Introducing... the earth-scraper: Architects design 65-storey building which plunges 300 metres below ground

By Hugo Gye
From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

Architects have designed an incredible 65-storey 'earth-scraper' which plunges 300 metres below ground.

The stunning upside down pyramid in the middle of Mexico City is designed to get around height limits on new buildings in the capital.


The subterranean building will have 10 storeys each for homes, shops and a museum, as well as 35 storeys for offices.

Deep: The 65-storey 'earth-scraper' is set to plunge 300m into the ground beneath Mexico City

Epic scale: The enormous complex is intended to get round the city's planning laws, which state that buildings can be no more than eight storeys high

Landmark: The earth-scraper would be located in the city's main square, and topped with an enormous Mexican flag

A glass floor covers the massive 240m x 240m hole in the city's main square to filter in natural light from the world above.

The design has been crowned with a Mexican flag.

Esteban Suarez, from architecture firm BNKR Arquitectura, said the building would also house a new cultural centre.

Scary: The core is all made of glass to ensure that all parts of the building receive natural sunlight from the world outside

Relaxing: Designers expect the public areas of the building to become a popular destination for those wishing to escape the bustle of the city

Heritage: The earth-scraper is expected to contain a museum and cultural centre which will explore the history of Mexico and its pyramids

He said: 'New infrastructure, office, retail and living space are required in the city but no empty plots are available.


'Federal and local laws prohibit demolishing historic buildings and even if this was so, height regulations limit new structures to eight storeys.


'The city's historic centre is in desperate need of a makeover but we have nowhere to put it, this means the only way to go is down.'


He added: 'The Earthscraper preserves the iconic presence of the city square and the existing hierarchy of the buildings that surround it.


'It is an inverted pyramid with a central void to allow all habitable spaces to enjoy natural lighting and ventilation.


'It will also allow the numerous activities that take place on the city square year round such as concerts, open-air exhibitions and military parades to go ahead.'

Unobtrusive: One advantage of the unusual structure is that it would create space in the centre of Mexico City, which is full of historic buildings which cannot be demolished

Green: The interior of the building is supposed to look natural and welcoming

Efficient: The creative use of space would allow the plaza to be used for events such as concerts and military parades

Massive: The space covering the earth-scraper will take up 240 square metres in the heart of Mexico's capital

Pyramids play a large part in the architectural history of Mexico, as the country's anicent civilisations have often build huge pyramid structures.


When the Aztecs first came into the Valley of Mexico they built their pyramids on the lake they found there.


As the Aztec Empire grew in size and power they conceived a new and bigger pyramid, but instead of looking for a new site they just built it on and around the existing one.

The traditional pyramids are therefore composed of different layers of historical periods.

Modern: Much of the building is expected to be devoted to office space

Shopping: The earth-scraper would almost certainly become one of the city's top retail destinations as soon as it opened

Connected: This picture shows the proposed metro station which would pass through the earth-scraper just below ground level

When the Spanish arrived in America and ultimately conquered the Aztecs, they erected Christian churches on top of the pyramids.


Eventually their whole colonial city was built over the Aztec one. In the 20th century, many colonial buildings were demolished and modern structures raised on the existing historic foundations.


Esteban added: 'The Earthscraper digs down through the layers of cities to uncover our roots.'

Novelty: No other public building extends so far beneath the ground

Technical: The building would be an extraordinary feat of engineering

Today: The plaza, shown as it looks currently, would be transformed by the radical plan

The First Image of the World’s New Tallest Building

From http://gizmodo.com/

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By Jesus Diaz

This is the first image of what's going to become the tallest building in the world by the end of the decade: The 3,280-foot (one kilometer!) Kingdom Tower. It will dwarf the 2,717-foot (828-meter) Burj Khalifa. Take a look.

Until now, there was only one blurry generic sketch. This image is an actual rendering of the finished tower. According to Chicago's Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, the building's designers, construction will begin imminently. The foundation plans are now complete and "the piling for the tower is currently being tendered" in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, near the Red Sea.

Mindblowing statistics

The Kingdom Tower's numbers are impressive. The building itself will take a staggering $1.2 billion to build, "while the cost of the entire Kingdom City project is anticipated to be $20 billion," said AS+GG. The massive 3,280-foot spire will house a 5.7 million square feet (530,000 square meters) space and will beat the Burj by "at least 568 feet" (173 meter). It will have a Four Seasons hotel, a Four Seasons apartment area, office space, luxury condos and the world's highest observatory.

Full size.

There will be 59 elevators, 54 single-deck and five double-deck, along with 12 escalator distributed through the Kingdom Tower. The elevators going up to the observatory deck will travel at 10 meters per second. That's 22.3 miles per hour. It will take you one minute and forty seconds to reach the top of the tower.
There's even an outdoor space at the top of the spire which will be used by the penthouse floor at level 157. You can see it sticking out in the rendering, 98 feet (30 meters) in diameter.

While it will still not reach Frank Lloyd Wright's never-built dream of the Mile High Illinois, its hard-edged, sightly asymmetrical design reminds me more of Wright's sketches than the rounded Burj Khalifa ever did.

Bin Laden Group to build world's tallest tower

From: http://news.blogs.cnn.com/

Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud shows a model of the Jeddah Tower on Tuesday.

 

Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding has hired Saudi Bin Laden Group to build the world's tallest skyscraper in Jeddah, Gulfnews.com reports.

Jeddah Tower will be 1,000 meters (3,281 feet) tall and will contain a Four Seasons luxury hotel, apartments, condominiums and offices that overlook the Red Sea, Financial Times reported.

Kingdom Holding is paying Bin Laden Group, one of the world's largest construction companies, about $1.2 billion to take on the five-year project, according to Financial Times.

Saudi Bin Laden Group was founded in 1931 by Muhammad Awad bin Laden, the billionaire father of terrorist Osama bin Laden. It built much of Saudi Arabia's highways and infrastructure, as well as entire districts and cities.

The company constructed additions to the Muslim nation's two holiest mosques in Mecca and Medina. It operates throughout the Middle East and was chosen in 1964 to reclad the golden Dome of the Rock mosque in Jerusalem.

Over the years, Saudi Bin Laden Group has expanded into a conglomerate that includes engineering, manufacturing and telecommunications, according to business analysis site Hoovers.com.

Osama bin Laden, the 17th of 52 children, inherited part of his father's fortune, but his radical activities led the family to disown him in 1994.

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, a nephew of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, announced the tower building contract Tuesday. He owns 95% of Kingdom Holding, according to Financial Times.

When completed, Jeddah Tower will easily surpass Dubai's 828-meter (2,717-foot) Burj Khalifa as the world's tallest building.

The Chicago firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture designed the project and will oversee its development, Gulfnews.com reported. Adrian Smith was one of Burj Khalifa's designers when he was with Skidmore Owings and Merrill.

Chinese build 15 story building in just six days

A level 9 Earthquake-resistant, sound-proof, thermal-insulated 15-story hotel in Changsha, complete with everything, from the cabling to three-pane windows was built in just six days total.

Performers Dance on the Face of a Skyscraper [Video]

By Robert Wilonsky
From: http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/

​My wife and the 7-year-old who lives in our house happened to be downtown close to 12 sharp and stopped by Thanksgiving Tower for Project Bandaloop's noontime show, which went off a little earlier than originally announced; hence they missed the whole thing, then opted not to stand in a looooong line for a taco and a Popsicle (besides, their meter was running out -- ahem). But several very-impressed Friends have submitted their thumbs-up recaps, and our Nick Rallo got there just in time for the wrap-up, which, truth told, doesn't look a heckuva lot different than yesterday's sneak preview. Which is why it's on the other side. Still, though -- impressive.

Fifteen Visually Stunning Architectural Delights

From: http://www.yankodesign.com/

Those who stay in apartments crave for spacious bungalows and those who live in landscaped acres dread the maintenance! So what really is the ideal size for a home? The multi-storey high-rises offer many titillating features and let’s not even get into their crazy architectural style. Offices, museums, theaters even live gardens in the middle of the 100th floor; we can expect all of this from modern architects. Till you find your ideal space to call home, office, whatever….here’s a recap of Fifteen Visually Stunning Architectural Delights for the future!

15) New Orleans Arcology Habitat or NOAH by E. Kevin Schopfer AIA, RIBA & Tangram 3DS; Kittery, ME

NOAH proposes to be a habitat for 40,000 residents who can benefit from the planned residential units, school system, commercial, retail, hotels, casinos, parking, and public works facilities. Its triangle shape is most captivating and literally stands out on the waterfront. Quite a design challenge actually, this place needs to overcome both the physical and psychological damages of recurring severe weather patterns.

14) Eko by 10 Raisons Architects

Critics may pan it for getting inspired by the romantic Eiffel Tower, but the giant Eko looks like a tower with webs on the side. It boasts of 24 floors, 8500 Square meters of Nano Solar, 350 palms, a bar, a library and a big exhibition hall and is proposed as a futuristic housing high-rise for Zaabeel Park, City Center in Dubai.

13) Campus Center for Miami Dade College by Oppenheim Architects

If Polo is the mint with a hole, then the Miami Dade College is a Super Building Campus Center for Miami Dade College is the architectural version of it. The high rise combines apartments, offices, educational facilities, and a lot of space for art exhibition. It’s supposed to get completed in the next two years time, can anyone in Miami confirm this?

12) Guggenheim Hermitage Museum by Zaha Hadid

Conceptualized as a floating structure above the fluid landscape in Vilnius, Lithuania, the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum is the renowned firm Zaha Hadid Architects’ brainchild. Featuring glossy, metallic surfaces, this building is a visual treat for true connoisseurs.

11) Klein Bottle House by McBride Charles Ryan

The “Klein Bottle” is a non-orientable surface, i.e., a surface (a two-dimensionaltopological space) with no distinction between the “inside” and “outside” surfaces. By constantly challenging our sense of perception, depth, linear orientation, interior/exterior space and pretty much any notion of what a dwelling should look like, the architects have successfully created a space that is surprisingly inviting and warm.

10) Torre Bicentenario by Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA)

Resembling 2 inverted pyramids bridged by a lobby where shuttles and elevators pass thru, the Torre Bicentenario is slated become the tallest building in Latin America. Completion is scheduled for this year to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Mexico’s Independence. Two voids penetrate the building at its widest point providing ventilation and natural light.

9) Dancing Towers by Zaha Hadid

With the spate of earthquakes hitting our foundations this year, the thought of dancing towers is not so appealing. Keeping aside such fears, these three towers are inter-twinned to share programmatic elements and rotate to maximize the views from the site towards the creek and neighboring developments. Another visual treat that defies common norms.

8 ) Landmark Building of Szervita Square by Zaha Hadid

Another Zaha Hadid gem that looks to mesmerize us with soft curves and defining structure.

7) The Cube at Dubai Sports City

When we see ambitious projects like The Palm and The Cube here, we can totally understand why Dubai went under the real-estate scare recently. Is proposed to be a five-star condo hotel, an eye catcher at the Dubai Sports City.

6) Seoul Commune 2026 by Mass Studies

When you want to cite an example of how to marry nature with tall buildings, please refer the Seoul Commune 2026. It’s the case where you can negate the concrete jungle effect with a little help from Mother Nature!

5) Expocenter Project by Zaha Hadid

Yes Zaha Hadid is a staple at YD, what can we say…phenomenal works do warrant appreciation and here’s another feather in the Hadid cap! The Expocenter Project offers Moscow city a new exposition venue, hotel, and residential development. Tall and long beautifully combined.

4) Millennium Tower World Business Center (WBCB) in Busan by Asymptote

Asymptote won the contract to build this tower based on its ground breaking design of three separate tapered towers rising out of a robust and powerful base. This one can be filed under sculptural beauty.

3) Trump International Hotel and Tower Dubai by Nakheel & Atkins

With Trump attached to any property you can expect sheer extravaganza and nothing else! Likewise this 60-storey building features two asymmetrical halves forming a gateway to the Palm Islands of Jumeirah. The stainless steel, glass and stone faded arch-like structure includes a 300-room five-star hotel, 400 residential apartments, boutique offices, retail, gym and spa, restaurants and of course, access to private beaches.

2) Gateway Building for Ras Al-Khaimah by Snohetta

Like an oasis in the hot arid desert, the Gateway Building for Ras Al-Khaimah greets you with the magic and charm of the Arabs. A gateway to the city Ras Al-Khaimah, expect a Congress Center, Exhibition Halls, Shopping Center, and elite hotels in this complex.

1) Abu Dhabi Performing Arts Centre by Zaha Hadid

Zaha Hadid Architects does it once again with the spectacular Abu Dhabi Performing Arts Center. Fluid lines that transcend and meander through spaces to actually construct a Performing Arts Center! Its been described as a sculptural form that emerges from a linear intersection of pedestrian paths within the cultural district, gradually developing into a growing organism that sprouts a network of successive branches.

The Evolution of Shanghai: 1990 to 1996 to 2010

Shanghai in 1990



Shanghai in 1996



Shanghai in 2010

New Elevators Installed In Japan Can Take 80 People Sky-High

From: http://gizmodo.com/

It could be the world's largest elevator. Measuring about the size of my living room, an office in Osaka, Japan, has installed five of Mitsubishi Electric's largest elevators—capable of squeezing in 80 people each.

It measures 3.4m wide, 2.8m long and 2.6m high, and can take 5,250kg of weight—an average of 65kgs per person. If all five elevators were in operation at once, with full capacity, they could carry 400 people up the 41 floors of the Umeda Hankyu Building.

I don't wish to be gruesome, but I sure do hope Mitsubishi has adequately secured the suspension of those lifts. [Mitsubishi via Gizmag]

New York's Skyline over 137 years

First Pictures of Inside Burj Khalifa: World’s Tallest Tower

Burj Khalifa, formerly known as Burj Dubai, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and the tallest man-made structure ever built, at 828 m.

The design incorporates ideas from traditional Islamic architecture, while the open petals of a desert flower were the inspiration for the tower’s base.

Burj Khalifa will be home to 1,044 luxury apartments, 49 floors of offices and eventually a 160-room Armani-branded hotel. Around 12,000 people are expected to live and work in the tower, which is part of a 500-acre development.

Here are some of the Inside Views of this great architecture.