In Progress: The Latest Architecture and News

Continuing our coverage of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SSE), OMA recently shared the latest photographs of the building while under construction. The building, located in the downtown area of Shenzhen, China, is expected to reach completion in April 2011. The SSE, a new headquarters for China’s equivalent of the NASDAQ, is 132,000 sqm of offices, registration and clearing house, accessory area, securities information company, SSE office area, trading floor and technical operations. The floating podium design, which is suspended 36 meters over a public plaza, projects 54 meters from the base of the tower. The building broke ground in November of 2007, Rem Koolhaas along with local government and the officials from the SSE were in attendance. Check out our previous coverage here.

Follow the break for the latest photographs of SSE.

Architects: Aedes Studio / Plamen Bratkov Location: Sofia, Bulgaria Project Year: 2010-2011 Photographs: Aedes Studio

Spring 2011 marks the opening of “Metropol Parasol”, the Redevelopment of Plaza de la Encarnación in Sevilla, designed by J. MAYER H. Architects. After finishing the concrete works in 2008, the parasols are under construction now. Visiting the site at the moment gives an impressive imagination of the final dimension and appearance.

The project becomes the new icon for Sevilla, – a place of identification and to articulate Sevillas role as one of Spains most fascinating cultural destinations. “Metropol Parasol” explores the potential of the Plaza de la Encarnacion to become the new contemporary urban centre. Its role as a unique urban space within the dense fabric of the medieval inner city of Sevilla allows for a great variety of activities such as memory, leisure and commerce. A highly developed infrastructure helps to activate the square, making it an attractive destination for tourists and locals alike.

Architects: Atelier 11 Location: Tianjin, China Director: Xu Lei Design Team: Xu Lei, Li Han, Meng Haigang Construction Drawing: Li Han, Tang Xiaoxi Project area: 1,732 sqm Project year: 2009 – 2011 Photographs: Courtesy of Atelier 11

Architects: LAR / Fernando Romero y Mauricio Ceballos Location: Mexico City, Mexico Project Team: Ana Medina, Herminio Gonzalez, Omar Gerala Félix, Sergio Rebelo, Ana Paula Herrera, Mario Mora, Juan Pedro López, Guillermo Mena, Libia Castilla, Raúl García, Manuel Díaz, Alan Aurioles, Ana Gabriela Alcocer, Luis Ricardo García, Ivan Ortiz, Tiago Pinto, Laura Dominguez, Juan Andres Lopez, Olga Gomez, Hugo Fernandez, Jason Sidelko, Eddy Slim, Nicola, Davolio, Lee Warren, Alexander Pena, Jacqueline Hernan- dez, Kosuke Osawa, Francisco Javier de la Vega, David Hernandez, Jorge Hernandez, Joaquín Collado, Mariana Tafoya, Eduardo Benítez, Pe- dro Lechuga, Thorsten Englert, Luís Fuentes, Luís Flores, Rodolfo Rueda, Víctor Chávez, Max Betancourt, Wonne Icks, Dolores Robles-Martínez, Sappho Van Laer, Ophelie Chassin, Elena Haller, Abril Tobar, Diego Eumir Jasso, Albert Beele, Homero Yánez, Cynthia Meléndez, Hugo Vela, Susana Hernández, Gerardo Galicia, Alberto Duran, Camilo Mendoza, Dafne Zvi Zaldívar, Cecilia Jiménez, Ángel Ortiz, Raúl Antonio Hernández, Alma Delfina Rosas, Wendy Guillen, Raúl Flores, Daniel Alejandro Farías, Jesús Monroy, Saúl Miguel Kelly, Iván Javier Avilés, Cesar Pérez Client: Grupo Carso / Museo Soumaya Façade: Gehry Technologies Engineer concept: ARUP Los Angeles Project Regency: Inpros Civil Constructor: PC Constructores Project Area: 17,000 sqm Project Year: 2010

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.

Currently under construction, the Film Theatre of Catalonia is a new building for the Cinematheque of Catalunya in the Raval, Barcelona. Mateo Arquitectura won first prize in 2004 for their design proposal and they were kind enough to share their construction photographs with us. Follow the break for more photographs and an extract of the meeting between Josep Lluís Mateo and José Luis Guerín about the Raval district in Barcelona.

Architects: Mateo Arquitectura Location: Raval, Barcelona Client: Generalitat de Catalunya Project Area: 7,515 sqm Photographs: Adrià Goula

Architects: Josep Lluís Mateo / Mateo Arquitectura Location: Zeist, Utrecht, The Netherlands Project Leaders: Markus Lauber, Till von Mackensen Project Area: 25,000 sqm offices, 25,000 sqm car park Project Year: 2010 Photographs: Adrià Goula

Architect: Jesus Davila arquitectos Location: Aguascalientes, Mexico Client: Karla Judith Medina Design Year: 2009 Construction Year: 2010-2011 Project Area: 125 sqm (25 sqm each floor) Photographs: Ignacio Herrera

Renzo Piano’s Shard is quickly climbing up London’s skyline. The 1,016 ft high skyscraper will provide the mixed use density the city needs, as it incorporates apartments, office space, a spa, hotel and restaurants within its sleek pyramidal form. Inspired by perhaps a ship’s mast from the Pool of London, or a modern take on the church spire, the Shard will become a prominent fixture in the skyline as it nears it completion. Check out these images illustrating the Shard’s progress – the crisp aesthetic commonly found in Piano’s projects is becoming evident as the low-iron glazing is applied to the structure.

More images after the break.

We’ve just received some news from our friends at Steven Holl Architects regarding the progress of their latest private gallery and residence. Situated in the hillside of the Kangbuk section of Seoul, Korea, the project’s geometry is an experimental reaction to a 1967 sketch for a music score by the composer Istvan Anhalt, “Symphony of Modules,” discovered in a book by John Cage titled “Notations”. This strategy, which runs parallel to a research studio on “the architectonics of music,” results in three separate pavilions connected by a sheet of water that establishes the plane of reference from above and below.

More construction photos, renderings and of course, Holl’s infamous watercolors after the break.

We took a few shots of Foster + Partners’ latest addition to the Bowery – a new gallery to house the Sperone Westwater’s growing collection from prominent artists of different nationalities and ages. Sitting a few steps away from SANAA’s musuem, this new gallery’s CNC milled glass facade elegantly responds to its neighboring art museum. According to Foster, the gallery is “both a response to the dynamic urban character of New York’s Bowery and a desire to rethink the way in which the public engages with art in the setting of a gallery.”

Check out some photos after the break.

Architect: SADAR + VUGA Location: Ljubljana, Slovenia Consultant: KSS – London Structural engineers: Atelier One – London, Gradis, Elea iC Mechanical engineers: Lenassi, Jelen & Završnik Electrical services: Elprojekt, Utris, Genera Fire engineers: EKOsystem Traffic & Site engineers: LUZ Building area: 14,100 sqm Total floor area: 35,500 sqm Project Year: 2010 Photographs: Ziga Cebasek, Barbara Jakse Jersic

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Our director, David Assael, took some shots of Gehry’s latest creation – a wavy residential tower clad in undulating metal panels. While still in the construction phase, it is easy to get the overall idea of the structure. In person, the tower demands attention as its presence, due both to scale and materiality, is unmatched within its context. Throughout the day, the light plays upon the curves making the hard metallic color almost glisten. Some of Assael’s photos capture the tower in the early evening – the perfect time of day to see the reds and oranges of the setting sun against the building. What do you think of Gehry’s skyscraper?

More of Assael’s photos after the break.

Special thanks to our reader, Vivian Bratone, for sharing some insight to Steven Holl’s newest museum project with us. Situated in Pearl Spring near Nanjing, China, the museum is only a part of the Chinese International Practical Exhibition of Architecture (CIPEA) complex. The CIPEA project is a complete collaboration of architects from across the world, from Italy to Japan, and Mexico to Croatia. Upon completion, the complex will include more than a dozen buildings that will house exhibits for arts and culture.

A year ago, we featured a set of Tim Harris’ early construction photos of Jean Nouvel’s Doha Office tower previously on AD, and now photographer Nelson Garrido has shared some new shots of the 45 story cylindrical structure. The building’s dia-grid gives much character to the project, as it not only provides structural support but also gives the volume a textured appearance from far away that turns into a more delicate patterning in closer range. The facade is layered with metal brise-soleil based on a traditional Islamic pattern. The fairly standard geometry module becomes a complex visual as it is rotated and flipped to provide maximum shading for the interior of the building. In this way, the arrangement of the panels is both functional and supplies the aesthetic touch that will define the tower.

The curvaceous undulating towers designed by MAD Architects for Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto, Canada, are under construction. Set for completion in 2011, the towers mark the architects’ first international win back in 2006. Located at the intersection of two main streets, the towers serve as a gateway to the city beyond. The textured band-like facade is created by a continuous balcony that wraps the entire building . The building is also shifted off its core by varying degrees to provide views of the surrounding scenery, keeping city dwellers attune to the natural environment. The architects explained, “This building is more than just a functional machine: it responds to the significance of being located at the junction of two main streets, elegantly bearing its landmark status and acting as a gateway to the city beyond. It is something beautiful, sculptural and human.”

More images after the break.