December 11, 2016 – Archy Naija

Studio Gang has revealed their design for One Hundred, a mixed-use tower to be located on Forest Park in St. Louis, Missouri. Studio Gang’s first project in the city, the tower will rise over 350 feet and include retail, amenities, parking and residential apartments featuring views of the park and the Gateway Arch.

Developed by Mac Properties, Studio Gang’s design calls for a tiered, angled tower that will provide each unit with views and improve energy performance. Each tier will comprise four stories, creating space for outdoor terraces for a quarter of the apartments. Inside the tower, each apartment features a corner living room with double exposures to capture and enhance the quality of natural light throughout the unit.

All units will have access to a communal terrace atop the building’s green roof podium, which will house a range of amenities and social spaces. On the ground floor, a series of retail spaces will activate the street and create connections between St. Louis’ Central West End district and Forest Park, strengthening the city’s overall urban fabric.

“In a climate with four distinct seasons, we wanted to make it possible for residents to enjoy the different views and natural changes in light over the course of the year,” explains Jeanne Gang. “By experimenting with the geometry of the facade and refining the apartment layouts, we were able to make every apartment into a corner unit perched above the park and city.”

The building has also been designed with environmental concerns in mind – the leaf-shaped plan and tiered massing will both contribute to an efficient performance, reducing overall energy use. The building’s green roofs will double as rainwater collection banks for irrigation and to abate stormwater runoff.

One Hundred is expected to break ground next year, and is scheduled for completion in 2019.

Learn more about this project, here.

News via Studio Gang.

PLH Arkitekter has been announced as one of two winners in the international design competition for Rail Baltica, organized by The European Railroad Lines, Ltd. As a part of the European transport network, Rail Baltica will be a multi-modal public transport hub in the Latvian capital of Riga, with a railway bridge crossing the Daugava River.

The focal point of the project will be a train station building “that creates a strong visual identity in the cityscape, strengthening the sense of Riga as a metropolis.” Inspired by the archetypal form of the arch and the Art Nouveau period, the building will feature canopies that resemble arched fern leaves. On the north side of the building, the canopy shape allows for a unique view over the historic city, ideal for travelers entering or leaving the city to create a strong sense of place.

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Throughout the building, geometric features, symmetry, and repetition will enhance wayfinding and maintain orientation throughout travel.

The project additionally features two new train tracks that run parallel to existing tracks and over a new bridge . The architects explained that it will be “designed with a light and floating expression. To maintain the relationship between the old and the new, the bridge has a varying cross section that emerges on the underside of the bridge, with a rolling, wavy line that refers to the large arch construction of the old bridge. The new bridge is designed with integrated bicycle and pedestrian paths, creating a better connection along the rails and across the Daugava.”

A sew sequence of green urban spaces will also be included in the project, in order to “remedy climate challenges by creating better micro-climates in the city, and improving air quality, thermal comfort, biodiversity, stormwater management, and preventing urban heat islands.”

The Baltic Rail project not only has the potential of becoming an iconic, significant and beautiful gateway to Riga – but also to be an engine for the further development of the city, said Steen Enrico Andersen, partner at PLH and leading architect for the design proposal. The central station, the connected station area, and the adjacent infrastructure hold great potential to be much more than just infrastructure – becoming an important city hub with a strong visual identity in the cityscape in a modern sustainable urban development.

News via PLH Arkitekter.

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