May '09 in Review:
The 7.5 hectares site stretches along Sa He Road, one of the busiest commuting road downtown Shenzhen. Part of an effort to revitalize Nan Shan district, Cha Guang Industrial Zone is a government-initiated business-development project in one of the last undeveloped district of Shenzhen city.
The primary function of the McGill University Life Sciences Complex is research in cancer and biomedicine. This includes five key components: chemical biology, complex traits, developmental biology, cell information systems and cancer research. The Complex integrates the new facilities, the Francesco Bellini Life Sciences Building and the Cancer Research Building, as well as the existing McIntyre Medical Sciences and Stewart Biological Sciences buildings.
New York based Asymptote Architecture nears completion of The Yas Hotel project in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The Yas Hotel is a 500-room, 85,000-square-meter complex now under construction. Asymptote was awarded the commission to design the buildings and environs from a closed competition two years ago targeting an opening date of October 30, 2009 to coincide with the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The 85,000 square meter Dongdaemun Design Plaza will establish a learning resource for designers and members of the public with a design museum, library and educational facilities, whilst the 30,000 square meter Park will create a green oasis within the dense urban surroundings of Dongdaemun, Seoul.
Re-thinking the traditional aproach to producing a mixed-use buildings, the project has just won the Vancouver’s FormShift Competition in the Vancouver Primary Category, a category that required the "design for a mixed use primary (arterial) site along a major Vancouver street that includes a rapid transit station." The project is designed as a variety of productive surfaces. Walls harness energy, roofs grow food and floors connect the public and private spaces.
Saxo Bank is a young dynamic internet bank with focus on online-trade with currencies, shares and futures on the bank’s self-developed platform, Saxo Trader. Saxo Bank was founded in 1992 in Denmark and counts around 850 staff members of 35 nationalities who serve customers from 115 different countries.
Located just along the Ill River that flows across Alsace in the far-eastern regions of France, the prestigious Auberge de l’Ill, held by Haeberlin family, has welcomed gourmets since 1879. Now, with the family’s 5th generation behind the oven, the Auberge offers its services within four dining rooms.
Built over an existing construction, the new project has preserved in part the original metal structure of the first project. The current structure is larger and has absorbed the original garden of the first project. talian architect Giovanni D'Ambrosio wanted to offer the visitors a space bursting with originality, something that would be unusual for a restaurant.
Houses
This 2,200 square-foot residence is located on a Chesapeake Bay barrier island near the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, an estuarine marshland ecosystem, and an important stop along the Atlantic Flyway. The project conceptually fuses architectonic form with the natural elements of the site. Positioned between a saltmeadow marsh, a pine forest, and the bay, the architecture is conceived to be at one with the water, the horizon, and the sky.
The house treads lightly on its lush site, and evokes the feeling of living outdoors. The long, one-room-deep floor plan gives each room windows and porches overlooking Shem Creek. A modern interpretation of Charleston’s historic shutters provides protection from harsh weather and summer sun.
Situated near a railway line on the outskirts of a trendy Montreal neighbourhood, the design of the U House responds to a harsh urban context, respectfully shutting out the outside world by concentrating services around the periphery. Space along the inside of the U is thus liberated and attention is focused towards the inner core.
the Accessory Building was designed for small office use in a residential neighborhood in the District of North Vancouver. The building is categorized as a Non-Parking Use Accessory Building and at 269 sf is the maximum size and height for the neighborhood zoning. The building contributes to an emerging model of infill mixed-use within established residential neighborhoods and specifically addresses the potential of the home-office.
Set in the remote and harsh high desert landscape of Idaho, Outpost is an artist live/work studio and residence for making and displaying art. An important aspect of the complex is the protected “paradise garden,” which is separated from the wild landscape by thick masonry walls.
With a clean crisp modern language, Arthur Casas produced this residence in Jardim Paulista, São Paulo. The architect valued the existing vegetation, and conceived the house in a way that preserves all the trees. The house was constructed in two lots. One of them was left almost intact, because there was some Atlantic Jungle species still survinving, this area has become one of the most valuable regions of the city.
Australian Architects McBride Charles Ryan like to push the creative enveloppe on each project they design. This house called Letterbox is no exception, flirting with the senses in more ways then one. We felt that the architects explained quite well their thought process, as they describe their concept: "It’s like a half space, half enclosed, half open. Neither in nor out – a new version of the good old Aussie verandah."
According to the Architects, his primary challenge was to design for the needs of a yet-to-be-determined client. Another significant issue was how to root the house to the earth; the nearly flat site in a young growth forest offered no footing. The architects responded by reshaping the topography, establishing the first level slightly below grade and sculpting the surrounding terrain into a gentle rise. |
Philippe Rondeau Architects - Cha Guang Industrial Zone in Shenzhen, China
McGill University Life Sciences Complex in Montreal
Asymptote Architecture - The Yas Hotel Abu Dhabi
Zaha Hadid Architects - Dongdaemun Design Park and Plaza
Sturgess Architecture's RE-THINK SURFACE
Morphogenesis - Apollo Tyres Office in Gurgaon, India
Patrick Jouin - L'Auberge de l'Ill
Giovanni D'Ambrosio - Maccaroni Restaurant in Bali
David Jameson Architect - House on Hoopers Island, Church Creek, Maryland
Frank Harmon Architect - Low Country Residence in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Natalie Dionne - Maison en U
mcfarlane green biggar Architecture + Design - Accessory Building
Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects - Outpost in Bellevue, Idaho
Arthur Casas Architect - Jardim Paulista in São Paulo, Brazil
McBride Charles Ryan - Letterbox House in Blairgowrie, Australia
TsAO & McKOWN Architects - House at Sagaponac in Wainscott, New York
