All posts by Giulio

Architecture, Building Envelope, Eco Tourism, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories, Trends

BIG reveals masterplan for BiodiverCity, three artificial water lily islands off the shore of Penang Island, Malaysia

BIG reveals masterplan for BiodiverCity, three artificial water lily islands off the shore of Penang Island, Malaysia

BIG, the studio founded by Bjarke Ingels, with the Hijjas studios, as a local partner, and Ramboll, for engineering and project management, have been selected as winners to design a masterplan for Penang South Islands, providing Penangites with approximately 4.6 km of public beaches, 600 acres of parks and a 25 km waterfront.

BiodiverCity masterplan supports the Panang2030 vision with a clear focus on livability, on stimulating a socially and economically inclusive development, and on environmental sustainability for future generations. BiodiverCity will be the new sustainable, global destination where cultural, ecological and economic growth is secured and where people and nature co-exist in one of the most biodivers places on the planet at the southern shore of Penang Island.

Penang’s vast biodiversity spans various topographies and protected environments which in recent years have seen its coastal zones and natural habitats disrupted by urban developments. In contrast, BiodiverCity is concived as an Urban Mosaic of three diverse islands, and set of urban guidelines for mixing programs, addressing pedestrian and mobility networks, building sustainability and harvesting resources.

The three islands bring together mixed-use districts of 15,000 to 18,000 residents across 50 to 500 acres, and continuous 50 to 100m buffer around each district, establishing habitat connectivity and supporting edge ecologies in reserves, parks, corridors and urban plazas.

The Channels, BiodiverCity’s first island, is constructed in three complementary phases: in Phase 1, Active Destinations include a wave pool and technology park; in Phase 2 a Civic Heart establishes governance and research institutions in the area; and Phase 3, a cultural Coast builds upon the heritage and vibrant creative energy of Penang’s George Town to create  a regional and international draw.

As the heart of the district, the Channels’ 500-acre digital park includes spaces for research, development and local business opportunities. Malaysia’s newest public destination will be the future home for conferences, education centres and family-oriented park where locals and guests can explore the world of technology, robotics and virtual reality.

The building in BiodiverCity will be designed to prform efficiently and will to a large extent be constructed by low-carbon materials such as bamboo and Malaysian timber in combination with green concrete, a sustainable alternative comprised of industrial waste and recycled materials

By encouraging green roofs, facades, public and private open spaces, the islands can form a nearly continuous habitat mosaic feeding back into the forest, beaches, riparian zones and estuaries at island’s edges.

The Laguna, BiodiverCity’s westernmost island, is a oasis for ecological living, organized around a central marina. Eight smaller islands form a miniature archipelago, where floating, stilted and terraced housing takes advantage of the natural setting.

A web of ecological corridors connects forest reserves to coastal beaches while supporting habitats and communities across the islands. Within human-populated areas, animals are given safe passage through the continuous canopy and waterways, and within natural habitats, people can safely access elevated boardwalks.

BiodiverCity supports a water, air and land-based autonomous network, aiming for a car free environment where streets serve as a safe and welcoming thoroughfare for bikers and pedestrian. Districts are efficiently connected below platforms to increase the efficiency of goods, services and regional mobility, while maximizing pedestrian safety throughout the public realm.

BIG is the architecture practice of Danish architect Ingels, which was founded in 2005. Today it has studios in Copenhagen, New York, London and Barcelona.

Elsewhere, BIG is working a masterplan for the “city of the future” with Toyota, which will be built beside Mount Fuji in Japan.

Architecture, Building Envelope, Ideas, Style, Technology, Trends

2,000 Custom-Fit Motorized Shades to Enhance the Architectural Design of the Deloitte Summit Tower

Altex, a family-owned company from Terrebonne, Canada’s leader in window covering and a valued Québec partner for architects and designers, unveils the fruits of an exceptional collaboration with Westport Manufacturing for the Deloitte Summit Tower, one of the four largest audit and consulting firms in the world. Altex’s 2,000 custom-designed shades represent its largest motorized window covering project of this kind in North America.

A major architectural achievement

The Deloitte Summit Tower, a building designed by the architectural firm Merrick Architecture, features glass floors with city skyline views, rooftop terraces sheltered by the tiers above, and vertical gardens framing breathtaking mountain views. Altex’s motorized shades allow absolute control over the building’s many glass spaces, designed to both reflect nature and honor its environment. The motors that will equip the Altex shades come from the French giant Somfy, the world’s largest motor manufacturer in this field, ensuring unparalleled control over the light in each of the spaces.

400 WGeorgia Base Plates / HayesDavidson / Westbank

About the Deloitte Summit Project

Deloitte Summit is a 24-storey office tower made up of several clusters of four-storey steel-framed cubes arranged around a central concrete core. The office will feature glass floors overlooking the city, roof terraces under overhanging volumes, vertical gardens framing views of the mountains, and the largest rooftop amenity in Vancouver.

The character of the workspace at Deloitte Summit is designed to be open, fluid, flexible, but also diverse. This new, creative work environment elicits collaboration, creativity, and spontaneity. The boxes create natural compartments within a continuous floor plate, allowing offices to be variously partitioned while also staying close to the façade. The floors and ceilings of the cantilevering portions are glazed to visually link the garden, the offices, and the street below. The resulting diversity of spaces is complemented by the diversity of views, whose orientation is not only horizontal but also vertical. The project is scheduled for completion in 2021.

Architecture, Building Envelope, Ideas, LEED, Net Zero, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories, Trends, Wood

BLT DESIGN AWARDS

I am very proud and honoured to be invited as a jury member in prestigious BLT Design Award dedicated to Architecture Design and Construction around the world. https://lnkd.in/g5GnicZ

BLT Built Design Awards recognized the expertise of all professionals involved in the realization of outstanding projects globally: from Architecture firms, Interior design Ventures to Construction Products, and Project Management.

This annual program aims to identify and promote outstanding projects, innovative processes, sustainable initiatives and disruptive companies in the building industry. Its objective is to become the most inclusive platform raising awareness and bringing the spotlight on all professions involved in the realization of new infrastructures.

BLT focuses on celebrating projects, people, and their passion for the industry, and through its rigorous judging process, it recognizes those that have gone above and beyond in the last 5 years.

BLT Built Design Awards gives 6 winning titles/Trophies per year to Professionals and Students:

  • Architectural Design of the Year: Professional
    • Emerging Architect of the Year: Student
    • Interior Design of the Year: Professional
    • Emerging Interior Designer of the Year: Student
    • Construction Product of the Year: Professional, one of the most comprehensive Annual Awards
    • Project Management of the Year: Professional

Selected by an esteemed jury of architects, designers, manufacturers, and leaders in construction and architectural fields, the annual winners will receive the BLT trophy, extensive publicity showcasing their designs and project to an international audience, and more.

For more information go to www.bltawards.com

Architecture, Building Envelope, Green Energy, HVAC, Ideas, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories, Trends

Zaha Hadid Architects to build Tower C at Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters Base

Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters Base will be an important business and financial centre in Shenzhen serving the Greater Bay Area of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau; integrating clusters of corporate headquarters within a global technology hub accommodating 300,000 employees each day. Including venues for international conferences, exhibitions, cultural and art programms, the headquarters base will incorporate  residential developments, a transportation centre, botanical grasslands, and coastal zone with wetlands.      

Informed by 3D modelling tools developed by ZHA that optimize efficiencies in architectural massing, orientation and facade-to-floor ratios, Tower C’s design is a multi-dimensional vertical city of two towers at nearly 400m, providing column-free naturally-lit office space, shopping, entertainment and dining amenities, together with a hotel, convention centre and cultural facilities with exhibition galleries.

The double-insulated, unitized glass curtain wall of Tower C’s design steps the glazing as vertical channels for self-shading and incorporates ventilating registers within the channels that draw outside air through operable cavities; providing natural and hybrid ventilation with very effective environmental control for each floor.

Connected with the district’s smart management systems that continually monitor external and interior conditions, indoor environmental controls will adjust in real time to reduce energy consumption with high­   efficiency equipment and chiller plant optimization within the district’s central networks. The design will also incorporate water-collection and recycling as well as photovoltaics to harvest solar energy for the district.

Aquaponics gardens on all terraced levels will biologically filter contaminants from the local environment and low-volatile organic compound materials will be installed to minimize indoor pollutants and particulates. Continuing the district’s ambitions for optimal integration throughout all aspects of the development to increase efficiencies and well-being, Tower C’s procurement will also target embodied carbon reductions and recycled materials.

The design of Tower C integrates the city and nature within its central green axis with the transit orientated development (TOD) of Shenzhen’s new spine, creating a ‘superscape’ that will become a tower of the future within the Super Headquarters Base.

Electric cars, Green Energy, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories

THE ASTON MARTIN VALHALLA: AM-RB 003 CONTINUES ‘V’ CAR TRADITION

Valhalla joins Valkyrie in taking its name from ancient Norse mythology

Continuation of a naming tradition stretching back seven decades

Latest mid-engined addition to the famous lineage of Aston Martin ‘V’ cars

Named after the warrior’s paradise celebrated in ancient Norse mythology, Valhalla follows Valkyrie on Aston Martin’s journey into the highest echelons of road car performance. Employing lightweight construction methods and radical aerodynamics pioneered in Valkyrie, Valhalla will be propelled by a combination of high-efficiency, high-output turbocharged V6 petrol engine and battery-electric hybrid system. Just 500 Coupe examples of the all-carbon fibre hypercar will be built. 

In continuing the fine tradition of Aston Martin ‘V’ cars, Valhalla can trace its lineage back to 1951, when the Vantage designation was given to high performance variants of the then current model, the DB2. Though actual Vantage badging was never applied, the name stuck.


The first time the Vantage name appeared was on the flanks of the DB5. Still it remained a name reserved for the most potent model derivatives until 2005, when the Vantage became a model line in its own right. Fourteen years later that acclaimed family of V8 and V12-powered models is remembered as the most successful in Aston Martin’s history. Since then the all-new generation of turbocharged Vantage has fast forged a reputation as the most dynamically focussed series production Aston Martin ever.

Together with the recently announced Vanquish Vision Concept, Valhalla continues this proud, seven decade old ‘V’ car naming strategy, providing an evocative and powerful moniker fit for one of the world’s most compelling ultra-high performance cars.

Aston Martin is targeting a 0-62 mph sprint time of 2.5 seconds and a top speed of more than 220 mph. If you don’t have the almost $2 million ticket to ride this 200 mph-plus hybrid hypercar, you can see it in the upcoming 007 movie now in production starring Daniel Craig as James Bond.

Architecture, Building Envelope, HVAC, Ideas, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories, Trends

World’s Tallest Passive House Skyscraper to be built in Vancouver

Canadian company Henson Developments is planning a 586-ft-tall, 60-storey, mixed-use residential tower in downtown Vancouver’s West End. It will become the tallest Passive House green building in the world.

Tom Wright of UK-based WKK Architects, which is best known for its work on Dubai’s Burj Al Arab, designed the tower, while IBI Group is the Vancouver-based executive architect.

In order to achieve stringent Passive House standards, targeting a final energy consumption rate that is 80 per cent lower than those built with standard construction methods, the architect chose a more efficient mechanical systems, including two very large heat recovery ventilation units as a centralized system, which is unique for a building of its size and has never been done before.

The tower’s envelope will be more airtight and better insulated, with more efficient triple paned windows with special energy-saving window coating. This way, the heating and cooling system only needs low capacity as variances are minor so the building doesn’t need the traditional cooling towers, chillers or furnaces/boilers, consequently reducing the expenditure on both the heating/cooling infrastructure and significantly reducing energy costs for residents and the buildings operators – as well as total carbon emissions in future years.

Photos courtesy of Henson Developments

Architecture, Building Envelope, Green Energy, HVAC, Ideas, LEED, Net Zero, Style, Sustainability

RESCUBIKA CREATIONS: Mandragore – the world’s tallest carbon-sink tower

Futuristic carbon negative residential tower proposed for New York City’s Roosevelt Island

Mandragore is a proposal to add substance to carbon neutral architecture. Like its namesake the mystical mandrake plant it takes our imagination to new realms, where fresh dimensions wait for us to explore. And explore them we must for the sake of all our futures.

However, New Yorkers are unlikely to accept a 2,418 foot-tall tower on their beloved Roosevelt Island, and lose a precious piece of parkland in return. But that matters not. What matters is that Mandragore is a beacon on the road that human architecture must follow.

Not only is it designed to be the tallest tower in the world, Mandragore also ambitiously aims to becarbon negative—meaning it will eat up more carbon than it produces.

The project is a response to the ‘city of tomorrow’, a city that will consider its carbon footprint and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Conventional buildings create carbon emissions that trap their heat in the atmosphere. It’s a vicious energy circle that Mandragore wants to break. But this is not the product of a fevered imagination. The bits are already there. Mandragore simply puts them together in a form we can engage with, and understand.

This project thinks outside the box of sustainable architecture. Besides achieving the technical or quantifiable goals related to carbon and energy usage, the project also executes a concept called “energy sobriety,” which calls for a shift in lifestyle choices resulting in a smaller carbon footprint

The sinuous structure with many curves and turns would absorb more CO2 than it creates, by becoming a carbon sink. It would warm and cool itself through a network of passive underground pipes, enabling air-ground thermal exchanges. While a cladding of living plants would convert CO2 in the air above New York to oxygen.

Humankind’s obsession with technology has taken us on an energy shopping spree, leading us in a direction perhaps even threatening our extinction. Mandragore could be a living expression of energy sobriety, which appears to be the only way to survive. We simply must reduce our overall consumption. Does it matter if our buildings have a different appearance?

Commuting to and from work generates CO2, while we waste precious time on subways tapping mindlessly on phones. Mandragore wants to give us that time back, by including home work space in every apartment. COVID has given us fresh eyes on an alternative way of working and living: a live-work lifestyle through which we have more time to explore our potential.

The network of underground pipes would be the soul of energy sobriety if French architects Rescubika achieve their dream. The geothermal well system would take advantage of temperature differentials just below earth’s surface. This is warmer than the air above in winter and correspondingly cooler in summer.

Hence the temperature of the air pumped through the pipes would fall in summer, but rise in winter. This would consume energy which must come from somewhere, but Mandragore has that problem nailed too.

Its response is a green tick for 36 wind turbines, 8,300 shrubs, 1,600 trees, 83,000 square feet of plant walls, and nearly 23,000 square feet of solar panels. And it adds extensive use of timber, in which existing carbon will be trapped for the lifetime of the immense structure of 160 floors.

Seen from above, Mandragore has the appearance of a ship setting sail. It looks so tiny against the backdrop of the city, it’s hard to imagine thousands of people living and working there. But how important is this news item really in the context of the pandemic. Why should we care about a building that will probably never be built?

We should care because it shows us what we could do with green technology. Its shape is out of the box which attracts our attention, despite the polemic of the pandemic. If it draws our attention to the greater goal of a carbon-neutral world by 2050, then it achieves the goal of becoming a beacon of hope.

Its second message is we need to break free from architectural convention, if our craft is to remain meaningful in the emerging era. Form must follow function, and if function dictates a sinuous structure so be it. Even if they never build it, Mandragore will inspire others to reach for the sky.

For more information on Mandragore visit www.rescubika.com

Architecture, Eco Tourism, Ideas, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories, Trends, Wood

ECO TOURISM – Ulaman Retreat – Bali, Indonesia

Inspiral Architecture and Design Studios

Located inland in Bali, this wellness retreat has been integrated into a forest that borders luscious rice fields on one side and a dramatic river on the other. The river converges water from the whole area creating a junction of small waterfalls that produces enough flow to power a hydro electric generator that can sustain the power of the buildings within the complex. Merging with nature has been at the forefront in the approach to the design, not just by its operation but by using materials found directly on the site and the immediate locality, therefore enabling the resort to become fully carbon zero.

The first instigation of this can be seen in the dramatic use of rammed earth for all ground level walls. Being located on a hill required significant ground works, therefore with much excess soil, creating these significant mass of curved walls was easily justified. Along with being able to connect the occupant to the beauty of rammed earth with its physicality and layered coloring, it also maintains superior insulation and structural properties. Being very intensive to build we were able to recruit the nearby village to work on what has become the most substantial rammed earth project in Indonesia.

The rest of the structure has been made with bamboo, much of which was harvested from the site. Not only is this fast growing material incredibly sustainable, its flexibility means were able to create spaces that echo the abundance of life in the tropics. Built objects have been created which seek to biologically morph from the surrounding elements, in effect growing from the ground and sprouting among the rich vegetation.

One such building is the yoga studio which literally floats from the cliff’s edge with a cantilevered structure supporting a parabolic bamboo pavilion. The rooms themselves provide the eco luxury that is required for this up market project, with a feeling that is nurturing and in some feature bedrooms, almost cocoon like.

The guest villas too look towards a unique design, yet with the common denominator of bamboo architecture and the warming tones of rammed earth that make up the resort. The curvilinear formations of the roofs can be admired from different heights and angles while the reflections from the meandering pool below add to the effect.

Text description provided by the architects. 

Architecture, Eco Tourism, Style, Sustainability, Top Stories, Trends

CAST AWAY ON BORA BORA IN YOUR DREAMS

A piece of paradise on an idyllic blue lagoon in French Polynesia

In the shadow of Bora Bora’s Mount Otemanu, overwater bungalows and pristine white beaches welcome you to enjoy your time at the Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora. Experience a little piece of paradise, explore the turquoise waters of the lagoon and discover colourful corals and thousands of exotic reef fish. Ending your day in your private pool guarantees marvelous views of the golden sunset and the Polynesian night sky.

The resort is located on a Motu, a private islet, on the French Polynesian Leeward Islands. It is the perfect place to take you away from the stress of everyday life and lets you relax in absolute privacy alongside a tranquil turquoise lagoon. The secluded location with breathtaking views of the ocean and Mount Otemanu makes it one of the most loved resorts in the world – a guarantee for a memorable stay.

Bora Bora is an equatorial atoll in French Polynesia, midway between Papua New Guinea and Ecuador. Days are hot, and nights are warm throughout the year. The ocean temperature averages a comfortable 80 ºF / 27 ºC, making this an ideal location for a laid back aquatic holiday stay.

There’s a single main entrance into the atoll, wide and deep enough to admit cruise ships. American Airlines, Air France, and Air Tahiti provide regular services. Bora Bora Four Seasons Hotel is on the eastern atoll fringe, with beach access to the lagoon and ocean.

Recently awarded the title of “Most Epic Stay Hotel in the World” by AFAR, the Four Seasons Bora Bora Resort offers three different types of accommodations. Wake up to a stunning ocean view in an Overwater Bungalow Suite, take your Overwater Bungalow experience to the next level with a Specialty Bungalow, or reserve your own beach vacation with a Beachfront Villa Estate. Regardless of your choice the many different activities at Four Seasons Bora Bora will make your trip unforgettable.

Overwater bungalow suites with traditional teak wood furnishings, and Polynesian artwork add a touch of luxury to a holiday of a lifetime. It’s almost like living in a thatched hut in a traditional village.

Four Seasons Bora Bora is an exceptionally well-endowed resort. But nature added the final touches by including one of the best snorkeling and diving destinations in the world. The resort is a heartbeat away from a breathtaking lagoon.

The narrow openings in the coral atoll, between lagoon and ocean teem with aquatic life that congregates to feed on the rich bounty of food flowing through. The more intrepid can swim alongside manta rays, and sharks cruising along the coral wall.

Across the lagoon on the main island, Mount Otemanu rises 2,385 feet above the water. Guests have a choice of sightseeing boat tours, helicopter rides, catamaran trips and hiking adventures.

Wilderness treks meander through the foothills hinting of a castaway experience. History buffs can take a 4-wheel drive around the island, to view caves, ancient archaeological relics, and giant cannons dating back to the South Pacific military campaign.

There are larger, land-based beachfront villas, for family groups who prefer the luxury of a private pool. These have indoor-outdoor flows to full al fresco kitchens, and access to private beachfront settings.

These spacious bungalows also have traditional finishes, featuring local Polynesian architectural materials and styles. Guests are allocated dedicated villa hosts, to ensure they have everything they need and a personal guide.

The Kahaia Haven Spa at Four Seasons Bora Bora takes inspiration from a Polynesian tree that relieves headaches and pains, and provides timber for dwellings and trees. Wellness services include traditional, and western practices to nurture body and soul.

But they also offer healthful outdoor therapy, including yoga on the shore of the lagoon, and a vitality plunge pool close by natural vegetation but also providing spectacular views across foothills to the lagoon.

Fine French wine and cuisine are available at the Arii Moana Restaurant, presided over by executive chef Eric Desbordes from Thiais, France. The Fare Hoa Beach Bar and Grill provides all-day dining, and cocktails with toes in the sand. While a traditional Tahitian Fish House showcases local marine foods.

Lovers of each other, and of the quiet life can elect in-bungalow dining, or an intimate breakfast in an open-air restaurant with views of Mount Otemanu. Or if they feel like something completely different, they could paddle to a private island for a champagne dinner for two, as the sun sinks closer to the rim of the ocean.

Sheer luxury competes with nature’s stunning beauty, at Bora Bora Four Seasons Hotel on an equatorial island in French Polynesia. Yet the architecture blends seamlessly everywhere you go and the interfaces are transparent.

Architect Didier Lefort Architect Associates oriented the buildings to optimize island views, and use natural ventilation to reduce air conditioning. They used simple shapes to downplay the intrusion, and cultural elements to enhance the serenity.

A sense of understated opulence, underpinned by personal service follows you everywhere in this Four Seasons resort. There’s a sense of spaciousness everywhere you go. Sometimes, if you let your imagination soar you could be that castaway in your dreams.

Serenity envelops you while you are here, and invites you to return. Perhaps it’s the laidback life style of the Polynesian people. Maybe it’s being able to wake when you like, sleep when you like, and dine with your feet wiggling in the sand. It’s certainly an opportunity shake off the stress.

There are echoes of the rich culture of the Polynesian islands in adornments of everyday items. These features find their way into the artwork, the woodcarvings, and even the patterns in the textiles.

But perhaps the ultimate experience in this special place is to retire for the night to luxuriously understated accommodation over a peaceful lagoon. What better way can there be to drift off. Other than listening to the sounds of the universe, as the gently-lapping water lulls you to sleep…

Coral Reef Restoration Project

The Bora Bora atoll relies on its coral reef to sustain the marine food chain, and attract sufficient tourists to maintain the economy. Four Seasons Bora Bora planted its foundations in the living reef.

Global warming is raising sea water temperatures closer to the point where the tiny coral organisms can no longer survive. The rich marine life, including the seaweeds that root on it could vanish forever, unless something can be done to sustain the coral.

Four Seasons Bora Bora is participating in a project to grow artificial reefs, and sustain marine life despite this threat. A low electric current passing through the water causes marine crystals to develop on an electrode, which encourages natural coral growth.

Resorts guests may participate in this project, by placing new ‘seeds’ of artificial coral in the lagoon. Then they can find them with GPS tracking when they return, and see how their ‘baby coral reef’ has grown.

This ‘Biorock’ technology is safe for swimmers and marine life, although there is some evidence it repels bull sharks and Caribbean reef sharks. This is because it affects their electro receptive ability during the final stages of their attacks.

PHOTOS COURTESY FOUR SEASONS HOTELS