envelope, wrapping the building, starts to take on duct behavior by de-laminating, in order to create pleats to enable air flow. The pleats branch and run across the building facades, linking to floor plenums on each level at several points throughout the perimeter of the building. Hot air rises, due to stack effect, and the building is passively cooled. The second layer, made in perforated metal sheets, acts as a sunscreen during the daytime however allowing the views through. Read the rest of this entry »

German based GraftLab designed three towers in the heart of newly prestigious Chinese city of Dalian. The development will rise in the center of business district and it comprises of two residential towers, a high-rise for Dalian Daily Newspaper’s headquarters and commercial facilities housed in lower, three-story volume which provides base for the towers.

The focus of the design on the extreme verticality of the proposed volumes and each volume is composed of multiple vertical planes, breaking off at the top of the structure resembling shards of glass. The peaks of sharp-edged tower act as a display of ever-changing light situations due to sun movements across the sky, resembling the shiny peaks in a mountain range. Due to angled roofs, the interior spaces are highly dramatic with an abundance of daylight for luxurious penthouse units and conference rooms. Read the rest of this entry »

As stated at Telus, this dynamic tower, designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) in collaboration with Dialog, is $400-million, 750,000 square foot LEED Platinum project which will significantly transform Calgary’s skyline as an architectural marvel, creating a dynamic community of blended urban living and working. This vibrant mixed use will offer 430,000 square foot of office space, mostly for Telus, and it is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2017.

Designed for downtown Calgary, a typical North American city center with a cluster of corporate towers surrounded by a periphery of low density suburban homes, Telus Sky Tower proposes different way of living in a lovely and more sustainable mixture of living and working at the very intersection of light rail and main roads in the heart of the center, which creates more varied and pedestrian-friendly center for this city. The idea behind the design is to smooth the transition from working to living, as the tower takes off from the ground to touch the sky. Read the rest of this entry »

Located on the corner of Yonge and Bloor Street in Toronto,Ontario, One Bloor Street will be a truly mixed-use development, re-defining the typical ratio between residential, commercial and retail space within a single tower. Designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects, the new high-rise acts like a tool for restoring the urban experience of the street, by providing new corner landmark location. The new and exciting high-rise houses various uses – street level podium facilitates six-story retail and commercial space, while the 75 stories of the tower are residential. Carving into the existing zoning envelope, the six-story podium terraces away from the street as it stretches northward; dissolving the corner mass and preserving the existing street scale.

The corner site of the building is a gate to Canada’s premier shopping district therefore the goal was to further increase density while contributing to the public realm with new transit connections, active street level and improved pedestrian routes. The Northerly corners of this area were redeveloped in the early 1970’s, but failed to celebrate the importance of this destination by locating the retail below grade; effectively turning their back to the street. Read the rest of this entry »

Zaha Hadid Architects participated in an international competition in Astana, Kazakhstan, to design the facilities for the international exhibition, scheduled for 2017. The theme of the expo aims to raise awareness of energy resources, energy efficiency and environmental protection as well as to seek innovative engineering and architectural solutions to critical global issues. The symbol of EXPO-2017 will be the monument which will outlive the exhibition and will be immediate landmark of Astana.

Zaha Hadid Architect’s proposal for EXPO-2017 Astana placed energy efficiency, renewable energy technologies and sustainability at the forefront of the design. The result of the process, which consisted of thoughtful analysis of cultural and physical landscape of Kazakhstan, traditional patterns and ornaments, is informal fluid interface of urban pattern, landform and architecture inspired by combination of local culture and renewable technologies.

The proposed urban grid came logically and the urban morphology evolved forming a multiplicity of geometries and orientations that connect to adjacent areas. Building mass is fluid and the contour addresses the neighboring urban conditions, height regulations and importance of adjoining streets. Read the rest of this entry »

Jean Nouvel designed quite an impressive addition to the skyline of gulf city Doha, Qatar. In his own manner, French architect created the Burj Doha as bold and elaborate and this iconic cylindrical form, a continuation of what has started with Torre Agbar, culminates in an elegant dome. The tower is completed last year and includes 46 floors above ground as well as 3 floors above. The high-rise aims to express the local culture, connecting contemporary and very modern aspirations with ancient Islamic designs.

The most unique feature of the structure is the lattice cladding, designed as a reference to the shanasheel screens which are common in the Arabic area; therefore the envelope consists of a delicate, lace-like layered façade. This decorative screen around the whole building has double function – it acts as protection from the intense summer sun and it guards the glazing from the high winds which bring the desert sands into the city.  This feature brings a pleasant working environment for the occupants of the complex and as well it creates a playful network of shadow designs on the interior. Read the rest of this entry »

The SOHO Hailun Plaza is designed by UNStudio for Shanghai, China. The development is located at the intersection of two metro lines, therefore providing great connections to public transport and a desirable location for office and retail. It consists of 130m, 33 storey high office tower and 5 mixed-use and retail-office pavilions. Due to their placement as objects in the flow of commuters, the pavilions together with the tower direct the crowd and organize the outdoor spaces in different scales, providing the platform for a variety of urban activities.

The façade is the key element of this multi-object structure – it is constantly changing and it is multifaceted so it resembles the dragon skin. In the words of the architects, it’s the façade design that emphases the buildings as singular objects. The geometry is curved, yet with strong vertical lines and it permanently connects the buildings with the city of Shanghai. Together with colored texture of faceted facades, the development provides changing and dynamic appearance when approached from different directions. Read the rest of this entry »

RTA Office’s design for Telecommunication Tower for Istanbul is left to the citizens and to their free interpretation – the form suggests it could be a minaret sculpted by the wind or a twenty-first century lighthouse or none of the above. However, architects at RTA office strongly believe that the success of the idea depends on the way the designers understand the site. Therefore their proposal comes as a response to this very specific and strategically important point which bridges the gap between Europe and Asia, merging cultures and continents.

Through the history, Istanbul was characterized by the respect for its geography – for this reason the aim was to offer a proposal which would not jeopardize this relationship, but on contrary that would provide an end to the conquest of the buildings and artifacts at this specific site. That was the reason why the design proposal is not an actual building but more an object that undoubtedly reveals the natural and environmental attributes of the place and doesn’t belong to the city but to the landscape.

The shape to the tower is given by the sum of flexible threads that adapt to the body. As the shape varies so does the floor plan which allows different functions within the same tower.  Regarding the energy sources, the tower works on wind power but as such it also clearly resembles an element that had been shaped by the wind. The texture of the tower changes in perception as the visitor is approaching the object –from solid it transforms into a mesh.

Aedas designed the 100,000-square-meter Bravo Pazhou mixed-use tower, located in the western portion of Pazhou’s central business district in Guangzhou, China with restaurants and a boutique hotel at the lower levels and office space at the upper floors.

The extraordinary thing about this development is its design to cater two owners in one unified composition. This special request from the clients provides opportunities to explore creative ways to amalgamate specific masses in a single iconic composition.  As a result, the distinction between the functions is visible on the elevation. The whole composition is unified by a semi controlled random fenestration using vertical fins at regular intervals. The top portion of the tower uses a simple but effective gesture that combines observation points with the utility nodes. Read the rest of this entry »