Dutch architect Ben van Berkel of UNStudio has won a competition to design a tower that will house the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Frankfurt, Germany.

The facade of the 110 metre tower will appear to change shape depending on the angle from which it is viewed.

“It appears needle-thin from one spot, strong and straight from another, and complex with a slight twist from yet another,” says van Berkel.

The following information is from UNStudio:

–

UNStudio/ Ben van Berkel’s design selected for new hotel tower in Frankfurt

Yesterday, UNStudio was selected in the competition for a 110 meter tall hotel tower.

From the six projects presented, the jury, chaired by Prof. Johann Eisele, chose the designs by UNStudio - Ben van Berkel (Amsterdam), and Kohn, Pedersen, Fox (New York) and recommended proceeding with the UNStudio design for further development.

According to Ben van Berkel the design for the Grand Hyatt tower celebrates and highlights the cosmopolitan character and diversity of Frankfurt. ‘It has three different elevations that are linked to the different aspects of the city. The tower takes up the variation and diversity offered by the city of Frankfurt and reflects that multiplicity of experiences back to the city itself. The tower can be perceived differently from each perspective; it appears needle-thin from one spot, strong and straight from another, and complex with a slight twist from yet another.”

The new tower will house a 5-star-plus hotel with 405 rooms and suites, a ballroom, spa, various restaurants, a lobby bar and a public Sky Lounge on the top floor, and the possibility of an adjacent congress center. The hotel tower consists of 30 floors at a height of approximately 110 metres and an area of 54,562.70 m2 for hotel tower + plinth.

The new hotel will be located opposite the currently emerging high-rise office Tower 185. The first building to be realized in Frankfurt’s Europaviertel was the Mövenpick Hotel. Along with a number of apartments and office buildings a second hotel, the Meininger Hotel, is currently under construction.

As part of a multiple assignment, yesterday six architects presented their ideas for the approximately 110-meter-high hotel tower. Other offices which presented their designs were Ingenhoven Architects (Dusseldorf), JSK Architects (Frankfurt), Lederer, Ragnarsdottir, Oei (Stuttgart) and Reichel Stauth + Architects (Brunswick). The jury consisted of: Councillor Edwin Schwarz (City of Frankfurt), Bernhard H. Hansen (Vivico), Prof. Jochem Jourdan (Jourdan & Müller PAS), Prof. Uwe Frerichs (Bielefeld University), Anne Geier Mann (Hyatt) and Matthias Lowin (Viador).

All of the designs will be exhibited from the 20th until the 27th May 2009 in the foyer of the Technical Town Hall of the City of Frankfurt (Braubachstrasse 15, Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 18:00 clock).

The jury chairman Prof. Eisele pointed out: “All the proposals were of an exceptionally high standard. The award-winning designs by UNStudio and Kohn, Pedersen Fox are particularly outstanding as they present a type of high-rise which does not yet exist in this form in Frankfurt. The contribution by UNStudio demonstrates how harmony can be created between extensive functional demands and the high requirements of exterior and interior design.”

According to Mr. Schwarz the designs are very well integrated into the urban planning of the new neighborhood: “With this exceptional high-rise the new project will provide the entrance area of the Europe district with a very visible accent.”

Bernhard H. Hansen said: “An architectural language has been found that responds to the high demands of the Grand Hyatt account whilst simultaneously integrating perfectly into the neighborhood.”

The new Grand Hyatt, as part of the ensemble Skyline Plaza, marks the entrance of the Europe Allee, with its impact stretching along Oslo street in a North-South direction. With the new hotel tower, 1,000 beds of different categories will be available in the Europe District. The Europe District is growing rapidly: The first residential building will be completed in spring 2009, with two more to follow in 2010. Overall, in the first phase approximately 780 houses are planned. The construction of the first office building, headquarters of the Germany bank BNP Paribas, started in the autumn of 2008 and will be realized mid-2010. The four-star Mövenpick Hotel Frankfurt City was realized in 2006. In February 2008 Vivico closed a lease contract with the Berlin hotel group Meininger. The new hotel at the entrance of the Torhause is also already under construction and will be opened in 2010.

At the entrance of the European quarter, at the Friedrich-Ebert-Anlage, Vivico has been building the Tower 185 since September 2008; the first skyscraper at this location. Before construction began Vivico closed a contract for approximately 60,000 m_ of rental space with the accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

–

Posted by zefri

source : www.dezeen.com

Santa Monica practice Pugh + Scarpa Architects have completed a building to provide homes, support services and rehabilitation for homeless and mentally disabled people in Santa Monica, California.

Called Step Up on Fifth, the facade is covered with water jet-cut, anodised-aluminium panels that provide shade and privacy.

The building comprises 46 studio apartments offering permanent, affordable housing plus retail space at ground level.

Community rooms on alternate floors overlook two private courtyards on the first floor.

Photographs by John Linden; drawings by Pugh + Scarpa Architects.

Here’s some more information from Pugh + Scarpa Architects:

–

Step Up on 5th is a bright new spot in downtown Santa Monica. The new building provides a home, support services and rehabilitation for the homeless and mentally disabled population. The new structure provides 46 studio apartments of permanent affordable housing. The project also includes ground level commercial/retail space and subterranean parking.

A striking yet light-hearted exterior makes the new building a welcome landmark in downtown Santa Monica. Custom water jet-anodized aluminum panels on the main façade creates a dramatic screen that sparkles in the sun and glows at night, while also acting as sun protection and privacy screens. The material reappears as a strategic arrangement of screens on east and south-facing walls, lending a subtle rhythm to the exterior circulation walkways and stairs.

South-facing walls filter direct sunlight with asymmetrical horizontal openings that lend unexpected visual depth while creating a sense of security for the emotionally sensitive occupants. Enhancing the structure’s geometric texture, the irregular array of openings variably extrudes from the building’s surface.

The small-scale elements on the façade enhance the existing streetscape and promote a lively pedestrian environment. By visually breaking up the façade into smaller articulated elements, the building appears to move with the passing cars and people.

At the second level above the retail space two private courtyards provide residents with a secure and welcoming surrounding while connecting directly to 5th street and downtown Santa Monica via a secured stairway integrated into the building storefront at street level.

Community rooms are located on every other floor of the project overlooking the private courtyards protected from the street. These community rooms along with the private courtyards serve as the principal social spaces for the tenants of the building.

Step Up on 5th distinguishes itself from most conventionally developed projects in that it incorporates energy efficient measures that exceed standard practice, optimize building performance, and ensure reduced energy use during all phases of construction and occupancy.

The planning and design of Step Up on 5th emerged from close consideration and employment of passive solar design strategies.

These strategies include: locating and orienting the building to control solar cooling loads; shaping and orienting the building for exposure to prevailing winds; shaping the building to induce buoyancy for natural ventilation; designing windows to maximize day lighting; shading south facing windows and minimizing west-facing glazing; designing windows to maximize natural ventilation; shaping and planning the interior to enhance daylight and natural air flow distribution.

These passive strategies alone make this building 50% more efficient than a conventionally designed structure.

The building is loaded with energy-saving and environmentally benign or “sustainable” devices. Materials conservation and recycling were employed during construction by requiring all waste to be hauled to a transfer station for recycling. The overall project achieved more than a 75% recycling rate.

Specifying carpet with a high-recycled content, and all-natural linoleum flooring also emphasized resource conservation. The project also uses compact fluorescent lighting throughout the building and double-pane windows.

Each apartment will be equipped with water-saving dual flush toilets and many other energy conserving devices. While California has the most stringent energy efficient requirements in the United States, Step Up incorporates numerous sustainable features that exceed state mandated Title 24 energy measures by more than 30%

Project’s Formal Name: Step Up on Fifth
Location of Project: 1548 5th Street, Downtown Santa Monica, California
Client/Owner: Step Up
Total Square Footage: 31,600 sq. ft.
Total Cost: $10.1 million
Architects: Pugh + Scarpa
Project Team: Lawrence Scarpa, AIA – Design Architect, Angela Brooks, AIA, Principal-in-Charge, Brad Buter, Silke Clemmens, Ching Luk, Matt Maijack, Luis Gomez, Omar Barcena, Dan Safarik, Gwynne Pugh – Project Team
Engineering: John Martin Associates, Jackie Vinkler – Structural IBE, Alan Locke – Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing
Contractor: Ruiz Brothers
Photography: John Edward Linden

–

Posted by zefri

source : www.dezeen.com

Architects J Mayer H have released details of Steckelhoern 11, an office development in the centre of Hamburg, Germany that will be built in the next two years.

More Dezeen stories about J Mayer H:
Danfoss Universe Extension
Home.Haus
Chit.Chat and Positive.Negative
Lo Glo (part of Vitra Edition 2007)

Details of Steckelhoern 11 from the architects:

–

Press Release

The project “Steckelhoern 11” is located in the old centre of Hamburg, in between the cities main commercial areas and the new, highly noticed “Hafen City” development. It replaces a ruinous building formerly used as a storage facility and fills in the gap between two historic premises.

The triangular shaped lot stretches across the city block, thus allowing for a narrow facade of about 1.3m width facing the harbor and a main facade of about 26.4m oriented towards Steckhoern street. The vertical design of the latter references the architectural composition of the neighboring historic facades while the soft setbacks pay tribute to the existing volumes as well as to height regulations. Cantilevered elements in the main facade create a series of specific spatial qualities on the inside and outside.

The height development strengthens the appearance of the building towards the “Speicherstadt” and articulates a special moment in the skyline of the historic city centre. The particular geometry of the floor plan is the basis for the organization of the building, which architecturally and programmatically presents itself openly to Steckelhoern street while at the same time forming a characteristic landmark when perceived from the historic “Speicherstadt” and new “Hafen City”.

As the ground level is conceived either as a spacious lobby for the main tenant or a public cafe, the upper floors provide for generous, flexible office space, most of it allowing a view of the “Katharinenkirche” and/or the “Hafen City”. The top floors provide additional outside space on balconies/loggias and a roof terrace, offering a spectacular panoramic view over the old and new city of Hamburg.

J. MAYER H. Architects
project team: Juergen Mayer H., Hans Schneider, Wilko Hoffmann, Marcus Blum

Project: 2007-2009
Completion: 2009
Client: Cogiton Projekt Altstadt GmbH, Hamburg

Architect on Site: Imhotep, Donachie und Blomeyer
Sturctural Engineers: Lydia Thiesemann, WTM
Building Services: Energiehaus, Sineplan
Model: Werk5

–

Posted by zefri

source : www.dezeen.com

An der Alster 1 is a newly completed office complex in Hamburg, Germany, designed by J. Mayer H Architects.

This set of photos has been kindly supplied by photographer Hiepler Brunier. The images are under copyright and used with permission.

The text below comes from the architect:

–

At the end of August 2007, J. MAYER H. Architects completed the project An der Alster 1. The design for the office building is the result of a limited competition by the investor Cogiton in 2006. The building site is situated at the intersection between the Hamburg’s lively downtown and its urban landscape rich in water and mature trees.

It is at the transition from city to nature, and the gateway building to the bustling metropolitan core. The horizontal striped facade with its floating ‘eyes’ celebrates the view onto this unique context.

A public park in front of the building continues the design strategy of the facade into the landscape. The ‘eyes’ in the façade and the platforms in the park form places to meet and contemplate.

The office spaces serve both a generic spatial layout and specific moments related to the ‘eyes’. Large spans provide for various office layout configurations in combination with balconies and climatically tempered outdoor spaces of the ‘eyes’.

The office building An der Alster 1 links interior and exterior spaces to the public park in front of the building and to the city context of Hamburg, becoming a new anchor at the prestigious Aussenalster waterfront.

Large spans provide for various office configurations.

–

Posted by zefri

source : www.dezeen.com

German architects J. Mayer H. and Sebastian Finckh have completed Home.Haus, a foster home for children and adolescents in Hamburg, Germany.

The building is located next to a forest and has facilities for twelve girls in a mixture of single and shared rooms.

The home includes a sports and music room. There is also a toddlers’ room, kitchen and living room.

Photographs by Dirk Fellenberg.

The following information is from J. Mayer H. Architects:

–

Home.Haus - Home for Children and Adolescent

Located near the edge of the forest in Hamburg, a new residential building is now finished as a home for children and adolescents. The characteristics of the building are based on a two colour relief facade embracing a compact house volume. A central staircase penetrates the division between floors in favour of communication to create a central open space for the community.

J. MAYER H. Architects with Sebastian Finckh
Project Team: Juergen Mayer H. , Sebastian Finckh (Project-Architect), Marcus Blum.

Location: Hamburg-Bergedorf, Germany
Project: 2007-2008
Completion: October 2008
Client: Stiftung “Unternehmer Helfen Kindern”, Vorstand: Andreas Barke
User: Städtischer “Landesbetrieb Erziehung und Berufsbildung” (LEB), Hamburg

Architect on Site: Arch 3, Dirk Reinisch, Berlin
Structural Engineers: WTM Engineers, Hamburg
Fire Protection: HAHN Consult, Hamburg
Building Services: Energiehaus Ingenieure, Hamburg
Landscape Architects: Breimann & Bruun, Hamburg

homehaus - layout key

01 - room
02 - bathroom
03 - technical service
04 - hallway
05 - eat-in kitchen
06 - washing and drying room
07 - sports and music room
08 - storage room
09 - basement staircase and hallway
10 - infant room
11 - attendance room
12 - larder
13 - office
14 - vestibule
15 - living zone
16 - kitchen and dining zone
17 - staircase ground floor
18 - emergency accomodation
19 - play and study room
20 - staircase upper floor
21 - staircase attic floor

–

Posted by zefri

source : www.dezeen.com