All posts by Giulio
Summer 2019
WATER BUILDING RESORT – De Urrutia Partners
WATER BUILDING RESORT – De Urrutia Partners
The design of the building allows integrating renewable energy as uptake and energy optimization. The façade facing the sun is covered by photovoltaic crystals latest technology that enable transparency and capture energy to provide electricity to the building. The facade opposite the sun are louvers that allow air to enter is conducted through producing drinking water equipment. The air passing through the central courtyard speed increases and out the top wind turbine, generating electricity to supply all equipment.
WATER BUILDING RESORT is the first building in the world that converts air into water.
Get water from the air looks like science fiction, but it is a reality, thanks to the latest technology of “TeexMicron” incorporated into the building
Its water production is based on the condensation of moisture in the air, its location in the water of the sea adds value with respect to increased condensation, allowing seize the day and night evaporation condensation. Moreover, WATER BUILDING RESORT recycles water taking advantage of rainwater and desalinated sea purifying it with built at the base of the building equipment. Water generators “TeexMicron” allow to produce 5,000 liters of water per volume of 21.17 m3 equipment / 48 people, for the calculations will use an average of 105 liters per person.
The use is a dedicated Resort with an Acuarium, Restaurants, Gyms, Hotel, Spa service, Congresses, Conferences and permanents or itinerant Exhibitions rooms.
Heatherwick Studios – 1,000Trees
Following the success of the UK Pavilion for the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, the studio was invited to design a large mixed-use development in Shanghai, set on a former industrial area in a bend of Suzhou Creek.
Observing the trend in China towards increasingly enormous property developments, the team became convinced that a new large-scale building development of retail podiums and glass towers would not sit well next to the neighbouring art district, river and park.
Instead they decided to see if this project could be an extension of these elements. Rather than focusing on the façade, the studio became interested in the rational grid of one thousand structural columns that a construction project of this scale would need for support.
Normally hidden within a building, giving prominence to the columns rather than the facade might allow the bulk of the building to feel more articulated and less clumsy. This in turn led to the idea of transforming the top of every column into a large planter so that the project could have a balancing softness and variety to the inevitable hardness of modern construction.
Arranged in varying heights across the site, the columns allow one thousand trees to be planted and create an undulating topography of balconies which reach upwards from the lowest point at the art district, park and river. The result is a clustered pair of structures integrating car parking, office space, shops, a school, hotel bedrooms and art galleries.
On the south side this pair of new man made mountains is cut through, like termite mounds, to expose its insides to the surrounding city.
Shadi’s story: The making of a community builder
As a 7-year old girl, Shadi Aghaei remembers riding the school bus along the Boulevard Carnot and Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, and marveling at the majestic Colline du Château castle, the blue green waters of the Mediterranean, the seagulls cawing, music playing and all the excitement on Castel Plage (beach). She remembers breathing in the invigorating scent of the garrigue that wafts across Nice from the Rhône Valley, sharing a sorbet on the weekend outside Fenocchio Ice-Cream on Place Rossetti with her father, and saying “I love to ride in the bus. I love it here.”
But Saeid Aghaei had other ideas, and told her: “Treasure your memories of the beauty around you while you can, because things might change.” He told her there were great adventures ahead and that there would be other beautiful places to live.
He was a successful civil engineer and homebuilder, and he aspired to opportunities offered by the quickly developing economy in North America. They had moved from Iran to Nice shortly after Shadi was born, and now he was preparing to move the family once more, to Canada.
Shadi was soon in Toronto, growing up in North York, attending étienne Brûlé high school and the Glendon campus of York University. She studied Mathematics, and graduated with her BA in 1994.
Her father began by building fine custom homes around North York Ontario, progressing quickly to townhouse developments and high-rise projects. He partnered with two cousins and their company is now the Times Group, one of the largest developers in Canada.
In 2000 the Canadian Government hired Shadi as an analyst in the regulatory department of the Ministry of Fisheries & Oceans. She was bright and worked hard, and was soon assigned to natural resources policy. She had learned about real estate and construction from her father, from her studies at York, and from her interest in architecture and clean energy. It was not surprising that she gravitated in this direction, eventually working in Canada’s real property branch.
After many years of good performance she was rewarded with responsibility for the government’s largest energy service acquisition program. She was tasked with modernizing 107 government facilities in the Ottawa region. It was challenging,” she says, “due to its scale, and also due to the need for public/private cooperation. The decision was made that the best way to fund it would be through P3 structures, which at the time were very new in Canada. It was difficult, but we persevered and succeeded in moving the yardsticks forward.”
By 2012, Times Group knew that Shadi’s expertise in modern buildings was of great value and recruited her as Vice-President of the company, with responsibility for design development, marketing, sales, pricing and government relations.
The built environment has been changing quickly with growing awareness of climate breakdown, cleaner building technologies and digital systems, that allow heating and cooling to be engineered in new, more precise ways.
In her new role with Times Group, remembering the wonders of Nice and southern France as a child, Shadi sought to create beautiful, cultured communities.
The past eight years have been a period of great expansion for the company and although they had always employed advanced approaches, with help from Shadi and the experts she has recruited their projects have become friendlier, greener, healthier, smarter and more sophisticated than ever before.
Most of their developments are LEED certified and several are connected to the Markham District Energy system, reducing energy consumption and their carbon footprint. Suites are insulated beyond requirements and fitted with high quality windows. Times Group designs include electric vehicle rechargers, bike storage, green roofs, and landscaped terraces.
Riverview, one of he newest projects near Warden and Highway 7 in Markham consists of more than 960 residential energy-efficient units with smart technology for entertainment, heating, cooling and security.
Shadi is a member of several committees that develop sustainable building standards, including EnergyStar for Multi-Residential and the Savings by Design program.
“I’m a great believer in building relationships and trust, and I reach out to others in our profession including competitors, because our responsibility is to the society first. We are expected to design cities that work, and it’s from healthy community building that I draw my satisfaction.” She is a fan of the book “Co-opetition” by A.B. Brandenburger and B.J. Nalebuff, which embodies the spirit of what Shadi sees as modern corporate behavior.
“My father and uncle are good men who build with heart, and their values have inspired me. My father taught me to respect everyone and cultivate trust, honesty and confidence.” Asked about being a woman in a male dominated field, she says. “I’ve never let it become an issue. To any woman with ambition I would say ‘Be strong and don’t sweat the small stuff. Keep your eye on your values and goals and you will accomplish great things.’”
Looking ahead Shadi is working to expand the idea of community development beyond condominiums to innovative premium level seniors concepts. She is toying with modern definitions of ‘community’ involving friends who wish to age together as a group, and are willing to form a funding structure well in advance, to ensure that when they reach their retirement years they have already secured a better home and amenities, with pre-planned neighbourhood supports and associations.
“When I think back to France, I remember a wonderful culture that focused on aesthetics, lifestyle and on friendly neighbourhood relationships. That is what we are trying to build here.”
Safdie Architects’ Monumental ‘Raffles City Chongqing’ Begins Phased Opening on Historic Chaotianmen Square
Following eight years of design, development, and construction, Safdie Architects is nearing completion on its latest project in China: Raffles City Chongqing, a vibrant complex which combines office, residential, hotel, retail, and recreational facilities across a 22.7 acre site, embedded within the densely developed Yuzhong district.
A phased opening of Raffles City Chongqing commenced in September 2019 with the unveiling of a 220,000 sq.m., five-story retail galleria and continues into early 2020, culminating with the opening of The Crystal, a 300m-long horizontal skyscraper perched at 250m and stretching across four of the development’s eight towers.
Project features
The Crystal
Spanning across four accessible towers, at a length of 280 meters, the Crystal also connects to two of the development’s taller towers via linking bridges. Considered a ‘horizontal skyscraper,’ the Crystal houses 15,000 sq.m. of facilities including gardens, numerous dining options, bar and event space, a residential clubhouse, infinity pool, and hotel lobby.
Enclosed by a glass and steel structure termed a concertina—a serrated profile with an elliptical cross section—The Crystal offers visitors access to natural light, extensive views, and garden settings throughout the year. Metal panels on the west-facing concertina surfaces and glass on the east-facing surfaces afford the guests and visitors with natural light in the morning and shade from the sun in the afternoon.
Retail Galleria and Roof Park
The retail galleria is organized in five stories, topped by an expansive public park that overlooks historic Chaotianmen Square. The three main retail gallerias align with, and are a conceptual continuation of, the principal north-south streets of the city.
The public park sits adjacent to each of the residential tower’s private gardens, creating a network of green and open space across the development that overlooks the Jialing and Yangtze Rivers.
Towers
The Raffles City Chongqing development is composed of eight towers in total, with six southern towers rising to 250m, and two northern towers extending upwards to 350m.
SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE AND PEACEFUL SANCTUARY MEET ON A TRANQUIL ISLAND
When architect Nick Troubetzkoy came to St Lucia Island on assignment, he had no idea of the labour of love before him. Or the challenge of creating a green masterpiece on a virgin cliff face for that matter.
However, what struck him most was the peacefulness around him, and the laid back approach to life of the handful of people living there. He resolved to create his ultimate masterpiece right there in the rainforest. He wanted to encapsulate that green beauty in 25 luxury suites, each with one entire wall open to nature.
With one sweep of creative genius this brought the view into each retreat, while doing away with air-conditioning because it couldn’t work. Instead, Nick Troubetzkoy placed a pool on the rim of each balcony he made of local materials, and with uninterruptable views of Jade Mountain across the water.
The entire resort is an extravaganza of water in ponds and streams and waterfalls that naturally cool the air. Every drop comes from reservoirs fed by island runoff, and passes through a filtration plant as it flows. The only sound is the gentle tinkling of the water. Nick Troubetzkoy explains:
“What I’ve really wanted to do with Jade Mountain is re-evaluate and redesign the basic concept of a holiday hotel experience. I wanted to create individualized spatial environments that would enable guests to forget about the furniture or the fact that they’re in a hotel room.
In essence, to forget about everything but experiencing the psychology of the space on an emotional almost spiritual level. When you combine the water with the air in this way, I believe you unlock a profound potential for an almost magical level of enjoyment and celebration – a magic that may well be the ultimate achievement at Jade Mountain.”
Nick Troubetzkoy developed an affinity for the local people as he planned his great masterpiece on St Lucia Island in the Caribbean. Truly sustainable architecture must improve the quality of their life too, he reasoned:
It was my ambition from the beginning to create an environment that fully captured the island’s beauty. Whether or not I’ve been successful in that effort is up to others to decide of course, but on balance I believe that we have made this part of the island a better place since those early days.
And so he set himself the target to create an organic vision of his dream of personalized guest space, which inspires an almost spiritual emotion. He had no mechanistic plan created on CAD back at the office in the city. Instead, he improvised as he went along to create a dramatic ambience in each sanctuary he built.
He increased the vision of a deserted island by replacing corridors with long, suspended air bridges that were the only way to reach a sanctuary and the magnificent vista beyond. However, perhaps the greatest attraction is the private bathing pool. Indeed, pure organic water becomes an extension of living here.
Sanctuary pools are raised eighteen inches above the floor to bring them to the level of the bather, who can lounge on the two-foot-wide coping without having to kneel down. They can run their fingers through the water without actually getting wet, or immerse themselves intimately in liquid warmed by the sun.
Everywhere you look in Jade Mountain there seems to be water with iricandescent glass tiles reflecting through. This unlocks a profound potential to get grips with the true magic of the island the Amerindian people called Iouanalao, meaning land of the iguanas.
Construction obeyed in an organic vision after building a structural deck to support the architect’s flights of fancy at succeeding levels. Here is no modular, rectangular structure. Sculpted reinforced concrete follows vision cast directly onto wooden formwork.
Here are few sharp angles either, causing Jade Mountain to appear to flow out of nature. Tens of thousands of cubic metres of concrete were prepared individually in small mixers, because concrete-delivery trucks could not access the site. Instead, they used chutes and wheelbarrows for continuous pours.
A small army of St Lucia artisanal workers achieved this remarkable miracle of love through thousands of hours of back-breaking physical labour. Jade Mountain literally grew out of the ground, says Nick Troubetzkoy. One plank, one nail and one shovel’s worth of sand, cement, gravel and concrete at a time.
If Jade Mountain appears to rise fresh out of the earth, that’s perhaps because first priority was sourcing local materials for responsible finishes. The sand, gravel, and rose-gray, hand-split stone cladding was sourced from the site.
Much of the remainder is from other Caribbean islands, including blush-colored coral plaster finishes from Barbados, arrays of coral tiles from Dominican Republic, and various tropical hardwoods from Guyana.
Artisans worked the timber by hand to extract the subtle colours and textures on doors and other fittings. St Lucia benefited as they discovered their talent and learned new skills for future projects. Every indigenous plant in this symphony of sanctuaries grew in the nursery on site. All surplus material was donated to the locals for their homes.
Obtaining United States Green Building Council LEED certification in 2016 was almost an afterthought, although perhaps it was one of the greatest achievements as it confirmed the project benefited people, planet and profit.
Travelite followed up the next year with gold certification for socioeconomic and environmental aspects, and reaffirmed its recognition in 2018. Jade Mountain and Nick Troubetzkoy’s sister resort Anse Chastanet are still the only recipients on St Lucia Island of this award.
Travelite was particularly impressed by passive lighting and ventilation in the sanctuaries, and the way the external facade captures water for koi ponds and vegetable gardens. They also appreciated the way the natural coral tiles on roof tops and walkways reflect solar heat.
Moreover, they also praised attention to detail during construction. Materials and plants were both sourced locally wherever possible, while an indoor air quality plan, and low-emissive paints and adhesives protected workers who were transported to site using electric transport.
However, Nick Troubetzkoy’s greatest triumph was the lasting gift he gave the island beyond the resort boundaries. The workforce did not only receive surplus construction materials free for use on their own properties. The project was also instrumental in the coral reefs of St Lucia being declared a marine reserve.
Most of all, I prize the spirit of ongoing creation that has for me always been the heart of this beautiful place. If we captured a portion of the island’s beauty and quality of life in our work here and can share it with visitors, then I think we’ve done something of real value.
THE GREEN ARK, FIRST PRIZE WINNER Belgian Pavilion, World Expo 2020 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The Belgian Pavilion finally unveiled !
During the next World Expo in Dubai in 2020, Belgium will show the world its technological progress to connect minds and create the future. The pavilion, a green ark spanning several levels, is a real jewel of architecture and engineering.
The public tender has just been awarded for the design, construction, scenography, maintenance and decommission. It was won by the BEMOB-2020 group. It includes the Belgian contractors BESIX and Vanhout, the design firms ASSAR ARCHITECTS and VINCENT CALLEBAUT ARCHITECTURES and the scenographers of Krafthaus. It will showcase the techniques, applications, products and materials, which are Belgian or of Belgian origin on both the interior and the exterior of the pavilion.
This building/garden will not just be green on the outside. The preservation of the environment is at the heart of its design and of our concerns, with natural light and ventilation, renewable energies and the smart use of water.
The pavilion will have an exhibition trail, shops selling Belgian souvenirs, places to taste our culinary specialities (including fries, of course) and a business centre, as well as a gastronomic brasserie with a terrace. These are all excellent opportunities for our economic players to show themselves to the world. There is definitely a certain cachet involved in organising a reception in the Belgian pavilion or selling products at our different points of sale, for example.
The pavilion, in the heart of the mobility district, will present our latest technological innovations for bringing people, goods and ideas together. The exhibition premises will offer all kinds of interactive discoveries in the Belgium of the future.
The pavilion is already popular with the business world before it even sees the light of day (the structural work is due to be completed by the end of the year). Many businesses are co-financing it or are contributing to its construction. Contributions by other persons and companies, from SME’s to multinationals, are still welcome!
Text by BelExpo, Belgian Commission General for International Exhibitions
Jade Mountain Achieves Prestigious Travelife Gold Re-Certification
Jade Mountain Achieves Prestigious Travelife Gold Re-Certification
Nick and Karolin Troubetzkoy, owners of Jade Mountain and Anse
Chastanet, St Lucia, are delighted to announce the hotels’ have been re-certified for the internationally renowned Travelife Gold Certification for Hotels and Accommodations. The sister resorts are the only Gold Certified properties on the island.
Travelife, the sustainable tourism certification system, has re-assessed Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet’s performance in responsibly managing their socio-economic and environmental impacts. The resorts first achieved certification in 2017
and have worked hard to maintain the title.
Mountain and Anse Chastanet’s performance in responsibly managing their socio-economic and environmental impacts.
The resorts first achieved certification in 2017 and have worked hard to maintain the title.
To gain a Travelife Gold certification, Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet were assessed against 88 sustainability criteria that take into account the following environmental issues and positive social impacts.
These include:
- Protecting the environment, through minimising the amount of energy, waste
and water used - Respecting and treating employees fairly
- Respecting the local community, including its residents and the safeguarding
of children - Protecting the local culture, heritage and wildlife of the destination
- Supporting the local economy and its businesses
Nick and Karolin Troubetzkoy said of the accolade: “We are absolutely delighted to have achieved Travelife Gold Certification once again, as environmental efforts have always been at the heart of our resorts. It is incredibly important to us that we continue to commit to sustainability and to supporting the local community year-on-year”.
Environmental concerns, sustainability and community efforts are at the epicentre of Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet, with daily practices set up to conserve water and energy and increase recycling efforts.
These include but are not restricted to the following:
- The design of Jade Mountain reinforces the connection to the natural environment
with passive ventilation of the rooms and natural day-lighting. Heating and cooling
of the sanctuaries (rooms) is based entirely on the natural rhythms and cycles of
the world around us. Not being dependent on artificial cooling or lighting of the
rooms decreases the use of precious energy resources and minimizes the carbon
footprint of the resort. - The exterior plaza of Jade Mountain was designed to capture all the rainwater in
Koi ponds and planting areas. The plants are then harvested for use in the resort’s
restaurants. - A natural coral tile was used for exterior walkways and roof areas. It is highly
reflective and effectively diminishes any “heat island” effect in the local micro-
climate. - Potable water for the resorts is produced by collecting it in a reservoir that was
originally constructed and used by the British and French to power the water
wheels that crushed sugar cane. The reservoir was repaired after decades of not
being used and now collects over 1.5M gallons of water annually that is gravity-fed
to a state-of-the-art water purification system. - Only local, indigenous plants were used in the landscaping, which minimizes the
need for watering and protects a precious resource. - The resorts were the catalyst behind the coral reefs of St Lucia being declared a
marine reserve to protect this valuable resource. - The resorts provide alternative transportation for its employees. On a daily basis,
shuttles are scheduled hourly to transport workers from the resort to the local
community, keeping carbon emissions to a minimum. - During the construction of Jade Mountain, any left-over construction materials were
distributed to the local work force for use on their own property. - Construction materials that were used primarily came from the island, reducing the
use of fossil fuels for transportation and the resultant pollution. For example, the
wood used was harvested from a managed forest. - During construction, the workers were protected through the implementation of an
Indoor Air Quality plan that minimised worker’s exposure to harmful air-borne
compounds. - Low emitting materials (paints, adhesives, etc.) were used throughout the resorts,
which effectively eliminated volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) that are
detrimental to a person’s health.
Guests are given the opportunity to learn about the resorts’ sustainability
programmes and actively participate through environmental activities such as reef
cleaning and tree planting.
Stefano Boeri Architetti unveils Smart Forest City in Cancun, Mexico
The new city will host, on a land area 557 ha, 130.000 inhabitants, giving back to nature a large area where it would have been built a shopping district. 400 hectares of green spaces with 7.500.000 plants (of 400 different species chosen carefully by Laura Gatti, botanist and landscape architect) 260.000 of which will be trees, 2.3 trees per inhabitant, and the rest composed of shrubs and bushes. Thanks to the new public parks and private gardens, thanks to the green roofs and to the green facades, the areas actually occupied will be given back by nature through a perfect balance between the amount of green areas and building footprint. The Smart Forest City will absorb 116.000 tons of carbon dioxide with 5.800 tons of CO2 stocked per year.
Smart Forest City – Cancun is the first Forest City of the new millennium, an open and international city whose development is focused on technological innovation and environmental quality. A center for advanced research that could hosts all worldwide university departments, international organizations and companies that deal with very important sustainability issues and the future of the planet. New research and development departments are dedicated to welcome researchers and young students from Mexico and from the best academies and universities from all over the world.
Thanks to the contribution of the German
office Transsolar, Smart Forest City –
Cancun is conceived to be completely food and energy
self-sufficient. Surrounded by a ring of solar panels and of agricultural
fields irrigated by a water channel connected with a underwater maritime pipe,
the City will be deeply characterized by full circular economy.
In particular, water is a key element in the project: it is gathered at the
entrance of the City in a huge basin, where there is also a desalination tower,
and it is distributed by a system of navigable canals in the whole settlement
up to the agricultural fields belt that surrounds the urban area. A series of
water gardens are designed to fight floods as a model for resilient landscapes.
This new City is conceived to have a vanguard mobility system: MIC (Mobility in Chain) has proposed an articulated transportation system that allows residents and visitors to leave their vehicles at the edges of the city and rely uniquely on internal electric and semi-automatic mobility.
The urban project of Smart Forest City – Cancun is designed according to Non-Determistic Urbanism. Given the big invariants of urban structure – related to energy infrastructure, mobility and green, to the presence of development and research poles and to the right of each inhabitant to have at its disposal all services at a correct pedestrian and cycling distance – the City grants a great flexibility in the distribution of all different architectural typologies that can be articulated in the five big sectors that the Masterplan defines.
