Dutch NL Architects’ newest bridge is part of their proposal to connect Hong Kong with the mainland of China. The bridge’s dynamic twisted form is a great resolution to the differences in driving styles, namely that in Hong Kong, people drive on the left side of the road and in the mainland China, they drive on the right side.
The International Parking Institute (IPI) has announced the winners of their 2010 International Parking Institute’s Awards of Excellence Competition. Each year, the competition recognizes world-class examples of parking design and program innovation.
This year’s winners reflect a parking industry trend toward sustainability with many of the projects incorporating LEED certification, energy efficient lighting, use of solar panels, advanced technologies and innovative approaches that reduce the need for more parking spaces.
To see all the winners, click here. The three awards of excellence after the break.
DHV Architects shared with us their latest project. “Halo” is located in The Afsluitdijk, a major causeway located in The Netherlands. The Afsluitdijk is a major icon of Dutch engineering and is about to embark on a new future. Climate change forms the backdrop for sustainable development at the Afsluitdijk, whereby the Netherlands will once again push the boundaries of technological advancement.
More images and architect’s description after the break.
PIQUE often engages in the practice of Guerrilla Architecture. In an effort to exercise their design process, critical eye and interest in the urban fabric, they undertake subversive interrogations & interventions. This latest research project for the Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park is one such project that is beginning to get some real traction.
More images, a video and the architect’s description after the break.
HDA’s construction technologies used for the arch of the Turin Olympic Footbridge (previously featured on AD), have been further refined for their most recent award winning competition proposal, entitled Pylons of the future: Dancing with Nature. The competition, held by Terna, a private national electricity provider, asked participants to design pylons of the highest technical and aesthetic quality with a minimal impact on the environment. HDA’s design response was based on transforming the current ‘industrial soldier’ image of today’s pylons into an elegant shape whose form was inspired by nature.
More images and more about the pylons after the break.
Naturum Laponia, a visitors center in Laponia, Sweden, was a competition entry designed by Tham & Videgård Hansson Arkitekter last year. A naturum is a visitor centre with activities and exhibitions, located in connection with several of Sweden’s national parks and nature reserves.
More images and architect’s description after the break.
San Francisco’s newest transit hub will centralize all the transportation in the city by accomodating nine systems under one roof. Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects have designed a new terminal, a 1.3 mile extension of the Caltrain rail line, and the redevelopment of the surrounding area which will add 2,600 new homes, a 5.4 acre park roof and a retail street. And a loan of over $170 million given by the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act has given the project an extra push foward. Once completed in 2014, the terminal will include wind turbines, geothermal heating methods and a graywater recycling system. The hub will be a strong message that green technology can successfully be combined with modern transportation. “We are thrilled to be one of the first modern rail stations in the United States to achieve this historic milestone and look forward to continuing to make progress on the Transbay Project,” explained Maria Ayerdi-Kaplan, Executive Director of the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA).
More images and a video of the project after the break.
WORKac‘s design for a 1-kilometer section of Hua Qiang Bei Road in Shenzhen was awarded first prize. The design responds to the area’s growing commercial character which has unfortunately created traffic problems. For the proposal, the road becomes a series of “strategic interventions” where “five iconic lanterns”, (twisting bands of required program) create unique, visible destinations through a process of “urban acupuncture”.
More images and more about the design after the break.
wHY Architecture has shown us their expertise on cultural projects at different scales: the Grand Rapids Art Museum (the first LEED Gold certified museum) on the large scale in one side and the Royal/T Gallery on a smaller scale, among other cultural projects shown on their website.
And now they share with us a cultural project on the infrastructure scale that I had the chance to see when I visited their office early this year, which got green light and enters construction phase in 2010: the Art Bridge.
The project is located over the Los Angeles river and it’s very related to it, as most of its structure will be built from trash salvaged from the river itself. This project will achieve what many have been looking for, and that is to reconnect with the river that crosses LA. And I think that it will make it.
You can also watch our interview with Yo-ichiro Hakomori from whY Architecture, filmed at Postopolis! LA earlier this year.
Project description and more images after the break:
We recently published the project Railway Footbridge at Roche-sur-Yon, now our friends from HDA_Paris share with us the Turin Footbridge, that was constructed for the 2006 Winter Olympics.
About the competition, we know that the city of Turin hosted the 2006 winter Olympic games and had embarked on an extensive programme of construction of various venues and infrastructure for the games. The city took advantage of the infrastructure programme to incite urban renewal in the southern part of the city that has been affected by the economic downturn in the car industry. The Olympic village, situated in the disused Mercati Generali in the Lingotto district adjacent to the main railway lines entering the city from the south, is part of this new infrastructure and will contain housing and a logistics centre.
