[+] Seven Projects Shaping World Architecture in 2024

Across the globe, projects of all shapes, sizes and purposes are reaching completion each day. From humble family homes to towering skyscrapers, the steady fall and rise of buildings goes on. Architecture, according to the German writer and polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, is frozen music so, as we rapidly approach the midway point for 2024, here are seven projects either completed or due to complete this year, each with their own tune. Aquatics Centre Paris VenhoevenCS &amp; Ateliers 234 Saint-Denis, Paris Completion: Games begin July 26 The 2024 Paris Olympic Games will introduce just one new permanent venue: an aquatic centre designed by Amsterdam-based VenhoevenCS and the Parisian Ateliers 234. In keeping with a Games where adaptive reuse rules, in this new build a mass timber construction is being used to construct a roofline that dips and rises to the minimum height required in seating and swimming areas, reducing the amount of air that needs to be conditioned inside. As well, a solar roof will provide 25 per cent of required electricity, and a water system will recyle 50 per cent of the centre’s water while all the furniture is recycled wood or plastic. After the event, it will transform into a community sports and event centre at Saint-Denis, to the north of the French capital. Thanks to its modular configuration it will be able to switch from a 5000-seat venue during the Games to a 2500-seat facility to host neighbourhood events post-Games. Limberlost Place Moriyama Teshima Architects &amp; Acton Ostry Architects Toronto, Canada Completion: Northern Autumn The 10-storey wooden academic building of about 21,000sq m rising on the George Brown College Waterfront Campus in Toronto features an exposed cross-laminated timber and glulam [glued laminated timber] structure with a striking, angular rooftop silhouette. A triple-height atrium with a series of cascading seat-stairs will display learning activities to the surrounding neighbourhood, according to Acton Ostry Architects. “Innovative net zero-ready building components include a thermally efficient prefabricated building envelope, deep lake water cooling, rooftop photovoltaic panels and two soaring natural ventilation solar chimneys that will draw air up and through the building,” they say. Sun Rock MVRDV Changhua Coastal Industrial Park, Taichung, Taiwan Completion: Later this year Containing offices, a maintenance workshop, storage spaces, and a public gallery, Sun Rock is an operations facility for Taiwan’s government-owned power company Taipower on the west coast of Taiwan. Anticipating Taiwan’s planned transition to green energy, the features of the Sun Rock building, from its shape to its facade, are focused upon generating solar energy as efficiently as possible, the architects say. “The building therefore acts as a definitive statement of intention and a “manifesto in a building” to communicate Taipower’s goals to the public,” they say. “The site ... receives a significant amount of solar exposure throughout the year and so the rounded shape of Sun Rock is designed to maximise how much of that sunlight can be harnessed for energy.” Sydney Fish Market 3XN Sydney, Australia Completion: Later this year Two years after its skyline-shaping Quay Quarter tower completed, the Danish architect’s relocated and reimagined Sydney Fish Market is nearing completion. Set on a wharf in the heart of the Harbour City, the 80,000sq m project will be a foodie mecca and an inviting extension of the public realm, according to the architects. The design by 3XN who worked with Sydney firms BVN and Aspect Studios on the project, “places people at the centre, with an emphasis on place-making to foster a strong sense of community”, firm founder and creative director Kim Herforth Nielsen says. The NSW Government said the market—“Sydney’s most significant harbourside building since the Opera House”—expected to attract more than 6 million people annually. Goethe-Institut Dakar Kéré Architecture Dakar, Senegal Completion: Mid-2024 The first purpose-built space in the German cultural institute’s 60-year history, the campus by Burkina Faso-born, Berlin-based architect Francis Kéré is a double-skinned masonry structure, made from locally sourced BTC bricks. The outermost layer acts as a permeable screen that filters in light while buffering street noise and regulating the indoor climate. The L-shaped building frames a courtyard around an existing baobab tree, where visitors can gather. The 1800sq m building has adminintration offices and classrooms on the first floor, while public programs bookend the building: The auditorium, cafeteria and library are accessible on the ground level, while the rooftop serves as a social space with tree-shaped pillars that recall the garden below. Bonfiglioli HQ Peter Pichler Architecture Calderara Di Reno, Italy Completed: February Milan-based Peter Pichler Architecture’s final piece of the EVO development in Bologna exemplifies the latest in energy efficiency standards with a 3mW peak power photovoltaic plant that spans the rooftops of the new plant as well as the awnings of the staff carpark. The headquarters is conceived as a nearly Zero Energy Building, incorporating geothermal heat pumps and radiant ceilings to maximise energy savings while ensuring optimal internal comfort. Bonfiglioli design, manufacture and distribute gearmotors, drive systems, planetary gearboxes and inverters for applications in industrial automation, mobile machinery and wind energy. House 3.5 x 17 Story Architecture Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Completed: January This house in the Vietnamese capital sits on a site of just 59.5sq m, so the owner’s wish list of a swimming pool, three bedrooms—one with ensuite—living room, worship area, kitchen and dining room, bathroom, elevator and carparking seems like pure fantasy. However, that is what’s been achieved in this five-level home for a family of four. The first floor has enough space for cars and motorbikes as well as a living room combined with a worship area—above it a skylight “to ensure sanctity”, the architects said. Stairs and elevators are at the end of the house to give each floor the largest usable area possible, the architects say. The kitchen and dining room are on a mezzanine while there are bedrooms on the second, third, and fourth floors, each with a private bathroom. The rooftop terrace comprises a laundry area and a small swimming pool with views of the city centre. You are currently experiencing The Urban Developer Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. Click here to learn more.

Construction
Lindsay Saunders
Mon 08 Apr 24

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