Following the Seoul Metropolitan Government's announcement of reviving and expanding the city's Olympic Jamsil Sports–MICE Complex, Heatherwick Studio has proposed a dynamic multi-leveled pier that promotes notions of "community spirit, activity, equality, play, and togetherness". Titled The Leaf, the project will feature plant-covered platforms built on the Han River, and will offer visitors recreational and cultural spaces across a floating platform.
The Graceful Dancer - New Yongxin Old City’s Entertainment District. Image Courtesy of Estúdio Leonardo Zanatta
This week's curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights public spaces and buildings submitted by the ArchDaily Community. From bridges to squares, from parks to markets and train stations, this article explores the various kinds of public infrastructure that support the urban fabric, showcasing distinct approaches worldwide.
Featuring a bridge that doubles as a garden in China, the redevelopment of public spaces to meet contemporary needs in Montenegro and the Czech Republic, or a pier park in New York, the round-up spans various scales, from single architectural objects to urban strategies, to masterplans. The following projects reveal the ideas that shape public spaces and amenities in different contexts, illustrating diverse approaches towards what constitutes the backbone of the urban fabric.
Heatherwick Studio has designed the Cove, a new waterfront experience for San Francisco. Seeking to activate and improve the beachfront, “while future-proofing the historic district and the City against the risks of earthquakes and climate change”, the Cove will put in place a next-generation, high-performance waterfront community that uniquely identifies with San Francisco.
Envisioning the harbor front as an extension of the city center, “Pargas Maritime Limestone Landscape” designed by the young Danish practice Schauman & Nordgren Architects has been named the winning entry of a waterfrontmasterplan competition by the City of Pargas, Finland.
The proposal was selected for its “thorough analysis of the city, its history, structure, character, potentials and challenge”, in response to the area’s development as a new residential hub and functional harbor. The competition introduced the notion of maintaining Pargas’ dominant maritime identity, while simultaneously strengthening the city’s character with various urban elements, such as hotels, a beach, saunas, and offices.
Montreal-based Provencher_Roy have released images of their designs for the restoration of Alexandra Pier and the Iberville International Passenger Terminal, currently under construction in Montreal's Old Port. The new terminal will accommodate the operational needs of the modern cruise ship, offering tourists a new entrance into the historic heart of the city, and will provide residents with a new promenade and public space integrated smoothly into the existing urban fabric.
The project, known as "The Lens," has hit speed-bumps due to local dissidents, who have been vocally wary of the new Pier's price-tag/design and have called for a voter referendum. However, the architects have been sensitive to the process; since first winning the competition in January (beating out both BIG and West 8), the firm has taken part in local workshops in order to get community input, making some significant changes to the original design.
After receiving local criticism that the Pier include more things "to do" and more shading, the firm has adjusted the design to include two restaurants, shaded balconies, and - in order to improve access - a road that can support service vehicles and a tram. Most noticeably, the plan for an underwater reef garden, the signature feature which gave the project its name, has had to be scratched: scientists have determined that a reef garden would be unrealistic with Tampa Bay's dark water.
Last night's 7-1 vote determined that the project will now receive funding in smaller, pre-approved increments in order to safeguard against potential legal complications. However, no mater the outcome, the closure and the demolition of the current St. Petersburg Pier will take place between May and August 2013; if all goes to plan for Michael Maltzan Architecture, "The Lens" will open in summer 2015.
See updated Renderings for "The Lens," and a really cool video, after the break...
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