Hasta La Ideas

In a movie Dezeen filmed at his Golden Lion-winning installation in collaboration with Justin McGuirk and Urban-Think Tank at the Venice Architecture Biennale, architectural photographer Iwan Baan talks about how residents have built their own homes between the columns and floor plates of the unfinished Torre David skyscraper in Caracas.

“It’s basically a whole city they built in there,” he says while describing the homes, shops, church, hair salon (above) and gym the 3000 residents have created, each inventing their own construction techniques to create “a sort of architecture without architects”.

He tells how residents start by putting up curtains and tents (above), then build walls when they get chance, creating a patchwork facade where “every person decorates their place in their own way.” Construction halted before services were installed, including elevators, so taxis drive residents up and down in an adjoining 50-storey car park.

Baan’s photographs will be published in a book on the tower called Torre David: Anarcho Vertical Communities, written by Alfredo Brillembourg and Hubert Klumpner of Urban-Think Tank.

Critic Justin McGuirk talks about how the project could set an example for new forms of urban housing in our earlier movie, asking “why should the majority of the poor in countries like Venezuela be forced to live in the slums around the edge of cities if there are empty office towers in the city centres?”

See all our stories about the Venice Architecture Biennale »

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without architects” appeared first on Dezeen.

Dezeen Wire: here’s the first image of a new 190-metre skyscraper for the City of London designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox to house the European headquarters for insurance company W. R. Berkley Corporation.

The office tower will have 35 storeys plus two basement levels and two roof plant levels, and the proposal includes a new a new public square.

Subject to planning, construction is expected to start next year.

Kohn Pedersen Fox are also the architects behind the Heron Tower, which was the tallest in the Square Mile until overtaken by the completion of The Shard earlier this year, and The Pinnacle (formerly known as the Bishopsgate Tower), under construction but stalled since March due to lack of letting commitments.

Other skyscrapers under construction in the area include the Leadenhall Building by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, 20 Fenchurch Street (nicknamed the Walkie-Talkie) by Rafael Viñoly, and 100 Bishopsgate by Allies and Morrison with Woods Bagot.

See more stories about skyscrapers on Dezeen »

Here’s some more information from W. R. Berkley Corporation:

W. R. Berkley Corporation to build new European headquarters in the City of London

W.R. Berkley Corporation, one of the world’s premier property casualty insurance providers, has submitted a planning application for a major new European headquarters at 52-54 Lime Street, London EC3, in the heart of the City of London.

Demonstrating the strength of W.R. Berkley Corporation’s commitment to London as one of the world’s leading insurance centres, the company, whose member insurance companies are rated A+ by Standard & Poor’s, will be funding the 35-storey building, which will draw together all of the company’s London presence into one place, from its own balance sheet. W. R. Berkley Corporation London companies will initially be occupying approximately 25% of the building. Other occupiers have already expressed interest in the building.

Designed by multi-award winning international architects, Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), who also designed the Heron Tower, the planned building is approximately 190m tall, consisting of 35 floors of offices above ground and mezzanine levels with an additional two basement and two roof plant levels. Entrances to the building would be on Leadenhall Street and from a new public square.

Floor plates will range in size from 9,000 sq ft to 22,000 sq ft and are arranged around a side core located to the south of the building, which optimises floor plate dimensions, limits solar gain and offers views of London to the, north, east, west and south west.

Public space created by the development will include a ‘square’ of approximately 11,000 sq ft which will complement the existing precinct around the Willis Building. The space will include public seating and planting as well as potential space for public art and tables linked to a specialist ground floor coffee shop, echoing the 17th century origins of the specialist insurance markets at Lloyds Coffee House.

With Lloyd’s of London and Willis adjacent to the new public square and Aon to occupy 122 Leadenhall Street, W.R. Berkley’s new European headquarters will effectively create a global ‘HQ’ of the insurance industry in London.

KPF’s work is being led by Bill Pedersen, one of the world’s most decorated architects and seven time winner of the American Institute of Architects National Honour Award.

Subject to planning, work on the project is scheduled to start by 2013 and it is anticipated that the development could be ready for occupation by 2017.

William Berkley, founder and chairman of W.R. Berkley Corporation comments:

“The proposed development of 52-54 Lime Street is an integral component of our international growth strategy. With the continuing expansion of our operations here, it makes sense to invest in a landmark building which will provide a strong base for that growth.

“This major investment is a signal of our belief and confidence in London as the centre of the global insurance market. Creating a new European headquarters on Lime Street, alongside of some of the largest companies in the industry, is an affirmation of the City of London as the centre of the insurance and reinsurance industries.”

About London’s insurance industry

Insurance companies and pension funds are crucial to the UK and City of London economy, accounting for £32.5bn in GDP contributions

The City of London is the home of the specialist insurance sector, with gross premiums on the London market conservatively estimated at £36.9bn in 2010, and Lime Street is the heart of the sector – from historic players like Lloyds, to world leading brands like Willis, Aon, and Aviva.

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headquarters by Kohn Pedersen Fox appeared first on Dezeen.

Vertiginous swimming pools will cantilever like diving boards from every apartment in this tower proposed for Lima, Peru, by Mexican studio DCPP Arquitectos.

The 20-storey residential building is due to be constructed beside a golf course in the east of the city and will feature a transparent glass facade and a series of elevated courtyards.

The concrete swimming pools will jut out from each of the courtyards and are pictured in the architect’s drawings without any safety rails.

We’ve previously featured proposals for a much taller skyscraper with a projecting swimming pool – see it here.

See all our stories about skyscrapers »

Here’s a project description from DCPP:

Sky Condos Located on a privileged area of the City of Lima and with views towards the golf course, we sought to create an icon for the future, a new luxury housing concept in Latin America; combining the idea of incorporating the exterior space to the interior life of the apartments and creating a new relation between public and private areas.

We wanted to get away from the traditional tower; instead of piling up a series of identical apartments, we created three types that adjust to different necessities; each one with a clear individuality using the privative exterior spaces as our main core.

Ground floor plan

We believe that an apartment shouldn’t lack exterior spaces; this is why our main space in each apartment is the exterior public area which contains the pool and a series of terraces that bring dynamism to the whole tower.

Upper floor plan 1

These terraces fill the apartment with natural light and create a game of lights and shadows.

Upper floor plan 2

The 20 floor tower has a facade that is mainly transparent allowing the integration of the building to the exterior; generating crossed ventilation and natural lighting in all the spaces without sacrificing the privacy inside the apartments.

Upper floor plan 3

The floor plan is open looking for a transparency all along the plot and generating the sensation that the apartments are suspended.

Upper floor plan 4

Upper floor plan 5

Upper floor plan 6

Upper floor plan 7

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DCPP Arquitectos appeared first on Dezeen.

Dutch architecture firm UNStudio has designed a skyscraper for Singapore that looks like a cactus.

Located within Singapore’s business district, the V on Shenton building for property developers UIC will replace an existing tower block that has housed the company since the 1970s.

The building will comprise a 23-storey office tower that matches the height of surrounding buildings, as well as a 53-storey residential tower that rises above.

Glass hexagons will be arranged in patterns across the facades of both towers, creating angled surfaces that will reflect light and provide shade. Its chamfered edges will glow blue at night.

Another recent proposal for Singapore by UNStudio is a tower with chunks missing from its facade.

See more stories about UNStudio »

Here’s some more information from UNStudio:

V on Shenton, Singapore, 2010-2016

Ben van Berkel / UNStudio have designed the new UIC building, ‘V on Shenton’, in the heart of Singapore’s Central Business District.

The former UIC Building dominated the city skyline as Singapore’s tallest building for many years since its completion in 1973 and was part of an important collection of towers located along Shenton Way in the heart of Singapore’s Central Business District.

Today, the area is undergoing rejuvenation and transformation and ‘V on Shenton’, the new UIC building, forms part of this redevelopment. The dual programming of ‘V on Shenton’, comprising office and residential, presents a unique situation in this area of the city.

The twin tower of ‘V on Shenton’ is comprised of a 23-storey office building and a 53-storey residential tower, with the dual programming of the building highlighted through its massing.

The office tower corresponds to the scale of the surrounding buildings and the street, while the residential tower rises up to distinguish itself from the neighbouring buildings. Above the third sky lobby the unit mix of the residential tower changes with a subtle display of its split core.

Facade

Just as the office and residential towers are of the same family of forms, so do their facades originate from the same family of patterns. The basic shape of the hexagon is used to create patterns that increase the performance of the facades with angles and shading devices that are responsive to the climatic conditions of Singapore. Along with systematic material variations, these geometric panels add texture and cohesion to the building, whilst reflecting light and pocketing shade. The texture and volume of the facade are important to maintaining the comfort of those living and working in the residential and office buildings. Shading devices and high-performance glass are important for developing a sustainable and liveable facade.

Ben van Berkel: “The pattern of the façade comprises four to five different textures, each varying depending on the programme. At times the glass of the façade creates texture through the relief effect and the coloured side lighting, whilst the volumetric balconies of the residences create a deep texture in the total volume of the building.“

Each tower is framed by “chamfers”; a line that unifies the composition of the residential tower, the office tower and the plinth. During daytime the chamfer appears smooth in contrast to the textured surfaces of the towers. At night the chamfer lights up as a continuous line framing building.

Ben van Berkel: “’V on Shenton’ will have an incredible presence within the whole organisation of the city and is in that respect a very public project. But we see it also as a sculptural object, where the continuous line of the chamfer highlights the form and where the different textures are not purely related to programme, but also ‘dress’ the building”

Lobbies

On the ground floor of the development stainless steel lines are inlaid into the floors and lines of light are traced across the ceiling, guiding pedestrians to their destination.

The office lobby is divided into a reception area and a large café which extends along the view corridor to create a lively atmosphere in the public areas.

Sky Gardens

The sky lobbies and the sky garden are an integral part of ‘V on Shenton’ and provide 360 degree views of Singapore. The most ample and diverse of the three sky gardens covers the entire 8th storey of the development. Here residents are able to take full advantage of the amenities while still having privacy to train or entertain guests.

Along with the facades, the sky gardens are an integral part of developing the sustainable lifestyle of ‘V on Shenton’. These lush green spaces provide a refuge from the city with the climate and vegetation naturally providing fresher, cleaner air.

At the two sky lobbies in the heart of the residential tower, residents are given even greater privacy combined with views of the city or the ocean. The residents of the penthouse levels will also have exclusive access to the outdoor roof terraces.

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by UNStudio appeared first on Dezeen.

This conceptual skyscraper by Brazilian architects Projeto Coletivo would be constructed using rubbish in the city of São Paulo.

The architects imagine a series of the buildings beside the rivers Tietê and Pinheiros, with recycling centres in the lower levels and modular apartments for homeless people upstairs.

Residents would be required to work in the recycling centres, cleaning and sorting their own rubbish for use in further construction and repairs.

More waste could also be transported to the buildings by boat from the city centre.

The architects designed the project for this year’s eVolo Skyscraper Competition, which asks entrants to come up with inventive and futuristic skyscraper proposals.

Another conceptual skyscraper we’ve recently featured is a thatched housing block.

See all our stories about skyscrapers »

Here’s some information from Projeto Coletivo:

Scrap Skyscraper

The main idea is about being a cultural landmark in changing the mindset of people, where the future is the use of garbage, the view that the waste we generate has value both as an agent of social change and as a physical element of construction. Nowadays people usually do not bother with the garbage they generate, see it as a problem of others. Changing this thinking is crucial to change the course of evolution of the planet to a sustainable path.

The building works on the issues of a specific city, in this case São Paulo, beginning a transition point that tries to achieve a better life quality for the population by the use of the trash that its inhabitants generate.

The buildings will be placed alongside the rivers Tietê and Pinheiros, those rivers will be used as waterways to transport the trash from the city to the upcycling centers. Using the rivers as waterways to transport the waste improves the traffic in the city, enabling garbage trucks travel over shorter distances, and leverages the power of the center of upcycling, that receives more material. In the basement of the building, located on the banks of the Tiete River, there is an upcycling and recycling center, giving rise to the building and taking advantage of its strategic location which enhances the transport of waste through the city. The idea is that the residents will work on the bottom of the building, as a factory, recycling, cleaning and selecting waste, previously taught by experts in the field. This material will be used on the building’s construction and also for crafts, urging creativity of the own workers. The opportunity for a social revolution that gives homeless people the chance to learn a trade and have a place to live.

Autors: PROJETO COLETIVO – Guilherme de Macedo, Giovanni Medeiros, João Gabriel Kuster, Rafael Ferraz, Rodolfo Parolin e Thiago Augustus.
Local: Curitiba – Brazil

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by Projeto Coletivo appeared first on Dezeen.