EXPANSION NORTON MUSEUM OF ART BY FOSTER + PARTNERS

The first stage of Foster + Partners’ masterplan will establish its key principles: the sympathetic setting of a ‘museum in a garden’, with the original axial arrangement re-established to unify the visitor experience, and the creation of new public facilities.

The new masterplan restores the clarity of Wyeth’s plan by reinstating the main entrance on a new street frontage on South Dixie Highway, in West Palm Beach Florida, to the west – visitors will once again be able to see through the entire building via a new, transparent grand hall and refurbished glass and iron courtyard doors. The new entrance is signalled by three new double-height pavilions, unified with the re-worked existing wing by a shared palette of white stone.

The pavilions house a state-of-the-art auditorium, event space and a ‘grand hall’ – the social hub of the museum. The design also includes a new museum shop and a new restaurant with al-fresco garden seating which, like the new pavilion spaces, can operate independently of the museum to activate the campus throughout the day and at night. A metal roof canopy floats above the pavilions and projects to shade the entrance plaza.

The structure is gently tapered to visually reduce its profile, while providing stability to withstand hurricane winds. The canopy’s gentle lustre is designed to cast diffuse patterns of light in an abstracted reflection of people and flowing water below. Linear pools create a tranquil setting for the entrance plaza, masking the sound of traffic, which is visually set apart by a hedge. A curved opening in the roof accommodates the branches of a mature ficus tree and a further light well above the lobby illuminates and defines the new entrance.

MIXED-USE IN SHANGHAI BY FOSTER + PARTNERS AND HEATHERWICK STUDIO

Bund Finance Centre (BFC) is a prominent new mixed-use destination in Shanghaidesigned jointly by Foster + Partners and Heatherwick Studio.

The 420,000-square-metre development of eight buildings includes two 180-metre landmark towers, and combines premium ‘grade A’ offices with a boutique hotel, an arts and cultural centre and a wide variety of luxury retail spaces, all arranged around a generous landscaped public plaza.

The scheme brings together premium office space for international headquarters and a unique ‘corporate mansion’ – an elite networking platform for business partners and VIPs. A boutique luxury hotel provides a glamorous new destination on the Bund. The retail spaces are vertically layered with boutiques, concept stores for international brands, a luxury shopping mall and Michelin-starred restaurants.

A palette of crafted stone and bronze details gives the buildings a jewel-like quality. The edges of each volume are made of richly textured, hand-crafted granite and become slimmer as they rise, giving the impression of solidity at the base and transparency at the top. At the heart of the scheme is a flexible arts and cultural centre, which combines exhibition and events halls with a performance venue, inspired by the open stages of traditional Chinese theatres.

THE SSE HYDRO BY FOSTER + PARTNERS

The SSE Hydro, Scotland’s largest purpose-built public event arena, will open to the public with a concert by Rod Stewart on 30 September.

The SSE Hydro joins the Clyde Auditorium on the northern edge of the River Clyde to create a new entertainment destination within the redevelopment of Glasgow’s former docks.

A highly flexible indoor venue, the arena’s 12,500-capacity auditorium bowl provides a combination of fixed, retractable and removable seating to enable a wide range of different staging and concert layouts – it can also be configured for a number of sporting events.

The building’s form is generated from the inside-out by the seating, which wraps around the stage above ground level and rises to the front, optimising the viewing angle and drawing the audience closer to the excitement of the performance.

The roof canopy follows this distinctive angled profile, rising away from the busy main road to the rear to reveal a dramatic 40-metre-high elevation to the south – its dramatic structure spans 120 metres in a shallow dome of diagonally latticed steelwork.

The upper part of the building is clad in ripples of a translucent material, onto which can be projected patterns and images, and which can be illuminated to make the building glow like a beacon for the new quarter at night.

Opening up the riverside, the arena is set back from the water’s edge to frame a new public square between the two buildings. The main entrance is to the south of the Arena, via a generous top-lit lobby.

A second, fully glazed high-level atrium gives visitors panoramic views of over the public square to the river, and leads to further facilities, including a dedicated VIP floor with boxes and club seats.

Location: Glasgow, Scotland

Architects: Foster + Partners

Structural Engineer: Arup

Quantity Surveyor: Gardiner & Theobald

M+E Engineer: Arup

Area:25 000 m2

Capacity: 12500

Construction start: 2011

Construction end: 2013

Client: Scottish Exhibition Centre Ltd (SEC)

CAMPUS LUIGI EINAUDI BY FOSTER + PARTNERS

Uniting the faculties of Law and Political Science within a single, modern campus for 5,000 students, the project has created flexible new facilities for Turin University, as well as establishing new connections between the institution and wider community.

The design links the former Italgas site on the southern bank of the River Dora with the neighbourhood of Borgo Rossini, regenerating a formerly industrial quarter close to the historic heart of the city, and turning the former source of Turin’s energy into an educational powerhouse to drive future prosperity.

The design is a modern interpretation of the traditional cloistered quadrangle, formed of two linked buildings, unified by a single roof canopy and arranged around a central courtyard. A new four-storey library is located on the northern edge of the site, parallel to the River Dora, with the Law and Political Science faculties to the south – each faculty has its own entrance from the central courtyard.

The ground floor accommodates lecture halls, circulation and social spaces, with teaching and faculty rooms in the quieter levels above. The first floor is visible as a mezzanine in the double-height entrance atrium to each faculty, animating the linear route that runs the entire length of the building. A second floor balcony incorporates entrances, as well as seating and informal break out spaces and a roof garden at the top of the Political Science faculty provides a quiet space for study.

Floor plates are flexible to support changes in teaching priorities, and an innovative design for the 500-seat auditorium allows it to be split in two, with 250 seats in each side. Sensitively combining existing and efficient new structures, some of the site’s historic buildings have been refurbished to house a café and student services – the former Piccolo Italgas building signals the main entrance to the campus, reached via the revitalised Via Vegezzi gardens.

The masterplan creates a traffic-free oasis in the heart of a city plagued by congestion – vehicle access is from Corso Farini, where a covered gateway provides a sheltered, accessible route to the library and faculty buildings. Establishing a lush, park setting, the buildings are encircled by a sequence of new green spaces, squares and open courtyards, inviting people into the campus.

The landscape includes a meandering ‘philosopher’s walk’, as well as new riverside paths and pedestrian routes that promote movement and life through the site and link with local rail and bus services. In addition, more than 7,200 square metres of photocatalytic paving tiles have been used in the hard landscaping to help neutralise the polluting effects of dust.

The buildings incorporate a number of energy saving features, from passive strategies such as the overhanging roof, whose depth is determined by solar path analysis, to addressing the embodied energy of materials – the design team specified FSC-certified wood throughout, including Ajus timber for the acoustic ceiling panels in the library and sustainable bamboo flooring for the graduation hall.

The combination of natural and artificial lighting reduces energy use by almost 20 percent, intelligent building control systems ensure operational efficiency and a Tri-generation source provides heating and cooling, while requiring 20 percent less energy than individual plant facilities. Gerard Evenden, Senior Partner, Foster + Partners: “As with a number of our education projects, one of the central aims of our design for Turin University was to bring a social, collegiate environment to the campus with new public spaces and shared community facilities.

Placing the refectory, bookshop and café at the heart of the site has helped to create a destination in this formerly industrial area, and the combination of new and refurbished buildings provide landmarks for the site. The project also shows our commitment to sustainable design – like the Masdar Institute, the first building of its kind to be completely solar powered, Turin’s buildings feature a number of passive and active strategies to cut waste and reduce energy, and the pedestrian friendly green space is an oasis in the heart of a busy city.” Description from the architects.

Location: Torino, Italy

Architects: Foster + Partners

Project Manager: Piero Cornaglia, Antonio Presicce, Aldo Celano, Sabrina Gambino
Foster + Partners Design Team: David Nelson, Gerard Evenden, John Blythe, Martin Castle, Martina Meluzzi, Giulia Galiberti, Marilu Sicoli

Collaborators: Camerana & Partners – Benedetto Camerana, Giugiaro Architettura Srl – Aldo Cingolani, ICIS Srl – Cosimo Turvani, Mara Luciani, Studio Mellano Associati – Franco Mellano

Civil Works Supervision: Cosimo Turvani, Benedetto Camerana, Carlo Chierto, Franco Mellano, Lorenzo Buonomo

Structural Works Supervision: Francesco Ossola

Electrical Services Supervision: Roberto Pomè

Mechanical Services Supervision: Marco Lazzerini

Quantity Surveying: Carlo Chierto

Quality Control : Roberta Cocchiaro

Contractors: Codelfa SpA, Edart SpA, Gozzo Impianti SpA

Subcontractors: Sile costruzioni Srl, La.ga.fer Snc, Schindler SpA, Stalbau Pichler Srl, Canobbio Spa, Focchi SpA, Coiver Srl, BC spazi Srl, Ares Line SpA, Miodino Srl, Lindab Srl, Borio Giacomo Srl

Year: 2013

Photographs: Courtesy of Nigel Young – Foster + Partners, Michele D’Ottavio, David Vicario