Hot Openings Global Hotels

Amanyara, Turks and Caicos
Anantara Debuts in the Maldives
Andaz Liverpool Street, London
Aqua Hotel, Cancun
Conrad Tokoyo
Green Hotel in American Canyon, California
The Elysian, Bali
Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi
Fiji Beach Resort & Spa
Fresh Hotel, Athens
Four Seasons Hotel Doha
Hilton London Canary Wharf
Hotel Indigo Houston
Hotel Solamar, San Diego
Intercontinental Buckhead, Atlanta
InterContinental Aphrodite Hills Resort, Cyprus
Kabul Serena Hotel
Keating Hotel, San Diego
Malmaison, Belfast
Mandarin Oriental, Prague
Marina Mandarin Singapore
Meliá, Cabo San Lucas
Le Méridien Lav Hotel
Millennium Broadway, New York City
Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort
Park Hyatt Dubai
Placencia Hotel
The Peninsula, Tokyo
Radisson SAS Boulogne
Radisson SAS Hotel Frankfurt
Raffles Dubai
Riu Palace, Aruba
Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa
Skyline Cosmopolitan Hotel, Toronto
Sokha Angkor Hotel & Spa
St. Regis Hotel, San Francisco
Steigenberger Hotel Therme Meran
Sumahan, Istanbul
Westin Opens, Memphis Beale Street Hotel
Westin CampoReal Golf Resort & Spa

Hotelex Beijing

Hotelex Beijing-
Door to the North China Market and the Beijing Olympics 2008

A booming economy, increasing tourism and the upcoming Olympic Games are driving an unprecedented boom for the Hospitality Industry in Northern China. The 6th Beijing Hospitality Equipment & Supply Exhibition, staged on October 9-11, 2007 at the ChinaInternationalExhibitionCenter opens the door to a vast field of business opportunities. This is your last chance to get in touch with the movers and shakers of the industry ahead of the world’s largest sports event.
SOME FACTS on Northern China and Beijing:
+ There are about 200 hotel projects in the pipeline in China+ About 80 projects are located in Beijing+ Beijing has 658 star-rated hotels+ Beijing expects to accommodate 600.000 international visitors in 2008, about 30% up in 2007+ Estimated sales of hospitality equipment in China reached about 60 Billion USD in the period 2006-2007
Fair Name:
Beijing Hospitality Equipment & Supply Exhibition 2007
Date:
9-11 October, 2007
Venue:
China International Exhibition Center
Organizers:
Shanghai CMP Sinoexpo International Exhibition Co., Ltd.China Tourism News Press
Supporting Media:

Frequency:
Annual
Estimated Show Data:
Exhibition Area: 14,000 sqmNo. of Exhibiting Companies: 160No. of Trade Visitors: 12,000
Admission Policy:
Open to trade and professional visitors only


http://www.cmpsinoexpo.com/
http://www.hotelex.cn/
http://www.hotelsmag.com/photos/Marina-Mandarin/
http://www.cmpsinoexpo.com/expobuild/
http://www.cmpsinoexpo.com/ceramics/
http://www.cmpsinoexpo.com/hotelex/

Arora International

Arora wins T5 hotel contract.
Arora International has won the battle to operate the 600-bedroom hotel to be built at Heathrow airport's massive new Terminal 5. The group will operate the four-star hotel as a Sofitel under a long-term franchise agreement with French hotel giant Accor. The hotel, which is scheduled to open in 2008, will be Accor's second Sofitel in the UK. Its first is in London's St James's. Arora International will take a 150-year ground lease on the site, which is rumoured to be costing the company 30% more than predicted. The interiors of the hotel will be designed by KCA International, which is famed for its interiors at the Burj Al Arab in Dubai. CBRE Hotels acted on behalf of BAA Lynton, the division of the British Airports Authority which owns the land, while HVS International acted on behalf of Arora International.

The Great Impact

The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army explores one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the twentieth century, giving an insight into China's First Emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, and his legacy.The exhibition includes a number of the world-famous terracottawarriors from Xi'an, China, which were buried alongside the First Emperor in readiness for the afterlife, as well as some of themost striking recent discoveries made on the site.In introducing the idea of a unified state and effectively creating China in 221 BC, the First Emperor of Qin created what is today the oldest surviving political entity in the world. How that state has survived, developed and is viewed today is explored through events, lectures and debates around the exhibition.

Website:
http://www.britishmuseum.co.uk
Office:
British Museum
Street:
38 Russell Square
City/Town:
London, United Kingdom

The exhibition will start from the 13th of September 2007 - 6th April 2008 Tickets are sold for £12.00This is worth the visit - so don't miss out !!

Why this is the great impact? Because the is the perfect match of destiny I have ever encountered. On Christmas Day, 25th December, 2007 the final effect of First Emperor of China took centre stage. DK Architect is to design a Five-star Hotel in Xianyang, Xian, China. It is a mind blowing $120 Million USD project and it still feel so unreal.

World Best Hotels

The best luxury hotels in the world are the things to come and stay for a long time. World travel today is regarding comfort, luxury, exclusiveness and personal touches.
http://www.fivestaralliance.com/best/index.html

Aspirational architecture

SoDa studios set new benchmark in live/work design SoDa Studios is setting an example to other parts of London as to how live/work projects should be designed and built.
Aimed at regenerating city areas, these kinds of projects generally succeed in attracting young and aspirational workers. A key element of SoDa Studios has been ensuring that the design appeals to bona fide live/workers. The most important aspects are space, and a layout which draws a distinct line between the domestic and professional usage. SoDa Studios achieves this by giving each unit considerably more square feet than in comparable developments, with the majority of units providing split level accommodation with the work areas located at entrance level. Through this segmentation of space, a clear division of use can be achieved. This being the case, plans for SoDa Studios include 46 live/work apartments as well as commercial space. Investland is also in talks to bring restaurants, bars and even a hotel to the area. Because of its central London location, Hackney has proven to be a popular destination for live/workers in recent years, fostering an artistic population that has thrived on being able to combine studio work space and home in one property.
Thinking Space Ltd
www.thinkingspace.co.uk

Grand Prix for Frankfurt

Coop Himmelb(l)au's design for a vertical city in Frankfurt, Germany

The location for the new headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt’s Ostend district has the potential of adding a new landmark to the Frankfurt skyline that will be visible at great distances. The starting point for the design of the towers was the urban perspectives of the city of Frankfurt. At a height of around 185 metres, the double tower, with its polygonal shape and east-west orientation, has a striking profile that is visible from all important reference points in Frankfurt’s city centre, as well as from the river Main. Thanks to its form and presence, the double tower will become a characteristic feature of the Frankfurt skyline. The atrium between the office towers becomes a “vertical city”. Through platforms we are creating spaces, plazas and pathways between the towers, just as they exist in a city. The connecting and transferring levels divide the atrium horizontally into three sections of different sizes, with heights ranging from around 45 to 60 metres. These connecting platforms, bridges, ramps and stairs form a network of links between the office towers. They create short paths between the individual office floors in each tower and thus enable larger, interconnected usable office spaces on one or more floors in both towers, thereby also promoting informal communication. This new typology supports a dynamic development of form and enables differentiated office spaces with different panoramic perspectives.

Camp Nou Stadium,Barcelona

Foster + Partners to give Camp Nou Stadium facelift

FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou Stadium, one of the world’s greatest football venues, is to be extensively remodelled. Following an international competition, Foster + Partners have been selected as the architects for this renewal of the stadium, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

The stadium, already the largest in Europe, will be enlarged to accommodate over 106,000 fans, together with extensive new facilities including hospitality and public areas. A new roof will also be created to shelter the fans. The stadium will be enclosed by a brightly coloured mosaic outer skin that wraps around the building and continues over a new roof. The multi-coloured enclosure comprises overlapping translucent tiles in the club colours. The myriad of tiles can be seen as symbolising the loyalty and devotion of FC Barcelona’s fans worldwide.

The remodelled stadium retains the essential elements of the original Camp Nou, designed by architects Francesc Mitjans-Miró, García Barbon and Soteras Mauri, which was inaugurated in 1957.

On match nights, the stadium will glow, providing a new architectural icon for the city. In the same way that FC Barcelona is ‘more than a club’, the new Camp Nou will be much more than a stadium.

Positive Gold

I started this blog, just cut and paste images of architecture, some latest sumo news, occasional hash run with Hamersley, only in summer. It has been the pattern of my life of odd combination of thoughts, ideas, opportunity and above all, this is real life. Now Positive Gold enters into the scene. It will be fun to see it evolve and shape into a interesting future.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Performing Arts Center sues architect, construction firm

Seeks $30 million in damages, citing delays, design problems at new concert hall.

By RICHARD CHANG

The Orange County Register

The Orange County Performing Arts Center is suing the world-famous architect and the construction company that built its new $240 million concert hall.

Citing unexpected cost overruns, delays and design problems, the nonprofit center filed a 218-page suit Aug. 10 in Orange County Superior Court. The defendants are New Haven, Conn.-based Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, Texas-based Fluor Corp., and Berkeley-based landscape architects Peter Walker and Partners, among others.

The center is seeking more than $30 million in damages from 11 defendants, which include subcontractors.

“We feel this is the most prudent and responsible way to proceed,” center President Terrence Dwyer said Thursday. “Our responsibility is to the donors – to move forward in the most financially responsible way possible.”

The 2,000-seat Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa opened to much fanfare last September. However, it exceeded its original, $200 million budget by $35 million to $40 million.

Just weeks after the opening, the center pointed to overtime and rising costs of materials for the budget increase. But the lawsuit describes a multitude of problems and shortcomings, including “design work that was incomplete, deficient, inaccurate, untimely and below the standard of care for those holding themselves out as having defendants’ skills, experience and expertise.”

The suit argues that the architect and designers failed to “provide adequate and acceptable seating,” including some seats with impaired sight lines and “inadequate leg and sitting room.”

Further, the suit complains that the design for the outdoor plaza was corrected, changed and “clarified” after work had already commenced, and the landscape architects failed to “adequately and timely respond to requests for information, so as to make the work more difficult and more expensive.”

During the 3 ½-year construction of the arts complex, which includes a restaurant, a 500-seat theater and an education center, officials stressed repeatedly that the expansion would be built “on time and on budget.” They also said that an agreement had been signed, guaranteeing the schedule and cost.

The suit states that the defendants broke their contract with the center, jacking up prices after that agreement had already been made.

Officials at Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects did not respond Thursday to phone calls and e-mails seeking comment. The firm is co-headed by Cesar Pelli, a world renowned architect who designed Costa Mesa’s Plaza Tower, the expansion of South Coast Repertory and the Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia, once the tallest buildings in the world.

Keith Stephens, spokesman for Fluor Corp., said his company does not comment on pending litigation. But he did say the concert hall has been “universally received by the client,” and has “received multiple awards from professional engineering and construction associations.”
“We’re proud of the work,” Stephens said. “The client has been very complimentary of the work. We’ll see how all of this is adjudicated.”

Dwyer confirmed that audience and artist response to the new hall has been “almost universally positive.”

“We think it’s a great hall,” he said. “We don’t think (the suit) has to do with the quality, design or construction. There was a lot the contractors had to contend with, due to shortcomings in architectural plans and specifications.”

Dwyer added that some issues, such as squeaky chairs, have been dealt with, and others, such as heating and cooling, seat positions and the height of some railings, are next on the to-do list.

The center recently finished a successful fiscal year, with a $222,151 budget surplus and a record amount of contributions to its “Building on the Vision” campaign to fund the expansion. The center has raised about $176.5 million, with about $63.5 million to go.

Dwyer said he hoped news of the suit wouldn’t negatively affect the campaign.
“We’d like to be able to announce only good news all the time,” he said. “There may be questions about this, about the actions we’ve taken. But I hope people will be understanding and supportive, and see that the organization is acting responsibly. As a steward of the project we’re acting in the most responsible way.”

TVS Architecture

TVS' three million square foot addition to the Nation's Largest Convention unveiled

The TVS designed $882 million, three million square foot McCormick Place West expansion opened on Thursday August 2, 2007 eight months ahead of schedule and on budget. The publicly-financed West Building adds an additional 470,000 square feet of exhibit space to McCormick Place’s existing 2.2 million square feet. It also adds 250,000 square feet of meeting space, which includes 61 meeting rooms and a ballroom the size of a football field at 100,000 square feet, making it one of the largest ballrooms in the world. Lit at night, the north facade is a welcoming gesture to attendees. The west facade breaks down the scale of the building to better relate to the historic structures of Motor Row. Brick is used in addition to the architectural pre-cast concrete and glass to make the building more compatible with the historic buildings in the neighborhood. The west facade also features an exclamation point of sorts. A 90 foot lantern, with glass on three sides, cantilevers out from the face of the building and creates a canopy over the west entrance. A transportation center is also conveniently located in the heart of the building, allowing for the loading/unloading of up to 16 buses simultaneously.

London’s skyline

The controversial 155 metre-high 'walkie talkie' skyscraper has been approved by the government despite the objections of their own advisers – English Heritage. The tower at 20 Fenchurch Street was designed by the fashionable New York-based architect Rafael Vinoly. English Heritage said it would be one of 'London’s ugliest and most oppressive buildings'









London’s skyline, which already boasts a 'gherkin' (right), is now set to get a 'walkie talkie' (centre), and a 'helter skelter' (left). There are also plans for a 'cheese grater', a 'blade' and a 'shard of glass'. Heritage groups are concerned that the rash of approvals for skyscrapers could ruin the city’s historic character.The 47-storey tower by the architect Richard Rogers has perhaps the best skyscraper nickname. The 'cheese grater' is set to join the London skyline after its developers British Land announced in May that they were going ahead with the scheme









The 36-storey building includes a publicly accessible 'sky garden' with views across London. Announcing planning approval, the communities secretary, Hazel Blears, said this week that it would not harm historic views of the Tower of London and would make a significant contribution to London’s architecture

Lab Architecture Studio unveil plans for the Culture Island in Dubai

This comprehensive ensemble of museums, galleries, amphitheatres, restaurants and retail outlets is part of Dubai’s new development, cultural village. The backdrop to the external amphitheatre is of new canals and the islands of culture village, with abras and small ferries circumnavigating the calmer waters. The building forms a striking cantilever over the main road, providing shade and cover for the outdoor gardens and the transportation points. The facades and surfaces of the building are formed out of a transformation of arabic geometry and give a visual and structural integration of this art within the architecture of the site. Its internal organization allows for a continuous flow of pedestrians from the souks to the island, with clear entry points into the museum and art gallery. This flowing sequence also gives access to the main amphitheatre, which can be closed (acoustically and environmentally) or open. This sweeping line of movement terminates at the end of the island, with commercial art galleries, restaurants and cafés supported by bookshops, crafts and retail tenancies.

Undefeated Hakuho dominates Asashoryu

The Associated Press
Hakuho overwhelmed fellow Mongolian Asashoryu on Sunday to finish the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament with a perfect 15-0 record.

Hakuho, who is all but certain to be promoted to grand champion, wrapped up his second straight Emperor's Cup on Saturday, and Sunday's win over sumo's lone grand champion will add to his resume for promotion.
"I want to be a strong yokozuna," Hakuho said. "I had some injuries last year but was able to stay focused and fight my own sumo."
Hakuho won the Spring tourney in March. The Japan Sumo Association will deliberate on Hakuho's promotion to the sport's highest rank on Monday and it is widely regarded that two titles in a row for an ozeki are good enough to be promoted.
Sumo hasn't had two grand champions competing at the same time since November of 2003.
If he is promoted, the 22-year-old Hakuho would become sumo's 69th yokozuna and the second from Mongolia.
In Sunday's final bout, Hakuho and Asashoryu engaged in a long standoff at the center of the ring before Hakuho finally prevailed with an arm throw that sent Asashoryu sprawling to the dirt surface.
Elsewhere, Kaio quickly dispatched fellow ozeki Kotooshu of Bulgaria to finish the tournament with a solid 10-5 record.
Kotooshu, who defeated Asashoryu in Saturday, fell to 9-6.
No. 8 maegashira Asasekiryu had an impressive run and finished with a solid 12-3 record to win the Technique Prize.
Sekiwake Kotomitsuki overpowered ozeki Chiyotaikai to finish with a 12-3 record and improve his chances for promotion to ozeki.
Chiyotaikai closed out with a 10-5 record, good enough to maintain his status at the sport's second-highest rank.

Western Virginia to get first contemporary building

Western Virginia to get first contemporary building
Los Angeles-based Randall Stout Commissioned to Design the Art Museum of Western Virginia. Emerging Architect and Green Building proponent, Randall Stout, has designed the new Art Museum of Western Virginia. To be located in the exquisitely beautiful mountainous landscape of the Shenandoah Valley of Roanoke Virginia, the new museum is a stunning glass and steel structure that forms a metaphorical gateway to the city which is rapidly transforming from an industrial based-economy to one driven by technology information and services. The 82,000 square foot building, which echoes the form of the nearby mountain ranges, will quadruple the size of the museum’s current space. The three-storey structure will house a lobby, galleries, café, gift shop, auditorium and educational spaces on the first floor, galleries and storage on the second level, and a boardroom, director’s suite, and offices on the third level. Sustainable design components include natural day lighting, passive solar, a thermal conserving envelope and a computerized energy management system. The new museum is scheduled to open in the fall of 2008.

Sharon McHugh

Sutong bridge to set world record

The Sutong Changjiang Highway Bridge over the Yangtze River is seen under construction in east China's Jiangsu Province, April 23, 2007. The cable-stayed bridge will have a world record 1088 metres main span and tallest cable towers when completed in 2008.

Alsop Adds Colour to London City

A landmark redevelopment scheme featuring a 43-storey tower at 151 City Road, London EC1 will be unveiled this week. The groundbreaking scheme designed by SMC Alsop for Enddora Holdings Ltd, part of the Access Self Storage Group, is located on a site on City Road, close to Old Street roundabout, opposite the Moorfields Eye Hospital and adjacent to the recently approved, 27-storey tower Eagle House, designed by Terry Farrell. The proposal brings together a unique combination of land uses which, together with the size of the site and its context, has led Will Alsop to create a pioneering new building-type, fusing large scale art, sculpture and architecture. The building will include retail and bars, self-storage, business centre, fitness centre and apart-hotel. The self storage proposals, stacked vertically rather than along the ground, represent a major new departure for self storage in this country, bringing the facility into the middle of town rather than its traditional edge of town location. Double height retail and restaurants are located at ground floor on City Road, with entrances to the self-storage on Britannia Walk and the apart-hotel, business centre and leisure uses on Provost Street. Level 42 is given over to a public bar and viewing gallery. Describing the scheme architect Will Alsop says, "It's an incredibly exciting project - essentially the whole building is conceived as an artwork including Bruce McLean's piece, the coloured solar siphons, and the building form - sculpted and faceted so that the perception of the tower changes from every perspective." Measures to integrate sustainability and energy reduction are fully incorporated in the building's design through the choice of on-site renewables and the integration of an innovative natural ventilation system. The building tapers and twists to allow daylight penetration at street level. Articulated chimneys known as solar siphons wrap around the building fabric like a striped shirt giving the impression of slenderness and at the same time providing natural ventilation to the hotel apartments. This dramatically reduces the need for mechanical air-conditioning and substantially reduces the Development's overall carbon footprint. Speaking of the project, independent townscape assessor, Richard Coleman said "Will Alsop is able to bring joy to hearts, minds and eyes of people through the most diverse of building uses. At City Road the project is a rich mix of uses within a total work of art made explicit through the 15-storey work by artist Bruce McLean. It is symptomatic of the City Road site that a tall elegant building of such beauty as is proposed, enhances a poor townscape edge to Hackney without infringing any distant views vistas or heritage areas." The scheme will be unveiled at a public exhibition, opening this week on the site at 151 City Road, which is part of the public consultation exercise, intended to provide an opportunity for local residents and office workers to view the proposals. Following this exhibition it is intended that the scheme will be submitted to the London Borough of Hackney for planning in early April.

Aedas designs U-Bora Tower at Business Bay in Dubai

The U-Bora Tower Complex is a mixed-use development located in the heart of Business Bay. The design has given equal attention to its three different uses - office, residential and retail, in order to maximize their opportunities and viabilities within the site's context. The 250 meter high U-Bora Office Tower is located prominantly on the main axis. It was designed as an anchor on the axis and within its own development. Along with the 462 meter Burj Alam, located across the street of this main axis, the two towers work together and act as a gateway into the development. In addition, the project weights the office space toward the top by starting with smaller 1,100m² floors at the bottom and slowly increasing toward the top 2,000m² floors. This maximizes prime view space by containing 70% of the office towers 80,000m², in the top half of the office tower. The 30,000m² residential block deliberately does not compete with the surrounding towers in height and instead keeps low and focused to the adjacent water body to the south. By designing the block as a linear bar rising from 12 stories at the tower end to 15 stories at the western end a significantly greater percentage of units get an uninterrupted view of the water. The third component of the project, although relatively small in area, is 7,000m² of retail. All three components are glued together with a 10,000m² public, densely landscaped deck which has accessibility from all three exposed sides of the project.

Hamersley Hash Run at Bold Park

Bold Park - Wilderness at your doorstep
The vision for Bold Park is to be identified as a world-class urban wilderness enjoyed, studied and managed with the community.
Bold Park was declared an A-class reserve on 10th August 1998 for its high conservation, landscape and recreation values. It is one of the largest remaining bushland remnants in the urban area of the Swan Coastal Plain, covering 437 hectares.
Reabold Hill
Be amazed by the spectacular views of Perth when you visit Reabold Hill. Designed for disabled access, the raised boardwalk offers a unique bushland experience en route to the highest natural point on the Swan Coastal Plain in the metropolitan area. At 85 metres above sea level, you can see the Indian Ocean, Perth city, Rottnest Island, Kings Park and Botanic Garden, and even glimpses of the Swan River.

Lord Norman Foster at 71

Funding sought to finance major expansion
Lord Foster of Thames-side has appointed bankers to examine the possible sale of part or all of his world-leading architectural practice. Foster and Partners, which was broken into six autonomous design groups two years ago is believed to need cash to realise its expansion plans. This includes increasing the number of offices from the current 13 to between 20 and 30. Speculation has put the practice's current value at £300m - £500m GBP. However city financial observers are casting doubt on this price as commercial property is thought to be at the top of its cycle and this is an area which the practice is heavily dependant on making it vulnerable. Foster, who is 71, is believed to have called in specialist corporate finance firm Catalyst Investment to review the funding requirements. In the last accounts filed at Companies House, for the year ended April 2005, the company revealed pre-tax profits of £2.5m on turnover of £44.5m. The London based practice has overseas offices in Beijing, Dubai, Istanbul and Kuala Lumpur which reflects the increasingly international mix of its business, during that year the company generated 12 per cent of its turnover from the US and 9 per cent from China. The bulk of the business, however, was still in the UK, which generated 43 per cent.

WorldArchitectureNews 22.01.2007

Hash Run At Perth Hill

Monday run at Perth Hill- 15th Jan.2007