Tannerhecht's Icon Receives Awards.

Tannerhecht architecture is an award wining California based firm with offices in San Francisco and San Diego and have successfully completed a wide variety of projects from large scale historic renovations to multi-family residential developments.

In the summer of 2004, Tannerhecht broke ground on the "Icon," a 542,000 sq ft building located on the block bound by 10th and 11th avenues and J and K streets(actually next door to the Padre's Petco Park). The project offers 327 residences in four buildings of varying heights with a diverse unit mix of town houses, conventional flats and live/work lofts with median prices starting at the mid $300,000's. The key attraction of the design is the "Sky box" located atop the tallest tower, 24 stories high and 800ft from petco park with a maximum occupancy of 50 giving a clear view into the baseball park.

This project which was completed in april of 2007 with a grand opening on april 15th of the same year has just received the Smart Growth Award, for smart urban excellence by the urban land institute of San Diego/Tijuana and the Gold Nugget Award for Merit for the best attached for sale, high-rise by the pacific Coast builder's Conference.

Tannerhecht's Icon is a welcomed addition to San Diego's urban grid and successfully preserves and integrates the historic facade of the "Carnation building" it replaced.


Image obtained from Tannerhecht Architecture.com

Which firms really design green?

In today's building designs, sustainability and green architecture has become a key aspect that can't be overlooked with the global population climbing towards 7 billion and with constant carbon emissions and degradation of ecosystems but what constitutes a green or sustainable project? Roof top solar panels but 80% glass on the building facade? And who really designs green?

I ask myself this sometimes when I look at a completed project that has been marketed as green but then find aspects of the building that go contrary to what a green project should be. Many firms do design green and sustainable but I have found that EHDD Architecture is one of the few that does this on a constant basis and consideres this challenge as an inspiration for their designs (I don't work there nor am I related to anyone that does).

The Oxford Dictionary of Architetcture defines green architecture as: Buildings designed according to energy saving criteria and the reduction of pollution and I think that EHDD's projects embody this definition with four LEED platinum projects, one of which is the Betty Irene Moore natural sciences building at Mills College in Oakland, numerous other LEED accreditations and two AIA top ten buildings.

Scott Shell, a senior project manager at EHDD, San Francisco has worked on many LEED certified projects and has also given presentations on Design for Deconstruction (DfD), a radical movement that calls for a shift to true closed loop material cycles. This is the design of buildings and systems that can easily be upgraded or reconfigured and eventually disassembled an reused becoming truly green.

With diminishing land resources, the environment needs more conscientious design firms like EHDD to ensure that architecture is not detrimental to our ecosystems and surroundings.

Image obtained from EHDD.com

S.O.M's Al Hamara Tower nears completion

The project which broke ground in 2004 has reached 600 of its proposed 1,352 feet and is calculated to be on track for its 2009 topout and 2010 opening. The tower is to be a significant landmark in the skyline of Kuwait city and upon completion will become one of the top 25 tallest buildings in the world.

I had seen this monstrosity on youtube but had no idea SOM was responsible for the design. Yes, as someone in the architectural field I must admit that it is quite an extraordinary building and underscores just how far we've come in terms of building technology but I must ask; does Kuwait really need this 950 million dollar tower which, if the construction process has been any similar to projects of identical typology, must have already gone over budget by now?

75,900 sq feet of its entire 1,067,220 sq feet is to be retail space with an integrated theater complex to boost commercial output and become a gravitational niche but what percentage of Kuwait's population would be able to shop here?

I know the original plan was to define Kuwait city's skyline, but this tower stands so far out of its surroundings, it seems to be more of a "site intervention" than a component of the entire site.

I think SOM has put together a great building design but have ignored some urban and economical issues. Does anyone share this view point?

Images provided by flickr.com