SHoP has unveiled the design for a new 900 foot tall skyscraper in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. The 77 story, 500,000 square foot, mixed-income tower will have 600 units, 150 of which will be permanently affordable and distributed evenly throughout the building. The project has been developed as a collaboration between SHoP and JDS who are co-owners of the development, with the partnership of two not-for-profit groups: Two Bridges Neighborhood Council (TBNC) and Settlement Housing Fund (SHF).
Courtesy of SHoP
JDS and SHoP believe that partnerships like this can be used in other parts of the city to help build more affordable housing and aid in not-for-profit group goals. Built on a site adjacent to TBNC senior housing, the project will make improvements to the adjacent property including a new lobby, a connected community space on the first floor of the new tower, and access to a roof garden. The project was able to be developed through the sale of air rights owned by TBNC and SHF, allowing affordable housing to be built without public subsidy, and for these organizations to support efforts and goals in the broader neighborhood.
Open to the Strait of Gibraltar, it enjoys an exceptional strategic location, which has made it into a natural set of historical events of great importance.
Located south of the city of Algeciras, it is a high place about twenty meters above the sea, forming cliffs around its perimeter exposed to the sea, the last natural barrier of the Park of the Acorns, though detached from it by the construction of second home neighborhoods reaching the very edge.
It is part of the Natural Park of the Strait, given the biological quality of the coastal strip. The geological feature configuration is the denominated Flysch of the Field of Gibraltar, which with the waves enhances the cliffs and large bars leading into the sea.
The climatological component confers special features to the landscape, as since the temperatures are typical of the Mediterranean climate, prevailing winds whip across the Strait area with particular virulence.
The goal of the Centennial Park project is the valorization of these situations, through a strategy of consolidation, prioritization and characterization of pre-existing conditions as well as the inclusion of new parts that work together to establish a dialogue between the natural and artificial elements, resulting in a journey that is enriched by the experience of the transition between each of the elements, as well as the understanding of the experience of the place.
For this purpose, minimal intervention criteria are adopted. It is not about making an urban park, but to show the citizen another experience of the natural landscape, with minimal infrastructures, implementing a series of elements that provide shelter, while allowing the contemplation of the environment, and helping in its understanding.
Bunkers
The itinerary is constituted as a support to a continuous path, stitching existing elements of interest as well as new interventions.
From the architect. The multimedia building on Havneholmen is tailored from outside to in to fit the island location and its users – CAE and Aller Media. With its gently curved triangular form, the building delineates the point of ‘Havneholmen’ that projects out into Copenhagen harbor, and is surrounded by water on both sides. CAE and Aller Media, which previously had their main address in Valby – another part of Copenhagen, chose to consolidate their many activities and publications in the new multimedia headquarters to create an efficient and diverse work environment. The building itself has created value for Aller Media’s brand and marketing activities, and the atrium is often used for external functions and events. The building has been meticulously designed from the overall architectural lines down to the detailed interior design and it was awarded by the Copenhagen Municipality in 2009. The award committee called the building a “gesamtkunstverk” (work of art).
“The project makes a statement that is very difficult to ignore. Like the cutting edge of a knife, the building’s dramatic presence on the corner has an artistic power that is exceedingly convincing.
The building is a ”Gesamtkunstwerk” (work of art) – everything has been carefully considered. Even the new energy and environmental requirements have been addressed – everything has been functionally developed.
The atmosphere within offices and work areas is soft, inviting and warm – very compelling and of extremely high quality. The building exudes Scandinavian sensuality. It is situated perfectly with all visual lines coming together in the ground plan.
It stands apart as one the most exciting buildings in the area.”
A large atrium extends right through the center of the building like a ravine with soft edges. It pulls daylight so far into the building that on bright days there is no need for artificial lighting during daytime. The floor slabs withdraw further and further back as you move up the building, creating a bright, terraced room that opens towards the harbor and the heavens. The colors and materials are inspired by the Nordic landscape; the fells, the forest, the sea, the moor in the changing of seasons. Materials and surfaces are restrained in sober colours that submit to the predominant visual lines and establish a calm framework for daily life in the editorial groups. The tones alternate between the cool, the mild and warm. The undulating balustrades towards the atrium are lined with oak slats in a warm glow, highlighted by soft, diffuse lighting. The stairs and walkways across the atrium have a cool and airy expression of green and white hues in the glass surfaces.
Aller headquarters is designed for Aller Media’s users from an activity-based and relatively open interior design concept that corresponds to the organizations working methods. At the same time, the building’s interior is so flexible that the layout can change in response to Aller’s dynamic development – both as an organization and media producer. The comprehensive, interactive user process which PLH conducted as part of workplace design program has provided the foundation for the building’s differentiated interior design, with varied types of workspace that meet the needs of individual editorial groups.
A competition was held for the commissioning of a work of art that could be placed in the central atrium. It was won by the Swedish artists, Bigert & Bergström with “Tomorrows Weather “. The artwork is an installation of lights that simulate atmospheric molecules and change color in accordance with the next day’s weather forecast, relayed directly from DMI (The Danish Bureau of Meteorology). The spiral-shaped installation stretches over several floors where the large, glazed atrium façade faces the water. Here it is visible from inside and outside, so that from Island Brygge on the island of Amager and from Bryggebroen (a bicycle and pedestrian bridge connecting Havneholmen and the island of Amager) one can experience the weather and Aller building’s changing color scale.
With this capture, I tried to give to viewer the feeling of walking through the streets of this small, old village called Alcadima (Liétor, Albacete, Spain), a charming hamlet that had been uninhabited for 40 years, located in a beautiful place amongst the mountains in the heart of the river Mundo valley. It looks as if time had stopped in that deserted small village. The picture shows the end of the main street, which leads to a traditional irrigation pool continuously filled by a natural spring.
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Con esta toma, he tratado de dar al espectador la sensación de ir caminando por las calles de este pequeño pueblo abandonado llamado Alcadima (Liétor, Albacete), un encantador pueblecito que lleva 40 años deshabitado. Se encuentra en un bello paraje entre montañas, en el mismo corazón del valle del río Mundo. Asemeja como si en este pequeño pueblo abandonado, el tiempo se hubiera detenido.
La fotografía muestra el final de su calle principal, que desemboca en una tradicional balsa de riego, continuamente llena por una fuente natural.
Sig Nordal 