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David Adjaye’s Financial District condo at 130 William Street has made significant progress since construction started earlier this year. New construction site photos by Field Condition are giving us the first peak at the distinctive hand-cast concrete facade.
The photos also offer a peek at the bronze-accented frames of the windows—this bronze theme will continue in the apartments with Adjaye also designing many of the interior fixtures that will be done up in burnished bronze.
— Curbed NY
Curbed New York has some fresh construction photos of the David Adjaye-designed 800-foot, 66-story 130 William Street condo tower where workers are currently installing the building's most striking feature, the hand-cast concrete facade with its bronze-trimmed window frames. Find the full set... View full entry
Billionaire mortgage mogul and real estate maven Dan Gilbert's skyscraper slated for downtown Detroit may grow by more than 100 feet to 912 feet tall, Crain's has learned.
While the final height has not yet been determined, Joe Guziewicz, vice president of construction for Gilbert's Bedrock LLC, confirmed that it will be taller than the 800 feet that was previously announced as the company looks to get "the most flexibility for how we use it and how we program it."
— Crain's Detroit Business
Designed by Hamilton Anderson Associates and SHoP Architects, the massive Hudson's Site mixed-use development broke ground in 2017 and occupies the long-vacant site of the iconic J.L. Hudson's department store in downtown Detroit—in its heydays, the world's tallest department store but... View full entry
As Lake Point Tower, once the world’s tallest all-residential high-rise, celebrates its 50th anniversary this weekend, it’s an apt time to reflect on its legacy. The 70-story condominium tower, which sits just west of Navy Pier at 505 N. Lake Shore Drive, is both hero and villain, though it is more the former than the latter. — Chicago Tribune
Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin looks back at the history and the significance of Lake Point Tower; as he calls it "by all accounts a spectacular and rare object — a poetic expression of curves in a city that worships the right angle." View full entry
Two historic New York City theaters are getting ready to shine brightly under the Times Square spotlight once again. This week, developers behind the Times Square Theater and the Palace Theater, unveiled ambitious renovation and expansion plans for their establishments. — ny.curbed.com
The Palace Theater redevelopment includes raising the structure about 30 feet to accommodate retail space below and an 18,000 square foot wraparound sign. The existing DoubleTree hotel above the theater will be demolished to be replaced by a 46-story tower including retail, dining, and a... View full entry
Studio Gang reveals a new, 400-foot tall residential tower called "MIRA" for San Francisco's Transbay neighborhood. The building features classic bay windows staggered in a twisting design around the structure. "MIRA" high rise rendering by Studio Gang, located in San Francisco. Image: Studio... View full entry
Those who have a fear of heights might not want to look down next time you go up to the Space Needle. One of the centerpieces of the landmark’s massive remodel, designed by Olson Kundig, is now complete: a rotating glass floor, allowing visitors to look down at the 500 feet between them and the ground. — Curbed Seattle
After receiving a massive $100 million Olson Kundig-designed makeover, the 55-year-old Seattle icon recently reopened to the public with an improved visitor experience, enhanced views (floor-to-ceiling glass panels further opened up the 360-degree views of the Puget Sound), and, what it claims... View full entry
As more skyscrapers rise to fill the skylines of Chinese cities, it’s getting harder to come up with original designs to stand out.
That prompted a novel idea: How about a 350-foot waterfall on one side of the building?
The waterfall was built as part of the Liebian Building in Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province in southwest China.
— Fortune
Fortune reports that "the waterfall has generated some local controversy because the electricity needed to power its four pumps costs 800 yuan, or about $118, per hour—although the building’s managers say that the waterfall will run only on special occasions and use recycled water from rain or... View full entry
A 56-storey tower called The Diamond is set to join the growing cluster of skyscrapers in the City of London and will be the financial district’s third-tallest building when completed.
The planned 263.4m tower at 100 Leadenhall Street will rank behind 1 Undershaft at 290m, nicknamed the Trellis, where work is yet to start, and 22 Bishopsgate, the reworked Pinnacle at 278m, which is under construction.
— The Guardian
Image: The Diamond.The City of London's third-tallest building has just received planning permission, and it will be somewhat of a déjà vu: the SOM-designed, wedge-shaped 56-story tower, officially called The Diamond, is going to sit right next to Richard Roger's Cheesegrater—London's OG wedge. View full entry
Speculations for the topping out of the 73-story 30 Hudson Yards have been swirling for the last couple months, and now the fateful day has finally arrived. [....] YIMBY received confirmation that the tallest building of the Hudson Yards mega-development has finally reached its pinnacle, with an American flag rising above the building’s parapet. — New York YIMBY
Visualization of the Hudson Yards development with the KPF-designed supertall 30 Hudson Yards tower in the foreground. Image: KPF.Now only 50 Hudson Yards remains to be finished from the phase one batch of Hudson Yards towers. "Phase two will see the construction of several new retail... View full entry
Move over Wilshire Grand: A planned 77-story skyscraper wants to be the tallest building in Los Angeles and west of the Mississippi. That’s no accident.
Unlike the Wilshire Grand—which was, purportedly, not intentionally planned to be the tallest tower in the city or beyond—this skyscraper was definitely intended to a record-holder, says Jeff DiMarzio, whose firm DiMarzio Kato Architects is designing the project at Figueroa and Third in Bunker Hill.
— Curbed LA
Downtown Los Angeles is reaching for new heights: last week, the $1-billion, 88-story Angels Landing Development submitted plans to the city, and now another (potentially) supertall tower vis-à-vis the iconic Bonaventure Hotel has been proposed by Chinese developer Shenzhen New World Group. ... View full entry
Progress on the second highest tower in the Hudson Yards mega-development has reached a milestone. 35 Hudson Yards has officially topped out at 1,009 feet. Now that it has reached that height, it is the ninth tallest structure in New York City and 19th tallest in the United States. Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group are responsible for the development. Next door, 30 Hudson Yards is tantalizingly close to topping out, but the milestone has not yet officially occurred. — New York YIMBY
Rendering of what the completed 35 Hudson Yards will look like. Image courtesy of Related-Oxford. View full entry
Concrete placement work for Dubai Creek Tower's pile cap has been completed two months ahead of schedule.
A 20m-thick, multi-layered pile cap has been developed for the $1bn (AED3.67bn) Dubai Creek Tower, which is part of the 6km2 Dubai Creek Harbour master development.
The pile covers and transfers the load to the foundation barrettes.
— constructionweekonline.com
Image: Emaar Properties. Up to 16,000 tons of steel reinforcement, reportedly twice the weight of the Eiffel Tower, have been buried in the sandy Dubai ground to support (what has been promised to become) the world's tallest tower at a yet to be disclosed height: the Dubai Creek Tower designed by... View full entry
The long-awaited vision for the 2.2-acre site along the Chicago River and Lake Michigan, unveiled in the first community meeting for the project, is toned down a bit from the 2,000-foot-tall Spire plan that stirred emotions but never advanced beyond a 76-foot-deep foundation hole. The design, by One World Trade Center architect David Childs, includes a south tower rising 1,100 feet and an 850-foot north tower. — Chicago Tribune
Ever since work on Santiago Calatrava's 2,000-foot-tall Chicago Spire came to a halt in 2008 due to financial troubles, the city was left with a gaping hole in the ground rather than the nation's tallest building. Rendering: Related Midwest.A new proposal by Related Midwest for a pair of towers... View full entry
The 16,000 people who work in and visit Willis Tower each day could soon be spending less time on their elevator rides in Chicago's tallest building.
A five-year project to upgrade the tower's 83 elevator shafts -- and replace 97 passenger cabs, as some shafts have two-level elevators -- will start in June, according to the building's owner, Blackstone Group's Equity Office, and elevator firm Otis.
— Chicago Tribune
This major upgrade is expected to significantly reduce trip times as well as energy consumption (by as much as 30-35%), according to Equity Office and Otis. The 110-story Willis Tower—once ranked as the world's tallest building for nearly 25 years—hasn't undergone such an enormous overhaul... View full entry
In some places, the tower block has never faded from view. The history of mass housing in eastern Europe is complex and uncomfortable. Yet what’s striking is how prominently the tower block features in the work of contemporary photographers from that territory. These artists have every reason to turn their backs on such buildings. They’re ugly and overbearing, not to say reminiscent of an authoritarian past. But the mass housing block is a recurring presence in their work. — Calvert Journal
Writer and critic Ekow Eshun provides a beautiful overview of the tower block as a recurring architectural, social, and aesthetic theme in the works of post-Soviet-era photographers in Russia, Serbia, the Baltic states, and throughout Eastern Europe. "However ugly and monolithic such buildings... View full entry
