Xuzhou Suning Plaza Proposal / Aedas
Connecting time and space with the ‘lucky cloud’, the Aedas designed Xuzhou Suning Plaza is interpreted as magical and delightful, bringing history to life in Xuzhou. Located in the ‘Imperial Emperor’s Town’ of China, the changing of forms inspires reverie and the oval buildings reflect the union of masculine and feminine qualities as well as power and gentleness. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Xiamen Wu Yuan Wan Mixed-Use Development Winning Proposal / Aedas
Designed by Aedas, their competition winning proposal to design a bay front, mixed-use development in Wu Yuan Wan, Xiamen, China is comprised of a shopping mall, a five-star hotel and two SOHO towers. With a total gross floor area of 175,000 square meters, their design aims to become the centerpiece of a new master plan. Ultimately, it will be a new retail landmark and a well integrated complex that responds to its watery surrounding. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Mapletree Minhang Development Proposal / Aedas
With the ground breaking ceremony recently held to kick start construction, the Aedas designed Mapletree Minhang Development Project involves two sites – Mapletree Business City and VivoCity. With a site area of approximately 119,000 square meters and a gross floor area of about 297,000 square meters, Vivocity is designed as a double looped mall with high efficiency. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Rotherham Central Station / Aedas
Architects: Aedas
Location: Rotherham, South Yorkshire, UK
Structural Engineer: Arup, Leeds
Funding Contributors: Yorkshire forward, Network Rail (Access for all Scheme)
Client: South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE)
Area: 1,150 sqm
Year: 2012
Photographs: Daniel Hopkinson
In Progress: Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi / HDR Architecture
Architects: HDR Architecture
Location: Abu Dhabi, UAE
Interior Design: AEDAS
Completion Year: 2013
Photographs: Courtesy of HDR Architecture
Al Bahar Towers Responsive Facade / Aedas
A quick glimpse at the upcoming weather for Abu Dhabi will show a week of intense sunshine, temperatures steadily above 100 degrees Fahrenheit with 0% chance of rain. In such extreme weather conditions, even architects listing environmental design as their top priority are up against a tough battle. Never mind that the sand can compromise the structural integrity of the building, the intense heat and glare can render a comfortable indoor environment relatively impossible if not properly addressed. For Abu Dhabi’s newest pair of towers, Aedas Architects have designed a responsive facade which takes cultural cues from the “mashrabiya”, a traditional Islamic lattice shading device.
More about the towers’ shading system after the break.
Express Rail Link West Kowloon Terminus / Andrew Bromberg
The high-speed rail terminus station will connect Hong Kong to various major cities in the Mainland with the largest rail network in our history. Located centrally in Hong Kong within the city’s urban realm and equipped with fifteen tracks, the facility will probably be the largest below ground terminus station in the world.
Designed by Andrew Bromberg of Aedas, in collaboration with Aecom, the West Kowloon Terminus will function more like an international airport than a rail station; this means that the facility needs to have both custom and immigration controls for departing and arriving passengers.. More images and architects’ description after the break.
CTBUH Names Best Tall Buildings for 2012
Four innovative towers in Canada, Qatar, Australia and Italy have named the best tall buildings in the world for 2012 by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), the international not-for-profit association. These towers demonstrate the continued renaissance of tall building development worldwide, as a record number of 88 tall buildings soaring over 200 meters were completed in 2011, compared to 32 buildings in 2005. Another 96 tall buildings are projected to compete this year, with China being the largest contributor.
The four regional winners include the Absolute Towers in Mississauga, Canada (Americas); 1 Bligh Street, Sydney (Asia and Australia); Palazzo Lombardia, Milan (Europe); and Doha Tower in Doha, Qatar (Middle East and Africa). Additionally, Al Bahar Towers in Abu Dhabi won the CTBUH’s first Innovation Award for the project’s computer sun-screen.
“The winners display remarkable creativity, as well as a respect for the environment, connection with place, and the urban surroundings,” said Richard Cook, awards committee chairman and founding partner of Cook+Fox Architects.
Continue after the break to learn more.
Starlight Place / Aedas
Architects: Aedas
Location: Chongqing, China
Year: 2012
Photographs: Courtesy of Aedas
Aedas Receives 8 Honors at the Asia Pacific Property Awards
Aedas recently won 8 prestigious awards at the Asia Pacific Property Awards presentation ceremony, which was held on April 28 in Kuala Lumpur. Center 66 from Hang Lung Properties, a mixed use development of 376,800 sqm straddling across two sites conjoined by a public plaza hosting a cluster of heritage buildings in Wuxi, PRC, won “5 Star Award, Best Mixed Use Architecture for China”, and subsequently won “Best Mixed Use Architecture Award for Asia Pacific”. More information on their awards after the break.
PierESCAPE / Aedas Architects, Davis Brody Bond and Martha Schwarz Partners
Aedas Architects, Davis Brody Bond and Martha Schwartz Partners proposal PierESCAPE goes beyond the Navy Pier Centennial Vision as it aims to strengthen the connections between water, land, nature, city, culture, civic space and infrastructure with a “series of dock-like extensions”. The proposal respects the history of the Pier while identifying unique opportunities that will them to create a 21st century waterfront experience that is both a historical and contemporary destination.
Continue reading for more information and video of the team’s presentation.
The Urban Crossing / Aedas
Anchoring at the end of the proposed Hongqiao primary retail axis in Shanghai, and with a canal meandering through the northern edge of the site, the Linkong Block 10-1 Development is the destination for the public within the Linkong Business Park. The program for the development, ‘The Urban Crossing’, calls for a boutique urban mixed-use project with office, retail, gallery, conference center, and water promenade plaza. This concept by Aedas is to create a brand new landmark, which further establishes a strong civic presence through its iconic form and vibrant program mix. Portrayed as the Gateway of Hongqiao Airport Transportation Hub, the project is deemed to generate synergy from public and commercial activities. More images and architects’ description after the break.
National Mall Competition Finalists Announced
Over 1,200 entires from 30 states and 10 countries submitted applications for the National Mall competition. Late last month fifteen design teams were chosen as finalists to advance to the second stage of this prestigious contest.
Hosting 25 million visitors annually, the National Mall will undergo an estimated $700 million restoration beginning in 2012. The competition has been broken down into three areas of restoration: Union Square including the Reflecting Pool and the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial, Sylvan Theater on the Washington Monument Grounds, and the Constitution Gardens between the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial.
Among the finalists to move on to stage two of the competition, Diller Scofidio Renfro, Weiss/Manfredi, and Rogers Marvel Architects who are shortlisted for two out of the three areas of restoration, as well as Snohetta, Michael Maltzan Architecture, Ten Arquitectos, and Bohlin Cywinski Jackson who are finalists for one area of restoration.
“Entrants were evaluated on past design performance, philosophy, design intent, thoughtfulness, creativity and overall resume,” according to a release from the Trust of the National Mall. The jury, compiled of architects, professors and other members of the architecture community, included Michael Gericke of Pentagram NYC and Pritzker Prize Laureate Thom Mayne founder of Morphosis.
The second stage of the competition includes interviews of the teams conducted by the Trust for the National Mall and the National Park Service, and the last stage will include proposed plans for the restoration. The competition will culminate in May 2012 and the proposed designs from stage three of the competition will be available to the public prior to the winning design being selected.
Follow the break for a complete list of design finalists for the National Mall Competition.
18 Kowloon East / Aedas
Architect: Aedas
Location: Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong, China
Size: 32,400 sq m (GFA)
Status: Completion 2010
Aedas shared with us their design for a 28-storey mixed-use building which includes housing, offices, retail spaces and a car park. A design with efficient office floor plates and a rational box were requested by the client. With the building located in a community with dense industrial blocks, instead of providing another office tower entirely wrapped in a coolly glazed skin, the design investigates the possibility of providing an environmentally sustainable design in such an industrial area. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Taipei Nangang Office Tower / Aedas
The design for the new Taipei Nangang High-tech District Office Tower, by AEDAS Beijing Ltd, draws inspiration from the shape of the river pebbles, developing a unique aesthetic that conveys the idea of softness and elegance as well as strength and character.
Located in close proximity to the Jilong River and a major overpass highway in Taipei, the surrounding environment provided the opportunity to propose a building that will redefine the skyline of this rapidly developing area of Taipei. More images and architects’ description after the break.
U.S. Invests in Brazil’s Infrastructure Upgrades
Although Brazil has been growing quickly as a nation, its economic growth has been stinted by the country’s lack of investment in infrastructure. In preparation for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, Brazil is expected to spend over one trillion dollars from the Brazilian government and as much as $34 billion from private investors. The money will go toward numerous construction projects designed to increase and improve upon Brazil’s roads, railways, stadiums, hotels and airports. More information after the break.
Pazhou Hotel / Aedas
International firm Aedas designed a new hotel and mixed-use development for Guangzhou, China. The complex, which will be completed in 2012, is centrally located within an existing exhibition zone. While the project fronts directly onto one side of the water, the location affords views to the water from both directions. “The design strives to be unique and iconic to give the project a strong and comfortable identity within its surroundings, aiding in its success among competing neighbors.”
More about the project and more images after the break.
Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University Administration & Information Centre / Aedas
Architects: Andy Wen – Aedas
Location: Suzhou, PRC, China
Project team: Larry Wen, Johnson Ma, Kevin Wang, David Fung, Kevin Yan, Hui Liu, Jessica Cao, Lily Xin, Anthony Ruan, Weiwei Wei, Huiying Huang & Elizabeth Tse
Client: Suzhou Industrial Park Education Development & Investment Company
Civil Engineer: Suzhou Architecture Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd.
Design year: 2008
Rendering: Silkroad Digital Technology Co., Ltd
Aedas design Civic & Cultural Centre in Singapore
The new Singapore Civic & Cultural Centre will be located in the Vista Xchange Precinct and will feature retail, cultural and civic spaces. The upper level will have a 5,000 seat auditorium, the largest of his kind in Singapore. Aedas aim was to combine the line between the different elements, bringing retail and culture together. The building will be complete in 2011.
Seen at designboom.
More images after the break.
