Central Saint Giles, London, UK – May 12, 2010 – The completion of Renzo Piano’s mixed-use devlopment in Central Saint Giles London was marked by the unveiling of two new sculptures. The development is 500,000 sq. ft. and is primarily office space.

The building consists of  400,000 sq ft of office space, 56 private apartments, 53 affordable homes and 10 new restaurants, all of which are situateded around a newly created piazza.

World renowned architect Renzo Piano takes the use of color in architecture to a new level. The striking landmark building is clad with ceramic tiles in bold shades of yellow, orange, green and red. Central Saint Giles is Piano’s first completed building in the UK.

It is one thing to add bold colors to a project, but the true genius of Piano is the material used for the cladding. Ceramic panels which are elegantly detailed. it is in the nature of the creamic to be painted. Piano makes a bold statement and still remains true to the material.

For more information about this project please visit World Architecture News and Renzo Piano Building Workshop

The Design for the Main Library, Focuses on LEED accreditation

Baton Rouge, LA, USA – April 24, 2010 – The Library Design Collaborative, a Joint Venture comprised of Baton Rouge Architects; Cockfield Jackson, Tipton Associates and PSA Dewberry, has met recently to evaluate the progress of the new Main Library at Independence Park.  the team is eager to break ground on the project, which has been underway for almost half a decade. The $43.5 million dollar project has been through many design iterations and has had a high community involvement.  The new three story library will act as a centerpiece for the park, allowing for an intimate relation to nature and connection to the site. The existing building will be demolished and serve as a parking lot, from which patrons will enter the proposed 100,000-square-foot library through a partially covered pedestrian quad called Thought Square, which will also provide access to an adjacent cyber cafe and botanic gardens on the north side of the park.

Currently the Library Design Collaborative is focused on the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) details of the project, which they attribute to the delay of construction. Well worth the wait, the accreditation will ensure the thoughtful design that will produce an efficient and beautiful library that will serve as the hub for the East Baton Rouge public library system.  Below are some of the LEED accreditation points at hand.

• Improving the quality and reducing the quantity of storm water runoff.

• Reducing the heat-island effect of the roof surfaces and paved areas.

• Controlling light pollution from site and building lighting sources.

• Using water-efficient landscaping through the installation of indigenous plant species.

• Reducing potable water usage in the building and landscape irrigation systems.

• Selecting HVAC system refrigerants that reduce ozone depletion and global warming.

• Optimizing the energy performance and reducing the energy usage of the building through the strategic use of wall and roof insulation, selection of glazing systems and sunscreens, and appropriate building solar orientation.

• Collecting and disposing of recyclable consumer products.

• Diverting construction waste from landfills.

• Selecting building products that contain recycled material.

• Selecting building products that can be obtained regionally.

• Indoor air quality management during construction and before occupancy.

• Using low VOC-emitting materials, such as adhesives, sealants, paints, coatings and carpeting.

• Controlling indoor chemical and pollutant sources.

• Individual control of lighting and thermal comfort.

• Providing daylighting and views for all occupants of the building

SOURCE: Cockfield Jackson Architects

For more information about this project please visit;
Baton Rouge Business Report
Baton Rouge Recreation and Parks Commission
Tipton Associates

The 2009 Baton Rouge Rose Awards winners are:

Baton Rouge Architects:

- Chenevert Architects for 232 Third Street and the Kress, Welsh-Levy & Knox building – Rose Award

- Trahan Architects for the LSU Softball Complex and First Presbyterian Church of Colorado Springs – Rose Award

- Grace and Hebert Architects for the Iberville Parish Veterans Memorial – Rose Award

- Holly and Smith Architects for Our Mother of Perpetual Hope Chapel/Saint Scholastica Chapel and Consolidated Gravity Drainage District #1 Office Building – Rose Award

- PLUSone for the Laurel Street condos – Silver Rose Award

- Remson Haley Herpin Architects for OneEleven – Gold Rose Award

- Pistorius Associates for Northshore Eye Associates – Rose Award

The gala was held on April 22^nd, 2010 at Harvey Honore Enterprises.

Auckland, New Zealand – April 20, 2010 – PEL (Pacific Environments Ltd.) continues to win awards on the dream like Tree House restaurant. Commissioned by Yellow (Yellow Pages) as part of an extravagant marketing campaign, PEL designed a restaurant 10m high on a redwood just north of Auckland. The structure has a truly fantastical quality bringing childhood memories to life.

The trunk of the redwood is 40m in diameter making it one of the largest redwoods in the area. The circular structure is attached t0 the tree with steel collars at the top and bottom. Having to be wheel chair accessible PEL designed a slightly sloping entry walkway that is 60m in length. Timber trusses form the main structure. The curved fins are glue-laminated pine, plantation poplar has been used for the slats, and redwood milled from the site is used in the walkway.

The marketing campaign was that all the construction and materials would be found via Yellow Pages. It has won multiple awards including; New Zealand Institute of Architects Branch Award, New Zealand Institute of Design – BEST Awards; Gold Award, New Zealand Institue of Building; Excellence Award, World Architecture Awards – Finalist. PEL did a wonderful job of invigorating the imagination and bringing the possibilities of architecture to the forefront.

For more information about this project please visit Pacific Environments Ltd and Yellow Tree House
CONTACT: PEL (Pacific Environments Ltd.)
Email: info@pacificenvironments.co.nz
Tel: +64 09  308 0070

Philadelphia, USA – April 15, 2010 – Qb3 design (cube design) has managed to put a new and interesting twist on two stereotypical housing types, the row house (townhouse) and the split level house. By exploiting the advantages of both Qb3 was able to develop an innovative and functional residence, located in the medium density area of  the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia.

The split level house is a 3,000 sq. ft. residence located on a vacant corner lot of an existing residential street. Qb3 did an excellent job on fitting the building into the existing context and at the same time starting a new conversation with architectural elements that make up the street and the city.

As its name suggests, the house is vertically organized from the entry to the garden terrace. The staggered levels provide a real sense of location and allow for magnificent framed views of the street and the city. The stairs play a major role and act as continuous ribbon, tying the levels together and leading the split level roof top garden.

For more information about this project please visit Qb3 design and world architecture news
CONTACT: Qb3 design (cube design)
Email: qb3design.com/contact
Tel: (215) 829-1820

New Mixed-Use Development in London’s Mayfair District

Mayfair district, London, UK – April 12, 2010 – Studio Seilern Architects are in the design development stage for a mixed use residential building in London’s Mayfair district. With the scarcity of land and street frontage, the project is at complete mercy of the site. Studio Seilern Architects is reacting to the site or lack of site in a truly innovative manner. Turning the building inside out by creating a vertical garden system that will be refreshing to the highly urban area.

Studio Seilern Architects accomplish the challenging task by raising the entire ground floor to create a large garden, which will act as the base for a vertical growth of vegetation through and around the building.  Due to lack of street frontage, Studio Seilern has internalized the views creating interesting facades and extending terraces that turn this bleak site into a promising mixed use devlopment.

The finished product is to include high-end residential apartments, an apart-hotel and retail facilities alongside the underground parking. Construction is to begin in November 2010, to be completed by May 2012.

For more information about this project please visit Studio Seilern Architects or World Architecture News

For more information please visit Lego architecture and Brick Structures

Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ)

New York, USA – March 31, 2010 – OMA (The Office for Metropolitan Architecture) was announced as the winner for major expansion to the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ). The 12,000 square m building is located at the intersection of downtown Quebec City and the historic Battlefields Park. Partners Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas led the design and was unanimously chosen from five submissions by internationally renowned architecture offices.

The building is basically a cascade of three overlapping rectangular boxes, each decreasing in size. It is linked underground with the museum’s three existing buildings. OMA does a wonderful job of integrating the building with the surrounding park and creating new connections to the city. The Three stacked galleries of decreasing size include; housing contemporary exhibitions (50m x 50m), the permanent contemporary collection (45m x 35m) and design / Inuit exhibits (42.5m x 25m) all of which ascend from the park towards the city, forming a dramatic cantilever towards the Grande-Allée and a 14m-high Grand Hall, welcoming the public into the new building.

OMA’s approach to the project was to create a new dramatic presence for the city by designing the highly modern stacked galleries, while still acting as a complement to the surrounding historic buildings. The stacking effect gives a feel of lightness and also provides for better natural lighting inside, a good example of form meeting function.

For more information about this project please visit The Office for Metropolitan Architecture

Wallis Annenberg center for the Performing Arts

Beverly Hills, CA, USA – March 11, 2010 – SPF:a (Studio Pali Fekete architects) broke ground on the Wallis Annenberg center for the Performing Arts. The project is an adaptive reuse of the historic Beverly Hills Post Office. SPF:a deals with a major architectural issue of our time; how to mix the new with the old. Instead of mimicking the architectural styles of the historic building, SPF:a decided to investigate the program of the Post Office and express its functions, primarily the thousands of millions of letters that once passed through the site. They accomplished this  by designing an abstraction of an envelope, a 4′ X 9′ envelope shaped panel, variations of which compose the skin of the new 500 seat Goldsmith Theater.

The construction and restoration is also highly contextual. The skin of the new theater changes with the site and allows for its dominance to become elegant. The Historic Post Office will now become a center for the arts and education. The existing spaces will be restored and renovated into a a theater school, a flexible studio theater, sculpture garden, café, gift shop and more.

SPF:a did a fantastic job on the research, development, and design of the Wallis Annenberg center for the Performing Arts, giving reuse the Historic Post Office. Upon completion the building will not only provide the community with essential functions, but also become an icon and a  must see of Beverly Hills.

For more information about this project please visit Studio Pali Fekete architects