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Americas

From August to October 2014, the Americas continued to raise eyebrows in the world, as multiple projects redefined skylines and kept heads gazing upwards.

After nearly 10 years of planning, is finally ready to begin construction in New York City, as the necessary air rights have been granted for its parcel, which sits directly adjacent to The Museum of Modern Art in Midtown Manhattan on West 53rd Street. This highly-anticipated project, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel, features a striking cross-bracing system that lends a touch of complexity to its metal and glass façade. The 82-story, 320-meter tower will comprise 140 luxury condominiums, 28 serviced apartments, and a 3,600 square-meter gallery space expansion for the Museum of Modern Art Journal Squared, Jersey City. © Handel Architects / 160 Folsom Street, San Francisco. © Studio Gang below. Completion and initial occupancy are HWKN expected to take place in 2018. Elsewhere in Manhattan, revised plans have Pacific Park has also made headlines with news been uncovered for 125 Greenwich Street, a that construction on the world’s first modular superslim tower that may boast an impressive high-rise, B2, has been halted due to a dispute height of 413 meters upon completion. between the builder, Skanska USA, and Forest Original designs for the development called City Ratner. Skanska claims that the modular for a 293-meter tower designed by Rafael techniques set out by Forest City were flawed, Viñoly. While Viñoly has been retained as the while the developer claims that the entire architect, new designs reveal a much taller construction process was mismanaged by the finished product, one that will top out 3.5 builder. Regardless of who is to blame, the meters shy of ’s development world is eagerly following the rooftop. At 77 stories, will feature debate, as it could provide major insights into unusually high ceilings and will offer a total of the viability of modular construction techniques 10 penthouses, the highest of which will be a for high-rise buildings. duplex that will contend for the title of Manhattan’s most expensive residence. Alternatively, things are moving smoothly across the river in Jersey City, as crews continue Across the East River, the Atlantic Yards construction of Journal Squared, a massive mega-project has been rebranded as Pacific three-tower high-rise complex that will include Park. The announcement comes after the tallest residential building in New Jersey. The developer Forest City Ratner Companies lower floors of the complex will accommodate struck a partnership with ’s second- smaller units and commercial spaces that largest property developer, Greenland Group. respect the development’s low-rise The developers have selected COOKFOX to surroundings, while the upper floors feature design two new towers at the site, 550 larger, higher-end residences. The first phase is Vanderbilt Avenue and 535 Carlton Avenue. expected to complete in 2016, while the second The high-rise at 535 Carlton Avenue will be phase will complete in 2021. completely devoted to affordable housing, providing much-needed economic relief in On the US West Coast, planning permissions are one of the United States’ most expensive moving along in San Francisco for 160 Folsom real-estate markets. Street, a 40-story residential tower designed by Studio Gang, offering a unique interpretation of 53W53, New York. © Ateliers Jean Nouvel

6 | Global News CTBUH Journal | 2014 Issue IV Park Grove, Miami. © OMA Torre BBVA Bancomer, Mexico City. © Lego Rogers Victoria One, Melbourne. © Elenberg Fraser the city’s iconic bay windows. At a modest interaction and promoting a sense of designs for Victoria One, a tower that would height of 122 meters, the tower features stacks community. at every ninth floor become the city’s tallest residential skyscraper. of windows and balconies that twist along its create valuable outdoor spaces that take The 241-meter tower is to be clad in refulgent height, creating an elaborately textured façade advantage of the tower’s 360-degree views. green glass and a series of layered architectural that catches the eye. Details of the project are The design of each office floor is varied, as fins that reduce downdrafts at the street level, still evolving and the desired skin material is still each responds to the service core that runs while providing solar shading for residences. At being researched, but architect Jeanne Gang diagonally along each ascending floor plate. a distance, the orientation of the fins lends a says she is certain that it will be a material that The resulting layout provides a variety of fluid aesthetic to the building’s façade, is light in color in order to reflect the vibrancy unique, efficient office spaces. complimenting the sleek, high-end character of its locale. of its interiors.

Aspirations remain similarly high in Miami, Asia and Oceania The luxury trend is not exclusive to Melbourne, where OMA has revealed designs for a as a stately trio of Zaha Hadid-designed towers three-tower luxury condominium complex, Australia shows no signs of slowing its upward has been presented for the Brisbane suburb of Park Grove. Sited on a six-acre plot, the towers trajectory – a trend made apparent by the Toowong. The Toowong Development will are cylindrically shaped, with gently undulating hefty development pipeline of Melbourne. In comprise three towers rising from the site of floor plates revealing a curved façade. Large early September, Elenberg Fraser revealed its the abandoned studio complex of the concrete columns separate each unit’s balcony, producing a greater sense of verticality for the towers. Among the most notable features of the project are the bases, which will accommodate commercial tenants and incorporate accessible rooftop gardens.

Gardens at height are a central theme in Mexico City, as the Torre BBVA Bancomer inches nearer to completion. Standing as a symbol of Mexico City’s global presence, the 235-meter office tower is poised to become the tallest building in Mexico. The design of the building places a high priority on social Toowong Development, Toowong, Brisbane. © Zaha Hadid Architects

CTBUH Journal | 2014 Issue IV Global News | 7 Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Each of the towers’ façades will be multi-layered, with glazed curtain-walls covered by a patterned mesh of glass-reinforced concrete. Each of the towers tapers at the bottom in order to minimize its footprint, making room for a riverfront park that will be open to the public.

South along the Australian coast, Sydney is also leaving its mark on the high-rise world. A competition winner was selected to design the Quay Quarter Tower and create a master plan for the surrounding district. The tower is divided into six interlocking volumes that shift eastward to obtain optimum views and shade the sunny northern façade. As the volumes Quay Quarter Tower, Sydney. © 3XN Lotte Center, Hanoi. © Francois Carlet-Soulages / NOI rotate, space is created for open-air atria that without atria. Hengqin International Financial Center draws link directly to interior amenity spaces for inspiration from a historical painting called employees. At 200 meters, the tower is certain Panoramic views will also be captured in Nine Dragons, which depicts a pair of dragons to make an impact on the city’s skyline. Wuhan, China, where Aedas is proposing a emerging from a stormy sea. To capture the mixed-use development comprising a essence of the painting, the podium of the The developing skyline of Hanoi has received a shopping mall and skyscraper housing office building fluidly transitions into a vertical tower, new addition, following the announced and residential uses. The development, named which then gradually splits into four distinctly completion of Lotte Center Hanoi, making it Heartland 66, employs the concept of an shaped tower components at the top. The four the second-tallest building in Vietnam. The infinity symbol to create a seamlessly flowing towers symbolize the economic importance of 272-meter tower opened for occupancy in retail podium. The mall contains a mixture of Zhuhai, Macau, Hong Kong, and . The early September and features a mixed-use retail establishments and dining opportunities, project will comprise conference, commercial, program of office space, hotel, apartments, and with a large number of vegetated outdoor and exhibition facilities. a department store. One of the most notable terraces to be used for alfresco dining. The aspects of the tower is a centrally configured adjacent tower would rise 300 meters over the Drawing inspiration from Chinese paintings of spine of five-story-tall sky gardens that offer shopping mall, offering remarkable views of landscapes, rather than dragons, the Diamond far-reaching panoramic views of Vietnam’s the nearby Han and Yangtze Rivers. Hill project in Shenyang boasts a mountain- capital city and lead to a 70% reduction in like profile that was developed using sunlight electrical lighting use, as compared to a tower Aedas has also recently announced a mapping to optimize the solar accessibility of 334-meter tower in Zhuhai, China. The its residential units. In addition to residences,

THEY SAID

Who could disagree with the aspiration that tall buildings“ should be ‘well- designed and in the right place’? The problem comes when someone has to decide what these are.

Tony Travers, Director,” London School of Economics commenting on London’s changing skyline. From “Skyline: Comment,” The Architects’ Journal, April 11, 2014.

Heartland 66, Wuhan. © Aedas Hengqin International Financial Center, Zhuhai. © Aedas

8 | Global News CTBUH Journal | 2014 Issue IV the development will accommodate small Broadway Malyan has also been selected to THEY SAID office/home office lofts and retail amenities. master-plan McKinley West, an upscale To reinforce the landscape allusion, glass and township sited on a 34.5-hectare property porcelain panels alternate along each floor, adjacent to Forbes Park in Manila, Philippines. What is frequently meant to symbolize geologic layers. On the The developer anticipates spending over $1 forgotten“ in the tale of the interior, skylights of fritted glass allow light to billion in the next decade in order to build the Tower of Babel is that it was shine onto each floor, evoking images of township. The project is primarily composed circled by a wide, spiraling mountainside lakes. of luxury residential units, but will also include road. The roadway served as a office towers and retail space. Residences will Further inland in Chengdu, Broadway Malyan range in size up to 350 square meters, common city street lined with has been selected to design the Chengdu boasting an impressive list of luxury amenities. structures built into the tower, Creative Centre, a master-planned mixed-use and the core was development to be anchored by a 110-meter- honeycombed with other high tower. This new district is the first phase Europe buildings and spaces. The in a scheme meant to enhance Chengdu’s position as China’s western epicenter of Not a city typically known for its tall buildings, tower was in fact a vertical technology, science, and finance. The central Aarhus, Denmark has received several city. tower’s façade is curved in shape, a feature proposals that promise to be both visually Joseph” Giovannini, architecture critic , in his that was engineered to reduce wind velocities distinct and contextually sensitive. The first and promote a greater degree of comfort for comes in the form of Aarhus Island, a project preface for Scott Johnson’s Performative Skyscraper: Tall Building Design Now book. pedestrians at ground level. that will take form along the city’s harbor. The mixed-use scheme is still in its planning

Diamond Hill, Shenyang. © 5+ Design Chengdu Creative Centre, Chengdu. © Broadway Malyan

McKinley West, Manila. © Broadway Malyan Aarhus Island, Denmark. © Bjarke Ingels Group

CTBUH Journal | 2014 Issue IV Global News | 9 stages, but preliminary images reveal several high-rises that decrease in floor area along the upper levels, making the towers look a bit like oversized staircases. Extensive plans have been made to enhance the public realm throughout the development, in an effort to increase socio-economic activity along the waterfront. Construction is expected to begin in 2015, with units ready for occupancy by 2017. Another proposal for Denmark’s second- largest city is La Tour Tower, a 31-story tower situated near a landmark water tower. Much like Aarhus Island, the tower utilizes a terraced configuration that appears semicircular in plan, easing the transition from low-rise to high-rise along the street. The resulting organization allows for better views and sunlight exposure. La Tour Tower, Aarhus. © 3XN, Cosmopolitan Twarda 2/4, Warsaw. © JAHN Across the Baltic Sea in Poland, encouraging news has emerged that developer Amstar has surrounding district. The residences in the varied size of each level would allow for purchased Warsaw’s troubled Zlotta 44 in an tower feature highly sophisticated Home external balconies and courtyards to be effort to revive the project. Originally started Monitoring Systems that allow occupants to enjoyed by the public. in 2007, the tower was put on hold due to utilize mobile devices to control temperature financial difficulties and has since settings, lighting, audio, and television settings. discontinued construction. The new owners Middle East and Africa have acquired the property at a significant Also not lacking in amenities, the Microgorod discount and plan to continue building the V Lesu development in Moscow offers In Jeddah, the bride of the Red Sea, project as designed. Once completed, the residents a high degree of visual and program- superlative whispers continue to deliver news tower will be the third-tallest skyscraper in the matic variability, drawing from a number of of the world’s next tallest building, the city. Warsaw has also recently received the European architectural styles: French, Dutch, 1,000-meter Kingdom Tower. With newly-completed Cosmopolitan Twarda 2/4, German, Italian, and Spanish. Each structure subterranean work now complete, the project a high-end residential tower that offers within the complex has unique accents in the is poised to finish the first 10 floors by the end furnished apartments equipped with custom form of cladding, building color, balconies, and of 2014, marking the beginning of this tower’s interiors by a local interior designer. The windows. Located on a 67-hectare site, the journey to the heavens. It has also been 160-meter skyscraper represents a significant complex totals 1.2 million square meters of announced that, as one could expect, the addition to the Warsaw skyline, creating a space, accommodating a shopping center, two project will utilize the world’s tallest dialogue with the high-rises being built in the schools, a church, leisure centers, as well as construction crane. As the tower is built living spaces.

Over in the cloudy city of London, a design competition awarded first prize to a proposal entitled The Endless City in Height. The design seeks to establish a continuous indoor urban promenade by incorporating two street-sized ramps that coil vertically into the sky. Each ramp would accommodate mixed uses, giving occupants free reign to design their own façades, creating a diverse built environment that mimics the complexity of historic marketplaces around the world. While each ramp would stand independently, they Microgorod V Lesu, Moscow. © SPEECH connect on the interior via staircases. The “The Endless City in Height” proposal, London. © SURE Architecture Ltd.

10 | Global News CTBUH Journal | 2014 Issue IV Subscribe to the CTBUH RSS News Feed, visit the Global News Archive at: http://news.ctbuh.org

Maryah Plaza, Abu Dhabi. © Rogers Stirk Harbour + World Trade Center Abu Dhabi – The Residences. Suites in the SKAI. © Atkins Partners © Foster + Partners upwards, massive devices known as lifting Further inland, World Trade Center Abu will feature world-class medical facilities, cranes will ascend along with it. The cranes Dhabi – The Residences, a high-rise of 88 utilizing the shape of a sailboat to instill will not only be tall; they will be built to stories, has been completed. World Trade feelings of peace and comfort for patients. withstand the intense weather conditions that Center is a point tower that sits atop the Each “sail” will be a high-rise tower that can occur at extreme heights. Central Market project. The tower features a accommodates a specific medical purpose, perforated profile that distorts its otherwise and patients will also enjoy terraces and Work is also underway on the first residential circular composition. It comprises 80,000 balconies that overlook the surrounding pools project on Abu Dhabi’s Al Maryah Island. The square meters of space and stands 382 meters below.  development, Maryah Plaza, is a four-tower tall, making it the tallest building in the city. luxury complex that will provide For all the latest news on tall buildings, approximately 500 residences, ranging from In the nearby emirate of , tall endeavors urban development, and sustainable one-bedroom apartments to penthouses. The continue to run wild, this time in the form of construction from around the world, go to: development incorporates maritime themes Suites in the SKAI, a four-star hotel and http://news.ctbuh.org and waterfront views, taking advantage of the apartment tower that has already started project’s location on a bay of the Persian Gulf. construction. At first glance, the most notable The project is also located near Sowwah aspect of the building is the way that each Square, offering convenient access to the Al unit rotates up and around the tower, creating Maryah Island’s commercial hub. space for each room to have a private sky THEY SAID garden and jacuzzi. In a sign that the luxury market in Dubai is still strong, every single serviced apartment and hotel room has The idea that tall already been sold in the 60-story tower. In buildings are social icons, and total, it will comprise 234 hotel rooms, 234 consequently,“ they are one- and two-bedroom apartments, and 33 penthouses. sustainable, is a rationalization that allows for Imagination is clearly also evident corralled in the compromise of Tunisia, where images have been presented performance. for a project dubbed the White Sails Hospital

& Spa. This medical facility is to be located in Mic Patterson, CEO of” Enclos, speaking at the Tunisia Economic City, a vast beachfront Façade+ Performance conference in project intended to be a new economic Chicago, July 24, 2014. White Sails Hospital, Tunisia Economic City. metropolis for the country. The project itself © Vasily Klyukin

CTBUH Journal | 2014 Issue IV Global News | 11