Urban Design: The Latest Architecture and News

With a key concept for the Badel Block proposal of creating the core as a living icon, the existence of such a rich structure as the old distillery building defines this approach. As an opportunity to develop a new structure that enhances new urban routines, this project becomes a strong new urban value. Designed by Pablo Pita Architects, the mixed-use proposal defines the morphology of the construction ring, breaking it down in several pieces. This enables the intervention to be phased and sets the right urban scale. More images and architects’ description after the break.

“Flip/City”, a proposal by PinkCloud.DK which was shortlisted in the 2012 Rethinking Shanghai competition, proposes a new urban identity for Shanghai as a model for the development of future cities. By flipping the horizontal cityscape to the vertical, footprints of Shanghai’s existing typologies, only visible by plane, embody the new face of the vertical city. By expanding Shanghai up along the vertical plane, unused urban voids will be activated. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The design proposal by SANGRAD Architects + AVP Arhitekti for the Badel Block Complex, a mixed-use project within the city center of Zagreb, Croatia, consists of enclosing the continuity of the existing block and positioning the vertical into its center. Following the instinct of creating a free, public space as large as possible, and yet also in keeping with the proposed program, with uniform treatment of the existing urban archaeology, represents the main guidelines of this concept. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Designed by Gustafson Guhrie Nichol (GGN) and produced in collaboration with Landscape Forms, UrbanEdge is a collection of landscape framing and furniture elements for urban spaces. The project responds to the demand for more outdoor public spaces with an interest in less formal, more welcoming and effective use of urban locations. UrbanEdge pairs GGN’s experience in designing urban spaces with Landscape Forms’ expertise in developing beautiful site furnishings that address issues in urban environments; built to perform and endure under conditions of high-usage. More images and architects’ description after the break.

As a part of the exhibition “Water Brick” held by the Association of Siamese Architects (ASA) in The Architect’12 Expo this last April, Shma shared with us their Water City proposal. Their visionary project focused on a response to the severe flood that inundated most of central plain of Thailand in 2011. They focused on Ayutthaya, the old capital of Thailand and the UNESCO’s World Heritage, in the project named “2050 Ultra Flood Plain”. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Henning Larsen Architects has won the competition for developing a 150,000 sqm area in the second-largest city in the Faroe Islands, Klaksvík. The area will comprise a cultural house, a museum, residences, offices and shops. 154 competition proposals were submitted in the open, international competition. More images and architect’s description after the break.

The proposal by Amann-Cánovas-Maruri in the ideas competition for the organization and design of the access to the city of Murcia through El Palmar Avenue establishes a slanted axis that generates different urban scenes. In creating a sustainable action based on participatory urbanism and new high density urban nodes in contact with and related to the farmland, the architects generate public spaces that link together both sides of the boulevard. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Located in the Tongzhou district of Beijing, Urban Creek is an attempt at having architecture merge within various spheres of public space. Designed by ATOL Architects, the project is focuses around the idea that architecture should be conceived as a cultural connective tissue that creates opportunities to link spaces and neighborhoods together. In redefining the very notion of mixed-use from a free standing commercial box/podium/tower typology, this design aims at creating an ever evolving city center to reconnect with its secret past. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The project “Living in the City in the City” by the team composed by Paolo Brescia and Tommaso Principi (architecture), Margherita Del Grosso (architecture), Openfabric (landscape), Marco Manzitti (urban marketing), Buro Happold (energy and environmental strategies), D’Appolonia (infrastructures), and Doro Dietz (visualization) recenlty won the international design competition organized by the Municipality of Genoa for the enhancement of Via XX Settembre. The idea of the project promotes a strong sense of self-identification by the Genoese, recovering the essential meaning of living seen as taking care of their city. More images and architects’ description after the break.

We recently shared six conceptual visions for the transformation of Los Angeles’ Union Station. Upon the release of the vision boards, the team’s proposals (EE&K, a Perkins Eastman Company, in association with UNStudio; IBI Group with Foster+Partners; Grimshaw with Gruen; Moore Ruble Yudell Architects and Planners, with Ten Arquitectos and West 8; NBBJ with Ingenhoven Architects; and Renzo Piano Building Workshop with Parsons Transportation Group Inc.) sparked much public interest. As we reported earlier, the Metro staff will recommend a winner to the Metro board on June 28th, but in the meantime, we’d like to share a closer look at some of the proposals.

UNStudio’s proposal with EE&K imagines Union Station as a multi-modal transit hub filled with mixed use development and outdoor spaces.  The conceptual vision board explores possibilities for the station and its surrounding areas, highlighting a key integration of transportation and outdoor park spaces with its “green loop” strategy.

More about the vision board after the break.

New York-based architects Weiss / Manfredi and Philadelphia-based landscape architects OLIN have been announced as winner of the National Mall Design Competition for the Washington Monument Grounds at Sylvan Theater in Washington, DC. Weiss / Manfredi and OLIN were one of three winning teams selected by the Trust for the National Mall to rejuvenate and transform three neglected sites on the National Mall (read our original announcement here). In the winning proposal for Sylvan Theater, Weiss / Manfredi and OLIN sculpt the ground plan and restore the existing tree canopy to create a new performance landscape that can accommodate a wide variety of events, while permeating the site with critical visitor amenities.

Continue reading for more images, video and the architects’ press release.

The new city, designed by Mekano Studio, will be a smart data city, a city driven with data, a city that can help each person to choose and decide, a City respects the human mind and gives him the option to take part in his own life as it must have to be. The data city is a city that administrates everything with a real time data, in order to evaluate and respect the time factor as well and to increase the productivity with a well organized community. More images and architects’ description after the break.

After an intense and highly publicized competition, the Trust for the National Mall has announced the three winning teams selected to redesign the neglected sites of America’s front yard. As reported by the Washington Post, Rogers Marvel Architects & Peter Walker and Partners will redesign Constitution Gardens east of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, while Weiss/Manfredi & OLIN will bring new life to the Sylvan Theater, southeast of the Washington Monument. The Union Square will be forwarded to the Architect of the Capitol and transformed by Gustafson Guthrie Nichol & Davis Brody Bond.

Continue reading for more on the winning proposals.

Metro officials have released six conceptual visions that suggest how the historic Los Angeles Union Station could be transformed by 2050. Preliminary “Vision Boards” were released in a public forum at Union Station last week, and although they are not part of the formal evaluation process, they have ignited an immense amount of public interest in the competition.

In an article posted on The Source, Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Board Chair Antonio Villaraigosa described that this competition is “about preparing for the future.” As plans for the California High-Speed Rail System evolve, it is imperative that Union Station is redeveloped to meet the standards of a 21st century transportation hub.

Continue after the break to view each Vision Board provided by the six well-known practices shortlisted for the competition.