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Architecture studio Eric Parry Architects has updated its plans for the One Undershaft skyscraper in the City of London, increasing its height to make it the UK’s joint tallest building.

The studio recently submitted a planning submission to update the design and slightly increase the height of the planned building, which was approved to be built in 2016.

The updated plans would increase the skyscraper’s height making it, by one metric, the joint-tallest building in the UK. It will be increased from 304.94 metres Above Ordnance Datum (AOD) – a level used for mapping – to 309.6 metres AOD.

This would make the building designed by Eric Parry Architects the same height as the Shard, which is the UK’s current tallest building and also stands at 309.6 metres AOD.

The height of both buildings is determined by a Civil Aviation Authority safety policy that restricts the height of buildings in central London to 309.6 metres AOD.

If built, One Undershaft’s building height will be 294.6 metres compared to the Shard’s height of 309.6 metres.

According to planning documents the proposed skyscraper, which is set to be built between the Cheesegrater skyscraper by RSHP and the Gherkin by Foster + Partners, has been increased by one floor to make it 74 storeys.

Along with the increase in height, the building’s design has been substantially updated. Its shape has been updated to create a stepped form with the addition of two outdoor, planted terraces, while its distinctive cross bracing removed from the exterior facades.

At ground level, the entrance has also been altered substantially with the addition of a cantilevered canopy.

According to the development team, the changes to the design have been made to adapt to respond “to post pandemic markets and user demands”.

The building is planned to contain 160,000 square metres of offices along with a restaurant and cultural spaces on the 10th floor.

It will be topped by a two-storey viewing gallery with 360-degree views across the city and educational galleries that are planned to be curated by the Museum of London.

Eric Parry Architects founder Eric Parry stated that the redesign would allow for a more sustainable building, with the terraces contributing to greening the city.

“The new scheme will still be the tallest in the city cluster and retains the upper floors for educational and public access through a collaboration with the Museum of London,” he said in a statement on the studio’s website.

“The revised proposals will enable us to deliver a more sustainable building with enhanced urban greening.”

One Undershaft is the latest in a series of skyscrapers built in the City of London. These include the Scalpel by KPF and the Can of Ham by Foggo Associates, which are both located near the proposed skyscraper.

The renders are by DBOX.

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Swiss architecture studio Herzog & de Meuron has revealed an “optical illusion” infinity pool at Italy‘s Lake Como made from prefabricated steel and sat against a backdrop of historic colonnades.

Located in the village of Blevio, the pool is part of a larger development by Herzog & de Meuron for the Mandarin Oriental Lago di Como resort.

This saw the studio reconceptualise the existing pool area and update the resort’s indoor spa and reception.

According to Herzog & de Meuron, the infinity pool was designed to merge with the lake’s water to create “a kind of optical illusion” – enhanced by the reflectiveness of the pool’s glossy steel exterior.

“The new floating pool is designed to blend into the waters when viewed from the lake, and to reveal as much as possible from the historic vaulted colonnade,” the studio said.

“Earlier infills in glass and steel are removed and the historic vaults are opened and activated,” Herzog & de Meuron studio partner Ascan Mergenthaler told Dezeen.

The studio provided access to the pool and decking via a ramp leading from a newly established bar and dining area that extends from the structure’s arched colonnade.

Made from prefabricated steel, the 40-metre-long pool’s engineered form was designed to reduce wave impact. It is attached on one side to a wooden terrace hosting sun beds and parasols.

Cardoso sandstone, chosen for its likeness to the colours of the lake, was used for the pool’s inner lining.

Inside the spa building next to the pool, Herzog & de Meuron focused on drawing daylight into the existing spa areas – which comprise a wet spa and a dry spa – and establishing new visible connections to the outside.

“While the pool area has been fully re-conceptualized, the wet and dry spa and reception areas have been improved while maintaining existing features that have not yet exhausted their usable lifespan,” the studio said.

“A main focus is the introduction of natural daylight into all three areas of the spa, and the establishment of multiple visible connections with the surrounding landscape.”

In the dry spa, a circular skylight was carved into the existing ceiling to draw sunlight into the below-ground space, while a more than four-metre-wide arched window was inserted into the wet spa’s existing retaining wall.

Herzog & de Meuron also added a series of windows outlined by slim wooden frames to the reception area, complementing a row of smaller, existing openings.

The wet spa, hosting an existing sauna, steam room and indoor pool, was updated with a new vaulted ceiling made from stucco and lined with glass tiles, while the space’s existing stone floor was repaired.

Here, the architects chose dark wood and neutral tones to create calming interiors that have been decorated with wood-framed vitrines, patterned textile wall panels and terrazzo floors that draw on motifs from the existing spaces.

While the spa is now open to guests, Herzog & de Meuron continues to work on the project.

“Future interventions and additions are currently conceptualised which will further strengthen the resort character of the existing property and form even tighter ties with the surrounding nature and villages.” Mergenthaler said.

Other projects recently unveiled by Herzog & de Meuron include a giant cube proposed for archive storage for three museums in Seoul and a brick building for London’s Royal College of Art.

The photography is by Robert Rieger.

Project credits: 

Partners: Jacques Herzog, Pierre de Meuron, Ascan Mergenthaler, Andreas Fries
Project team: Martin Krapp (Project director), Alessandro Farina (Project manager), Silvia Carrara, Monica Gaspar Bonilla, Riccardo Orsini, Francisca Soares de Moura
Design consultant: Herzog & de Meuron Basel
General planning: Lombardini22
Floating pool expert: Bluet, Floating Solution
Lighting consulting: Isometrix Lighting & Design
Pool construction: Bluet
F&B construction: Nove Consulting
Natural stone works: Vallmar
General contractor: L.a. Restyling S.r.l.
Furnishing & internal wood works: Ramiro s.r.l.
Furnishing: Hop Copper Studio
Internal surface treatments of wet spa: Sicis s.r.l.
Wallcovering: Rubelli S.P.A.
Upholstery and wallcovering installation: Ci.ti.ell
Lighting fixtures: L Gomiero
Internal wood doors and windows: D-Fabrics
Internal floor finishes (Terrazzo): AM Top Boden Gmbh

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Dutch firm UNStudio has revealed a two-storey flagship store for Chinese technology company Huawei in Shanghai with a facade clad in ivory-coloured petal-like forms.

Drawing from Huawei’s global operating system, named Harmony, UNStudio‘s design aimed to generate biophilic associations between the brand and its technology by integrating organic geometric shapes throughout the scheme.

“Among the many interfaces found in retail nowadays, the flagship store we have created for Huawei in Shanghai is one that blends interactive experiences, technology and community creation,” UNStudio founder and principal Ben van Berkel said.

“The new store reimagines modern retail spaces as inviting environments that promote a sense of community and provide a contemporary venue for consumers and visitors to meet, share and innovate,” he continued.

The store’s double-height frontage is defined by a series of overlapping elements that the studio described as “petal-like”, which fold together to form a raised band across the facade glazing.

Each ivory-coloured ‘petal’ weaves down to meet the ground as ‘stems’, configured to hide the structural mullions between glass panels and create the sense of a frameless facade.

Soft lighting was also integrated between the petal edges to illuminate the store’s exterior at night.

Positioned directly behind the facade, a spiralling column named the Tree of Harmony continues the organic geometries internally.

The column was positioned to the side of the central atrium as a focal point for visitors and is wrapped by stairs that lead to the upper mezzanine floor.

To further the store’s biophilic character, the southern facade was finished with undulating glazing and seating that folds around the building’s curves.

Internal finishes were kept warm and neutral to match the facade’s clean tones and extensive white overhead lighting.

The studio used wood and glassfibre-reinforced cement for the store’s ceilings, floor and columns, while product tables and furniture were also made from wood and natural-toned materials to add to the organic feel of the space.

According to UNStudio, the store integrates high-performance materials and prefabricated, detachable finishes to increase the building’s longevity, while the quality of the air inside the store is monitored by climate control technology.

“Huawei TKL flagship store re-crafts Huawei’s innovative technology into a design aesthetic,” UNStudio partner Hannes Pfau said.

“It seamlessly creates a unified facade and interior narrative, while using high-performance, certified and recycled materials.”

The store has a central product display avenue that spans the length of the ground floor, with two further experiential zones interspersed for increased user interaction.

A Signature Experience zone will host featured events and exhibits, while the Consumer Full Scenario Experience zone lets visitors use and test Huawei products.

Both floors were designed with open and flexible spaces in which the store can host lectures, activities and classes.

To complete the store’s functional offerings, UNStudio also created a minimalist interior cafe to blend with the rest of the store for customers awaiting after-sale services.

UNStudio was founded in Amsterdam in 1998 by Van Berkel and Caroline Bos.

The studio has also recently completed the Booking.com headquarters in Amsterdam and the YG Entertainment headquarters in Seoul featuring metallic surfaces and geometric forms.

The photography is by Wen Studio and Huawei.

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Design studio Yatofu has completed a furniture showroom in Hangzhou, China, featuring a playful pastel colour palette and a display area housed on a steel-mesh platform.

The 80-square-metre retail space belongs to Chinese design brand Jianze and forms part of an emerging cultural district in the city’s Liangzhe New Town.

Yatofu set out to create a “relaxed holiday atmosphere” inside the showroom, which was influenced by the semi-public garden terraces found in European cities and features a full-height opening with retractable glazed doors that connect it with the outdoors.

“This blurring of the boundary between the inside and outside allows passing pedestrians to easily observe the activities that take place within the showroom while maintaining visual continuity between the street level and interior space,” the studio explained.

Inside the space, Yatofu used contrasting colours and materials to portion up the floor area while introducing a whimsical touch to reflect Jianze’s products.

One example is the decision to juxtapose glossy white floor tiles and rough pink micro-cement to create a visual separation between different zones.

“The playfulness of the flooring’s colour and configuration evokes a sense of joy and vibrancy, inviting visitors to linger and explore the brand and its products with wonder and curiosity,” said Yatofu.

The delicate colour scheme also contrasts with the raw concrete ceiling, where exposed ducting and lighting tracks add to the industrial feel.

Close to the centre of the open room, a lightweight steel mezzanine provides additional space for displaying some of Jianze’s furniture. A spiral stair in one corner offers a fun and space-efficient way of accessing the platform.

The raised enclosure is clad in a perforated steel mesh that allows its contents to remain visible as visitors walk around the space below.

The structure is painted a light shade of sage green that complements the pink micro-cement walls and floors, adding to the calming feel of the interior.

Built-in cabinets and shelving made from pale birch wood add tone and texture to the space. The wood was also used to create a monolithic desk in one corner that functions as a service and payment area.

On a nearby wall, rows of detachable stainless steel pegs form an adjustable display system that can be used to support various products.

This use of flexible displays combined with the unconventional partitioning of space contributes to “an experience that exists somewhere between a pop-up and conventional showroom”, according to Yatofu.

The versatile space can function both as a showroom and a place for hosting events such as exhibitions or markets, in particular thanks to its connection with the surrounding public realm.

“The showroom invites its visitors to connect to the brand through a concept that communicates joy, ease, acceptance and a willingness to share in the appreciation of lifestyle and home,” the studio said.

Yatofu was founded in Helsinki, Finland, in 2017 and now operates globally, working across disciplines including interior architecture, product and furniture design, visual communication and strategic design.

The studio has previously converted a post office in Zhejiang into a boldly coloured gift shop and events space, and designed the interiors for a teahouse in Helsinki featuring a palette of brick, oak and oxidised steel.

The photography is by Wen Studio.

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Imagine a pen that solves your mathematical equations as you note them down, or converts all your handwritten meeting notes into a comprehensive list of bullet points, or even enriches your essays with tags and other relevant information for easier searching and even for a better output. Sure, ChatGPT can do all of that, but it’s limited to the fact that it exists in your phone. The XNote puts the powers of AI inside your ballpoint pen, allowing you to instantly digitize drawings, doodles, and notes, and even have the AI interpret, expand, and solve them for you. Notes get synced in real-time, and through the power of GPT, can also be summarized, bulleted, or even translated instantly. Never did I think that AI would revolutionize the world of stationery, but here we are!

Designer: XNote

Click Here to Buy Now: $179 $249 ($70 off). Hurry, exclusive secret perk for YD readers only! Raised over $275,000.

The XNote looks like an ordinary classy notebook and pen combo – the kind you’d carry to work and into meeting rooms… but let not its deceptive exterior fool you, because within that pen lies some of the most impressive tech ever invented since the gel pen that could write in space. The XNote pen comes with a built-in computer that instantly digitizes your notes, sketches, doodles, and technical drawings… but it doesn’t stop just there. It leverages the power of ChatGPT to interpret what you write, allowing you to simply have GPT summarize meeting notes, turn a set of instructions into a task list, solve equations in real-time, translate notes into different languages, and even expand on paragraphs you may have written with even more information. Your notes then exist in two forms – the one written on paper, and the other, in the XNote app, where you can save notes, search through them, and use them digitally however you see fit.

The borderline wizardry lies in the XNote pen’s engineering, and the way it communicates with the app to tap into its AI powers. The pen boasts a 300mAh battery that grants it an impressive standby duration of 60 days, along with 7-8 hours of actual usage. Transmitting data to XNote’s app via BLE, the pen also offers a noteworthy 100MB of storage capacity. While these specs may initially seem modest, it’s equivalent to a thousand A4 pages teeming with text and illustrations. The notebook pairs with the pen wonderfully too, with its Moleskine-like exterior and its luxurious appeal that just makes the XNote feel incredibly premium.

All your written matter – be it notes, scribbles, drawings, or even complex graphs – get digitized and synced with the XNote app, which leverages the full spectrum of ChatGPT’s capabilities. Operating on OpenAI’s API, it intelligently interprets text and drawings, deducing insights from them, comprehending inherent instructions, and conveniently categorizing them for effortless future retrieval. Write a paragraph, and the app can summarize it, or translate it into 53 different languages (as of January 2024). It gives you the ability to ‘chat’ with your notes, unleashing the kind of power that seemed absolutely impossible just 2 years ago. During a meeting, it transforms your notes into task lists, action plans, or ready-to-send Minutes-of-Meeting emails within seconds. You can even pose questions to your notebook, convert quick scribbles into reminders, or tackle complex equations and graphs with ChatGPT’s assistance. A simple paragraph could become a dissertation, a note could become a well-executed email, a quick list of ingredients could convert into a perfect recipe, or even the opposite – your recipe could get converted into a shopping list that you could then use to pick up the right groceries. The possibilities are quite literally endless, and the XNote’s ability to create meaningful tags for all your written matter means you can effectively search through your notes too.

The beauty of the XNote lies in the fact that it takes cutting-edge advanced technology, but packages it in a way that pretty much anyone can use. You don’t need to ‘learn’ how to use the XNote pen, simply because there’s nothing really to learn. The entire experience is automatic and intuitive, and the app helps you work with your data in a myriad of ways, saving time and effort without having you ‘adjust’ to a new technology or method of working.

There is, however, the concern of privacy… which XNote takes incredibly seriously. XNote relies on ChatGPT’s secure API, which is end-to-end encrypted to protect user data. Moreover, your data doesn’t ever get used to train OpenAI’s GPT models, so you can rest assured knowing that your information only belongs to you and nobody else. Your handwritten notes obviously exist in the notebook, but the digitized version of your notes exist on the cloud, and can be stored offline on your device so you don’t need an internet connection to access them. The app even supports adding voice memos to your text, a pretty useful feature that lets you add context to all your notes. Most of the app’s essential OCR and transcription features are free, like unlimited cloud storage, seamless syncing, and offline accessibility. However, the ChatGPT-powered features require a subscription to the XNote AI+ Membership plan, priced at $59 for an annual subscription.

The notebook and pen combo, typically priced at $199, is available for a special Yanko Design exclusive price of $179. This offer includes an 18-month warranty for the pen’s hardware, a charging cord, 5 complimentary ink refills, a 1-month trial of the AI+ subscription, and worldwide shipping options.

Click Here to Buy Now: $179 $249 ($70 off). Hurry, exclusive secret perk for YD readers only! Raised over $275,000.

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