RMJM's Shenzhen studio has just been awarded the contract to build a 93 metre public observation tower inspired by the importance of water in the historic Doumen District, Guangdong Province, China. Perched at the confluence of two rivers, the Doumen Observation Tower will rise from the waterfront of the Zhuhai, and is inspired by the form of a fish soaring above the water, clad in aluminum scales to protect from the hot Chinese sun. The tower will occupy a minimal footprint and will be surrounded by a large public plaza.
Check out the complete specs of Doumen Observation Tower after the break.
Drawing both literal and theoretical inspiration from the Islamic Holy Book, Rafael de La-Hoz Arquitectos earned an Honourable Mention for their design proposal of a habitable natural oasis for the Noble Quran International Competition in Saudi Arabia.
Understanding the significance of the location’s proximity to Islam’s second holiest city and the Capital of Islamic Culture, Rafael de La-Hoz aimed to create a memorable and iconic Islamic Landmark. Therefore, the Quran itself was chosen as the primary source of physical and contextual understanding, the most significant vessel of knowledge for the people and the location.
Birmingham City Council has approved Make Architects' designs for the first commercial building of the city's Arena Central masterplan. Located on Broad Street and overlooking the historic Centenary Square, 1 Arena Central is set to be the first step in the master plan for the 9.2 acre site at the heart of Birmingham City Center Enterprise Zone. The eight story building, which will feature 135,000 square feet of Grade A office space, with 5,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor, is emblematic of the flagship development of the overall master plan.
London based firm McDowell+Benedetti has recently announced that their design for a new 180 metre footbridge and improved rail station in Terni, Italy, has begun work on the site. A future landmark for the town, the £3.5 million (€4.4 million) project promises to provide an expanded commuter hub for the area with connections to fast trains to Rome. Learn more about this project after the break.
The terms "public toilet" and "seaside periscope" don't usually go hand in hand. However, Adam Wiercinski has drawn inspiration from the location of his project in Gdynia, Poland, on the coast of the Baltic Sea to create a concept for a building that both mimics and observes. Choosing to focus on extensive views over the sea front, Wiercinski aimed to imbue users with a sense of tranquility by designing a serene public facility embodying the powerful, elemental nature of the sea.
Northern Aerial View. Image Courtesy of Make Architects, rendering by Caravan Images
Make Architects have just received planning permission to build a world-class institute devoted to research and processing of health-related data on Oxford University's Old Road Campus. The Big Data Institute (BDI) will be built adjacent to two other Make-designed buildings: The Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology and the NDM Research Building. The BDI will be London-based Make Architects' fifth building on Oxford's Old Road Campus.
Wondering what's inside? Find out more after the break.
The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority has recently unveiled the landscape design plans for the West Kowloon Cultural District, a scheme that will activate the waterfront and create a dynamic green space in what will be one of the largest cultural developments in the world. Developed by Dennis Lau & Ng Chun Man Architects & Engineers, with West 8 and ACLA, the concept plan features outdoor areas for exhibitions and performances, recreational lawns, and a waterfront promenade.
With a glittering exterior that benefits both the interior and the exterior, UNStudio’s renovation proposal for Hanwha headquarters has recently won them first place in a competition to redesign the company’s office tower. Located in Seoul, South Korea, the tower is sited in the busy Cheonggyecheon district of the city. The new design will help to visually reestablish Hanwha as a leader in environmental technology, both in Korea and internationally.
Erick van Egeraat have released images of their design for the city center of Unayzah in Saudi Arabia. Thanks to a 4-lane ring road and an underground thoroughfare linking to underground parking, the 58 hectare site will be entirely pedestrianized at ground level, featuring 70,000 square meters of shopping areas, a gold market, apartments, and offices, all of which will join the city's existing central mosque.
The Tianjin University Research Institute of Architectural Design and Urban Planning (AATU) recently won an international competition to design a hub for Chinese food-processing and stock-breeding company Luoniushan in Sanya, Hainan. With expectations to break ground this year, the 42-hectare multi-functional park will house the company's new headquarters as well as warehouses, serviced apartments, a tourism and exhibition center, and more. For more images and information, continue after the break.
Designed to seat 33,000 people, stadiumconcept and IAA architecten’s proposal for Minsk’s newest football stadium has a unique and allusive form. The column-like supports of the stadium roof resemble tractor valves, a reference to Minsk’s booming tractor fabrication industry. These tapering columns provide a signature identity for a building that, in addition to being a stadium, will serve the city as a shopping and business center.
PLASMA Studio's latest project in Xixian City's Eco-Park isn't just a restaurant – it's also a greenhouse, hydroponic garden, and indoor playground. The project, which broke ground this past July, will twist and fold across the green landscape. Future dinners will enjoy meals featuring local ingredients and in-house produce (which they will also have the opportunity to pick themselves), echoing the sustainable approach taken by the rest of the park. Keep reading after the break to learn more about the interrelated, mixed-use program.
Sited in the city of Zhuhai, China, this museum by Ábalos + Sentkiewicz Arquitectos seeks to combine the opposing ideas of a festive, airy aesthetic with the need for a protected and enclosed space to showcase artwork. To that end, they have created a structure that resembles a landscape with sculptural tree-like forms emerging from publicly accessible courtyards. These “trees”, while an important aspect of the building’s visual identity, also play a major role in the climate control of the museum.
Italian design firm IaN+ has put forth their vision for a pair of museums along the Dòzsa Gyorgy Boulevard in Budapest, Hungary for the Liget Budapest International Competition. Connected by a central foyer, the two exhibition spaces will be based on a common grid of structural concrete walls whose cells will form galleries. One of these museums will be devoted to photography, the other to architecture, and each building, while similar in appearance, is designed to best accommodate the work they will display.
Recently winning first place in a Skyscapers and SuperSkyscapers Competition, SURE Architecture has put forth a daring new proposition for a London skyscraper design. Their proposal, titled "The Endless City in Height," does away with the traditional notion of stacking floors on top of each other. Rather, this innovative design incorporates two street-sized ramps that wind their way up the exterior of the tower, creating extensions of the city streetscape that rise and coil vertically into the London skyline.
Ziya İmren Architects have proposed a "symphonic architectural poem dedicated to Franz Liszt and Béla Viktor János Bartók" as part of the Liget Budapest International Design Competition launched earlier this year. The architects' approach is based on the pioneering compositional methods of Franz Liszt and Bela Bartok. The design proposal brings "thematic inspiration to the fore by restructuring the classical system of a symphonic work into the form of poetry as a gesamtkunstwerk (a 'total work of art')."
Foster + Partners has revealed designs for the headquarters of RMK, one of the world's leading copper producers based in Yekaterinburg, Russia. The 13-story building is designed to complement the company's working style, splitting office spaces into two-story modular units which provide comfortable and flexible work spaces.
The facade of the building features triangular panels of bronze-colored steel, a motif that is inspired by the color and chemical structure of copper. These steel panels also express the modular offices within the building, with each ten by six-meter panel corresponding to a single office module, and regulate the building's temperature by shading the building in the summer but admitting winter sunshine.
Vo Trong Nghia has unveiled designs for the Vietnamese pavilion at the 2015 Milan Expo. Inspired by the lotus, the pavilion features a number of bamboo clad, umbrella-like structures supporting trees above a pool of water, in a composition reminiscent of their Kontum Indochine Cafe.
"The Lotus is Vietnam’s national flower, a symbol of purity, commitment and optimism for the future," say the architects. "Growing from the muddy ponds it rises above the surface to bloom with remarkable beauty. The flower is proof that patience can turn difficulties into advantages."
Last night Studio Gang Architects unveiled designs of their first ever building in San Francisco, a 400 foot tall residential tower with an undulating, twisting facade. Inspired by the bay windows of older local buildings such as 450 Sutter Street, Studio Gang have added a twist (literally) to the typology with incremental rotations of the 90-degree bays running vertically up the facade.
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Temperature-controlled retail street network. Image Courtesy of Dubai Holding
Developers Dubai Holding have announced their plans to build the 'Mall of the World' a new 48 million square foot tourist district in Dubai that will host the world's largest mall, a new cultural district, a theme park and 20,000 hotel rooms. What's more, the district's 7km street network will be covered by a retractable roof during the summer months, creating the world's first "temperature controlled city".
Hawkins\Brown have gained planning permission for a development of 103 new homes in Rotherhithe, South-East London. Consisting of two terraces of 3-storey family homes and a series of four-storey 'mansion blocks' containing maisonettes with apartments above, the scheme will be built on the site of the former Fisher FC football ground on Salter Road, with the playing surface redeveloped to form a new public park.
AA Studio have revealed their plans for the development of Brooklyn's iconic New York Dock Company building, transforming the 230,000 square foot structure into a mixed-use complex of six commercial spaces on the ground floor, 70 residential loft apartments, and a rooftop deck and gardens above.
The design aims to be as faithful to the original structure as possible, retaining the existing poured concrete columns and walls and exposing the high concrete ceilings. As one of the earliest structures to use the technology, the retention and celebration of these features is a key aspect of the building's conservation.
