Alviks Torn // Stockholm // Sweden

This is my first post on Swedish development. This high rise residential project is designed by the Danish architects C. F. Møller. The Alviks Torn (Alviks Tower) is a 20,000 m2 project, located in Alviks Strand (Beach), in the Swedish capital of Stockholm. The project is from a 2008 competition, for which the Danish architects received a first prize.

From the architects:

Alviks torn is a sculptural housing complex designed to bring identity to the district - and thereby, to Stockholm. The site lies in a prominent location towards the archipelago, and forms a transition zone between the city and the landscape, which has inspired the architecture. The development - a fractured block of approximately nine storeys and a landmark 21-storey tower divided into two parts - draws its shape and lines from the steepness and structure of the mountains bordering the lake Mälaren.
The form secures each residence a maximum of daylight and view. At the same time, the solution provides free areas which can be used as squares or open spaces – such as a viewing level near the water, and a central square oriented towards the city. The open spaces unite the life of the city with transparent, public-oriented areas at street level.

The Hague Colosseum // The Hague // Holland

This Colosseum is a project by Holland based Cepezed Architects. It is an utmost interesting project, since its structure is very similar to that of the ancient Colosseum in Rome. The structure in itself is very simple, but yet very functional for its temporary purpose.

 

Here is a more detailed description of the project from the architects:

Plan for a large temporary theatre on the Malieveld in The Hague, a large strech of lawn measuring over 10 hectare and positioned right along the entrance of the city. The Hague strives to be European Capital of Culture in 2018 and the theatre should function as an important eyecatcher and crowdpuller during this year. The theatre has been assigned by the offices of The Hague Capital of Culture 2018, who in its report Entitled to Culture! published its apparoach to obtain the much desired title. cepezeds theatre fulfills an important role in this approach and is one of the most remarkable proposals. The theatre has been designed as a contemporary version of the Colosseum in Rome, the best-known example of a Flavian amphitheatre, and should be able to accommodate some 5.000 people. The construction is erected out of scaffolding. On the outside, it is covered with a stretched reproduction of famous artist M.C. Escher’s Metamorfosis. Inside, concerts, performances, exhibitions and fairs can take place. On International Day of Peace, singer Bono of Irish pop group U2 should be onstage. The report considers the race to be Capital of Culture 2018 as an approriate opportunity to highten and intensify the cultural participation of the Hague’s population. The city, also the royal seat, has a lot of competition though, amongst others of municipalities like Almere, Utrecht and Maastricht. A final decision on which town will be European Capital of Culture 2018 will not be taken until 2013.

Myllypuro Housing Block // Helsinki // Finland

This is a social-housing project by the Finnish architects, ALA, the architectural firm that also designed the Kilden Performing Arts Center in Norway, which I have written about earlier. This project is built on a 14.000 m2 plot as illustrated bellow:

The project makes great use of terraces in its exterior, in order to allow the inhabitants of the building to have an outdoor space of their own. The terraces are also arranged in such away, that they are maximally exposed to natural daylight. These terraces create a new, more fresh and healthy style of building dense residential buildings, and also creates a new image to the older, more traditional, and might I say, more boring concrete block dense residential structures.

Gazprom Headquarters // St. Petersburg // Russia

This is my first post on Russian projects. If you've followed building development in Russia, you might have noticed that the Russians have begun a great deal of high rise projects lately, and this particular one is a very good example of how far the Russian high rise expansion has come. This project is designed by the architectural firm RMJM, and in honor of their work, I'll let them tell the rest about their project:

RMJM was appointed to design the new headquarters of one of the world’s largest companies – Russian gas giant Gazprom in December 2006. Our winning proposal is a 396 metre high twisting glass needle which echoes the spires across the city of St Petersburg.

RMJM’s designs for the development propose a new spire for the city. The inspiration for the design comes from the concept of energy in water - the site is located on the River Neva, with the form of the building deriving its shape from the changing nature of water, ever changing light, reflections and refraction. The five-sided tower twists as it rises to delicately touch the sky.

RMJM’s proposal also features a unique environmental strategy, which acts as a low energy ‘fur coat’. The double-layered skin of the tower will allow the maximization of daylight and the minimization of heat loss in the extreme St Petersburg environment.

The project is, as you probably have noticed by now, rather eye-catching. When keeping in mind that St. Petersburg is a city which mostly consists of more historical architecture, one can wonder how well such a modern high rise integrates with its surroundings. It's height of almost 400 m (almost 100 m taller than the former tallest building in Europe) may also be somewhat odd in its historical surroundings, but one thing is for sure: it will be visible from anywhere in the city, symbolizing the power and wealth of the Russian mega-firm Gazprom. One can wonder if this building is a monument to the company's wealth, or rather an almost envying display of ridiculous power.

An Excuse

Dear readers, as you may have noticed, I haven't been writing in quite a while. I have no certain excuse for my absence of writing, so instead of making a bad one up, I'll have to be honest with you about the fact, that I've just been rather lazy and careless regarding this blog project lately. BUT (there is always a but, isn't there?), instead of quitting it all at this point, I'll stand by what I promised with this blog, and from this day on, I'm continuing this project in the great hope of attracting more interested readers from around the world!

Nikolaiplatz // Graz // Austria

The Nikolaiplatz project is from 2007 and is developed by the Austrian architects, Atelier Thomas Pucher. The project consists of the development of an office building on a town square space in the Austrian city of Graz, in which this very plot faces a river, thus making it an attractive spot. The exterior is made of metal sheetings, and the metal cubes that are seen on the outside, are used as archives (bookshelves) in the interior. On the roof, there is an open penthouse-like floor, which allows the employees to enjoy the view of the city and the river.

Courthouse // Varna // Bulgaria

This building was projected by Dizarch OOD (a Bulgarian architectural firm - no website found) and is expected to stand ready in the Black Sea city of Varna by the year 2013. It will be built on a 6400 m2 plot and the structural area will be about 41,800 m2 when completed. The price for this structure is expected to be around 130 mil. Bulgarian leva (= 66.4 mil. euro).

This new structure may look like a building from George Orwell's infamous novel Nineteen Eighty Four (1984), but when minding the surrounding structures (communist-age high rise concrete flats), it actually blends in pretty well. On the other hand, the authoritarian touch the building's architecture also clearly states what it's function is - a courthouse - not the most pleasant and welcoming structure to the common citizen (especially not for those who have had problems with the ways of the law).