Towrs update: England, China, and more

It's been a busy couple of weeks at Towrs.  We've added hundreds of buildings from dozens of cities so that you can admire, learn about, and enjoy unique architecture from around the world.

Among the cities we've added:

• China
• Macau
• Kowloon
• Tung Chung
• Hong Kong
• Kowloon
• Singapore
• Singapore
• Sentosa Island
• Italy
• Procida
• Ischia Porto
• Ischia Ponte
• Naples
• Turkey
• Istanbul
• Uskudar
• Belgium
• Brussels
• England
• London
• Surrey
• France
• Paris

Take a look around, and feel free to leave you comments on each building.  We enjoy reading what you have to say, and other people do as well.

Small Words With Google China

Unrelated to anything else -- I have noticed that ever since Google opened its office in mainland China and started working with the Chinese government in the ways that it does that the font size of the English street names in Google Maps for Hong Kong has gotten smaller.

At the same time, the Chinese street names have not changed in size, though this is likely out of necessity since the glyphs are so much more complicated.

Still, it brings to mind a report I saw somewhere not too long ago (RTHK?) about new educational mandates from the mainland government imposed on Hong Kong that appear aimed at marginalizing the use of the English and Cantonese languages, as well as the former colony's British heritage.

City Scene: Gift Shop, Ngong Ping

Wherever there is a buck to be made in China, someone is trying to make it.  This is a gift shop outside of a monastery and shrine in Ngong Ping in the New Territories of China.  It is well equipped to handle the needs of anyone who forgot to bring their sacrifices, or perhaps realized too late that their sacrifices pale in comparison to their neighbors sacrifices.

City Scene: Explosive Fishing, Hong Kong

This sign at Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong warns against using electricity, poison, or explosives while fishing.  You have to wonder about the kind of society that warrants this sort of warning.

Profile: Tulou Collective Housing, Nanhai

Each day for the next couple of weeks, we will profile one project that has been nominated for the 2010 Aga Khan Awards for Architecture.

Today's project is the Tulou Collective Housing, in Nanhai:

This pioneering prototype for affordable housing in China is inspired by the traditional tulou, the multi-family, fortress-like earth house found in the rural areas of Fujian province. The urban Tolou consists of an outer circular block with a rectangular box within that is connected to the outer ring by bridges and a courtyard. Both the circular and rectangular blocks contain small apartment units; the spaces in between are for circulation and community use. The lower floors contain shops and other community facilities. Rents are low and apartments are not available to car owners, adding to the homogeneity of the community, many of whom are migrant workers. The self-contained circular form stands in sharp contrast to the typical high-rise blocks around it. The entire structure is wrapped in a concrete screen with wooden inserts that shade the balconies, giving each unit a secondary living space. The position of the apartments also allows for good light and ventilation. Resulting from extensive research into the original earth houses as well as the social dynamics of current urbanisation trends in China, the Tulou Collective Housing is a unique experiment in low-income housing and the transformation of ancient heritage to suit contemporary living environments.

Click here for more information on the Aga Khan Awards for Architecture.

Aga Khan Award for Architecture  / SHEN Xiaoming

Aga Khan Award for Architecture  / SHEN Xiaoming

Aga Khan Award for Architecture  / SHEN Xiaoming

Profile: The Bridge School, Xiashi

Each day for the next couple of weeks, we will profile one project that has been nominated for the 2010 Aga Khan Awards for Architecture.

Today's project is the Bridge School in Xiashi:

The ‘Bridge School’ bridges the two parts of the small village of Xiashi that lie on either side of a small creek running about ten metres below the village. The structure is created by two steel trusses that span the creek with the space between them housing the functions of the school. Suspended from the structure and running below it is a pedestrian bridge for the people of the village to use. Small and modern in design, with no reference to the area’s traditional building style, the school has nonetheless become the physical and spiritual centre of what was a declining village. Placed in such a way that it addresses its surroundings, the Bridge School connects the village together, providing a central, social space. The broader social aspect of the project was part of the brief, which was developed with the school principal and head of the village to answer community needs rather than simply those of a primary school. A public library separates the two classrooms and open stages at either end of the building enable performances. The result is a project that has successfully invigorated the entire community, encapsulating social sustainability through architectural intervention.

Click here for more information on the Aga Khan Awards for Architecture.

Aga Khan Award for Architecture / Li Xiaodong

Aga Khan Award for Architecture / Li Xiaodong

Aga Khan Award for Architecture / Li Xiaodong

The Sleepy Side of Hong Kong

It doesn't matter how big and bustling your city is, the clever adventurer can always find a quiet corner of serenity.  For expats living in Hong Kong, that place is on the other side of the island in the enclave of Aberdeen.

Seen here from atop The Peak, the town is a haven for people who need a break from the cacophony that is Hong Kong's Causeway Bay, Mid-Levels, and Admiralty neighborhoods.  While those areas are all about making money and life in motion, Aberdeen is about sitting back, drinking a beer, and watching the sun slowly sink into the South China Sea.  It is a peaceful place, unknown to most people who don't live in Hong Kong, and it is no wonder so many people from around the world choose this location for their homes.

• Click here to see hundreds of buildings from Hong Kong, Macau, Beijing, and the rest of China at our sister site, Chinese Architecture.
• Click here to see thousands of buildings from Hong Kong to Singapore to Seoul to Bangkok at our sister site, Asian Architecture Info.

2010 Aga Khan Architecture Award Nominees Announced

This year's nominees for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture have been announced.  The nominees include a broad range of buildings, mostly in the third world.  Interestingly, this isn't one of those naval-gazing exercises that the architecture and engineering community so often engages in.  Instead, it rewards architects along with cities, construction firms, and other organizations responsible for turning great ideas into great buildings.

The winner will be announced in Doha in October, 2010.

Over the next couple of weeks, we'll profile one nominee each day here along with pictures of the project.

Click here for more information on the Aga Khan architecture award.

The full press release follows:

Building Spotlight: The Golden Poop

There's a myth amongst Japanese fans in America about a mystical building in Tokyo that looks like a giant golden poop.  Well, here it is.

It's called Asahi Super Dry Hall (1-23-1 Azumabashi, Tokyo), and is named after the beer Super Dry by the Asahi brewing company.  It's not supposed to be a turd, though.  It's supposed to be a golden flame, and representative of the opening of a can of beer.  The windows in the building back up this notion, since they're shaped like little bubbles.  The gold building next to it is the Asahi Beer Tower, which is also designed to look like a beer.  In this case, a frosty mug of brew with a foamy head.

But people will continue to think of the smaller building as a golden poo, because that's just how people are.  Like the way people in Hong Kong refer to Jardine House (1 Connaught Place, Hong Kong) as the "House of a thousand arseholes" even though they're meant to resemble portholes in reference to the ships on Victoria Harbour.

More Tokyo buildings here
More Asian buildings here
More Chinese buildings here

SOM's Latest Looks Familiar

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill has posted a new project on its web site.

SOM's latest is the China World Trade Center in Beijing.  It's a nice building, but looks disturbingly similar to another "World Trade Center" that's still in our memories.

More about the building here: http://www.som.com/content.cfm/china_world_trade_center

Linked Hybrid Building Named Best Building of 2009

The Beijing building complex known as Linked Hybrid Building has been named the Best Building of 2009 by the Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

Here's a web page about the building.

Here's the press release.

The CTBUH named Linked Hybrid by Steven Holl Architects the “Best Tall Building Overall” for 2009. The Award was bestowed at the 8th Annual Awards Dinner and Ceremony held October 22nd at the Illinois Institute of Technology campus in Chicago, USA.   Following brief presentations by each of the regional winners, the CTBUH Awards Committee Chairman, Gordon Gill of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, announced the overall winner to be Linked Hybrid, describing the project as, “rich in thought, both programmatically and architecturally, presenting an advanced typology for dense urban living.”

With its rich pallet, appropriate scale and consistency in architectural language, Linked Hybrid adds a level of high quality architecture to the city of Beijing. Working well above the plane of purely sculptural architecture, the project embodies, on an urbanistic scale, where the future of tall buildings and urban cities is heading, creating architecture that does not isolate, but rather connects both on the ground plane and in the sky. This creates both a unique ground level plane that acts as an oasis in the density of Beijing, and a real multi-use zone of connected urbanism in the sky.  The project incorporates numerous sustainable design features, but really goes far beyond its geo-thermal and  water recycling, to tackle the much broader issue of social-urban sustainability itself. 

The CTBUH named Linked Hybrid by Steven Holl Architects the “Best Tall Building Overall” for 2009. The Award was bestowed at the 8th Annual Awards Dinner and Ceremony held October 22nd at the Illinois Institute of Technology campus in Chicago, USA.   Following brief presentations by each of the regional winners, the CTBUH Awards Committee Chairman, Gordon Gill of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, announced the overall winner to be Linked Hybrid, describing the project as, “rich in thought, both programmatically and architecturally, presenting an advanced typology for dense urban living.”

With its rich pallet, appropriate scale and consistency in architectural language, Linked Hybrid adds a level of high quality architecture to the city of Beijing. Working well above the plane of purely sculptural architecture, the project embodies, on an urbanistic scale, where the future of tall buildings and urban cities is heading, creating architecture that does not isolate, but rather connects both on the ground plane and in the sky. This creates both a unique ground level plane that acts as an oasis in the density of Beijing, and a real multi-use zone of connected urbanism in the sky. The project incorporates numerous sustainable design features, but really goes far beyond its geo-thermal and  water recycling, to tackle the much broader issue of social-urban sustainability itself. 

Accepting the award on behalf of the Linked Hybrid project team was design architect Steven Holl. Joining Mr. Holl on stage was Li Hu, project manager in Beijing from Steven Holl Architects, Congzhen Xiao, from structural engineer on the project, China Academy of Building Research, and Stefan Holst, from environmental consultants, Transsolar ClimageEngineering. While accepting the award, Mr. Holl admitted that while he was honored by the recognition he couldn’t help but be surprised at the win because Linked Hybrid is only 22 stories tall. CTBUH Executive director, Antony Wood commented that, “Though Linked Hybrid is not especially tall (though it certainly meets the Council’s criteria for defining a tall building), it points the way forward for the intensified multi-use, multi-level, connected cities of the future.”

Also awarded on the night, were the four Regional Tall Building Winners—Manitoba Hydro Place (Winnipeg, Canada) won the award for Best Tall Building Americas, and was accepted by building owner Tom Gouldsborough of Manitoba Hydro and architect Bruce Kuwabara of KPMB Architects. The Broadgate Tower (London, UK) won for Best Tall Building Europe, accepted by architects Timothy Poell and Jeffery McCarthy of Skidmore Owings & Merrill. Tornado Tower (Doha, Qatar) won for Best Tall Building Middle East & Africa and was accepted by building owner Said Abu Odeh of QIPCO. Linked Hybrid was also awarded the Best Tall Building Asia & Australasia award.

Best Tall Building Overall winner Linked Hybrid viewed from within central plaza.

John Portman accepts the Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award

Steven Holl presents the design concepts behind Linked Hybrid

Awards Chairman Gordon Gill presents the Best Tall Building Overall Award to members of the Linked Hybrid team: Steven Holl, Li Hu and Congzhen Xiao.

Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to John Portman of John Portman & Associates and Prabodh Banavalkar of Ingenium, Inc. Mr. Portman was awarded the Lynn S. Beedle Award for his careful urban planning and ability to weave art, nature, and the pedestrian experience together in his tall building designs. Dr. Banavalkar was awarded the Fazlur Khan Medal for his ability for finding the optimum structure with due consideration to cost effectiveness, constructability, redundancy, and seamless integration with the architectural design concept.

This year the Awards Dinner was held in conjunction with the CTBUH annual conference in Chicago titled, “Evolution of the Skyscraper: New challenges in a world of global warming and recession.” Held in Mies van der Rohe’s historic Crown Hall, the space was filled to capacity with an international audience of 380 guests. Table sponsors for the event included: Arup, Viracon, Walsh Construction, KONE, Skidmore Owings & Merrill, Cico Consultants, AECOM, SmithCarter/KPMB Architects,  Illinois Institute of Technology, Perkins + Will, Gensler, John Portman & Associates, Rolf Jensen & Associates, Goettsch Partners, Turner Construction, the Korean Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, and Thornton Tomasetti.