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Commercial Architecture: The Latest Architecture and News

OMA’s First Project in Bangladesh, the Dhaka Tower, Breaks Ground

Construction on OMA’s first project in Bangladesh, the Dhaka Tower, has just started. Reaching a height of 150 meters and spanning 180,000 sqm in office space, the project is set to stand as one of the tallest buildings in the country. This scheme marks a significant milestone in the urban landscape of Bangladesh, designed by OMA in collaboration with local real-estate developer Shanta Holdings.

Perforated Architecture: 20 Projects that Bring Back the Historic Musharrabiya

There is often an intricate relationship between architecture and the environment. Each part of the world has defined its own architectural techniques based on its unique climatic conditions. However, environmental concerns in the 21st century provoked new techniques, implementing solutions to preserve natural resources and provide thermal comfort. While some opted for a futuristic approach with mechanical and technologically-advanced solutions, others decided to go back in time and explore how civilizations protected their people, architecture, and environment when they had nothing else to resort to but the environment itself. In this article, we look at how Musharrabiyas found their way back into modern-day architecture as significant vernacular features.

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Beyond Brightness: The Art of Lighting in 20 South Korean Commercial Spaces

A rising number of studies suggest that well-considered lighting affects and boosts consumer behavior. Add to that the new Instagramability and promotional requirements, and the role of lighting becomes pivotal to achieving a filtered and commercially appealing visual. The latter has encouraged the implementation of new technology lighting panels and fixtures that offer a range of colors and dimmability, modifying the mood and even the overall color palette of a space. The results are some fun, sometimes almost cartoonish, settings that suggest the best backdrops and inviting venues.

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Meet the 75 Finalists in ArchDaily's 2023 Building of the Year Awards

After two weeks of voting in our 14th edition of the Building of the Year Awards, our readers have narrowed down over 4,500 projects to just 75 finalists across 15 categories, casting over 100,000 votes. This year's awards celebrate the very best in design, innovation, and sustainability from around the globe, with the shortlist featuring an exceptional range of projects, from a house in a favela to cutting-edge cultural centers and innovative public spaces that are sure to impress. As a crowdsourced award, we are proud to say that your selections are a true reflection of the state of architecture, and this year's finalists are no exception.

The ArchDaily Building of the Year Awards is brought to you thanks to Dornbracht, renowned for leading designs for architecture, which can be found internationally in bathrooms and kitchens.



Aedas and GDAD Unveil Design for New Twin Towers and Mixed-Use Complex in Guangzhou, China

Aedas Global, in collaboration with GDAD, revealed the design of a 230 meters tall mixed-use complex comprising of two twin towers and a plaza. The development, located at the base of the Baiyun Mountain range in Guangzhou, China, contains industrial, commercial, and publicly available areas while also including large urban green spaces and panoramic views of the mountains. The massing of the project is inspired and informed by the local topography, with sight-seeing corridors opening up toward the surrounding scenery.

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Construction Begins at OMA / Shohei Shigematsu’s Commercial and Cultural Center in Harajuku, Tokyo

The Harajuku Quest, designed by Shohei Shigematsu and OMA New York, represents a renewed commercial and cultural center in the Harajuku district of Tokyo. Located on a site in between Omotesando and Oku-Harajuku, the building is the newest phase of NTT’s “With Harajuku”, a larger urban development that aims to facilitate the flow of people through a series of squares and commercial areas. Harajuku Quest plans to draw people and activities from both Omotesando and Oku-Harajuku and connect the two areas for the first time. Construction is expected to complete in 2025.

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HWKN and BIG Design Commercial District at Canada Water Dockside, London

New York-based firm HWKN will create 18,200 square meters of urban development in the commercial quarter of the new Canada Water regeneration plan. In collaboration with the scheme's master planner, BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group, the developer Art-Invest Real Estate UK, and the local community, HWKN makes its UK architectural debut by designing one of the three buildings at the Dockside, London. The building will blend innovative workspaces, commerce, and communal amenities.

The Canada Water Masterplan will transform a total of 215,000 square meters and is expected to deliver up to 3,000 new homes, 280,000 square meters of workspace, and community space in central-south London. The first new town center in London in 50 years would become the UK's most sustainable new urban hub after completion, expected in 2035.

Arquitectonica Designs Soon-to-be Florida’s Tallest Commercial Building

Arcquitectonica unveiled the design of One Brickell City Centre, an approximately 1,000-foot (approximately 300 meters) office tower planned to become the tallest commercial tower in Florida. Located in Miami’s financial district on Brickell Avenue, the office building represents the second phase of Brickell City Centre, a 4.9-million-square-foot (450,000 square meters) mixed‐use development that opened in 2016. One Brickell City Centre is developed by Swire Properties Inc. and Related Companies. Construction it set to begin in 2023.

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MVRDV Wins Competition to Design Nature-Inspired Oasis Towers in Nanjing

MVRDV has won a competition to design a mixed-use residential and commercial complex on the edge of Jiangbei New Area’s Financial District in Nanjing, China. Dubbed "Oasis Towers", the two 150-metre-tall towers are surrounded by lush landscapes, and will provide residents a green haven within a dense and rapidly developing part of the city.

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SOM Unveils User-Controlled "Inside-Out" Headquarters for Alibaba’s Shanghai Campus

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has unveiled a dynamic, user-controlled headquarters for Chinese multinational technology company Alibaba's Xuhui District campus in Shanghai. Located in one of the city's premiere arts and innovation districts, the new workplace transforms the typical headquarters building “inside out”, highlighting the company’s "collaboration and creativity". The building's architecture is designed to resemble a cloud, symbolizing the company's digital presence in the Cloud, as well as the technology industry’s shifting skies of innovation.

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