The "Absolute Towers" of Canada

Yes, that is actually what they are called and are a five tower development on the north-east corner of the crossroads of Hurontario Street and Burnhamthope Road, a gateway to the Mississauga town center in Canada. After the success of the first tower, developers announced that a fifth and final tower over 50 stories will be added to complete the project. The total area of the site is about 255,000 square feet while the total square footage of the Absolute Towers 1 and 2 are about 135,000 and 120,000 square feet respectively.

Both towers, designed by M.A.D Architects Studio have been designed with very organic convolutions that seek to not only break with the form of traditional highrises, but also relate to each other. Ma Yansong, one of the principles said of the designs, "they talk to each other and harmonize with each other. There is a synergy between them, an aura which transcends each of the individual buildings."

Also of ultimate importance in the design is the effort made to ensure that all occupants within the building have a a view. The entire 56-story building rotates by different degrees at different levels, which corresponds with scenarios at different heights. A continuous balcony surrounds the building giving adequate sunlight and ventilation.

I would say that this is a very unique design but it does really remind me of Zaha's design for the Farrer Road residential complex in Singapore. I'm all for inspiration but not when it bears a strong resemblance to its predecessor.



Image obtained from: www.arcspace.com
For more info, check: www.archinnovations.com/featured-projects/mixed-use/mad-the-absolute-towers-in-mississauga

Herzog and de Meuron Set To Redefine New York Skyline

In the fall of 2008, construction began on the 57 storey residential tower to be located on 56 Leonard Street in the Tribeca area of New York, where it will rise above cobbled streets and historic 19th century neighboring buildings. The tower will house 145 residences which have been offset and staggered so that each have their own unique floor plans and outdoor terrace, allowing this concrete structure to break away from the traditional look of buildings of similar typology. This also ensures that all residents have an unobstructed view from downtown Manhattan to as far as the Atlantic Ocean from their terrace.

The tower, set to top out in the fall of 2010, has a footprint of 12,500 square feet and a gross floor area of 425,000 square feet. Units withing the tower will range from 1,430 square feet to 6,380 square feet, huge for New York and is to include two to five bedroom residences and 10 penthouses. Prices for the residences at 56 Leonard Street range from $3.5 million to $33 million.

Herzog and de Meuron have also designed the structure to interact with the public streetscape with an articulated base whose cantilevers generate a sense of movement and permeability. Here, the building’s defining corner will be the site of a major commissioned sculpture by internationally celebrated London-based artist Anish Kapoor.

This is a very bold statement by Herzog and de Meuron and I appreciate their effort to create something unique and not just another vertically extruded tower. I am however concerned about how this structure will be braced for wind loads. Concrete does not always allow for one to be very radical at such heights but all in all, I am impressed with Herzog and de Meuron design, as always.


Images obtained from www.dezeen.com
For more information, check: www.archdaily.com/6268/56-leonard-street-new-york-herzog-de-meuron

MVDRV Wins Concept Design Competition In Seoul

Last month, the Rotterdam based architects MVDRV with Arup as structural consultants won the concept design for the proposed city center of the new future town of Gwanggyo about 36 kilometers south from Seoul, Korea.

Though still in its conceptual phase, this acropolis of organic hill structures was designed to be a self-sufficient city of 77,000 inhabitants, 200,000 square meters for housing and retail respectively and 48,000 of office space. This concentration of different programs on the site was meant to reduce the dependency on cars and public transportation as everything residents might need are all located within this striking interactive community.

Each hill was designed as concentric circles growing vertically so as to ensure that every part of the program is provided with an outdoor terrace. Hollow central cores with the structures form atriums that serve as lobbies providing light, ventilation and create semi-public spaces for the retail portion of the program. Also, plantations around the terrace with a floor to floor circulation system store rainwater for irrigation.

The design is currently being reviewed for development feasibility at the Gyeonggi provincial authority's urban innovation corporation center. Development is set for 2011 with construction set to begin short after.

This design is very striking and forward thinking in its own way even though it reminds me of a "wookie" settlement from Star Wars, but still, I appreciate the thought process of trying not to create another mixed use tower and I think the incorporation of box hedges on the terraces will improve the overall climate and ventilation as well as reduce energy and water usage.

Images obtained from www.habitat.com

Century Plaza Hotel To Be Demolished!

Just before Christmas, Michael Rosenfeld, the developer who bought the property last May for about $366.5 million revealed his plans for razing the 19 story arc-shaped hotel (far left) and erecting in it's place two 50 story towers that will cost approximately $2 billion.

For decades, the 726 room Century Hotel, designed by Minoru Yamasaki has been an integral part of American History and Culture playing host to numerous United States presidents, the successful astronauts from the Apollo 11 in 1969 and has been the location for musical events emceed by Bob Hope and singers like Andy Williams (my mother's favorite). But of cause, as a developer, Rosenfeld does not care about cultural or historical symbolism embodied in the Hotel but is seeking nothing but monetary gain.

At 600 feet, the new towers will be the tallest within the region with 300 condominiums, 100,000 square feet of office space, 106,000 square feet of retail and a 240 room luxury hotel. You would ask why Rosenfeld is seeking to undertake such a project (more high-end condominiums?) in the current economic recession where very few people are buying or indeed can afford to buy homes but his pitch to Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, was that by the completion date, set for 2015, there would be a significant economic turn-around making the project "a great opportunity to plan for the future." Mayor Villaraigossa has gone to lengths to push for the projects approval and has called it a great plan to "transform an aging hotel into an iconic destination."

I can't see what the mayor is getting all excited about. It seems that he has failed to realize that Resenfeld's financial partner in acquiring the hotel and backing the new project, D.E. Shaw Group
is among the large Wall Street hedge funds caught up in the $50 billion scandal by Bernard Madoff. Indeed, they have stopped redemption of some of their funds though Rosenfeld maintains that the firm's real estate funds were not affected.

All in all, I hope this project stalls and falls by the way side becauseI think it is important that we keep and conserve those buildings that have become part of the history of a City and Nation as a whole, protecting them from developers like Michael Rosenfeld who seek to debase the site by dynamiting a building like the Century Plaza Hotel and erecting two sterile columns with no cultural relevance or significance to Los Angeles.


For more information, check www.latimes.com/business
Images obtained from The LATIMES.COM

Candy Spelling's Record Breaking Condo

Carole Gene "Candy" Spelling, the widow of Aron Spelling and a well known civic leader in Los Angeles paid a whopping $47 million for a two story condo unit above the Century City tower still under construction.
The price for this unit comes to an amazing $2,850 per square foot, a record price for any condo unit in Los Angeles. Spelling's new abode will include a dining room for 25 guests, a 4,000 square foot master bedroom, a conservatory with a rose garden with an adjacent swimming pool.
According to Spelling's attorney, she is moving to this new unit in order to "downsize" her living space after her husbands death. It is difficult to imagine how this can possibly be a downscaling of any sort until you consider that Spelling currently resides in a 57,000 square foot 112 room mansion, the largest home in Los Angeles which she will be auctioning off within the next year after she moves into the completed condo.
This seems to be a new trend with many parents moving out of large suburban homes and into more expensive and smaller condo units within the city especially after the kids go off to college. The higher mortgage now proceeds to eat into college funds leaving young Bobby and Britney no other option than entanglement with Salliemae.
That being said, this new trend in housing has led to the continued boom in residential highrise construction and just might result in less of a demand for suburban sprawl which has been the American dream for many years.


Image obtained from www.LaTimes.com