The Kolon Group, based in Seoul, is a diverse corporation whose activities range from textiles, chemicals, and sustainable technologies, to original clothing lines in the athletic and ready-to-wear fashion markets. Between the group’s 38 divisions, Kolon covers research, primary material manufacture, and product construction – a unique configuration that enables the company to capitalize on its own resources and advances, and to forge innovative collaborations between divisions. Supporting this collaborative model was a primary goal behind the design of Kolon’s new Corporate Headquarters and Research Facilities. Bringing researchers, leadership, and designers together in one location, the building combines flexible laboratory facilities with executive offices and active social spaces that encourage greater interaction and exchange across the company.
The new Danish Wadden Sea Centre – ultramodern, sculptural architecture rooted in local tradition
With a completely re-conceptualized conversion and extension, the Wadden Sea Centre – gateway to the UNESCO World Heritage Site – has recently been opened to the public in Ribe on the west coast of Denmark. At the new Wadden Sea Centre, internationally renowned Danish architecture firm Dorte Mandrup has set a new standard for combining the local building culture and history of the area with an ultramodern, sculptural architectural appearance.
Article source: gmp · Architekten von Gerkan, Marg und Partner
A new trade exhibition and congress center has been completed in Lianyungang, China to a design by architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp). The project was subject to an international competition, which was won by gmp. Situated in an urban development area between the city and the sea, the four large exhibition halls surround the congress area in the center of the building. The facades with their vertical incisions create the image of a barcode as a symbol of trade and commerce.
Design: Meinhard von Gerkan and Stephan Schütz with Stephan Rewolle
Competition project leaders: Patrick Pfleiderer, Christa Hillebrand
Competition design team: Jan Peter Deml, Li Ling, Lu Yun, Wang Yan, Xie Fang, Zhao Jing, Thilo Zehme, Liu Mo
Project leaders, detailed design: Christa Hillebrand, Wang Yan
Detailed design team: Jan Peter Deml, Andreas Goetze, Guo Fuhui, Li Ling, Mulyanto, Matthias Wiegelmann, Zhao Jing, Liu Yuchen, Nian Tie, Shen Chen, Li Chen
Client: Lianyungang Rui Hao Investment and Development Co., Ltd.
GFA: 77,418 m² above ground, 11,179 m² below ground
The tender for the end building on Stationsplein (Station square) in Delft was won by Smit’s Bouwbedrijf BV|Vink Bouw Nieuwkoop BV. Studioninedots was responsible for the architecture.
Centrally located in Nieuw Delft, this lively place creates space for meeting, knowledge exchange and innovation: the DNA of Delft. The strength of this robust complex called ‘Antoni’ lies in the physical connection of the dynamic surroundings with an urban, mixed-use function that incorporates exhibition and meeting spaces, a hotel with restaurant, workspaces, retail and apartments. Integrated underneath the building will be a new public parking facility for 2.400 bicycles.
The construction agreement between the development group and the municipal developer Ontwikkelingsbedrijf Spoorzone Delft was signed on 21 December 2016.
Article source: Bruzkus Batek Architekten Partnerschaft
Based in the old Knorr Braking Systems factory, Friedrichshain – a protected historical site, is one of three of the online retailer Zalando’s locations in Berlin, employing around 2000 people. Bruzkus Batek architects have designed and conceptualised a multi-use “fashion hub” at the site, including a modern, fully featured canteen and terrace onto the interior courtyard.
Shenzhen Mocape is located north of the Shenzhen Civic Centre; it is also the last major public cultural project in Shenzhen.
The building is an integration of the Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Arts and the Urban Planning Exhibition Halls. Surface materials of glass, perforated plate, and stone extend and twist along the steel structure, creating a complicated architecture full of vitality. However, the unique façade form also created great difficulties in lighting design. Lighting design conquered multiple challenges and successfully inte-grated within the building, neatly and sharply presented a clear and translucent city “rock”.
Project: Museum of Contemporary Art & Planning Exhibition (MOCAPE)
Location: Shenzhen, China
Photography: He Shu
Client: Shenzhen Municipal Culture Bureau, Shenzhen, China and Shenzhen Municipal Planning Bureau, Shenzhen, China Construction Agency: China Overseas Commercial Properties Co., Ltd
Planning: COOP HIMMELB(L)AU – Wolf D. Prix & Partner ZT GmbH
A subtle dialogue between historical structure and current architectonic accents is being offered at the former Herding spinning mill in Bocholt. The industrial monument has been reinvented for use as a cultural centre. Warehouse for shows, special exhibition areas, event spaces and catering found place at the so called TextilWerk. “Reanimate and reinvent” were the maxims of ATELIER BRÜCKNER. By means of careful architectural surgery the original functional interrelationships of the factory were underlined. The language of form and colour are derived from the old building structure.
A/D/O, the new design space in Greenpoint, Brooklyn founded by MINI, has completed construction, and will open to the public following the holiday season. Designed by Brooklyn based nARCHITECTS – the award-winning firm, founded by Principals Eric Bunge and Mimi Hoang, that was behind New York City’s first micro-unit building – A/D/O will provide a groundbreaking new kind of space for designers.
Design Team: Credits: Eric Bunge, Mimi Hoang (Principals); Ammr Vandal (Associate Principal), Amanda Morgan (Associate), Kyong Kim, Thomas Heltzel, David Mora, Daniel Katebini-Stengel, Gabrielle Marcoux, Jin Jin Chiu, Georgia Williams, Zach Walters, Brian Chen, Liwei Wang, Geraldine Vargas, Grisha Enikolopov
Structural Engineer: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger
MEP Engineer: OLA Consulting Engineers
Civil Engineer: AKRF
Lighting Designer: Lumen Architecture, PLLC
Additional Furnishings and Design Consulting: HUXHUX
Code Consultant: Jack Callahan Consulting
Kitchen Consultant: Jacobs Doland Beer
Construction Manager/General Contractor: Barrett Builders
The Stiftung zur Förderung zeitgenössischer Kunst in Weidingen (Foundation for the Promotion of Contemporary Art in Weidingen) was founded in 2012 by gallery owners Max-Ulrich Hetzler and Samia Saouma. The Foundation’s aim is to promote contemporary art and culture, especially through annual summer exhibitions in Weidingen. Artists are invited to live and work on the premises.
Article source: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Astana Expo City 2017, the world’s next international exposition, is now under construction in Astana, Kazakhstan. 28 buildings and the Expo’s master plan were designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG) around the designated theme, “Future Energy,” a concept that is aimed at finding ways to achieve qualitative changes in the energy sector, primarily for the development of alternative sources of energy and transportation.
Located south of Bayterek Tower and east of Nazarbayev University, Astana Expo City 2017 is positioned to become a significant new landmark for Astana. The development’s goal is to reduce the site’s energy demand to the greatest extent possible by using both passive and active strategies. The architecture and master plan were designed by using site-specific indicators like solar and wind orientation, weather conditions, and the cultural context, determined from a series of studies with the goal of maximizing energy-harvesting potential and comfort levels.