* Residential Architecture: Frank Gehry Designs Mixed-Use Tower for Downtown Santa Monica

Residential Architecture: Frank Gehry Designs Mixed-Use Tower for Downtown Santa Monica: “..Developers M. David Paul Associates and the Worthe Real Estate Group have commissioned Frank Gehry to design a mixed-use hotel and residential tower in his hometown of Santa Monica, California, USA. The 22-story “Ocean Avenue Project” aims to stimulate the coastal city’s economy with street-level restaurant and retail space below a 125-room hotel and 22-unit condominium tower topped with a rooftop observation deck. As for accommodating the car-centric lifestyle of the West Coast, resident and visitor parking will be available in a three-story subterranean garage beneath the tower. In addition, the developers plan to integrate a 36,000 square foot museum campus that will add a cultural perk to the development just North of its two-acre site..Although this project looks promising, the 244-foot, Gehry-esque tower is currently pending approval from the City. A vote by the end of March will decide its fate..”

See some of our other posts on work by Frank Gehry:

• Architecture: Miami: America’s Next Great Architectural City?
• Architecture: Gehry and Mirvish unveil Toronto ‘Sculptures’
• Architecture: Frank Gehry designs Facebook HQ Expansion
• Architecture: The French Cinematheque by Frank Gehry
• Residential Architecture: Duplex by Frank Gehry for Make it Right
• Architecture: The Dancing House by Frank O. Gehry
• Residential Architecture: Video: Gehry Residence by Frank Gehry, 2012 AIA Twenty-five Year Award Recipient
• Residential Architecture: Gehry Residence by Frank Gehry
• Architecture: Opus Hong Kong by Frank Gehry
• New York by Gehry Now Complete
• Frank Gehry-designed Abu Dhabi Guggenheim Faces Boycott
• “New York by Gehry” Now Renting
• Gehry, Hadid, Foster, Ando, & Nouvel – All on One Small Island
• Frank Gehry’s New World Symphony Center – Wonderful the Way it Should Be
• Frank Gehry Residential Tower Prepares for Renters
• Frank Gehry’s Riotously Sculptural $100-million Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas Opens

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image: © Gehry Partners; article: Rosenfield , Karissa. “Gehry Designs Mixed-Use Tower for Downtown Santa Monica” 04 Mar 2013.ArchDaily

* Architecture: Zaha Hadid Office Tower Citylife Milano

Architecture: Zaha Hadid Office Tower Citylife Milano: “..the citylife project located in the heart of milan — in the centre of the historic fiera area, immersed in a park of 160,000 square metres..(one of europe’s largest pedestrianized zones) — involved a group of architects rather than a single designer: zaha hadid, arata isozaki and daniel libeskind..citylife brings a new model for work and leisure to the city, an area to be enjoyed on foot or by bicycle, with traffic circulating only underground..at the centre of the project is the business district — three office towers in the ‘piazza delle tre torri’ (square of the three towers): torre isozaki (il dritto, the straight one), torre hadid (lo storto, the twisted one), and torre libeskind (il curvo, the curved one) — torre isozaki will stand 202 m (663 ft)..with 50 floors, among the tallest buildings in italy by roof height. torre hadid will be 170 m (558 ft) high with 44 floors, and torre libeskind will reach a height of 150 m (492 ft) with about 30 floors. the three towers are able to accommodate around 10,000 people, over a total of approximately 130,000 m2. a contemporary art museum, a shopping area with bars and restaurants, and a pavilion for exhibitions, sports, entertainment and fashion shows will supplement the master plan project..”  

See some of our posts on other work by:

Zaha Hadid Architects:

• Architecture: Galaxy Soho by Zaha Hadid Architects
• Architecture: Port House by Zaha Hadid Architects
• Architecture: Pierres Vives by Zaha Hadid Architects
• Architecture + Design: Z Boat by Zaha Hadid Architects
• Architecture: Awards: Zaha Hadid’s Riverside Museum wins European Museum Academy Micheletti Award 2012
• Architecture + Design: The Secret Garden by Zaha Hadid Architects
• Residential Architecture: Capital Hill Residence by Zaha Hadid Architects
• Architecture: Sheikh Zayed Bridge by Zaha Hadid Architects
• Architecture: London Aquatics Centre for 2012 Summer Olympics by Zaha Hadid Architects
• Architecture: Bogota International Convention Centre by Zaha Hadid Architects
• Architecture + Design: Mesa Table by Zaha Hadid Architects
• Architecture: In China: Hongqiao Soho (Linkong Economic Park) by Zaha Hadid
• Architecture + Design: Miami Beach Parking Garage by Zaha Hadid
• Architecture: Guangzhou Opera House by Zaha Hadid Architects
• Architecture: London Aquatic Center by Zaha Hadid
• Architecture: Zaha Hadid: Chinese Gem That Elevates Its Setting by Nicolai Ouroussoff
• Guangzhou Opera House by Zaha Hadid Architects

 

image: courtesy of zaha hadid; article: Designboom

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* Architecture: Glass Farm by MVRDV

Architecture: Glass Farm by MVRDV: “..Schijndelâ, Netherlands’s market square suffered from Operation Market Garden damages during the Second World War and has been subject to numerous enlargements and refurbishments. Winy Maas wrote a letter in 1980, and in 2000 the town council adopted the idea of a new structure in the square between the church, town hall and main street. MVRDV since then iteratively proposed new options that could fill the gap of this unusually large village square. The Glass Farm is MVRDV’s seventh proposal for the site, earlier designs included a theatre..The village engaged vividly in the process resulting in heated debates, polls and polemics in the local press – by supporters and adversaries. The 1600m² building which is entirely covered by a glass facade consists primarily of a series of public amenities such as restaurants, shops and a wellness centre..By coincidence, the maximum envelope that was defined by the town planners had the form of a traditional Schijndel farm. All remaining historical local farms were measured, analyzed and an ideal average was conceived from this data. In collaboration with MVRDV, artist Frank van der Salm photographed all the remaining traditional farms, and from these an image of the typical farm was composed. This image was printed using fritted procedure onto the 1800m2 glass facade, resulting in an effect such as a stained glass window in a cathedral. The print is more or less translucent depending on the need for light and views..At night the structure will be illuminated from the inside, becoming a monument to the farm. At a height of 14 metres the Glass Farm is intentionally designed out of scale and is 1.6 times larger than a real farm, symbolizing the village growing into a town. The printed image follows this ‘augmented history’, with the superimposed farm door for example appearing 4 metres tall. When adults interact with the building, they can experience toddler size again, possibly adding an element of nostalgic remembrance to their reception of the building. To enhance this further, there will be a table and swing next to the building, a scaled up farmyard..Coinciding with the completion of the building, an exhibition opens in the local Museum Jan Heestershuis about Context and Authenticity. Later this year a book will be published by NAi Publishers exploring the development of the Glass Farm, including a literary description of the lengthy processes which lead to its realisation..MVRDV realised the building for RemBrand developers, a combination of Van Den Brand Real Estate and Remmers Construction Group, together with Hooijen Engineers, IOC Ridderkerk for installations, Brakel Atmos for the facade and AGC for the print..”  MVRDV’s vernacular, contextual, historical, and creative sensibility once again brought to the fore..

See our posts on other work by MVRDV:

• Architecture: MVRDV proposes 400 meter tall ‘vertical city’ in Jakarta
• Architecture: Baltyk Tower by MVRDV
• Residential Architecture: Balancing Barn by MVRDV for Living Architecture
• Architecture: Alphabet Building by MVRDV
• Architecture: In Korea: MVRDV: The Cloud

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image: © Persbureau van Eijndhoven; article: ”Glass Farm / MVRDV” 22 Jan 2013. ArchDaily http://www.archdaily.com

* Residential Architecture: Marina Lofts by BIG (Bjarke Ingels)

Residential Architecture: Marina Lofts by BIG (Bjarke Ingels): “..The mixed-use development, Marina Lofts, in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US, seeks to infuse a currently run-down stretch along the New River with a thriving pedestrian friendly public space thereby attracting new residents into its development. Totaling 1,000 rental apartments, 10,000 sq ft of restaurants and 25,000 sq ft of retail, the mixed-use development is broken into three phases. The Florida-based developer, Asi Cymbal, expects the project to have a positive long-term economic benefit to the city and local community of Fort Lauderdale..“Our intent here is to create a world class project that will serve as a model for architecture, creativity, and energy along the most prime stretch of waterfront in Downtown Fort Lauderdale,” says Asi Cymbal, owner of Cymbal Development..Situated in an industrial gap in Fort Lauderdale’s Riverwalk park, Marina Lofts stitches together the final arm of the currently fragmented public space along the New River. BIG’s design frames the space with a generous public promenade bounded towards south by a 3-phase series of residential towers, creating public life along the riverfront while maintaining the existing marine activities of Fort Lauderdale. The two initial housing towers are treated as one continuous building “breaking” at the center to form an opening which allows maximum pedestrian activity to flow between the buildings and extends the city life out to the waterfront..“The project fills the gap in the waterfront of Downtown Fort Lauderdale stitching the existing fragments of promenade together into a new and revitalized river park adding density and life to the scenic setting. The two buildings are torn open to form  a cave and a canyon –opening up for the neighborhood to reach the river . A design made through subtraction rather than addition. ” Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner, BIG..As both towers ascend, the crack between them allows for flexibility in apartment sizes by liberating the units from the structural grid and enabling living spaces to scale up or down as desired. The solid infill of the void maintains privacy between units by directing the windows in carefully-orchestrated locations..The site of the third tower is currently home to a 250-boat garage which remains intact as the future tower straddles the entrance to the garage door allowing boats to easily pass back and forth beneath its legs. The existing water taxi station is augmented with shading structures and permanent pavilions to further activate the connection across the river. The waterfront will be a lushly landscaped park with ample setbacks from the water to provide more public space for the South Riverwalk. A café, retail and commercial spaces will occupy the lower levels of the building, bringing life and activity to the neighborhood. In a city where daily life shifts seamlessly between water and land, Marina Lofts augments both, contributing to the vibrant density and connected public space along the New River..The historical Rain Tree in the city, highly treasured by the local community is preserved and given a more prominent position by relocating and re-framing it as a centerpiece to a new Rain Tree park along the promenade. The construction of the first phase is expected to commence in December 2013..”

See our posts on other projects by BIG (Bjarke Ingels):

• Architecture: Miami: America’s Next Great Architectural City?
• Architecture: Natural History Museum Proposal by BIG Architects (Bjarke Ingels)
• Architecture: MECA by BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) + FREAKS freearchitects
• Architecture: Cross # Towers by BIG Architects (Bjarke Ingels Group)
• Residential Architecture: Beach and Howe Mixed-Use Tower by BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group)
• Architecture: TLT Tilting Building by BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group)
• Architecture: St. Petersburg Pier (Florida) by BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group)
• Architecture: Chicago Navy Pier Proposal by BIG Architects (Bjarke Ingels) + AECOM
• Architecture: BIG (Bjarke Ingels) wins competition for the new Kimball Art Center
• Architecture: St. Petersburg Pier by BIG Architects (Bjarke Ingels)
• Architecture: Kimball Art Center by BIG (Bjarke Ingels)
• Architecture + Design: Koutalaki Ski Village by BIG (Bjarke Ingels)

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image: Courtesy of BIG; article: Saieh , Nico. “Marina Lofts / BIG” 11 Jan 2013. ArchDaily.  http://www.archdaily.com/317365