Jacobson features Vector Architects. In six years, the Beijing-based firm has developed a rich portfolio filled with sales centers, a school, a hotel, a community center, and more, with nary a ...skyscraper or residential complex in sight. While the scale of the work is certainly affected by the economics of starting a firm, it is also a conscious choice of Vector's founder, Gong Doug, 42.
Located in Chongqing, China, the interiors of the SND women's fashion boutique were designed by design team 3Gatti. The interior's most striking feature is a floating, undulating canopy comprised of ...thousands of layers of white fiberglass sheets which descend from overhead, forming cosy spaces connected by a meandering path.
LIVING SMALL IN THE BIG CITY Jacobson, Clare
Architectural record,
10/2014, Letnik:
202, Številka:
10
Magazine Article
Jacobson discusses how Single Speed Design (SsD) designed the Songpa Micro Housing. Although they used repetitive units and simple construction in their Songpa Micro Housing in Seoul, SsD brought ...variety and style to the 5,500-square-foot project by animating the spaces in between and around the tiny apartments. Wrapped within a striking container of stainless-steel louvers and enhanced with outdoor and shared spaces. the eight residences subvert the monotonous forms of most micro housing. By design--and ultimately by the client's changes to that design--the project shows that this building type can play a flexible role in a city's mix of housing. SsD stacked six stones of 120-square-foot boxes, pushing some forward and others to one side to create narrow balconies on the roofs of the units below. The cement-panel boxes were constructed on-site using two sets of dimensions to add variety and were then placed within a structural steel frame. The stainless-steel scrim around the dwelling units presents a unified front to the street while providing privacy to outdoor decks, and hiding messy gas pipes.
Jacobson talks about the cluster of iconic buildings on the Huangpu River. As the Pearl of the Orient continues to expand, areas up- and downstream of these central landmarks have filled with large ...construction sites. High-profile firms--including Foster + Partners; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; David Chipperfield Architects; and Arquitectonica--are involved in projects on a grand scale. While China's economy has slowed, affecting residential construction most directly, these long-term mixed-use projects continue to progress. A tour north to south along the river passes several of these sites, each vying to become the new face of Shanghai. Starting at Puxi's North Bund, SOM is building White Magnolia Plaza, a 4.3 million-square-foot project on a 14-acre site behind the Shanghai International Cruise Terminal. Two towers dominate the mixed-use complex. One has already reached its full height of 563 feet and will be home to Shanghais first W Hotel, slated to open in Jun 2015. The taller office tower is expected to top out this September. At 66 stories and 1.048 feet, it will dominate its relatively low-rise neighborhood.
Jacobson highlights Guangzhou's seven low-rise buildings designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. The buildings--offices, screening facilities, a warehouse, and a residence for Marines--dot a 7.4-acre ...site in the burgeoning Pearl River New Town. Much of the complex's humility has to do with its scale. With its tallest buildings a mere four stories--the maximum allowed for the consulate by Chinese authorities--it's dwarfed by the surroundings. Adding to this modesty is its parklike atmosphere.
JOHO Architecture principal Jeonghoon Lee is featured. He had been studying and practicing architecture in Europe for seven years when a relative from his native Korea contacted him. The man was ...working on a project, but had fired the architect. He needed someone he could trust. Lee agreed to take on the job--the Herma Parking Building in Yongin, a city 25 miles outside of Seoul. He soon found that managing it from Paris was too difficult, so he moved to Seoul and set up JOHO Architecture in 2009. That first commission led to more, and now JOHO has five completed projects and seven designers on staff.
Jacobson reveals how Mass Studies designed Daum Space.1 in Jeju Province. Rather than follow a typical model--offices scattered around a campus--the plan concentrates buildings along an "urban" axis ...and frees up an open "rural" area for a tennis court, putting greens, a walking trail, and a vegetable garden. The architects clad the concrete roofs with thin planks of Indian hardwood, adding texture to these surfaces while matching the rest of the building's reddish-brown. Tall office areas flank two triple-height atria on the lower floors.
Jacobson narrates how Neri & Hu finds a number of innovative ways to reinterpret old China for the 21st century. Though best known for its Terra-Cotta Warriors, Xian boasts Tang-era landmarks such as ...the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, which is northeast of the Xian Westin Museum Hotel and sets the tone for the surrounding Qujiang New District. The architects initially failed to convince the authorities that their design would fit into Qujiang. In their final design, the architects referenced the Xian spirit typified by the massive, ancient wall that encircles the city's historic center. by designing a thick building envelope. In plan, the Westin Hotel does not mimic the enormous rectangle traced by Xian's city wall. Rather, the 329-room hotel brings together what appear to be four small buildings, each of which wraps around a square atrium.
