De Rotterdam: OMA and the biggest building in the Netherlands

exterior-night-de-rotterdam

We just received this from : After almost 12 years in the boards, announced that the De complex will enter construction during December 2009, expecting completion in 2013.

Tree stacked towers with a total height of 150m, will result on a gross floor area of approximately 160,000m2, making De Rotterdam the largest building in the Netherland, with a total cost of €340m.

The mixed-use program (offices, apartments, a hotel, conference facilities, gym, shops, restaurants, and cafes) and the resulting density make this project a vertical city, located in the old harbour district of Wilhelminapier, next to the iconic Erasmus bridge.

Platoon Kunsthalle / Platoon + Graft Architects

Concept Design: Platoon Cultural Development
Location: Seoul, Korea
Architectural Consultancy: Graft Architects + Baik Jiwon
Executive Architect: U-il Architects & Engineers
Prefab Engineering: Ace special container, Korea
Structural Engineering: MIDAS IT, Korea
Interior Design: URBANTAINER, Korea
Main Contractor: Hyojung construction & development, Korea
Program: Exhibitions, Bar & , Event Hall, Artist Studios, Library Lounge, Office Studios, Workshop Room, Roof Top Bar
Structure: M. Cabestany
Footprint Area: 415 sqm
Main hall Area: 272 sqm
Project year: 2008-2009
Photographs:

construction process

Ex Arsenal at Maddalena Conversion / Stefano Boeri Architetti


© Paolo Rosselli

Italian based Stefano Boeri Architetti shared with us their latest project: The requalification and recovery of the ex Military Arsenal on the island of La , . This project includes a hotel, a congress centre, a conference building, two large exhibition and commercial spaces and a quay for 700 boats.


© Paolo Rosselli

It was conceived as the central point of the G8 summit at Maddalena, event that was recently moved to the earthquaked zone of L’Aquila, and it was developed in only 18 months, thanks to the work of 1600 construction workers, a dozen developers and a large group of professionals and technicians, fulfilling a vision that confirms “the level of distinction of contemporary Italian Architecture”.

The end result is impressive: over 155.000 m2, providing a series of port, receptive, formative and convention infrastructure that will transform the ex Arsenale at Maddalena into one of the principle nautical poles of the eastern Mediterranean. The mixed use project incorporates advanced systems to use solar power and seawater for heating and cooling, reflecting the strong relation of the project with the sea.

Architects description and more photos by  Paolo Rosselli  after the break.

Roosendaal Pavillion / René van Zuuk Architekten

Architect: René van Zuuk Architekten
Location: Roosendaal,
Client: Gemeente Roosendaal / NL
Design Team: René van Zuuk, Jorrit Spel, Chimo Villa Belda
Program: Pavillion – shops/lunchroom/office / entrance for area
Project Year: 2005-2009
Constructed Area: 620 sqm
Photographs: Christian Richters

Vertical Park / Jorge Hernandez de la Garza

Architects: Jorge Hernandez de la Garza
Location: Coyoacan,
Design Team: Rodrigo Ambriz, Michael Smith, Erik Cosio
Project Year: 2009
Images:

Zaha Hadid announces new project for Cairo

Zaha Hadid announced her latest design, the Stone Towers, for the expanding district of , .  Within the 525,000sqm towers, Hadid’s design provides office and retail spaces, a five-star business hotel with serviced apartments, and sunken landscaped gardens and plaza called the Delta.

Further project description after the break.

Home_Office / superkül inc

Architects: superkül inc
Location: Toronto, Ontario,
Principals: Andre D’Elia and Meg Graham
General Contractor: Keystone Construction with Andre D’Elia and Meg Graham
Structural Engineer: Robert E. Brown Associates
Mechanical Engineer: Keynon Mechanical Design Inc
Constructed Area: 260 sqm
Year: 2006
Photographs: Ben Rahn / A-Frame Inc

Sports Park Stozice / SADAR + VUGA, with KSS + MYSI + OFIS

Architects: Sadar Vuga Arhitekti (lead architect); KSS, London (consultant in sports architecture); , Tel Aviv (shopping centre concept); OFIS arhitekti, Ljubljana (architect shopping centre)
Location: Ljubljana,
Landscape Architects: AKKA, Ljubljana
Construction Engineering: Gradis; Atelier One, London
Mechanical Engineering: Lenassi; Jelen & Zaveršnik
Electrical Engineering: Elprojekt; UTRIS
Fire Engineering: EKOsystem
Client: Ljubljana City Municipality, Grep
Project year: 2007
Site Area: 182,000 sqm
Constructed Area: 460,720 sqm
Photographs: Sadar Vuga

Market Hall in Rotterdam / MVRDV

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Dutch architects MVRDV strike another one with a new project in the new inner city heart for the Laurens Quarter, the pre-war centre of .

The project, comissioned by Provast, includes an open air market, that due to new hygienic constraints of dutch laws has to be covered. It also includes 246 residences, that form an arc that covers the open market area.

This results on a 3,000sqm retail area, with a 1,600sqm catering area on the ground level and first floor, a 1,800sqm supermarket and an underground car park for 1,100 cars.

The interior face of the arc will be covered with LEDs for an ever changing interior. The front and backside are covered with a flexible suspended glass facade, allowing for maximum transparency and a minimum of structure.

This new icon for Rotterdam is expected to be completed in 2014. More images after the break.

Silo Competition Proposal / Allard Architecture

Our friends from Allard Architecture sent us their proposal for the Silo Competition in , Netherlands.

The Biotope converts the remains of an old water purification plant in an ecological development. Conceived as an ecological education centre, the Biotope will be the home for eco-related institutes like IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), for several schools of Amsterdam, for residential spaces and for sport facilities.

More info and images after the break.

Bastard Store / studiometrico

Italian practice studiometrico shared with us how they converted an old cinema in Milan, into the new  Bastard flagship store, which also includes a suspended bowl and offices for Comvert.

Skateboarders dreamed place to work.

Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects wins Urban Mediaspace Competition

Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects was recently announced as the winner to design ‘Urban Mediaspace’, the largest public library in Scandinavia. The 228 million euro project is located in Aarhus, and is only the latest in the studio’s history of library designs. Other finalist in the competition included Mecanoo, GPP architects and A-team, a collaboration between two danish studios, Aart and Arkitema.

Schmidt Hammer Lassen’s deisgn aims to re-examine the traditional concept of library design. Rather than focusing on books, the building is envisioned as a hub for social interaction that includes indoor and outdoor recreation spaces, as well as studying, socialising and relaxing areas. Measuring 30,000 square metres, ‘Urban Mediaspace’ is located in Aarhus’s old cargo docks area. The building is heptagonal in shape and features a glazed-facade.

Seen at designboom. More images after the break.

Republic Square / Eric Owen Moss Architects

Eric Owen Moss Architects created a tower that neighbours the capitol building in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The republic square is part of a large-scale development across the city of Almaty.

The tower itself is 126,000 square feet that will be divided up between retail, office, hotel and residential spaces. The building is a long tower which is anchored to the ground by a 38 meter diameter spiral. This feature will enclose an indoor plaza or ‘winter garden’ connecting the two sides. The spiral provides major support for the structure and encapsulates the five public venues near the ground level. In between these five spaces, four courtyards let natural let in and are each shaped to represent the four seasons of the year.

Seen at designboom. More images after the break.

The Silo Competition proposal by NL Architects

Amsterdam City Council recently held ‘The Silo Competition’ which involved the adaptive and reuse design for two former sewage treatment silos in the city’s Zeeburg district.

For the competition NL Architects proposed silos dedicated to climbing, sports and culture. In their design the existing structures were extended to the maximum height to benefit from the views.

The cultural silo consists of two theaters with dressing rooms and rehearsal spaces, spaces for workshops, exhibition spaces, music studios and a space for hair design. A bridge connects the silos at the height of the original roof level and office spaces will be positioned on top. The top level will be dedicated to a with 360 views and a roof .

Seen at designboom. More images after the break.

SWAN / POM Arch and Scheiwiller Svensson Architects

Stockholm-based Petrén Merom Architects and Scheiwiller Svensson Architects Office have designed the SWAN, in Gävle, .

This 150 meter high building will include offices, hotels, conference and residential service.

More information here (in Swedish). More images after the break.

Højblokka_PULS / MAPT + DARK

Architect: MAPT + DARK Architects
Location: Oslo,
Program: Highrise with Shopping, Wellness and Office Facilities
Project year: 2009
Images: MAPT

Matchbox / Allard Architecture

Allard Architects shared with us Matchbox, their latest building in , , that just got approved by the Aesthetics Committee. Completion expected for December 2010.

Architect’s description and more images after the break.

Sugar Cube / KPMB

Architects: KPMB – Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects
Location: Denver,
Project Team: Bruce Kuwabara (design partner), Shirley Blumberg (partner-in-charge), Bruno Weber (project architect), Myriam Tawadros, Javier Uribe, Bill Colaco, Jose Emila, Richard Wong, Roland Ulfig
Structure: Halcrow Yolles
MEP: ABS Consultants
Civil Engineering: MB Consulting
Building Envelope: Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates
Landscape: MP Consulting
Acoustics: D.I. Adams Associates Inc.
Client: Urban Villages, LLC
Project year: 2008
Construction area: 13,460 sqm
Photographs: © Tom Arban

Projects around the Royal Racecourse in Ostend / BURO II

Belgian practice BURO II designed some new projects around this historic site with a great importance to the city of Ostend. This is, amongst others, determined by its location: the proximity to the sea the Royal Galleries and the historically important Thermae Palace. The former racecourse for horse racing was turned into a collection of projects, and a crossroads of activities, which bring a new urban dynamic to ‘the queen of seaside resorts’.

Esplanada Studio / Tatiana Bilbao & at103

Architect: Tatiana Bilbao & at103
Location: Lomas de Chapultepec, Mexico D.F., Mexico
Design Team: S.C. with Francisco Pardo, Julio Amezcua, Israel Alvarez, Aida Hurtado, Arturo Peniche, Jorge Vazquez, Carlos Leguizamo y Octavio Vazquez
Structural Engineering: IESSA, Ing. Francisco Javier Ribe
Contractor: MZM, Ing. Miguel Cornejo
Construction Management: Elizabeth Huerta
Project Year: 2006
Construction Year: 2007-2008
Budget: US $2.75 M
Constructed Area: 2,430 sqm
Photographs: Iwan Baan

Youth Recreation & Culture Center / Dorte Mandrup + Cebra

Architect: Dorte Mandrup Arkitekter Aps + Cebra Arkitekter A/S
Location: Hellerup, Copenhagen,
Project Year: 2008
Turn Key Contractor: Partnering NCC Construction Danmark / Mangor & Nagel Arkitektfirma A/S
Client: Gentofte Municipality
Engineer: NCC Construction Danmark
Landscape: Peter Holst Landskab
Construction Area: 2,600 sqm
LOutdoor Area: 4,000 sqm
Photographs: Adam Mørk