Mixed Use: The Latest Architecture and News

M&A Architects has shared with us their Bubble Skyscraper, a study on new typologies for futuristic architecture by the young international studio. A description of the process that lead them to the bubble solution and additional images after the break.

Influx_Studio has taken on the task of designing a cultural and ecological visit for the Koahsiung Marine Culture and Pop Music Center as a measure to critically enhance and hybridize the urban fabric in Kaohsiung, Taiwan in response to the global infrastructures of a growing global economy. The proposal, titled The Vortex, is projected to become a powerful icon for the city, and embody a refreshing sustainable identity for the Kaohsiung.

More on The Vortex after the break.

Burke Culligan Deegan’s design for the Aoibhneas Children’s Centre won the international competition administered by by the RIAI (Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland). The new children’s centre is an addition to the existing women’s refuge in Dublin, Ireland. The philosophy of the design was to aid growth and recovery in an uplifting environment for women and children who were temporary residents in the refuge.

Read on for information and images after the break.

Wansoo Lee

Taiwan Tower Conceptual Design International Competition

Australian architects Billard Leece Partnership shared with us their project ‘Proposition 2065 – Urban Porosity’, 29,000 sqm mixed-use building. More images and architect’s description after the break.

DSBA, Mihai CARCIUN and upgrade.studio have been declared winners of the Taiwan Tower Conceptual Design Compeition with a design proposal that encompasses the symbolism of Taichung as a city. The team conceptualized a structure for Taichung that would activate the local culture in a design that also stands as a landmark for the city and as a campaign for diligent and responsible design.

More information and images after the break.

The Taiwan Tower International Design Competition awarded Little, a Merit Award for its contribution in conceptual designs of a signature tower in Taichung, Taiwan. The emphasis on the competition is to provide a marker to symbolize Taiwan’s history and spirit at the Taichung Gateway Park, an international portal of Central Taiwan as a place for innovation, culture and biodiversity.

More information and images after the break.

Occupying a central parcel in the city’s newly planned business district, Goettsch Partners (GP) has been commissioned by developer Guangzhou R&F Properties Co. Ltd. to design a new 294,570-square-meter mixed-use tower in the city of Tianjin, China which is scheduled for completion in 2015 and will be among the country’s tallest at 439 meters. Their design responds not only to the programmatic needs of each function, but also to the decreasing size of the core while creating a relationship with the history of the city. More images and project description after the break.

SO?, an Istanbul-based architecture office shared with us their mention winning competition proposal for a Concert Hall, Art Center, and Municipality Building for Ankara, Turkey. See more images and architect’s description after the break.

Like many large scale projects around the country, REX’s Museum Plaza, in the city of Louisville, Kentucky, had just broken ground and had given light to many dreams for the downtown community when the nation’s financial crisis hit the city. Needless to say, financing came to a standstill and funding for the towers the city had been hoping for was no longer an option. Their current construction loan of $140.5 million, city contributions, bonds and funds already put forth by the team was not enough to proceed in their construction efforts until positive news came their way at the turn of the month. More images and description after the break.

Signaling the growing influence of China’s inland cities, global architecture, engineering and urban design practice RTKL, announced the groundbreaking of the first phase of Pearl River New Town, an 80-acre district in Chengdu that will form the heart of the city’s westward growth and modernization. More images and architect’s description after the break.

Miami’s Design District will soon be home to not just another building, but to COR. The ambitious project to design the first sustainable mixed-use condominium in Miami has been getting a lot of buzz and rightfully so. At 400′ tall it represents a dynamic synergy between architecture, structural engineering, and ecology. Extracting power from its environment utilizing the latest advancements in wind turbines, photovoltaics, and solar hot water generation COR upon completion will be seeking a LEED Platinum certification. The polka dotted hyper-efficient exoskeleton shell simultaneously provides building structure, thermal mass for insulation, shading for natural cooling, enclosure for terraces, armatures for turbines, and loggias for congregating on the ground. Comprising commercial, office, fitness, live/work, and pure residential spaces (113 residences from studios to penthouses)—COR provides a uniquely flexible platform for­ lifestyle enhancement.

Last week on ArchDaily we featured our interview with Chad Oppenheim founding partner of Oppenheim Architecture + Design. Below is a portion of the interview regarding the design of COR, and the full interview can be found here.

Follow the break for drawings and renderings of COR, along with a list of environmental design techniques incorporated into the design.

Architects: Oppenheim Architecture + Design Location: Miami, Florida, United States Project Team: Chad Oppenheim, Carlos Ramos, Juan López, Carolina Jaimes, Juan Calvo, Hugo Mijares, Jessica Santaniello Barrera, Rodrigo Londoño and Camilo Orozco Client: Nexus Development Group Project Area: 480,000 sqf Project Year: Estimated 2011 Renderings: Dbox