All posts by Giulio

Spiral shaped $1 Billion vertical creative office tower bursting with greenery unveiled in Los Angeles

Los Angeles-based real estate development firm The Star LLC has submitted revised design plans for a proposed $1 Billion “vertical creative office” campus on a two-acre lot at 6061 W. Sunset Boulevard meant to capture the interest of Hollywood’s top content creators.

Designed by Foster + Partners led by Norman Foster, the spiral shaped tower dubbed “The Star” will provide spacious floor plates, generous outdoor areas, and floor-to-ceiling windows that will offer unobstructed 360-degree views of downtown Los Angeles, the Hollywood Sign and the Pacific Ocean. The building’s iconic design will be distinguished by its spiraling gardens that will rise from street level to the rooftop restaurant.

“We have worked with leaders in the creative and tech industries to redefine The Star into a project that both fits perfectly into Hollywood’s urban fabric and captures the evolving workplace,” said Chief Executive Officer and Chair of The Star LLC, Maggie Miracle. “The office space seamlessly moves from indoor to outdoor settings with extraordinary collaborative areas and tasteful settings that allow for contemplation and innovation.”

“This is a true reflection of the workplace of the future, nurturing community, wellbeing and collaboration with green social terraces spiraling through the building that will encourage and enliven the city’s incredible creative industries,” added Norman Foster, Founder and Executive Chairman, Foster + Partners.

The design team is led by Nigel Dancey, Head of Studio, Foster + Partners: “Embodying Hollywood’s spirit of creativity and innovation, the building’s spiraling form responds to the 360-degree views, creating a new destination for Los Angeles.”

The building’s design encourages natural light and ventilation and defines spaces that help people work better and smarter in an environment that allows organizations to thrive and retain their relevancy and vitality, according to Patrick Campbell, Senior Partner, Foster + Partners. “Cascading gardens for outdoor working, natural light and ventilation create a healthy and highly productive working environment on Hollywood’s Sunset Boulevard,” he added.

The building engages the street with a walkable setting, punctuated by an expansive LED video screen, an arched paseo of restaurants, community gathering spaces, a theatre, and gallery.

Should the city greenlight the proposal, construction on The Star will start by early 2026 and complete in 2029.

AURA Invalides, a Monumental Experience Under the Dome at Les Invalides in Paris

Moment Factory

  

 

AURA Invalides marks a new stage in Moment Factory’s history as a multidisciplinary studio dedicated to crafting innovative multimedia experiences through bold creativity and high-tech prowess. This immersive 50-minute experience combines video mapping, lighting, special effects, orchestral music, and sound design to celebrate the architectural and historical heritage of one of Paris’s most iconic monuments: Dôme des Invalides.

The project was initiated in 2019 by cultural operator Cultival, which was then seeking innovative cultural and tourism offerings designed to create new sustainable attractions in France. Captivated by the AURA experience at Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal, and Moment Factory’s peerless creativity and ability to meet exacting standards, Cultival asked the multimedia studio to create the very first AURA experience in France. Les Invalides, whose gilded dome has brightened the Paris skyline for centuries, was the natural choice. To achieve this project, Cultival also turned to its longstanding partner, Musée de l’Armée – Hôtel national des Invalides.

AURA Invalides, a monumental and dazzling experience

As night falls, Dôme des Invalides comes alive with the combined magic of light, orchestral music, and video- mapping, revealing its stately beauty and rich heritage. Over a 50-minute span, visitors are invited to partake in a sensory nighttime exploration. Guided by light, they wander through Dôme des Invalides and its six chapels, where the previously unseen gradually comes into view.

 

AURA Invalides is designed to stimulate the imagination of audiences of all ages. As a result, visitors are swept away by moments of pure wonder, fostering a deep and unique connection between public and place – and among the visitors themselves.

High-tech prowess showcasing an exceptional heritage site

Dôme des Invalides provides one of the most ambitious projection surfaces that Moment Factory has ever had the privilege to work with. The technical challenge was enormous. At more than 90 metres high, the building is topped by a dome whose smallest diameter is 30 metres. In all, more than 45 million pixels were mapped onto a 3,500-square-metre surface.

One of the building’s distinctive features is a reverberation time that spans nearly 10 seconds, a result of its architectural configuration. To ensure that AURA Invalides visitors can fully experience the orchestral score, the team employed a sound-spatializing technique that involves localizing sound with utmost precision. As a result, visitors can clearly perceive where the sound emanates from. The experience combines sound and image to create a 360-degree immersion effect, making visitors feel as if they are fully immersed in the show.

 

A creative process that celebrates a historic monument

The team’s artistic preference was to reveal the spirit of the place, comprising its architectural beauty, the memory with which it resonates, and the symbolism it conveys. Accordingly, each scene in the experience is based on existing documents. After extensive historical research, the creative team worked closely with chief curators at Musée de l’Armée to ensure that the design was historically accurate.

AURA Invalides seeks to reveal and share, rather than to tell. While the creative team drew its narrative inspiration from the site’s diverse history, it created an immersive world designed to spark visitors’ imagination. By instilling a sense of wonder, the intangible and invisible are revealed.

A monumental experience in three movements

The AURA Invalides experience comprises three movements, inviting visitors to discover three fundamental aspects of Dôme des Invalides: construction (movement I), memory (movement II), and power to inspire (movement III).

 

An orchestral score, specifically composed to enhance the experience

The music was created by Montreal studio Troublemakers, in collaboration with Moment Factory’s creative teams. The score was devised and composed around the three movements that punctuate the AURA Invalides experience, with each piece featuring a distinct musical colour to highlight the contrasts that characterize the monument. The dome’s unusual acoustics, with almost 10 seconds of reverberation, dictated this original creation from start to finish.

The instrumentation is a blend of orchestra, synthesizers, percussion, drums, machines, and the voices of more than 55 musicians. As for the composition itself, of contemporary style for the most part, it targets a modern orchestral sound, with a few references to nineteenth-century French music.

Moment Factory: Creating immersive experiences for more than 20 years

Over the years, through increasingly ambitious projects, Moment Factory has become an international standard-setter in the creation of immersive experiences that enable heritage sites to shine, thereby diversifying their initial offer and attracting new audiences.

Whether at Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia, Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal, Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims in France, and now Dôme des Invalides, Moment Factory uses the power of storytelling and cutting-edge technology to create a spirit of collective wonder, creating intimate and unique bonds between the audience and the site.

 

 

TREESCRAPERS, NEW YORK CITY, U.S.A. – Vincent Callebaut Architectures

TREESCRAPERS, CLIMATE RESPONSIVE VILLAGES ON THE WAY OF THE NEW YORK‘S GREEN NEW DEAL

 

The “New York’s Green New Deal” provides for an 85% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 compared to 1990. The remaining 15% could be offset by financing projects deemed beneficial for the climate. This ambitious agreement, also called the “Climate & Communities Protection Act”, provides for 70% renewable energy by 2030 and a total elimination of emissions produced by electricity suppliers by 2040. It aims to promote a socially just transition. Thus, 35% of the State’s energy budget should be directed to low-income and pollution-affected communities.

By merging Building Information Models (BIM) and artificial intelligence generative tools with new parametric climate simulation and construction process optimization software programs, VCA’s team of architects has conducted extensive research and development studies on the concept of “climate responsive village”, requested to harmonize the construction of ecological buildings with the net-zero carbon objective of the “New York’s Green New Deal”, from the Bronx to Brooklyn via Queens.

VCA’s professional commitment is to design increasingly successful sustainable development models in major cities like New York City to ensure the ecological transition of historic neighborhoods while maintaining the intrinsic qualities of the Genius Loci, creating a three-dimensional community based on diversity, flexibility and solidarity.

To achieve this, Biomimicry is an emergent, creative, and interdisciplinary process, between biology and technology, between science and architecture, whose goal is to solve our anthropocentric problems and the resulting climate change through the transfer and the application of knowledge resulting from the observation of biological models in order to develop constructive processes and spatial organizations allowing the sustainable development of our societies.

The leitmotif is to transform New York City into an ecosystem, its neighborhoods into forests and its buildings into inhabited trees producing their own energy and recycling all their waste into resources.

Nature only uses photosynthesis as its sole source of energy. Nature produces no pollution and no waste that cannot be recycled. Nature always relies on cooperation between species and limits excesses from outside. VCA’s New York architectures want to do the same!

The DNA of VCA’s is based on the greening of buildings, the benefits of which are no longer to be proven: the fight against urban heat islands, the fight against atmospheric pollution, the fight against soil sealing, rainwater management, recycling of gray water, reinforcement of green and blue urban networks, protection of biodiversity, implementation of urban well-being, solidarity development of Urban Agriculture.

NEW YORK, NEIGHBORHOODS ON THE WAY TO SOBRIETY

 

 

VCA’s eco-design strategy is based on four major pillars:

  1. COMPLIANCE WITH CLIMATE RESPONSIVE DESIGN: This involves sculpting the buildings based on the climatic data of the place such as the course of the sun from East to West and the direction of the prevailing winds to limit the venturi effects, optimize natural ventilation, and orient stays as best as possible to benefit from the best solar gain. The design of the facades, terraces and through apartments is thus thought out to be as energy efficient as possible, with the minimum of mechanical air conditioning to tend towards a passive architecture integrating natural ventilation systems such as wind chimneys.

  1. INTEGRATION OF RENEWABLE ENERGIES: To move towards a BEPOS (Positive Energy Building), the integration of renewable energies (axial wind turbines, solar panels, geothermal energy) makes it possible to produce self-consumption of the cooling, heating and electrical energy whose buildings need to aim for carbon neutrality.

  1. SPATIAL AGILITY: In the circular economy, the best waste is the one that is not created! The durability and mutability of the habitat lies first and foremost in its ability to adapt to changing uses and ways of living. It is the meaning of history to consider as far as possible from its design the possible future scenarios of the life of the buildings. Habitats that can be transformed at will and hyper-flexible which must be able to marry the constant evolutions of the intergenerational family unit on the one hand and the necessary mutability between our spaces of private life and professional life on the other hand.

  1. URBAN AGRICULTURE: On the roofs of buildings and in the heart of the plots, we imagine integrating greenhouses and market gardening orchards cultivated in permaculture and dedicated to urban agriculture to strengthen solidarity and social cohesion at the scale of residents and neighbors.

 

 

 

At the same time VCA is working on 3 major targets to make New York City more sober:

 

  1. ENERGY EFFICIENCY: At the scale of the building, we want to build through and/or multi-oriented housing that is healthy and pleasant to live in with a low rate of mechanical ventilation and without air conditioning, or even without heating. Thanks to natural ventilation, passive cooling, recovery of free heat input and thermal inertia, the climate responsive design makes it possible to reduce energy consumption to a strict minimum, while ensuring increased comfort.

2.NATURAL MATERIALS: Biobased, geo-sourced or reused materials are favored both for the structure of the building and for its insulation or façade claddings. They are carefully selected to highlight the local ecosystem and short circuits. Cross-laminated wood, engineered wood or bamboo, wood wool, straw, hemp concrete, low-carbon concrete, earth concrete, raw earth and terracotta, all these natural materials fit into our so-called regenerative circular economy approach, where all waste becomes a resource.

  1. TECHNICAL SOBRIETY: Sobriety does not mean an absence of technology, but the priority use of relevant, appropriate, non-polluting, or wasteful techniques, such as simple implementations and devices that are easy to repair, recycle and to reuse. As William Shakespeare said so well: “the intelligence of a city lies first and foremost in that of its inhabitants”. Technology is there to implement the building by optimizing, for example, our energy consumption or the intelligent sharing of convivial places.

Putting the right energy and the right material in the right place above all means building low carbon and, in fact, using renewable energies and biobased materials produced locally in short circuits to the detriment of all others.

 

To build sustainably and with common sense is to stop destroying and, even, to know how not to build, but to regenerate, metamorphose, reconvert, rehabilitate, renovate, enlarge, and give new life to the “already there”.

Sustainable building therefore means developing a New York urbanism that is favorable to health (improving air quality, noise reduction, presence of nature in the city, opportunities for active travel), it means promoting energy sobriety, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, sequester carbon, move towards a circular economy, promote natural spaces and biodiversity (urban cooling, city permeability, food resilience) including in the recovery of degraded land.

Sober but creative, biomimetic and regenerative architectures wish to stimulate happiness, the joy of living among New York residents. They draw their inspiration from the Genius Loci, the culture of its places, its air, its soil, its biodiversity, and the economy of its territory. Their ambition is to become the emblem of the correct symbiosis of the Humanity-Nature couple at the heart of the Big Apple.

 

 © Copyright: “VINCENT CALLEBAUT ARCHITECTURES – www.vincent.callebaut.org

Dewson Architects – Sylvan Living

How a sustainable home takes advantage of its exceptional ravine site, exemplifying a light-touch approach, dubbed ”viable sustainability” to give this home another 100-year lease on life.

How a sustainable home takes advantage of its exceptional ravine site, exemplifying a light-touch approach, dubbed ”viable sustainability” to give this home another 100-year lease on life.

Dewson Architects present Sylvan Living, a mid-century split-level home in North York with a new and sustainable lease on life. Building anything in a city like Toronto is well-known to be a challenge. The cost of land, the regulatory environment, and inflated construction budgets make delivering a quality product on time, and on budget, a tall order.

Throw a whole list of regulatory requirements into the mix to appease the client’s desire to build a home that is both gentle on the environment and reflective of their taste and personalities. All of that comes together on a very unique site abutting protected parkland, providing a recipe for a complex, challenging project that would make lesser architects run for the ravines.

But not Dewson Architects, a firm very much used to complex, challenging projects with numerous stakeholders, with equally numerous regulatory requirements. After renovating multiple centenarian, heritage-protected homes in Rosedale, and building a new house on a 100-year floodplain in Etobicoke, designed to be both viably sustainable and to last for generations, they were up to the challenge of renovating this mid-century, homely split-level in North York, near Bathurst and Sheppard.

The architects’ focus on this project was fourfold:

  1. Renovate a pedestrian, nondescript home that blatantly failed to capitalize on its exceptional site bordering a ravine, into a comfortable and luxurious home connected to nature.
  2. Fulfill all regulatory requirements, including satisfying the TRCA (Toronto Regional Conservation Authority) which has jurisdiction over the site.
  3. Make the renovated home as sustainable as possible while staying within the budget constraints.
  4. Give the house another 100-year lease on life by designing a home that is meant to last.

Design-wise, the architects functionally flipped the program to de-emphasize the original design’s orientation and connection to the street. Instead, they opened the living spaces to the side yard, giving the interiors an unparalleled view and functional connection to the ravine landscape beyond the property lines.

All principal living spaces were relocated on the main floor to take advantage of this connection to nature, while the master suite was designed as a small second-floor addition, giving the impression of living in a luxurious tree house, thanks to large floor-to-ceiling sliding doors blurring the indoor-outdoor boundary. Lastly, the architects fought for permission to add a rooftop terrace that expands the house’s space outside in the summer, while taking in breathtaking views onto the surrounding landscape.

 

From a regulatory standpoint, the design was constrained by the requirement to build within the existing home’s footprint, and to reuse its pre-existing foundation. That required extensive underpinning, shoring, and slope stability work in order to ensure that the renovated home would last for another 100 years, while keeping up with the code and zoning requirements, thus maximizing the healthy, yet limited budget.

The design team managed to fit a number of sustainable features, such as:

  • Passive ventilation that allows for air-conditioning-less cooling on all but the hottest days.
  • Building an airtight envelope to minimize cooling and heating loads. The home ended up having an ACH (air changes per hour) of less than 1, vs. the code-minimum of 2.5.
  • Reusing as much of the foundation as possible to minimize cost and reduce the embodied energy of the project.
  • Designing a high-performance envelope, with little to no thermal bridging, high insulation ratings, and triple glazed windows that allow breathtaking views into the ravine while greatly reducing heating and cooling losses. These windows are covered with heavy roll-down blinds at night that further reduce losses.
  • Turning the main orientation of the house from the street to the shaded side yard, increasing the connection to the outdoors, and limiting solar gain on the southwest-facing facade.
  • Using materials, such as the durable cement cladding that will require little maintenance and last for decades.

Dewson’s approach to architecture is what they’ve dubbed “viable sustainability”: looking beyond the strictly environmental performance of a building to consider all aspects of its impact, such as cultural (in the case of rejuvenating centenarian homes), and financial (building within the client’s budget constraints).

As stated by Bill Dewson: “A truly sustainable project takes into account the environment, the stakeholder’s needs and wants, and the financial constraints. We get things built by finding the sweet spot in all three aspets.

Their approach is akin to that of a chef: carefully measuring every input to make sure that the output is optimal and corresponds to their client’s specifications, while adding the “je-ne-sais-quoi” that makes each project special.

 

Photographer: RVLTR / A. Marthouret

The Forest – Sanjay Puri Architects

Sanjay Puri Architects presents The Forest, a high density development project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Due to prevailing rules governing built-up areas, this project required a vertical tower since the ratio of built-up area permissible is 9 times the plot area.

The vertical circulation core is planned on the southern side to mitigate heat gain and simultaneously provide privacy to the existing residential 15 storey buildings on the southern side. The offices are all oriented towards the north and north-west, with the best views of the Congo River, while also reducing heat gain by allowing natural indirect light into the office spaces.

Situated in the pretext of the Congo River, the building shape provides peripheral glazing surfaces orienting towards the river. Capturing maximum river views at the shortest distance, the balconies are aligned and projected radially from the offices.

The concept thread is drawn from the African forest, creating a structure that replicates a dense tree via parabolic balconies that embark upon the building façade. The angled balconies overlap at subsequent floors, providing double and single height balcony spaces for every office. The building shape, with its projecting decks, allows integration of open spaces with enclosed ones. The form generated by the blend of building shape and balconies creates a parametric envelope of repetitive cascading elements to develop a unique identity.

Photos credit: SANJAY PURI ARCHITECTS

Mercedes-Benz Vision One-Eleven: progressive interpretation of a 70s brand icon

Design and technology pioneer in the tradition of legendary C 111 experimental vehicles

Exterior: sporty interpretation of One-Bow design with high-tech references

Interior: fuses lounge-like feel with super sportscar minimalism

YASA axial-flux motor signals the future of performance electric drive

Battery with high-performance liquid-cooled cylindrical cells

Mercedes-Benz presents a new sports car study. The Vision One-Eleven combines a highly dynamic design language with innovative all-electric powertrain technology. The supercar silhouette is characterised by skilful execution of the signature Mercedes-Benz One-Bow design that is a marker of its 21st‑century style. The development of this design underscores the positioning of the Mercedes-Benz brand, which stands for ICONIC LUXURY. Its technical highlights include the extremely powerful and highly efficient axial-flux motor developed by electric motor specialist YASA. The British company has been a 100-percent subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz AG since July 2021.

The Mercedes-Benz Vision One-Eleven is inspired by the tradition of the legendary C 111 experimental vehicles from the 1960s and 70s, which were used to test revolutionary Wankel and turbodiesel engines. They were also prototypes for testing polymer-based bodyshells. The extremely (aero)dynamic mid-engine sports cars are considered design icons of their era, not least due to their distinctive gullwing doors and eye-catching orange-and-black paintwork.

 

The exterior – One-Bow design in its most athletic form

 

The body of the Mercedes-Benz Vision One-Eleven centres on skilful execution of the One-Bow design. From the low-slung front end to the muscular hind quarters, it runs in a smooth bow that endows the just 1,170 mm-high vehicle silhouette with an extremely sculptural feel. This harmonises perfectly with the copper-orange alubeam paintwork. It provides an unmistakeable reference to the distinctive colour of the C 111 without adopting it one-to-one. The colour of the Mercedes-Benz Vision One-Eleven is considerably more powerful than that of the C 111 and also changes with the light. It conveys not only a sense of quality but also a certain extravagance.

 

The front-end design – iconic high-tech look with historical reference

 

From the frontal aspect, too, the Mercedes-Benz Vision One-Eleven is powerfully evocative of the C 111. In detail, however, there are striking differences: One stand-out example is the distinctive front end, which on both vehicles consists of a low-lying rectangular element with rounded ends left and right. On the C 111, this is a closed plastic element with a honeycomb structure, fitted with round foglamps. The corresponding part on the Vision One-Eleven appears very similar at first glance. However, upon closer inspection, it reveals itself as a high-tech feature. The panel is a flexible external display with a 3D pixelated look. It interprets the C 111’s characteristic round lights in digitised form and can also convey messages to other road users.

 

The rear-end design – aerodynamic features and digital elements

 

The rear-end of the Mercedes-Benz Vision One-Eleven is likewise dominated by a powerfully profiled diffuser. Spanning the breadth above it is a display that echoes the shape of its counterpart at the front end and features the same pixelated structure in the red taillights. Similar to the blade profiles along the sides, blue lighting effects are also visible at the rear. The inner face of the wheels is fitted with circular lighting elements.

 

Futuristic and luxurious ambience with contrasting colours

 

The interior design of the Vision One-Eleven reflects future luxury based on a progressive colour concept and extraordinary material combinations. The richly contrasting colours and materials attract attention at first glance: Large surfaces such as the dashboard are upholstered in white fabric displaying a tech-look honeycomb structure. The material is made from 100-percent recycled polyester.

 

Other elements such as the armrests on the sills and centre console, as well as the rear parcel shelf beneath the expansive rear windscreen, are clad in bright orange leather. This creates a smooth transition from interior to luggage compartment. The sustainably processed leather was tanned using coffee bean husks. Polished aluminium in the steering-wheel spokes and inlaid as straps across the armrests underscore the tech look and feel. The same applies to the brake and accelerator pedals, both of which are made from polished aluminium and floor mounted.

 

Innovative electric powertrain – high-performance axial-flux motor and all-new battery technology

 

Technology highlights include a new battery concept featuring high-performance liquid-cooled cylindrical cells with a novel cell chemistry. Once more, the extensive knowledge of the motorsport experts from Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrain in Brixworth found its way into this promising concept for future performance-oriented batteries. Aside from that, the Vision One-Eleven features two exceptionally powerful and advanced axial-flux motors from YASA. Mercedes-Benz is developing this technology together with YASA to large scale production maturity for its next-generation electric drives. YASA is a British electric-motor specialist based in Oxford and has been a 100-percent subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz AG since July 2021. The company has thus secured access to a unique future technology that has the potential to take electric mobility to a new level of performance.

World Building of the Year revealed at 2023 World Architecture Festival

 

Huizhen High School by Approach Design Studio/Zhejiang University of Technology Engineering Design Group in China has been declared the World Building of the Year at the 2023 World Architecture Festival (WAF).

 

World Building of the Year supported by GROHE was awarded to Huizhen High School by Approach Design Studio/Zhejiang University of Technology Engineering Design Group in China. The project was initially shortlisted in the Completed Building School category.

Located in Jiangbei District, Ningbo City, Huizhen is a bold exploration of ‘efficiency-first’ campus design where time can be ‘wasted’ seriously. The boarding school campus is a ‘floating forest’ with classrooms hung in each corner of the forest and joined by meandering paths. Scattered tree houses provide students with temporary escapes from the burden of school. A ramp leads up to a gentle sloping roof, which doubles as an open-air lecture hall and a rooftop park with sporting facilities, usable by the public at the weekend – creating a new typology of architectural promenade.

Di Ma, Director at Approach Design Studio/Zhejiang University of Technology Engineering Design Group commented: “We always try to explore the boundaries of architecture while making something that’s fun. Our focus was not just about designing a school, or working with new forms, spaces, materials and facades, but about designing new school life and bringing the power of nature into the building. The building gives students a space to relax and relieve their stresses between their lessons.”

Paul Finch, Programme Director of the World Architecture Festival commented: “We loved this building as it is unexpected, and delightful. The architects have managed to create a school which is very different to the usual model where students are boxed in and put under teaching and architectural pressure. By contrast, this design encourages, walking, fresh air and the possibility of reflection away from academic intensity. As the architects note, you are at your most relaxed when you are wasting time, but not wasting; instead enjoying walking to classrooms through a ‘floating forest’ with plug-in buildings and amenities, all with views of nature. Simple materials are deployed for a combination of the innovative and the everyday. There are elements in this project that could be used for schools anywhere.”

The winner was selected by a super jury of luminaries of the global architecture industry – comprising Sir Peter Cook, Cook Belacevic Haffner; Guallart, Guallart Architects; Richard Hassell, WOHA and Albert Williamson-Taylor, AKT II.

Central District Lagoon City: Forty Management brings Maldives to Bucharest

 

 

Forty Management is the first Romanian developer to scale this project in three other capital cities in the region: Budapest, Prague and Warsaw.

Central District Lagoon City has a gross development value ranging from EUR 396 to 488 million, depending on the city in which it is implemented.

Lagoon City is the first 100% self-sustainable, mixed urban redevelopment project in Central and Eastern Europe.

Forty Management has started work on the development of Central District Lagoon City Bucharest, the most innovative, self-sustainable, mixed-use urban reconversion project, unique in Central and Eastern Europe. The value of the investment in Romania exceeds €120 million, while the projects scaled up in Budapest, Prague and Warsaw will have investment values between €140 and €190 million each, depending on the mix and the needs identified on these markets.

What makes the Bucharest project unique is that fact that it will implement for the first time in Central Eastern Europe the patented Crystal Lagoons® technology, which allows the construction and maintenance of cost and energy efficient artificial turquoise water lagoons of unlimited size. It will cover an area of over 10,000 sqm, have a maximum depth of 2 meters, two large beaches of more than 3,200 sqm and numerous other facilities. The lagoon, which is expected to be completed by the end of this year, will be used for swimming and water sports in summer and partly as an ice rink in winter.

Lagoon City brings around this artificial lagoon a 5 star hotel with 323 rooms affiliated to an international brand, 401 apartments for rent, 9,200 sqm of commercial and service spaces, a class A, 8,500 sqm office building, as well as countless other facilities, practically a mini city with all the necessary destinations for urban living. Located in central Bucharest (at No.18, Coralilor Street), Central District Lagoon City is the first mixed urban redevelopment project that will produce all its utilities in-house, thus capitalizing on Forty Management’s know-how and experience in sustainability.

The amenities of Central District Lagoon City will include a heliport, concierge services for all apartments, 3 restaurants, 2 beach bars, a 430 sqm bistro that will also serve the beach area, a sky bar, cafes, a private cinema, kindergarten, 2 spa centres, a beauty clinic and electric car co-sharing services.

To develop the Lagoon City concept, Forty Management has acquired the Crystal Lagoons® franchise, the most innovative American technology company for the development and implementation of sustainable lagoons and artificial beaches, with more than 1 100 projects completed or in various stages of execution in over 60 countries. Forty Management has obtained the rights to implement the Crystal Lagoons® in Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Romania.

We are delighted to partner with Forty Management to bring the revolutionary Crystal Lagoons® concept and technology to Bucharest, Budapest, Prague and Warsaw. As a market leader in innovation and technology, we strive to bring idyllic beach life closer to people’s homes and transform city life all over the world. Our real estate and Public Access Lagoons™ projects provide attractive meeting places adapted to each market’s demands. We are proud that our patented technology, unique in the world, can contribute to improving the quality of life of people in Central and Eastern Europe and bring sustainability to the entire region,” said Francisco Matte, Crystal Lagoons® Regional Director.

“With this extraordinary project we aim to redefine the notions of lifestyle and entertainment, bringing all these high-end amenities right into the city centre and transforming Bucharest into a holiday destination with turquoise waters and idyllic beaches. Moreover, Lagoon City implements the highest standard of sustainable development, as it is the first mixed green real estate project in Central Europe, self-sustainable, where all utilities are produced in-house,” said Lucian Azoiței, Forty Management’s CEO.

Sustainability

Forty Management places Sustainability at the core of its way of working, as an important value they build their business upon. Each of our developments is brought to life having in mind the future wellbeing of both individuals and community.

25% of the total global gas emissions producing significant climate changes are caused by construction operations; we aim at decreasing this percentage by preserving the natural habitat, using technical solutions and materials with low carbon impact and ensuring operational sustainability for the entire lifespan of our developments. To certify strong sustainability targets are constantly maintained, we work closely with reliable professionals, specializing in environmental analysis.

Carbon impact:

According to the latest analysis of Climate Action Tracker (CAT), our planet’s atmospheric temperature is in danger to increase by +2,4˚C till the end of this century. This is an important topic to us, therefore we work with a sustainability team to develop a comprehensive assessment of both embodied and operational carbon. Part of this process, we measure emissions during the construction phase and the subsequent building in-use over several years. The results are analysed and compared for all our current developments.

Environmental approach:
The ecological impact of our projects is steadily assessed by our environmental engineering team to mitigate the impact of climate change. We request our design partners to be compliant with circular economy strategies, future-proof solutions that ensure efficient use of natural resources, thermal comfort, and indoor air quality. Committed to accelerate climate action, we developed an analytical framework focused on major themes of sustainability such as: wellbeing, community impact, land and ecology, energy and carbon, social equity, planning for change.

About Forty Management:

Forty Management is a Romanian developer of premium green mixed-use urban reconversion under Central District brand. Founded in 2015 by real estate entrepreneur Lucian Azoitei, Forty Management distinguishes on the market through the innovation and sustainability approaches of their concepts.

Sustainability and energy efficiency are at the forefront of all their developments. All the buildings developed under the Central District brand have superior certifications in this respect and Forty Management has received multiple awards numerous competitions and conferences in the field, both internationally and locally. The company is a member of the Romanian Green Building Council (RoGBC), an organisation that promotes environmental responsibility and energy efficiency. All Central District’s residential developments are certified “Green Homes”.

The scale up of the Lagoon City green urban reconversion concept will be implemented in Budapest, Warsaw and Prague through the company’s Swiss-based subsidiary Forty Management AG.

More details about the Central District and Lagoon City projects can be found here: https://centraldistrict.ro/, https://lagooncity.ro/.

Briarwood Homes offers ‘suburbia-in-the country’ lifestyle

 

With Canada’s population growing by leaps and bounds, Briarwood Homes is keen on providing developments that offer the charm of the countryside with the convenience of urban amenities.

A case in point is the Trilogy site in Sutton, Ontario, with community neighbourhoods perfect for raising a family or retirement.

 

“We love Sutton because it represents everything a community in York Region has to offer but has the added benefits of a more relaxed living experience,” says Enzo Di Giovanni, owner and President of Briarwood Homes. “In Trilogy, you get a modern urban house with all the bells and whistles but in a place that’s ideal for the modern homeowner’s wish list.

 

“We strive to build these family-oriented, car-friendly neighbourhoods close to schools, with parks and in safe locations conducive to raising children.”

Trilogy in Sutton checks the boxes on all counts, including these key points:

 

  • Located a few minutes east of Georgina and Keswick;
  • Close to larger municipalities, including Newmarket, East Gwillimbury and Aurora;
  • Just minutes away from Lake Simcoe, and conveniently close to Highway 404.
  • Suburbia in the country;
  • City of Barrie is accessible from Sutton;
  • Having everything a York Region community offers;
  • Perfect for raising a family and accommodating an aging community – homes are tailored to the upcoming families or retirees looking for a new home;
  • The community is at the start of the Sutton-Zephyr Rail Trail, a 13.4-kilometre hiking track.

With single-family detached homes in this picturesque subdivision still available, the area provides a small-town lifestyle that’s worth celebrating, says Di Giovanni.

“So much of the joy of living depends on finding the right home for your family,” Di Giovanni says. “And Trilogy does that in a beautiful, natural spot.”

 

Nestled among the forest, fields and close to Lake Simcoe, Trilogy and Sutton offers a place where life unfolds at a different pace.

 

There’s time to savour the simple things in life, from a walk in the woods amidst the colours of autumn, to skipping stones across the glassy surface of the lake. At Trilogy, it’s a dream locale for families, while surrounded by Mother Nature in all her finest.

 

All of which meshes seamlessly with the raison d’etre of Briarwood Homes.

Now in its 28th year in Canada, the company has showcased its expertise and innovation throughout Southern Ontario. Its communities extend from Kingston in the east, to Muskoka in the north, Fort Erie to the southwest … and points in between. Besides Sutton, there are high, low and mid-rise communities in Newmarket, Brampton, Milton, Angus and Prince Edward County.

 

Briarwood Homes employs a forward-thinking philosophy that continues to find its name at the top rung of the building industry ladder, succeeding in the development of more sustainable communities that are also environment-friendly.

 

Di Giovanni says green roofs are being incorporated on top of its high-rise buildings, and rough-ins are included in garages to accommodate electric vehicles.

 

“It is all about anticipating what our homebuyers are looking for today and need for generations to come,” he says.

Homebuyers appreciate the hands-on attention and unparalleled customer service from Briarwood Homes. Di Giovanni says only the highest quality materials are sourced, and a wide selection of options are hand-picked.

 

Di Giovanni says there’s a synergy at Briarwood Homes, with a finely-tuned team, including skilled trades associates, that is all about developing and building all-encompassing communities, such as Trilogy, with a full range of amenities and retail services.

Leaving nothing to chance, Briarwood Homes always has a top-notch designer available to assist new-home buyers with the selection of finishes and upgrades to best represent their personal style. The company values quality, whether it’s designing new homes, models or a new condo lobby.

 

“I am very proud of our new projects currently in production, such as Trilogy,” says Di Giovanni.

“As a working CEO, my command central can be from our head office in Richmond Hills or, more likely, in my car travelling to new-home sites or appraising new possibilities,” he says. “I am completely hands on, ensuring my personal involvement in all aspects of Briarwood Homes, delivering my total commitment to quality – it is in my DNA.”

 

Web / briarwoodhomes.ca

 

Briarwood Homes has established itself as one of the foremost names in the new home industry, leading the way in creating and building distinctive landmark residential properties. Residences offer certified architectural designs and open concept interiors with features that maximize innovative ideas and thinking. The company’s mandate is to inspire today’s sophisticated new homebuyer, fulfilling a desire for liveable and sustainable environments. Briarwood Homes will diligently search for superior locations with elements that embrace, articulate and preserve nature’s design.  An important focus is to creatively introduce attributes such as parks and public spaces that are all interwoven into thoughtfully planned beautiful streetscapes. Ease of access to everyday amenities and being well-connected is also an important ingredient. All this attention influences and culminates into extraordinary communities matched with perfect lifestyles.

Strong promotional push provides Centreville Homes with enhanced visibility

They say timing is everything and Centreville Homes continues to adhere to that principle.

Established in 2006 by founder and president Cesare Bauco, Centreville Homes has been making its mark in the construction industry ever since and is now ramping things up with a more aggressive marketing push.

“We have been a company that liked to stay under the radar,” says Bauco, “but now, with our recent growth and our online presence, we are adjusting our approach.”

Centreville Homes is an experienced urban infill builder that incorporates a hands-on approach to every facet of construction of its new homes. Its knowledge and experience allows for design and project creation that will not only enhance and add value to existing communities but make them landmarks.

As a Tarion/HRCA (Home Construction Regulatory Authority) registered builder, Centreville Homes brings clients a happy living experience created by dedicated professionals with decades of expertise in building homes and land development.

“We have the knowledge and experienced team of consultants to undertake the development process from start to approval,” says Bauco. “In In the last few years, for example, we have acquired lands yielding approximately 908 residential units in various phases of development with an estimated acquisition value of just over $100 million dollars (CAD).”

The company’s success spreads right across the Greater Toronto area from the municipalities of North York, Mississauga, Scarborough, Pickering, Woodbridge, Maple, Barrie, Shelburne and to Blue Mountains near Thornbury, Ontario.

“We understand the details in homebuilding that make the difference between good and exceptional. And we insist that those details are celebrated in all our homes,” says Bauco.

Bauco has been in the residential development industry for over 20 years and oversees the day-to-day operations of the company along with review of new development opportunities and acquisitions.

Part of Centreville Homes’ plan involves looking to acquire development opportunities and expand building operations into the United States, which has involved discussions with property owners in Florida, California, Nashville and Texas.

Centreville Homes takes pride in building landmark homes across the GTA, helping to bring lasting value to communities – wherever they may be.

Look no further than the Essa Towns urban townhome development in Barrie, Ontario.

 

Essa Towns has everything clients want in a home. It’s a focal point of the neighbourhood, features Barrie’s only residential rooftop patio homes, with a multi-colour brick veneer exterior design, modern architecture, smart-home features and unique floor plans. Some call it the definition of urban living in modern luxury.

 

Essa Towns is literally located at the centre of everything in the area. Alongside everyday amenities, Barrie is rich with over 300 hectares of scenic parks, over 88 kilometres of public trails and a beautiful waterfront at the heart of the city.

Emulating European styles with attention to both design and function, Essa Towns offers the finest new living space in Barrie. Consideration was given to space for storage, cooking and entertainment.

 

“Essa Towns also demonstrates how we are working with pre-manufactured panels for construction that will reduce waste, which is better for the environment, and energy-efficient building,” says Bauco. “It also speeds up construction time and provides a better quality of construction.

“We believe that Essa Towns is an example of a stepping stone for the next projects to come our way. We are looking to grow and move our company to the pinnacle of the industry by our commitment to best-in-class home product innovation and service offerings.”

Web / centrevillehomes.ca

 

Centreville Homes is an experienced urban infill builder incorporating a hands-on approach to every facet of new-home construction. The company’s knowledge and experience allows it to design and create projects that will not only enhance and add value to existing communities but make them landmarks.