NBBJ Reveals Plans to Extend Samsung’s Silicon Valley Headquarters
NBBJ‘s design for the new Samsung Headquarters in Silicon Valley will become one of the new buildings to relieve the city of its dull, nondescript two-story office architecture that dominates the landscape and introduce a new culture of office environments with a little push from the architecture itself. According to the LA Times by Chris O’Brien this architectural endeavor is just one move to establish ground in the rivalry between Samsung and Apple, whose highly anticipated spaceship-like, Foster + Partners-designed Cupertino Campus has made waves in the design community. Technologically innovative and influential companies like Samsung, Apple, Google (also designed by NBBJ), Facebook, and Nvidia have engaged in a cultural shift of the work environment to create a hospitable and creative community for their employees. The architecture of the campuses and offices introduced by each of these companies reflect the goals of an innovative business model that engages its employees in an innovative work environment that fosters collaboration and creativity.
See how the new Samsung Headquarters innovates office building design after the break.
Google Collaborates with NBBJ to Expand California Headquarters
One thing Google has become known for is their spectacular work environments. From playful employee lounges to environmentally sensitive design, the multifaceted internet giant has successfully transformed hundreds of existing spaces from around the globe into casual work environments that spawn innovation, optimizes efficiency, and boasts employee satisfaction. Much like many other California-based corporations, Google has been toying with the idea of building their own office space from scratch. Well, this dream will soon be realized, as the company has teamed up with Seattle-based NBBJ to expand their current, 65-building “Googleplex” in Mountain View, California. By 2015, Google plans to construct a 1.1-million-square-foot complex known as “Bay View” on a neighboring 42-acre site.
More on Bay View after the break…
Suzhou Industrial Park Sports Center / NBBJ
NBBJ has shared with us their latest design in sports architecture, a multifunctional industrial sports complex for the residents of Suzhou, China. Designed as a community asset, the cultural sports hub will include a commercial center, aquatics facility, gymnasium, arena, professional sports stadium and more. All facilities will be integrated within a lush “Sports Garden” that features an abundance of pedestrian walkways, gardens and sport fields.
The architects’ description after the break…
New United States Courthouse Competition Entry / NBBJ
Claiming to be the most progressive, sustainable, and cost effective courthouse in the nation, NBBJ’s shortlisted proposal for the New Los Angeles Federal Courthouse serves as a model for future GSA development. The contrast between the free and informal spirit of Los Angeles with the formal structure and societal role of the Federal Courts illustrates an important duality that openly coexists throughout their phased design. At a larger scale, the structure becomes a mediator within the skyline, rising to a comfortable 256 feet tall to help transition the steep, urban high-rise topography of Bunker Hill and the mid-rise, ordered context of downtown.
Read the architects’ description after the break to learn more about this high performance, multifaceted design.
City OKs design of Amazon’s Seattle Headquarters
With a 3-2 vote, Seattle’s Downtown Design Review Board has voted in favor of Amazon’s plans for a three-block, high-rise complex in the Denny Triangle. The board voted after conducting five, comprehensive meetings over the last six months to review Amazon’s evolving NBBJ-designed proposal. Although this design review approval is simply a recommendation to the city’s Department of Planning and Development, it is still a milestone for the ambitious project.
The five acre site, roughly located between Sixth Avenue, Blanchard Street and Westlake Avenue, is currently occupied by expansive parking lots, the Sixth Avenue Inn and the King Cat Theater. Continue after the break to learn more.
AIA Selects Four Projects for National Healthcare Design Awards
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Academy of Architecture for Health (AAH) has announced four recipients of the AIA National Healthcare Design Awards program. The awards program highlights the “best of healthcare building design and healthcare design-oriented research” that exhibit “conceptual strengths that solve aesthetic, civic, urban, and social concerns as well as the requisite functional and sustainability concerns of a hospital”.
The AIA National Healthcare Design Award recipients are:
Amazon’s Seattle Headquarters / NBBJ
NBBJ’s design for the Amazon’s new headquarters in downtown Seattle, Washington, promises to consolidate the companies currently scattered buildings into a 3-block development that includes high-rise towers, a variety of open spaces, and landscaped plazas. The 3.3 million square foot design was presented to the city’s Design Review Board (DRB) in great detail outlining the division of the each of the buildings, their integration into the downtown urban fabric and the synthesis of the currently underdeveloped Denny’s Triangle.
Follow us after the break for more.
Amazon Proposes Three New Towers in Seattle
Tomorrow, Amazon representatives are scheduled to present their design for a three-block proposal that will introduce three new towers to the Seattle skyline and add 3.3 million square feet of office space to the downtown area. Quite possibly the largest development ever proposed downtown, the complex will consume five acres in the Denny Triangle Urban Village that is currently being used for parking, the Sixth Avenue Inn and the King Cat Theater.
Continue reading for more information on the Denny Triangle project.
Six Visions for the Los Angeles Union Station Master Plan
Metro officials have released six conceptual visions that suggest how the historic Los Angeles Union Station could be transformed by 2050. Preliminary “Vision Boards” were released in a public forum at Union Station last week, and although they are not part of the formal evaluation process, they have ignited an immense amount of public interest in the competition.
In an article posted on The Source, Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Board Chair Antonio Villaraigosa described that this competition is “about preparing for the future.” As plans for the California High-Speed Rail System evolve, it is imperative that Union Station is redeveloped to meet the standards of a 21st century transportation hub.
Continue after the break to view each Vision Board provided by the six well-known practices shortlisted for the competition.
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.
Grand Stade de Casablanca / NBBJ & Yassir Khalil Studio
NBBJ & Yassir Khalil Studio shared with us their vision for the new Grand Stade de Casablanca. Their goal for the project is to create a center for sports and assembly events which is keenly in tune with the natural environment, geography, and history of the nation of Morocco. The sports center will signify to the world the unique character and vision of the city, while taking advantage of the natural environment to reduce energy consumption and create a dramatic human experience. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation / EDGE Studio, Nbbj
Architect: EDGE Studio, Nbbj
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Project Team EDGE Studio: Gary Carlough AIA, Jeff King AIA, Mick McNutt AIA, Stephen Mrdjenovich
Project Team Nbbj: Doug Parris AIA, A.J. Montero AIA, Kathy Kelly AIA
Project Area: 22,000sqf
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Ed Massery
Seattle Children’s Bellevue Clinic / NBBJ
To better serve an ever-expanding network of patients, Seattle Children’s Hospital set out to build a new campus in Bellevue, Washington. The resulting building, designed by Seattle-based NBBJ, successfully serves several constituencies simultaneously. The highly efficient building is the winner of a 2010 Honor Award from AIA Seattle. More information and images after the break.
Architect: NBBJ
Location: Bellevue, Washington, USA
Consultants: Sellen Construction, PCS Structural Solutions, Affiliated Engineers, Inc., Cierra Lighting Group, Site Workshop
Project Area: 80,000 sf
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Benjamin Benschnieder/OTTO, Sean Airhart
Next Human Network Green Factory / NBBJ in collaboration with Samoo Architects & Engineers
The new headquarters building for Next Human Network (NHN) was developed to embody the corporation’s goal of opening new frontiers through creation and innovation. As such, NBBJ, in collaboration with Samoo Architects & Engineers, designed the ‘Green Factory’, an interactive and sophisticated building offering creative freedom for NHN and its employees.
Architects: NBBJ (lead designer), Samoo Architects & Engineers (lead architects)
Location: Bundang, Korea
Client: NHN Corporation
Building Cost: $200 million
Project Area: 1,097,919 sqf
Photographs: Park Young-Che, Roland Halbe Photography
Top 100 Architecture Firms
Architect Magazine‘s third-annual ranking of American architecture firms takes a look at three factors: profitability, sustainability, and design quality. This whole picture approach provides an opportunity for small and large firms to go head to head, with a result of the best architecture firms, not necessarily the biggest.
Some of these practices have been featured on ArchDaily like Perkins + Will, Skidmore Owings & Merrill, Cannon Design, and Frank Harmon Architect.
Take a look at the complete rankings after the break.
Jordan Housing Bank For Trade and Finance Headquarters / NBBJ
The Columbus, Ohio office of international design firm NBBJ is designing the new headquarters for the Housing Bank For Trade and Finance (HBTF), the largest bank branch network in Jordan. Located in the Schmeisani section of Amman, the new HBTF headquarters will feature a modern, iconic design helping to re-shape the city’s evolving skyline. It will also be among a handful of buildings in Amman created under the current sustainable design guidelines. Once completed, the new facility will provide employees with a state-of-the-art work environment to deliver even better service to customers.
Project description and drawings after the break.
Architect: NBBJ
Location: Amman, Jordan
Project team: Adam Shriver, Aleksandr Daskalov, Brian Sell, Chandra Wilcox, Dean Stump, Don Kruckeburg, Earl Lee, Ed Mickelson, Ivan Amy, Jim Lehnert, John Woods, Karen Miller Eskandari, Kent Usher, Mark Gammon, Mark Perry, Matt Manda, Mike Suriano, Nick Forbess, Scot Walls, Tony Murry, Tyler Bohm, Katie Hueblein, Michael Denison, Laura Elswick, Jeff Heffner, Jonathan Novak, Teri Umbarger, Brian Rezentes, Budiman Wiharja, Nursah Balcilar
Design Engineer: Arup
Local A/E: Arabtech Jardaneh
Lighting Designer: Quentin Thomas Associates
Food Service Designer: Hammer Design Associates
Wind Testing: CPP
Water Architecture: Dan Euser
Construction Manager: Projacs
Client: Housing Bank for Trade and Finance
Project area: 76,000 sqm
Project year: Estimated Completion 2014
Renderings: Li Fang / Illustration on Demand
Yanlord Landmark / NBBJ
Hailed as one of China’s top 10 new urban landmarks NBBJ‘s design of Yanlord Landmark sets a new standard for high-end retail, work, and residential space in Chengdu. Yanlord Landmark was selected by the China Index Academy and China Index Research Institute as one of China’s Top 10 New Urban Landmarks two years in a row (2008-2009 and 2009-2010).
Project description and images after the break.
Architect: NBBJ
Location: Chengdu, People’s Republic of China
Architect of Record: China Southwest Architectural Design and Research Institute
Interior Design: Lian Zhitian and CL3
Structural Engineer: ARUP
Landscape Architect: EDAW
Lighting Consultant: Panorama
Curtain Wall Consultant: Aurecon
Property Consultant: Jones Lang LaSalle
Surveyor: DLS
Signage: Dutton Bray
Project Area: 212,482 sqm
Project Area: 2010
Photography: Paul Dingman
Architecture City Guide: Seattle
Our Architecture City Guide series heads to the northwest this week featuring Seattle. The futuristic Seattle Space Needle, designed for the 1962 World’s Fair – Century 21 Exposition, is just one of the many can’t miss buildings on our list. What others do you think should be added? Visit our comment section to share your favorites.
The Architecture City Guide: Seattle list and corresponding map after the break!
Valerenga Football Stadium / NBBJ & LINK signatur AS
NBBJ, along with Norwegian architects LINK signatur AS and Multiconsult won a design competition for the Valerenga Football Club’s new stadium in Oslo, Norway. You can see more images and architect’s description after the break.
Qingdao Exhibition Center / NBBJ
The first phase of the Qingdao Water City development at Aoshan Bay, designed by the Los Angeles office of NBBJ, will include a new exposition center of 1,940,000 sf. As the ocean sits to one side of the site, and a wetland on the other, a strong emphasis has been placed on how the exposition is shaped by its interaction and proximity to the water.
More images and more about the exhibition hall after the break.
Sail @ Marina Bay / NBBJ
Architects: NBBJ
Location: Marina Boulevard, Central Business District, Republic of Singapore
Co-designer/Design Principal: Peter Pran, RA, FAIA, MNAL
Co-designer/Design Partner: Timothy Johnson, AIA, LEED AP, NCARB
Interior Design Partner: Rysia Suchecka, AIA, IIDA
Design Team Leader/Project Manager: Scott Hunter, AIA, LEED AP
Architecture Design Team: Reggie Aviles, Michael Ramsay, Karin Tehve, Jay Seibenmorgen, Angela Chang, Sara Agrest, Nnamdi Ugenyi, Heather Metzger, Catherine Smith
Interiors Design Team: Tara Schneider, IIDA; Pete Lorimer, LEED AP
Owner: City Developments Limited and AIG Asian Real Estate Partners, L.P.
Consulting Architect: Kiat Supattapone
Associate Architect: Team Design Architects
General Contractor: Dragages Singapore–Bouygues Construction
Structural Engineer: Precast Design Consultants
Mechanical Engineer: Meinhardt Pte, LTD
Interior Designer: NBBJ (Shell and Core Lobbies)
Interior Designer: AXIS Design (Units, Common areas)
Lighting: Lighting Planners Associates (LPA)
Landscape Architect: Belt Collins
Project Area: 1,200,000 sq ft
Project Year: 2008
Photographs: Tim Griffith & Sean Airhart/NBBJ
