Gaîté Montparnasse, the MVRDV-designed transformation of a city block just a short walk from Paris’ Tour Montparnasse, is now open. The project has rationalised the existing uses of the mixed-use block – which included a hotel, shopping centre, office space and a library – and densified the area by adding social housing and a kindergarten. In doing so, the building has become more welcoming and accessible to pedestrians, while reusing significant parts of the previous structure from the 1970s following circular economy principles.
Completed in 1974, the original design of the “Îlot Vandamme” by Pierre Dufau was a landmark in its time, with the strong vertical lines of what is now the Pullman Hotel tower creating an unmissable presence in Montparnasse. At the same time, the plinth of rough textured concrete, boxy reflective glass, and red steel lattices epitomised the foibles of its era: surrounded by wide boulevards, the block was dominated by cars, and when viewed from the street looked introverted and unwelcoming.
Although Karlín started out as an industrial district of Prague, it has transformed dramatically during the last few decades. In the everyday life of the wider Prague city center it plays a part determined largely by this ongoing transformation. Considering all the requirements of modern living, Karlín has become popular for housing, work and leisure.
For the new Fragment Apartments we have come up with a unique and visually strong architecture, which is responsive to the context, both past and future. In addition to formal and functional aspects, a natural connection to the surrounding public space is what extends the building out, makes it more accessible and completes it visually and functionally. A monumental David Černý sculpture is an integral part of the program, resulting from artistic collaboration on the project from the very beginning.
The project is located in one of the oldest streets in the Aveiro city, where the architectural richness of the old facades is a hallmark of the city. The project is based on the demolition of a degraded building and the construction of a multifamily housing and commercial building. As such, given the context of the place, one of the premises of the project is to maintain and rehabilitate the facade of the existing building, requalifying it and thus preserving its historical and architectural value in the arrangement of Dr. Lourenço Peixinho Avenue.
Farrells recently completed Hangzhou Winland Center in China. Located on the banks of the Grand Canal (a UNESCO World Heritage site), the 230,000m² mixed-use project consists of 2 iconic office towers connected to a retail base linking 7 retail villas and 6 residential towers, weaved together by a network of elevated link bridges and sunken courtyard, walkable retail streetscapes, plazas filled with cultural events and residential courtyards.
In Toronto’s near suburbs, the sensitive redevelopment of low-density post WWII sprawl is a win-win opportunity whose time has come. Our residential condominium project is at the vanguard of this emerging phenomenon. The 2.5-hectare site ticks all the boxes- located along an underutilized arterial road in a forward-looking suburban municipality that has developed new planning guidelines for urbanization. Proposed at 6.46FSI, the density of our project is a model for development that addresses the housing shortage while at the same time establishing an environmentally responsible benchmark for preserving open space.
MVRDV, along with co-architects ALL for real estate developer Groupe Giboire, has completed Ascension Paysagère, a residential complex at the confluence of two rivers in the west of Rennes, France. Occupying a crucial transitional space between the Rennes’ centre and its outer reaches, the 12-storey, 10,550-square-metre complex brings much-needed density in the context of the city’s outward growth, providing 138 homes in a variety of sizes and price ranges – including 37 units of social housing as well as commercial spaces and pleasant new public spaces in a green waterside environment.
Article source: Creative Architects and Interiors (CAI)
Prince Galada in Chennai redefines high-end, contemporary urban living with an experience of a luxurious villa coupled with the security and amenities of a high-rise apartment.
Located in the heart of the city and surrounded by a residential neighbourhood in Vepery, the edifice marks its presence in the vicinity with its bold and contemporary style. By achieving an FSI of 3.5 on a compact site, Prince Galada displays efficient planning skills employed in its making.
Article source: António Paulo Marques, Arquiteto e Associados, Lda
This private initiative residential project is located next to the Circunvalação, on the northern edge of the city of Porto. The plot has a trapezoidal configuration and faces rua Nova do Rio. The building’s location in the center of the plot allowed openings to be created on all its facades. Using existing alignments in the surroundings, two volumes were proposed that establish a relationship of great proximity and tension with each other. Vertical communications and distribution spaces are located in the center, in the interstice formed by the two volumes. The access to the building converges to its center, this route is accentuated by the proximity and tension between the volumes The program organizes two T0 apartments and fourteen T1 apartments, spread over four floors. A basement floor was dedicated to parking. From the outside, the building’s facades are treated in a monochromatic light gray tone, which predominates in all its constructive elements. The windows obey to a random and dynamic matrix composition that at certain times breaks the corners of the volumes.
Five apartment buildings built on a former marina brownfield evoke the atmosphere of a local, “Libeň-style Amsterdam”. The houses are nested on a distinctive site, a narrow peninsula flanked by opposite green banks.
The transformation of the marina brownfield has turned the location into a pleasant contemporary residential area. As an articulation of tranquillity, the complex reflects on the surface of a river flowing through the vibrant city of Prague.
1A Pervomayskaya is a centrally located quarter in Tyumen, featuring apartments, business premises, and public space. The project is based in the old city centre, where theatres, museums, shopping malls, business centres, and 19th-century historical monuments are in the immediate vicinity. Despite its central location, it was long a dead-end plot, abutting onto a development site and thus breaking up the street.
email
Facebook
Twitter
RSS Feed
