These residential towers were designed by MVRDV, a Dutch firm, for a business district in Seoul, Korea which expected to be completed in 2015. Unlike the plumes of fire and smoke associated with the bulging WTC buildings when they were attacked, these 10 floor protrusions form a “pixelated cloud” of patio-like spaces, creating an outdoor oasis, that is breathtaking, but in desperate need of some railings. Read more »
According to new research that shames Abu Dhabi and New York City alike, over the next three years, China will be putting up new skyscrapers at a rate of about six a month. The data compiled by Motian City, a Chinese tall building enthusiast website, forecasts the country having 800 skyscrapers in five years. In semi-related news, after almost a decade, a memorial at the World Trade Center onsisting of two reflecting pools and some trees, will be done in time for the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
It’s too bad the Port Authority didn’t hire the Bjarke Ingels Group to help develop the World Trade Center site, at least they’re trying to create something inspiring. The Danish architecture firm released renderings of this oddly shaped residential building planned for 57th Street between 11th and 12th Avenues. It’s expected to be skyline ready by 2015 and is proof that insect-inspired housing complexes are no longer just lofty concepts, they are the future!
Officials are now questioning the conventional wisdom that warns against using elevators while evacuating tall buildings in an emergency reports Newsday (paywall). Staircases are usually considered the safest route during fires, but in the case of the Twin Towers, many were blocked or unusable, forcing experts to rethink elevator evacuations altogether. Read more »
If it’s not pissed off neighbors in the East Village issuing bitchy decrees, it’s people in Williamsburg. This sharply-worded notice was posted on the front door of a building on Metropolitan Avenue and warns residents to chill out with the parties or face terminated leases. And there’s also this big-brotherly slap on the wrist: “Anyone coming in after 10:P.M. has to show I.D. or a pass showing that he belongs to the building.”
A proposed skyscraper only blocks from the Empire State Building that would stand almost as tall as it, is creating some controversy. Some argue that 15 Penn Plaza would make the skyline look stupid and block views of New York City’s most iconic building from the west. |City Room|
There’s a tall building going up on the East Village’s last frontier and it’s not even a housing project.
In case you were wondering what the tallest skyscraper in the world, Burj Dubai, would look like it was plopped down in Midtown, now you know. |Kottke|
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