Founded in 1929, the Zhejiang Museum of Natural History is located in Hangzhou and has a collection of over 200,000 specimens covering geology, ecology and palaeontology. The eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang is the site of many important discoveries from the Cretaceous period. A new, second branch of the museum has been established in Anji, in the north of the region, forming the centrepiece of a new cultural district.
The new museum is set on a sloping site in a large natural park surrounded by bamboo forests and overlooking rice fields in the valley below. It comprises a loose infrastructure of spacious exhibition halls, taking into account the large scale of some of the exhibits: Dinosaur fossils and life-size models, large-scale wildlife dioramas, accompanied by multimedia and interactive exhibition elements.
Client: Zhejiang Museum of Natural History, People’s Government of Anji County
Partners: David Chipperfield, Mark Randel (Design lead), Libin Chen
Project Architects: Alessandro Milani (Competition), Miguel Angel (Preparation and brief to Developed design), Shen Huiwen (Developed design, Design intent details), Chuxiao Li (Site design supervision)
Project Team: Hans Christian Buhl, Zhexu Du, Tianyuan Fan, Jinghui Hou, Andrew Irvin, Han Li, Huiqun Liu, Jidi Pan, Fengjuan Sun, Nora Wuttke, Liping Xu, Zhixun Zhou; Visualisation: Andrew Irvin
The insertion of the designed object clashes with the convergence of different factors: the outstanding presence of Saint Nicholas’ church and the adjoining plaza with the annex building of the former town hall, the intricate identity of the residential volumes around, the harsh party wall of the telecommunications building and the oblique crossing of two marked local arteries. They are all joined together on this singular scenery of intense social and cultural connotations.
Aedas-designed Renhe Town stands at a prime location adjacent to Chengdu Government’s New Administration Center. The development comprises residential units at Phase 1 and commercial mixed-use complex at Phase 2. Continuing the minimalist design of Phase 1, the designer, Aedas Executive Director Cary Lau, brings forward a commercial landmark with a unique silhouette that carries a classic elegance of the Orient.
The Atrium of Holy Angels Mausoleum is located in one of Melbourne’s major urban cemeteries, Fawkner Memorial Park in Sydney Road Fawkner, which is managed by the Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust. The Trust commissioned Harmer Architecture to design the mausoleum as a fourth stage to the nearby Holy Angels Mausoleum complex also designed by Harmer Architecture.
The mausoleum provides above ground burial for 672 people within in situ concrete crypts which are arranged on top of each other on 6 levels and in eight separate blocks located around a central landscaped courtyard.
In 2010, Wiegerinck won a design competition organised by what was then known as VUmc. Entrants were invited to formulate their vision for a building where all activities associated with medical imaging techniques, a laboratory for scientific research and a production facility for medical isotopes and tracers would be brought together at one location: the new Imaging Center.
In 2016, our team began designing a multi-functional architectural complex located in a vibrant area of San Francisco, California.
The complex includes a three-level residential building transformed into co-living accommodation, an old church re-equipped as a modern event hall, and a freestanding educational center. A common-area courtyard connects all three units of the complex.
Cities are connected to various functions such as the square, architecture, and space through diverse paths. Social relationships are generated by the nodes between these paths and elements (e.g., square, architecture, and space). Multi-layered social spaces trigger diverse new relationships from the users who utilize community facilities. Multi-layered social spaces include the circular flow of human traffic made of a circular ring structure, places where social relationships are generated such as culture square or green bridge, places that do not refine actions such as convergence garden, and relationship space, which can be public or private depending on the location and characteristics of it.
Two new apartment buildings enclosing a shared inner courtyard are being constructed in a partly landmarked environment near Prinzregentenstrasse and the Friedensengel at the centre of the suburbs Haidhausen and Bogenhausen. On the Trogerstrasse side, the front building carefully closes the existing gap in the block edge and shows formal consideration for the landmarked environment. This is reflected by the saddleback roof, two bay windows towards the street, a plinth, and a classically graceful design language. The various elements create a balance between the individuality of the building and the adjacent neighbourhood of the square.
Article source: LEAP Laboratorio en Arquitectura Progresiva
West Point Convenience Center is a retail venue and the most visible component of a mixed use development located on the westside of Guadalajara. The master plan of the complex is comprised of eight high-rise vertical housing buildings in a gated community with inner pedestrian walkways, a park and controlled access points. The retail venue, although it is an integral part of the master plan, is at the forefront of the complex outside the gated community and with large green areas on both sides of the building. The preeminent location of the building within the master plan and its relationship with the public avenue demands an architectural approach to give the building an iconic presence. It is important to highlight that the Convenience Center will be also a focal point from the views of the eight apartment buildings on the background, and therefore the design of the roof was as important as the design of the main facades at street level. The result is a triangular faceted architectural object with two wide openings at each end where the second level restaurants are located and a screen that randomly becomes more transparent towards the center of the building. The complexity of the geometry of this element contrast with the seemingly simple geometry of the first floor, both bodies are articulated through the rhythm of the columns. The construction material proposed for the upper body of the building is Cor-Ten steel, a material that naturally covers itself of protective rust, making it a maintenance free material. Three steel chimneys contrast with the rusty look of the building and are the exhaust ducts of the restaurants inside the Convenience Center.
BEHF Architects has teamed up with JSWD Architekten to deliver Vienna’s landmark towers THE ICON VIENNA, directly adjacent to Vienna Central Station (Hauptbahnhof).
The complex comprises three high-rise office towers joined by a common plinth. The three buildings appear individual but complement one another and communicate with the neighbouring facilities. The project plays a trailblazing role in the urban fabric and impresses with clarity and accuracy in the orientation of the three high-rise buildings as well as with the articulation of the facades. With its soft shapes, the trio enables an easy flow of visitors between the towers and through the district. Rather than functioning as an individual structure, THE ICON VIENNA opens up to the city and carefully unites the existing buildings in the Belvedere district.