In each issue of Building Design+Construction, we feature the latest new construction and renovation projects in our On the Drawing Board section. Here's a collection of recently profiled high-rise projects in the works around the world. They include Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill's whimsical Dancing Dragons tower in Seoul and a 1,312-foot-tall finance and trade center under construction in Nanning, China.
1. Mixed-use Towers in Seoul awake the dancing dragons
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture designed Dancing Dragons, a pair of landmark mixed-use towers, for the new Yongsan International Business District in Seoul, South Korea. Slender mini-towers cantilevered around a central core make up the buildings, which include residential, “officetel,” and retail elements. The design aesthetic, including the building skin, includes aspects of traditional Korean culture. In both buildings the mini-tower cuts are clad in glass at the top and bottom, making for dramatic skylights above the units at the highest levels and a transparent floor beneath the units at the lowest levels. The Building Team also includes PositivEnergy Practice and Werner Sobek.
2. Supertall skyscraper planned for capital of Guangxi province
John Portman & Associates has been selected by developer Guangxi Wei Zhuang Real Estate Co. to design Tian Long Fortune Center, the first supertall skyscraper in Nanning, China. With a height of 1,312 feet, the building will provide new headquarters for member companies of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and is envisioned as a finance and trade center. The upper portion of the tower will include an atrium hotel with a fitness center, pool, executive club, and restaurants. The building also will contain a public observation complex, providing a 360-degree view.
3. Residential building will offer luxury in newly enlivened Boston neighborhood
Blake Middleton, FAIA, and Deborah Moelis of Handel Architects designed Millennium Place, a 15-story residential building in Boston, located on the corner of Avery and Washington Streets. Developed by Millennium Partners, the building will serve as the keystone of the Avery Street Corridor, part of a new neighborhood recently brought to life. The 155-foot building consists of 256 residences, with one, two, and three bedrooms, ranging in size from 750 sf to 2,400 sf. Residences are expected to range in price from $550,000 to $2.8 million. Millennium Place is slated for initial occupancy in fall 2013. Suffolk Construction is the builder.
4. Corporate HQ in the works in Xiaoshan district
A 52-story office building is currently in development in the Xiaoshan District in Hangzhou, China. Designed by Chicago’s Turner + DeCelles for the Zhejiang Hengyi Group, the tower will provide office space for ~2,000 employees. A below-grade transit “superstation” will house conference facilities, retail shops, and parking. Approximately half of the office space will be held for future growth but leased to tenants on an interim basis. Also on the Building Team: BMP Project Consulting (program manager) and Tongji Architectural Design of Shanghai (local design firm).
5. 'Glass waterfall' façade highlights design of Education First HQ
Phase one of the 10-story, 300,000-sf headquarters for EF Education First, a Cambridge, Mass.-based private education company, is under way. Designed by Wingardh Arkitektkontor AB of Sweden and Wilson Architects, the facility will provide 230,000 sf of office and educational space, a 65,000-sf parking garage, a 14,000-sf restaurant, and 31,000 sf of ground- and mezzanine-level public space. In a design-build partnership, Skanska USA Building will serve as contractor, while TG Gallagher will provide HVAC, plumbing, and fire protection services.
6. Fourth-tallest building in Vancouver under construction on a tight site
Westbank Projects Corp. commissioned BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group to design a 49-story, 600-unit mixed-use tower in downtown Vancouver. Beach and Howe tower combines 653,890 sf of residential, retail, and commercial space in an urban complex at the entrance to the Granville Street Bridge. In response to a constricted urban site, BIG designed the tower to be inverted. The tower’s small triangular base curves away from the bridge to allow light and air to enter lower apartments. As it rises, the building’s shape transforms into larger, rectangular floor plates that culminate in a square top. Buro Happold engineering firm, working with the local engineer of record, Glotman Simpson, designed a concrete core with post-tensioned walls to protect against damage in case of an earthquake and also to improve performance. Other Building Team members: design firm Dialog, Cobalt Engineering, planning and landscape architecture firm PFS, and local architect James Cheng.
7. Downtown Dallas development will provide many tenant options
BOKA Powell, working with commercial real estate development and investment firm KDC, has created an adaptable design for the new 400,000-sf, Class A office tower at the Victory Park mixed-use development in downtown Dallas. The 23-story building, with more than 14 floors of office space above an eight-story parking structure, is designed to accommodate a wide variety of floor plate sizes, ranging from 25,000 to 54,000 sf, to meet the needs of a range of potential tenants. Construction is expected to begin in the fall. KDC will pursue LEED certification.
Related Stories
University Buildings | Jan 27, 2023
Ozarks Technical Community College's advanced manufacturing center is first-of-a-kind in region
The new Robert W. Plaster Center for Advanced Manufacturing at Ozarks Technical Community College in Springfield, Mo., is a first-of-a-kind educational asset in the region. The 125,000-sf facility will educate and train a new generation in high tech, clean manufacturing and fabrication.
K-12 Schools | Jan 25, 2023
As gun incidents grow, schools have beefed up security significantly in recent years
Recently released federal data shows that U.S. schools have significantly raised security measures in recent years. About two-thirds of public schools now control access to school grounds—not just the building—up from about half in the 2017-18 school year.
University Buildings | Jan 17, 2023
Texas Christian University breaks ground on medical school for Dallas-Fort Worth region
Texas Christian University (TCU) has broken ground on the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine, which aims to help meet the expanding medical needs of the growing Dallas-Fort Worth region.
ProConnect Events | Jan 16, 2023
6 more BD+C ProConnect Events in 2023 – The videos show why you should participate
ProConnects bring building product manufacturers and suppliers together with architects, contractors, builders, and developers to discuss upcoming projects and learn about new products and technical solutions.
K-12 Schools | Dec 23, 2022
Vacant Target store in Minnesota turned into early childhood education center
Lincoln School, a former 90,000-sf Target retail store in Fergus Falls, Minn., was repurposed into Independent School District 544’s newest campus.
University Buildings | Dec 22, 2022
Loyola Marymount University completes a new home for its acclaimed School of Film and Television
California’s Loyola Marymount University (LMU) has completed two new buildings for arts and media education at its Westchester campus. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the Howard B. Fitzpatrick Pavilion is the new home of the undergraduate School of Film and Television, which is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 10 film schools. Also designed by SOM, the open-air Drollinger Family Stage is an outdoor lecture and performance space.
Adaptive Reuse | Dec 21, 2022
University of Pittsburgh reinvents century-old Model-T building as a life sciences research facility
After opening earlier this year, The Assembly recently achieved LEED Gold certification, aligning with the school’s and community’s larger sustainability efforts.
Sponsored | Resiliency | Dec 14, 2022
Flood protection: What building owners need to know to protect their properties
This course from Walter P Moore examines numerous flood protection approaches and building owner needs before delving into the flood protection process. Determining the flood resilience of a property can provide a good understanding of risk associated costs.
HVAC | Dec 13, 2022
Energy Management Institute launches online tool to connect building owners with HVAC contractors
The National Energy Management Institute Inc. (NEMI) along with the Biden administration’s Better Air in Buildings website have rolled out a resource to help building owners and managers, school districts, and other officials find HVAC contractors.
Student Housing | Dec 7, 2022
Cornell University builds massive student housing complex to accommodate planned enrollment growth
In Ithaca, N.Y., Cornell University has completed its North Campus Residential Expansion (NCRE) project. Designed by ikon.5 architects, the 776,000-sf project provides 1,200 beds for first-year students and 800 beds for sophomore students. The NCRE project aimed to accommodate the university’s planned growth in student enrollment while meeting its green infrastructure standards. Cornell University plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035.