Harbour Terminal Building Design | New Keelung Harbor Terminal Building | Keelung | Taiwan | SDA

Inspired by the geometric patterns of Taiwanese Hen Cages and the structural shells of luxury racing yachts, the building takes shape in a dynamic gradient form that transitions from exo-skin to exo-skeleton in response to programmatic content as well as performative requirements. Thus, what appears to be formal expression, is actually “informed form” which responds to the integration of weather, urban context, program, circulation, and sustainability through integrated design responses that inform the building orientation, spatial layout, façade design, and choice of material and structural system.

The building program is divided into three primary experience groups and cyclical sequences. These three groups share programmatic overlaps and transitions which allow exchange between groups.......more

Metropol Parasol | Redevelopment of Plaza de la Encarnacion | Seville | Spain | J. MAYER H. architects

“Metropol Parasol”, the Redevelopment of the Plaza de la Encarnacíon in Seville, designed by J. MAYER H. architects, becomes the new icon for Seville, – a place of identification and to articulate Seville’s role as one of the world’s most fascinating cultural destinations. “Metropol Parasol” explores the potential of the Plaza de la Encarnacion to become the new contemporary urban centre. Its role as a unique urban space within the dense fabric of the medieval inner city of Seville allows for a great variety of activities such as memory, leisure and commerce..........more

Mixed Use Development | The Cube | Birmingham | England | Make Architects

The Cube is the final phase of Birmingham’s Mailbox development and one of Make’s largest buildings to date, made up of a broad mix of uses including offices, apartments, retail units, restaurants, an automated car park, a boutique hotel, spa facilities and the city’s first rooftop restaurant. Over half the residential apartments were sold off-plan and the Highways Agency has let 50 per cent of the office space. The rooftop restaurant and bar have been let by Marco Pierre White and the hotel and spa by Sanguine Hospitality for an Indigo hotel........more

Architectural Competiton First Prize Winner | Hangzhou Gateway | Hangzhou | China | JDSA

The concept of the building is to create a gateway in between two prominent parts of the city’s new development. By excavating a portion of our built mass we liberate a diagonal passage through our site while at the same time articulate the descent to a commercial center and below ground parking.
On the executive floors we provide a rice-field like landscape that serves as a park and as a rain water retainer to re-use natural water and cool down the building.........more

Mixed Use Condominium Development | COR | Miami | Florida | Oppenheim

COR, the first sustainable , mixed use condominium in Miami, Florida represents a dynamic synergy between architectural, structural engineering an ecology.Rising 400 above Design District, COR extracts power from its environment utilizing the latest advancements in wind turbines, photovoltaic, and solar hot water generation while integrating them into its architectural identity........more

Mixed Development | Elbberg Campus Altona | Hamburg | ART Architekten

Situated between warehouses, industrial buildings, and green areas, the Elbberg Campus in Hamburg’s Großen Elbstraße, Altona, combines living, working and relaxation with another. The design is based upon the remains of existing buildings: newly designed offices, apartments and lofts are located within a newly designed park landscape, following the contours of the slope. New footpaths, staircases and terraces connect the areas above the Altonaer Balkon, to the harbour. The office building is is orientated towards the public spaces: the roof of the base of the building serves as an extensive terrace, offering a wonderful view over the harbour. Private and common areas within the complex are, on the one hand, clearly defined, and at the same time, harmoniously interwoven with a variety of architectural and lanscaping measures. With references to the Treppenviertel in Blankenese, the Elbberg Campus is a further element within the urban redevelopment plan for the Elbe embankment, to generate a mixed-use development area........more

Mixed-Used Development | Weifang City | Kite City | Weifang | China | Neil M Denari

Weifang is a special city in China. Not only is it well known for the history of its handicrafts such as paper–cutting and New Year’s paintings, it is the world’s most important city for kite flying and the history of kites. For more than 2,000 years, the people of Weifang have enjoyed the exhilaration of seeing these colorful objects flying in the brisk winds of the Shandong region in Northern China.
Weifang City is a 290,000 square meter mixed-used development consisting of housing and commercial in a series of tower blocks, with a 150 meter tall mixed-use tower that anchors the southwest corner of the site. The organization of the massing responds to the client’s brief to make an iconic tower on the park with a supporting world of housing and shopping around it...........more

A mixed use residential and hotel building | Saville | Brisbane | dKO Architecture

dKO Architecture’s first civic building in Brisbane provided an opportunity to combine contemporary, value driven design with commercial smarts across several disciplines. A mixed use residential and hotel building; a strong attempt was made to define a new Queensland response to climate and its effect on large buildings.

Both exterior and interior spaces demonstrate a considered focus on an iconic architectural design statement, the end result being the production of a workable and liveable environment – an environment that is sustainable, contextually sensitive and imparts low ecological impact..........more

Glass Loft | Friendship Development Associates | Penn Avenue Arts District | Front Studio Architects

Commissioned by the Friendship Development Associates (FDA) as a central player in its community revitalization program, the Glass Lofts are a new mixed-use construction consisting of 39,000sf artist’s work spaces, 18 loft condominiums, retail and restaurant space, FDA offices and a flexible-use community space.

Located at the center of the Penn Avenue Arts District, the Glass Lofts is the result of a community-driven planning process actively involving neighborhood residents, artists and business owners in the development of the project.....more

 Project Slava Moscow | Russian Federation | SHCA

An example of the exciting changes shaping modern Moscow, SHCA is designing a 480,000 sq m (4,734,000 sq ft) multi-functional complex downtown. The first of several industrial sites the City is studying to convert to residential and commercial functions, Slava is located on Leningradsky Prospect. This major artery links Red Square to the suburbs and offers great visibility and a prime address for the planned development. Belorouskii Plaza train station, one of Moscow's major transportation hubs, is adjacent to the proposed project.........more

King Abdullah Financial District Parcels 3.04 & 3.05 | Riyadh | Saudi Arabia | Callison

In concert with Saudi Arabia’s effort to increase its presence in the global economy, Callison’s design for parcels 3.04 and 3.05 connects world class office, residential and retail uses along the Wadi pedestrian network within King Abdullah Financial District. To maximize sustainability, indigenous materials and water resource conservation are incorporated throughout the development.The buildings’ site orientation also provides self-shading and cooling for energy efficiency. This project is located near the center of the development, which is set to become the leading financial district in the Middle East......more

Barnsley Interchange | Jefferson Sheard Architects

The Interchange is a flagship development in the Remaking Barnsley Strategic Development Framework - the town's 30 year masterplan - and needed to improve connection between public transport facilities and create an engaging passenger environment, complete with cafés and retail areas........more

Broadcasting Place | Mixed Use Development | Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios

Broadcasting Place is a mixed use development close to Leeds city centre. Conceived as a public/private partnership for property group Downing and Leeds Metropolitan University, it provides approximately 110,000 square feet of new offices and teaching spaces together with 240 student residences in a landmark building rising to 23 storeys. A new Baptist Church completes the scheme on its northern edge.

The buildings are conceived as solid landscape forms which draw on Yorkshire’s rich geological and sculptural heritage. The lower buildings rise as a continuous rake from 3 storeys, adjacent to low rise listed buildings, up to 5 storeys. The taller buildings drop from 8 storeys down to 6 before rising to the scheme’s highest point of 23 storeys. The strong roof pitch is reflected in the massing of the buildings which have sharp triangular corners and angular cantilevered projections. Through this massive form, windows were conceived as the flow of water cascading through a rock formation. This design intent is reinforced by the selection of cor-ten steel as a solid, sculptural and weathering material, constructed as a rain-screen façade......more

Burj RAFAL tower | Riyadh | Saudi Arabia | PT Group

The Burj RAFAL tower rises up as a landmark over the low buildings in Riyadh. The reflective glass is in sharp contrast to the colorful Riyadh stone on the podium, a contemporary interpretation of local Najd style architecture characterised with triangular openings.

The site allows for a resort like entrance drive to a glittering fountain at the hotel drop-off point and continues to the ballroom drop-off which features a large torch. The extensive landscape holds restaurant terraces and leisure activities on the podium roof. The 62 storeys high tower contains hotel rooms, serviced apartments, offices and apartments with a substantial retail component in the podium......more

Portside | Active Hub of Cultural and Social Activity | Arkhefield

The new gateway to Brisbane is an active hub of cultural and social activity, enhanced by large public spaces flanked by mixed use buildings providing restaurants, markets, cinemas, function spaces, commercial spaces and residential apartments. The precinct was instigated by the creation of the new cruise liner terminal for Brisbane, which weaves itself through the development.....more

Community Workplace | Cloister | China | Coffey Architects

An urban masterplan and associated office, catering, research, sports and sales buildings. The Cloister is devoted to workplace community, and links the cluster of departmental buildings. The Cloister is expressed as a striking linear form; joining important spaces such as lecture theatre, library, exhibition spaces and restaurant. Between the buildings are quadrangle gardens, used for quiet meditation or as study gardens; places to meet in the sun or the shade. The main office building sits at the centre of the composition. The Cloister runs through its centre, and is visible in the central atrium space of the building as a dramatic gleaming element spanning through the light falling from above. The cloister is an allegorical production line whose formal section is that is that of a steel ingot, it is also the main services route carrying energy from a local electricity generating plant (run from waste heat off the steel production line) to each of the linked buildings. The cloister glows to express this connection that visually expresses the use of recovered energy from the steel plant adjacent......more

Architecture for Discovery Green | Houston Texas | Page Southerland Page

Discovery Green returns 12 acres of land that were mostly open parking lots to a natural green space in the heart of downtown Houston.
The Gold LEED certified park houses a range of architectural elements which includes two restaurants, a park administration building, underground parking for 600 vehicles and numerous site features such as a bandstand and shade structures of various sizes and configurations.
It provides a central focus for new development and a core of outdoor activity nearby the city’s convention center, ballpark and arena.
The three primary buildings on the site--the café, the park building and the restaurant—parallel two preexisting rows of live oaks and reinforce their linear character.
Each building is composed of long, thin volumes that draw activity from the major north/south promenade deep into the park on either side.
The park building and the café have deep, shady porches that dominate their south faces. Carefully designed to create a shield from hot south and west sun, the porch roofs pitch up to the north to achieve balanced daylight for the outdoor spaces below as well as to induce air movement, drawing warm air up and out.
The south-facing roofs of the café and park building porches house an array of photovoltaic collectors that provide a portion of the power needed for the park.
The restaurant is dominated by a long, thin dining room that nestles under the boughs of the live oak alley.
Tall glass walls toward the trees and at each end open the room generously to the park, while a richly textured brick volume housing kitchen and service functions anchors the room on the street side.
The upper level of the restaurant is predominantly a shaded outdoor dining terrace accessed by broad staircases at the east and west ends.
Entry/exit points for the underground garage are also featured as landmark architectural elements in the park.
The main vehicular entry across the street from the convention center is nestled into a land berm that reflects the shape of the ramp of the garage as it descends into the ground.
Two pedestrian-only exits ascend from the garage through linear stair forms that break the ground above as long, thin pavilions.
They are faced in a colorful skin of powder coated aluminum boxes created by Austin sculptor Margo Sawyer.
Exterior materials for the park buildings are primarily natural hued masonry, metal, wood and glass.
The masonry is a ruddy Gulf Coast brick laid in a strongly horizontal coursing pattern to reflect the emphatic flatness of the clay geology of the region.
A reflective anodized aluminum is employed for roofs and trim on an explicit steel frame. Certified woods are utilized for soffits, gates, screens and decks.
Generous glass walls, primarily oriented to the north, make prominent connections between indoors and outdoors while providing soft indirect light to interior spaces.....more

The Azzano: San Paolo Complex | Bergamo, Italy | Asymptote Architecture

LOCATION: Bergamo, Italy
SITE AREA: 110,000 sq.m
BUILDING AREA: 253,700 sq.m
DATE: 2008-Ongoing

Asymptote’s proposal for a new master plan for an area south of Orio al Serio International Airport, located near the historic and majestic city of Bergamo in Northern Italy, calls for an intricate complex inspired by the rolling planar aspects of the region’s countryside. The master plan is a meandering and intriguingly articulated collection of surfaces that seem to have evolved naturally from the adjacent farmlands. The manifestation of the Italian rural landscape in built form is an elegant solution to the real and commercial need for mid- to large-scale development projects such as this one. The scheme calls for powerful, yet subtle, new architectural works placed on an urban plinth and pursues a quasi-urban notion of occupancy where the interior and exterior spaces are fluid and transitional from one another. Overall, the Azzano-San Paolo Master Plan is a signal for the possibility of such developments to be aesthetically compelling and architecturally dynamic.....more

Timisoara Business Center | Piata Marasesti, Timisoara | DSBA

To conserve the image of the old barrack - to accomplish two physical and stylistic entities -the two entities can be built and exploit both independently and in compound - to obtain a level of belvedere and a view to Unirii Sq. using a public spaces level at the +21,90 elevation - the presence of the barrack not to be faded by the hotel - the opening of the patio unto the Marasesti Square...more

Mixed Development | SLICED POROSITY BLOCK Chengdu, China | Steven Holl Architects

PROGRAM: five towers with offices, serviced apartments, retail, a hotel, cafes, and restaurants
CLIENT: CapitaLand Development
BUILDING AREA (SQUARE): 3,336,812
STATUS: construction phase

The 'Sliced Porosity Block' will be located just south of the intersection of the First Ring Road and Ren Min Nan Road. Its sun sliced geometry results from minimum daylight exposures to the surrounding urban fabric prescribed by code. Porous and inviting from every side, five vertical entrances cut through a layer of micro-urban shopping before leading to the elevated public 'Three Valley' plaza. A great urban terrace on the scale of Rockefeller Center, this multi-level plaza in the center of the complex is sculpted by stone steps, ramps, trees, and ponds and caters to special events or to a casual afternoon in the sun. Here the public space parallax of overlapping geometries in strict black and white is supercharged by color that glows from the shops positioned underneath the plaza.

The three generous ponds on the plaza are inspired by a poem by Du Fu (713-770), in which he describes how 'Time has left stranded in Three Valleys'. (Du Fu was one of ancient China's most important poets, who spent a part of his life in Chengdu). These three ponds function as skylights to the six-story shopping precinct below. Residing on voids in the facades of the sculpted blocks three pavilions are designed by Steven Holl (history pavilion), Lebbeus Woods (high tech pavilion), and Ai Wei Wei (Du Fu pavilion).

The 'Sliced Porosity Block' is heated and cooled geo-thermally and the large plaza ponds harvest recycled rainwater while the natural grasses and lily pads create a natural cooling effect. High-performance glazing, energy-efficient equipment and the use of regional materials are just a few of the other methods employed to reach the LEED gold rating....more