Archinect - News

Koichi Takada Architects' Upper House is a top-to-bottom display of craft and creative inspiration

2024-08-22T19:16:00-04:00

Koichi Takada Architects has shared details of the design for its new Upper House apartment building in South Brisbane, Australia.

Featuring a five-story perforated metal screen facade mural made by Indigenous artist Judy Watson, the design credits the root system of an endemic Moreton Bay Fig tree as its inspiration. A metaphor for the development of dwellings from the ancient past to the vertically-oriented future unites all 188 units across 33 floors, starting with the dramatic mural base and ending in an oasis-like rooftop amenities level covered by a curved natural timber pergola.

Photo credit: Scott Burrows

In the words of Takada, "I see Upper House as a chance to encourage dialogue about the past and to reflect on the present. I believe respect – for people and planet – should be the building blocks of our future. [The] High rise lifestyle has become so detached and disconnected – from the community, from nature, from one another. With Upper House we are looking to challenge t...

Koichi Takada Architects-designed Los Angeles tower moves forward

2022-02-04T15:20:00-05:00

A proposed Downtown high-rise with a design inspired by California's redwood trees has taken a key step forward, following the publication of a Sustainable Communities Environmental Assessment for the project.

Designed by Koichi Takada Architects, with MVE + Partners serving as architect of record, and RIOS as landscape architect, the 40-story tower located at the southwest corner of 11th and Hill streets in the South Park neighborhood will replace a two-story warehouse. The glass and steel building will include 319 condominiums, 160 Transient Occupancy Residential Structures (TORS) units, 3,429 square feet of restaurant space, and 390 parking spaces.

Previously on Archinect: A sculptural Downtown Los Angeles tower forges ahead

The developers have previously announced their plan to complete construction of the tower in 2025, which, according to Urbanize Los Angeles, would require breaking ground by late 2022.

A sculptural Downtown Los Angeles tower forges ahead

2020-04-14T19:44:00-04:00

A 43-story tower designed by Australian firm Koichi Takada Architects proposed for a site in Downtown Los Angeles has gotten a new look and an updated set of uses.

Initiated by Australian developers Crown Group, the glass-wrapped tower features a domed top with a crown decorated in tree-studded terraces. The Los Angeles Times reports that the project has been redesigned to include a mix of residential and hotel units, a shift from what initially proposed as an all-residential development several years ago.

Overall view of the tower. Image courtesy of Doug and Wolf.

The copper-colored tower is inspired, according to the architects, by California Redwood trees. It will feature a 160-room hotel, as well as 319 condominiums. The base of the tower is marked by a multi-story parking podium wrapped in vertical panels. These areas, as well as the building's rooftop terraces, are shown covered in greenery in renderings for the project.

Rendering showing the tower's ground floor canopy. Image...