In today’s evolving global residential landscape, the dire issues of attention to sustainability, access to open green space where social-distancing is possible, and a need for a more eco-conscious living are the newest trends that influence where and how we live.
Now more than ever, the world needs to cut back on carbon emissions, waste and the creation of unnatural materials that damage the environment. In tandem, the creation and planning of architecture need to be mindful of innovations that both manifest outstanding design and have environmentally-conscious attributes. With myriad abilities to work in various spaces and industries, developers, businesspersons and investors will look to upgrade their spaces and buildings, especially luxury residential real estate.
In 2019, MoederscheimMoonen won the architect selection commissioned by Stebru for the residential tower, Riva, in the Scheepmakershaven in Rotterdam. The residential building will be built on top of the existing office block, retaining the iconic reconstruction architecture of this building. The final design of the building was completed recently. This activated the further elaboration and ultimately, the construction of the new residential complex.
The Scheepmakershaven is part of the Maritime District of Rotterdam: a harbour area that has been transforming into a lively residential area since 2009. The area is characterized by its many towers and is the epicentre of high-rise buildings in Rotterdam’s city centre. On the site of Riva, there are currently two office buildings that were designed between 1956 and 1963. The Municipality of Rotterdam has listed these buildings as valuable reconstruction architecture. They show the typical character of this architecture and had to be preserved as much as possible during the redevelopment and expansion into a residential building.
Bar Orion Architects, a leading international architecture firm based in Israel and established by Tal and Gidi Bar Orian in 1990, today officially unveils its latest project Mapu 5 a square-shaped, new-build residential property located on the corner of Mapu and Yehoash Streets in the heart of Tel Aviv’s White City, a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its extensive collection of Bauhaus and Eclectic Architecture-style buildings.
The prerequisite for any design is the question of pleasure. The pleasure of reinventing and reinvesting a building with atypical dimensions and of giving it a new history. This totem building makes us pass from the safeguard of a collective memory of an industrial past to another form of memory, now digital.
I wanted a building that is educational in the sense that it offers itself to be read and to experience the space in all its dimensions, length, width, height, and thus reveal the architectural and patrimonial singularities. I tried to avoid a reflexive approach that would like a large central atrium lined with offices, but rather to invest the void as an experience of space and to reconnect with the industrial history of this building built in 1847.
This 41-story office tower occupies a prominent site directly adjoining the Dalle of La Défense an elevated pedestrian plaza centered on the monumental axis that extends eastward from the nearby Grande Arche through the historic heart of Paris.
The building is positioned to reflect this axial system while respecting the view corridor from the historic center. The office floors rise above a lobby at the plaza level and two lower floors of amenities, including a garden restaurant.
Article source: Chain10 Architecture & Interior Design Institute
As with all city dwellings, there is a lack of nature and harmony which has been remedied in this design. The building base is facing the west, so as to not be tested by the extremely hot weather in the south of Taiwan. Hot weather does not make for a comfortable living environment which is why its effect has been diminished. The design philosophy uses the basic teachings of modernism from the 1960s, and the large amount of greenery is akin to a forest in the city. The unobstructed view allows for an impressive view of the city while the projected shadows demonstrate the natural passage of time. The facade of the building utilizes a cantilever beam-column system with a sun-shaded aluminum plate for deeper light and a richness of space. We try to make the building look light and modern, and hope to reshape the traditional perception of Asian people, that luxury is more important than a feeling of wellness and contentment.
Known for its beautiful archipelago of some 700 islands, Japan’s Setonaikai (Seto Inland Sea), is the largest waterway of its type in the country. Located in the center of the sea, Onomichi is surrounded by the Onomichi Channel, a key historic point for maritime traffic, and by a trio of mountains home to ancient temples. Used as a setting for many literary works and movies, the area’s scenery has more recently been recognized as a Japan Heritage Site. It has also become a mecca for cyclists, and attracts both domestic and overseas interest.
The architect Stefano Boeri designs Palazzo Verde in Belgium, a little gem in Antwerp’s Nieuw Zuid district. He and his partners at Stefano Boeri Architetti (Francesca Cesa Bianchi e Marco Giorgio), officially presented the brand-new building realized together with construction partner Triple Living.
“I believe that our cities must play a leading role in the battle against the dramatic consequences of climate change. We must urgently make them greener if we wish to succeed in turning the tide”, says the architect Stefano Boeri with great commitment when describing his vision of the future.
Recently, a service buildings group of Nantong Urban Agricultural Park has been completed by Z-ONE Architects (a newly emerging studio which specializes in experimental architectural practice in rural China; established in 2020). The project located on the northern suburb of Nantong, Jiangsu, China, with a total construction area of 4552.8m². It took four months from concept design to final completion.
The project includes 3 buildings :a Comprehensive Service Center called “Gather Grain into Granary”, an Exhibition Hall of Rural Life and a public restroom renovation. Considering the project is located in the entrance area, which is an important place for visitors to perceive the whole park, it needs to transition between urban and rural experience, without missing the reflection and reconstruction of contemporary architectural vocabulary.
Ben van Berkel: “Shopping malls are the public spaces of Chinese cities. These retail complexes are not simply places to shop, they are all-in-one destinations for outings and social gatherings. They are also places where culture and commerce merge and where architecture can express this expansive condition.”
The best of both worlds
Collaboration was key for the creation of a symbiotic relationship between the commercial aspirations and the architectural interventions. While Nihon Sekkei were asked to develop the outer shell of the retail center, UNStudio was tasked with fleshing out the mall as a placemaking destination for customers and the larger community. This included the design of the inner courtyard and its facades, the full interior of the mall and a public rooftop terrace.
UNStudio: Ben van Berkel, Astrid Piber, Hannes Pfau with Ger Gijzen, Marc Salemink, Sontaya Bluangtook and Daniele de Benedictis, Dongbo Han, Enrique Lopez, Lars van Hoften, Tiia Vahula, Martin Zangerl, Mo Lai, Ningzhu Wang, Shuang Zhang, Marta Piaseczynska, Chao Liu, Cristina Bolis, Tom Wong, Yang Li