On the rolling landscape of a former farmer’s field, today enclosed by suburban development, a new care and recreation centre for the elderly takes form. The plan is articulated in such a way as to leave breathing space between the new building and the surrounding urban tissue, while realising the necessary programme for a community with a growing need for such facilities.
Oyu onsen is a famous hot spring in Kazuno, Akita. We designed a community center here incorporating a shop, café, open-air theater, park, footbath, and biotope under one large roof. In order to create a dynamic space which varies according to the diverse programs, we referred to mage wappa, a round lunch basket made of thin wood, a traditional craft in Akita’s. Cylinders of LVL (laminated veneer lumber) reference mage wappa and comprise the structure of the building. The assemblage of those rings then functions not only as a transparent structure but also as a partition or a shelf when needed.
BCV Architecture + Interiors was hired to design the brand-new 24,000-square-foot retail center at Mission Park in Santa Clara, California. The project will add a variety of retail and food & beverage offerings, providing a much-needed social hub that is walkable and amenity-rich.
The 46-acre office campus in the heart of the Silicon Valley exemplifies the evolution of retail and growing trend of suburban urbanization in the area— transitioning from a spread-out and disconnected region to an increasingly dense and community-oriented one. In fact, three office buildings were razed to accommodate the new retail center, an almost unheard-of phenomenon in a tech hot spot where the demand for office space is becoming insatiable.
The 1.7km long former railway line crossing downtown Taichung was an important catalyst for the development of the old city. The railway’s historical value plays an important role in the revitalisation of the urban realm on which it sits.
Sustainable life, sustainable history & culture
Although in the past, the rail line was a mean of connection, the disused railway acts more as a divider due to its challenging location on the dyke, which impedes the circulation from one side of the tracks to the other.
Battery Park is a new 12 000 sqm (1.2 hectre) urban park situated at a key entranceway to one of Africa’s most visited tourist destinations, the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, South Africa. Developed as the nucleus of a larger urban vision for the district, the site includes a park and piazza that effectively conceal a 1 206-bay parking facility as well as new pedestrian routes to invigorate the precinct with activity. The site is of archaeological importance as it contains the remnants of one of the city’s oldest structures, coastal fortification the Amsterdam Battery. This provided a unique opportunity for architecture and urban design firm dhk – to pay homage to the historic landmark whilst incorporating a parking facility and providing spaces for leisure and recreational activities.
In the immediate vicinity of the new Vienna central station, the Sonnwendviertel East is arising along the Helmut-Zilk-Park. Based on a cooperative master plan, a district of diverse uses is developing where eleven of the buildings are going to be so-called “Quartiershäuser” – characterised by the idea and aim to fuse service and living in a modern urban context. Characteristic of these are a public use of the ground floor which aims to animate the immediate neighbourhood. To ensure this outcome, the future users of the ground floor spaces were involved already during the competition phase.
Collaborators: Yuliana Abisheva, Martin Bauer, Marie-Theres Genser, Raphael Gregorits, Hannah Jöchl, Hanna Kovar, Gerhard Mair, Jasmin Plaikner, Ralph Reisinger, Nora Sahr, Wilhelm Scherübl, Mario Steiner, Elian Trinca
The first residential complex in Ukraine based on the block development principle, instead of customary Soviet micro-district type.
Different number of stories of adjacent buildings (ranging from 2 to 16 floors) forms a picturesque image of every street. A restored park with perennial trees, sculptures and a fountain, block development, pedestrian courtyards where you can play with children – all that makes this residential neighborhood intimate and cozy. It has set a new level of quality in a residential building due to the block development. Thus, the industrial territory turned into a good living environment and the status of the district as a whole increased. Residents have received a complex, comfortable environment with green pedestrian courtyards. Full infrastructural service includes fitness clubs, stores, kindergartens and schools.
Comfort Town is one of the most successful residential property projects in Ukraine. Sales indicators peaked at over 200 apartments per month.
Paddock to Market to Plate; Flemington 2036 – A Vision for the Future Paddock to Market to Plate is a Vision for the future of the Flemington Market Site in Sydney. Flemington is the historical site of Sydney’s produce markets, next to the Olympic Stadium. The markets have announced they will be relocating. This proposal envisages the redevelopment of this site as a model of urban renewal in the 21st Century. The design includes a mix of all elements needed for a sustainable future in the same place. It includes Urban Agriculture, Employment, High Density Living and retains some Market uses.
Located on the edge of Gärdet, a treasured national park, Kullen makes conscious decisions to provide a sensitive, respectful form while allowing the same choices to simultaneously manifest as exceptional residences with spectacular views. In direct response to the context, the northwest and southeast corners take the heights of their immediate neighbors; while the northeast corner, farthest from the park and nominally with the worst view, is pulled upwards to grant it the most spectacular views of park and port. The southwest point of the building extends farthest into Gärdet; and to create a humane edge between building and nature, is pushed down to the lowest profile, transforming it into a public platform with a 270 degree view of parkscape and simultaneously freeing the majority of the residential units to views of the park. The same move also ensures that the central courtyard will always receive copious amounts of sunlight. In further deference to Gärdet, the massing is visually reduced through a language of pixels, scaled to the human form. This manipulation not only allows for a more organic expression, perfectly reflecting the surrounding landscape, but also provides a way to accomplish the building topography in a controlled and inexpensive way through the use of prefabricated units of standardized sizes.
Collaborators: Acad International, Andersson Jönsson Landskapsarkitekter, BIG IDEAS, De Brand Sverige, Dry-IT, HJR Projekt-El, Konkret, Metator, Projit, Tengbom, HB Trapper
Partners-in-Charge: Bjarke Ingels, Jakob Lange, Finn Nørkjær
Project Manager: Per Bo Madsen
Project Leader: Cat Huang
Constructing Architects: Jakob Andreassen, Tobias Hjortdal, Henrik Kania
Team: Agata Wozniczka, Agne Tamasauskaite, Alberto Herzog, Borko Nikolic, Christin Svensson, Claudio Moretti, Dominic Black, Eva Seo-Andersen, Frederik Wegener, Gabrielle Nadeau, Jacob Lykkefold Aaen, Jaime Peiro Suso, Jan Magasanik, Jesper Boye Andersen, Jonas Aarsø Larsen, Julian Andres Ocampo Salazar, Karl Johan Nyqvist, Karol Bogdan Borkowski, Katarina Mácková, Katrine Juul, Kristoffer Negendahl, Lucian Racovitan, Maria Teresa Fernandez Rojo, Max Gabriel Pinto, Min Ter Lim, Narisara Ladawal Schröder, Romea Muryn, Ryohei Koike, Sergiu Calacean, Song He, Taylor McNally-Anderson, Terrence Chew, Thomas Sebastian Krall, Tiago Sá, Tobias Vallø Sørensen, Tore Banke