Waterfront: The Latest Architecture and News

BACKGROUND
Rapid urban growth and growing inequality has created a global crisis in housing that increasingly segregates the rich from the poor. Though not fully understood, there is a clear and parallel relationship between the size of a city and its level of socio-economic disparity: the larger the city, the less equal it tends to be. Physical and social segregation, which both reflects and perpetuates socio-economic disparity within a city, is a growing concern in cities worldwide - including Mumbai. The long-term success of a city depends on the collective well-being of all its inhabitants. To what extent can architecture support social inclusion and break down spatial segregation within the megacity?

Situated behind Snøhetta's iconic Oslo Opera House is another set of buildings which mark out Oslo as a cutting-edge architectural hub. The Barcode Project is a masterplanning project consisting of a row multi-purpose high-rise buildings which largely make up the skyline of Oslo. Each of the buildings is the creation of different combinations of European architecture firms; however, together they form an enticing composition with the gaps between them creating the impression of a barcode—hence the project’s clever nickname.

Each of the resulting buildings pushes the idea of what a high-rise building can be. Whether they take the form of a giant staircase or resemble a 3D version of Tetris, each of the buildings has its own peculiarities. The firms involved in the project included Dark Arkitekter, A-lab, MVRDV, and Snøhetta adding their stamp on the architecture of Oslo. Read on to see German architectural photographer Rainer Taepper’s stunning set of photographs on the Barcode Project.

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In Warsaw, Poland architecture firm WXCA wins the masterplan proposal for a stretch of riverfront along the Vistula River. The Vistula River Boulevards are among the most frequented public spaces in the city, and gaining popularity as entertainment and cultural offerings become available. WXCA’s winning design for Kahla Square aims to resolve the disconnect between the river banks and to provide amenities to support waterfront activities.

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FaulknerBrowns Architects have released plans for a revitalization of Queens Parade, a waterfront site in Bangor, Northern Ireland that has long been left underutilized. Situated next to the Bangor Marina, the mixed-used development will include residential, entertainment, and retail buildings in an effort to secure the site as a destination for both locals and tourists to connect with the water.

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With decaying infrastructure and a lack of viable public amenities, Hong Kong’s popular yet problematic waterfront is the focus of the latest undertaking by James Corner Field Operations, aiming to transform the site into an attractive tourist and local destination. Home to Hong Kong’s Avenue of Stars (the equivalent of Hollywood’s Walk of Fame), the Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) waterfront is in need of severe revitalization, with areas requiring demolition if not reinforced within the decade.

Part of a larger project known as Victoria Dockside, the landscape architecture firm’s vision incorporates new seating, shading and green space to reinvigorate the promenade while offering panoramic views of the city’s skyline as it guides visitors towards the harbor, allowing visitors to get closer to the harbor than ever before. Trellises will provide 800 times more shade than what is currently offered, while seating will increase 325-fold to encourage public engagement and interaction with each other and the space.

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With their design approach treating the site as a work of art, GroupGSA’s proposal for a new hotel in Shanghai’s Fengxian District has been awarded 2nd prize in a recent competition. Located in the predominantly undeveloped Nangiao New City and part of the Yangtze River delta in south Shanghai, the Wanda Jinhai Lake Hotel aims to garner new interest in the region through the creation of a new social, cultural, and economic landmark.

At the center of the Jinhai Lake, the new hotel integrates into the site and provides scenic vistas of the surrounding waterscape. “Inspiration stemmed from the concept of Chinese Calligraphy, the stroke of a brush with its ink dripping in the water,” say the architects. “Our site is merely a piece of art and we plan to leave our mark via our architecture which is painted on the site following the lines and the movement of the surrounding context.”

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Envisioning the harbor front as an extension of the city center, “Pargas Maritime Limestone Landscape” designed by the young Danish practice Schauman & Nordgren Architects has been named the winning entry of a waterfront masterplan competition by the City of Pargas, Finland.

The proposal was selected for its “thorough analysis of the city, its history, structure, character, potentials and challenge”, in response to the area’s development as a new residential hub and functional harbor. The competition introduced the notion of maintaining Pargas’ dominant maritime identity, while simultaneously strengthening the city’s character with various urban elements, such as hotels, a beach, saunas, and offices.

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Eleven of the United States’ most prestigious architects have been selected by developers Hoffman-Madison Waterfront (HMW), to commence Phase 2 of The Wharf, a $2 billion neighborhood situated on the southwest waterfront of Washington D.C. The development is adjacent to the National Mall, spanning 24 acres of land and 50 acres of water.

“We have selected a diverse group of locally, nationally, and internationally renowned designers, knowing they will bring their talent and expertise to The Wharf, building a waterfront neighborhood that is an integral part of the city,” said Shawn Seaman, principal and Senior VP of Development at PN Hoffman.

Designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects, 'One River Point' is set to be the latest addition to Miami’s ever-growing luxury real estate market. Comprised of two 65-story-tall towers, the project is a mixed-use residential development situated along the Miami River, in the city’s downtown core.

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Download the information related to this competition here.

The City requests proposals from design service firms or teams of firms with experience with marine facility design and urban open space design. The City seeks to develop schematic designs and estimate costs for new facilities supporting redevelopment of the study area that implement existing policies and goals for the site as articulated in the Program Statement for the Amethyst Lot.

Blueprint Competition is an international ideas competition for the redevelopment of areas of the former Trade Fair site owned by the City of Genoa and SPIM – the company for valorizing the City’s real estate holdings. From the Renzo Piano Building Workshop’s design to a project for the Genoa waterfront capable of attracting the interest of international investors.

Ÿ"Queen Hur Memorial Park Construction Project" is promoted in joint as a result of the 2015 Korea-India Summit on reinforcing cultural and personal exchanges between the two countries. The project is to reorganize the existing Queen Hur Memorial Park located in Ayodhya, India, and to extend the park in the riverside area next to the memorial park to construct the memorial park newly for connecting to the adjacent urban fabric, and commercial and cultural facilities.

New York City has seen rapid redevelopment that has capitalized on previously undesirable locations. Sitting at the top of these locations are the sites that have access to waterfront. Most of the ventures in these areas are private economic interests that only address public value when there is a direct return on profit. If not taken into consideration many of these waterfronts will be absorbed and, with the constant return of people to the urban core, there lies a need to create public and cultural infrastructure. In a city that is filled with numerous icons, parks, theaters, and museums an aquarium is one of the few remaining public typologies that isn't prevalent within the immediate area.

We are pleased to announce International Sustainable Waterfront Design Competition (ISWDC 2016). The competition is a partnership and cooperation between universities and design firms. The program is intended to engage students or experienced designers, working individually or in teams to paying more attentions on our waterfront environment with sustainable methods, using renewable resources, offering appropriate technology and construction, improving healthy life styles and working environments. This competition aims to promote the design ability of international students of architecture, landscape or urban planning, and stimulate their enthusiasm and competition sense. We would also like to encourage and train outstanding architects with innovative ideas. By focusing on “Sustainable Waterfront”, this competition is open to architects, engineers, planners and designers who want to contribute to progress in making the world more habitable by developing a proposal capable of responding to emerging challenges. Winning participants or students will receive cash prizes totaling $32,500 plus a certificate. We welcome everyone who is interested in this competition to attend it.

Urban waterfronts have historically been the center of activity for many cities. They began as economic, transportation and manufacturing hubs, but as most industries changed their shipping patterns and consolidated port facilities, many industrial waterfronts became obsolete. In Europe, smaller historic ports were easily converted to be reused for leisure activities. However, in North America, where the ports were larger, it was more difficult to convert the waterfronts due to logistical and contamination issues.

Over the past 40 years or so, architects and urban planners have started to recognize the redevelopment potential for waterfronts across the United States and Canada, and the impact they can have on the financial and social success of cities. Though cold-climate cities pose a unique challenge for waterfront development, with effective planning waterfront cities with freezing winter months can still take advantage of the spaces year-round.

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London's central waterway, the River Thames, has been a site of enormous interest from architects and urbanists in previous years. From a controversial garden bridge to discussions about how to appropriate what has been described as one of the city's largest untapped public spaces, London-based practice studio octopi have now launched a Kickstarter campaign to help to realise their dream of creating "a new, natural, beautiful lido" on its banks.

Endorsed by a number of renowned and respected Londoners, including Turner-prize winning artist Tracey Emin, architect Ivan Harbour (RSHP), and Tim Marlow, a director at the Royal Academy of Arts (RA), the ambition is to raise at least £125,000 (around $190,000 or €175,000) in order to seek planning permission for the Thames Baths project.

Find out more about the project and how you can support it after the break.

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