Google UK Headquarters, Davis Langdon. Global property and construction consultancy Davis Langdon, an AECOM company, has been appointed to multiple roles on Google’s new UK headquarters at King’s Cross in London. Davis Langdon is working directly for Google as cost consultant and employer’s agent. Davis Langdon is also acting in a project management support role to the development manager, Argent. The 1 million sq ft building will be designed by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM) architects. It is being developed with high quality and sustainable design concepts that will offer a flexible and dynamic working environment for employees.
It is scheduled for completion in 2016. “This is a reflection of the growing importance of the technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) sector to the London office market and the strategic importance of King’s Cross as a prime location,” commented AECOM’s Peter Flint, head of buildings + places for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. China Wood Sculpture Museum, MAD Architects. WAN has been a big supporter of Beijing-based MAD Architects for years, posting details of the young practice’s completed projects and tracking their development as they gain momentum. We were delighted in 2012 when the MAD Architects team entered our 21 for 21 Award for emerging architects and were selected by an esteemed jury panel as one of the 21 shining stars of the next generation. Director in Charge at MAD Architects Ma Yansong will be passing over to the other side this year and acting as a juror for the 2013 intake of the WAN 21 for 21 Award.
Last week, images emerged of MAD Architects’ latest completed scheme: The China Wood Sculpture Museum. Located in Harbin, the 12,959 sq m museum takes the form of a twisted strip of steel, punctuated with curved windows. The radical nature of MAD Architects’ designs means that they are no stranger to constructive commentary from architecture critics and blog readers. Chris: “Kinda conflicted about this [sic]. Sian Disson News Editor. EuropaCity, Bjarke Ingels Group. A collaborative group comprising Tess, Transsolar, Base, Transitec, Michel Forgue and Bjarke Ingels Group has been awarded first place in a competition to design an exciting new city development between Paris and Roissy in Île-de-France.
The 80 hectare development will be a cultural and commercial community based on the themes of the European urban experience, diversity and culture. For Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner of BIG, the EuropaCity development is an complex blend of urban and rural spaces: “EuropaCity will be an experimental hybrid between urbanism and landscape design: Center and periphery overlapped in the simultaneous coexistence of a recreational open landscape of rolling hills superimposed on an urban neighborhood of walkable streets, plazas and parks. “We find that Paris these years is taking on a holistic effort to ensure that the urban periphery is given equal opportunity to be as lively and inhabitable as its historic center.
TechTown District Plan, Sasaki Associates. TechTown - an emerging knowledge district in Midtown Detroit - is currently characterised by surface parking, vacant properties, and inward-facing, siloed hubs of activity. The TechTown District Plan by Sasaki Associates, in collaboration with Midtown Detroit and U3, articulates an inspiring vision for the revitalization of the district. The plan accelerates innovation, promotes entrepreneurship, and builds community around the generation of ideas in a vibrant, mixed-use setting. A key feature of the plan, and early action item, is a plaza at the heart of the district that contains a variety of program and design elements to foster creativity and the exchange of ideas throughout all seasons. Collaboration cubes, fabrication labs, a projection screen, climbing wall, fire pits, and a café with seating among a grove of trees attract knowledge and creative workers to the heart of the district.
Environmental, economic, and cultural sustainability are foundational elements of the plan. STEVEN HOLL ARCHITECTS.