Archinect - News

$2 billion Fourth & Central plan for LA's Arts District gets update

2024-10-17T17:05:00-04:00

The $2 billion plan for the mixed-use Fourth & Central development in downtown LA has been altered away from the project’s originally announced 10-building plan in the Arts District. Studio One Eleven is leading the plan, which has been updated as of October 17th.

The update includes more rental housing than its previous iteration. An Adjaye Associates-designed residential tower has also been resized from 44 stories to 30 stories in response to "community concerns," according to developer Continuum's late-August statement in the LA Times.

Image rendering courtesy Studio One Eleven and Adjaye Associates

Image courtesy Studio One Eleven

RIOS’ 42XX office design introduces mass timber architecture to L.A.’s Westside

2024-09-16T16:42:00-04:00

A CLT structural system is one of several sustainability considerations integral to RIOS’ newly completed 42XX mixed-used project that landed on the Westside of Los Angeles earlier this summer.

Image credit: Pavel Bendov, ArchExplorer

Located in Marina del Rey, the new 151,000-square-foot development includes three buildings and an offsetting landscape program that can sequester roughly a third of the total embodied emissions of the structure.

Image credit: Pavel Bendov, ArchExplorer

The architects say the redevelopment of the 3-acre formerly industrial site into a new campus replete with EV-charging stations, bike parking spaces, a retail component, and a cris-crossing series of catwalks joins a conversation with other mass timber projects around L.A. County such as 843 N Spring Street in Chinatown and the Billie Jean King Main Library in Long Beach.

Image credit: Pavel Bendov, ArchExplorer

The linear park it created includes 12,000 square feet of landscaping and 33 mature trees mean...

Studio Gang's Verde creates an unforgettable waterfront connection in San Francisco's Mission Rock

2024-09-06T15:40:00-04:00

Studio Gang’s completed Verde mixed-use tower is turning heads in San Francisco. The latest addition to the skyline of Mission Rock, which recently includes MVRDV’s The Canyon, is a 23-story design that features 254 apartments with a competitive amenities suite and ground-floor retail and commercial spaces.

Image: courtesy Jason O'Rear

“For Verde, we wanted to create spaces where residents could connect with each other while feeling embraced by the natural beauty of San Francisco,” says Jeanne Gang. “The tower’s floorplates are carved back at the corners to create outdoor terraces that are unique across each floor. These terraces are oriented to maximize sunlight and protect from the wind while providing residents views of the surrounding city and San Francisco Bay. From the street, the alternating carved terraces give the building a rhythmic play of light.”

Image: courtesy Jason O'Rear

This rhythmic effect is added to by the selection of emerald-colored sp...

PEI Architects adds a new geometric gateway to the Shanghai Free Trade Zone

2024-08-21T12:57:00-04:00

The latest addition to Shanghai’s Free Trade Zone from PEI Architects, a two-tower scheme defined by double-laminated insulated glazing units (or IGUs) facades is moving forward.

The pair of angular 40-story towers are designed to house a hotel and office component and “separated by a taut vertical void but bound by a singular point to create a unique expression of a traditional arch structure,” according to the firm's press announcement. Two offset pyramids, a "gesture of outreach and cooperation", unite atriums at the uppermost levels. The project's total square footage will come out to just under 2 million square feet once completed. A new full-scale retrospective of I.M. Pei's influence is currently on view at the M+ museum in Hong Kong.

All images courtesy PEI Architects

Heatherwick Studio proposes hourglass-shaped volumes for Seoul shopping center

2024-08-02T14:35:00-04:00

Another mixed-use retail project from Heatherwick Studio is coming to Seoul. The newly announced Hanwha Galleria project covers an existing metro subway station with a glass atrium and two landscaped plaza areas. Two asymmetrical glass volumes resembling hourglass forms and containing gardened areas conceal its program. According to the firm's project description, the structures come sheathed in a double-skinned facade that can be programmed for nighttime projections.

Neil Hubbard, partner and group leader at Heatherwick studio, described: "Traditionally, department stores are quite inward facing, they feel closed off to the surrounding streets. But here we have an important intersection in Apgujeong with two buildings, east and west, that felt like an opportunity to bring people together."

Local studio Haeahn Architecture will collaborate on its design.

Image: Devisual, courtesy Heatherwick Studio

The project’s announcement follows Thomas Heatherwick being named as General Director...

PEI adds rhythm to the Toronto skyline with new 2221 Yonge Street design

2024-07-30T20:39:00-04:00

The latest addition to Toronto’s skyline, PEI Architects’ 2221 Yonge Street tower, is now open after a 2022 completion. New images of the 56-story design reveal the presence of cantilevered wraparound balconies leading down to a six-story podium with a grand porte-cochère and sloped garden, a facade concept which PEI’s principal Li Chung (Sandi) Pei explains as a "unique design feature, rather than as appendages to a large glassy mass." Quadrangle Architects were included on the project team for the 435,000-square-foot high-rise that includes 566 total residential suites.

It will be joined nearby by Hariri Pontarini Architects' record-breaking Pinnacle One Yonge and the proposed 55 Yonge project from Quadrangle and PARTISANS.

Photo: Kerun Ip, courtesy of PEI Architects

RIOS, Field Operations behind proposed $7B redevelopment of Chicago's United Center area

2024-07-23T19:39:00-04:00

The bigger picture of RIOS’s massive The 1901 Project proposal on Chicago’s West Side came into focus today as part of a planned $7 billion redevelopment of areas surrounding the United Center.

The 55-acre site is set to be transformed into a mix of retail, entertainment, and residential spaces over a period of ten years in a new privately funded venture that will join RIOS with Field Operations beginning in the spring of 2025.

The first phase of construction, which kicks off next year at what is now a surface parking area adjacent to the arena, will deliver a 6,000-seat music venue, a 10-acre elevated public park, new parking facilities, and a mix of retail and hospitality aimed at encouraging local businesses with a hefty sense of increased pedestrianism included.

Proposed The 1901 Project redevelopment. Image courtesy RIOS

Current situation. Image courtesy RIOS

Once that phase is complete, the plan's housing component will come into focus. The architects say this will include a mi...

Handel's 58-story ATX Tower tops out in Austin

2024-07-22T18:39:00-04:00

The forthcoming ATX Tower project in Austin from Handel Architects in partnership with Page celebrated its topping-out ceremony last week. The mixed-use, 425,000-square-foot design includes 369 high-end apartments and over 100,000 square feet of workspaces in a distinctive 58-story silhouette that captures the scale and material character of its adjoining neighbors near Republic Square.

The building will open its doors to occupants by early February 2025. The interiors for ATX Tower were created by New York-based INC Architecture & Design.

Image courtesy Ryan Companies

It will be followed by another mixed-use project — HKS's (scaled-back) Wilson Tower — and the 74-story The Waterline high-rise from KPF, which is on track to becoming the state's tallest.

Both Austin's downtown residential and office real estate markets have experienced downturns in the last year-plus, posing a considerable threat to the formerly breakneck pace of development that has transpired with the continued inc...

Safdie Architects stacks vertical gardens in new Shanghai tower complex

2024-07-22T16:07:00-04:00

Safdie Architects has shared photos of their latest contribution to Shanghai's Luwan district, the new LuOne Mixed-Use Complex, after its construction was completed in the past year.

Featuring an eight-story bronze colonnade-lined retail component and a 35-story office tower, the project “answers the pressing need for connection to nature and a place of community within Shanghai’s urban core,” in the words of Senior Partner Christopher Mulvey.

Image: Shao Feng. Courtesy of Safdie Architects.

Accordingly, the tower’s southwestern edge includes a glass-enclosed “corner garden” running vertically with a series of seven four-story garden spaces stacked to create the appearance of plant life ascending or “climbing” the length of its facade.

Image: Shao Feng. Courtesy of Safdie Architects.

The 484,000-square-foot tower was designed to complete the program, which began with the construction of the 1.5 million-square-foot retail galleria in 2018...

First renderings of KPF's major 8 Canada Square overhaul

2024-07-18T16:53:00-04:00

The plan from Kohn Pedersen Fox for a major redevelopment of the 42-story Norman Foster-designed 8 Canada Square tower in London (opened in 2003 and currently leased by HSBC) has gone public for the first time.

The project, which commences in 2027, is expected to be realized at 1.1 million square feet and showcase the most up-to-date workspaces along with a suite of amenities for workers, including leisure, entertainment, education, and cultural attractions.

Image copyright Kiasm, courtesy of KPF

KPF Design Principal Elie Gamburg said her team views this as an opportunity to “reimagine the single-use office building as a blueprint for the highly sustainable, mixed-use building of the future.” Plans are to have it serve as a connection between the nearby Elizabeth Line station and Canada Square Park. Some of the changes proposed (as noted below) are a complete retrofitting of the building envelope, plus the addition of two large setbacks and outdoor terraces leading to a rooftop vie...

Büro Ole Scheeren designs mixed-use Scenic City for Shenzhen's high-tech core

2024-07-10T17:15:00-04:00

Büro Ole Scheeren has shared images and project details of their underway mixed-used Scenic City design at the Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters Base in China.

As the new HQ for e-commerce giant JD.com, the project will feature prominently in Shenzhen’s Nanshan District when it is completed by the end of 2027. Scenic City will be realized at two million square feet after construction began in early 2022.

Image: © Büro Ole Scheeren

Reaching a maximum height of 200 meters (656.1 feet), the program comprises two towers for offices, hotel, retail, public facilities, and cultural uses connected via a podium and adjacent landscaped "urban spine."

Image: © Büro Ole Scheeren

Each tower’s facade features both vertical and horizontal voided openings that allow for the inclusion of open-air terraces meant to accommodate the region’s humid climate. This breaks apart their volumes while suggesting a contemporary ziggurat climbing vertically from the podium base to the roofline. A subtler waterfall...

Fostering community through multi-residential housing and rooftop urban farming

2024-07-03T19:02:00-04:00

Calgary-based studio Modern Office of Design + Architecture (MODA) — the winners of Canada's 2022 RAIC Emerging Practice Award — has completed a forward-thinking mixed-use development that combines multi-residential housing and urban farming to build community and foster social interaction.

Photo: Ema Peter

Called GROW, the project features 20 units of varying sizes, which are accompanied by a 0.6-acre rooftop urban farm. Additional green spaces come in the form of private gardens, vegetative roofs, and apiaries.

Photo: Ema Peter

The units suit a range of ages and family sizes, including small 450-square-foot studios, medium-sized 600-square-foot condos, 1.5-story lofts, and large 850-1,000 square-foot, two-story townhomes. This arrangement brings various demographics together, such as young professionals, students, and families with children.

Photo: Ema Peter

In addition, residents can come together by participating in all facets of farming, including...

Costco to deliver 800-unit mixed-use housing scheme to Los Angeles

2024-07-03T12:41:00-04:00

A plan from big-box giant Costco to deliver an 800-apartment mixed-use scheme designed by AO in Los Angeles is garnering some positive reviews online for its response to the city’s vexing housing crisis.

SFGate.com has more on the latest attempts to tackle the emergency, which remains at the top of a list of municipal priorities despite recent progress on the issue from several fronts.

Rendering courtesy Thrive Living

They say the five-acre development will include a "fitness area, multi-use community space, multiple courtyards and landscaped paths, a rooftop pool, and other amenities like gardens," in addition to parking spaces for both tenants and store customers. A total of 184 apartments will be set aside as affordable housing. A recent popular X post detailed the complex regulatory considerations the scheme maneuvered and contributed to its modular design. The client is Thrive Living, a privately owned developer of workforce housing.

The now 50-year-old AO is also notable for ...

Zaha Hadid Architects' XRL Topside Development construction reaches roof level in Hong Kong

2024-05-28T18:25:00-04:00

Zaha Hadid Architects has posted a new construction update on its forthcoming XRL Topside Development at the Hong Kong High-Speed Rail West Kowloon Terminus.

The project, which adds 3.2 million square feet of civic, office, and retail spaces above the existing train station, includes two pairs of towers connecting with a large landscaped central plaza area and a sculptural pavilion, each designed to resemble flower pedals and located at either end of the site.

Rendering: Superview, image courtesy Zaha Hadid Architects

Rendering: Atchain, image courtesy Zaha Hadid Architects

Construction has now progressed to the roof level of the new structures. The firm says they are targeting a LEED Platinum certification as well as other industry credentials for sustainability on the development, which also yields a total of 100,000 square feet of garden terraces.

Rendering: Atchain, image courtesy Zaha Hadid Architects

Rendering: Hayes Davidson, image courtesy Zaha Hadid Architects

UBS is said to...

MVRDV reveals tribune-shaped, mixed-use design with communal terraces

2024-05-13T11:46:00-04:00

MVRDV has unveiled its design for a tribune-shaped, mixed-use building in the Dutch city of Eindhoven. Located in the city’s revitalized Strijp-S neighborhood, the project, called the Strijp-S Tribune, includes a mixture of social housing, mid-sector rental units, commercial spots, and outdoor spaces organized through large, stepped terraces.

The building will stand along the Ketelhuisplein, a lively public square that hosts a range of events and recreational activities throughout the year. Formerly defined by its industrial presence, the area has transformed into the cultural heart of Eindhoven, with a mixture of creative companies and residents now inhabiting repurposed factories and newly constructed high-rises. This history has informed the shape of the Strijp-S Tribune.

Image: MVRDV

At its tallest, the building stands eight stories tall. It steps down to two stories alongside the plaza of the Ketelhuisplein. The stepping shape allows the structure to fit neatly with its surroun...

Oceanwide Plaza, LA's unfinished high-rise graffiti mecca, faces impending sale

2024-05-10T12:00:00-04:00

The Chinese owners of the stalled residential, hotel and retail complex towering over Crypto.com Arena have hired real estate brokers to sell the property to buyers who could restart the project after work stopped in 2019. Taggers recently covered its outer walls with graffiti visible from far away.

The LA Times also reports the brokerage firm Colliers to have submitted an application estimating the property’s current value at $485 million and stating it is still just 60% completed. Another $865 million would be required to finish the block-scale development designed by CallisonRTKL. Some had speculated it could be demolished. Costs for the cleanup of possibly the greatest graffiti takeover of recent memory have been reported at $3.8 million.

Rafael Viñoly Architects reveals first Canadian project in Toronto

2024-05-03T11:59:00-04:00

Rafael Viñoly Architects' debut work in Canada has been announced as a two-million-square-foot mixed-use development in Midtown Toronto. The four-tower, 2,364-unit scheme previewed by the firm last week was designed by its late founder before his passing and will stand as his sole Canadian project at the culmination of an undetermined construction phase that begins next year.

Rendering courtesy Binyan and Madison Group

Two 58-story structures will connect with another pair equaling 61 stories via a six-story skybridge between 90-110 and 150-164 Eglinton Avenue in the popular commercial neighborhood. A public plaza area will engage the site further with its civic context with a new amphitheater, retail spaces, and a children’s play area.

Rendering courtesy Binyan and Madison Group

MPFP Landscape Architecture will complete the landscape design for the program. Turner Fleischer Architects is listed as a collaborator. Overall, this is the third new project announced by the firm since Viñ...

Foster + Partners debuts Changfeng mixed-use development in Shanghai

2024-04-29T14:30:00-04:00

A new mixed-use design from Foster + Partners has been revealed for Shanghai’s Science and Technology Finance hub as part of the larger Shanghai 2035 master plan. Located in the city’s Putuo District, the new Changfeng development will boast an affordable housing component, retail offerings, offices, and public facilities, all centered around a 54,000-square-foot new cultural destination called Jia Art they say is inspired by the "spring blessing" flower that's endemic to the local park.

Image: Foster + Partners

A central greenway stitches the program together from the entry points on its north-south axis. Inside the arts center, which repeats the petal-like form and surrounds a central plaza, users can enjoy public areas illuminated by a crowning glass roof.

Image: Foster + Partners

Offices are located north of the central axis and include a range of collaborative amenity spaces. Multi-level terraces, double-height sky atriums, and roo...

Snøhetta's high-tech Vertikal Nydalen mixed-use project opens in Oslo

2024-04-27T10:00:00-04:00

A new mixed-use project in Oslo from Snøhetta has been completed following a nine-year design and development phase that culminated in 118,400 square feet and 18 floors with restaurants, an office component, and 40 apartment units all built in.

Vertikal Nydalen is the focal point of a new town square in the Norwegian capital and features a self-sufficient climate system bolstered by PV panels, geo-wells, heat pumps, and an advanced building monitoring system that allows user feedback to inform its controls.

Image credit: Lars Petter Pettersen/Snøhetta

The project was born out of a pilot program that combined two research efforts supported by the Research Council of Norway. It focused on enhancing the building’s ventilation strategy and helping its heating/cooling systems run with little added energy at an efficiency rate of up to 2.5 times the industry’s current leading standard.

Image credit: Lars Petter Pettersen/Snøhetta

Snøhetta's Kjetil Trædal Thorsen says: "We are proud to f...

Kengo Kuma to design new mixed-use shopping center for Miami's Design District

2024-04-24T17:36:00-04:00

Kengo Kuma Associates has shared the announcement of a new mixed-use project in the Miami Design District.

The MIRAI Design District is a $1 billion development to be realized at 65,000 square feet with 16,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and another 40,000 square feet of high-end offices located above.

Image courtesy Kengo Kuma and Associates

The development's marketing arm describes the spaces as "each in meticulously curated, modular bays for luxury brands and trophy offices," designed to "allow each brand its own identity."

From there, a "series of micro-experiences" will define the concept, which is located at the intersection of Northeast 42nd Street and 2nd Avenue. The building's two main transparent mesh facades are angled to create a mix of shadows and greet users from different angles, while the shops underneath are serviced by a wooden soffit pedestrian walkway.

Image courtesy Kengo Kuma and Associates

The design district was also recently announced as the location...

Henning Larsen plans new mixed-use civic center for Toronto

2024-04-18T13:33:00-04:00

Henning Larsen has debuted its plans for the Etobicoke Civic Centre (ECC) in Toronto, a mixed-use design within the city’s redeveloped Etobicoke Civic Centre Precinct that contains government offices and council chambers, child care center, library, public health clinic, recreation centre, and retail spaces aside a new 47,000-square-foot public square.

This project includes approximately 264,000 square feet of below-ground space and another 210,000 square feet of offices defined by a series of nine exponentially taller green-roofed buildings supported by a 300,000-square-foot podium.

Image rendering courtesy of Adamson Associates Architects, Henning Larsen and PMA Landscape Architects

The podium contains the majority of its public functions (an art gallery, healthcare component, the library, a fitness center, and multi-faith ceremony rooms). Adamson Associates and PMA Landscape Architects are also included in the design team. Construction for the project commenced this month with a c...

New HOK-designed NYCFC soccer stadium wins planning approval as part of Willets Point redevelopment

2024-04-15T15:37:00-04:00

HOK has won approvals for its proposed new stadium design at Willets Point, Queens, for the New York City Football Club (NYCFC) MLS franchise.

The go-ahead was granted by City Councilors last week as the future anchor to the larger mixed-use Willets Point Phase II Redevelopment Plan development that includes a new public school and 2,500-unit affordable housing component, along with 150,000 square feet of public spaces adjacent to Citi Field at a site formerly known as the 'Valley of Ashes.'

Rendering courtesy HOK

At a cost of $780 million, HOK will deliver a two-tiered, 25,000-seat design (the city’s first purpose-built soccer stadium) built using local materials and featuring green design strategies like PV panels and stormwater retention. According to the architects, this will allow for its operation to be all-electric and net-zero, with annual emissions reductions equal to 12% within a year of the project's inauguration.

Rendering courtesy HOK

Construction of the Willets Point Re...

Proposal to bring New York City its first dedicated professional soccer stadium is approaching approval

2024-03-23T08:00:00-04:00

New York City’s first dedicated soccer stadium is becoming closer to a reality. As reported by Gothamist, the City Council is expected to approve the final phase of an ambitious project to revitalize the long-neglected Willets Point neighborhood in Queens through a mixed-use redevelopment.

In addition to the stadium, the scheme promises to deliver 2,500 units of affordable housing, including 133 homes for homeless New Yorkers, a 250-room hotel, a public school, retail, space, and public space. Designed by HOK, the $780 million, 25,000-seat stadium will host the MLS’ New York City Football Club. It is also expected to be the first-ever fully electric soccer stadium in the MLS.

Rendering courtesy of New York City Football Club

Phase I of the project, which includes 1,100 residential units, has been approved, with construction commencing in December of last year. Approval of Phase II, which includes the stadium and more housing units, is expected to follow through the support of city ...

Construction starts on MVRDV's new Berlin mixed-use development

2024-03-17T08:00:00-04:00

Construction has begun on the MVRDV-designed LXK Office and Residential Campus in Berlin. The mixed-use complex will add needed office and residential space to a rapidly developing part of the city.

The project is located in the Friedrichshain district. It spans approximately 658,751 square feet and features abundant office, commercial, and residential space. The complex consists of two L-shaped volumes, with the residential component consolidated into a single block. The corners of each volume open up to create an accessible green, public square. This divide allows the project to integrate itself sensitively into the scale of the surroundings.

Image © MVRDV

One of the most distinguishing features of the development is its single continuous luminous band that wraps horizontally around each structure. The band unifies the fragmented structure into a single form. This component is further activated by green, accessible terraces that offer views into the surrounding city. It also hosts ...

This is what Hudson Yards West will look like, according to developers

2024-03-15T13:25:00-04:00

Details of the planned Wynn New York City resort scheme from Related Companies and the Oxford Properties Group have been released, along with new renderings and further details about the final Phase 2 building segment at Hudson Yards.

The three-tower scheme chosen from the set of alternative proposals that was released in February calls for a 1,189-foot hotel with 1,750 rooms to be placed at the northernmost edge of the site opposite a 1,366-foot office building and across a plaza area from the x-shape third residential tower, which stands at 1,172-feet will include 1,507 units. A 5.6-acre park will complete the master plan, along with a 750-seat public school and 12,250 square feet of ground-level retail.

Rendering courtesy of Related Companies and Wynn Resorts

Included in this proposal are plans for a gaming component that could potentially earn one of three coveted casino licenses up-for-grabs in the Downstate region (which includes New York City) for $500 million apiece in 2025...

10 Design completes integration with SB Architects

2024-02-21T20:16:00-05:00

10 Design and SB Architects have announced their completed integration as part of both firms' inclusion in Egis' Architecture Line, which operates 20 studios worldwide.

The integration took a reported 18 months to complete after first being announced in July of 2022, and the firm will operate as 10SB in the Americas market in the interim. 10 Design’s global brand will leverage both its expertise in mixed-use projects alongside SB’s deep hospitality portfolio for a better synergistic and cohesive offer.

Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, Puerto Rico. Image: courtesy 10 Design & SB Architects.

"The combined geographic reach and diverse design expertise of our practices create a powerful platform for multi-skilled collaboration," said Ross Milne, the CEO of 10 Design. "By uniting, we’re not only stronger in terms of expertise and talent but also in our ability to deliver projects across multiple sectors and scales, anywhere in the world."

From a project in the Miami Design District....

BIG unveils design for new Freedom Plaza development along Manhattan's East River

2024-02-12T19:35:00-05:00

Plans for a four-tower scheme designed by BIG for the east side of Manhattan have been announced by developers Soloviev Group and Mohegan in advance of its commencement in Midtown.

Their transformative Freedom Plaza project will be realized on a 6.7-acre plot near the United Nations complex overlooking the FDR Drive and East River between 38th and 41st Street at First Avenue.

Rendering by Negativ

The program calls for two pairs of hotel and condominium towers connected via a skybridge, and addressing the Queens shoreline with a landscaped park and small Museum of Freedom and Democracy forming in the ground-level plaza underneath. A total of 4.77 acres of publicly accessible space will be included therein, flanked by the 1,325-unit residential component to the southern orientation. Nearly half (40%) will be dedicated to affordable housing, according to the project announcement.

Rendering by Negativ

A casino space tied to the developer's bid for one of three available gambling license...

SOM completes Two Manhattan West, marking a major milestone for corporate office design in NYC

2024-01-31T15:18:00-05:00

SOM has completed work on their Two Manhattan West tower project to culminate the shorter second half of its $4.5 billion mixed-use Manhattan West development in New York City.

The four-year construction effort yielded a total two million square feet of new office space that was built above active railroad tracks in what the firm describes as an "extraordinary" advancement of the methods used in urban design, structural engineering, and architecture.

It joins SOM's already-completed One Manhattan West office tower and five other buildings at the eight-acre mixed-use site, which is being developed to over seven million square feet by Brookfield Properties. Design Principal Kim Van Holsbeke says it offers a "thriving new urban destination."

By extending the urban fabric of the development west to its new boundary at Ninth Avenue and 31st Street, Two Manhattan West creates a new gateway to the neighborhood backed by the four smaller buildin...

Design proposal for Miami's new tallest tower by BMA Architects submitted

2024-01-26T16:58:00-05:00

Plans for what would be the tallest tower in Miami have been put forth by a local developer seeking permission for a new high-rise building in the Brickell commercial district designed by BMA Architects.

Their proposal for a tower at 190 Southwest Street is advancing under the tentative name Calle 8. At 870 feet above sea level, it would surpass the Panorama Tower (also in Brickell) and the Aston Martin Residences Downtown for the record-setting tallest structure in Miami and the state of Florida.

Image courtesy BMA Architects

The mixed-use design is for 65 total stories. Developers are aiming for 464 residential units and considering several options, including a concert hall, for the ground-level space that’s sheathed in a perforated metal screen according to renderings that appeared in Florida YIMBY along with news of the height variance increase update to its permitting application.

Image courtesy BMA Architects

A cantilevered void with outdoor pool deck feature at the tower's mi...

MVRDV plans a new 'Green Heart' in the center of Düsseldorf

2024-01-10T20:30:00-05:00

MVRDV has released updated renderings and other details about its forthcoming Grüne Mitte (or “Green Heart”) plan that calls for a redesigned new green district in the culturally rich German city of Düsseldorf.

The firm’s plan, which entails the construction of a colorful residential component totaling 500 units (half of which are considered social housing) around a small landscaped public space from fellow Dutch designers LOLA, was the product of an intensive community input process that included members of the diverse Flingern-Süd community.

The area has been considered a "hot spot" for squatting since the end of the 1980s and features equally popular shopping spaces and a parking structure that was built only 11 years ago before the land was acquired by the developers Cube Real Estate.

Image © MVDRV

As part of that process, residents selected the Green Heart proposal from a trio of outline primers. Their solution calls for a 36% reduction in paved areas, with a new...