The long-held title of worlds tallest atrium has jumped from a building in Dubai to a new tower in Beijing. The recently-opened Leeza SOHO by Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) boasts a 623-foot-tall twisting, open-air interior that beats out the Burj Al Arab hotel by 23 feet.

Located in the southwest corner of the city, the 45-story skyscraper sits in the heart of the burgeoning Lize Financial Business District near the areas main transit hub. It features 1.8 million square feet of commercial office space spread across the two bisected volumes, connected by four sky bridges within the adjoining structural rings. The area in between the two halves makes up the full-height atrium, which spirals upward at a 45-degree angle in order to maximize the amount of light able to reach every floor.

The full-height void goes up 623 feet. (Hufton+Crow)

ZHA had to slice the interior of Leeza SOHO in half due to ongoing work on the nearby subway. The building sits at the intersection of five new lines and is atop a below-grade service tunnel. From the outside, the structure doesnt necessarily look divided; double-insulated, low-e glazing encases the entirety of both volumes like a shell, reducing energy consumption and emissions. During the day, however, the sun shines through the middle of the facility and reveals the void in its center.

Other sustainability interventions include a high-efficiency heating and cooling system, as well as a greywater-collection method. The project is on track to receive LEED Gold certification.

Workers can get from one half to the other using four sky bridges on varying levels. (Hufton+Crow)

Construction on the project began in April 2015 and took just over four years to complete. ZHA co-developed the building with SOHO China and worked with The Beijing Institute of Architectural Design as the architect-of-record. The tower was one of the final projects designed by Zaha Hadid before her passing in 2016.

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Zaha Hadid Architects completes twisting tower with the world's tallest atrium - The Architect's Newspaper

This week on Dezeen, Zaha Hadid Architects completed a skyscraper with the world's tallest atrium and revealed itsplans for a high-speed train station in Estonia.

The 45-storey Leeza Soho skyscraper, designed by the late Zaha Hadid before her death in 2016, contains the world's tallest atrium twisting through its centre.

Located in the Fengtai business district in Beijing, China, the 172,800-square-metre tower is a response to demand from small and medium-sized businesses in the city for flexible and efficient office-space.

Dezeen also reported on Zaha Hadid Architects' reveal of visuals for the multimodal lemiste terminal in Tallinn, Estonia, which will be the beginning of an electrified 540-mile-long railway connecting the Baltic states with Poland.

The new terminal will form part of the Rail Baltica high-speed rail network, and will create links between the city's bus, tram and rail routes and adjacent airport.

Elsewhere in architecture news, we continued our high-tech architecture series by taking a look at Norman Foster's Renault Distribution Centre in Swindon and the inside-out Lloyd's building in London by Richard Rogers.

A film showing the impact of Venice's recent floods was also popular with readers this week, created by architectural filmmakers Ila Bka and Louise Lemoine.

The footage forms part of the duo's two-minute trailer for their latest movie, and shows tourists and shop owners wading through the streets of Venice under water, after it was hit with its worst flood since 1966.

Over in the US, Allford Hall Monaghan Morris revealed a shipping-container housing development in Oklahoma called Squirrel Park, comprising four two-bedroom homes built on a 2,500-square-metre site with a budget of $1.1 million (850,000).

Olson Kundig also unveiled plans for an after-death facility in Seattle where human bodies will be composted and turned into soil as an alternative to cremation and burial.

In the design world, a host of exhibitions opened their doors this week in London, including a new retrospective at the V&A that explores the impact of cars on popular culture over the last century.

At the Royal Academy of Arts, the Eco-Visionaries exhibition brings together the work ofartists, designers and architects who are confronting environmental issues in a bid to rethink our relationship with nature.

While over at the Design Museum, a project that unpacks the human labour and natural resources that go into our electronic devices won Design of the Year 2019.

Other projects popular with Dezeen readers this week included a stone villa in Portugal with a bright-red adjoining cabin, a permanent home for the Rain Room installation in Sharjah, and a golden cube-shapedkiosk by OMA installed outside the K11 Musea in Hong Kong.

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This week, Zaha Hadid Architects completed a skyscraper and unveiled plans for a train station - Dezeen

9 Innovative Practices Redefining What Architects Can Be

Wherever there is a center, there is by necessity a periphery. This in itself should not generate any headlines; we live in a world of centers, and peripheries that continually stretch those centers, whether it be politics, countries, or societal norms. It also applies to architectural practice. In a complex, interconnected world,members of thearchitectural profession around the world are constantly expanding into new peripheries, generating new visions for how practice should operate, influenced by technological, political, cultural, and environmental changes.

With that in mind, we have compiled nine examples of networks, groups, collectives, and offices that represent different professional experiences thatdepart fromconventional architectural practice. These examples seek to break predefined notions of what an architect is, how they work, where they work, and who they work with. Offeringanarchitecturalethos reflectiveof issues like decolonization, feminism, homosexuality, and antiracism; the groups below challenge the hegemonic practices and disciplinary conventions in the architectural field through the study of the local and social complexity. The list further demonstrates how engaging in societal flows goes beyond the conventional design of a medium-size building, and intersectsresearch, methods, experiments, participation, and diffusion of professional, regional and social edges.

Matri-Archi(tecture) seek to empower African women in the design and writing fields. The network is supplied by content related to architectural, political, and identity issues, with the aim of includingnot only African woman, but all people that reflect the African sense of place and being.

FuturePlus is an informal academy that integrates research, development, education and practice in Chinas urban and rural areas. Itcombinescritical, design and systematic thinking to research urban-rural planning using alternative planning and construction methods to improve the quality of rural and urban life. The group is formedof students, professionals, managers, and enthusiasts that are willing to leave their comfort zone and are committed to improving our future quality of living.

This non-profit entityhas been operating since 2011 in Medelln in the fields of architecture, design and cultural production, seeking to propagate criticalpositions and actionsfor the problems of space and the city. The multidisciplinary workmanifests through conversations, workshops, neighborhood meetings, and community gatherings, forming a network of collective spaceson a neighborhood scale. The team is made up of architects, designers, communicators, and restless citizens, constructing collaborative circuits that allow them to explore professional and spatial limits.

This collective works in a transdisciplinary way to structure a dwelling with more purpose. The objective is to create spaces allied to its inhabitants through a participatory methodology, organized in workshops, projects and construction. The on-demand constructiontakes place with the support of future inhabitants, using drawings, physical models, digital mockups, and other expressive tools, ensuring the office proposals do not become a mere byproduct of an automatic and functionalist way of life.

The Funambulist is a platform and magazine that engages with the politics of space and bodies. The aim is to establish a space where activist/academic/practitioner voices can meet and build connectionsacross geographical areas. The magazine archive is constantly supplied by articles, interviews, artworks and design projects as a way to strengthen anticolonial, antiracist,LGBTQ, and feminist struggles. The print and online magazine is published every two months and operates in parallel with an open-access podcast and a blog.

Anupama Kundoo, founder of the architecture Indian office of the same name, seeks the production of an architecture that has low environmental impact and is appropriate to the socio-economic context through material research and experimentation. The work is based on research that the architect developed through her career about rapid urbanization and materials applied to design and urban planning projects.

The collectivebegan in 2008 and is composedof architects, designers and enthusiasts from different academic and disciplinary areas. Thegroup functions as an open, malleable and symbiotic system;with a multidisciplinary nature allowing it to approach the integral management of work at different scales and perspectives.

The design and creative process of Al Borde is based on the involvement of the community in all phases of planning and construction, allied to the systematic exploration of the local context. The members believe that the strength of a project lies in the ultimate autonomy of its users.

The W.H.Y Project supports women in the architecture field through the development of monitoring mutual relations. The abbreviation stands for We Hear You, the vision of architect Kirsty Ronne that, through the network, promotes debate, discussion, lectures and projects aboutwomen in architecture.

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9 Innovative Practices Redefining What Architects Can Be - ArchDaily

Renzo Piano's archive, knowing the past to create the architecture of the future | LifeGate

Archiveshave recently become the object of a historical and scientific debate involving more than just experts and professionals. Not only are archivesspaces devoted to the memory and conservation of materials from the past, they're also vehicles for experimentation, research, relationships and organising content, as well as maps and cultural systems. Knowing what has come before us is essential in designing the present and future. The story of the archive dedicated to the projects of architect Renzo Pianoin his home city of Genoa, in Italy, is the subject of the documentaryThe Power of the Archive: Renzo Piano Building WorkshopbyFrancesca Molteni and Fulvio Irace, the first in a series on great contemporary architects.

There's a moment in which we realise that the memory of things has left a mark. Like when you have to clear out your house because you realise you've accumulated too much stuff. It can't be helped. The time comes when it has to be done.Renzo Piano

From the documentary The Power of the Archive: models of the Shard in London designed by Renzo Piano Building Works RPBW

The building site of the California Academy of Science in San Francisco, California in 2012 RPBW

The Astrup Fearnley Museum of contemporary art in Oslo, designed by Renzo Piano in 2012 Patrizia Scarzella

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Renzo Piano's archive, knowing the past to create the architecture of the future - LifeGate

Listen to the full album: http://bit.ly/2RHvp9I"Royal Beggars" by Architects from the album 'Holy Hell,' available nowOrder at https://ffm.to/architects_holyhell

Director - Lewis CaterProducer - James NorburyDirector of Photography - Davey GilderProduction Company - Zebrafish Media

Lyrics

Royal beggarsDo you wanna live forever?Alone.Alone.Alone.

Cos were brokenAll hope is deadBut were copingSomebody save our souls

Like a bird in a cageTrying to fly awayIs this the price that we have to pay?Overflowing with rageYet we still obeyCos were asleep in a hurricane

Bitter loversLet goCos its now or never Breathe in.Breathe out.Breathe in.Cos were chokingAnd left for deadBut were copingSomebody save our souls

Are you listening?You may not have noticedWe have totally lost our wayAre you lost in the clouds?Or can you hold your focus?Its ourselves that we will betray

We sit on a throne waiting for god to bend the kneeBut were nothing more thanRoyal beggars

But Im as guilty as the next manOur eyes are open, but were not listening

Official Site: http://www.architectsofficial.com/Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/architectsukTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/architectsukInstagram: http://instagram.com/architects

#Architects #Epitaph #HolyHell

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Architects - "Royal Beggars"

An architect is a person who designs buildings and prepares plans to give to a builder.[1][2] What he or she designs is called architecture. Architects make drawings with pens, pencils, and computers, and this is also called drafting. Sometimes they first make small toy-sized buildings called models to show what the building will look like when it is done. Some of these models survive for hundreds of years, such as St Paul's Cathedral, London.

Architects decide the size, shape, and what the building will be made from. Architects need to be good at math and drawing. They need imagination. They must go to university and learn how to make a building's structure safe so that it will not collapse. They should also know how to make a building attractive, so that people will enjoy using it.

Although there has been architecture for thousands of years, there have not always been architects. The great European cathedrals built in the Middle Ages were designed by a Master Builder, who scratched his designs on flat beds of plaster. Paper did not exist in Europe at this time and vellum or parchment were very expensive and could not be made in large sizes.

Some cathedrals took hundreds of years to build, so the Master Builder would die or retire and be replaced and often plans changed. Some cathedrals were never finished, like Notre Dame in Paris or Sagrada Famlia in Barcelona.

An architect has a very important job, because his or her work will be seen and used by many people, probably for a very long time. If the design, materials and construction are good, the building should last for hundreds or even thousands of years. This is rarely the case.

Usually building cost is what limits the life of a building, but fire, war, need or fashion can also affect things. As towns and cities grow, it often becomes necessary to make roads wider, or perhaps to build a new train station. Architects are employed again and so the city changes. Even very important buildings may get knocked down to make way for change.

Famous architects include: Frank Lloyd Wright, Fazlur Khan, Bruce Graham, Edward Durell Stone, Daniel Burnham, Adrian Smith, Frank Gehry, Gottfried Bhm, I. M. Pei, Antoni Gaud, and Oscar Niemeyer.

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Architect - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The twin crises of climate breakdown and biodiversity loss are the most serious issue of our time. Globally, buildings and construction play a major part, accounting for nearly 40% of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions whilst also having a significant impact on our natural habitats.

For everyone working in the construction industry, meeting the needs of our society without breaching the earths ecological boundaries will demand a paradigm shift in our behaviour. Together with our clients, we will need to commission and design buildings, cities and infrastructures as indivisible components of a larger, constantly regenerating and self-sustaining system.

The research and technology exist for us to begin that transformation now, but what has been lacking is collective will. Recognising this, we are committing to strengthen our working practices to create architecture and urbanism that has a more positive impact on the world around us.

We will seek to:

Raise awareness of the climate and biodiversity emergencies and the urgent need for action amongst our clients and supply chains. Advocate for faster change in our industry towards regenerative design practices and a higher Governmental funding priority to support this. Establish climate and biodiversity mitigation principles as the key measure of our industrys success: demonstrated through awards, prizes and listings. Share knowledge and research to that end on an open source basis. Evaluate all new projects against the aspiration to contribute positively to mitigatingclimate breakdown, and encourage our clients to adopt this approach. Upgrade existing buildings for extended use as a more carbon efficient alternative todemolition and new build whenever there is a viable choice. Include life cycle costing, whole life carbon modelling and post occupancy evaluation aspart of our basic scope of work, to reduce both embodied and operational resource use. Adopt more regenerative design principles in our studios, with the aim of designingarchitecture and urbanism that goes beyond the standard of net zero carbon in use. Collaborate with engineers, contractors and clients to further reduce construction waste. Accelerate the shift to low embodied carbon materials in all our work. Minimise wasteful use of resources in architecture and urban planning, both in quantumand in detail.

In Australia, we as architects are aware that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have long espoused the cultural, social, economic and environmental benefits embedded in the holistic relationship of Caring for Country.

Founding signatories:

ARM Architecture, Alec Tzannes, Bates Smart, Breathe Architecture, Brit Andresen, BVN, Circa Morris-Nunn, Clare Design, Design 5, dwp | design worldwide partnership, FJMT, TheFulcrum.Agency, Glenn Murcutt, Greenaway Architects, Gregory Burgess Architects, Hassell, Iredale Pedersen Hook, Jackson Clements Burrows (JCB), John Wardle Architects, Ken Maher, Kerstin Thompson Architects, Koning Eizenberg Architecture, Inc., Liminal Studio, Partners Hill, Peter Stutchbury, Rick Leplastrier, Six Degrees, Taylor and Hinds Architects, TKD Architects, Troppo, and Woods Bagot.

We hope that every Australian architectural practice will join us in making this commitment.

#architectsdeclare_au

Sign here:

This list of signatories will be updated regularly.

To sign the declaration, practices or individuals must be registered with the Architects Board in the relevant state or territory, and must provide the email address for their CEO or other senior officer for verification before the practice name is added to the declaration.

Architects Declare Australia is organised by a volunteer group of 7 architects and built-environment professionals: Andre Bonnice, Ranald Boydell, Verity Campbell, Antony DiMase, Caroline Pidcock, Andrew Shurman and Steffen Welsch. The group has no political or institutional affiliations. The Architects Declare initiative was originally launched in the UK on 30 May 2019. The group contacted the UK organisers to seek permission to replicate Architects Declare in Australia. The UK group were immediately supportive, creating the Australian version of the website for us to use. The UK organisers have now set up Construction Declares in response to the interest shown in replicating the declaration by other groups internationally. For further details please contact us on: [emailprotected]

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Australian Architects Declare Climate & Biodiversity Emergency

A glance at the various architectural structures in South Africa reveals the diverse and turbulent past of the country. Indigenous clans, colonisation, wars, apartheid, and the reconciliation of a post-apartheid country have all influenced our architecture. From the simple 'rondavels' of the Xhosa tribes to the Rhodes Memorial in Cape Town (which looks like it should belong in ancient Rome), architecture in South Africa has helped to conquer, divide, connect and heal the various generations.

This is also true of the various residential structures scattered all over the country, which encompass a myriad of design styles such as modern, rustic, colonial, and Scandinavian.

An architect is responsible for designing a range of structures in various fields, including houses and apartment buildings, shopping malls, hospitals, schools, and commercial buildings. This may include anything from drawing up the plans for building a brand new structure or renovating an existing building or space, like a kitchen.

An architect also takes into consideration the safety factor in the design of a building (in terms of materials used, the location of the structure, presence of fire exits, etc.), ensuring the final structure is practical and safe for people.

While some architects work across a range of projects of different types and scales (generalists), others specialise in one area, such as residential or educational.

The typical work activities of an architect include:

Keep in mind that any person in South Africa providing services of an architectural nature must be registered with the South African Council for the Architectural Profession (SACAP).

If you want to build a new house / building, or make alterations / additions to an existing house or building, then you need a professional architect.

The advantages of using a professional architect are aplenty and include:

Clients usually appoint an architect whose work they admire or who has been recommended to them. Thanks to homify, you already have an ever-expanding list of architects to peruse. Conveniently grouped in various categories (South African cities), homify presents an array of architects and other professionals. Where possible, we also provide additional data on each one, such as information and images of past projects, and customer reviews.

It is recommended to contact each architectural firm whose work you admire to set up an initial meeting (bear in mind that some firms may charge a fee for this, so be sure to ask). A meeting is important to see if their skills and services match up with your building requirements, to discuss budget and time constraints, etc.

When contacting a firm, describe your project and ask if they are available. Request information that can help to outline the firm's qualifications and experience. Apart from visiting their website, you can also ask for a portfolio of their work, or even visit one of their finished buildings.

It is important to ensure you are compatible with your architect, as you will be entering into a working relationship with them. Your architect must also convince you of their creativity and their ability to accomplish a task within budget and on time.

The final cost of building a structure is dependent on many factors, including quality of finishes, location, and the size of the project. For instance, while it is possible to build a low-cost house for under R5,000, it can also be accomplished for more than R20,000 per m.

There are four common ways in which South African architects calculate their service fees:

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Find the right Architects | homify

I would ONLY use SKD Architects

I tore down and replaced the home Id lived in for twenty years. Steve Kleineman and I began with a discussion where I described my thoughts for my new home. He came up with a drawing which was close. One meeting later he had designed exactly what I wanted.

Steve included the level of detail I desired, and, designed several pieces of furniture for specific spots, each on its own, a masterpiece. My home is custom, inside and out. You will not see this home anywhere else.

Outside, Steve carried out details from the inside making his plan cohesive and beautiful. He was careful in his design not to hurt existing old trees and was not only respectful of my existing lot, he made the very most of it. I had no idea for the entire first twenty years that I lived in my home that my lot could have the beauty it does today.

When building began, Steve worked closely with the builder to insure that my vision was carried out meticulously. It felt as though he was working on his own home, thats how involved and accessible he was. Because of it, my home is perfect. He listened closely to my needs and was easy to get along with. When I made changes, he kept the up-charges to a minimum, in some cases actually reducing the price. Construction on my 5,000 square foot home took less than one year from the day they tore down the old house (not as emotional as Id have thought to see it go) until moving in to my new warm lovely home; slightly under 11 months to be exact.

I have seen larger homes, but never any done with any better attention to detail. The only thing I enjoy more is living here.

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Home - SKD Architects

Architects design houses, office buildings, skyscrapers, landscapes, ships, and even entire cities. The services offered by a licensed architect depend on the type of project being developed. Complicated commercial projects are accomplished with a team of architects. Sole proprietor architectsespecially architects just starting out on their ownwill specialize and experiment with smaller, residential projects. For example, before Shigeru Ban won the coveted Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2014, he spent the 1990s designing houses for wealthy Japanese patrons. Architectural fees are based on the complexity of the project and, for custom homes, may range from 10% to 12% of the total construction costs.

Architects organize different types of spaces. For example, architect Maya Lin is known for sculpted landscapes and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, but she has also designed houses. Likewise, Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto has designed houses in addition to the 2013 Serpentine Pavilion in London. Large spaces, like cities and entire neighborhoods within cities, are also designed by architects. In the early 20th century, Daniel H. Burnham created several urban plans, including for Chicago. In the early 21st century, architect Daniel Libeskind created what is called the "master plan" for redeveloping the World Trade Center area.

Like most professionals, architects also take on other duties and special projects. Many architects teach at colleges and universities. Architects organize and run their professional organizations, like the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Architects have also taken the lead in stopping climate change and global warming, moving toward the goal of new buildings, developments, and major renovations being carbon-neutral by the year 2030. Both the AIA and the work of Edward Mazria, founder of Architecture 2030, work toward this goal.

Architects design and plan spaces (structures and cities), with consideration for looks (aesthetics), safety and accessibility, functionality for the client, cost, and specifying (the "specs") construction materials and processes that do not destroy the environment. They manage the building project (large projects will have both a design architect and a project manager architect), and most importantly they communicate ideas. The architect's role is to turn ideas (a mental activity) into reality (the "built environment").

A licensed architect is the only designer who can rightfully be called "an architect." As a professional, the architect is ethically bound by codes of conduct and should be trusted to abide by all rules and regulations associated with a building project. Throughout their careers, architects participate in continuing education and professional development, similar to medical doctors and licensed attorneys.

Architects are trained and specialize in many areas, from historic preservation to structural engineering and from computer programming to environmental biology. This training can lead to a wide variety of careers. Many opportunities are available to the college graduate with a major in architecture.

An information architect is a person who plans the flow of information on Web pages. This use of the word architect is not related to building design or what is known as the built environment, although computer-aided design and 3D printing may be specialties within the field of architecture. Architects often design buildings, but a "Building Designer" is not usually a licensed architect. Historically, architects are "chief carpenters."

The word "architect" comes from the Greek word architekton meaning chief (archi-) carpenter or builder (tekton). We often use the word "architect" to describe the artists and engineers who designed historic buildings or iconic towers and domes. However, it was only in the twentieth century that architects were required to pass tests and be licensed. Today, the word "architect" refers to a licensed professional.

Landscape architects often work closely with a building's architects. "Landscape architects analyze, plan, design, manage, and nurture the built and natural environments," according to their professional organization, The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). Landscape architects have a different educational tract and licensing requirements than other registered architects of the built environment.

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So, You Think You Know What an Architect Does?