* 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

* Residential Architecture: Riva Lofts by Claudio Nardi Architects

Residential Architecture: Riva Lofts by Claudio Nardi Architects: “..Halfway between being at home and halfway between being away, these lofts are testimonials and participants in contemporary living yet also travel experiences through time and space. The spirit of sharing is another inheritance from the past, linked to the culture of working, part of the historic vocation of places like this..Thus the nine interiors, all distinctly unique in size, shape and arrangement,boast a well-defined and recognisable character. They also offer a series of different perceptions of the environment thanks to the possibility of choosing between a suite with a private terrace, a suite directly overlooking the garden, or offering panoramic views either over the Cascine Park or towards Brunelleschi’s Cupola, the most classical icon in Florence.. Apart from the private suites, guests can also make use of a spacious sitting room with stone walls, cross vaults, bookcases and large fireplace, which is designed to continue the idea of blending experiences, tastes, philosophies and lifestyles.The large picture window overlooks the private garden and the spectacular pool lined in white sandstone..”  Interesting renovation and repurposing; materials sensibility; stylish interior decoration..

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image: © Studio Nardi; article: Arthitectural

* Architecture: Wadi Resort by Oppenheim Architecture + Design

Architecture: Wadi Resort by Oppenheim Architecture + Design: “..Florida-based practice Oppenheim Architecture + Design have released these images of their proposals for 47 desert lodges at a resort in Wadi Rum, Jordan..The lodges will be carved directly into the sandstone cliff face and the building elements will be made from rammed earth and cement mixed with local red sand..’International “green” architect Chad Oppenheim sets a new benchmark for design and ecological sensitivity with the Wadi Resort – located in Wadi Rum, Jordan, set for completion in 2014..Oppenheim Architecture + Design (OAD) beat out a global competition and will execute an unprecedented project comprised of 47 desert lodges, setting forth a future primitive experience for the avid globetrotter, an hour and a half outside of Petra, the ancient city of the Nebataeans carved into the desert rock..about a visceral connection to culture and place. The resulting experience is a revolutionary notion of opulence that is intentionally reduced to what is essential..”  Impressive site, distinctive conception; contextual sensibility; “essential opulence” (?)…

See our post on a home and office by Oppenheim Architecture + Design: Residential Architecture: Kirchplatz Office & Residence by Oppenheim and Huesler Architekten.

image: Courtesy Oppenheim Architecture + Design; article: Dezeen

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* Architecture: RIBA International Award Winners Announced

Architecture: RIBA International Award Winners Announced: “..Following our previous announcement revealing the 2012 RIBA Award recipients, we now present to you 12 international projects that have also received top honors from RIBA. Buildings outside the European Union by RIBE Chartered Architects and RIBA International Fellows are eligible for this award. These 2012 RIBA International Award winners will now compete for the RIBA Lubetkin Prize – an award named in honor of the Georgia-born architect who worked in Paris before coming to London in the 1930s to establish the influential Tecton Group. In 2009, the RIBA Lubetkin Prize went to the National Stadium Beijing by Herzog & de Meuron [and Ai Weiwei] with China Architectural Design & Research Group and Arup Sport for National Stadium Company..”  Includes photos of the 12 RIBA International Award-winning buildings..

See our post on the 2012 RIBA Award – winning buildings: Architecture: 2012 RIBA Awards Winners Announced.

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image: Innhouse hotel Kunming, China by Integer Intelligent and Green © Kerun Ip; article: Rosenfield , Karissa . “RIBA International Award Winners Announced” 21 Jun 2012. ArchDaily. <http://www.archdaily.com/247164&gt;