Steel: The Latest Architecture and News

Construction of the Lotte World Tower in Seoul, South Korea designed by high-rise architectural firm KPF is well underway. Won via an international design competition, this new tower will rise up to a pinnacle height of 555 meters. Organized around a mixed-use program including retail, office, hotel and an observation deck at the peak, the tower pulls inspiration from historical Korean arts of ceramics, porcelain, and calligraphy. More details after the break.

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Soon to be Shenzhen’s tallest tower at 660 meters, the Ping An Finance Center by KPF will anchor the city’s new Central Business District. Positioned at the southwest corner of the intersection of Yi Tian Road and Fu Hua Road in the Futian District, the tower will connect with neighboring properties in addition to Shenzhen Line 1 Gou Wu Gong Yuan metro station. More details after the break.

Architects: Studio Fuksas - Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas Interior Design: Fuksas Design Location: Frankfurt, Germany Address: Grosse Eschenheimer Strasse 10-14 Period: 2002-2009 Client: PalaisQuartier GmBH & CO., KG Surface: Built Surface – 77,000 sq.m., Facade – 8,500 sq.m., Cover – 13,000 sq.m. Engineering: Structures – Knippers-Helbig Beratende Ingenieure, Stuttgart; Krebs und Kiefer Beratende Ingenieure für das Bauwesen GmbH, Darmstadt | Realization of the façade and covering – Waagner Biro Stahlbau AG, Wien

Architects: Dominique Perrault Architecture Location: Parque de la Arganzuela, Madrid, Spain Engineering: MC2 – Julio Martínez Calzón (stucture) / TYPSA (mechanical engineering) Built area: Footbridge 150 m (section 1) 128 m (section 2) length, 5 to 12 m width Completion: 2010 Photographs: Georges Fessy, Ayuntamiento de Madrid

The ASM International World Headquarters, originally constructed in 1959, is an architectural composition by two influential designers during the mid-twentieth century: John Terence Kelly, who studied under Bauhaus-founder Walter Gropius, and R. Buckminster Fuller, well known for his geodesic domes, environmentally-conscious designs and the dymaxion car. The complex includes the building, dome and garden on the 45-acre site known as Materials Park. The renovation, led by The Chesler Group and Dimit Architects, brings new life to Kelly’s building. According to Architectural Record, (Snapshot, Laura Raskin), Michael Chesler of The Chesler Group, campaigned to salvage the architectural marvel, giving it a place in the National Register of Historic Places and using tax credits to fund the renovation.

Pictures and details of the renovation after the break.

In reference to Living Steel‘s 3rd International Architecture Competition for Sustainable Housing, Glen Murcutt discusses his ideas surrounding the issue of sustainability. He emphasizes the strategies employed by the top contenders such as the planning of orientation, thermal performance, and human effort in addition to other variables involved in sustainable architecture. One particular method that Murcutt stresses is using materials that can dissolve back into the earth, citing earth walls as an excellent medium to build with and their inherent thermal mass qualities. Each team was invited to present their ideas in person, a variation from previous years which Murcutt believes led to the highest quality of work and diversity of the competition series.

The Louisiana State Museum and Sports Hall of Fame (LSMSHOF) celebrates two seemly disconnected subjects within one contemporary venue, combining North Louisiana’s profound history with its influential world of sports. Designed by Trahan Architects, in coordination with Method Design and CASE, the new $12.6 million venue will house donated memorabilia that embodies “the contributions of the diverse cultures that have shaped the state and are crucial to understanding the unique traditions and legacy of Louisiana and the Gulf South.” A complex design, generated with the help of BIM technology, reflects the disparate subjects in one fluid structure encased within a locally inspired facade.

Continue reading for more information and images.

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Since it’s opening on September 16th, the Jean Nouvel acrylic encasement and historic Jane’s Carousel has become a landmark in the heart of Brooklyn Bridge Park for New York families. The welcoming public pavilion offers spectacular views of the East River, the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, and the Manhattan skyline.

Continue reading for more detailed information and images.

Designed by Brininstool, Kerwin, and Lynch, the Beijing Core Area Master Plan is a massive civic proposal of over 27 million square feet of building area and an additional 1.5 million square feet of public space design for the Central Business District of Beijing, China. More images and architect’s description after the break.

The Greenland Zhengzhou Towers are unbuilt towers designed by Brininstool, Kerwin and Lynch in 2010. According to the architect description, the unique forms are “rooted in cultural influence, in which the massing is identifiable with the mountain formations found outside of Zhengzhou. The expression is balanced between historical symbolism and contemporary innovation.”

With an area that exceeds 6.5million square feet, this massive mixed-development was proposed to house a variety of programs, including office space and a five-star boutique hotel that occupies the top floors of the shorter tower on the south site.  BKL was involved with the design of the complex on all scales, from the site considerations the lighting design of the hotel units.  In addition to the typical hotel amenities afforded by luxury hotels (ballrooms, lap pools, spa, fitness center, etc.), the complex is decidedly Eastern, with meditation gardens and outdoor terraces. More after the break.

Opening in 2012, the $118 million steel, glass, and copper-clad expansion to Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum by Renzo Piano Building Workshop will more than double the size of the current facility. Included in the project are a new entrance, music hall, gallery space, and other amenities for an institution that has remained largely unaltered since opening in 1903.

The Providence River Pedestrian Bridge is a unique urban proposal in that the basis of its proposition is an exchange of transit medium. The relocation of a substantial, vehicular only conduit in favor of a pedestrian oriented connector will completely transform the spatial character of the Jewelry District/Old Harbor. Given this significant urban transformation, the project should envision a potential much larger than a pure connector. The proposed Providence River Pedestrian Bridge can become a spatial mediator between urban and ecological spaces and function as an integrated series of programs into the waterfront public spaces, allowing east and west to become a singular meandering public space. With this perspective, the proposal is better understood less as a bridge and more as an urban intervention. More about inFORM Studio‘s Providence River Pedestrian and Cyclist Bridge submission after the break.

A unique concept the PAS House is imagined to be a place to both live and skateboard. The skateable surface of the home, interior to exterior, fluidly moves from the ground to the wall and then to the ceiling in a continuous surface forming a tube of a 10ft diameter. The PAS House will be constructed in Malibu, California for Pierre Andre Senizerques (PAS), a former World Champion and Pro Skater as well as Founder and Owner of Sole Technology, the design by Francois Perrin and Gil Lebon Delapointe divides the home into three separate spaces; including a living room, dining area, and kitchen, the second one includes a bedroom and bathroom and the third a skateboard practice area.

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Architects: Francois Perrin and Gil Lebon Delapointe Location: Malibu, California (house); Exhibition Public Domaine/Skateboard Culture, La Gaite Lyrique, Paris, France (prototype) Client: Pierre Andre Senizergues Project Area: 2,200 sqf (house); 700 sqf (prototype) Project Year: 2011 Photographs: Mike Manzoori and Sam Mc Guire

JET Architecture in joint venture with CXT Architects and Archasia Design Group earned an Honorable Mention for the Kaohsiung Port and Cruise Service Center International Competition in September 2010. Their entry, “Openair,” ranked in the top five, advancing the scheme to the second stage of the competition. Now, they decided to submit their competition entry for the Kaohsiung Port and Cruise Service Center International Competition to Azure’s AZ AWARDS, the magazine’s first annual international competition recognizing excellence in design. The project was chosen as a finalist for the AZ AWARDS in the Concepts: Unbuilt Competitions Entries category and is eligible for the AZ People’s Choice Awards. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Here is another video from OFIS arhitekti, this time showing the making of Dot Envelope, a project which we already published back in 2008, located in Ljubljana, Slovenia.