Woods Bagot’s Post

🏗️ Transforming Chicago’s Skyline! 🌆 #ConstructionInnovation Exciting developments at 400 N. Elizabeth Street as Mark Goodman & Associates, Inc. and Weldon Development Group turn a traditional office site into a cutting-edge, mixed-use high-rise. This ambitious project not only meets Chicago’s growing demand for urban living but also integrates sustainable practices crucial for future developments! 🌍 Highlighting sustainability, the design incorporates geothermal energy with 110 wells, reducing reliance on traditional energy sources. This all-electric development features: •Two residential towers with 724 apartments, including affordable housing units. •348 parking and 724 bike parking spaces. •Retail spaces and modern residential amenities. •Advanced facade system enhancing energy efficiency and aesthetics. As urban construction is redefined, how do you see such sustainable developments impacting your local communities? 🌱💼 City Club of Chicago City of Chicago Bisnow Michael Fassnacht JB Pritzker ARCHEO Design Studio Inc. World Business Chicago AIA Chicago W.E. O'Neil Construction ASA Chicago Associated General Contractors of America #UrbanDevelopment #SustainableBuilding #ChicagoRealEstate #Architecture #GreenBuilding

"Can adapting empty commercial buildings revive business districts and allay the housing shortage?" This is the question Architectural Record's James Russell raises when speaking to SOM Design Principal and Adaptive Reuse Practice Leader Frank Mahan, AIA about office-to-residential conversions. Read the article 👉 https://lnkd.in/eMXQrfBZ Through an innovative approach, our design proposal for 1633 Broadway can address the housing crisis and the climate crisis at once. The aging Midtown office tower, completed in 1971, is emblematic of the challenges and opportunities for office-to-residential conversion––it is one of the toughest buildings for conversion. "With a stagnant office market, a housing shortage, and climate change, we could address all three existential crises of our time at once,” says Frank Mahan, AIA Mahan, AIA. By selectively removing floor area, we reconfigure the floor plates to create suitable residential layouts, while also adding amenity to the top and base of the building. Our concept brings together a diversity of dwelling unit typologies to promote an equitable living experience. #adaptivereuse #officetohousing #skidmoreowingsmerrill

Thanks Brian Waters for inviting Adam Fothergill and I to give our thoughts on the topic of Permitted Development and Designing for Future Re-use at the London Planning & Development Forum last week! It was a fantastic panel and super interesting hearing the conversations around design codes from Colin Wilson, Ben Derbyshire PPRIBA FRSA HonAIA and Andy von Bradsky (summary: codes and AAPs should be high level, strategic and capture urban design aspirations) and the new City Plan from Gudrun Andrews (making the City a destination 7 days of the week, as well as development plans and how views of landmarks have shaped the tall building policy). Look out for more detail in the next edition of Planning in London!! Short synopsis of our thoughts on PD / future of conversion 👇 We talked about how turning unused office spaces into residential buildings is reshaping our urban landscapes, boosted by revised permitted development rules removing space and vacancy limits. This trend aligns with sustainable development goals and addresses high vacancy rates in high streets and low office occupancy in London. While navigating these rules can be complex, PD may offer quicker planning and construction processes and lower embodied energy. This led us to the conclusion that designing future buildings to be more adaptable from the outset would help increase reuse potential, creating environmentally, socially, and economically responsible urban environments for the future. #architecture #future #livingsectors #retrofitfirst #permitteddevelopment #PD #conversion #coliving #laterliving #residential

Adaptive reuse is crucial to bettering our built environment. Why build something to tear it down and build something else? REUSE buildings.

🏢🏡 Co-location. Can 'New London Mix' Bridge the Gap Between Housing and Industry? 🏡🏢 As I embark on the final year of my Master's in architecture this September, I'm thrilled to share my journey and research in the realm of co-location. The last two years have been an enriching experience, with a blend of hands-on work at Ryder Architecture on mixed-use projects and academic pursuit Oxford Brookes University . This experience allowed me to understand the barriers of mixed-use developments that aim to retain industrial use on site and uplift housing provision for the area. Collaborating closely with Homes England and the Old Oak Common and Park Royal Development Corporation throughout my studies, I've examined local and national policies to understand the initial planning challenges of seamlessly integrating industry and housing. My current project engages stakeholders and local community groups to define the social and sustainability values of a visionary building at Old Oak Common, one that accommodates Built-to-Rent housing, light-industrial maker spaces, and logistics units under one roof. Despite economic challenges faced by our clients in re-providing existing and additional employment spaces alongside housing, my passion as a designer lies in exploring innovative solutions that can make this model a reality, benefiting the local context and future building users. In our exploration of vertical, horizontal, or mixed allocation of uses on-site, our design team meticulously considers various factors: ✅ Vertical circulation space impact - navigating building height restrictions for residential, optimizing core access for multiple uses and fire escapes. ✅ Waste strategy & logistics - balancing waste volumes and collection frequencies between industrial and residential needs, with a centralized approach to minimize residential impact. ✅ Energy strategy - fostering resource reuse, such as heat and water, and planning for the management of central plant systems post-completion. ✅ Last but not least, peacemaking through placemaking - envisioning how proposed employment uses can enrich new environments and seamlessly blend with existing structures. We're also keen on the future of the industrial sector, exploring greener logistics and industry 4.0 technologies to reduce environmental impact. These research insights and engagements with stakeholders serve as the foundation for my upcoming thesis research. Stay tuned as I delve deeper into this exciting journey of innovation and urban transformation. 🌆🌟 #UrbanDesign #Architecture #MixedUseDevelopment #Sustainability #colocation #londonarchitecture #industrialsector #realestate #housingarchitecture

In an article for Building Magazine, Directors Steve Watts and John Lione compare and contrast the factors involved in the construction of tall buildings in Toronto and London, two influential cities whose skylines have seen vast change over the last 20 years.   The need for building vertically has increased in recent times due to urbanisation and globalisation meaning more significant numbers of people have migrated to established cities.   The article delves into the components which have necessitated vertical densification in each location, their trends in design and procurement, and corresponding cost drivers. Summary cost models for a high-rise commercial office tower in both cities have been included to illustrate the points addressed.   The article looks to the future of tall buildings – how can cities like Toronto and London adapt and thrive in the face of existential threats like COVID-19, climate change and geopolitics, which have the ability to alter the way they function?   There is an opportunity for design teams to reimagine how tall buildings are conceptualised as we strive for more futureproof, sustainable, healthy, and viable vertical spaces.   Thanks to the following who contributed to the article:   Turner & Townsend (Toronto): Darren Cash MRICS, PQS, Ken Orphanides, Chelvan Ramalingam New London Architecture (NLA) : Peter Murray OBE City of Toronto: James Parakh   Read more: bit.ly/3uKcoMv #BuildingMagazine #TallBuildings #BuildingVertical #Urbanisation

One of the important takeaways from the pandemic was that our buildings have to be able to function beyond their typology. Hotels were converted into makeshift hospitals, and while the conditions mandated for the two are drastically different, they were altered to meet immediate needs as a part of crisis management. Similarly, homes doubled up as educational and office spaces for its users. While these impromptu solutions may not be applicable for the extended life-span of a structure, it is certainly a step in the right direction to designing multi-functional buildings. This adaptability of structures can play an essential role in disaster management. #sustainability #urbanism #indianarchitects #design #architecture #awareness

The TENTH post in my "32 days of Case Studies in Retrofitting Suburbia" project! Case Study II.10: The Domain, Austin, TX, USA How do you retrofit a 300-acre corporate R&D campus into a second downtown for Austin? Bit by bit. The Domain, a developer-led project, has inserted chunks of walkable urbanism into a sprawling office park (started in 1967 with the IBM manufacturing plant for the #Selectric typewriter). The bits are anchored by familiar department stores but centered on well-designed pedestrian-oriented streets lined by loads of brand-name shops topped by loads more apartments. Bars and restaurants spill out into many of the popular public spaces. The developers have leveraged these urban interventions as an amenity to attract large-floorplate office tenants to renovated existing buildings and new taller ones, mostly on the existing, wider, faster, suburban streets. While detractors deride The Domain as "living in a mall," the strategy has been very successful at attracting the next generation of knowledge workers to approximately 10 million new square feet, twelve miles north of downtown. There is too much to explain about this case study in a single post — read the book chapter for a fuller story! Image: Narrow walkable “A” streets with fine-grain active frontages break up the auto-oriented superblocks and create walkable nodes. The pre-existing “B” streets remain fronted with parking lots and garages. Source: Authors. Primary credit for architectural and urban design on this complex multiphase project goes to Nelson Partners Lp, Gensler JHP Architecture / Urban Design, Design Workshop, Stantec, Baker-Aicklen & Associates, Inc. Primary developer: Endeavor Real Estate Group. #RetrofittingSuburbia #urbandesign #urbandevelopment #reinhabitation #redevelopment #regreening #CompeteforJobs #DisruptAutomobileDependence ULI Australia Suburban Futures Ellen Dunham-Jones Mike Day of Hatch

KFA Senior Associate, Tarrah Beebe, AIA, was featured on Spectrum News discussing the innovative transformation of abandoned commercial office buildings into much-needed residences. As more people continue to work from home, many office buildings across California are left empty. AB 3068, a new bill, aims to fast-track permits for converting these vacant spaces into apartments, addressing the housing shortage swiftly and efficiently. KFA Architecture continues be at the forefront of this movement, turning a long-vacant office building in San Pedro into over 200 new apartments. "Statewide, we have office space that is available and housing that is needed. Converging these needs is going to be better for us to address the housing crisis." says Tarrah Beebe. This bill could expedite the development process, making it easier for developers and investors to bring new residential units forward, although some cities have concerns about ensuring public safety with the shorter timeline. We believe adaptive reuse is a sustainable solution, allowing us to reimagine and repurpose buildings, creating a win-win situation for our communities. Watch the full video to learn more about this exciting initiative and how it can make a positive impact statewide! https://ow.ly/YzTY50SELSP #KFA #kfaarchitecture #KFAnews #AdaptiveReuse #HousingCrisis #Architecture #SustainableDesign #KFAArchitecture #CaliforniaLiving #Innovation #AB3068 #TarrahBeebe #LosAngeles #SanPedro #UrbanDevelopment #CommunityImpact #ArchitectureMatters #DesignForGood #EmptyToEfficient #BuildingTheFuture