NAMASTE TOWER - MUMBAI INDIA

NAMASTE TOWER - MUMBAI, INDIA

Say Namaste to the Namaste tower! Designed by the Atkins design studio, work IS currently underway on this 300m-62 storeyed mixed use tower that will encompass a hotel, office and retail space. The location is Ambika mills which is a couple hundred meters south of the Shangri-La hotel. The developer of the project is unknown.
The renders and text were submitted by Atkins to the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona (3-5 Nov 2010). Link to project page

Namaste: Hotel and Office Tower
Category: Future Projects - CommercialLocation: Mumbai, India
Architects: WS Atkins, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Atkins, United Arab Emirates

Following the long tradition of great Indian Architecture it was our aim that the Namaste Tower will stand as a landmark structure, representative of the burgeoning economic and cultural significance of India. We aimed to design a building that would become representative of the city: the picture postcard of Mumbai.

Key Statistics:
• 120,000 m2 of Gross Construction Area
• 380 key luxury hotel
• Exclusive restaurants, bars, banqueting and spa facilities
• 9,000 m2 of A grade office space
• 6,000 m2 of world class retail space
• 300 m overall building height

“Namaste"

The traditional Indian greeting of ‘Namaste’, where the hands are clasped together in greeting, is the inspiration for the design of this tower. In Sanskrit “Namaste` means “I bow to you`. It has a spiritual significance of negating one’s ego in the presence of another.

The Architecture of the Namaste Hotel builds on this ancient Indian expression. The two wings of the hotel are clasped together like hands greeting the city of Mumbai. In this way the architectural design of the hotel provides the ultimate symbol of hospitality and welcome, as seen in the as seen in the cultural context of India.

Visual Relationships to and from the Site
With a proposed height of 300 m the tower will be seen from a distance of more than 40 km. Therefore the visual appearance of the project as a major landmark is of great importance to the city of Mumbai.

Views from the tower will extend to the South over the Mahalkshi Race course towards the Mumbai Peninsula and to the South West over the Indian Ocean. The views to the north East are towards a number of adjacent towers that are currently being constructed. The orientation and massing of the tower have been designed in order to make the very best of these visual relationships.

The Building Skin

The tower has been designed to cater for large scale Indian weddings. The occasion of a Mehndi ceremony (where the hands and feet of the bride and groom are decorated with henna) is often one of the most important pre-wedding rituals in India.

The design seeks to build on the theme of the clasped hands by referencing the intricate Mehndi patterns through the treatment of the building skin. The tower is will be clad in fritted glazing that combines to form an architectural scale graphic on the exterior of the building. This will create a sense of transparency and depth to the building while at the same time helping to maintain the thermal qualities required to meet the building’s envelope design criteria.

It is proposed that the large scale canopies over the drop-off points area support an array of solar thermal collectors. Given the available surface area and annual sunlight conditions these have the potential to provide 12% of the energy required to heat the hot water for the hotel.

General Arrangement
The tower is made up of two separate wings (or hands) which together form the architectural expression of “Namaste”. The space between the wings forms the corridor spaces. At either end of the corridor space a pair of open atria will offer hotel guests dramatic framed views out over the city.

Internal Atrium Gardens

These atria also serve to bring natural light deep into the plan. At the plant floor levels these atria are broken with internal gardens that serve to bring greenery into the corridor and atrium spaces. It was a central design aim to ensure that the circulation areas of the hotel, (including corridors) are just as impressive as the rooms themselves.

The Podium
The geometry of the podium is designed to integrate fully with the design of the tower. Thus it is a highly symmetrical form that responds to the wing like canopies above the drop off. Containing mostly retail, the facade of the podium is activated with water features and fountains that cascade down to street level.

The Summit

At the summit of the building a generous quadruple height atrium space encloses a Sky Restaurant and Bar which will provide a unique vantage point for patrons to gain panoramic views out over the city.

Source: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1297345

Images are all copyrights of Architects WS Atkins, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

WATER PURIFICATION SKYSCRAPER IN JAKARTA

WATER PURIFICATION SKYSCRAPER IN JAKARTA

MARCH - 8 - 2010

Second Place
2010 Skyscraper Competition

Rezza Rahdian, Erwin Setiawan, Ayu Diah

Shanti, Leonardus Chrisnantyo
Indonesia

The city of Jakarta, Indonesia, was originally designed in the confluence of thirteen rivers which were used for transportation and agriculture. The largest of its rivers is The Ciliwung River, which has been extremely polluted during the last couple of decades, characterizes by hundreds of slums inhabited by thousands of people in marginal conditions.

The Ciliwung Recovery Program (CRP) is a project that aims to collect the garbage of the riverbank and purify its water through an ingenious system of mega-filters that operate in three different phases. The first one separates the different types of garbage and utilizes the organic one to fertilize its soil. The second phase purifies the water by removing dangerous chemicals and adding important minerals to it. The clean water is then fed to the river and to the nearby agricultural fields through a system of capillary tubes. Finally in the third phase all the recyclable waste is processed.

One of the most important aspects of this proposal is the elimination of the slums along the river. The majority of the people will live and work at the CRP which could be understood as new city within Jakarta. The CRP project will be a 100 percent sustainable building that will produce energy through wind, solar, and hydroelectric systems.

Passage & Images from: http://www.evolo.us/competition/water-purification-skyscraper-in-jakarta/

Brand New Luxury Homes in Singapore

The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Singapore.

The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Singapore, Cairnhill is the first full strata titled luxury residential project launched in Asia। The property scene is poised to welcome this brand-name project, synonymous with luxury and hospitality, built on elevated ground in the highly coveted Cairnhill area। It is the first residential property in Asia to be equipped with the legendary amenities and service excellence of The Ritz-Carlton। The Ritz-Carlton will fully train and manage the wide array of services that include housekeeping, 24-hour dedicated concierge, sommelier and doorman services.

:: Image and Passage from: http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/RealEstate/ResidenceDetails/Singapore.htm

The Orchard Residences (Orchard Boulevard)

“The Orchard Residences” is named for its most coveted and strategic location at the gateway of Orchard Road and for its affinity to the world-famous shopping street’s lead in luxury city living. It is also Orchard Road’s tallest landmark building, a stature and distinction approved by the authorities.

A limited 175 exclusive, super luxury apartments housed in the district’s tallest and most architecturally-definitive landmark aim to offer a lifestyle of timeless elegance and privacy in the midst of the vibrant city below. Standing at a commanding height of 218 metres and with no buildings nearby to rival its stature, the 56-storey residential tower will offer residences with breathtaking, unobstructed panoramic 360º views of Singapore.

Summary:

Location: At the gateway to Orchard Road, at the junction of Orchard Road & Paterson Road
Address: 238 Orchard Boulevard (District 9)
Tenure: 99-year leasehold from 13 March 2006
Expected TOP: 30 December 2010
Overall Building Height: 218 metres, 56 storeys
Residential Levels: 9 to 54
Total Units: 175 super luxury apartments with unobstructed views of Singapore (north- or south-facing)

Count/Unit Type/Levels:
168 typical units on levels 10 to 29 and on levels 31 to 52
3 garden units on level 9
4 penthouse units on levels 53 and 54

:: Image & Passage from:

http://lushhomemedia.com/2007/10/28/the-orchard-residences

California Academy of Sciences

Renzo Piano demonstrates a mastery of light throughout his work. At the new California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, he exhibits the same care lighting a museum of the natural world as he has in lighting some of the world's finest art collections. In addition to demonstrating Piano's aesthetic and technical artistry, the new Academy building exemplifies deep sensitivity to site and environment. This great building recently received LEED Platinum certification, and won a silver-level Holcim Award for Sustainable Construction in 2005.

Light Pavilion
In the 1970s, Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers revolutionized how people viewed museums with the Centre George Pompidou in Paris. Piano again sets a precedent in the museum world with a large-scale project that emphasizes "green" design. This 410,000-square-foot (38,000-square-meter) building, designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop with local partner Stantec Architecture (formerly Chong Partners Architecture), provides a new home for the California Academy of Sciences — a combined aquarium, planetarium, natural history museum, and scientific research institution.

The new Academy building is an elegant pavilion structure with a living roof that appears to float over skinny steel supports. At the building's center is a glass-roofed piazza. The overall design is marked by open, flexible exhibit spaces with sight lines to the surrounding park. Using light as a primary element of design, Piano shines away any dark stereotype of a natural history museum with dim musty halls cloistering insular scientists. Even the glass chosen for the project, with a low iron content to maximize transparency, aptly supports the museum's mission of exploring, explaining, and preserving the natural world. The high-performance glass transmits daylight to most occupied spaces while also minimizing heat gain. Piano's extensive use of glass also serves as a reminder of nature's inherent fragility.

Post-Earthquake Opportunity
The California Academy of Sciences was founded in 1853, the first such scientific institution in the West. It moved to Golden Gate Park in 1916, growing over the next 60 years to encompass an expanding program and a cluster of 12 interdependent structures. The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake significantly damaged some of the structures, with Bird Hall and the Steinhart Aquarium suffering the most damage. After considering repair and seismic retrofitting of the complex, the Academy's board of trustees in 1999 decided to instead build a single, sustainable new building on the Golden Gate Park site. Renzo Piano appeared at the selection interview alone, armed with only a green marker and a sincere desire to understand the organization's mission. After contemplating the existing buildings from the steps of the nearby de Young Museum and taking in the view from the roof of the Academy, Piano sketched a sinuous roofline that echoed the hilly topography of San Francisco. With this design concept he clinched the deal for the project. To allow for demolition and construction to occur, the Academy moved to a small temporary home near downtown for four years.

Raising the Plane
The Academy project called for integrating the many functions of the previous 12-building facility into a coherent whole. Piano started with the elegant concept of a pavilion that blends seamlessly into the park setting. He has described the museum as "cutting the ground plane of a park and lifting it 38 feet [12 meters] into the air." The undulating roof is planted with nine species of native California plants, which are expected to attract native wildlife. Accessible via elevator, the 2.5-acre (one-hectare) roof also serves as a living classroom, providing a forum for educating visitors about sustainable design and California's ecosystems.

The slopes of the "hills" on the roof draw cool air into the central plaza area and then naturally ventilate the surrounding exhibition spaces. Mechanized skylights open and close to regulate the accumulation of heat inside the building over the course of the day. Natural light reaches the living rainforest inside and the coral reef beneath it. Energy usage at the new Academy is expected to be 30 to 35 percent less than that of a typical building its size. Contributing to that are the six inches (15 centimeters) of soil on the living roof, which insulate the building, keeping interior temperatures ten degrees Fahrenheit (six degrees Celsius) cooler than a conventional roof. The soil is also expected to absorb 98 percent of stormwater, keeping approximately 3.6 million gallons (13.6 million liters) of runoff annually from flowing into the nearby Pacific Ocean.
The border of the pavilion is covered by 60,000 photovoltaic cells that will generate five to ten percent of the energy needed for the building's operation.

New Structure, Old Elements
In the words of Kang Kiang, the former project manager with Chong Partners, the museum design can be described as a "table" that rests on the "legs" of four similarly proportioned pavilions. In between the pavilions on all four sides of the building are curtain walls that ease navigation through the interior. A network of tension cables, described by Piano as a spider web, is connected to a ring truss that secures the building structurally. In the event of an earthquake, all the glass pieces of the plaza's ceiling have been designed with patch fitting to move six inches (15 centimeters) in any direction without breaking. The reinforced concrete walls that support the four pavilion "legs" provide shear walls for the transfer of horizontal forces.

The "leg" on the northeast side of the building preserves two limestone walls from African Hall, a Beaux-Arts-style structure built in 1934. Inside, the building's popular dioramas and ceiling details were painstakingly reproduced from the original. A new space at the far end of the hall houses a colony of live African penguins. Between the pavilions on the south side of the building, new neoclassical columns recalling those of the original Steinhart Aquarium frame the alligator tank, where original tiles and a bronze seahorse railing also preserve some of the character of the previous facility. On the southeast side of the museum, a Foucault pendulum dating to 1951 has been restored to its original glory and stands next to the state-of-the-art planetarium.

Green to the Bones
While only two walls from the old Academy building were integrated into the new structure, little of the demolition waste was wasted: over 90 percent was recycled or reused. And recycled materials permeate the new building. The structural steel contains 95 percent recycled content; the concrete contains 30 percent fly ash and 20 percent slag, both industrial by-products; and the insulation was made from recycled denim. At least half of the wood in the new Academy is Forest Stewardship Council-certified as sustainably harvested, and one fifth of the building materials were manufactured within 500 miles (805 kilometers).

Other green features include HVAC heat recovery systems, reverse osmosis humidification systems, operable windows in staff offices, and photosensor-controlled artificial lights. Low-flow fixtures and the use of reclaimed water from the City of San Francisco are expected to reduce overall potable water use by 78 percent.

Lively Exhibits
The design team has skillfully woven history, live exhibits featuring 38,000 organisms, and interactive displays that can change as quickly as scientific knowledge itself. Two 90-foot- (27-meter-) diameter domes flank the central piazza. To the east is the Morrison Planetarium dome, with a high-definition projection system and the ability to run a live feed from NASA. To the west is the rainforest dome, in which live exhibits imitate the rainforest ecosystems of Borneo, Madagascar, Costa Rica, and the Amazon. The walkways winding around the interior of the four-story glass dome have such tight curves that a roller coaster company was brought on board as a consultant to perfect the design. From the first floor of the dome, an elevator takes visitors to a tunnel-shaped aquarium representing a flooded forest floor in the Amazon.

Below the ground floor, visitors will find the new Steinhart Aquarium, designed by Thinc and Urban A&O with an emphasis on tactile, sculptural spaces that create the impression of exploring underwater landscapes. The Academy now boasts the deepest coral aquarium in the world, with a 210,000-gallon (795,000-liter) tank that houses a recreated Philippine ecosystem. Part of this exhibit features a crawl hole that leads to a 360-degree bulb, simulating the experience of scuba diving for visitors. This living museum not only provides a safe haven for the Academy's precious cargo of over 20 million specimens, and modern facilities for its research department, but also places its team of scientists in direct contact with museum visitors. The public can view actual lab research through a glass wall on the building's ground floor, and can see into office spaces above the entry hall to the aquarium. The museum itself is also used as a teaching tool about sustainability, with displays explaining the behind-the-scenes features and functions of the building. Renzo Piano says he hopes the new California Academy of Sciences facility will communicate to many generations to come that life on earth is at once beautiful, awe-inspiring, and tremendously fragile.

by Rachel Grossman

Rachel Grossman writes about travel, fine arts, architecture, and interior design from San Francisco. She holds a graduate degree in modern art history from the Courtauld Institute.

Project Credits
USGBC's California Academy of Sciences LEED score sheet (PDF)
Architecture: Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Genoa, Italy, and Stantec Architecture, San Francisco, CA (formerly Chong Partners Architecture) Project Manager and Owner Rep: DR Young Associates, San Rafael, CA Engineering and Sustainability: Arup, San Francisco, CA, and Teecom Design Group, Oakland, CA General Contractor: Webcor Builders, San Mateo, CA Landscape Architecture: SWA Group, Sausalito, CA Living Roof Consultants: Rana Creek Living Architecture, Carmel Valley, CA Planetarium Technical Consultant: Visual Acuity, Brighton, England

Passage From :

http://www.architectureweek.com/2008/1112/environment_1-1.html

Image From :

http://www.architectureweek.com/2008/1112/environment_1-1.html

http://rawartint.wordpress.com/2008/03/10/

http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/07/28/california-academy-of-sciences-green-roof/

Daniel Libeskind's Waterfront Showpiece

High-rise apartments and low-rise villas

Marking the entrance to the historic Keppel Harbour, Reflections at Keppel Bay is a new expression for high-rise living and low-rise villa apartment blocks within a tropical climate. A symphony of undulating towers is the focal point of renowned architect Daniel Libeskind's iconic proposal. These sleek curving forms of alternating heights create graceful openings and gaps between the structures. The spaces between the buildings allow for views to the horizon beyond. The resulting composition is a creative interplay of changing planes and reflections.

Reflections at Keppel Bay will feature six glass towers and 11 villa apartment blocks along a 750-m shoreline, all with commanding views of the waterfront, golf course, parks and Mount Faber. The towers are of 24-storey to 41-storey heights while the villa blocks range from six-storeys to eight-storeys.

The towers are crowned with lush sky gardens on sloping rooflines, and are linked by sky bridges, providing pockets of open spaces and platforms with near 360-degree views of the spectacular surrounds. Reflections at Keppel Bay will also showcase stunning water features such as a 100,000-square-feet reflecting pool, which brings the waters right to the doorsteps of the apartments.

Award-winning and of Sydney 2000 Olympics' fame – US-based landscape architect, Hargreaves Associates will also create a lush oasis with the expansive grounds in the residence. The development will look equally spectacular at night, with lighting designed by Lighting Planner Associates, the renowned Japanese lighting specialists engaged to light up the Singapore city skyline and Orchard Road.

passage: http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com

image: courtesy of studio daniel libeskind

Gardens in The Sky

A first look at Libeskind’s Madison Square Park tower

New York’s Madison Square Park is the latest place to go ogling some of the city’s newest skyscrapers. Cetra Rudy and OMA have each designed new towers on the park. Now the area is to get a forward-looking gleaming glass and green residential tower designed by Studio Libeskind, with spiraling gardens in the sky. The dramatic 54-storey tower will sit atop a 14-storey masonry structure that is an annex for the Metropolitan Life building, making it the city’s tallest residential tower.

The design of the building was kept under wraps until recently when it was made public on the Architects Newspaper Blog, which scanned the images to the web from Daniel Libeskind’s new monograph. While the design of the New York Tower is in the embryonic stage, Libeskind said the following today via statement: “The design features a series of spiraling gardens extending the green of Madison Square along the facade of the tower. The tower is set back from its neighbors—maintaining views and maximizing light and air.” "We look forward to a continuing dialogue when the proposal enters the public review process”, he added.

Sharon McHugh

http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=10832

Marina Bay Sands By Moshe Safdie

Moshe Safdie and Associates
Marina Bay Sands
Singapore

The complex, part of the continuous necklace of activities surrounding Marina Bay, forms a gateway to the city.

Photo © John Horner

Marina Bay Sands, located on the Marina Bay waterfront, is a mixed-use integrated resort. The complex is organized around principal axes that extend into the surrounding urban fabric. Both the north - south promenade and the grand arcade traverse the entire project and are crossed by two east - west spines (view corridors), which connect the planned Gardens by the Bay, the local Metro station, Bayfront Avenue and the waterfront.

Photo © John Horner

Marina Bay Sands integrates a diverse program including an event plaza, three 55-story hotel towers containing 1000 rooms each, a hotel sky garden bridging across the tops of the towers, offering 360-degree views of the city, bay and sea, accommodating outdoor amenities for the hotel including jogging paths, swimming pools, spas and gardens.

Photo © Marina Bay Sands Pte. Ltd. 2006. All rights reserved

Seen from ships anchored at sea, the two windows created by the towers and Hotel Sky Park frame the vistas towards downtown Singapore.Viewed from this vantage point, the project’s foreground, composed of the ArtScience Museum, the promenade and undulating roof structures, serves as a base from which the hotel towers rise, curving skyward.

Photo © John Horner

Also included in the project is a state-of-the art convention center, two theaters seating 2,200 and 1,800, a casino, and a garage for 4,000 cars.A series of layered gardens extends the tropical garden landscape from Gardens by the Bay towards the bay front.

Drawing courtesy Moshe Safdie and Associates

***

Total area: 16 hectare (40-acre)

The complex will be open to the public in December 2009

Client: Las Vegas Sands Corp.

Architect: Moshe Safdie and Associates, Inc.

Associate Architect: Aedas

Structural, Civil engineering : Arup

MEP, FP engineering: R.G.Vanderweil Engineers

Landscape Architecture: Peter Walker and Partners

Interior Deasign: Rockwell Architecture

Signage & Graphics: Pentagram Design

Theater Consulting: Fischer Dachs Associates

Audio-Visual: Specialized Audio Visual Inc. (SAVI)

Water Feature Engineering: HFA International

Passage From : http://www.arcspace.com/architects/Safdie/marina/marina.html

Images From : http://www.arcspace.com/architects/Safdie/marina/marina.html