FaulknerBrowns Architects have recently submitted a planning application for a new major indoor snow and leisure center in Swindon, marked as a priority by Swindon Borough Council. The scheme is set the help regenerate the previously industrial area into a vibrant shopping district, located opposite the existing Oasis Leisure Centre. Russ Davenport, Partner at FaulknerBrowns Architects, said:
It is fantastic to be able to bring our experience and expertise in indoor snow and leisure destinations to Swindon for this exciting development. The complex—our fifth indoor snow scheme—will bring a neglected site back into use and provide visitors with a memorable experience, both on and off the slopes.
Renderings have been revealed for another landmark addition to Brooklyn’s skyline: 80 Flatbush, a dual tower and school complex to be built in the borough’s fast growing Downtown.
Located on a triangular site directly across the street from TEN Arquitectos’ recently completed 300 Ashland and steps from the Barclay’s Center, 80 Flatbush will consist of a mix of new-built and renovated historic structures. Two towers designed by Alloy Development – the taller of which will reach 986 feet – will flank two new schools designed by Architecture Research Office and two 19th century buildings that will be repurposed as retail and cultural facilities. Open spaces will be designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects.
Viennese firm Zechner & Zechner has been announced as the winners of the competition for the new landmark complex NeuBau3—a mixed-use district at Peter-Behrens-Platz in Linz, Austria—after a unanimous decision by the jury. The proposed structure will complete the existing site of German architect and designer Peter Behrens' modernist Tabakfabrik Linz, a tobacco factory built between 1929 and 1935.
UNStudio has revealed new renderings of their massive development and master plan for FOUR Frankfurt, as the firm joins forces with HPP Architects (UNS + HPP) to carry out the next stages of the project.
Located on a 16,000 square meter site in the Frankfurt financial district formerly housing offices for Deutsche Bank, Frankfurt FOUR will consist of a multi-story, mixed-use plinth and four skyline-changing high-rise towers, the tallest of which will cap out at 748 feet (228 meters).
MVRDV has revealed their design for Fabryczna Offices, a new mixed-use office and retail complex to be located in the heart of Łódź, Poland.
Fitting into the city’s master plan for development around the new central station, Fabryczna Offices “connects past to present” with its distinct, rhythmic facade and gently curving forms. A 4-story plinth wraps around the perimeter of the site to create an inner courtyard, from which a 60-meter-tall office tower will rise. This orientation allows daylight to reach all levels of the building, while maximizing the space for the publicly-accessible courtyard area.
MVRDV has revealed the design of The Milestone, a new mixed-use office building to be built in the city of Esslingen, Germany. Featuring a distinct, part-reflective “crystal rock” facade and a hollowed-out pixelated core, the building will become a standout new landmark and public amenity for the city.
Comprising housing, social spaces and educational facilities, the design of the complex draws inspiration from its historic site, a former paratrooper airfield. In response, Steven Holl Architects proposed a completely new building typology, “Parachute Hybrids,” which “combines residential bar and slab structures with supplemental programming suspended in sections above, like parachutes frozen in the sky.”
MVRDV has been selected as the winner of an international competition for a new mixed-use complex to be located near several important historic buildings in the city center of Moscow, Russia. Known as Silhouette, the complex will pack 52,000 square meters (560,000 square feet) of commercial, retail and residential space into its pixelated, geometric volume.
Zaha Hadid Architects has unveiled the design of a new mixed-use development to be located on the Vauxhall Cross Island site adjacent to Vauxhall Station in London. Aiming toward becoming a new public square for the neighborhood, the complex will consist of two towers connected by a street level podium, offering a variety of programmatic uses including a hotel, offices, residences, retail and public amenities.
Originally conceived as as 22-story hotel and residential tower, the project has now been shortened to 12 stories (130 feet) to meet restrictions imposed by the city’s Downtown Community Plan, which calls for “aggressively slow growth” and a “lower scale downtown” of mainly 4-5 story tall buildings.
BIG has revealed plans for a new sports and entertainment district in Austin, Texas, that will bring soccer, rodeo, music, shopping, dining and hospitality under one roof. Called the East Austin District, the 1.3 million-square-foot complex will be located on the site of the existing Rodeo Austin, offering a new entertainment experience for the city’s booming population.
MVRDV has teamed up with local architects Dewan Architects + Engineers to create Pixel, a 76,000-square-meter (818,000-square-foot) mixed-use residential development that will serve as a centerpiece of Abu Dhabi’s new Makers District.
Also featuring a landscape and public realm design by BIG, Pixel will become MVRDV’s first constructed project in the United Arab Emirates upon its scheduled completion in 2020.
MINI LIVING has revealed plans for its first building-scale project: the transformation of a cluster of six buildings at a former paint factory in Shanghai into an mixed-use “urban hotspot” and co-living facility with space for living, working and socializing.
Partnering with Chinese project developer Nova Property Investment Co., MINI LIVING will fill the industrial shells of the existing buildings with a range of adaptable, program-rich spaces including apartments, rentable workspaces and shared-service areas that will enable “maximum personal flexibility and optimum use of space.”
Located outside of Saint-Malo’s train station, this soaring 55-meter beacon building will establish itself as an entrance to the city. The Semaphore is the product of French architects a/LTA + Ateliers Laporte and holds a strong identity and concept in creating a dynamic, engaging environment while blending harmoniously into its surrounding environment.
French-Brazilian office Triptyque has released plans for a mixed-used, all-wooden highrise. Located on a 1,025-square-meter site in São Paulo, the 13-story building will contain a total of 4,700 square meters of space dedicated to coworking, coliving, and a restaurant.
MVRDV has broken ground on “Valley” (previously known as P15 Ravel Plaza), a 75,000-square-meter mixed-use building located within the Zuidas business district of Amsterdam. Featuring residential units, offices, parking, a sky bar and retail and cultural space, the building will inject a sense of life and excitement into the neighborhood, transforming the district into a more varied and liveable urban quarter.
After winning a recent international design competition, EID Architecture out of Shanghai aims to redefine high-density mixed-use development in Asia through their design for the OCT Xi’an International Center (OXIC) in Xi’an, China. The architects consider their approach an exploration of vertical urbanism; the project consists of a 320-meter tall tower for offices and a boutique hotel, a 220-meter tall apartment tower, and a 12-floor podium full of retail and entertainment spaces. Visualized as an icon and cultural landmark, the design is strategically organized horizontally and vertically to create a vibrant, permeable urban center.