Archinect - News

Construction season begins for UK's largest Antarctic research hub

2022-12-12T20:50:00-05:00

A six month construction season is set to begin at the United Kingdom’s largest Antarctic research and operations hub. Called the Rothera Research Station, it supports leading researchers in frontier science in the region.

This marks the start of the next phase of the British Antarctic Survey’s Antarctic Infrastructure Modernization Program (AIMP), which is part of the UK’s long-term plan to modernize its research facilities in the poles. Through a collaboration with construction services company BAM, engineering and design company Ramboll, and architecture firm Sweco, the project aims to provide polar science infrastructure that will enable the UK to deliver climate, biodiversity and ocean research, and innovation to Antarctica.

According to BAM, this season is expected to be the busiest and most challenging since the program began in 2017. This is especially pertinent given the small window that construction can take place in the region in order to avoid its harsh and dark winte...

Henning Larsen unveils its second mass timber project for Copenhagen

2021-11-29T12:04:00-05:00

As part of the firm’s continued experimentation with the increasingly popular building method in its hometown, Henning Larsen and Ramboll have unveiled a new design for what will eventually become Copenhagen’s largest mass timber structure.

The new Marmormolen area development scheme follows up on a previous design for a 7,000-person neighborhood called Fælledby that was announced last year.

Image courtesy Henning Larsen © Sora

A closer look at the new plan reveals a staggered-volume building surrounded by similar greenery and connected by a series of green rooftops that express the communion with nature seen in the previous development.

Each volume delineates the use of that particular part of the structure. The eight-story volume is home to the Danish AP pension fund, while the remaining three-story portions offer retail amenities as well as housing for residents overlooking the waterfront in Nordhavn.

Image courtesy Henning Larsen © Sora

The new building presents an exciting expan...

Brief summer season allows construction on British Antarctic Survey's new Discovery Building

2021-01-14T13:53:00-05:00

The next stage of building a scientific support facility in Antarctica begins this week [...] A 20 person-plus team from BAS construction partners BAM, Ramboll and Sweco is working on the second season of building the cutting-edge science and operations building. Construction can only take place during a short window during the Antarctic summer months, avoiding the harsh, dark winter.

BIG unveils ambitious masterplan for Penang South Islands

2020-08-24T13:37:00-04:00

BIG, Hijjas, and Ramboll have been selected as the winners of the Penang State Government's international competition to design a masterplan for the Penang South Islands, which will provide locals with roughly 4.6 kilometers of public beaches, 600 acres of parks and 25 kilometers of waterfront. Called "BiodiverCity," the design team's masterplan supports the Penang 2030 vision, focusing on livability, social and economic inclusive development, and environmental sustainability.

The project will span three islands to bring together a series of mixed-use districts of 15,000 to 18,000 residents across 50 to 500 acres, with an emphasis on the symbiotic relationship between reserves, parks, corridors and urban plazas.

Of the project, BIG founder Bjarke Ingels said in a statement: "If Penang is defined by its rich cultural diversity and its abundant biodiversity, we would like to envision the Penang South islands as an archipelago where the two can coexist in a human-made ecosystem, expa...