At the end of January, Bianca Bosker’s ‘Original Copies: Architectural Mimicry in Contemporary China’ will be realised, giving us a greater insight into this ever more present vein within Chinese architecture. Is it flattery? Perhaps criminal? One thing is for sure; China’s hunger for more urban areas seems likely to ensure no end in sight to this architectural plagiarism.

Here is a brief rundown of some of the more brassen examples of duplitecture in China.

Paris / Tianducheng

Paris without the Parisians? Possible in this nearly finished city for 200,000 just outside Shanghai. The town boasts landscaped gardens, Parisian style boulevards and cafe’s, along with replicas of the French capitals most famous sites; The Arc De Triomphe, The Palace of Versaille and of course the Eiffel Tower. At 108m tall, it would be dwarfed by the original, perhaps an appreciative nod to the supreme quality of the original?

Great photos of Tianducheng

Hallstatt Austria / Hallstatt China

A Unesco World Heritage listing brings with it so many benefits; increased tourism, a nice shiny plaque, bragging rights. Sadly, it doesn’t seem to stop others from wanting their own slice of Unesco Austrian village Pie, minus the Unesco. The picturesque Austrian village of Hallstatt, with its 943 residents was so adored by one Chinese development company, that they decided to survey the entire village, in secret, and build an EXACT copy, in the Guangdong province. This whole process has some up in arms, with Hans-Jörg Kaiser from Icomos Austria, the national board for monument preservation under UNESCO saying “The legal situation still needs to be examined,” he said. Building new structures based on photographs is legal, he explained, but owners must give their permission for them to be measured”. It’s not all bad though, tourism from China has nearly doubled!

Traditional English Village / Thames Town

For a change, this developer decided not to create a replica of a traditional English town, but rather capture the architecturally pervasive style of the English market town. Drawing on the idea of the high street, the village green, war memorial and village church amongst others, Thames Town is a new town 30km outside Shanghai, designed to be China’s very own English village. This development was part of the larger, One City, Nine Towns initiative. The “one city” of this policy was Songjiang New City, with Thames town being one of the nine satellite towns surrounding it. The “nine towns” of the policy were each sited in one of the other suburban districts of Shanghai, and each was also given their own theme. Other Western themes which were used included Scandinavian, Italian, Spanish, Canadian, Dutch and German.

Manhattan / Yujiapu

Surely not? Well, apparently so. Not content with creating a small Austrian village, or a mini Paris, developer Vincent Lee is quite literally creating a copy of Manhattan, and assuming financing doesn’t become a massive issue, he may well succeed. The project is equal parts ambition and blatant copying, yet as the photos below show, work is progressing. Soon, the travel agent may need you to confirm exactly which country you mean when you say you wish to visit Manhattan!

Below are the latest photos available from our favourite photography site Flickr showing how quickly the newest structures in London are beginning to have an impact on some of the most famous urban vistas in the world.

122 Leadenhall Street / the Cheese Grater

Architect – Richard Rogers

20 Fenchurch Street / The Walkie-Talkie

Architect – Rafael Viñoly

The below image, produced by SkyscraperCity user wjfox shows all the new additions to the London skyline, and how the skyline will look when they are all completed. Be sure to head on over to SkyscraperCity and take part in some of the excellent discussions taking place within their forums.

Back in March, we presented the proposed drawings for a new footbridge across the Thames between Wandsworth and Battersea Bridges, and after 9 months of consultation and design development the full planning application is has been submitted.

As early as 1924, two year before Her Majesty the Queen’s birth, Viscount Curzon MP acknowledged in the House of Commons that a bridge for pedestrian access situated between Wandsworth Bridge and Battersea Bridge was needed. During this year’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations the Queen boarded the Flotilla and set sail from this very location. A new pedestrian and cycle link here at this time will be a fitting legacy for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations and one which makes financial and common sense.

The area around Battersea Railway Bridge, on both sides of the river, has seen a renaissance in recent years. Thousands of new apartments as well as many restaurants and bars and two 5* hotels have been constructed in the area, opening up the riverfront to leisure and thoroughfare. Many more developments are planned and under construction in the immediate vicinity. A new pedestrian and cycle bridge alongside the railway bridge will enable greater integration between the north and south of the river both in terms of transport and economic activity, whilst also having a positive impact on the environment and creating an extension to the amenity space and linear park of the Thames Path.

The proposal, is being actively promoted by residents groups on both sides of the river. 12 months of consultation and design development has taken place with key stakeholders such as Transport for London, Network Rail, The Environment Agency and the Port of London Authority and English Heritage, amongst others. The design team have been working closely with the planning departments at both Hammersmith & Fulham and Wandsworth, have held a public consultation and presented to The Hammersmith and Fulham Design review Panel. The proposal has been developed to accommodate all the consultees’ considerations whilst maintaining a vigour to the design that celebrates the journey across the Thames.

The design team includes Expedition Engineering (designers of the Olympic Velodrome and the Thames Cable car), Beckett Rankine (advisors on the London Eye, Cadogan pier and many others), HR Wallingford (Hydrological Report), RPS environmental consultants, Paul Nulty lighting design, Thomson Ecology and Oxford Archaeology. With the teams input, we have produced a scheme which is both respectful of its context, maintaining views of the listed railway bridge, and exciting in its form. The application is expected to be referred to the Mayor under Category 2C 1(h) “a crossing over the River Thames”. We hope to achieve planning by March 2013.

[One World Design]

An interview with Stephen Philips, product designer, Arup,designer of the BE OPEN Sound Portal currently installed in Trafalgar Square, London.

Tell us about the technology at the heart of the Sound Portal
The technology we used in the piece is known as ambisonic sound. You have a spherical array of loudspeakers, enabling you to immerse the listener in sound because the sound pieces are played through 9 individual speaker channels. Sounds coming from different directions are treated equally unlike even the most sophisticated surround which assumes the main sound is experience from the front.

Why does Arup own an ambisonic array?
We have it so that if you are architect and you are designing a concert hall, or you’ve got an urban planning issue relating to sound, you can take your 3D CAD model before it’s been built and you can listen to what a symphony is going to sound like in this space by looking at the computer model. You can change the material surfaces of your virtual concert hall and get the right reverberation time, echo, and absorption. The architect or the client can tune their concert hall before they’ve even commissioned it.

How did the BE OPEN Sound Portal get commissioned?
Arup approached by Ben Evans [director of London Design Festival] in 2011 he asked us to conceive an installation utitlising sound for Trafalgar Square. That was the chat – some kind of installation about sound. After discussion about what we were doing to do in this very noisy chaotic place – I came up with a number of ideas – the sound portal was demed the best solution.

What are the architectural or design principles at work with the BE OPEN Sound Portal?
The plan is effectively two concentric circles: the inner circle for the sound and the outer circle forms the entrances. Both pieces mask the background noise. They are shells to shield the noise. Be Open loved it because it fitted the idea of innovation so once sponsorhips was secured set up a team to design it. Myself Structural Engineer Alice Blair, lighting Pavlina Akritas, Acoustic consultant Ned Crowe. Sound and Music also commissioned 5 artists to develop sound – they’re up and coming but they jumped at the chance as did we because it’s a great opportunity.

What was the user experience you were trying to create?
The piece had to be all about sound so we wanted an experience that would be all about the sound. We had this idea of using this technology from our own Soundlab which is where we have an ambisonic array in our office. We thought, it would be great if people could really concentrate on sound in Trafalgar Square. Take people away form hustle and bustle into a space where they can concentrate and immerse yourself in sound. The original idea was that we’d be able to take people away from London to other place, to hear the sound of a melting glacier or an acoustic model of the big bang. Or we thought you can simulate a market in India and take yourself away. Provide Londoners with something thaty they don’t hear. That was the idea and think the piece by [sound artist and producer] Jana Winderen’s will be a bit like that but other artists have gone in different directions.

What were the influences on the design of the project and what poetic effect did you want it to create?
The key influence at first was Kubrick’s 2001: Space Odyssey but then we had other ideas. You could design something that looked the way things sounded but in the end we did achieve reference to Kubrick’s film. What’s nice about the BE OPEN Sound Portal is that its alive. The Soundlab is a great tool for us but it is a very dead space. You can listen to what you need to but what the BE OPEN Sound Portal does is to make something that’s more interesting. You don’t know what’s going on from the outside. You’ve got a sense of anticipation. It’s anonymous and black, then you enter and suddenly you are in an open space. You can listen and look up and daydream. It was designed to be quite intimidating from the outside and the opposite inside.

Architects: Arup
Location: Temporary structure, currently located in Trafalgar Square
Design Team: Simon Philips, Product Designer; Structural Engineer, Alice Blair; lighting Pavlina Akritas; Acoustic Consultant Ned Crowe.
Project Year: 2012
Project area: 50 sq m
Photographs: BE OPEN

Situated within one of London’s most iconic public spaces, the BE OPEN Sound Portal is an entirely new kind of installation that focuses on design that you can’t see – that of acoustics and sound – rather than visual spectacle.
A black, rubberised structure, designed by Arup, will be home to finely-tuned ambisonic audio technologies aimed at delivering pure acoustic experiences to visitors in the middle of Trafalgar Square.

“Our intention with Sound Portal was to provide a design that is all about sound and how spatial sound stimulates the imagination. The Sound Portal project has given us a fantastic opportunity to harness a captive audience in an iconic location. The environment is one of the busiest and most aurally chaotic environments around, so it should be an unusual experience”, Stephen Philips, Senior designer behind the Sound Portal.

“The BE OPEN sound portal is an extraordinary piece of design and creativity from Arup. Visiting the portal is a fantastic experience and I would implore anyone in London in the next few days to take the opportunity to see it – it is not to be missed!”, Sir John Sorrell, Chair and Founder of London Design. Festival

One of the challenges that the Portal has set itself is how to change our experience of urban space. Arup’s acoustic technicians, engineers and designers have long been pioneers in this field, using sound design to change how we experience airports, stadiums, auditoriums, even roads. The BE OPEN Sound Portal gives them a real life experimental space to develop this work and actively demonstrate design’s transformational capabilities.
Each day, the BE OPEN Sound Portal will host one of five leading musicians and sound artists, each of whom has created a unique soundscape. Expect a range of vibrant sonic and musical responses, from the dramatic sounds of the natural world, such as glaciers breaking up, to exquisitely detailed electronic music. Cocooned from the external noise and bustle of the city, the BE OPEN Sound Portal allows visitors to experience a very different environment, one created by sound alone.

[Be Open Sound Portal]

The Crystal – a Sustainable Cities Initiative by Siemens, has today opened in London. The uniquely shaped, glass-clad structure encompasses an area of more than 6,300 square metres. It will serve as a conference centre, urban dialogue platform and technology and innovation centre. The Crystal is designed to achieve top scores on the BREEAM and LEED international assessments for energy-efficient buildings.

The Crystal represents an investment of approximately £30 million by Siemens and is the flagship of Siemens’ Infrastructure and Cities Sector. The structure will be home to Siemens’ global Center of Competence Cities, a team of multi-disciplinary urban experts, who aim to encourage the growth of sustainable cities through partnerships, research and expert collaboration on solutions.

Inside the Crystal is the world’s largest exhibition on the future of cities covering 2,000 square metres. The interactive exhibition will guide visitors through the urban infrastructure of the future, focusing on possibilities for sustainable mobility, building technologies, power and water supplies, and healthcare.
Designed as a hub for dialogue on sustainable urban living and development, the Crystal is open to the public and city decision makers. It also hosts a conference centre with 270 seat auditorium, office space, electric vehicle recharging points and a cafe.

Speaking at the launch, Chief Executive of Siemens AG, Peter Löscher said: “Cities are the engines of the world economy and also have the greatest impact on the environment. The development of our planet will stand or fall with the development of cities. Looking ahead to the urban future, the Crystal showcases a wide variety of opportunities and concrete solutions.”

The Crystal sits on land in the Royal Docks area formerly owned by the Mayor’s regeneration agency which forms part of the Mayor’s ambitious regeneration plans in East London. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “The futuristic Crystal is a fantastic new landmark for London which has breathed new life into the historic Royal Docks. Siemens’ £30 million investment is a great boost to our ambitious plans to redevelop swathes of former industrial land in order to bring jobs to the capital. It continues the rebirth of East London witnessed by the world this summer and I am determined to ensure this regeneration continues apace.”

Roland Busch, CEO of Siemens Infrastructure & Cities Sector said: “Cities worldwide are making investments to improve their water supplies, power grids, transportation systems and building infrastructures. Our addressable market alone has a volume of €300 billion. In this growth market, the Crystal will help us intensify dialogue with our customers. The Crystal is our Sector’s showcase, contact point and mastermind.”

Siemens’ investment in the Crystal highlights the company’s commitment to London and the UK, where Siemens has been established for nearly 170 years. The Crystal is a flagship project for the regeneration of East London and represents a major contribution by Siemens to the Mayor of London’s vision for London as a powerhouse of the green economy and a catalyst to create jobs and drive growth.

Following the Grand Opening on 19th September, The Crystal will serve as venue for two major international conferences. The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN–HABITAT) will hold a conference on 20 September bringing together urban decision makers.

On 21 September, Hubert Burda Media’s DLDcities conference will be devoting itself to “Digital-Life-Design in the Urban Arena” and explore visions for urban development and smart cities. Designed as an ‘all electric’ building, The Crystal uses solar power, ground source heat pumps and energy-efficient LED lighting. No fossil fuels are burnt in the building. Rainwater is harvested for re-use or recycling and the Crystal is ready to be connected to London’s smart grid. The Crystal is located on the waterfront at the western end of the Royal Victoria Docks in East London. It will open to the public on 29th September.

More Information.

Neil M. Denari Architects has been announced as winner of a two-stage, international competition for the new Keelung Harbor Service Building in Taiwan’s major port city, Keelung. The Los Angeles based practice’s complex, metal-clad terminal was selected over four other competitive schemes provided by the remaining shortlisted teams.

The competition called for a modern passenger and cargo terminal, transfer station, a maritime art plaza, a joint office building and parking structure that would serve as a new “Gateway to the Nation” within the context of the densely built harbor town. The construction of this multi-billion dollar renewal project is expected to accelerate the development of the surrounding areas and promote local prosperity of the region, while improving the quality of services for passengers and cargo.

The jury included Aaron Betsky and Michael Speaks, along with Taiwanese architects and professionals Tsai Yuan-Liang, Jin Guan-Yu, Su Yu-Jer, Wan Ming-Hen, and Wei Si-Jen.

We will provide more details of the design as they become available. In the meantime, check out some snapshots of the winning proposal after the break.

via: [ArchDaily]
sources: [Architect Magazine], [Bustler]

To commemorate BIG’s first solo exhibition in Japan at the legendary GA Gallery in Tokyo, GA Publishers has added this first Japanese / English Monograph on the work of New York and Copenhagen based BIG: Bjarke Ingels Group in their RECENT PROJECT series which includes luminaries such as OMA, Frank Gehry and Tadao Ando among others. The book covers the work of BIG from 2006-2012 through 28 projects that include the Copenhagen Waste to Energy Plant, the Nuuk National Gallery, Europa City Master Plan on the outskirts of Paris and West 57th Residences in New York City as well as the Kimball Art Center and the Coppertop Tower in Phoenix, Arizona depicted on the book’s cover.

To celebrate the opening of the accompanying exhibition which will run from 22/09/2012 – 04/11/2012 at GA Gallery in Tokyo, Bjarke Ingels will be giving two public lectures in Tokyo (Waseda University) and Kyoto (Kyoto Tech Institute). For further information look here.

Included in BIG: RECENT PROJECT are 28 projects, an introductory essay and interview with Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner of BIG.

Interview of Bjarke Ingels by Yoshio Futagawa

Esteemed editor, publisher, photographer and gallerist Yoshio Futagawa interviews Bjarke Ingels in his New York office. The extensive interview covers the recent opening of BIG NYC and the opportunities that this recent outpost has provided. Additionally Bjarke touches upon his continued interest in disused or forgotten industrial infrastructure and repurposing it with new programs and life. He goes on to elaborate on these thoughts in an introductory essay entitled Social Infrastructure.

Social Infrastructure

Excerpt from introductory essay by Bjarke Ingels
The infrastructure of the industry of the past seems to be inevitably appropriated as the framework for the social and cultural life of the present.
The old train tracks on Manhattans lower west side has turned into the highline – the most popular park of NYC today. The Tate Modern in London is an old power plant. The lakes and hills of the Tivoli Gardens of Copenhagen are the moats and fortifications of the old city fortress reinvented. The world’s first ski-lifts were repurposed mining lifts – as the silver dried out the flow got reversed – rather than bringing metals down they began dragging skiers up the slopes. The industrial lofts Soho with their tall ceilings, long spans and big windows have become the best places to live. Somehow the pioneering of the infrastructure of industry or military paves the path for the main stream architecture. In fashion military uniforms, work clothes and sports gear invents features and engineers new and better, faster, stronger materials and fabrics. They then find their way into fashion through vintage and later through appropriation on to the cat-walk. The jeans and the sneakers –the generics of contemporary urban outfits- were invented for the silver mines and the running tracks. Necessity is the mother of invention: when you design for survival, productivity or victory you make no compromise.
Rather than waiting for the past infrastructure to get decommissioned and reborn with a new social program – could we conceive of our public infrastructures with intended social side-effects. Continued in the book.

To order.

Arguably one of the most emotive construction sites in the history of mankind, the building of the new World Trade Centre in NY was always going to create powerful imagery. This time lapse video, produced to commemorate the 11th anniversary of the attacks captures the beauty of construction work on such a large scale.

An unassuming structure embedded in Wisconsin’s rural landscape, this intimate retreat serves as a studio for a Country Western musician to write and record his music. With its formal discipline, exacting details, and a carefully restrained material palette, the building, while unapologetically contemporary, continues the tradition of Midwestern pastoral architecture and its proud legacy of aesthetic sobriety, functional lucidity and robust craftsmanship.

A concrete podium, carved into a steep hill to provide storage space, supports a simple linear volume for the studio space, its long sides covered by a weathering steel shroud. Oversized glazed openings at each end of the studio provide access into the space and out onto the vegetated roof of the storage plinth, carefully framing views of the picturesque surroundings. The steel shroud cantilevers over the edge of the studio volume to create a covered porch, a sheltered outdoor extension of the interior studio space. Along its edges, the shroud is slightly lifted off the concrete plinth, teasingly exposing a narrow, diaphanous clerestory that allows the studio volume to seemingly float above its base. During the day, the clerestory provides natural light for the storage space below; at night, it emits its soft, ominous glow into the dark landscape.

Head on over to ArchDaily for more information, and more photos!