Archinect - News

MVRDV and Orange Architects introduce master plan for new mixed-use district in Kyiv

2023-11-27T13:58:00-05:00

MVRDV and Orange Architects have announced a new master plan for a mixed-used district in Kyiv, Ukraine, that's meant to spark a revitalization of the capital’s downtown commercial area.

The design for the NUVO complex calls for a five-building mix of new structures united by a central shared infrastructure and connecting to a planned high-speed rail extension. The plan will increase pedestrianism in the area while tying its development to core principles of sustainable building and green design, the architects say. The project features a palette of local materials to “showcase” the architectural products of manufacturer (and the property's developer) Kovalska and expands on a pre-Russian-invasion master plan from APA Wojcehowski Architects.

Rendering: Wizard 3D Studio, image courtesy MVRDV and Orange Architects

MVRDV’s portion calls for a pair of new buildings to be designed around potential future adaptations. The larger, L-shaped 18-story tower uses flexible floor plans to offer ...

MVRDV's new demountable science building has over 120,000 reusable components

2023-05-25T19:36:00-04:00

Construction of MVRDV’s Matrix ONE project, a laboratory and office building in the heart of Amsterdam Science Park, has been completed.

The six-story, 140,000-square-foot structure is the largest of seven buildings that now make up the Matrix Innovation Center, a site for scientists and entrepreneurs to develop sustainable solutions for current and future issues.

Image: MVRDV / © Daria Scagliola

As the main hub at the Center, Matrix ONE aims to be a guiding example to the other buildings at the Amsterdam Science Park. The building was made to be demountable, in which connections such as screws and bolts allow elements to be detached and reused. In addition, its floors are made using prefabricated concrete slabs with no fixed connections.

Image: MVRDV / © Daria Scagliola

The platform Madaster was used to provide a material passport system that registers all the materials and products incorporated in the building. It provides insight into the carbon dioxide storage for over 120,000 ...

HENN’s massive new Zoomlion headquarters breaks ground in China

2022-05-19T12:29:00-04:00

The latest in a lineage of corporate headquarters designs that dates to 1965 is officially underway in China’s Hunan Province, the product of a multi-year collaboration between HENN and the heavy manufacturing giant Zoomlion.

The Z-shaped design includes a museum, data center, and even sports facilities for workers of new the 311,000-square-meter (3.34-million-square-foot) industrial park. Project leader Hua Qiao described its form as an “immense, cut stone floating above its natural surroundings.”

Once realized in 2023, the Zoomlion headquarters will eventually join HENN's Zalando BHQ-Z project that recently topped out in Berlin in its growing portfolio of major corporate designs.

Image courtesy HENN

Per the architects, the new park “balances the client’s production needs with a sensitivity to its rural context, the geometric Headquarters blends into the hilly and densely wooded Changsha green-corridor. Made from white concrete, the classic ar...

Suburban office parks vie for renewed relevance

2019-12-05T15:45:00-05:00

Efforts to modernize suburban campuses can be as basic as organizing placemaking activities like after-work concerts or food truck Fridays. Usually, though, they require a much deeper investment in elements like upgraded lobbies, outdoor furniture, ball courts, fitness centers, grab-and-go cafes, greenways, bike storage facilities and open-plan offices that let in substantial natural light.

In her NYT piece about the renewed commercial interest in the suburban office park typology, Amanda Abrams takes a closer look at the latest investments and transformations at North Carolina's Research Triangle Park.

"After all, with downtowns everywhere becoming increasingly expensive," writes Abrams, "workers are starting to look farther afield, to areas with affordable homes and good schools."

Aging office parks are making a comeback as (sub)urban residences

2017-08-07T14:00:00-04:00

From the rooftop terrace of their new townhouse, Keisuke and Idalia Yabe take in their suburban Maryland neighborhood: a staid, 1970s-era office park of glass office buildings and concrete parking garages. The Yabes say they have found the advantages of urban living in a shorter commute and the ability to walk to shopping centers and a park. They also have what feels like the best of suburbia — mature trees, plentiful parking, Bethesda’s sought-after schools and a more affordable mortgage.

"[...] suburban office parks have plenty to offer residential developers," The Washington Post explains. "Many are close to major roads and near top-ranked public schools, and their sprawling campuses and vast parking lots provide land that has become increasingly scarce in lucrative areas."