JTS engineering blog

After years of trying to woo Frank Gehry to design a building in Las Vegas, which the architect has refused to do on countless occasions, the city finally gets its Gehry. While the signature steel forms of the Lou Ruvo Center may at first suggest the building is just another Gehry project, think again. What distinguishes this Gehry design from the rest is that it is the only one for hire, not to mention that the building has received critical praise from the Los Angeles Times architecture critic, Christopher Hawthorne, as having the most impressive Gehry-designed interior space since the architect’s Disney Concert Hall in 2003.

The Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, which officially opened Friday, is a leading research centre for degenerative brain diseases. Gehry agreed to design the building only after discovering he shared a bond with its founder, Larry Ruvo. Both men suffered personal losses to degenerative brain diseases. Ruvo lost his father to Alzheimer’s disease and Gehry’s analyst’s wife succumbed to Huntington’s disease. United in tragedy, the two men set out to design a world-class brain research center in the desert, gambling on the clinic’s excellent reputation and Gehry’s star power to ensure its success.

The $100 million complex comprises two wings connected by an open courtyard: a dedicated research center, located at the northern end of the building, and a ‘for-hire’ event space, dubbed the Life Activity Center, located at the southern end. Architecturally, the two spaces are dramatically different and yet together they form a cohesive whole. The four-storey clinic, which houses medical offices, patient rooms and research space, is rational. Clad in stucco and glass and resembling a series of stacked white blocks, it takes on a conventional, rectilinear geometry. By contrast, the Life Activity Center is a soaring sculptural volume tucked beneath a signature Gehry stainless steel roof. Designed as an event space, it can be rented out for parties, weddings and special occasions with the proceeds going to fund the center’s research.

While the first blush reviews of the building have been good, the expectations for the Center are high and exceed garnering architectural accolades. Las Vegas suffers from one of the highest unemployment rates, 14 percent, in the country. The city sees the clinic, which sits at the far south of Symphony Park, as the catalyst it desperately needs to restart the stalled 60-acre, mixed-use revitalization project. The city also needs to diversify its economy beyond gambling. A major medical centre would be a good start. At the opening, the Cleveland Clinic announced its intentions to expand its focus and its presence in Las Vegas beyond the Ruvo Center, perhaps adding cardiology services next with the future promise of growing a full service hospital there.

blogged by: Jake Shea

Last Monday saw the official opening of the largest World Expo in history, with 239 pavilions built and hosted by nations from across the globe, showcasing some of the world’s best architectural talent. Much has been made, both on this site and others, of the UK’s ‘Seed Cathedral’ designed by Thomas Heatherwick Studio. However, with 238 other spectacular constructions, it is nonsensical to concentrate on just one, so in the following weeks we will be giving you a lowdown on the other bold and brilliant pavilions hitting the headlines.

Macau

The Macau Pavilion is certainly one of the most attention grabbing structures on display, mainly due to its animalistic form. Whilst many other regions have created buildings that reflect their culture or way of life, Macau’s pavilion, designed by international architecture firm Carlos Marreiros, is in the shape of a giant rabbit, whose head, ears and tail are formed of air-filled balloons. Despite the rather bizarre choice of form, the use of symbolism is still employed elsewhere – the rabbit’s ears and tail are dyed red in an effort to match the neighbouring China pavilion, the building is 19.99m tall in reference to ‘the year of the Macau’s return to the motherland’ and the exterior walls are made of reflexive glass which, during daylight hours, reflects an image of the China pavilion, signifying the message ‘China is in our hearts’. Entitled ‘Jade Rabbit, Imperial Lantern’, the theme of the Macau Pavilion is ‘Spirit of cultures, Essence of harmony’, which is expressed using 100 projectors inside the building to create a multimedia experience for the estimated 2,500 daily visitors. Macau’s pavilion is the closest structure to the China Pavilion, which is forecast to receive 50,000 visitors every day throughout the Expo 2010. Christiana Leong, Chief of the Office for Preparation of Macau’s Participation in the Shanghai World Expo, explained that this was a vital constituent to the success and popularity of the Macau Pavilion. She said: “Even those who will be waiting to get into the China pavilion can see Macau, because we have a TV outside screening promotion films about Macau.”

Hamburg

As Shanghai’s twin city, Hamburg is under a lot of pressure to present a magnificent structure for the Expo. In addition to its ties with the host city, Hamburg is the only German city that has been chosen by the Shanghai Expo Committee to take part independently from its country. The city has taken this opportunity to publicise its enthusiastic approach to energy conservation and eco-friendly building design, presenting China’s first certified Passive House. The ‘Hamburg House’ has been constructed using the most modern environmental engineering available, ensuring that the building is airtight, uses geothermal heating and cooling and utilises sunlight as an energy source. Ole von Beust, First Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, said: “With the Hamburg House we are setting the bar for energy-saving construction in China. We are delighted to present our city as an innovative waterside metropolis with a high quality of life.” Once the exhibition is over, it is thought that the pavilion will be used sustainably as a highly sustainable, permanent office building.

Denmark

The Danish pavilion has been designed by architecture firm BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) and is very much an interactive experience. BIG’s structure, entitled ‘Welfairytales’, presents an opportunity for visitors to discover what it is like to live in Denmark by including some of Copenhagen’s most well-known features – the city bike, the harbour bath, playground settings, rooftop picnics and a chance to see the original, authentic statue of H. C. Anderson’s Little Mermaid. In order to enhance the visitor experience, over 300 free push-bikes have been provided to allow an opportunity for visitors to view the pavilion via the popular Danish activity of cycling. The basic layout of the pavilion is a traffic loop, a double spiral in the motion of city bikes and pedestrians tied in a knot. Exhibition space is arranged around two parallel facades – internal and external. The external façade is a monolithic structure formed of perforated steel, painted white to reflect the hot Shanghai sun and perforated in a pattern that mirrors the actual structural stresses that the pavilion experiences, making it a 1:1 stress test. A light blue artificial surfacing texture has been applied to areas of the interior, marking out the cycle areas as is the norm in Denmark. As such, the experience can be enjoyed at two paces, a slow pedestrian stroll or an exhilarating high-speed cycle. Founder of BIG, Bjarke Ingels, said: “sustainable designs…have to be more attractive and desirable than the non-sustainable alternative. With the Danish Pavilion we have attempted to consolidate a handful of real experiences of how a sustainable city – such as Copenhagen – can in fact increase the quality of life.” Also working on this project were 2+1 Ideas Agency (exhibition and branding) and Arup (engineering).

Austria

The Austrian Pavilion is the product of a collaboration between architecture firms SPAN and Zeytinoglu Architects. It is composed of two levels and is set to stage numerous multi-media performances via projectors onto the walls, ceiling and floor. Entitled ‘Austria – Feel the Harmony’, the pavilion has been designed to reflect ‘the harmonious interaction of city, landscape, nature, urban habitats and urban culture landscapes in a pavilion design that addresses all senses and that is innovative in regard to architecture as well as realisation’. Despite Austria’s chosen sub-theme, ‘Interaction between rural and urban areas’, there is little in the external façade that signifies a connection with the natural world. Ten million porcelain tiles cover the entire structure, gradually fading from red to white. Alluding to the tradition of Chinese porcelain exports to Europe, the CNC-milled polyurethane, synthetic resin coated hexagonal tiles have been digitally generated to create the complex curved structure that is the Austrian Pavilion. The exterior appears as a continuous, smooth and seamless surface, and the sixty million individual joints result in a regular distribution of the building hull’s tension forces. The upper floor of the pavilion acts as an outdoor dining area, with adjacent VIP Lounge, open to Austrian enterprises, regions and organisations for receptions, events, and presentations. This merging of interior and exterior spaces is a product of the ‘Interaction between rural and urban areas’ theme for the Austrian Pavilion.

Spain

Miralles Tagliabue EMBT’s woven mesh design for the Spanish Pavilion has already made a big impact on the architectural world, as the dramatic concept scooped the prize for Top Future Project at The World Architecture Festival in 2009. Drawing inspiration from the age-old Spanish tradition of basket weaving, EMBT’s gracefully curving sculpture is an attempt to modernise the country’s native customs. Benedetta Tagliabue said: “It is a very deep and beautiful craftsmanship. It is an ancient skill and a magical world. [The weavers] go through the complete process from harvesting to selling the wicker product”. In terms of materials used, willow (Salix) was chosen for the job due to its flexibility and resilience. The woven stems are moulded onto steel supports in a series of baskets, some open and some closed. As the wicker allows varying degrees of light to permeate the structure, a dappled effect will be cast onto the courtyards, circulation and multipurpose spaces. One of the most popular and indeed most visually striking of the pavilions at the World Expo, the structure has cost the Spanish government a total of €18m and covers a vast area of 8,500 sq m.

Germany

‘Balancity’ is a new term, coined specifically to explain the theme presented by the German Pavilion for the Shanghai World Expo and meaning ‘a city in balance’. On the biggest possible building plot available to a single nation (6,000 sq m), the angular, three dimensional walk-through sculpture designed by architects Schmidhuber + Kaindl, provides four individual exhibition spaces which ‘symbolise the interplay between the forces involved when loads are carried and applied, leant and supported’. A variety of walkways have been installed inside the outer shell of the pavilion, guiding visitors through the exhibitions via bridges, escalators and moving walkways. These pedestrian streams will lead through a variety of thematic urban spaces, including a harbour, a park, a town planning office and a power plant. The main aim of Balancity is to ‘provide inspiration on how quality of life and diversity in cities can be enhanced by ensuring that the elements of which they are composed interact in harmony’. The roof of the pavilion is made up from elements of the exhibition structures, providing the visitors with both shade and protection from adverse weather conditions.

Saudi Arabia

Despite its highly distinctive ‘moon boat’ shape, the Saudi Pavilion stands out from its neighbours by expressing a close relationship with Chinese culture. Throughout the pavilion, there is a concentration on natural elements, with a wide variety of plant-life incorporated into the design. On the first floor of the pavilion, these two elements are combined, as a beautifully crafted garden is displayed, featuring trees from both China and Saudi Arabia in an effort to symbolise the friendship between the two nations. This relationship is further strengthened by the fact that the pavilion itself was designed by local Chinese architect Wang Zhenjun, after he won a competition for the project with his strong proposal. On the roof of the structure are 150 date palms, native to Saudi Arabia, which were initially transplanted to Zhejiang Province before being replanted on top of the pavilion. In stark contrast to this natural element, the interior hosts the world’s largest cinema screen, measuring a colossal 1,600 sq m in a 3D IMAX theatre. A rich Arabic geometric latticework covers the areas of the walls and fountains in the interior. Dubbed ‘The Arabian City’, the theme of the pavilion is ‘Vitality for life’, arguably well captured in the inclusion of opposing elements – the natural and the man-made – showcasing the vitality of a vibrant city life in the midst of a severe natural environment. The interior exhibition is split into four sections in order to portray this; the City of Energy, the City of Oasis, the Ancient City with Rich Cultural Heritage and the City of Fast-Growing Economy.

This is just a small selection of the 239 outstanding pavilions at the Shanghai World Expo 2010. The exhibition is due to continue until 31st October 2010 so keep checking back for more updates, news and reviews of the incredible architecture on display.

blogged by: Jake Shea

When Patrick Burke, principal at Princeton, N.J.-based Michael Graves & Associates (MGA), was preparing to enter the invitation-only design competition in 2008 for what became Resorts World Sentosa, he said the client suggested the plan would be for a tropical resort with tropical guest huts.

Instead, the $4.32 billion project, which recently completed its first of two phases, has become Singapore’s first, large-scale, multi-recreational luxury park as well as the biggest project MGA has completed. The resort, which includes, a Universal Singapore Theme Park, six hotels, a casino, museum, marine life park, a 7,300-person underground ballroom, restaurants and high-end shops, sits on a 121-acre site on Sentosa, about one-third of the island – just across Keppel Harbor from downtown Singapore.

The project aims to attract both gamblers to the casino as well as families to the theme parks, which provided some design challenges, said Graves, during a recent presentation of the project at his Princeton office. “These two ideas of family and gaming are not easily resolved,” said Graves. Burke, who is the principal-in-charge said designing a human-scale project was the most important goal so all the structures would come together ‘as a unique collection of buildings.”

Hotels have long sought the cache of a famous brand and fashion designers such as Georgio Armani, Ralph Lauren, Versace and Christian Lacroix have all had their designs uses in hotels. The Sentosa resort went in a different direction by naming a hotel after Graves – Hotel Michael, a 470-room boutique hotel. Designed by Graves inside and outside, the hotel features Graves’ furniture and furnishings from his Michael Graves Design Group, as well as his paintings in public spaces and in each guest room. The hotel also has a gift shop with Graves-designed products and he also designed the hotel’s Italian restaurant and Sky Bar. “I’m not getting any money from (Hotel Michael)” he said with a laugh. “But if it’s successful (the developer) wants to take it to other countries.

The resort also includes the orchid-themed Festive Hotel, aimed at families, and the ultra-luxury Crocksford Tower, which has the extensive casino. Crocksford embraces the lucky colors of red and gold as well as vivid royal blue in the design, which has sleek modern forms rendered in materials such makore and zebrawood. The L-shaped, 390-room Festive Hotel has fun, vibrant interiors as well as a connected 1,600-seat Festive Grand Theater.

A Hard Rock Hotel, convention centre and coliseum theater is part the project and the exterior was designed by Graves with the interiors done by the Hard Rock’s own design group.

Beyond the theme park are the Marina Xperrimental Museum, Marina, and Showplace Theater. Inspired by sea vessels from the Silk Trade era, the museum has exhibits designed by Ralph Appelbaum. The small marina nearby will display replicas of sailing vessels.

Phase two starts in July on the west zone of the site and embraces the quieter, more secluded tropical environment, with the Equarius Hotel and two tree-house suites, elevated on stilts with wood construction inside. Also part of phase two is the Spa Village villas, which surrounding the ESPA Spa, with 40 guestrooms.

The natural beauty of Sentosa, which includes lush forests, inspired the design and drove the architects to make sure Resorts World did not overpower the landscape and would fit in seamlessly, Burke said. To do so, green-colored, curved roofs constructed from lightweight ETFE plastic decorate the tops of the resort’s two tallest building, the Hotel Michael and Crocksford Hotel. Each is imprinted with a foliage-like pattern to help the buildings blend into the natural landscape, as well as increase energy-efficiency by allowing control over the amount of light that enters inside to reduce the need for air conditioning. Throughout the site are a series of eco-cooling pedestrian pathways that link he resort’s areas like a “yellow brick road,” according to Graves.

These sustainable features, as well as a 500,000 annual kwh solar panel array, which is the largest in Singapore, retention and reuse of rainwater, and jungle preservation, helped the project gain a GoldPlus award from Singapore’s Building and Construction Agency’s (BCA) GreenMark program, which is the country’s green building rating system. So far this designation has been grated to only two projects in Singapore.

blogged by: Jake Shea