The collaboration of three Toronto-based firms, JET Architecture, JCI Architects, andTerraplan Landscape Architects, has won the commission to build the “Shobuj Pata” (Green Leaf) Eco Community Development in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Project description from the architects:

The landmark “Shobuj Pata” (Green Leaf) Eco Community Development by Rupayan Housing Estate Ltd., one of the largest developers in Bangledesh, will be an oasis with green trees, plants and vegetation.   This sustainable garden city of the future will be located on the outskirts of Dhaka, the capital of the Bangladesh. Named after “Green Leaf” in Bengali, the construction of Shobuj Pata garden city begins in 2012. The project will be ready to house 10,000 people in 2015, with habitable space for 2300 – 2400 dwelling units and convention centre, mosque, retail, school, etc. Green Leaf will become a livable low-carbon community incorporating landscape elements with architecture.

JET Architecture was invited by JCI Architects along with  Terraplan Landscape Architects, to joint venture in the design of the Green Leaf project.   After winning the commission earlier in 2011, on December 16th, 2011, the final negotiations were completed to enable the project to move forward quickly.   The team will be working together, helping Bangladesh to design a sustainable community with an innovative green concept.  Green Leaf is green landscape architecture and built form which takes full advantages of the local natural resources to create a hybrid habitable space combining architecture and nature. The concept is inspired by adopting current and green innovative technology to make the design construction economic and feasible.

Bangladesh is a naturally lush green country with abundant rainfall every year. It is actually the country with the highest annual average rainfall in the world. Due to the hot and humid climate, a heat island effect occurs naturally in Dhaka. In order to deal with these extreme conditions, local ecology, micro climate and natural environment must all be key architectural influences during the design stage. Another challenge in Green Leaf is to find the balance by combining passive and technologically sustainable strategies in order to achieve high energy efficiency and performance within a high density atmosphere. The design team has found the perfect solution to form the complex by designing the building envelope with vernacular textures and vegetation. Green Leaf’s open-air architecture becomes an extension of the natural landscape, where interior and exterior spaces become interchangeable. The façade has used local vegetation as the design element to bring Bengali landscape into the heart of the built form, which stretches from the ground up to the rooftops.

To direct rainwater runoff away from buildings, and to prevent water overflow, bioswales are incorporated along the street edges throughout the ground plane. The bioswales also act as a rainwater filtration system retaining excess water for irrigation of the gardens and parks within the development. In the dry seasons, these water featured areas can function as additional water recreation space. In case of excessive storm water, green roofs are designed to mitigate the runoff and assist water and air purification. Furthermore, these systems can also reduce overall building energy consumption and moderate the urban heat island effects. The green wall acts as an air filtration system and creates its own microclimate which mitigates heat gain in the units as well as reducing both indoor air and outdoor radiated temperature. Reinforcing the idea of cross-ventilation, the thin profile and shallow floor plates which align with the local main wind direction generate a stunning configuration and provide opportunities for natural daylight to be accessible on both sides of the units.

Green Leaf is not only acting as natural demarcation for spaces and activities; the various vegetated landscapes also create a green network that reconnects the urban population with the natural landscape of Bangladesh through a system of parks, paths and open public spaces. The planting species include fast-growing trees which create a comfortable microclimate for residents and visitors. One of the most important functions of the green façade is that it offers shade during intense heat and helps oxygenate surrounding air. The hedges, inspired by gardens that are carefully designed and organized, become the buildings in the Green Leaf plan, defining habitable space within the natural landscapes. They create a sense of living among trees, differentiated from a typical urban context. Smaller squares and parkettes closer to the centre contrast soft edges with hardscape materials that are necessary for active spaces. The landscape contains the key functions of this urban enclave. The garden city contains a central square with a market, commercial spaces, and educational and religious institutions that become an accessible public focus for gathering and events, encouraging the experience of city and nature simultaneously.

With private courtyards and gardens aligned with the spaces between buildings and bioswales preventing potential water overflow, this bio-integration of architecture and natural landscape will define a new development paradigm for Bangladesh that maximizes density, value and returns, both ecologically and economically. Exhibiting sustainable designs that embrace vernacular landscapes, Green Leaf architecture draws from the lushness of the Bengali landscape and gives both beauty and function back to its surroundings.

Apartment Houses Data:
Total area of the island (sq. m.): 38,000
Total building area (sq. m.): 16,200
Total useful area (sq. m.): 34,600
Total area of the main street (sq. m.): 3400
Area of buildings: 116,500
Number of buildings: 12
Average area of apartments (sq. m.): 98
Number of floors: 9
Coefficient of built area: 3,3
Central square on the road (sq. m.): 1500
Total area of green terraces: 7200
Townhouses Data:
Total area of the island (sq. m.): 21,600
The total building area (sq. m.): 7,488
Total useful area (sq. m.): 27,000
Total area of the main street (sq. m.): 2,600
Number of residential units: 255
Average area of a townhouse (sq. m.): 106
Number of floors: 4
Coefficient of built area: 1,21
Total area of greenery planting on the ground floor: 8,600
Total area of green terraces on the 2-rd and 3-th floors: 2,900
Total area of the green walking zone on the roof: 5,500
Total green area (sq. m.): 17,000
Year: 2011

Skolkovo Innovation Center (‘Russian Silicon Valley’), a high-tech hub to be built at Skolkovo near Moscow, Russia, is intended to concentrate international intellectual capital, thereby stimulating the development of break-through projects and technologies. The modern approach to residential buildings often creates a feeling of isolation. A person has his or her own apartment and a little garden, while neighbors are perceived as competitors. The new residential area, including apartment houses and townhouses, designed by Arch Group, is designed for temporary accommodation of the scientific elite shown in the apartment houses while the townhouses feature a multi-layered environment. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The complex will be built within the limits of New Ivanovo and Odintsovo townships, near the village of Skolkovo located in the eastern part of Moscow’s Odintsovsky on the Skolkovsky highway, 2 km west of the MKAD Moscow beltway. The Skolkovo project was announced on November 12th, 2009 by Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev.

The residential clusters are situated in a unique ecological environment. The architectural solution should not only provide comfortable accommodation for the residents but also form a creative environment that encourages people to communicate, exchange experiences, and help in the creative process.

Apartment Houses

The district from the north to the south is permeated with pedestrian lanes with “green corridors”, which connect the cluster to the park. Along them, residential buildings are built. This forms long green prospects. The central square covers the transit road, protecting the houses from noise and dirt.

We want to avoid the feeling of a dense urban development. This is why the buildings are shaped as the natural landscape and green hills. Between them there is a lot of air and space. The slopes of the hills are green terraces, so even the buildings themselves are a part of the natural recreational space. Facades and windows of the apartments are slightly turned towards the forest. All houses are connected by pedestrian paths on the second level between the lobbies. This forms project’s single communicative space. Public functions are situated on the ground floor of the houses. Parking and technical services are situated on the underground level. Lanes for running and cycling are situated all around the area.

Artificial nests for swifts are located on the roofs of all houses. This improves the area environment and gives it a special atmosphere. Trees and grass are planted on all the terraces and roofs of the houses.

Townhouses

The district is located in the park. One main road connects the “island” with other similar areas. This gives the possibility to consider each residential cluster as an energy core, an urban cluster. The principles of organization of the district are similar to the medieval cities of Europe and the Middle East, where over the centuries a complex, three-dimensional urban environment was formed. Each house there has its own character and its own history.

We create a multi-layered environment, with the links between individual houses and terraces. We create a system of picturesque routes and green terraces and consider that all the houses should be different, with various planning solutions, with different terraces and entrances. This is not a typical social housing but a temporary home for creative, active people. Within the area, small squares with trees, fountains or children’s playgrounds are formed. This will give even more individuality to each part of the complex and will help with internal navigation.

All houses are connected by pedestrian promenade paths on the third and fifth levels. From the main road departs a network of internal passages. Many streets and alleys form private courtyards and entrances. On top of all residential units, on the fifth floor, a network of pedestrian alleys is organized. This promenade can be reached by lifts, located in each group of residential units. Upper residential modules are smaller than the lower modules. This allows organizing insulation of all apartments. On the roofs of the houses, there are special nests for swifts, which rid the area of insects in the summer.

MASTERPLAN

CAMPUS

BLOCK

RESTAURANT

SOLITAIRE

architect: shift architecture urbanism
advisor: ABT
location: tilburg, the netherlands
visualisations: A2 studio
design masterplan: .fabric & lola
client: landgoed de groene kamer
program: eco-retail, leisure, education, public space & landscape prizes
campus: 1st prize
block: 2nd prize
restaurant: 2nd prize
pavilion: 3rd prize

Landgoed de Groene Kamer

Landgoed De Groene Kamer seeks to develop a new type of country estate in the southwest of the city of Tilburg where eco-retail, nature and recreation are brought together. A place where city and countryside meet, both physically and programmatically.

Shift’s proposal, Topos, focuses a radical integration of architecture and landscape.

Green boulevard

Topos transforms the flat body of earth in the existing master plan of .Fabric and LOLA into a differentiated earthwork. The boulevard, the squares and the buildings are placed in and on this earthwork. The body of earth is used as an instrument for place making and therefore becomes topographic. Each retail cluster is embedded in a specific three dimensional earth shape to create a sequence of differentiated places (topos). Shopping on the green boulevard becomes a natural experience in which the division between city and countryside, between architecture and landscape, is dissolved.

Square

The entrance square is formed by a bowl-shaped earthwork which opens towards the parking arboretum. The circular shape embraces the visitors and welcomes them into a different world that invites for exploration. The various buildings situated in, on or under the earthwork bowl can be accessed from the square. Each building typology has its own specific connection with the earthwork and the surrounding landscape.

Block

The block houses a so-called landwinkel, a large shop where local food products are being sold. It functions as one of the anchor programs of the whole Groene Kamer development and is therefore prominently placed on top of the earthwork. The omnidirectional block manifests itself as a transparent greenhouse with a “wooden sculpture” inside.

This sculpture is designed as a cross shaped volume which allows for open corners in the building. The corners function as indoor gardens that literally bring the outside inside and vice versa. The cross volume is carved open on the ground floor, introducing a continuous and flexible floor plan that connects the corner gardens.

Campus

The campus is designed as a distinct and recognizable cluster of three retail buildings, literally embedded in the landscape. The entrances of the buildings are oriented towards the inside of the campus, to create a shared court that seduces the visitors inside. All buildings have a maximum transparency towards the shared interior. The other, more closed, facades are provided with a continuous horizontal strip window that follows the topography of the earthwork. This strip window introduces a new “constructed” horizon which dramatizes the three dimensional character of the earthworks both from the inside and from the outside.

Restaurant

The restaurant manifests itself as a triangular carve through the body of earth. The carve accommodates an open entrance towards the square, a covered middle part with the seating area and a large terrace towards the south. The other functions of the restaurant are situated in the body of earth adjacent to the carve. Foldable window panels allow the complete south façade to open up, erasing the border between inside and outside.

EUROPAN 11 – LEEUWARDEN HOUSING – URBAN WATER LILIES
LEEUWARDEN, NETHERLANDS
EUROPAN 11
Team: OODA: Diogo Brito, Rodrigo Vilas-Boas, Francisco Lencastre, Francisca Santos, Diogo Mesquita, Lourenço Menezes
OOIIO – www.ooiio.com: Joaquín Millán Villamuelas, Jesús Reyes García, Joanna Siejak, Ana Sánchez Torrecilla, Emiliano d´Incecco, Ana Mendicuti, Juan José Ortega López
Result: Settled

The design of the proposal was instinctively developed under basic and determinant assumptions reflected from the local. Water, rurality, urbanity and cultural habits and traditions.

We have tried to form an interactive balance among all the premises and found in nature a conceptual framework that served as a starting point for the formalization of our urban housing plan. The floating water lilies.

This living in water organisms are in their essence specimens that naturally make a “bridge” between water and land world, developing a particular and sustainable ecosystem. Simultaneously the floating water lilies are also a recognizable icon of the Friesland province identity.

Our proposal design was based in this concept, trying to develop a new parallel urban system.

The need to combine and establish environmental relationships within the study area and the city of Leeuwarden, led us to a cellular organization, created from the abstraction of a water lilies set.

Through the juxtaposition , overlap and repetition of the floating cells we were able to organize and develop a unique residential and common environment with high integration of water, green spaces and agricultural areas.

In this way it was possible to bring together all the new residential habits and the natural /rural preexistences, creating a sustainable residential system in harmonious coexistence with the urban and natural environments.

All the urban plan was created in a cellular matrix brought by the water lilies abstraction where all the ground floor access housing units, toghether with all the sports, agricultural and public spaces set in water, like floating water lily pad. In this sense all the apartment housing blocks are the exceptional forms with a more vertical assumption, and that are also related with the concept representing the abstraction of the Water lily flower.

Architects: Holst Architecture
Location: Portland, Oregon
Project Team: John T. Holmes, Jeffery Stuhr, Dave Otte, Kim Wilson, Cory Hawbecker, Katie Decker
Developer: Home Forward
Contractor: Walsh Construction
Project Year: 2011
Budget: $29 million
Project Area: 106,000 sqm
Photographs: Sally Schoolmaster, Christian Columbres

Bud Clark Commons sets a new standard for public services by combining supportive housing with a community resource center. Located at the gateway to downtown Portland, near historic Union Station and bordering the Pearl District, an upper income mixed-use neighborhood, Bud Clark Commons achieves a noticeable balance between the rigorous programmatic requirements of a coalition lead by the City of Portland, a progressive design approach, and sustainable building practices.

The mission of Bud Clark Commons is to provide a continuum of services such as health, housing, and learning resources, to assist homeless individuals transition from an unstable condition to a more permanent living arrangement. The architecture helps achieve this goal in both form and function. The three distinct program elements are a walk-in day center with access to services; a temporary shelter with 90 beds for homeless men; and 130 efficient, studio apartments on the five upper floors of the eight-story building. The apartments are designated for very low-income women or men seeking permanent housing.

Ground level floor-to-ceiling windows extend the length of the west façade; the abundance of glazing allows natural light to saturate the interior. The upper façade is light and dark brick punctuated by patterned window openings accented with shades of green glass. The patterning distinguishes individual units on the upper floors, but also makes a bold aesthetic statement on Broadway, a gateway to downtown Portland. The apartments are entered on the south side of the building, where access is restricted to tenants or their guests. A door located on the west side of the building provides entry to the temporary shelter, while public access to the day center is on the north side of the building, on grade at the second floor level. A landscaped courtyard with seating, tables, and a bioswale water feature provide a transitional space between the street and the safety of the day center.

The first floor common area shared by men at the transitional shelter is bound by two bunkrooms with bathrooms and showers, a kitchen, exercise and counseling rooms, and a private outdoor courtyard. Day center users enter the building through the public courtyard where there are lockers, bike racks and dog kennels. At the front desk, users are directed to a number of resources: a hygiene center with showers and laundry, counseling, a mail and computer center, library, medical center, and barbershop. The common area with ample seating and tables for dining is open, airy and receives natural light through floor-to-ceiling windows. The third floor, features an art studio, garden balcony, and a community courtroom that doubles as a classroom.

The upper floors are home to 130 tenants who must apply to receive permanent, supportive housing. The apartments are efficient, comfortable, and easy to maintain. Smart design perks include bedbug proof furniture, and a closet that doubles as a bike rack. A comfortable year-round temperature is maintained through a highly efficient sensor that shuts off the heater when the window is open. Fresh air is circulated into each apartment through a heat recovery system.

Accessibility, natural light, plentiful clean air, and durable materials were essential to the success of the building from both a sustainable and a functional perspective. A solar-powered hot water system, in addition to a high-performance exterior envelope, energy-efficient lighting, and green roofs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while saving the public in energy costs.  Low-flow plumbing fixtures, bioswales, and greywater recycling reduce water use, and all materials are locally sourced, and sustainably harvested or produced. The building has a LEED Platinum certification by the United States Green Building Council, with savings from the use of energy-efficient technologies estimated at $60,000 per year.

milimetdesign updated from  www.e-architect.co.uk

Kaohsiung Port Station Competition – Winner

Design: De Architekten Cie.

English text (scroll down for Dutch):

Kaohsiung Port Station Urban Design Competition

De Architekten Cie. has won the open international Kaohsiung Port Station Urban Design competition in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The 15.42 hectare site, is the derelict Port Station Railyards of the old port of Kaohsiung is to be transformed into a vibrant, new urban district centered around a linear park which highlights the cultural and historical heritage of the site.

The team, led by associates Jason Lee and Patrick Koschuch, worked in collaboration with Rosetta Elkin of RSE Landscape on the winning proposal.

Dutch text:

Kaohsiung Port Station Urban Design Competitie

De Architekten Cie. heeft de internationale open competitie voor het Kaohsiung Port Station Urban Design in Kaohsiung (Taiwan) gewonnen. Het 15,42 ha grote bouwterrein, bestaande uit het vervallen spoorwegemplacement van de oude haven in Kaohsiung, zal worden omgevormd tot een levendig en nieuw stadsdistrict rondom een langgerekt park dat het culturele en historische erfgoed van deze plek moet benadrukken.

Het team, onder leiding van de associates Jason Lee en Patrick Koschuch, werkte samen met Rosetta Elkin van RSE Landscape aan het winnende voorstel.

Kaohsiung Port Terminal Competition images / information from De Architekten Cie

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CORAL CITY: GOMMAdesign takes inspiration from corals to design a self-sustaining and disaster-resistant eco-village in the Philippines

“Our proposal wants to prove that architecture and urban planning can design sustainable cities only if they start from different and more responsible values. A conscientious development is the main challenge of our generation, the only way to achieve a sustainable world.”

GOMMAdesign

CORAL CITY, a self-sustaining and disaster-resistant eco-village in the Philippines, designed byGOMMAdesign (in partnership with ITA Project), was chosen among almost 300 entries from all over the world and awarded with the special ENERGY AWARD in DAtE – Design Against the Elements international competition.

Design Against the Elements was a global architectural design competition meant to find a solution to the problems presented by climate change. The project aimed to draw together the most innovative minds in the fields of architecture, design, and urban planning to develop sustainable and disaster-resistant housing for communities in tropical urban settings. The winning design will be built as a prototype disaster-resistant and livable eco-village in Quezon City, while all the entries will be compiled into an encyclopedia of architectural solutions that will be implemented for sustainable, environment-friendly civil works.

Starting from the idea that a conscientious development is the main challenge of our generation and that natural structures could provide the best role-models and inspirations to design new sustainable communities, GOMMAdesign‘s project was inspired by corals, self-organizing living systems which are highly capable of reacting and smoothly adapting to changes and external influences.

The project master plan aims to stimulate and guarantee social relations between tenants even in case of natural disasters, heavy rains and floods, while being at the same time a cutting-edge eco-sustainable and green design. Many technologies and strategies where implemented for this purpose, most of them inspired by biomimetic principles and energy-saving considerations. In details:

• Buildings have a proper ring-like shape which allows optimal structural performances in relation to stresses caused by earthquakes and typhoons.

• Cells are permeable and perforated. This minimizes the opposition of buildings to strong winds and allows them to pass through and flow away from the inner courtyards, which will promote natural and cross ventilation and will help reducing inner temperature.

• Precipitations are collected and drained out through an interconnected system of canals, in order to minimize the effects of heavy rains and flood and re-use water for domestic and public use.

• Buildings and main distribution paths are detached from the ground, on piles, in order to offer a safe and enjoyable environment even in case of massive flooding.

• Recycled and local materials (bamboo) will be used.

+ Project credits / data
Type: Competition
Size: 3 ha
Location: Taguig – Metro Manila, Philippines
Year: 2010
Status: Energy Award
Design team: Francesco Bagni, Vittorio Menna, Gabriele Settimelli, Francesco De Luca, Paolo Gori, Romolo Nati, Valentina Murgia, Matteo Parigiani
Collaborators: Chiara Giunta, Ilaria Merola
+ About GOMMAdesign
After my studies in Architecture and master degree in Ferrara, I gained international experience in Athens and Rome, where I worked for architectural offices of acknowledged value and of very different workflow organization as well as design vision.  These experiences allowed me to highly improve and refine my design skills, especially in the fields of urban redevelopment, masterplan of services and residential complexes, architectural design of service buildings as well as residential buildings and units.
Team work, and proper workflow organization are the tools that I find most productive in my studio activity, for which this is a subject of constant improvement and research for the best solution. Also, having always been interested in digital tools and technical innovation, I trained and experienced especially in the use of interaction tools, their potential of application in spatial and usability issues, and more generally in their influence on the design activity.
I gained my master degree in Architecture in Rome and I’ve been working for many years as a freelance (in collaboration with many other practices and professionals worldwide) and especially as a partner in the architecture practice which I run with my parents. I worked on many projects (housing, offices, retail, health structures, services – most of them actually built), acquiring deep skills and knowledge about design at different scales and about construction processes on field.
Moreover, I have always been fascinated by the latest ground-breaking researches in  sciences, maths, geometry, physics, technology and logic. The strong attitude I had since i was a child toward any kind of cutting-edge experimentation and research has led me to investigate and study several aspects and fields of the so-called “new sciences”, in a continuous search for state-of-the-art tools, both conceptual and practical, which could allow me to manage and manipulate complexity and expand my professional and creative toolkit.
My work is mainly focused on researching about innovative materials and manufacturing processes.
My biggest interest is about the daily life, understanding how people lives and behaves, which are their needs and habits, and considering these as a starting and a ending point for every project, from furnitures to buildings
+ All images and drawings courtesy GOMMAdesign

In addition, last but not least, one of the main purposes of the project was to achieve a high level of financial sustainability and profitability, two of the most important aspects of a “public housing plan”. For this reason roofs and parking areas are massively covered with photovoltaic panels, which assimilate solar energy and offer a sustainable and eco-compatible way to self-finance the construction process. About 1.600 sq/m of photovoltaic panels will produce energy which will be sold to the grid, generating this way an impressive stream of revenues. This approach will at first reduce the production of Co2 and then offer a sustainable and eco-friendly way to self-finance the construction phase.

All the features and strategies implemented and explained so far simply prove that CORAL CITY is truly a self-sustaining community.

That’s why CORAL CITY was recognized by the DAtE international jury as an example of (both financially and energetically) sustainable design and awarded with a special ENERGY AWARD (category professional).

Project: Coral City

Architect: GOMMAdesign | http://www.gommadesign.com/ + ITA Project

GOMMAdesign is an architecture and design studio based in Rome, mainly focused on the investigation of new design strategies, advanced and at the same time sustainable, through the strict integration between cutting-edge digital tools, technologies, processes, materials and eco-logic strategies for environmentally-aware design.

GOMMAdesign team members gather different skills and experiences in architectural, product and interaction design, allowing the studio to constantly explore up-to-date theories and techniques in different fields (such as: materials and manufacturing processes, computational and generative tools for design, interaction technologies and strategies) and to be able to deliver advanced concepts, projects and products that properly address market’s and client’s needs in an original and inspired way.

GOMMAdesign Members

Francesco Bagni

Vittorio Menna

Gabriele Settimelli

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Baietan: The Heart of Guang-Fo. (Image: SOM | © Crystal CG)

Baietan Master Plan by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (Image: SOM | © Crystal CG)

Over 10 million square meters of mixed-use development will be located within walking distance of Baietan’s subway stations. (Image: SOM | © Crystal CG)

Image: SOM | © Crystal CG

The Baietan Master Plan envisions a sustainability-integrated city with over 740,000 residents and 66,000 employees situated on the banks of the Pearl River in Central Guangzhou, China. (Image: SOM | © Gerald Ratto)

The Pearl River Waterfront Promenade serves as the over-arching organizer that unifies the entire district. (SOM | © Hargreaves Associates)

Future generations will be protected from the threat of annual flooding and sea level rise. (© SOM)

Baietan creates parks and open space supporting a matrix of habitats, recreation, and flood detention. (SOM | © Hargreaves Associates)

Sustainable design standards set targets for economic development, quality of life, and environmental responsibility for the area. (© SOM)

The San Francisco chapter of the American Institute of Architects has recently honored Skidmore, Owings & Merrill’s Baietan Master Plan with a 2011 Merit Award for Urban Design

The Baietan Master Plan addresses a 35-square kilometer portion of the Southern Chinese Pearl River Delta that stretches between the city of Guangzhou, with its 10.3 million inhabitants, and city of Foshan, a smaller city of 5.4 million people. Growth in the Delta region has allowed the two cities to begin to merge into one mega region.

Led by SOM Planning Director Ellen Lou, the design team created a distinct, diverse, and sustainable neighborhood identity that respected its waterfront location and the intrinsic qualities of local “Lingnan” culture

The Plan differentiated itself through its unprecedented level of detail, specifying the dimensions for attributes of individual parcels, including lighting, street furniture, taxi drop-offs, crosswalks, and pedestrian bridges. Another important differentiator of the Plan involved a strategy for maintaining the region’s “urban villages” — an important contributor to the Delta’s social fabric

In the summer of 2010, the City Government of Guangzhou accepted the Baietan Master Plan. SOM’s Plan will guide ongoing implementation of the project over the next several years.

The design team is honored to have had the opportunity to inform this development while sensitively addressing the issues of urbanization that characterize today’s China.

The interdisciplinary SOM team included Landscape Architect Hargreaves Associates, Transportation Planner CHS Consulting, Economic Consultant CBRE, Sustainability Infrastructure Consultant Sherwood Design Engineers, Local Planning Consultant Guangzhou UPDS (Urban Planning Design Studio), and Brownfield Consultant ICF Jones & Stokes.

Last Thursday, four globally renowned landscape and urban design teams converged on Minneapolis to present to the public their visions for the Minneapolis Riverfront Design Competition (MR|DC) at the Walker Art Center. The teams - Ken Smith Workshop (New York City), Stoss Landscape Urbanism (Boston), Tom Leader Studio (Berkeley), and Turenscape(Beijing) – each presented a multidimensional design proposal for 220 acres of parkland and surrounding communities along 5.5 miles of the Upper Riverfront in Minneapolis.

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board and the Minneapolis Parks Foundation, with creative partners the Walker Art Center and the University of Minnesota College of Design, sponsor the MR|DC. The largest design competition in Minneapolis history, the MR|DC builds on the Park Board’s award-winning 2000 Master Plan and is the first demonstration project of the Foundation’s “Next Generation of Parks” initiative.

Following are the design presentations of the four shortlisted firms:

TLS/KVA: RiverFirst

A set of inter-related design initiatives-focused on health, mobility and green economy-that function at multiple scales and are enhanced by community outreach strategies to raise public awareness about consumer choice impacts on the River system.

video

Turenscape: The Resilient River

A fifty-year framework for investment that focuses on: ecological renewal, social equity, new economies and a new identity for the city of the river, and includes a strategic approach to ecological infrastructure, re-orienting urbanism and phasing over time.

video

Stoss Landscape Urbanism: Streamlines

A longer-term transformation that reclaims the river as civic space, introduces new landscapes, infrastructure and urban fabrics, and weaves the multiple new and existing systems and experiences back into the city.

video

Ken Smith: City of the River

The river is a catalyst for renewal through new and enhanced park, infrastructure and ecological systems and a series of bold, iconic design scenarios that reflect the area’s history and spirit of place.

video

Beginning in February, the public is invited to peruse the design submissions at several locations. First, the Walker Art Center will present “Four Visions of the Minneapolis Riverfront,” a free, continuous screening of the design submissions and student work, in the US Bank Orientation Lounge in the Walker’s lobby, February 1-28. The University of Minnesota College of Design will also exhibit the submissions. For forthcoming details about this and additional locations, see the MR|DC website.