The Pall Italia Building is located in an industrial area of Buccinasco, Italy, a municipality seven kilometers (4.3 mi.) southwest of Milan. The new Italian headquarters of the Pall Corporation—a U.S.-based global company specializing in the filtration, separation, and purification of fluids for the medical and industrial fields—consists of 3,463 square meters (37,275 sq. ft.) of office space and 3,513 square meters (37,814 sq. ft.) of research laboratories on an 8.8-hectare (21.8-acre) site. One of Italy’s first green buildings, the Pall Italia Building uses a range of sustainable technologies to achieve zero on-site carbon emissions, including thermal resistant façades, innovative daylighting techniques, and renewable energy.
As the Industrial Revolution reached Germany in the mid-19th century, urban centers began building central waterworks. Usage increased and water towers followed to maintain water pressure throughout the system. Water towers symbolized progress, and as highly visible landmarks—frequently built on hilltops because they were gravity powered—they were often designed as architectural icons. The wasserturm (water tower) in the Sternschanzen Park, a kilometer (0.62 mi) northwest of Hamburg’s city center, is a prime example. One of only three remaining in Hamburg, which once had 43, this water tower—an octagonal brick edifice 60 meters (197 ft) tall and 25 meters (82 ft) in diameter—was particularly handsome. The tower has been transformed into a 226-room hotel with an additional 1,681 sq m (18,094 sq ft) of commercial and restaurant space.
Soaring over 185 meters (607 ft.) in height, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) Headquarters building consolidates its sovereign wealth fund operations along Abu Dhabi’s famed Corniche beachfront. Completed in 2007, the sinuous, slender tower contains 65,600 square meters (706,112 sq. ft.) of Class A office space and is surrounded by greenery that complements the heavily landscaped Corniche. The elegant 37-story structure also responds to its environment, featuring a double-skin “active” façade, mechanized louvers for climate control, and a computer-controlled lighting system to conserve energy.
The landmark destination in Warsaw’s newest high-rise district, Złote Tarasy is a state-of-the-art, 225,000-square-meter (2.4 million-sq. ft.) commercial complex on a 3.2-hectare (7.9-acre) infill site. Złote Tarasy’s trademark element is its one-hectare (2.5-acre) undulating glass roof, inspired by the tree canopies that shade Warsaw’s historic parks, enclosing its lively retail and entertainment plaza. Visited by more than 1.3 million people a month, the center consists of 45,000 square meters (484,376 sq. ft.) of office space, more than 200 shops, 30 restaurants, and an eight-screen cinema.
Dickens Heath Village Centre is a purpose-built mixed-use village in the heart of the Solihull countryside that, at completion, will comprise approximately 500 luxury apartments and townhouses, 15,000 square meters (161,459 sq. ft.) of commercial space, a library, a medical center, and a nature reserve. Parkridge Holdings is developing the planned community on greenbelt land previously owned by the local authority. Although a relatively small development, the project provides the missing piece in the jigsaw of an urban extension—it introduces an economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable heart to a new community that is urban rather than suburban but still sensitive to its rural setting.
The largest and most comprehensive housing development for the homeless in Orange County, the Village of Hope is located on a five-acre (two-hectare) site of the former Tustin Marine Corps Air Station in Tustin, California. A truly comprehensive facility, the shelter provides housing for 192 homeless men, women, and children and includes child care, health, job-training, and educational services on a single site. The product of a partnership between two nonprofits, HomeAid Orange County and the Orange County Rescue Mission, the US$33 million community asset was developed debt-free over 14 years, largely through in-kind and cash donations from homebuilders, architects, and engineers around the region.
Located in Beijing’s Chaoyang District, the 1 million-square-meter (10.8 million-sq. ft.) China Central Place integrates three high-rise office towers, two five-star hotels, a shopping center with more than 1,000 tenants and 60 restaurants, seven residential towers, and two new public parks on a 17-hectare (42-acre) site. Threaded by a series of canals and landscaped walkways that link public parks, plazas, and fountains, the mixed-use development devotes over a third of its area to open space. Developed by Beijing Guohua Real Estate Co., Ltd., the land development arm of the state electric power company, China Central Place is located on the reclaimed site of a former power station.
Cabot Circus is a 150,000-square-meter (1.6 million-sq. ft.) new urban quarter developed by the Bristol Alliance, a partnership between two of the United Kingdom’s largest developers, Land Securities and Hammerson. The mixed-use development was built in collaboration with the Bristol City Council, which was eager to revive a major district of the United Kingdom’s eighth-largest city. Cabot Circus was conceived as a new urban heart to the city and designed to provide Bristol’s affluent demographic with high-quality shopping, leisure, and entertainment, in hopes of moving the city up to a top shopping destination.
The Shops at Waterloo Town Square is a redevelopment of a two city block, 25,548-square-meter (275,000-sq. ft.) enclosed shopping mall into a mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly district. The project reestablishes a strong street presence in Waterloo’s uptown district, with two new mixed-use buildings comprising 17,744 square meters (191,000 sq. ft.) of shops and restaurants and 9,290 square meters (100,000 sq. ft.) of office space. A new retail street bisects the 2.9-hectare (7.2-acre) site, breaking apart the superblock and bringing a human scale to the project.
Daegu City Center is a 23-story integrated commercial center with an upscale retail mall, a luxury hotel, and nightlife venues in Daegu, Korea. Once a failed discount retail and low-end office complex, the building was redeveloped and repositioned by Doran Capital Partners, creating a financially viable lifestyle retail/entertainment destination and a 203-room hotel in an area in need of retail and commercial options. One of the largest commercial buildings in central Daegu, the 86,847-square-meter (934,813-sf) Daegu City Center has returned economic vitality and retail activity to the downtown core.
