Architecture 'yays or nays'

It's fair to say there's hundreds of proposals we'd like to see in Manchester. Some crackers have been proposed for our city, but have sadly never seen the light of day.

A couple from Toronto.

Waves at Bayside by 3XN

Close to Sidewalk Toronto, a pair of peaked residential towers designed by Danish firm 3XN will feature rippling terraces to mimic the waves on the nearby lake.



Habitat 2.0 by BIG

Bjarke Ingels' firm BIG also plans to make its mark on Downtown with a modular housing scheme, which is reminiscent of the Habitat 67 experimental housing complex built by Moshe Safdie in Montreal.

I find it weird how the UK, outside of London at least (but also to an extent including London), seems to have a lot of poor quality (cheap looking) proposals compared to comparatively poorer countries. I was looking on the Warsaw (okay, it is a capital city) thread today and the standard of the majority of the developments (even far outside the city core in poorer districts) is of a much higher architectural quality than the majority of developments in Manchester or Birmingham. Granted we have some excellent developments going up, but some of the dross going up looks like it's not designed to last. The quality of the proposals in MCR is increasing mind, I just wish the councils could reject (or if they don't, had the power to reject) some of the uglier proposals.

I've got a bit of a thing for Japanese suburbs lately, can't really put my finger on why.
I'd love for a neighbourhood on the outskirts of town to develop with this kind of eclectic
density, with different styles of architecture and little bars and shops peppered throughout.

These guys have a pretty impressive portfolio. http://londonsquare.co.uk/#

They are building this down the road to where I live. Its a yay from me, but would be interested to know what others think?

Master_Builder said:

Here is a nice project just starting construction in Staines Upon Thames. London Square. Will transform the High Street.

Click to expand...

Tiger Way by Hawkins Brown. YAY.

Detroit's David Stott Tower

Big yay :drool:

Want some Art Deco? 500 5th Avenue in New York has you covered:

mooned said:

I've got a bit of a thing for Japanese suburbs lately, can't really put my finger on why.
I'd love for a neighbourhood on the outskirts of town to develop with this kind of eclectic
density, with different styles of architecture and little bars and shops peppered throughout.

Click to expand...

I know exactly what you mean...there are similar vibes in Spain, but the Japanese suburbs (pretty much linked to the cities seamlessly) get me going.
Love a really good Taschen book on the subject. Probably why I also really like those Hayao Miyazaki animations.

Piece of crap built in post war era London by mindless architect:




Its replacement, which fits in perfectly with its surroundings and is a rare example of good modern architecture

:cheers:

VDB said:

Piece of crap built in post war era London by mindless architect:

Its replacement, which fits in perfectly with its surroundings and is a rare example of good modern architecture

:cheers:

Click to expand...

I wish this kind of thing were done more often. Creates a greater sense of cohesion. Can somebody please do this on Princes Street Edinburgh. Some of Britains finest buildings and then squished between in regular intervals there are some legitmate turds which ruin the feeling.

New York with another cracker.

It must be wonderful for Architects over there, as the don't seem to have a developer budget limit. Th returns for a property developer must be astronomical. Or it comes across like that. They probably do.

Can we just transport it over here please.

Anyway.

plans have been unveiled for david adjaye’s first condominium tower in new york city. titled ‘130 william’, the project will be built in downtown manhattan’s financial district in close proximity to the world trade center site. the nearly 800 foot-tall building (240 meters) will contain 66-stories and a total of 244 luxury residences. ‘the design for 130 william acknowledges the tower’s location on one of the city’s earliest streets,’ explains adjaye. ‘understanding that rich history, I was inspired to craft a building that turns away from the commercial feel of glass and that instead celebrates new york’s heritage of masonry architecture with a distinctive presence in manhattan’s skyline.’

the tower will be clad with hand-cast concrete, complemented with smooth bronze detailing











https://www.designboom.com/architecture/david-adjaye-130-william-skyscraper-new-york-12-14-2017/

jrb said:

New York with another cracker.

It must be wonderful for Architects over there, as the don't seem to have a developer budget limit. Th returns for a property developer must be astronomical. Or it comes across like that. They probably do.

Can we just transport it over here please.

Anyway.

plans have been unveiled for david adjaye’s first condominium tower in new york city. titled ‘130 william’, the project will be built in downtown manhattan’s financial district in close proximity to the world trade center site. the nearly 800 foot-tall building (240 meters) will contain 66-stories and a total of 244 luxury residences. ‘the design for 130 william acknowledges the tower’s location on one of the city’s earliest streets,’ explains adjaye. ‘understanding that rich history, I was inspired to craft a building that turns away from the commercial feel of glass and that instead celebrates new york’s heritage of masonry architecture with a distinctive presence in manhattan’s skyline.’

the tower will be clad with hand-cast concrete, complemented with smooth bronze detailing

Click to expand...

Oddly enough I don't like it, I don't know why, I just don't

An idea for the Pomona waterfront:

Solid midrises at the front, with a linear park between them and the water's edge. Taller skyscrapers behind, around Cornbrook Metrolink and all along the Chester Road towards Pomona. These skyscrapers will have decent ground floor frontages and Chester Road's pedestrian experience will be improved to encourage the city centre to expand down that way.

RusselG said:

I wish this kind of thing were done more often. Creates a greater sense of cohesion. Can somebody please do this on Princes Street Edinburgh. Some of Britains finest buildings and then squished between in regular intervals there are some legitmate turds which ruin the feeling.

Click to expand...

Absolutely, was just in Edinburgh and Princes Street is a tragedy - its desperate for some historical style rebuilds and/or truly quality modern constructions