GLENVILLE --The town has hired an architect to design a new Town Hall to be built on land behind the current building, which will be converted into a town public safety building.

The Town Board voted Wednesday to spend $7,800 for the next phase of design work with CSArch of Albany, which under an earlier contractdeveloped the concept for expanding town government at its existing Glenridge Road location. The Town Board chose that option from among a series of options presented in August.

Town officials have said for years that theyneed to do somethingabout the current building a former movie theater where the offices are oddly configured and located on several different levels. The courts and Police Departmentneedmodernization, and the proposed renovation would expand those departments into the rest of the existing Town hall.

Town Supervisor Chris Koetzle said he hopes the initial design work can move forward quickly.

"I've told them I'd like to have it in time for my State of the Town Address on Jan. 8," Koetzle said. "That might be a little tight, but certainly by the end of January."

Assuming the preliminary design work is accepted by the town, Koetlze said he hopes detailed engineering and architectural design can be done in time to put the project out to bid and start construction next fall. If the new building is ready in late 2021, the town offices would move in, and the renovation work at the current Town Hall would take place in 2022.

"The nice thing is we'll be able to do it in phases," Koetzle said.

Plans call for the town to builda6,300-square-foot structure on a four-acre, town-owned plot that includes a former residence now used by the town historian's office. The land is east of the current Town Hall, and separated from it by the Schenectady County Library property; the properties connect behind the library, though. Between the town properties, the town has 6.5 acres.

"Renovating the existing Town Hall as a public safety building for the police and court functions, and building a new Town Hall/Town Offices building on the adjoining site appears to be the best option for expansion, functionality, practicality and overall cost," the earlier feasibility study concluded.

The feasibility study estimated the total construction costs for renovating the current building and erecting a new building at between $4.75 million and $5.75 million.

The town has an unspent$1.5 million state grantto improve its police station, which Koetzle believes could be applied to the project. The offices moved into the new building would includebuilding and planning, the town clerk, town supervisor, assessing and financial management.

Koetzle said the hope is that between the state grant andcapital funding the town has already set aside, Glenvillewill only need to borrow about $2.5 million, which would be paid off over a number of years.

"I think we're in good shape to do this with little impact on taxpayers," Koetzle said.

Reach Gazette reporter Stephen Williams at 518-395-3086,[emailprotected]or@gazettesteveon Twitter.

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Glenville hires architect to design new Town Hall - The Daily Gazette

Marchetto Higgins Stieve Architects (MHS Architects), a premier architectural, planning and design firm specializing in residential and mixed-use multifamily developments, has been named Firm of the Year a highly-esteemed award given by the American Institute of Architects-New Jersey Chapter (AIA-NJ). The honor, which was announced as part of AIAs 2019 Service Awards, distinguishes MHS Architects as an exceptional architectural firm and recognizes its impressive success and significant expansion over the past year.

With demand growing for walkable, city-centric living and substantial redevelopment efforts underway throughout New Jerseys urban centers, real estate developers have increasingly relied on MHS Architects extensive experience and inventive solutions for transforming inner cities and downtowns into vibrant, sustainable neighborhoods, leading the company to expand in size by nearly 25% in 2018-19. Notable assignments recently completed by the firm include Bijou Properties 424-unit 7 Seventy House rental building in Hoboken, K. Hovnanian Homes Nine on the Hudson waterfront condominium building in West New York, and Roseland Residential Trusts Metropolitan Lofts rental building in Morristown, among others.

Were incredibly honored and appreciative to receive such a prestigious award, said Founding Principal Dean Marchetto, FAIA, who has led the firm for its nearly 40 years in operation.

This is a tribute to our entire team of architects, planners and staff in recognition of their exemplary efforts to serve our development clients in award-winning fashion. Their unwavering dedication and commitment to both design and community building has allowed us to expand our scope of services and enter many new and exciting markets throughout the state. Their creativity and tireless work ethic have us well positioned for continued growth in the years to come.

With offices in Hoboken and Jersey Citys Journal Square, MHS Architects performs architecture, land planning and urban design for mixed-use projects ranging from four-to-forty stories throughout New Jersey. The firm places heavy emphasis on building a sense of belonging and community, and creates public awareness surrounding each development through a process of community participation and involvement. Guided by the principles of Smart Growth and the New Urbanism, one of the firms most significant architectural accomplishments has been the vital role it has played in the rebirth of Hoboken as a residential community, having designed and completed more than 100 buildings in the mile square city.

MHS Architects has experience in various market types and size, and is on the cutting edge of trailblazing development trends in New Jersey, including the movement to bring downtowns back to small towns, designing and planning for transit-oriented, smart growth developments, and the critical trend of implementing green, sustainable architecture. To achieve client goals and introduce well-designed, responsible projects that complement existing municipal structures, MHS Architects relies on its expertise working with community boards and municipal officials to gain valuable local insight and input.

The AIA-NJ Firm of the Year honor is the eighth award for MHS Architects in 2019 and the 50th award for the firm in total. MHS Architects has worked for some of the most prominent real estate developers in the region. In addition to the aforementioned, these include KRE Group, Hartz Mountain Industries, Toll Brothers City Living, Albanese Organization, Kushner Companies, Fields Development Group and SILVERMAN: Building Neighborhoods

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Marchetto Higgins Stieve Architects Honored as Firm of the Year by American Institute of Architects-New Jersey Chapter | Marchetto Higgins Stieve...

By DAVID J. HILL

A perforated metalfaade developed by UB architecture professor Christopher Romano and Buffalo-based Rigidized Metals Corp. has earned an Architects Newspaper Editors Choice award for Best of Products in thefaade category.

Manipulating light and thin-gauge sheet metal as design materials, thefaade system was first applied in Light/Station, an expansion project for Torn Space Theatre in Buffalo.

Romano and Rigidized continue to advance thefaade research for broader applications.

The AN Best Products Awards are presented across 18 categories, including building materials, acoustics, furnishings, tech and faades. The 2019 award pool included 500 entries from around the world. Winners were selected based onoriginality, innovation, functionality, aesthetics, performance and value. Each category includes one winner, two honorable mentions and one Editors Choice.

Romanos design of the faade for Light/Station also received design awards last year in both the Commercial and Small Project categories from the Western New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Adaptively reusing an abandoned gas mart, Light/Station is a striking, 1,545-square-foot design studio, green room and conference facility for Buffalo-based Torn Space, a critically acclaimed, avant-garde theater company. Nestled in the shadows of historic buildings on Buffalos East Side, Light/Station is a signature addition to the citys urban fabric.

Thefaade system is the result of a long-running partnership between the School of Architecture and Planning and Rigidized Metals, which manufactures deep-textured sheet metal panels for architectural applications.

With a thickness of only 3/64-inch, the paper-thin metal sheets feature tiny holes drilled strategically to capture or emit light, depending on the time of day. Romano and the Rigidized Metals team spent months experimenting with every aspect of the sheet metal, pushing boundaries with each iteration.

The team ran algorithms to generate the hole patterns that would be precision-cut into each piece of sheet metal, testing on smaller prototypes in order to get just the right size hole to allow light to pass through and create the desired effect.

We did everything we could to make cutting holes into metal the most magical experience ever, says Romano, assistant professor of architecture who designed the faade through his firm Studio NORTH Architecture.

It was a laborious process 6.3 miles of cutting on the laser. We maxed out Rigidized Metals fabrication capacity.

Folding the custom-made columns that hold up the buildings exterior required 180 tons of pressure.

Light and history were core components of the design concept from the beginning.

Light serves as the connective tissue for all the components of the faade. Its a material. Its a central element to the multi-layered faade, where the lighting is a layer behind the steel panels, which typically isnt done because its risky, Romano says.

A small team of UB architecture students also worked on the project. Some of the smaller prototypes were developed and tested using the schools digital fabrication equipment under the direction of Daniel Vrana, fabrication manager in UBs Fabrication Workshop and current employee at Studio NORTH Architecture.

The Light/Station project team consisted of Romano asfaade designer supported by Vrana; design assistants Brandon Stone and David Heaton, who both graduated in 2017 from UBs master of architecture program; Rigidized Metals as manufacturer and fabricator; and RP Oak Hill Building Company Inc. as construction manager.

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UB-designed metal facade wins Architect's Newspaper award - UB Now: News and views for UB faculty and staff - University at Buffalo Reporter

Architecture firms Diamond Schmitt and Tod Williams Billie Tsien have revealed plans to redesign David Geffen Hall at New York's Lincoln Center, two years after Heatherwick Studio's overhaul was scrapped.

TheLincoln Centerfor the Performing Arts and theNew York Philharmonic announced yesterday, 2 December, that David Geffen Hall will be renovated by local studio Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects and Toronto's Diamond Schmitt Architects.

The latter was originally paired with the London's Heatherwick Studio for the masterplan but the project was cancelled in 2017.

In the new venture, Diamond Schmitt will overhaul the New York City concert hall, while Tod Williams Billie Tsien will redesign the public spaces.

The renovation of the music hall, which is the home of the New York Philharmonic orchestra, aims to update the space with improved acoustics and sightlines. The firm is working with Paul Scarbrough of Akustiks for the acoustic design, and Fisher Dachs Associates for the theatre planning and design.

Renovated concert hall "will be intimate, immersive, and adaptable"

"The auditorium is recalibrated to deliver improved sightlines, audience comfort, and superb acoustics from every seat in the house," said Diamond Schmitt project lead Gary McCluskie.

"The new concert hall will be intimate, immersive, and adaptable to host a range of performances of classical compositions and innovative programming."The stage of David Geffen Hall will be moved forward by 25 feet (7.6 metres), and seating capacity will be reduced from 2,738 to 2,200. Seats will be placed closer to the stage and arranged to wrap around it.

Heatherwick's overhaul of New York Philharmonic concert hall scrapped

The stage's ceiling will also be elevated and replaced with an adjustable canopy.

The layout of the original inclined seating dating back to 1962 will also be restored on the orchestra level, adapting an alteration made in 1976.

Additional wrap-around seating will be built around the orchestra section, which will contain a new motorised lift for stage risers for the orchestra. The firm will also improve the centre's ADA accessibility.

Renderings show that the concert hall will be resurfaced with pale wood cladding and curves.

Tod Williams Billie Tsien to expand public spaces

Tod Williams Billie Tsien's redesign of the public spaces includes a new lobby that will be double in size and open up to the outdoors on three of its sides. It will resemble the original layout, and feature a digital streaming wall to show concerts in real-time.

The first floor of David Geffen Hall, called the Grand Promenade, will be also reconfigured with more seating, bar and food service, and will access new promontories overlooking the ground floor.

"By reorganising and reconceiving the concert hall and its public spaces, the interiors of David Geffen Hall will be unified and invigorated," said Williams and Tsien.

"The result will be an experience that is warm, captivating, and exciting," the duo added. "We're thrilled to be part of the team extending the Philharmonic and Lincoln Center's arms to wider audiences for generations to come."

Renovation to add new amenities

A new eatery will also be built in the lobby in the southwest corner, and have both informal and casual dining. A welcome centre will be added to the side of the centre that meets Broadway street.

A community and art installation space, called Sidewalk Studio, will also be located at the corner of the complex at 65th Street and Broadway. Restrooms and two lounges are among other new additions, while existing staff offices will be moved from the ground floor to upstairs.

Tod Williams and Billie Tsien win 2019 Praemium Imperiale for architecture

Other amends to the exterior of David Geffen Hall will comprise new lighting on the upper tier, and the addition of site-specific works on the northern facade.

The new David Geffen Hall is projected to cost $550 million (425 million), and is expected to open in March 2024.

Designed by mid-20th-century American architect Max Abramovitz, David Geffen Hall was originally called Avery Fisher Hall completed in 1962. The 2,738-seat auditorium was renamed in 2015 after entertainment mogul David Geffen donated $100 million (76 million) to fund its transformation.

Proposal replaces Heatherwick Studio masterplan

In the same year, Heatherwick Studio and Diamond Schmitt were picked from 100 firms to replace Foster + Partnerson the project.

The duo was then dropped two years later, with a joint statement from Lincoln Center and the New York Philharmonic released at the time suggesting the proposal to completely gut the concert hall was too drastic.

Diamond Schmitt and Tod Williams Billie Tsien will instead conduct the overhaul in stages. The scheme involves two closures of the hall, with the first closure from May to October 2022 that will result in the initial creation of the redesigned concert hall. A second closure is planned to span from May 2023 until February 2024.

The David Geffen Hall project forms part of an overhaul of the Lincoln Center which opened in 1962 and comprises several rectangular buildings arranged around a plaza and outdoor fountain, designed in a similar style with flat roofs, slender pillars and glazed walls.

The update of the entire complex overseen by New York architecture firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro.

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Tod Williams Billie Tsien to redesign David Geffen concert hall in New York - Dezeen

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Marketing Architects, an independent TV advertising agency, has welcomed two more troublemakers to its team of category disruptors: Catrina McAuliffe as Senior Vice President of Brand Strategy and Paul Schmidt as Vice President of Client Growth.

Having spent a combined five-plus decades at traditional agencies, the duo brings inside-outside insights and observations about strategic planning, the client service model and creative ways to move brands forward. They bring more how-to and how-not-to-do knowledge to Marketing Architects as the company continues to question the traditional approach.

CEO Chuck Hengel touts his companys healthy restlessness and notes that stagnant thinking, complacent approach and self-serving routines just dont find acceptance and comfort inside the walls of Marketing Architects.

We are constantly re-imagining things and challenging both trends and the status quo; its our responsibility to our clients, he said. The role of an agency partner is changing and the traditional model is broken. Talented people are looking to refresh the industry and we are happy to empower that advancement and doing so by investing more in our staffing and resources, including technology.

Hengel noted he doesnt even like Marketing Architects being called an agency, because it misrepresents how the company thinks and does.

We should really refer to ourselves as formally known as an agency, he quipped. We are on to new chapters in the industry, and are continuing to evolve our models, systems and client plans.

As an example, Marketing Architects sets itself apart by investing its own capital into the creation and production of each TV campaign and, as a result, challenges the high costs and low accountability of traditional agencies to drive rapid growth and solve complex business challenges for clients.

This approach along with Marketing Architects passion for results, openness for innovation and desire to find a better way especially spoke to the newest hires, who have seen it all in the agency world. McAuliffe previously worked at Carmichael Lynch, Ogilvy & Mather and TBWAChiatDay, and served as Senior Vice President and Group Strategy Director at Energy BBDO. She has an extensive history of establishing account planning within agencies and is looking to develop these disciplines within Marketing Architects.

I was excited about the idea of setting up brand planning in a non-traditional way to fit within Marketing Architects disruptive approach to TV advertising, McAuliffe said. With short timelines and a differentiated business model, there is an opportunity to use technology more effectively to speed up the brand planning process while still ensuring we are building strong creative foundations for brands in the long-term, driving short-term results and helping our clients reach major milestones.

Paul Schmidt comes to Marketing Architects from BBDO Minneapolis, where he led the account management team as Managing Director. Schmidts clients included Hormel Foods, 3M, Andersen Windows and YouthLink. Hes also spent time at SVEDKA, Fallon and EURO RSCG.

Im excited to be able to leverage Marketing Architects model and tools to make television media available to brands that havent been able to include or fully leverage this powerful growth driver in their plans, Schmidt said. The model of Marketing Architects investing in creative production and analytics solves so many challenges that Ive seen through the years, and it adds tons of value to the agency/client relationship that has been missing at some traditional agencies.

The two hires are part of a long list of new leadership Marketing Architects has brought in-house over the last few months to expand its capabilities.

We believe the best is yet to come in our industry, but its important to think differently and always re-evaluate, Hengel said. Were investing in those who want to do things differently and challenge the norm. We are always looking for better, and we think that sets us apart.

Marketing Architects is now accepting positions for: Account Director of Client Growth, Director of Business Development, Marketing Analyst, Media Buyer and Media Intern.

About Marketing ArchitectsMarketing Architects, based in Minneapolis, has a 22-year history of helping companies reach major milestones through advertising. By investing their own capital into each TV campaign, Marketing Architects challenges the high costs and low accountability of traditional agencies to drive rapid growth and solve complex business challenges for clients. For more information about Marketing Architects, visit http://www.marketingarchitects.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

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Marketing Architects Attracts More Senior Talent, Hires a Pair Boasting Impressive Agency Stripes as Company Continues to Challenge the Industry Model...

David Godshall of Terremoto Landscape on Working with Architects

The Midnight Charette is an explicit podcast about design, architecture, and the everyday. Hosted by architectural designers David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, it features a variety of creative professionals in unscripted conversations that allow for thoughtful takes and personal discussions. A wide array of subjects are covered with honesty and humor: some episodes provide useful tips for designers, while others are project reviews, interviews, or explorations of everyday life and design. The Midnight Charette is also available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube.

This week David and Marina are joined by David Godshall, Landscape Architect and Co-Founder of Terremoto Landscape to discuss the design and philosophy of landscape architecture, working with architects, running an office, when native plants should and should not be used, reviews of recent landscape architecture projects, the differences between landscape architecture and architecture, and more!

HIGHLIGHTS & TIMESTAMPS

Starting an office in two different cities (Los Angeles and San Francisco) and Davids journey into Landscape Architecture. (00:50) (26:13)

The differences between architecture and landscape architecture in education, theory, and design approach (10:56)

Working on residential, hospitality, and commercial projects and balancing larger projects, design quality, and office size. (27:32)

The Salesforce Terminal Park in San Francisco and prescriptive landscape design. (36:23)

There's a thing in landscape architecture that's impressed upon you in schoolwhich Terremoto is kind of actively coming out and againstwhich is prescriptive landscape spaces where you walk into a park and it's like: Here's how you go, and this is where you stop, and here's an amphitheater, and there's all these little things. What I'm much more interested right now[for example] is our platform parkis a kind of an exercise in like no program. Theres grass and things, but whatever it was so wrong with going outside to just be in the garden and getting back to that? I feel like civic scale parks ended up having kind of a kit of parts of the same sorts of elements, which I just think is not enough. (39:27)

The Getty Museum Garden. (40:46)

The social meaning of plants: horticultural semiotics in landscape architecture. (49:21)

The importance of native species and why they dont always have to be used (55:45)

I would also argue that the manipulation of horticulture is inseparable from human civilization. Basically we created our society so that we could farm and in doing that, we've also always essentially gardens from the dawn of human civilization as well

It's something that's fundamentally important to Terremoto as an office to promote locally ecology. That said, it's also a very political world because the native plant community has a tendency to tell everybody else what they're doing, that what they're doing is wrong. And I don't believe that that is a way of winning over the hearts and minds of the greater populace. So I would rather build a native focused and native heavy projects while not necessarily always being explicitly native species.

Many people have a lot of negative connotation connotations with native species. At this time of year, for example, a native garden looks pretty beat up. I actually find that very beautiful, but a lot of people have different notions of beauty and are still tied up in these postwar [mentalities where] things should be green all the time. So I think what our work is trying to do is to softly push things in the direction of more native ecology. And I think as it continues to grow, people come to understand it and to be honest, what needs to happen is notions of beauty need to change. (56:51)

Landscape Architecture versus Architecture and working with Architects. (01:02:21)

Landscape architecture is unavoidably regional in a way that architecture is almost more free from context or it can be irreverent in a way that I cant. I cant put a plant in the ground that's going to die. So our practice is inevitably an expression ofat least as it relates to botanyregional characteristics. (01:36:01)

Leading an office that people want to work in. The importance of doubt and questions in the design process. Commonalities between different landscape architects. (01:13:20)

The differences between garden and buildings: Planning for their growth and evolution. (01:24:33)

Creating conceptually driven projects and the design process. (01:28:41)

In early days, wed start the project and be like, Okay, what's the project? What's our philosophy? Whats our concept? And then as time went by, we realized sometimes you do know actually early on, Let's do this thing but then sometimes you don't and you just have to start. So I've become much more flexible and soft about the fact that the conceptual narrative or like the philosophical exploration of a Terremoto project will happen but you never know quite when. (01:29:40)

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David Godshall of Terremoto Landscape on Working with Architects - ArchDaily

Zaha Hadid Architects recently revealed the first images of its completed Culture & Arts Centre in the Hunan province of China. The massive structure was completed in the late Hadids iconic organic style and includes a contemporary art museum, a 1,800-seat theater, and a multipurpose hall.

The space focuses on easy access, with winding pedestrian paths throughout the campus that connect with nearby streets, parks and walking trails on the nearby Meixi Lakes Festival Island. The buildings location atop historic trade routes in China further expands upon the centers cultural relevance.

MICA, the sites art museum, consists of eight galleries positioned around a massive atrium for larger exhibitions and events. The space also features breakout spaces for workshops, lectures, a caf, and a museum shop. MICAs first exhibition, Flowing Eternity is currently on view.

The spaces indoor Grand Theatre will host various performances and television productions, and outdoor events and sculpture exhibitions are also expected to take place on site. A smaller indoor theater acts as a flexible space for up to 500 occupants. The multipurpose hall can be transformed into a variety of configurations, including set-ups for plays, fashion shows, concerts and more.

Elsewhere in architecture, Pharrell has revealed the first renderings of his untitled residential building in Toronto.

Changsha Meixihu International Culture and Art CentreMei Xi Hu Lu, Yuelu QuChangshaShi,HunanShengChina

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Zaha Hadid Architects Reveals First Images of Sprawling Culture & Arts Centre in China - HYPEBEAST

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) New Jersey Chapter names Marchetto Higgins Stieve Architects (MHS Architects) Firm of the Year. Image courtesy Cahn Communications.

Hudson County-based Marchetto Higgins Stieve Architects (MHS Architects) was just named Firm of the Year by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) New Jersey Chapter. The award was announced as part of AIAs 2019 Service Awards and the honor distinguishes MHS Architects for their work as well as their success and significant expansion over the past year.

MHS Architects has offices in Hoboken and Jersey Citys Journal Square and has been a premier architecture, planning, and urban design firm for decades, specializing in residential and mixed-use multi-family developments anywhere from four to forty stories throughout New Jersey.

Were incredibly honored and appreciative to receive such a prestigious award, said Founding Principal Dean Marchetto, FAIA, who has led the firm for its nearly 40 years in operation, in a prepared statement.

This is a tribute to our entire team of architects, planners, and staff in recognition of their exemplary efforts to serve our development clients in award-winning fashion. Their unwavering dedication and commitment to both design and community building has allowed us to expand our scope of services and enter many new and exciting markets throughout the state. Their creativity and tireless work ethic have us well-positioned for continued growth in the years to come.

The demand for a walkable urban lifestyle continues to grow and as a result, city centers are experiencing significant redevelopment. Real estate developers, including KRE Group and Toll Brothers City Living, have relied on MHS Architects expertise and innovative solutions to transform areas into sustainable neighborhoods. Recent noteworthy projects are K. Hovnanian Homes Nine on the Hudson in West New York and Roseland Residential Trusts Metropolitan Lofts in Morristown. And to match this demand, MHS Architects increased its size by 25 percent from 2018 to 2019.

The firm is guided by the principles of Smart Growth and New Urbanism and both values and relies on community participation and involvement. One of MHS Architects most significant architectural accomplishments has been the vital role it has played in the rebirth of Hoboken as a residential community, having designed and completed more than 100 buildings in the Mile-Square City, including the recently launched Park + Garden, according to a recent press release.

MHS Architects has won seven other industry awards this year in addition to the AIA-NJ Firm of the Year honor and it is the 50th award for the firm overall. MHS Architects has also worked for some of the most prominent real estate developers in the region, including the aforementioned as well as Hartz Mountain Industries, Albanese Organization, and Kushner Companies.

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Marchetto Higgins Stieve Architects Named "Firm of the Year" - Jersey Digs

SHoP Architects has revealed plans for a new urban farm in Washington, D.C.s Ward 8. Spearheaded by local organization DC Greens, The Well at Oxon Run will cover 50,000 square feet of land next to the Oxon Run tributary in an underserved part of the nations capital city known as Anacostia.

According to D.C. blog Urban Turf, residents in the area have a drastically lower life-expectancy rate due to diet-related chronic illnesses than people living in Northeast D.C. Poor access to quality, healthy food is a major source of strain for locals south of the Anacostia River. In an effort to combat this, The Well will grow over 150 varieties of fresh produce, herbs, and edible flowers while also housing space for events, programming, and a farmers market. DC Greens noted in a tweet that a youth classroom will also be built, and local art will be incorporated on-site.

Community space within The Well (Rendering Courtesy SHoP Architects)

Due to its location in a highly urbanized part of D.C.s southeastern quadrant, the project will help beautify and activate a blighted piece of landscape next to the long-polluted, seven-mile-long stream. Friends of Oxon Run, which supports activities surrounding Oxon Run and the nearby Oxon Run Park, is working with DC Greens, as well as The Green Scheme, a local nonprofit that advocates for a healthier environment on behalf of communities of color, to bolster the areas reputation.

Abby Bluestone, development director at DC Greens, toldANthat The Well will be more than a community hub or food haven, it will also be an inclusive wellness space. In this space, we will be growing crops, but mostly well be growing community, she wrote in an email. We are imagining an intergenerational space for community health and healing, centered around food A farm space that honors the full power that food has to bring people together, and make people whole.

The D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation is collaborating on the project too, which slated to start construction sometime in 2020. Before breaking ground, DC Greens hopes to raise up to $1 million in an online campaign to cover construction costs. Additional renderings are expected to follow in the coming months.

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SHoP Architects reveals an urban farm and wellness space for D.C.'s Ward 8 - The Architect's Newspaper

Zaha Hadid Architects Released Images for the Newly Designed Southbank Tower Lobby

Zaha Hadid Architects partnered up with Southbank Tower, for the company's first interior refurbishment project, in order to renovate the buildings lobby. The office structure, designed by Richard Seifert in 1972, had already gone through massive renovation works, led by KPF in 2015.

+ 14

With construction scheduled to start in early 2020, and finish by the end of the summer of the same year, the 200 square meter lobby of the repurposed tower is the first in a series of brand partnerships for Southbank Tower on behalf of the investment firm which acquired 37 apartments within the building in early 2018.

Back in 2015, the building was transformed from a 30-story office building into a 41-story mixed-use tower that incorporates two and three-bedroom apartments. With ZHAs intervention, the lobby will welcome a new mezzanine and lift, concierge desk and novel lighting scheme.

The design has evolved from our work reinventing the spaces of art museums and galleries around the world; creating immersive spatial experiences for the Southbank Towers lobby that enhance the materiality and volumes of the original structure. -- Helmut Kinzler, ZHA project director.

Inspired by the organic flow of flower petals, the design conceals the lobbys lighting scheme, through a composition of overlapping elements. Fluid curves generate the towers concierge's desk on the ground floor, before peeling back at the top to reveal a new mezzanine level which serves as an additional lounge for residents and guests. With marble and concrete, walnut and leather, the space uses the same color palette as the existing building.

Moreover, produced from glass fiber reinforced gypsum, the crafted architectural petals are cut in an off-site studio using 3D digital fabrication. The marble furniture pieces were also created to precision using the same method, in order to minimize the duration of works in the lobby and disturbance to residents.

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Zaha Hadid Architects Released Images for the Newly Designed Southbank Tower Lobby - ArchDaily