Archinect - News

Additional renderings unveiled for Squamish First Nation's 6000-unit development in Vancouver

2019-12-06T18:52:00-05:00

The single largest private investment undertaken by a First Nation in the world could take a step forward in Vancouver next week as members of the Squamish community meet to discuss the approval of a proposed 6,000-unit residential development designed by Revery Architecture.

If approved, the 11.7-acre development would take shape in the city's Kitsilano neighborhood on triangular site located below and around the Burrard Bridge. An updated set of renderings published by The Daily Hive showcases the visionary nature of the 11-tower development, which will be built almost entirely without parking.

Most of the buildings are design with no parking. Image courtesy of Revery Architecture / Westbank / Squamish Nation.

The multi-phase development would take shape around the city's Burrard Bridge. Image courtesy of Revery Architecture / Westbank / Squamish Nation.

The Daily Hive reports that the five phase project would take shape on a starbust-shaped site that would link both to a nearby ...

Kengo Kuma's Seattle tower dabbles in façadism

2019-07-24T15:11:00-04:00

A quasi-Gothic, Kengo Kuma and Associates-designed 40-story mixed-use skyscraper could be headed to downtown Seattle's Belltown neighborhood.

The project, developed in collaboration with architects Ankrom Moisan, landscape architects Berger Partnership, and developer Pacific Virginia, will not only preserve the facade of the historic Bebb & Gould's Terminal Sales Annex building from 1915, but will also work to use the tower's massing, exterior treatments, and vertically-oriented "regulating lines" to "reinforce the strong Gothic and art deco heritage of Seattle’s downtown."

Massing diagram showing how the new building's geometries relate to the historic building. Images courtesy of City of Seattle, Kengo Kuma & Associates/Ankrom Moisan

A design review submittal to the City of Seattle runs through a variety of options for how the tower's massing might shift to highlight and relate to the Annex. The proposals all share a common trait: The five-story Gothic Revival commercial structure...

London rejects Foster+Partners' Tulip Tower

2019-07-15T14:03:00-04:00

In a defeat for Foster + Partners, London mayor Sadiq Khan has rescinded municipal approval for the 997-foot Tulip tower the architects had proposed for the city's Square Mile high-rise district.

Architect's Journal reports that a spokesperson for the mayor's office said that the tower's design was "of insufficient quality for such a prominent location," and that if built, the bulbous monolith "would result in harm to London’s skyline and impact views of the nearby Tower of London World Heritage Site."

The tower would have joined London's eclectic and growing skyline. Image courtesy of Foster + Partners.

The spokesperson added that the proposal, as currently articulated, would create "an unwelcoming, poorly-designed public space at street level.

The proposal includes using bulbous gondolas to reach the uppermost levels of the tower. Image courtesy of Foster + Partners.

The tower, which is being developed by J Safra Group, received preliminary approval from the City of London's plann...

FDNY Union says no to oversized mechanical spaces

2019-06-14T19:45:00-04:00

"It is difficult enough for Firefighters operating inside of high-rise buildings. Access to the fire area and to whatever is on fire is paramount to save lives and to protect Firefighters operating at these fires... While we acknowledge and accept the risks of our profession, we strongly oppose construction methods that are inherently dangerous that for no valid reason increase the threat to the lives of the public and our members."

The Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York has come out in strong support of state-level legislation aimed at limiting the ability of real estate developers to use "mechanical void spaces" to game zoning codes into allowing them to construct taller buildings.

In a strongly-worded memo, circulated by the Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts group, the Fire Department of New York union says, "Void spaces, often entire floors in buildings put hazardous equipment such as High Voltage Air Conditioning and heating equipment in the middle of buildings, many floors above street level. These void floors bring fire hazards into areas of a building where it is most difficult for Firefighters to fight these types of equipment fires."

New York City's "Accidental Skyline," Image courtesy of Wikimedia user Chris O.

Two legislative proposals, Senate Bill S3820A and Assembly Bill A5026A, aim to fine-tune how municipalities define a project's floor area.

Under recent gui...

A First look at OMA's Avery Tower

2019-06-14T13:41:00-04:00

The Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) has nearly completed work on their new 56-story residential tower in San Francisco, The Avery. To celebrate, the firm has unveiled a series of new photographs of the spaces that have so far been completed, including the tower's exterior, amenity areas, and penthouse.

The project, undertaken with Fougeron Architecture, HKS, Clodaugh Design, Y.A. studio, and Jay Jeffers, will bring 548 residential units to San Francisco's bustling Transbay district. Designed as a tower-and-podium scheme, the development includes a mid-block paseo that has been carved out of the site's buildable area. The walking street is overlooked by Fourgeron's contextual, apartment-wrapped podium designs. The new mid-block shopping area includes trees, native vegetation, and public open spaces, and is overlooked by apartments wrapped in industrial materials like brick and tooled stone.

Included in the project are 118 condominiums, 280 market-rate rentals, and 150 affo...

Framework Awarded $6M from City of Portland “Fast Starts” Program to Support Affordable Housing

2017-11-12T09:00:00-05:00

"By investing in Framework, our city will now be home to the first skyscraper made from wood in the United States. This project not only reflects Oregon’s leadership in the newly emerging wood products industry of Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), it also demonstrates our city’s commitment to finding innovative ways to quickly deliver affordable units during our housing crisis,” said Portland Mayor, Ted Wheeler.

LEVER Architecture's project, Framework, has been awarded 6M from the city of Portland as a recipient of the City's "Fast Starts" Affordable Housing Program. The program aims at providing financial and city level assistance in the development and deployment of affordable housing projects that aim to deliver on both the means and methods of relieving the city's housing crisis.

Plans submitted for tower to be Oakland's tallest

2017-11-01T23:38:00-04:00

"We’re trying for one tower that seems like two from some angles...to create a much more vertical expression, and not just be another slab," said Mark Donahue of Lowney Architecture

Pinnacle RED Group announced today submittal of plans to the City of Oakland for a high-rise mixed-use building, 1261 Harrison, with a dual-tower look in a single structure. At 440 feet to the roof-deck (460 when adding the architectural screening element) and 36 stories in height, it would be Oakland’s tallest building. The striking, gently curved structure will be half residential and half commercial space, offering 185 units of market-rate and affordable housing, 120,000 square feet of Class A office space, and 12,000 square feet of commercial/retail space including an innovative ‘locavore’ market hall with regionally-sourced food and maker entrepreneurs. 1261 Harrison is one of Oakland’s only mixed-use vertical communities to include commercial space as well as market-rate housing and affordable housing onsite.

Perceived dual-tower of 1261 Harrison is a single structure. Credit www.RobertBecker.com and Lowney Architecture

“1261 Harrison Street will be a transformational live/work...

So-called "parking podiums" are aesthetically ruining downtown Los Angeles

2017-04-18T13:58:00-04:00

As L.A. pats itself on the back for its freshly angular skyline, a new architectural trend — enabled by another city ordinance — threatens to turn the beating heart of modern Los Angeles into a cold, lifeless and unwalkable place.

This excellent piece by the aptly named Steven Sharp delves into the uglification of downtown Los Angeles via the "parking podium," wherein large buildings dedicate their first few floors to a parking garage to meet code requirements for parking, thereby plunging the pedestrian realm back into an unwelcome "City of Quartz" vibe. Putting the parking in the first few floors is cheaper than digging underground or creating surface lots, but honestly: ugh!