Chengdu Bo’ya City Plaza designed by Aedas, is set at the heart of Tianfu New District in Chengdu. Boasting distinctive elevations, it is considered a landmark of Chengdu “Xinchuan Hi-Tech Innovation Park” jointly founded by China and Singapore. The project functions as an urban hub that connects main roads and transit systems within the city, establishing itself as a gateway to the overall community. Right from the beginning of design stage, Aedas Directors Chris Chen and Leon Liang have been determined to instill local features to this project with international visions.
The reflection or formulated question in this project was focused on how to design a tower in height that simultaneously allowed compact units and diversity.
For this proposal it was chosen to standardize the typologies of housing. In contrast the façade was used, so in its depth would permit the appearance of some balconies and various windows.
The facade, is configured through a system of organization of different elements of wall-drawer types: “C”, “V”, “L” or “I” generating a diversity or “dynamism-static of volume”, which in essence configures a large mass of perforated clay that promotes a great variety of how the light and solar shade are read. As a complement and aiming to contribute to the urbanity of a sector in process of development, a triangular square was provided to articulate the contiguous streets, damping and linking the tower with the city, and nuances the narrowness of the roads and platforms of access.
Design Team: Francisco Ospina, Andrés Gutiérrez, Iván Castro, Santiago Ballen, Juan Rubio, Pantoja Architects, Isabel Saffón, Andrea Mozzato, Christian Durango, María Echeverri, Esteban Lozada, Ixa Bachman.
Students: David Alsina, Susana Garzón, Felipe Torres, Santiago Vásquez.
Interior Design (lobby and common areas): Atelier R+R Arquitectos – Arq. Beatriz Robledo.
Article source: gmp · Architekten von Gerkan, Marg und Partner
A new high-rise building makes its impact on the skyline of Hangzhou, the Chinese metropolis with 9 million inhabitants. The 130-meter-high tower is part of the extension and redesign of the GDA Plaza, a business center in the traditional business quarter of the city, which includes a shopping mall and hotel. Architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp), who had previously won the competition, were in charge of the design and implementation.
West Lake is considered a focal point and special attraction of the old, traditional city of Hangzhou. Its exemplary cultivated landscape is an outstanding feature of this 9-million-person metropolis to the south-west of Shanghai and, in 2011, was designated a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. At Wulin Square, in the midst of the flourishing business center not far from the lake, the GDA Plaza Hotel and Business Center was reopened. As part of a redesign and extension, the existing complex with hotel and shopping mall was recreated and made into a completely new unit. The architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp), who had previously won the competition in 2007, were in charge of the design and implementation. At one cor-ner, the GDA Plaza was substantially extended by a new 28-story building with a gross floor area of 57,500 square meters, whilst the existing main building was retained as far as possible but completely reorganized. This has created additional offices and commercial premises, as well as new leisure facilities such as cinemas and restaurants.
Design: Meinhard von Gerkan and Nikolaus Goetze with Magdalene Weiss
Project Leader Competition: Jörn Ortmann
Competition Design Team: Jan Blasko, Cai Lei, Cheng Ying, Sun Ya-jin, Zhu Honghao
Project Leader Detail Design: Chen Ying, Fan Xiaodi, Huang Meng
Detail Design Team: Mareike Asmus, Jiang Yi, Kong Rui, Claudius Lange, Mao Yuqi, Alexander Schober, Martin Seibel, Sun Ya-jin, Tian Jinghai, Wang Qing, Zhao Chonghan
Wafra Beacon is a competition-winning proposal for a food and beverage mall development for the Sabah Al Ahmed Sea City area in Kuwait. The proposal transcends the barriers of traditional F&B developments in the region.
The project scope includes two rectangular plots facing a public square anchored by a mosque. Each plot contains a sectional podium housing independent multi-level restaurants and a multi-use tower. The Beacon is designed to be the destination of choice for the trendiest concepts in the Kuwait culinary scene while doubling up as the hub for a healthy and active beach lifestyle. Departing from the notion of a traditional F & B Mall, the design seeks to function as an Oasis for the young, active and creative demographic inhabiting the surrounding areas and visiting for the weekends.
Team: Hend Almatrouk, Gijo Paul George, Rui Goncalves, Pedro Varela, Abdul Rashed, Dionne Pereira, Ghanem Younes, Fabio Verissimos, Fernando Miranda, Filip Goncalves.
The Estate Makati, an innovative residential tower located in the heart of Manila’s Makati Central Business District, marks the practice’s first project in the Philippines. The design embodies a unique approach to residential living, creating expansive, flexible homes in the sky that combine lush landscaping with panoramic views of the city. Situated on the last undeveloped site along the famous Ayala Avenue, the 54-storey tower combines the life and bustle of Ayala Avenue, and the quiet calm of Urdaneta Village to create an unparalleled residential experience.
The Antwerp Tower is a skyscraper in the center of Antwerp, which itself is currently being renovated from an office tower to a building with 241 luxury apartments, based off a design by WAA. The tower is part of a larger renovation of the area directly around its base–the Keyserlei, which is the main pedestrian avenue that leads from Antwerp’s central train station–into the center of the city. The design of the Antwerp Tower entails extending the width of the marquise-diamond-like floorpan, increasing its height to 100 m, and demolishing and repurposing the space directly between the opera house and the tower–to create a four story plinth at the tower’s base, for retail and office, with a roof terrace restaurant atop for overlooking the city below.
The KPN building at the beginning of Wilhelminapier in Rotterdam was designed by Renzo Piano. It was the talk of the town upon completion in 1999, but by 2016 it had ceased to meet the user’s needs. With Piano’s consent, an extensive redevelopment by V8 was planned to breathe new life into the building. At ground level there is a huge entrance with public functions and business facilities; the tower has been converted from a traditional office building into a flexible and up-to-the-minute workplace. In its new incarnation the building has reconnected with the neighborhood and the city and is set to act as a catalyst of public life on the pier.
The architecture firms of LAN, Abinal & Ropars and Atelier Stéphane Fernandez deliver the new Polaris district in Nantes
This 1.5-hectare lot (3.70658 acres), facing the Loire River and the former site of the Brossette Company’s warehouses, is now home to six new, mixed-use buildings, one of which is a panoramic 18-story tower.
Polaris is the fruit of collaborative design effort with LAN originating the master plan and the main urban principles governing the development. They also were the lead architecture firm working with Abinal et Ropars and Atelier Stéphane Fernandez.
JDSA will coordinate an ensemble of new buildings on the Blériot-Féval site as well as design and execute a residential tower in Rennes to generate a mix-use and inclusive neighborhood within the Eurorennes development.
The development is located next to and comprises of the new station inaugurated in July 2019. The city’s new express train connections have cut travel times to its neighbours and the capital by nearly half, enthusing many to develop business with or relocate to Brittany’s epicentre.
This base is a high-end commercial complex with 6 high-rise towers containing offices, hotels and business apartments. Adjacent to the CBD district, it is also located between two central parks in Shenzhen. URBANUS’ design task was to construct a 100,000 m2 loft of apartments and offices on top of a shopping center larger than 60,000 m2.
To release the enormous pressure from the vertical dimension of the high-rise tower, we take advantage of the large area of the LOFTs, creating two artificial mountain volumes, in response to the huge scale of the towers. At the same time, the design connects the project to the natural form of the surrounding Lianhua and Bijia Mountains. This design also encloses a quiet space, by connecting the 3-4 level high-density office LOFT through exquisite sidewalks, creating a small town with rich spatial variation. There are also some public spaces, such as the LOFT Theater and the Trading & Exhibition Center that gradually transform the “big” and “solid” periphery space to the “small” and “dynamic” inner region. The Loft Town has accommodated a shopping mall, business offices and apartments, creating a new model of settlement which integrates residents, offices, shopping malls and cultural spaces.
Team: Su Yan, Zhang Haijun, Lin Junyi, Wang Yanping, Sun Yanhua, Zang Min, Cao Jian, Han Xiao, Zhang Ying, Wang Ping, Li Nian, Chen Guanhong, Yu Xinting, Xie Shengfen, Liu Kan, Silan Yip, Darren Kei, Sam Chan, Neo Wu, Danil Nagy, Daniel Fetcho, Yuan Nengchao, Lian Lili, Wang Lianpeng, Chen Hui, Zheng Zhi, Li Weibin, Milutin Cerovic (Architecture) | Fang Xue, Liu Nini, Chen Biao, Li Xintong, Li Yongcai, Zhu Yuhao, Gao Jieyi, Chen Zhenzhen (Interior) | Lin Ting, Zhang Yingyuan (Landscape) | Xu Luoyi (Technical Director) | Wang Fang, Wang Yingzi, Wen Qianyue, Tang Disha, Guo Xusheng, Su Wushun, Tian Ye, Wang Jiahui, Tian Tao, Li Jiapei, Yu Kai, Shi Xianlin, Zhang Zhimin, Lin Xiaoyan (Internship)