Hasta La Ideas

Danish architects BIG have unveiled proposals for a 150-metre-high skyscraper in downtown Vancouver.

The architects are working alongside a team that includes developer Westbank, consultants Dialog, Cobalt, PFS, Buro Happold and Glotman Simpson, as well as local architect James Cheng.

The 49-storey residential building will have a twisted form that is set back from the adjacent motorway flyover to prevent any windows or balconies from overlooking it.

Nine floors at the base of the tower will accomodate offices, shops and restaurants, which will spill out onto a series of public plazas that stretch underneath the elevated highway.

Here’s some more information from BIG:

BIG contributes to Vancouver skyline

The 490-foot-tall Beach and Howe mixed-use tower by BIG + Westbank + Dialog + Cobalt + PFS + Buro Happold + Glotman Simpson and local architect James Cheng marks the entry point to downtown Vancouver, forming a welcoming gateway to the city, while adding another unique structure to the Vancouver skyline.

BIG’s proposal, named after its location on the corner of Howe & Beach next to the Granville Street Bridge in downtown Vancouver, calls for 600 residential units occupying the 49-story tower, which would become one of the city’s fourth tallest buildings.

The tower is situated on a nine-story podium base offering market-rental housing with a mix of commercial and retail space. BIG was commissioned by Canada’s premier real estate developer Westbank, established in 1992, with over $10 billion of projects completed or under development, including the Shangri-La luxury hotels in Vancouver and Toronto.

“We have brought together the best talent available in Vancouver and Europe to create a truly world class project that will enrich not only the particular neighborhood, but also the city and its quest to become creative, sustainable and affordable city.

Architecturally, the Beach and Howe tower will introduce a new building typology to the Vancouver skyline and will create a dramatic gateway to downtown Vancouver that speaks to the emerging creative economy in the city”, Ian Gillespie, President, Westbank.

The tower takes its shape after the site’s complex urban conditions aiming to optimize the conditions for its future inhabitants in the air as well as on the street level. At its base, the footprint of the tower is conditioned by concerns for two significant neighboring elements, including a 30-meter setback from the Granville bridge which ensures that no residents will have windows and balconies in the middle of heavy traffic as well as concerns for sunlight to an adjacent park which limits how far south the building can be constructed. As a result the footprint is restricted to a small triangle.

“The Beach and Howe tower is a contemporary descendant of the Flatiron Building in New York City – reclaiming the lost spaces for living as the tower escapes the noise and traffic at its base. In the tradition of Flatiron, Beach and Howe’s architecture is not the result of formal excess or architectural idiosyncrasies, but rather a child of its circumstances: the trisected site and the concerns for neighboring buildings and park spaces.” Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner, BIG.

As the tower ascends, it clears the noise, exhaust, and visual invasion of the Granville Bridge. BIG’s design reclaims the lost area as the tower clears the zone of influence of the bridge, gradually cantilevering over the site. This movement turns the inefficient triangle into an optimal rectangular floor plate, increasing the desirable spaces for living at its top, while freeing up a generous public space at its base.

The resultant silhouette has a unique appearance that changes from every angle and resembles a curtain being drawn aside, welcoming people as they enter the city from the bridge.

“The tower and base are a reinvention of the local typology, known as “Vancouverism.” In this typology, slender towers are grouped with mixed-use podiums and street walls that define human-scale urban environments. The aim is to preserve view cones through the city while activating the pedestrian street,” Thomas Christoffersen, Partner-in-Charge, BIG.

The tower’s podium is a mixed-use urban village with three triangular blocks that are composed of intimately-scaled spaces for working, shopping, and leisure which face onto public plazas and pathways.

The additional public space adds to the existing streets, giving the neighborhood a variety of open and covered outdoor spaces of various scales which transform the site under the Granville Bridge into a dynamic and iconic mixed-use neighborhood hub.

“Vancouver has already embarked upon an urban experiment in creating a super dense residential downtown – to increase pedestrian activity and street life.

With this project we attempt to continue this process of densification by reclaiming a site beneath the bridges that would otherwise be lost as a lifeless “black hole” in the urban fabric.

The diagonal canopies of the vehicular flows above create a new form of weather protected urban space, turning the large infrastructure in to a niche for social life.” Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner, BIG.

The courtyards created by the building volumes, roofs and terraces are all designed to enhance views from the Granville Bridge and the residential units above.

The canted, triangular clusters of green roofs create a highly graphic and iconic gateway to and from the downtown core, reinforcing the City of Vancouver’s focus on sustainable cities.

The exterior façades respond to the various solar exposures which is integral to the overall sustainability concept.

The building will strive for LEED Gold Certification.

NAME: Beach and Howe St.
CLIENT: Westbank Projects Corp.
LOCATION: Vancouver, Canada
SIZE: 653,890 sf / 60,670 m2
COLLABORATORS: Dialog, Cobalt Engineering, Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg Urban Design, Buro Happold, Glotman Simpson, James KM Cheng Architects
PARTNERS-IN-CHARGE: Bjarke Ingels, Thomas Christoffersen
PROJECT LEADER: Agustin Perez-Torres
TEAM: Julianne Gola, Marcella Martinez, Chris Malcolm, Karol Borkowski, Michael Taylor, Alina Tamosiunaite, David Brown, Tobias Hjortdal, Alexandra Gustafson

Sadar+Vuga Architects ont pu penser ce projet très réussi présenté sous le nom “Panoramic Garden”. Avec un mélange intelligent entre la flore et l’architecture, le rendu de ce projet présenté à Ljubljana en Slovénie est à retrouver en images dans la suite.

Previously on Fubiz

• Three Way House
• Eco-Perch
• Paper Architecture

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Dezeen Wire: local architects EllisMiller have been granted permission to create a series of temporary structures in the London borough of Hackney that will provide a hub for media and commerce during the upcoming Olympic games.

Furnished by PearsonLloyd, Hackney House will occupy a site beside Shoreditch High Street and will accomodate a media centre for journalists during the games, as well as exhibitions and events that will take place throughout the summer.

The venue is scheduled to complete at the start of May and will remain in place until September.

Dezeen’s offices are also located in the borough of Hackney, so we’ve been putting together a showcase of the best design talent from the area. More information and details of how to get involved can be found at www.designedinhackney.com.

Here’s a full statement from EllisMiller:

EllisMiller: Starter’s orders for Hackney House

EllisMiller have secured planning consent for Hackney House – a media and investment centre for Hackney during the Olympic games.

During the summer it is expected that thousands of people will visit Hackney – including many individuals and organisations who are looking for businesses opportunities in the area. The Hackney House partners – led by Hackney Borough Council – seized this opportunity and commissioned Ellis Miller to design what will be one of the most vibrant venues of summer 2012.

Hackney House is located off Shoreditch High Street and will be used as a media centre for non-sports journalists during the games period, and will be the venue for a series of events designed to showcase business opportunities and creative talent in Hackney to UK and global business leaders, decision-makers and VIPs. Around 20,000 people are expected to visit Hackney House to enjoy an events programme that will promote Hackney as the creative heart of London in 2012. Visitors will be able to make use of exceptional networking opportunities while experiencing Hackney’s reputation as a crucible of enterprise, creativity and entertainment.

Visitors to Hackney House will first be greeted by a bespoke entrance structure, which juxtaposes highly functional materials with a decorative woven chainlink carrying a lace motif. Beyond an entrance garden, Hackney House will consist of a flexible series of marquees and other temporary structures that can accommodate a range of different uses throughout the summer. These will include exhibition and performance venues, spaces for formal and informal functions, catering and other visitor facilities.

On completion in April/May 2012, the venue will begin hosting events almost immediately including the Digital Shoreditch Festival, BBC Radio 1 Hackney Big Weekend 2012, the London College of Fashion graduate fashion shows and business networking events hosted by the Mayor of London. Hackney House will remain open until the end of September.

The site is currently a vacant brownfield site owned by development company Lirastar, who are developing a mixed use urban masterplan for its future development with EllisMiller. The scheme was initiated by EllisMiller’s strong relationship with Hackney Council, and EllisMiller were able to facilitate the temporary use of the site with the landowner. EllisMiller also encouraged Hackney Council to collaborate with emerging and fellow East London architect Harry Dobbs Design on the project. Other creative partners include design studio Pearson Lloyd and Ben Todd (Executive Director, Arcola Theatre).

Chris Patience, Partner at Ellis Miller said:

“It’s been a huge privilege working with the Hackney House partners to design one of the most exciting non-Olympic venues in London this summer. It will play host to journalists from around the world alongside thousands of people enjoying a wide range of activities including music, fashion, exhibitions and business functions. We’ve therefore worked hard to create a venue that is simple, flexible and fun.”

Carl Welham, Assistant Chief Executive, Communications and Consultation at Hackney Borough Council said:

“The Olympics will create investment, jobs and business venture capital. Hackney House will enable us to maximise this opportunity for the benefit of residents, artists and local businesses.”

Slideshow: just like the museum we published yesterday, this library in Worcester, England, by architects Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios is covered with shimmering squares of golden metal.

Positioned on the riverbank between the city centre and one of the campuses for Worcester University, the four-storey building contains an academic library for students, a public library, a county archive and a local history centre.

An extruded roof comprising seven rectangular cones divides the building into a conjoined cluster of blocks, which reflect the arrangement of rooms and spaces within.

These chimney-like forms draw light and ventilation into each of the reading rooms, as well as into a central atrium that connects each of the floors.

Balconies and staircases are picked out in ash, while a set of red, yellow and blue-painted volumes are slotted between rooms on one floor to provide a row of informal reading spots.

The building will open in July.

In the last year Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios have also completed a hospital unit for sick or premature babies, which you can see here.

Photography is by Hufton & Crow.

Here’s some more text from the architects:

UK’s first purpose-built joint-use library to open in July

The Hive which will open in July is the UK’s first purpose-built joint-use library serving the University of Worcester and the county that incorporates the county archive, a local history centre, accommodation for the County Archaeologist’s team and a ‘one stop shop’ for the local authority: It’s a pioneering response to the challenge of providing a wide range of public services in an age of austerity whilst promoting social and environmental sustainability.

The distinctive form is a response to the project partners’ aspirations to create a beacon for learning in the city centre, a counterpoint to the Cathedral on the edge of the floodplain to the River Severn.

The Hive forms part of a new city block which incorporates an accessible route connecting the city centre, via the top of the medieval city wall, to the new Castle Street University campus – it is designed to entice passers by to come in and explore.

Sustainability was a high priority throughout: The Hive maximises daylight and natural ventilation via the seven iconic roof cones that echo the undulating ridgeline of the Malverns and the historic kilns of the Royal Worcester pottery.

Water from the river Severn provides peak cooling and locally sources biomass provides heating.

The building is designed to adapt to climate change predicted by UK-CIP to 2050. It has an A rated Energy Performance Certificate and confirmation is awaited on whether it has met or exceeded the requirement to achieve BREEAM Excellent.

The roof structure was designed using award winning software developed for the project which allowed the form to be constructed from solid laminated timber: This generated a saving of more than 2000 tonnes of CO2 compared to the initial design in steel and concrete.

The exterior is clad in a scaley carapace of copper alloy. Inside the palette of concrete and ash is animated by colours drawn from the palette used by Royal Worcester.

The development includes extensive new public realm with both hard landscape (using locally sourced Forrest of Dean Pennant) and planting which draws on indigenous species to create a new and rich habitat for wildlife.

The Hive, which was procured via a PFI process, is a testament to teamwork; from the inspiration of the Project Partners who identified the opportunity to create a generous new public facility to the creativity of the design team and the tenacity of the contractors it demonstrates that by sharing a vision and pulling in the same direction the UK construction industry can deliver extraordinary buildings.

Vital Statistics:
1.34 ha site,
12,371m2 gross external area
£29.7m total construction ex vat, fees, external works and FF+E
£2400/m2
15.8 CO2/m2/yr
4.3m3/m2 at 50 Pa air tightness
40% GGBFS in cement

Team:
Client: University of Worcester and Worcestershire County Council
Architect: Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Structural Engineer: Hyder Consulting (UK) Ltd/ Atelier One
M&E Engineer: Max Fordham LLP
Planning Supervisor: Arcadis AYH
Landscape Consultant: Grant Associates
Contractor: Galliford Try Construction
Cladding Consultant: Montresor Partnership
Fire Consultant: Exova Warringtonfire
Access Consultant: All Clear Designs

A blanket of golden shingles clads the new wing that London studio Hugh Broughton Architects have added to a Tudor-style museum in Maidstone, England.

Open since the end of March, the East Wing and new entrance block slot into the recesses of the sixteenth century brick building, which was converted from a manor house into a museum over 150 years ago.

The copper-alloy exterior is interspersed with large panels of glazing to create views in towards the lower ground floor entrance lobby and shop, as well as into a new public meeting room.

The rear of the building steps up to meet the sloping ground level of the public gardens just behind, while the windows of this elevation reveal the interior facades of a courtyard enclosed between the extension and the refurbished existing galleries.

North-facing rooflights bring even levels of natural daylight into the one of the east wing’s three new galleries, which together will display some of the museum’s 600,000 artefacts.

Other buildings with a similar copper alloy exterior include a visual arts centre and a public library. See a selection here.

Photography is by Hufton + Crow.

Here’s some more text from Hugh Broughton Architects:

Maidstone Museum East Wing: new ‘gold’ clad extensions hint at treasures inside

Maidstone Museum & Bentlif Art Gallery has re-opened following an extensive £3 million refurbishment and the addition of a new east wing by Hugh Broughton Architects.

Clad with ʻgoldʼ shingles which hint at the museumʼs collection of ʻtreasuresʼ on display inside, the new East Wing provides the museum with a reinvigorated look making it the cultural focus for the town centre.

Housing a collection of over 600,000 artifacts and specimens that are outstanding in their diversity and quality, Maidstone Museum forms the largest mixed collection in Kent and one of the largest in the South-East of England.

Hugh Broughton Architectsʼ 2006 RIBA competition-winning architectural scheme transforms the museumʼs display, storage and visitor facilities, allowing more of the collection to be accessed.

The core of Maidstone Museum, a Grade II listed building located within the boundaries of a conservation area, is a Tudor manor house dating from 1561. The building was acquired by Maidstone Borough Council in 1855 and opened as a Museum in 1858. Since then it has been subject to numerous expansions, resulting in an eclectic architectural arrangement.

The East Wing project forms the second phase of the Museumʼs re- development programme, following the renovation of the West Wing in 2003. The aims of the project have been three-fold including the long-term preservation of the museumʼs collection, increase in visitor numbers and greater public involvement.

The scheme improves storage facilities, brings previously inaccessible spaces into use and allows more of the Museumʼs historic buildings to be experienced. The East Wing provides new gallery spaces, which enable more of the collections to be seen. The provision of new and improved services including a shop, new toilets with baby-changing facilities and cloakroom, ease visitor circulation throughout the building and enhance the visitor experience.

The East Wing responds to the multilayered history and architecture of the museum. The elevations combine frameless glazing with a diagrid of copper alloy shingles, creating a contemporary counterpoise to the existing brick facades. The copper alloy shingles emulate the diamond leaded glass windows of the original Tudor building and have been individually hand cut and crafted on site, enhancing the artisanal qualities of the Museum.

A new entrance on the East elevation welcomes visitors from Maidstone High Street into the new East Wing. The entrance opens into an open plan foyer and orientation area occupied by Maidstoneʼs Visitor Information Centre and the Museum shop.

Beyond the foyer and shop a multi-functional education suite brings areas previously occupied by storage into lively public use, creating a designated study area for community groups and schools.
At ground floor level the principal public space in the East Wing is a gallery housing one of the museumʼs noteworthy exhibits – a Solomon Islands war canoe, the only example of its kind outside of the Islands. Glazing on the rear wall of this gallery reveals a public courtyard and Tudor facades unseen by the public for over 40 years.

At first floor level a public meeting room housed in a glazed box offers dramatic views of St. Faithʼs Church which visually re-connects the museum with Brenchley Gardens, fulfilling the ambitions of the Museumʼs Victorian founders. A system of bespoke connectors between the glass and steel structure ensures a completely frameless flush glazed finish.

Click above for larger image

The new Japanese Gallery is located within the copper clad space above the reception. It is lit by an undulating ceiling of north-facing rooflights, which enliven the white cube space and ensure an even stream of daylight in to the gallery. This gallery is the new permanent home for one of the museumʼs highlights, an internationally significant display of Japanese Art collected in the nineteenth century by one of the Museumʼs founders, Julius Brenchley.

In addition to these new galleries, the existing galleries in the original museum have been refurbished and re-organised, increasing the display space by 30%.

Beyond the public spaces, the practice has worked closely with the museum staff to completely overhaul and modernize the storage spaces, increasing the capacity by 100%, and improving security and accessibility. This process has allowed the museumʼs staff to take stock and reorganize exhibits in storage, taking the opportunity to digitize and hone the full collection.

Click above for larger image

Projects facts
Address: Maidstone Museum & Bentlif Art Gallery St. Faithʼs Street, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1LH
Construction value: £3m (including a £2m grant from Heritage Lottery Fund)
Gross internal area: 1150 sq m (470 sq m new build / 680 sq m refurbishment)

Project credits
Client: Maidstone Borough Council
Architect: Hugh Broughton Architects
Project director: Hugh Broughton
Project architect: Gianluca Rendina
Structural Engineer: AECOM
Services Engineer: AECOM
Quantity Surveyor: GB Fitzsimon
Building Contractor: Morgan Sindall
Lighting Consultant: AECOM
Security Consultant: AECOM
Health & Safety: AECOM
Japanese Gallery Design (Concept): Ralph Appelbaum Associates