Land used by the former Bethlehem Steel Corporation in Pennsylvania is now being transformed into a dynamic arts, culture and education campus known as SteelStacks. Anchoring the 4.5 acres campus will be Spillman Farmer Architects’ ArtsQuest Center, a four-storey glass and steel structure with 68,000 sq ft of distinctive venues to showcase the arts.
More about the ArtsQuest Center after the break.
EXH Design was hired to redesign the façades of high-rises in one of the most active urban areas in Shanghai. With the plans of the buildings already halfway through government approval, EXH was allowed little leeway in trying to change the existing plans. Instead, EXH turned their attention to “sculpting” the building’s surface. Taking a geometrical approach, the new façade aims to create a dynamic effect that will become a strong architectural expression for the surrounding areas.
More about the facades after the break.
WORKac‘s design for a 1-kilometer section of Hua Qiang Bei Road in Shenzhen was awarded first prize. The design responds to the area’s growing commercial character which has unfortunately created traffic problems. For the proposal, the road becomes a series of “strategic interventions” where “five iconic lanterns”, (twisting bands of required program) create unique, visible destinations through a process of “urban acupuncture”.
More images and more about the design after the break.
Every time my architect friends drop by my office, I have to hide the a+t books and magazines because they always want to borrow them… And I don´t blame them, as the publications by this spanish editorial are useful tools for the architects.
The D Book, Density, HoCo and the Hybrids Series dissect some of the most iconic built/ongoing projects in the world, presented in full detail.
Hybrids III is the last one in the Hybrids series, covering residential mixed-use buildings. The book starts with a brief comparison between hybrid buildings and social condenser built during 1945-1975 to introduce the subject, like the John Hancock Center in Chicago by SOM or the Unite d’Habitation in France by Le Corbusier.
After this historic context, there is a good selection 0f 20 contemporary residential mixed-use buildings, such as the Sky Village by ADEPT + MVRDV, the St Jakob Turm by Herzog & de Meuron, the Market Hall by MVRDV (under construction), the Porta Fira Towers by Toyo Ito + b720, the Beekman tower by Frank Ghery, De Rotterdam by OMA (under construction), the Aqua Tower by Studio Gang and more.
The editorial seems to work very close to the offices, as the detail of the projects are amazing: detailed drawings, large photos, good diagrams, size comparisons, and all the facts you need to completely understand these projects as you can see on the photos after the break:
Oncuoglu Architecture designed the B199, a 74.500 m² mix-use development for Istanbul, Turkey. Inspired by the urban landscape of Istanbul, the project occupies the intersection of the Gultepe and Buyukdere, two districts with different urban patterns. The project is designed to act as a “bridge integrating the spatial discontinuity between two sides of the site.”
More about the B199 after the break.
Another “Part II” Round Up to finish this week. This time, we bring back previously featured mixed use projects. And if you didn’t catch our first part, it’s never to late, check it out right here.
Danish architectural company schmidt hammer lassen architects + Lund+Slaatto Architects have won a 52,863 m2 mixed-use complex “Konstitucijos Avenue 21” in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.
The project is the result of a successful collaboration with Oslo-based Lund+Slaatto Architects, a strategic partner of schmidt hammer lassen architects.
The client had requested cross-scandinavian architect teams for the task which led Lund+Slaatto to invite schmidt hammer lassen to join them. Architect’s description and more images after the break.
The Jerde Partnership’s Namba Parks, in Osaka, Japan, was just named one of the winners of the Urban Land Institute’s 2009 Awards of Excellence: Asia Pacific competition. When asked to create a gateway to redefine Osaka’s identity, the architects responded with this project that would become a natural intervention in Osaka’s dense and harsh urban condition. The rooftop park offers a sloping park plane that is “bifurcated by a sinuous, open-air ‘canyon’ path that reinforces the connection with nature while forming the primary circulation pattern.”
More about the park after the break.
Resting on the outskirts of Naples, Renzo Piano latest Volcano Buono is a mixed use center that aims to become integrated into the landscape, rather than just occupying it. The central piazza of the Volcano includes a 150 meter-wide space that holds an outdoor theater and market, while a series of concentric rings form the center’s commercial areas. Piano explained that the Volcano is “a contemporary take on a Greek marketplace, a void as a place for events, meetings, dialogue and the gathering of people”.
More about the Volcano and more images after the break.
