Newhouse III, at Syracuse University, designed by Polshek Partnership Architects, recently opened adjacent to an existing building by I.M. Pei. Photo: © Polshek Partnership Architects, LLP

Sochi · 2007.0924
Erick van Egeraat has revealed his plans for Federation Island, a 330-hectare (815-acre) artificial archipelago planned for the Black Sea near Sochi, Russia, the host city for the 2014 Winter Olympics. The project will include creation of seven main islands, three breakwater islands, and over a dozen private islands. Residential, cultural, and recreational facilities are planned. The project is being developed by M-Industries of St. Petersburg and designed by Erick van Egeraat Associated Architects (EEA) — based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, with an office in Moscow — in cooperation with Dutch engineering companies Witteveen + Bos and Van Oord Dredging and Marine.

Annandale-on-Hudson · 2007.0923
The Gabrielle H. Reem and Herbert J. Kayden Center for Science and Computation has opened at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. It provides high-tech classrooms, state-of-the-art teaching and research laboratories, and a 60-seat auditorium for the biology, computer science, and mathematics departments. New York City-based Rafael Viñoly Architects PC designed the 49,000-square-foot (4,600-square-meter) center, which received a 2007 Citation for Design from AIA New York State.

The curved building follows the main campus walkway and is integrated into the surrounding campus topography. A full-height glass curtain wall allows for extensive daylighting in the laboratories. The interior features a flexible design to allow for reconfiguration. The building's heating and cooling are fully provided by a geothermal wellfield. The second phase of the building, which will house facilities for the chemistry department, is currently under construction.

Canajahorie · 2007.0922
The Arkell Arts Center has opened at the site of the original Beech-nut Factory on the Mohawk River in Canajahorie, New York. Robert J. Miklos, FAIA, design principal of designLAB architects of Boston, Massachusetts, designed the project while at Ann Beha Architects, also in Boston. designLAB then completed the project, which included a new gallery addition and the renovation of the historic gambrel-roofed library of the Arkell Hall Foundation. The new structure is a series of glowing boxes visible from the nearby New York State Thruway.

Shanghai · 2007.0921
Heatherwick Studio, leading a team that includes designer Casson Mann, structural engineer Adams Kara Taylor, and technology engineer atelier ten, has revealed its winning design for the United Kingdom's pavilion for Shanghai Expo in 2010. The London-based team's concept is for a single structure, clad in a mass of spines, that seems to hover above a public square. The spines will be free to move in the breeze, creating a changing facade. A tiny colored light source will be placed at the tip of each spine, and those lights will be programmable to create patterns on the facade. Visitors will be able to contribute ideas to change the patterns in real time.

San Francisco · 2007.0920
The Transbay Joint Powers Authority has selected the team of Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, based in New Haven, Connecticut, and international real estate development firm Hines to design and develop the proposed new Transbay Transit Center and Transit Tower for San Francisco, California. If built, the Transit Center will centralize nine San Francisco Bay Area transportation systems. A 40-acre (16-hectare) area around the center would be redeveloped to include housing, retail, and the office tower.

The proposed 1,200-foot- (370-meter-) high Transit Tower — a simple, slender obelisk — would become the tallest building in San Francisco. A public square at ground level would connect the Tower and the adjacent Transit Center. The winning proposal includes installation of a 5.4-acre (2.2-hectare) public park on the roof of the Transit Center.

The winning team also includes architecture firm WRNS Studio of San Francisco; landscape architecture firm Peter Walker and Partners of Berkeley; Carmel Valley-based Rana Creek, green roof and habitat restoration specialists; and environmental artist Ned Kahn.

Penang · 2007.0919
Asymptote Architecture of New York City has revealed its design for the Penang Global City Center (PGCC), a one million-square-meter (10.8 million-square-foot) mixed-use development in Penang, Malaysia.

Two twisting, glazed sixty-story towers will house high-end residential units and five-star hotels, a performing arts center, a high-end retail-and-entertainment complex, an observatory, and a world-class convention center. A vast cascading plinth will function as a public plaza with multiple gathering spaces. In the design, sculpted horizontal components move across the plinth, rise up, and transform into articulated vertical structures.

Planned sustainable design and engineering technologies include building-integrated wind turbines, high-performance facade engineering and design with integrated thin-film photovoltaics, high-efficiency central mechanical systems that use trigeneration, and comprehensive stormwater management and water recycling.

Abad Naluri, a subsidiary of Equine Capital of Malaysia, is developing the PGCC and the entire site under the guidance of a master plan designed by Atelier Seraji of Paris, France. Construction of the first phase is planned to begin within the next year.

Syracuse · 2007.0919
Newhouse III has opened at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. Polshek Partnership Architects of New York City designed the project, which included the construction of the $30 million, 74,000-square-foot (6,900-square-meter) building, as well as upgrades to the existing School of Public Communications facility, Newhouse I and II.

Polshek Partnership designed the east facade of Newhouse III as a respectful backdrop to the original building by I.M. Pei. In contrast, the west facade has an undulating, serpentine form. On the building’s glass exterior, the First Amendment is inscribed in letters six feet (1.8 meters) high. Interior daylighting is modulated by aluminum sun shades integrated into the curtain wall. The project also includes a matching, glass-enclosed sky bridge linking the new and old buildings.

Los Angeles · 2007.0918
Construction is complete on the $79 million Harlyne J. Norris Cancer Research Tower at the University of Southern California Health Sciences Campus in Los Angeles. Lee, Burkhart, Liu, Inc. of Marina del Rey designed the ten-story, 172,000-square-foot (16,000-square-meter) laboratory research facility, which links two existing cancer research centers, connecting the trio of buildings through a first-floor bridge. An egg-shaped 188-seat auditorium of cast-in-place concrete is crowned by a rooftop meditation garden. The building also includes administrative and faculty offices, a conference center, and a helipad. The tower has a steel-brace frame, metal-deck floors, and an exterior skin of concrete and glass with louvers.

The project received two 2005 AIA chapter awards. Redwood City-based Rudolph and Sletten, Inc. served as general contractor. The facility opened in April 2007.

Independence · 2007.0917
A new $20 million practice facility for the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team has opened in Independence, Ohio. Minneapolis, Minnesota-based sports architecture firm Ellerbe Becket designed the the 74,000-square-foot (6,900-square-meter) facility with rustic-contemporary timber-and-stone construction. The wooded site influenced the decision to use heavy laminated wood structure. The building features large expanses of glass placed to take full advantage of the views and maximize daylighting. Facility features include two full-sized basketball courts designed to replicate game-day conditions, a weight-training room, a low-impact running hill, and a sports medicine facility. The sloping site includes underground parking and a recalculating retention pond with fountains.

People and Places Last Week

People and Places Archive

ArchitectureWeek Professional Directory
ArchitectureWeek Web Directory