Archinect - News

MVRDV’s jagged Grotius Towers scheme debuts in The Hague

2022-07-21T15:58:00-04:00

Five years after being first announced, Dutch mainstay MVRDV’s Grotius Towers apartment scheme has been completed in The Hague, the country’s third largest city.

In a project announcement, the studio described their new creation rather accurately as “an eye-catching new addition to the skyline of The Hague.” It is defined by two 100- and 120-meter-tall (328 and 393 feet, respectively) towers that “crumble” asymmetrically from the top down, combining with a series of setbacks and stacked terraces to create a distinctive jagged massing carefully placed on a lot adjacent to the city’s Central Station.

Image © Emmely van Mierlo

Per the design team: “With façades of natural stone and sustainable composite bamboo, gas-free homes, and approximately 1,500 bicycle parking spaces (in addition to 244 for cars), the Grotius Towers are also sustainable. In the design, attention was paid to energy efficiency in the form of good insulation and heat recovery systems. The towers are also multifunctio...

On the mystery and magic appeal of LA's iconic visual language

2022-05-19T16:51:00-04:00

The apartment signs of L.A. announce location through flair, decadence, strangeness, absurdity, signification. When you see an otherwise unremarkable name affixed to a building in your neighborhood, you know — probably to the exact number of paces or miles, if you counted — how much further your intended destination is. That’s the thing about L.A. apartment signs — they point you toward where you need to be: home.

The LA Times has a really cool new series I am personally obsessed with wherein the “architecture of everyday life” is explored in and around the city. In this iteration, the Times’ style editor Ian Blair waxed poetic about LA’s midcentury typographical elements, best embodied on the facade of Paul Revere Williams’ iconic Beverly Hills Hotel, that are now synonymous with the visual imagination of Southern California feted by David Hockney and so many others.

Image courtesy Joe Wolf via Flickr (CC BY 2.0).

Blair spoke to the alien nature of the language contained in apartment typeface, commenting on their need to communicate intimations of luxury and class in a way in which words alone become a most effective means of conveying the interiority of space (no matter how illusory).

“Apartment signs affect us because of the amount of effort put into the premise: Please stop, look, come inside, see if you desire to belong here. There’s innuendo baked into the concept; the main selling poi...

Chicago's Vautravers Building makes a move, literally

2021-08-09T14:37:00-04:00

On August 2, Chicago's Vautravers Building was moved to make way for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)'s Red and Purple Line modernization. Thanks to Preservation Chicago, the building was pushed to be a city landmark since its location makes it a part of the Newport Avenue District. Homes that were built between 1891 and 1928 received landmark status and are protected from being demolished. To preserve the building and improve transportation within the area, the CTA made careful plans for the move.

According to a report by Nina Molina from The Chicago Sun-Times, "The move is necessary because when the Red Line tracks were built in the early 1900s, the owner of the three-story building refused to sell, so the tracks were built around it. Red Line trains traveling between Belmont and Addison now must slow down around the bend that curves around the structure at 947 Newport Ave."

The CTA's Red-Purple Modernization Twitter profile provided footage of the historic move.

The Historic #...

Manhattan apartment glut reaches 13,000 units

2020-08-14T13:40:00-04:00

The number of vacant apartment buildings in Manhattan continues to grow as the effects of a recent construction boom and the COVID-19 crisis converge within the city's real estate market.

CNBC reports that the number of apartments for rent, or listing inventory "more than doubled over last year and set a record for the 14 years since data started being collected," highlighting the fact that the number of new leases signed over the last year has fallen by 23%.

Previously on Archinect. "Condo-boom hangover: More than a quarter of NYC's new units remain unsold." Photo: Maciek Lulko/Flickr

Jonathan Miller, CEO of Miller Samuel, the real estate appraisal firm that authored the study cited by the report, tells the CNBC, “The outbound migration is higher than the inbound migration right now."

While talk of excess supply in the city's real estate market has been on the rise in recent years, with most critics citing the region's overdevelopment of luxury high-rise apartments and condominiums...

Dallas-Forth Worth surpasses Seattle, New York in apartment-building spree

2019-09-10T19:59:00-04:00

This year, Dallas-Fort Worth metro leads with a total of 22,196 new units expected to be built, which will prove beneficial considering the 131,800 new residents that the metro added between 2017 and 2018 (based on U.S. Census estimates).

Although the total number of apartments planned for 2019, roughly 300,000 units, is down from last year, construction for these types of projects has reached a record pace over the last decade not seen since the 1970s and 1980s. RentCafe reports that over 2.34 million apartment units have been delivered nationwide since 2009.

After 11 years, Henning Larsen's award-winning the Wave project finally completes

2018-12-27T14:26:00-05:00

After eleven years of construction, Henning Larsen's undulating apartment complex in Vejle, Denmark has finally completed. Interrupted in 2008 when the project was put on hold in the wake of the global financial crisis, the Wave apartment building has already won numerous awards—including an ABB LEAF Award for innovative architecture in 2012 and the prestigious Civic Trust Award in 2013—long before its realization.

Photo Credit: Jacob Due

The distinctive residential building features five iconic crest-shaped towers, inspired by the waters of Vejle Fjord and the surrounding rolling hills, which are a unique sight in Denmark's otherwise fairly flat landscape. “There is only one place in the world where this building can be, and that is at the harbor front in Vejle," says architect Søren Øllgaard, Partner and Design Director at Henning Larsen.

The first two towers, each hosting 20 apartments, were completed in 2008, with the three remaining resuming in 2015 and ju...

Moscow apartment buildings come to life with facade featuring The Great Wave off Kanagawa

2018-12-20T14:15:00-05:00

A series of apartment buildings in Moscow have been covered with iconic Japanese artwork. Part of the Etalon City apartment complex, the architects had the 6 towers placed along the highway painted with a replica of The Great Wave off Kanagawa—Katsushika Hokusai’s famed woodblock print—spanning the 60,000 square meter facade.

Behind, the other buildings making up the complex have been given colorful patterns inspired by other cities including New York, Chicago, Barcelona, and Monaco. Splashes of yellow, blue, orange, and green cover three zigzagged apartment towers, while the public areas and landscape design will also pay homage to various locations.

The massive housing development is located in the south-western region of Moscow, and includes retail, social facilities, and a science park.

New social housing project in Paris features a balcony network design

2018-09-11T15:19:00-04:00

A new social housing project by Hardel Le Bihan Architectes was recently completed this year in Paris near the Clignancourt University campus. The 63 housing unit structure is part of a larger development comprised of two apartment buildings and a university cafeteria.

Croisset Social Housing by Hardel Le Bihan Architectes, located in Paris. © Schnepp Renou

In line with the growing greenbelt, the firm created a large, south-facing open area at the middle of the development and a meadow on the roof of the restaurant.

Croisset Social Housing by Hardel Le Bihan Architectes, located in Paris. © Schnepp Renou

The project aims to give new language to the architecture of social housing. With a compact design, the structure is elongated by a second, lightweight skin highlighting its verticality.

Croisset Social Housing by Hardel Le Bihan Architectes, located in Paris. © Schnepp Renou

The network of balconies orchestrates a facade pattern of single and double heights following the floor plan g...

World's tallest Passive House completed by VArquitectos in Spain

2018-09-05T15:53:00-04:00

The recently completed Bolueta high rise by VArquitectos is now the tallest reaching Passive House building in the world. Located in Bilbao, Spain, the project includes an adjacent 9-story building with 63 apartments dedicated for social housing.

Bolueta by VArquitectos, located in Bilbao, Spain. Image: VArquitectos.

All apartments in the taller, 32-story building have been sold with residents now moving in. Achieving the energy efficient Passive House Standard means Bolueta will consume about 90% less heating energy than an existing building, and about 75% less energy than an average new construction.

Bolueta by VArquitectos, located in Bilbao, Spain. Image: VArquitectos.

Like all Passive House buildings, the design features a high amount of thermal insulation, triple-glazed windows, and an airtight building envelope to take the place of a classic heating system.

Win “Dingbat 2.0”, a critical study of L.A.'s most ubiquitous vernacular typology

2016-10-24T12:00:00-04:00

Dingbat 2.0: The Iconic Los Angeles Apartment as Projection of a Metropolis is the first full-length critical study of the dingbat apartment, the stucco-clad boxy “building code creature” that is the Southland's most ubiquitous and mundane vernacular typology. Co-edited by Radical Craft founder Joshua Stein and architect and educator Thurman Grant, the book is the latest initiative in the Dingbat 2.0 project, following the LA Forum's 2010 Dingbat 2.0 competition.

The nearly 300-page publication features essays by figures like Barbara Bestor, Aaron Betsky, Dana Cuff, John Kaliski, the editors themselves, and more. It also includes a Dingbat Field Guide, a fun-to-read section of critical responses and comments from both architects and non-architects, and winning entries of the Dingbat 2.0 competition.

Thanks to DoppelHouse Press, Archinect is giving away five copies to our readers!

Joshua Stein and Thurman Grant took a moment with Archinect to share more details about the book. Read on f...

What kind of housing will Shigeru Ban's "tallest timber hybrid" add to Vancouver?

2016-07-20T12:50:00-04:00

Details are scant, there's only one rendering, and yet according to on-the-nose-named developer PortLiving, Shigeru Ban has designed the world's tallest timber hybrid apartment complex. Called Terrace House, the sloping glass-encased, timber-framed, concrete and steel-cored building will eventually tower over Vancouver's waterfront. No word on whether this apartment complex will be adding affordable units or more luxury condominiums to Vancouver's bracingly expensive housing market.

For more on the resurgence of timber as chic building material:

The optical illusion behind Copenhagen's Bryggeblomsten residential tower

2016-06-15T13:43:00-04:00

With a floor plan designed around the concept of petals furling outward from a flower's stem the anodized bronze-toned aluminum and glass tower known as Bryggeblomstem ("the Brygge Flower"), has been granted the "Best Residential Building" award by the Copenhagen Municipality. The 8,100 square foot, 15-floor, 58-unit apartment building designed by Mangor & Nagel architects makes use of natural light to create well-illuminated apartments with views of the city, the harbor, and the surrounding landscape.

In a press release, the architects stated that they purposefully rotated the floor plans thirty degrees relative to each other to increase the number of corners and corresponding vertical lines, thus using an optical illusion to make the building appear taller than it actually is.

Claus Jørgensen, creative director and architect at Mangor & Nagel's Copenhagen office, noted that "I'm really pleased with our floor plan design. The result is some extremely well-appointed apartments that ar...

Inside the Zaha Hadid-designed $50 million High Line penthouse

2016-05-25T14:00:00-04:00

The cherry atop 520 West 28th, Penthouse 37 contains five bedrooms and six-and-a-half bathrooms, including a corner master suite with two windowed dressing rooms and his-and-hers baths nestled on its lower level, which also houses three guest en-suite bedrooms, a utility room, and a wet bar.

Running at a little over $7,269 a square foot, Zaha Hadid's one and only High Line-adjacent luxury penthouse design features a sinuous metal exterior with floor to ceiling glass windows between 10th and 11th avenues in Chelsea. Ismael Levya Architects worked with Zaha Hadid Architects to create the 39-unit condominium, which offers starter units at $25 million.

The latest on Zaha Hadid Architects:

An apartment boom grows in Brooklyn

2015-12-01T13:07:00-05:00

New York’s Kings County is likely to have the most new apartment units delivered in 2016 of any submarket in the U.S., by Axiometrics’ estimation. Some 6,073 units have been identified for delivery in Brooklyn next year as of Nov. 16, a huge increase from the 969 that came to market this year. [...] renters are able to pay the submarket’s average effective rent of $3,823 (asking rent minus concessions), according to October apartment data.

More news from the borough:

Blair Kamin not impressed by Chicago's latest housing developments

2015-04-15T15:28:00-04:00

This is a tale of two new West Loop high-rises and what they say about Chicago's apartment building boom, which has restored construction cranes to the skyline but has yet to give us architecture with a capital "A." The buildings — the underwhelming Arkadia Tower in Greektown and the better-than-average JeffJack Apartments west of Union Station — are the latest products of the construction surge [...].

Different city, similar lament: Jeff Sheppard calls downtown Denver's new housing developments "meaningless, uninspiring". Is bland the new dogma?

Should tenants pay for earthquake retrofitting costs?

2014-02-25T20:17:00-05:00

The city of Los Angeles is considering a proposal from Councilman Bernard Parks that would pass the cost of retrofitting apartment buildings on to tenants. Currently, only 50% of major renovation costs may be passed along to tenants, with landlords and building owners paying the cost of retrofitting.

NL Architects completes B05 “Kuifje” in Nieuw Crooswijk, Rotterdam

2013-12-11T12:29:00-05:00

After three years of construction, NL Architects' B05 Kuifje is now complete. Nicknamed Tintin, B05 is located in Nieuw Crooswijk, a residential area near the city center of Rotterdam and the Kralingse Bos park. With its "deformed" silhouette, Tintin was constructed as part of an urban plan by West 8 to redevelop the area into a distinct cityscape.

Here are a few photos of "Tintin":

Photos by Luuk Kramer.

Downtown Brooklyn's Residential Boom Adds Height, Lacks Good Looks

2013-07-16T18:44:00-04:00

The last several years have seen a series of tall towers sprout from the Downtown Brooklyn skyline, but [...] these new edifices leave much to be desired in the looks department. The title of the borough's tallest building keeps passing from one development to the next, but none of these buildings—the Brooklyner, 388 Bridge Street, or Avalon Willoughby West, to name a few—offer any architectural integrity.

A little of the less-than-beautiful Downtown Brooklyn buildings that are dominating the borough's skyline, from tallest to shortest.

Archinect - News

MVRDV’s jagged Grotius Towers scheme debuts in The Hague

On the mystery and magic appeal of LA's iconic visual language

Chicago's Vautravers Building makes a move, literally

Manhattan apartment glut reaches 13,000 units

Dallas-Forth Worth surpasses Seattle, New York in apartment-building spree

After 11 years, Henning Larsen's award-winning the Wave project finally completes

Moscow apartment buildings come to life with facade featuring The Great Wave off Kanagawa

New social housing project in Paris features a balcony network design

World's tallest Passive House completed by VArquitectos​ in Spain

Win “Dingbat 2.0”, a critical study of L.A.'s most ubiquitous vernacular typology

What kind of housing will Shigeru Ban's "tallest timber hybrid" add to Vancouver?

The optical illusion behind Copenhagen's Bryggeblomsten residential tower

Inside the Zaha Hadid-designed $50 million High Line penthouse

An apartment boom grows in Brooklyn

Blair Kamin not impressed by Chicago's latest housing developments

Should tenants pay for earthquake retrofitting costs?

NL Architects completes B05 “Kuifje” in Nieuw Crooswijk, Rotterdam

Downtown Brooklyn's Residential Boom Adds Height, Lacks Good Looks

World's tallest Passive House completed by VArquitectos in Spain