沣水门

咸阳市沣河两岸综合开发
沣水门
这里，为你打开世界顶级的生活之门。顶级的文化、艺术和设计、精致和高贵的气息扑面而来；亲切温和的，带着内敛的高贵，香衫云鬓、贵宾云集；这里，仿佛是天堂的一个角落——美丽、超脱与自然为伴，奢华、自由、奔放、快乐，就是全部！

Xianyang Fenghe Hotel

Xianyang 5 Star Fenghe Hotel is taking shape. With 600 rooms and suites, this landmark hotel create our first footprint in this ancient city of Xianyang. Remember 2200 years ago, this is the kingdom of Chin-Shi-Wan, his army ruled Kwan-Chung, with Weihe and Fenghe as the backdrop. Imagine thousands and thousands of warriors with their horses, roamed the land. This is also the centre of the silk road, with Chan-an as capital, now we call Xi'an.

The Team

Super-city vision for London

Could mega tower could be solution to city housing?

Plans to create a vertical super-city within London are under way and could solve the city's housing crisis. The 1500 metre 'New Town Tower' designed by Popularchitecture would be the world's tallest building and provide affordable housing for 100,000 people. The tower was designed by the London-based architects as an entry in an American design competition but Director of Popularchitecture, Tom Teatum, thinks the structure could be a new landmark for London. He said: “Importantly this building is designed to be public and integrated into the existing city.” The cylindrical structure would also offer 100 public spaces from an ice rink to tennis courts in open areas all the way up the tower. The firm are working with Gardiner & Theobald and Fluid Engineers on a feasibility report but if all goes well they will choose from seven areas along the Thames river and begin work with developers.

New London landmark for Legal & General and Mitsubishi estate company.

A new central London landmark is unveiled today as part of the regeneration of the Saint Giles area. Central Saint Giles, which is due for completion by the end of 2009, is the new groundbreaking 500,000 sq ft mixed-use scheme from internationally acclaimed architect Renzo Piano and joint developers Legal & General and Mitsubishi Estate Company.

Central Saint Giles, which replaces a redundant 1960’s office block previously occupied by the Ministry of Defence, is an environmentally friendly, sustainable, colourful development that comprises office space, retail, restaurants, cafes, residential and a new public piazza. The development, on which building work has already started, will be a pedestrian-friendly site, connecting five different regions of the West End.

On a 1.75-acre island site, the development sits in a strategic, exceptionally well-connected, location between Oxford Street and Covent Garden. The design consists of three buildings with 13 irregularly orientated, individually coloured ceramic & glass facades. When completed, Central Saint Giles will be 12 storeys tall and will comprise 393,000 sq ft of high quality office space with some of the largest floor plates (42,000 sq ft) in the West End, 27% of the site’s area is dedicated to open space and the development includes 109 residential units, 50% of which will be affordable housing.

World renowned architect Renzo Piano commented: “The architectural challenge was to create a development that brings heart and soul into a forgotten part of Central London’s urban fabric. A place that, by adding levitated, articulated and colourful buildings, physically expresses the people-focused and socially responsible credentials of modern corporate tenants”. <>Bovis Lend Lease is building the scheme, Stanhope plc have been appointed as development managers and Bovis as construction managers. Fletcher Priest have been appointed as Renzo Piano Building Workshop’s executive architects to the site. The joint letting agents are Jones Lang LaSalle and Cushman & Wakefield

National Conference Centre Hotel - Shay Cleary Architects

Archiseek News

The Spencer Dock Development Company has lodged a planning application for a thirty five-story hotel, which will be part of the National Conference Centre complex on Dublin’s North Wall Quay. The proposed hotel will be a landmark indicator of the Conference Centre both locally and in a citywide context.

Speaking today Chairman of the Convention Centre Dublin, Mr. Dermod Dwyer said: "The development of the hotel has always been a central part of the overall plan for the National Conference Centre. It’s estimated that 200 events will be held each year in the NCC and with an iconic hotel as part of the NCC there is potential for many additional international conferences. World-class services and accommodation facilities will be a key driver in the success of Ireland’s National Conference Centre"

"Given the international role of the conference centre, and in turn the hotel, it was crucial that the architecture be of a commensurably high quality. This is why the architectural brief placed sustainability and sophisticated design architecture as a central requirement. The hotel brief has been developed in conjunction with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company who operate the recently opened Ritz-Carlton Powerscourt."

The architect of the hotel is the well known Dublin practice – Shay Cleary Architects. Commenting on the leading edge architecture of the new hotel, Mr. Cleary said: "The form of the tower is that of a simple pristine rectangular glazed enclosure. Within this formal concept, complexity and architectural richness is achieved through the proposition of a "building within a building" The general public spaces of the hotel occupy the first five floors. The remainder of the hotel comprises hotel rooms, a fitness centre & spa, hotel suites, clubs, lounges, meeting rooms and winter gardens".

The professional team comprises of: Shay Cleary Architects; O’Connor Sutton Cronin structural and civil engineers; McArdle McSweeney mechanical and electrical engineers; Bruce Shaw as quantity surveyors and project managers; Moylan traffic consultants; and John Spain Associates, planning and development consultants.

Zaha Hadid designs Lilium Tower in Poland

Zaha Hadid designs the Lilium Tower in Poland

The proposed addition to the Warsaw skyline is a light, transparent structure with a strong sense of identity and character. Rising to a height of 240 meters, the tower’s slender form complements the Palace of Culture and other towers in the vicinity, creating its own distinctive profi le within an emerging cluster of tall buildings. With a gross area of 101,205m2 the tower comprises of 72,027m2 of leasable area; consisting of luxury residential apartments and an apartment hotel. The scheme also offers positive gains to the public realm by improving the existing public space on the lower ground level. The scheme is notable for its progressive energy strategy. The low-energy services are designed to cope with the extremes of the local climate. The design of the Lilium Tower also reflects the economic importance of structure in relation to a tower of this height. A central core forms the backbone of the structure. Whilst this arrangement is highly economical it offers uninterrupted views of Warsaw in all directions. The composition of the Lilium Tower creates a progressive and prestigious residential building for the 21st century. By avoiding sterile repetition a clear identity is established through its dynamic, ever-changing appearance. The Lilium Tower comprises of an apartment hotel, residential apartments, spa facilities, underground retail area with an adjacent exterior mall, restaurant, and underground parking. On the ground floor, four separate lobbies enable distinct access to the hotel, apartments, restaurant and delivery area.

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