March 7, 2013
Zaha Hadid has unveiled her firm’s latest project in China, the Changsha Meixihu International Culture and Art Center. The massive urban project, which broke ground in October, is a grab-bag of swirly sculptural objects, each one complex and semi-independent of the other. Taken together, they constitute a strange, Martian landscape — a “pedestrian-friendly” Martian landscape — that, in ZHA’s words, will pose a “strong urban experience.” (As opposed to a weak, scrawny, timid urban experience?) The complex megaplex centers around a central public space that feeds into three cultural centers: a contemporary art museum, multipurpose hall, and grand theater. Click through for more.
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January 2, 2013
1 WTC; The Port Authority and the Durst Organization
Goodbye 2012. We don’t even miss you. Now, onto more pressing issues, like what cool architecture will make headlines in 2013? Yes, we foresee some big names and a starchitect or two in the mix, but there are plenty of sleeper candidates in there too. Pirated buildings? Check. Cardboard buildings? Check again. If all goes to plan, we may even see the world’s tallest skyscraper be built in just in time for the launch of Breaking Bad season 5.5 (coming March 2013). Click on through for our pick for the top architecture to watch this year.
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June 18, 2012
Skyscaper chart via CNNGO
In December of last year, Chinese developer Broad Sustainable Building (BSB) constructed a 30-story hotel prototype in 15 days. 360 hours. Seems they were just getting started. The construction company has announced plans to build an 838 meter (2750 feet) tall skyscraper in Changsha, Hunan PR, and they say they’ll do it in just 90 days. 2160 hours!
As CNNGO reports, ‘Sky City’ would become the world’s tallest tower, eclipsing Dubai’s Burj Khalifa by just 10 meters. While that building took some 5 years to complete, the new superstructure, estimated at RMB 4 million ($628 million), would not only be far cheaper than rival skyscrapers (compared to Burj’s $1.5billion price tag and the $2.2 billion Shanghai Tower), but will also employ sustainable building techniques and systems unheard of at such scales. BSB says the 220-story tower, which will offer 1 million square meters of occupiable space linked by 104 elevators, will consist almost entirely of prefabricated modules that will be stacked on site–the key to the neck-breaking construction times that the company is promising. The building will also feature innovations such as quadruple glazing and thick (quake-resistant) exterior walls that will significantly cut down its energy consumption. The company hopes that Sky City will receive the necessary approval to break ground by November of this year, with the project’s completion following in January 2013.
A possible rendering of ‘Sky City’, via Inhabitat
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