Towers: The Latest Architecture and News

Architects and developers have always been on opposite ends of the construction world. While the first wanted to create dreamy spaces, the latter just wanted to cater to the basic needs. In these past few years, the world has witnessed significant changes, with the aggravation of climate-related issues, the evolution of technological solutions, and the newly acquired awareness and growth of the population.

While everything is transforming, building trends also evolved, mainly due to an alteration in people’s perceptions and priorities. However, one question remains unanswered: Could all these changes mean that the never-ending conflict between architects and developers reached some sort of common grounds? And could they finally be seeking one same goal, of a sustainable, resilient and inclusive future?

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Sky Green, WOHA’s first project in Taichung, Taiwan has just been completed. Commissioned by the developer Golden Jade, with Feng Chia University as an advisor, the project is the first green and sustainable mixed-use development in the city.

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Led by Iyad Alsaka, Reinier de Graaf, Jad Semaan, and Adrianne Fisher, OMA’s proposal was selected as the winning entry for a residential project on Kuwait City’s waterfront. In collaboration with local partner Kuwait-based consultant Pace, The Wafra tower will be OMA's first venture in the country upon its completion.

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The 528 meters CITIC Tower, was inaugurated, standing tall as Beijing’s highest building to date. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF), the supertall innovative architecture remains culturally appropriate, drawing inspiration from the “zun”, a ritual vessel originating in Bronze Age China.

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Wolf Point East, a 665-foot residential tower, part of the last remaining development along the Chicago River, topped off and is near completion. Designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, and part of a master plan to redevelop the area, the east tower generates 700 rental units, 35,000 square feet of amenities, and 4,000 square feet of retail at street level.

Aedas, one of the world’s leading architecture and design practices, designed the 323 meter Changsha Jinmao Tower. Located in the newly planned Changsha CBD, the architecture firm created a high-rise that reflects its context, especially the local steep mountainous landscape.

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Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects generate for the first time in Japan, a high rise complex that holds the tallest building in the country, at the height of 330 meters. The U.S firm designed 3 towers for the district of Toranomon-Azabudai in Tokyo, part of a whole urban regeneration scheme for the central area of the capital.

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The Chongqing Gaoke Group Ltd Office building designed by Aedas has reached new heights as construction progresses, and the project is taking form in the urban fabric and the city center’s skyline. Standing tall at the north of Xingfu Plaza, in Jiangbei District of Chongqing, in the southwest of China, the high rise introduces a vibrant and dynamic movement in the surrounding.

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The Robinson Tower, a 24 000 m² boutique retail and office tower, was inaugurated in Singapore. Designed by the international firm KPF or Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, and executed in collaboration with Associate Architect A61, the building addresses the cultural and social aspects of the city, creating a singular and refined experience. The tower stands out from its context showcasing novelty in form and function, changing the city’s skyline.

Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) has announced the completion of the SOHO Gubei office tower in Shanghai. Inspired by the proportions of Constantin Brâncuși’s “Endless Column” sculpture, the tower manifests as an undulating obelisk with a diagonally canted zig-zag profile.

Each side of the tower’s sculptural form consists of four stacked volumes, with a series of shifted grids creating a density of wall surfaces that offer shade, reduce glare, and create a sense of urban solidity.

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OMA, led by the firm’s partner Jason Long, has designed two towers at Greenpoint Landing in Brooklyn, New York. The towers, in conjunction with a lower seven-story building, will offer 745 housing units (30% of which are affordable) and over an acre of new public space for the neighborhood. As OMA New York’s first ground-up building in Brooklyn, the scheme will serve as “a catalyst in the transformation of the waterfront from a post-industrial edge to an accessible and dynamic part of the neighborhood.

The two towers, extending Eagle Street and Dupont Street, expand the existing waterfront esplanade, incorporating 2.5 acres of public open space along the shoreline, and 8,600 square feet of ground-floor retail. Manifesting as two dancers, the towers simultaneously lean into and away from each other. While the taller tower widens towards the east as it rises, its partner steps back from the waterfront to create a series of large terraces.

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The collaboration of Bjarke Ingels Group and Westbank are celebrating two milestones in Canada, as the topping out of their innovative Vancouver House coincides with the advanced construction of their relocated Serpentine Pavilion in Toronto.

The two BIG-designed structures, located on opposite coasts, have both been recognized for their architectural innovation. The LEED-Platinum Vancouver House was awarded the World Architecture Festival’s Future Building of the Year in 2015, while the “unzipped wall” is the first Serpentine Pavilion to embark on a multi-city tour of this kind, before ultimately landing in a permanent home on the Vancouver waterfront.

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Thyssenkrupp Elevator, one of the world’s largest elevator companies, has revealed images of their proposed headquarters near The Battery Atlanta in Cobb County, Georgia. The headquarters will take the form of a “state-of-the-art 420-foot (128-meter)-tall elevator qualification and test tower, the tallest of its kind in the U.S. and one of the tallest in the world."

Featuring 18 shafts, the tower will be a testing ground for new concepts and product pilots, including high-speed elevators, two-cabins-per-shaft systems, and the world’s first cable-free and sideways-moving elevator systems.

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The Council on Tall Building and Urban Habitat have announced the winners of the 16th edition of the CTBUH Tall Building Awards. From over 48 finalists in 28 countries, the best buildings from four regions – the Americas, Asia & Australasia, Europe, and Middle East & Africa – were selected, along with recipients of the Urban Habitat Award, the Innovation Award, the Construction Award and the 10 Year Award. From these finalists, the CTBUH has also awarded the Best Tall Building Worldwide to the Oasia Hotel Downtown by WOHA.

The towers were chosen by a panel of architects from world-renowned firms and were judged on every aspect of performance, looking in particular for those which “have made extraordinary contributions to the advancement of tall buildings and the urban environment, and that achieve sustainability at the highest and broadest level.”

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Foster + Partners has unveiled their vision for the headquarters of DJI, the world’s leading robotics company, to be located in the Chinese technological powerhouse of Shenzhen. Symbolizing the “heart of innovation” for the robotics giant, the scheme seeks to alter the traditional concept of office architecture, generating a “creative community in the sky.”

Comprised of two towers, the scheme strikes a balance between research, development, office space and public amenities. The floors comprise floating volumes cantilevered from central cores by steel mega-trusses, ensuring maximum flexibility in large, column-free workspaces.

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has unveiled images of its proposed 54-story mixed-use tower in Hangzhou, China. Standing at a height of 945 feet (288 meters), the "Hangzhou Wangchao Center" seeks to act as a gateway to the eastern Chinese city’s newly-planned Qianjang Century Town district. With 1.3 million square feet (125,000 square meters) of office, hotel, and retail space, the scheme represents the ambitions of Hangzhou to become a global destination, spurred by its hosting of the Asian Games in 2022.

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New York YIMBY has revealed initial renderings of BIG’s proposed office skyscraper at West 29th Street, New York, on the site of the old Bancroft Bank Building. Officially named “29th and 5th,” the scheme will offer a LEED-certified design focused on wellness and sustainability, featuring outdoor terraces stacked alongside a glass curtain façade.

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