Construction is underway on a Volkswagen-Audi dealership in Manhattan, designed by Cityscape Architects, Inc. and CR Studio, Architects, PC, with Spector Group. Image: Courtesy Spector Group Extra Large Image
New York · 2010.1012
Construction is underway on the Volkswagen Group of America's new 260,000-square-foot (24,000-square-meter) dealership in Manhattan (rendered above). Cityscape Architects, Inc. of Novi, Michigan, is serving as design/ brand architect for Volkswagen, and CR Studio, Architects, PC of New York City is serving as design/ brand architect for Audi, with New York-based Spector Group as executive architect.
The renovation of the existing building , once home to Potamkin General Motors, is now underway. Volkswagen will occupy six floors of space, along with the building's roof and a portion of its cellar. Flexibility will be a key component of the design, so that additional showroom or parking space can be easily converted from its existing use. Completion is slated for mid-to-late 2010.
Ningbo · 2010.1012
Construction is underway on the Raffles City Ningbo development in Ningbo, China. International architecture firm Sparch, with an office in nearby Shanghai, is leading the design team for the 157,800-square-meter (1.7 million-square-foot) mixed-use development, which includes retail, residential, and office components. The team also includes Meinhardt as MEP consultant, Arup as fire engineer, MVA as traffic consultant, and the Ningbo local design institute.
The residential component will stand on the corner of a landscaped, sunken courtyard, sheltered from the city by the mass of the retail podium, while the podium and office building will offer an animated face. The latest in the Raffles City brand developed by Singapore-based CapitaLand, the development is located in the Jiangbei district, next to Ningbo's historical downtown, and marks the final phase of CapitaLand's master plan.
Colchester · 2010.1011
Daniel Libeskind has been chosen to design a building for the new Institute for Democracy and Conflict Resolution (IDCR) at the University of Essex in Colchester, England, United Kingdom. The facility will contain a moot court, and will accommodate researchers, training, lectures, seminars, and consultancy activities, providing space for policy institutes, law firms, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to work with academics and practitioners. The building will anchor the university's new Knowledge Gateway research park, an expansion of the Colchester campus.
In San Francisco's Presidio, the Belles Townhomes project, a LivingHomes modular building designed by KieranTimberlake, recently received LEED Platinum certification. Photo: Courtesy Forest City Extra Large Image
San Francisco · 2010.1007
The Belles Townhomes (pictured above) in San Francisco, California, recently received LEED Platinum certification under LEED for Homes. Located in the Presidio, part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the three-story, seven-unit attached modular townhouses were custom-designed by KieranTimberlake of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; produced by LivingHomes; developed by Forest City and built in partnership with The Presidio Trust as part of the Presidio Landmark adaptive reuse project.
Each unit in the 11,770-square-foot (1,093-square-meter) Belles Townhomes building has three bedrooms, a ground-level patio overlooking the green, a terrace at the main living level, a rooftop deck, a garage, and private entrances from the street.
Sustainable features include radiant heating; high levels of insulation; FSC-certified cedar; recycled-content materials such as TREX decking and IceStone and Caesar Stone countertops; formaldehyde-free wood cabinetry; low- or no-VOC finishes; water-conserving plumbing fixtures; and systems that monitor and manage electricity, water, and gas usage, and display the information over the internet or on a LCD screen in real time.
The adjacent Presidio Landmark, a historic former hospital building converted into apartments, was recently certified LEED Gold.
Seattle · 2010.1007
Callison, a Seattle, Washington-based international architecture and design firm, has named James P. Rothwell, AIA, its new chief executive officer. Rothwell has been with the company for 26 years, most recently as a member of Callison's board of directors and a practicing principal growing the practice in the Middle East. Previously he led the firm's corporate practice. Rothwell's longstanding clients include Microsoft, HP, and Boeing. He will continued to serve on the board of directors while CEO.
Chicago · 2010.1007
Perkins + Will has announced several new hires. Michael Hess has joined the firm as healthcare managing principal and healthcare practice leader in the firm's Chicago, Illinois, office. He has 20 years of experience, including strategic planning, programming, design, and construction of U.S. and international healthcare facilities. Hess previously served as senior healthcare project executive at the San Francisco, California, office of HOK.
David Dymecki has joined the Boston, Massachusetts, office of Perkins + Will as a principal. For the past eight years, Dymecki led the sports group at Sasaki in Watertown, Massachusetts. His clients include numerous universities. Dymecki will serve as a firmwide knowledge resource at Perkins + Will to help grow the firm's sports and recreation capabilities, and will work closely with the firm's Toronto, Ontario, office.
Elizabeth Brinkley has rejoined the firm's Atlanta, Georgia, office as an associate principal in the healthcare group. Brinkley recently served as a senior manager at Kurt Salmon Associates. She has significant experience in planning, programming, and designing healthcare facilities for children, and specifically pediatric academic medical centers, and will serve as a firmwide resource for the pediatric market sector.
Construction continues on the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City Missouri, designed by Moshe Safdie. Photo: Courtesy Safdie Associates Extra Large Image
Kansas City · 2010.1007
Construction continues on the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City Missouri (model pictured above), scheduled to open in September 2011. Designed by Moshe Safdie, the $326 million, 285,000-square-foot (26,500-square-meter) facility will include two separate halls within a dramatic overarching shell, located at a new five-acre (two-hectare) park.
The north elevation of the building, which faces downtown, will feature a series of arched walls sheathed in stainless steel that rise from the ground like a wave. A curved glass roof will cascade into a 65-foot- (20-meter-) high, 330-foot- (100-meter-) wide glass wall that will provide panoramic views from the building's Brandmeyer Great Hall. This glass facade and roof will be anchored by 27 high-tension steel cables.
The Kauffman Center's two performance venues, Muriel Kauffman Theatre and Helzberg Hall, will be two distinct structures, each in its own acoustical envelope, but sharing backstage facilities. The 1,600-seat Helzberg Hall will be home to the Kansas City Symphony. The visual centerpiece will be a Casavant Frères pipe organ, and mechanical risers will allow the layout of the stage to be altered quickly and easily. The 1,800-seat Muriel Kauffman Theatre, future home of the Kansas City Ballet and Lyric Opera of Kansas City, will feature seating in a vineyard-style, semicircle configuration facing the stage.
In Cardiff, Wales, construction is complete on the Ty Gwyn Special School, by Cardiff Council's in-house design team and Holder Mathias Architects. Photo: Courtesy Holder Mathias
Cardiff · 2010.1004
Construction is complete on the £16 million Ty Gwyn Special School (pictured above) in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. Cardiff Council's in-house design team developed the design through to planning permission stage, with the Cardiff office of Holder Mathias Architects then acting as architect for Cowlin Construction in delivering the school, as well as adjacent residential respite and mini-bus buildings, for the Council.
The facility accommodates up to 150 pupils, ages three to 19, who have severe disabilities. The school includes classrooms, offices and administration areas, hydrotherapy facilities, medical and therapy support rooms, soft play and sensory rooms, and specialized recreational facilities.
Both the school and respite center were developed under the Secure by Design standard, approved by the Police Authority, and were built to the BREEAM Excellent standard.
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