Steel: The Latest Architecture and News

In reference to Living Steel‘s 3rd International Architecture Competition for Sustainable Housing, Glen Murcutt discusses his ideas surrounding the issue of sustainability. He emphasizes the strategies employed by the top contenders such as the planning of orientation, thermal performance, and human effort in addition to other variables involved in sustainable architecture. One particular method that Murcutt stresses is using materials that can dissolve back into the earth, citing earth walls as an excellent medium to build with and their inherent thermal mass qualities. Each team was invited to present their ideas in person, a variation from previous years which Murcutt believes led to the highest quality of work and diversity of the competition series.

The Louisiana State Museum and Sports Hall of Fame (LSMSHOF) celebrates two seemly disconnected subjects within one contemporary venue, combining North Louisiana’s profound history with its influential world of sports. Designed by Trahan Architects, in coordination with Method Design and CASE, the new $12.6 million venue will house donated memorabilia that embodies “the contributions of the diverse cultures that have shaped the state and are crucial to understanding the unique traditions and legacy of Louisiana and the Gulf South.” A complex design, generated with the help of BIM technology, reflects the disparate subjects in one fluid structure encased within a locally inspired facade.

Continue reading for more information and images.

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Since it’s opening on September 16th, the Jean Nouvel acrylic encasement and historic Jane’s Carousel has become a landmark in the heart of Brooklyn Bridge Park for New York families. The welcoming public pavilion offers spectacular views of the East River, the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, and the Manhattan skyline.

Continue reading for more detailed information and images.

Designed by Brininstool, Kerwin, and Lynch, the Beijing Core Area Master Plan is a massive civic proposal of over 27 million square feet of building area and an additional 1.5 million square feet of public space design for the Central Business District of Beijing, China. More images and architect’s description after the break.

The Greenland Zhengzhou Towers are unbuilt towers designed by Brininstool, Kerwin and Lynch in 2010. According to the architect description, the unique forms are “rooted in cultural influence, in which the massing is identifiable with the mountain formations found outside of Zhengzhou. The expression is balanced between historical symbolism and contemporary innovation.”

With an area that exceeds 6.5million square feet, this massive mixed-development was proposed to house a variety of programs, including office space and a five-star boutique hotel that occupies the top floors of the shorter tower on the south site.  BKL was involved with the design of the complex on all scales, from the site considerations the lighting design of the hotel units.  In addition to the typical hotel amenities afforded by luxury hotels (ballrooms, lap pools, spa, fitness center, etc.), the complex is decidedly Eastern, with meditation gardens and outdoor terraces. More after the break.

Opening in 2012, the $118 million steel, glass, and copper-clad expansion to Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum by Renzo Piano Building Workshop will more than double the size of the current facility. Included in the project are a new entrance, music hall, gallery space, and other amenities for an institution that has remained largely unaltered since opening in 1903.

The Providence River Pedestrian Bridge is a unique urban proposal in that the basis of its proposition is an exchange of transit medium. The relocation of a substantial, vehicular only conduit in favor of a pedestrian oriented connector will completely transform the spatial character of the Jewelry District/Old Harbor. Given this significant urban transformation, the project should envision a potential much larger than a pure connector. The proposed Providence River Pedestrian Bridge can become a spatial mediator between urban and ecological spaces and function as an integrated series of programs into the waterfront public spaces, allowing east and west to become a singular meandering public space. With this perspective, the proposal is better understood less as a bridge and more as an urban intervention. More about inFORM Studio‘s Providence River Pedestrian and Cyclist Bridge submission after the break.

A unique concept the PAS House is imagined to be a place to both live and skateboard. The skateable surface of the home, interior to exterior, fluidly moves from the ground to the wall and then to the ceiling in a continuous surface forming a tube of a 10ft diameter. The PAS House will be constructed in Malibu, California for Pierre Andre Senizerques (PAS), a former World Champion and Pro Skater as well as Founder and Owner of Sole Technology, the design by Francois Perrin and Gil Lebon Delapointe divides the home into three separate spaces; including a living room, dining area, and kitchen, the second one includes a bedroom and bathroom and the third a skateboard practice area.

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Architects: Francois Perrin and Gil Lebon Delapointe Location: Malibu, California (house); Exhibition Public Domaine/Skateboard Culture, La Gaite Lyrique, Paris, France (prototype) Client: Pierre Andre Senizergues Project Area: 2,200 sqf (house); 700 sqf (prototype) Project Year: 2011 Photographs: Mike Manzoori and Sam Mc Guire

JET Architecture in joint venture with CXT Architects and Archasia Design Group earned an Honorable Mention for the Kaohsiung Port and Cruise Service Center International Competition in September 2010. Their entry, “Openair,” ranked in the top five, advancing the scheme to the second stage of the competition. Now, they decided to submit their competition entry for the Kaohsiung Port and Cruise Service Center International Competition to Azure’s AZ AWARDS, the magazine’s first annual international competition recognizing excellence in design. The project was chosen as a finalist for the AZ AWARDS in the Concepts: Unbuilt Competitions Entries category and is eligible for the AZ People’s Choice Awards. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Here is another video from OFIS arhitekti, this time showing the making of Dot Envelope, a project which we already published back in 2008, located in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

New York based design firm, MANIFESTO, shared with Arch Daily the INFORSTRUCTURE which is the Stratford Information kiosk for the 2012 London Olympics is designed with an aim to provide the public with free and instant access to important information.

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Architects: MANIFESTO Architecture P.C. Location: Meridian Square, Stratford London, UK Client: LBN (London Borough of Newham), DfL (Design for London), London Development Agency Structural Engineer: Yoshinori Nito Engineering & Design P.C., Malishev Wilson Engineers Project Area: 240 sqm Renderings: Courtesy of MANIFESTO Architecture P.C. Design Team: Jeeyong An, Sang Hwa lee, Kiseok Oh, JiYoon Oh.

Songdo International Business District (IBD) occupies over 1,500 acres of reclaimed land on the West Coast of Incheon, Korea. This waterfront master plan includes a diverse array of programmatic elements and is designed to be a pedestrian friendly city with walkable streets and an urban density that allows for an active street life. Signature features include, the New Songdo City First World Towers, Northeast Asia Trade Tower, the 100-arce Songdo Central Park, and the Songdo City International School.

Architect: Kohn Pedersen Fox Location: Incheon, Korea Photographs: H.G. Esch, KPF, Jaesung

Architects: za bor architects / Arseniy Borisenko, Peter Zaytsev Location: Moscow Region, Russia Principal Use: recreation Engineer: za bor architects Project area: 43 sqm Project year: 2009 – 2010 Photographs: Peter Zaytsev

Architects: LAR / Fernando Romero y Mauricio Ceballos Location: Mexico City, Mexico Project Team: Ana Medina, Herminio Gonzalez, Omar Gerala Félix, Sergio Rebelo, Ana Paula Herrera, Mario Mora, Juan Pedro López, Guillermo Mena, Libia Castilla, Raúl García, Manuel Díaz, Alan Aurioles, Ana Gabriela Alcocer, Luis Ricardo García, Ivan Ortiz, Tiago Pinto, Laura Dominguez, Juan Andres Lopez, Olga Gomez, Hugo Fernandez, Jason Sidelko, Eddy Slim, Nicola, Davolio, Lee Warren, Alexander Pena, Jacqueline Hernan- dez, Kosuke Osawa, Francisco Javier de la Vega, David Hernandez, Jorge Hernandez, Joaquín Collado, Mariana Tafoya, Eduardo Benítez, Pe- dro Lechuga, Thorsten Englert, Luís Fuentes, Luís Flores, Rodolfo Rueda, Víctor Chávez, Max Betancourt, Wonne Icks, Dolores Robles-Martínez, Sappho Van Laer, Ophelie Chassin, Elena Haller, Abril Tobar, Diego Eumir Jasso, Albert Beele, Homero Yánez, Cynthia Meléndez, Hugo Vela, Susana Hernández, Gerardo Galicia, Alberto Duran, Camilo Mendoza, Dafne Zvi Zaldívar, Cecilia Jiménez, Ángel Ortiz, Raúl Antonio Hernández, Alma Delfina Rosas, Wendy Guillen, Raúl Flores, Daniel Alejandro Farías, Jesús Monroy, Saúl Miguel Kelly, Iván Javier Avilés, Cesar Pérez Client: Grupo Carso / Museo Soumaya Façade: Gehry Technologies Engineer concept: ARUP Los Angeles Project Regency: Inpros Civil Constructor: PC Constructores Project Area: 17,000 sqm Project Year: 2010

Architects: Josep Lluís Mateo / Mateo Arquitectura Location: Zeist, Utrecht, The Netherlands Project Leaders: Markus Lauber, Till von Mackensen Project Area: 25,000 sqm offices, 25,000 sqm car park Project Year: 2010 Photographs: Adrià Goula

Brittlebush was developed as a design-build experience for Simón De Agüero, graduate student, designer, and project manager. The design is an experimental desert dwelling for winter residents at Taliesin, the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture. Simón envisioned the design to be an open-air living space with protective roof and walls for the sleeping area.

Approximately 90% of the steel in the project was salvaged from the school scrap yard; 100% of the rammed earth for the walls was from the school property; 100% of the wood used for the formwork was salvaged from onsite renovation waste.

Follow the break for more images and information about Brittlebush.

Architect: Simon De Aguero Location: Scottsdale, Arizona, United States Assistant Project Manager: Erik Krautbauer Project Year: 2010 Photographs: Simon de Aguero & Saskia Jorda

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Architect: Thomas Phifer Location: Raleigh, North Carolina, USA Partner in Charge: Thomas Phifer AIA Project Partner: Greg Reaves AIA LEED AP Project Architect: Gabriel Smith AIA LEED AP Project Team: Adam Ruffin, Katie Bennett, Jonathan Benner, Eric Richey, Daniel Taft, Kerim Demirkan, Len Lopate, ChristophTimm, Joseph Sevene Local Architects: Pierce Brinkley Cease + Lee, Raleigh, NC Structural Engineer: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, Chicago, IL Mechanical Engineer: AltieriSeborWieber LLC, Norwalk, CT Landscape Architect: Lappas + Havener, PA, Durham, N.C. Lighting Design: Fisher Marantz Stone, New York, NY General Contractor: Barnhill, Raleigh NC Project Area: 136,000 sf Project Year: 2010 Photographs: Scott Frances

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Did you know that the Sears Tower (now renamed as the Willis Tower) is currently the tallest steel building in the world?

Tall steel buildings are possible thanks to Fazlur Khan, SOM engineer behind several innovations in terms of structural design. On Construction Week Online we found this list of the ten tallest steel buildings in the world, with Kahn’s buildings on the 1st, 5th and 10th place.

All the buildings after the break: