Archinect - News

Plans for world’s tallest residential tower unveiled in Dubai

2024-04-27T08:00:00-04:00

Hospitality brand Six Senses has unveiled plans for a new residential tower in Dubai Marina, set to be the world’s tallest. Sprouting up in Dubai Marina, the Six Senses Residences will be the second Dubai location to come from Six Senses, joining the nearly-opened Six Senses The Palm Jumeirah hotel. The tower is said to boast an impressive 122 floors, when it is eventually completed in 2028.

The height of the new Six Senses Residences Dubai Marina tower is equal to the under-construction Burj Azizi tower nearby, a $1.5 billion commercial project that was announced to have broken ground in January and will be completed the same year.

Image credit: Select Group

They will become two of the world’s six 120+ story structures. Reported amenities include a 109th-floor lap pool and cryotherapy chambers, crystal sound healing room, movie theater, and spa.

Image credit: Select Group

Despite the size, only 251 high-end residences are included. The current record-holder for tallest residential building, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture's Central Park Tower in New York City, has 179 units over 131 floors.

Image credit: Select Group

WSP Middle East and Woods Bagot are reportedly in charge of the architectural design.

At least 200,000 residential structures in New York City are at risk of seismic damage: NYT

2024-04-11T17:38:00-04:00

The five boroughs are home to more than 200,000 multifamily buildings made with un-reinforced brick and built from the mid-1800s to the 1930s, according to a city hazard plan. Many rowhouses across the city neighborhoods fall into this category. Such masonry cannot bend or flex during an earthquake and would instead break or crumble. A strong earthquake could cause some buildings of this type to collapse.

Last week’s 4.8 magnitude tri-state quake wasn’t nearly as strong as the (estimated) 5.5 magnitude incident that occurred on August 10, 1884, and would have caused $4.7 billion worth of damage to the modern city, according to the New York Times.

Experts have warned that the risk posed to New York City, even after its amended 1995 building codes called for “seismic gaps” between buildings, remains at least faintly plausible.

A 2002 Times article on earthquake preparedness in the Big Apple states the probability of a magnitude 6.0 or higher event occurring even once in the next 19,500 years is still "unlikely."

The USGS-documented sinking of buildings in Manhattan, meanwhile, is happening at a rate of between 1 to 2 millimeters per year.

Frida Escobedo reveals first American residential design in Brooklyn

2024-04-04T15:16:00-04:00

Frida Escobedo’s first American residential commission has been revealed as a block-scale condominium project in the Boerum Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn.

The designer of the new Modern and Contemporary Art Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (in which she has set up a working studio) will deliver the new Bergen development at 209,000 square feet for client Avdoo & Partners by 2025.

It will stand as the second building project in the New York market for Escobedo following her collaboration with Handel on the new National Black Theatre mixed-use development in Harlem.

Image credit: DARCSTUDIO

Escobedo had gained notoriety in Mexico for residential projects, including Mar Tirreno 86, which will now inform her latest design, calling for 105 units configurable in 53 different types and ranging from studios to five bedrooms. The facade of the building is angled such that it maximizes natural light from an east-west direction, with porous openings made along the street level to produc...

New York City's first geothermal apartment complex tops out in Coney Island

2023-05-31T08:11:00-04:00

LCOR, along with energy solutions company Ecosave USA, has topped out the first geothermal apartment complex in New York City. Located at 1515 Surf Ave. in Coney Island, this project stands as the city's largest district geothermal ground-source heat pump project to date. The system aims to decrease the building’s energy consumption by over 60% compared to structures equipped with standard HVAC systems.

The project, designed by STUDIO V Architecture, received partial funding from New York’s Community Heat Pump Pilot Program. This aligns with the state's goals towards net-zero climate emissions.

The building features an array of amenities such as an outdoor pool, fitness center, landscaped courtyard, indoor handball and basketball courts, tenant lounges, co-working space, and on-site parking. A portion of the building’s residences, 30%, is set aside as affordable housing.

The expected completion date for the construction of this building is in early 2024.

A new mass timber proposal in Zanzibar would challenge Milwaukee's Ascent tower for the world record

2022-11-01T17:52:00-04:00

A proposed new residential project in Zanzibar, Tanzania, could challenge Milwaukee's Ascent tower for the title of world’s tallest mass timber structure after being unveiled to the public on October 1.

Rising 28 stories to a height of approximately 315 feet, the Burj Zanzibar is designed by the Berlin-based practice OMT Architects and will occupy a plot in the seaside city of Unguja’s Fumba Town, a roughly one-mile-wide planned “eco-town” designed by the German engineer consortium CPS to attract tech workers and businesses to the country.

In a statement to a local newspaper, OMT’s founder, Leander Moons, said it will stand as a “new ecosystem for the future of living.” The tower will reportedly feature a total of 266 residences (7 more than Ascent’s offerings) priced between $79,000 for a studio and $950,000 for the 26th-floor penthouse. Additional amenities include private garden terraces, a podium pool, and a retail component. CPS director Sebastian Dietzold added his view that ...

A nationwide shortage of garage doors leaves new residential construction projects stuck open

2022-02-18T14:56:00-05:00

A single house under construction in America today faces all kinds of problems, starting with a run on lumber, then bricklayers in demand, subcontractors with Covid, appliances on back order and plumbing fixtures out at sea. [...] The home-building industry is having the most difficult time in decades meeting demand, the sum of many pandemic complications. But this moment reaches peak absurdity with garage doors.

Architects have been active in calling to attention some of the extreme challenges put to them by the pandemic economy. Particularly, construction of new buildings has been affected by the cost and availability of lumber and other important building materials, which have risen by about 20% for most contractors between FY 2020 to 2021.

Garage doors are holding up the inspection process primarily due to the standard-fare safety mechanisms that automatically prevent the doors from closing if anything (or anyone) strays into their sensors. The delays have pushed the average construction timeline back by months. A study from John Burns Real Estate Consulting cited by the Times stated that garage doors are third behind only home appliances and light fixtures on a list of products that rely more on imported components and complex supply chains.

“It used to take us 20 weeks to build a house,” Brookfield Properties development group CEO Adrian Foley told the Times. “And now it takes us 20 w...

David Adjaye has been named as the first recipient of the Charlotte Perriand Award

2022-02-10T10:05:00-05:00

A new honor has its inaugural winner after the international Créateurs Design Awards (CDA) announced Sir David Adjaye as the recipient of the first-ever Charlotte Perriand Award.

The award goes in recognition of a living architect whose career achievements thus far have paralleled that of its namesake in their trailblazing contributions to shelter design in the industry.

Perriand was an influential figure in the world of residential building, championing the accessibility of design and the notion that quality designers can vastly improve the lives of ordinary people.

Sir David shared that she is a lifelong influence on his work, and one whose thinking and philosophy has expressions in his own designs for the Sugar Hill Development and Asem Pa project in New Orleans.

“She was really expansive in thinking about what the profession could be and und...

'Future of Construction' report forecasts construction growth to outpace the manufacturing and services sectors this decade

2021-10-12T11:43:00-04:00

Construction will be an engine of global economic growth in the decade to 2030, with output expected to be 35% higher than in the ten years to 2020, according to a new global forecast.

The report, titled Future of Construction, by Oxford Economics and Marsh McLennan subsidiaries March and Guy Carpenter projects that growth in construction output will average 3.6% per year from now until 2030, outpacing that of the manufacturing and services sectors. According to the study, this is driven by swift recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and stimulus support from governments. The spending of accumulated excess household savings and demand for residential space is also credited as a factor behind this growth.

Growth will be concentrated in China, India, the United States, and Indonesia, which will account for 58.3% of estimated global expansion. Infrastructure is expected to be the fastest growth sector for construction over the decade, driven by government stimulus plans fueling global infrastructure projects, such as the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill in the U.S.

Jean Nouvel's new residential tower in Lyon, France: Love it or hate it?

2019-09-03T13:30:00-04:00

Along the banks of the Rhône and Saône rivers in Lyon stands an unmissable new tower designed by the famed architect Jean Nouvel. The 16-story building's pastel-colored facades and angular parapet present a stark contrast to the tower's more traditional industrial and residential apartment block neighbors.

The neighborhood of La Confluence is transforming into an area filled with contemporary architecture, quite a change from its history as a formerly industrial area. Amid this graying backdrop, the new residential tower, called Ycone, gently adds a tone of color and material richness.

Image © C. Morel Journel/Ateliers Jean Nouvel

Image © Guillaume Perret/Ateliers Jean Nouvel

Nouvel has shared with the media, “the result, seen from outside, will depend on the set of constraints that get revised, adjusted, and embellished, if possible, by the story that’s brought us here.”

Stephan Novakovic of Azure Magazine notes: "Compared to the drama of many of Nouvel’s recent projects–including ...

Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects design efficient spaces for Los Angeles density

2018-08-22T13:05:00-04:00

O’Herlihy’s “same old stuff” is, in actuality, bringing plenty of fresh thinking to the issue of density at a time in which Los Angeles is building up instead of out — a time when changes in zoning, especially along transit lines, is adding more condos and apartments to the skyline, transforming the landscape of single family homes for which the city is known. Over the last 15 years, LOHA has made a name for itself by working on projects that make innovative use of tight urban spaces.

Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects (LOHA) has been designing spaces for 24 years with an array of projects ranging from residential complexes to bus stations. Rather than creating luxury living, the firm has chosen to focus on affordable housing, dormitory, and non profit projects.

Dormitory building for UC Santa Barbara by LOHA. Image: Bruce Damonte/LOHA.

Currently LOHA is working on a project in Los Angeles' Exposition Park to house homeless individuals. As Los Angeles becomes denser, more and more efficient projects like LOHA's are needed to save on space and costs. The firm aims to create affordable housing and public spaces that don't compromise on high quality work.

Extra: Read our interview with Lorcan Read our interview with Lorcan about his approach to architecture and urban design in la and detroit.

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...

BIG is proposing this "pixellated"-module housing project in Toronto

2016-02-22T18:19:00-05:00

The sentiment is warm and fuzzy. The design, however, is radical: BIG has imagined a complex that would be unlike any other building in the city – or, indeed, North America. The scheme blends an unusual stack-of-blocks form, and adds a complex weave of public and private spaces underneath and within the heart of the building itself...the effect [Bjarke Ingels] is going for is akin to 'a Mediterranean mountain town.'

More recent BIG projects:

BIG to design 2016 Serpentine Pavilion, alongside smaller "Summer Houses" by Kunlé Adeyemi, Barkow Leibinger, Yona Friedman and Asif Kahn

BIG in Paris: Bjarke Ingels to design for Galeries Lafayette on Champs-Élysées

BIG's concept for a spiraling-landscape tower in NYC's Hudson Yards

Following warehouse explosion, three new high-rises in Tianjin planned for demolition amid anti-corruption campaign

2015-12-16T18:26:00-05:00

China is reportedly planning to demolish three new high-rise [residential] buildings [in Tianjin, which] are up to 30 floors taller than originally planned...It’s the latest blow to the [city], which saw a devastating explosion at a warehouse in its port in August...state media pointed out that...the scale of illegal construction meant the building was unsafe, [deeming] the 'completely corrupt project' [as] unusable, and to be demolished was 'its destiny.'

Mark Foster Gage wants to propose this Game of Thrones-like skyscraper for NYC

2015-12-15T14:06:00-05:00

No, these images aren't for an upcoming Lego kit design or a fantasy-genre video game, although they might as well be. They're Mark Foster Gage's concept for a 102-story ornamental skyscraper nicknamed "The Khaleesi", proposed for 41 West 57th Street in NYC's Billionaire's Row.

Interestingly enough, the luxury residential tower has garnered enthusiasm that's as amusing as its Gargoyle statue-like exterior, which has been described as "regal", "visionary", and "futuristic". According to a press release from the architect, Robert A.M. Stern commented with a "WOW" in a recent email to Gage. (Interpret that as you wish.)

An undisclosed developer commissioned Gage to design the tower to envision the possibilities of ultra-luxury designs for the site. Built with a concrete frame, the 1,492-foot structure is "draped in a façade of limestone-tinted Taktl concrete panels with hydroformed sheet-bronze details and brass-tinted alloy structural extrusion enclosures," Gage writes on his website. T...

First rendering revealed for Brooklyn's first skyscraper

2015-11-10T12:57:00-05:00

[The tower proposed for 340 Flatbush Ave Ext.] will rise 1,000 feet tall, claiming the title of New York City’s tallest building outside of Manhattan, and giving Brooklyn its first legitimate supertall skyscraper...The residential component will span 466,000 square feet, and be divided amongst 550 units, with approximately 90 floors in total. There will also be 140,000 square feet of commercial development...

According to New York Yimby, "SHoP’s tower will be a dramatic improvement for both the cityscape and the skyline. With slender proportions capped in pointed, Deco-tinged accents, the building will have a notable presence without overwhelming its surrounds..."

Thoughts?

More about towers on Archinect:

As hammers clang and views vanish

Proposed Seattle Tower, designed by LMN Architects, could become the West Coast's tallest

Construction stalled on 'world's tallest building', so locals made its foundation into a fish farm

Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill selected to design Burj 2020, the world's tallest commercial tower

Work finally resumes at Brooklyn's modular prefab tower

The latest details on OMA’s Norra Tornen twin towers in Stockholm

2014-12-12T23:51:00-05:00

OMA recently revealed new details on the Norra Tornen twin towers -- formerly titled Tors Torn -- since they won the competition in 2013. The distinguishly faceted 100-meter towers, which are named Helix and Innovation, are being designed to be the third tallest twin skyscrapers in the Hagastaden neighborhood of Stockholm. The mixed-use buildings will consist of private residential apartments, a bar and exhibition space, and public amenities...The project is scheduled to break ground in 2015.

New kid on the block: SOMA's mixed-use Bobo in Beirut begins foundation work

2014-12-10T14:09:00-05:00

The distinctive BOBO building by New York-based SOMA Architects will be the new kid on the block in Beirut's Mar Mikhael district. The design SOMA came up with for the residential building, which recently began foundation work, consists of a steel exoskeleton tied to a concrete core that will cantilever over an existing house that is located at the end of a row of structures dating back to the 1920s.

BOBO's developer, Zardman, was not allowed to demolish the house's façade. To work around this condition, the house was gutted and excavated six floors underground. Once built, BOBO will have a total of 11 stories, 13 residences (including a penthouse duplex), and retail on ground level.

More images in the gallery below.

Isay Weinfeld to build first NYC-based project, Jardim

2014-09-30T21:10:00-04:00

Renowned Brazilian architect Isay Weinfeld has been commissioned to design his first NYC-based building, a 36-unit luxury condominium project called Jardim. Set to be built on 527 West 27th Street in West Chelsea, Jardim will be surrounded by other recent starchitect-designed projects like the High Line and the developing Zaha Hadid-designed luxury condo building at 520 West 28th Street.

Here are some real-estate-friendly tidbits we know about Jardim so far:

Commissioned by New York-based Centaur Properties and Greyscale Development Group, Isay Weinfeld will be responsible for the architecture and interiors of Jardim
The project will be located at 527 West 27th Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues, in Chelsea just west of the High Line.
The building features 36 condominium residences ranging from 1 to 4 bedrooms. Sales for the units are scheduled to launch in early 2015.
It will be a block-through development comprised of two 11-story buildings.
Many residences will have private outdoor...