Urban Park at City Square Mall, Singapore, Singapore

Ong&Ong's new design for an urban park in Singapore
Located at 17th Kitchener road in Singapore, the existing open space in front of the proposed City Square Mall has an area of approximately 0.45 ha. The proposal of developing this open space into an urban park will drastically change the appearance and usage of this space. The development of the urban park and the mall will complement one another. The urban park will be like a green carpet laid out in front of the mall to welcome its visitors.

The urban park when completed in November 2009, will serve as a green lung for the neighborhood. Conceived as a series of spaces connected by footpaths, these spaces are meant to encourage learning about ecology and the natural environment in an urban oasis that is both fun and didactic for young and old. As they play and walk through the landscape, they learn.

This project further maintains its environmentally-friendly status by introducing the application of “Eco-tiles”-a composite recyclable product that is manufactured with sustainable resources.

The project is designed as a 'green lung' for the neighbourhood, and includes a butterfly garden where people can engage with and learn about wildlife, and a 'living maze'; a green garden where children can roam and learn about plants. A fountain park also provides interactive water-play and acts as a distinctive communal meeting point.

Other features include a 'vertical green', an eco-roof showcase and an 'Eco-wall', where kids can learn hands-on about recycling, reducing and reusing. In line with the "City in a Garden" movement, preservation and integration of 2 huge existing trees is allowed for within the new design.
source: www.worldarchitecturenews.com
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Shotton Hall Secondary school, Durham, United Kingdom

BSF school design to add sparkle to Durham
A gem-like structure has been designed by Atkins for a new secondary school specialising in performing arts in Durham.

Shotton Hall Secondary school is one of the sample schools for Durham’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, which recently reached financial close. Earlier this year, Atkins was selected by the consortium Inspired Spaces (led by Carillion), as one of the design consultants to deliver the £500m programme, which will see 40 schools delivered across Durham over the next 10 years in four distinct waves.

“The ambition of Shotton Hall School is to use its success in performing arts to inspire pupils to succeed in all areas of school life,” says Philip Watson, Atkins’ head of education.

“We wanted to capture this enthusiasm and energy to strengthen the identity of the school through our design. The new performing arts facilities have been placed at the front of the school to create a dramatic first impression, inspiring all who enter the campus.”

Set in a mining landscape of white cliffs with contrasting black coal seams, the theatre is clad in metallic shingles to shine and appear gem-like. Once completed, it is intended that the new facilities will be open to the community, providing space for local art and community groups to meet, enabling the school to play a key role in the social regeneration of the local area.

“The new school is set to become an iconic building, which makes a bold statement about education in the area,” adds Philip.

“The extended facilities for the community will provide an opportunity for everyone to be included, offering a sense of regeneration, aspiration and a new belief in education.”

As part of the masterplan, Atkins has also designed Shotton Hall Primary School, which is incorporated onto the same site. It is proposed that the two schools share access to an outdoor performance area as well as a service yard and combined heat and power plant. Atkins has also been appointed to design the new Dene Community School of Technology, one of the remaining schools to be delivered under the first wave of Durham’s BSF programme.

Atkins has been involved in over 1,500 school projects and delivered services to local authorities and private partners in all of the BSF waves.
source: www.worldarchitecturenews.com
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National Library, Astana, Kazakhstan

Copenhagen architects beat Foster and Hadid with 'modern and rational' library
Invited as one of five pre-selected architect led teams, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) was awarded first prize in an open international design competition which included 19 entrants amongst others Lord Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid.

The new National Library, named after the first President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, encompasses an estimated 33,000 sq m. The winning proposal was chosen by the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan K. Masimov together with Astana’s akim I.Tasmagambetov and a council of architects. The design was hailed as being both modern and rational and anchored in a classical vocabulary of traditional libraries.

"The design of the National Library combines four universal archetypes across space and time into a new national symbol: the circle, the rotunda, the arch and the yurt are merged into the form of a Moebius strip. The clarity of the circle, the courtyard of the rotunda, the gateway of the arch and the soft silhouette of the yurt are combined to create a new national monument appearing local and universal, contemporary and timeless, unique and archetypal at the same time," said Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner on the Astana National Library 2009

The win marks a significant achievement for the firm which is fast becoming a force to be reckoned with in top-end architecture. BIG's architectural achievements came to the fore with their Mountain Dwellings housing project in Copenhagen which won several awards for its ingenuity and since then the firm have raised the stakes competing with Foster, Nouvel and others for the Slussen regeneration, narrowly missing a win to Foster.

The design of the National Library will be a very significant project not just for the firm but for Kazakhastan and is hoped to become an icon for a country which has sadly become synonymous with the antics of comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat character who hailed from its lands. The new National Library in Astana, Kazakhstan’s new capital since 1997, shall not only accumulate history but also provide a foundation for new futures for the nation and its new capital. It will serve as an intellectual, multifunctional and cultural center, with a primary goal of reflecting the establishment and development of a sovereign Kazakhstan, its political history, and the Head of the State’s activities and role in the development of the country.

An archive of books, films, magazines and other media is organized as a circular loop of knowledge, surrounded by light and air on both sides. On the periphery a 360 degree panorama of Astana - at the heart of the building a contemplative courtyard domed by the heavenly light blue of the celestial vault. A series of public programs will simultaneously wrap the library on the outside as well as the inside, above as well as below. Like a Möbius strip, the public programs move seamlessly from the inside to the outside and from ground to the sky providing spectacular views of the surrounding landscape and growing city skyline.

"The envelope of The National Library transcends the traditional architectural categories such as wall and roof. Like a yurt the wall becomes the roof, which becomes floor, which becomes the wall again," said Thomas Christoffersen, Project Leader on the National Library.
source: www.worldarchitecturenews.com
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Castleford Riverside Masterplan, Castleford, United Kingdom

Landmark bridge the centrepiece for Castleford mastrerplan
McDowell+Benedetti were chosen in 2003 by local community representatives as winners of an invited competition to design a landmark bridge and waterfront regeneration masterplan for Castleford Bay. Close consultation with the community ‘project champions’ continued throughout. The regeneration was promoted in the UK by Channel 4 with the design process filmed for a TV documentary 'Kevin McCloud’s Big Town Plan' which aired in August 2008.

Simple temporary paths at each bank connect to Aire Street and Mill Lane pending future phases of the regeneration masterplan, including the realignment of Aire St. to increase riverside public realm whilst improving safe pedestrian access, and south bank public square and pavilion buildings. A south bank boardwalk (partly built, ready for extension in future) provides a new public riverside connection between the old and new bridges and releases further regeneration sites. The scheme also indludes a new North bank landscaped park, belvedere and ‘beach’ area, a cohesive 'string of pearls' civic lighting strategy surrounding the Bay, and a new fish pass within the historic Weir apron.

The new 130m long, 4m wide footbridge forms an elegant sinuous curve over Castleford Bay, uniting disparate communities on the North and South of the river and creating a safer and more pleasant pedestrian route than the narrow 200 year-old Victorian road bridge further downstream. The ‘S’ shaped bridge curves in response to the site context of the mill, the weir and old wrecked barge, giving users maximum experience of these landmarks and the lively flow of white water over the Weir apron. Anchored by only three V-shaped supports, the streamlined untreated Cumaru hardwood deck structure appears to hover over the River Aire offering a ‘magic carpet’ from which to enjoy the picturesque setting.

Designed as a public space and not just as a route, the innovative structure rises from the bespoke timber deck to create four 20m long curving benches to sit and enjoy panoramic views. The popularity of the bridge has re-directed attention to Castleford’s riverside acting as a catalyst for future phases of our waterfront regeneration masterplan.

McDowell+Benedetti were the sole appointment by WMDC to design and project manage the bridge, with the following sub-consultants: engineers Alan Baxter & Associates and Arup, lighting advisors Sutton Vane Associates and QS Philip Pank Partnership.
source: www.worldarchitecturenews.com
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Randstadrailstation Beatrixkwartier, The Hague, Netherlands

Tubular train station adds new dimension to The Hague's business district
Randstadrail is a project for a new light urban rail network for the area between The Hague and Rotterdam. In the centre of The Hague, in the Beatrixkwartier office district, a link between the tram viaduct at the Ternoot stop and the NS (Dutch Railways) railway embankment close to the Laan van NOI station was needed. To achieve this a viaduct has been built over the entire length of the Beatrixlaan, with a new station halfway.

The space-frame tubular construction of the viaduct follows the curve that Joan Busquets has set out for the alignments and the roadways on the Beatrixlaan.

For a length of 400 metres the viaduct is constructed from a skeleton structure of rings of mild-steel strips with a diameter of about 10 metres, interconnected by diagonally set tubes to form an open tube structure. The relatively great structural height of the tube makes it easy to cover the large spans. The construction is supported by V-shaped columns and provides room for two tracks for passing trains. Thanks to the big spans of 40 and 50 metres there are only few columns at street level. There is also hardly any visual obstruction at eye level, so that social safety and traffic safety are not compromised.

The new Beatrixlaan station has a platform in the middle. The railway tracks split as they reach the platform. The access for this type of platform is compact: the stairway and lift are used by people travelling in both directions. The spatial form of the station derives from a combination of the alignment and the profile of empty space. This means that the station building provides exactly enough space for the trains to travel around the platform in the ideal curve. In addition, the platform is wide where people stand waiting and thinner at the access stairs.

Since its opening in 2006 the station has become a well-known landmark in The Hague, commonly called the “Netkous” (fishnet stocking).
source: www.worldarchitecturenews.com
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