London’s First Air Tram Cable Car Opened : The Emirates Air Line

Commuters and visitors in London will have a new way to travel across the Thames thanks to a brand new cable car system . Sponsored by Emirates Airlines, the UK's first urban cable car system has the capacity to transport 2,500 passengers per hour in each direction, which is equivalent to 50 buses in the same time frame. The Emirates Air Line project was designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects and provides spectacular views of the London skyline at 90 meters in the air as it efficiently connects visitors traveling from the city's Olympic venues to existing public transit lines.

Transport for London’s Emirates Air Line spans 1 km from the North Woolwich Peninsula to Royals Victoria Dock and is supported by sculptural towers. Opening just 1 month before the Olympics begin, the £60 m project is expected to alleviate travel across the river between the O2 Arena in Greenwich to the ExCeL Exhibition Centre. Crossing the river via cable car will take a short 5 minutes and provide views of London as opposed to views outside a bus or underground via the tube and a much longer route. Cyclists will also be able to bring their bike on the cable car to speed their journey. The cable car is open from 7am to 9pm during the week, from 8am to 9pm on Saturdays and from 9am to 9pm on Sundays. Tickets are £4.30 for adults, but only £3.20 for those who use Oyster pay. Planning for Transport for London’s cable car began back in 2010 with backing from and in October 2011, Emirates Airlines stepped in to sponsor the project and provide funding. Impressively, the project has only taken 2 years from conception to completion. The project is expected to be a destination in and of itself, especially during the Olympics.

Top 250 Architecture Firms: Gensler Takes the Crown !

Nabbing the title from long-standing leader AECOM, Gensler claimed the top spot in our 2012 “Top 250 Architecture Firms” list, which ranks U.S. companies based on architectural revenue from the prior year. Gensler’s $764 million in revenue far surpassed AECOM’s $445 million; it also marked a record high for the San Francisco-based firm. “It truly has been about global growth,” says Andy Cohen, Gensler’s executive director: In 2011 the firm opened seven offices in burgeoning cities such as São Paulo and Bangkok.
Overall, this year’s survey points to industry growth. Collectively, the 250 firms earned $10.4 billion in revenue in 2011, up from $9.4 billion in 2010. Domestic income rose from $7.6 to $8.2 billion; international income, from $1.8 to $2.2 billion. Firms like RTKL and Kohn Pedersen Fox now generate more than half their revenue from foreign projects.
Other items of note from our 2012 survey include CH2M HILL’s leap from 84th to fourth place; the company underreported its architectural revenue last year, according to its financial analyst. Also, acquisitions continue to be a boon for some firms. Jacobs, a newcomer to our ranking, clocked in at no. 6 (it bought KlingStubbins last fall). And Stantec, which has acquired several firms, is swiftly ascending the list: It ranked 51st in 2010, and 17th this year.
http://archrecord.construction.com/practice/top250/2012/top250-architecture-firms-1.asp

Dubai Pearl is Another Massive and Dubious “Green Building” Project in The Gulf

 We've brought you a lot of rather dubious green building projects in Dubai, but we're hoping that the newest, the Dubai Pearl, is an exception. The $6 billion mixed-use city within a city is being planned for an area near Dubai’s new business centers, and according to the developers, the program will boast energy efficiency, “smart technology”, a column-free design, and a walkable environment that will enable community living. But we really wonder whether Dubai needs and can even support another massive residential, hotel and office complex of the Dubai Pearl’s scale.

Emerging on the site of a project that went bust several years ago, construction has been charging along on what will eventually be 20 million square feet of a “fully integrated” sustainable development. Six luxury hotels, including the MGM and the Bellagio, will anchor a “holistic luxury lifestyle” development that will include residences and offices. According to Dubai Pearl’s press office, the 40 acre (16 hectares) site will include 1 million square feet of open spaces and landscaped areas, with 15,500 parking spaces, 1500 residential units, 1400 offices and a retail zone that will eventually support a population of 30,000 people.
So how will this be a sustainable development? Dubai Pearl’s contractors have designed the master plan to ensure energy efficiency that they hope will score the complex LEED Gold certification. Recycling facilities for paper, glass and food waste will be part of the complex’s guarantee for effective waste diversion. Smart lighting features and water conservation will also supposedly minimize Dubai Pearl’s impact on the local environment.
All of this at first sounds great, but the details are rather thin. Dubai still has a glut of office and residential space despite the city’s recovery from the 2008 financial crisis, due in part to more businesses relocating in the wake of the Arab Spring. And while the local government has implemented pilot recycling programs, “sustainability” in Dubai still has a ways to go.
Like much of the Gulf, Dubai and the rest of the United Arab Emirates still rely on desalination, and it’s pretty clear that massive amounts of water will be required to keep Dubai Pearl thriving. While Dubai’s Metro is an impressive rail system, there are no stops near this complex. And information on what sustainable materials for the buildings’ interiors and exteriors is lacking. For now, Dubai Pearl’s claims to be sustainable are the classic case of a company saying, “We say we are green, therefore we are.” Until we see more details, and view evidence that responsible building practices are core to Dubai Pearl’s construction and after opening, everyday operations, we view this “sustainable development” with suspicion.

Green-Roofed Twitter Headquarters in San Francisco Also Has a Yoga Studio!

We've seen the inside of several funky corporate offices, including Google and Facebook, but Twitter might have outdone them all with their new green-roofed headquarters in San Francisco. Part of the city's plan to revitalize a seedy neighborhood, Twitter was given a tax reprieve for moving into BCV Architects' renovated 11-story art deco office building on 10th and Market street. But the new headquarters for 800 employees also reflects something of a sustainability ethos. Hit the jump for the deets and flip through the gallery for a closer look.

 In addition to the swanky green roof, which is already populated by rows of leafy vegetables and provides a nice lunch spot for the company’s jubilant employees, the new headquarters boasts a micro health kitchen stocked with wholesome food and a tranquil-looking yoga studio. Either working for Twitter is so stressful that it’s necessary to offer such calming spaces or this is just one really progressive company.
We are going to err towards the latter given the 9th floor reception desk, which looks suspiciously like it is made of recycled materials, and Twitter’s insistence that the city provide better public transportation links to the area in addition to more dedicated bike lanes. Also included in the 80,000 square feet building, parts of which are being leased out, are cafes, restaurants and a very “cool” local grocery store.

Zaha Hadid Awarded Title of Dame for Her Work in Architecture

Zaha Hadid was just awarded the title of “Dame” for her services in architecture. The honor and new title (officially Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire) were given as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s Birthday Jubilee celebration on Saturday, June 16th. Hadid, who is arguably the most notable female architect in the world, was also the first female recipient of the Pritzker Prize in 2004 and the winner of the Stirling Prize in 2010 and 2011. One of her most recent projects is the Aquatics Center in Olympic Park, which features a wave-shaped roof and sustainable construction strategies.
Zaha Hadid was awarded the title of Dame this past weekend in honor of her services in architecture, which includes a number of projects completed in the UK. Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) projects in the UK include Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centre in Kirkcaldy (2006), Evelyn Grace Academy in London (2010), Riverside Museum in Glasgow (2011) and London Aquatics Centre for the 2012 Olympic Games. The MAXXI: Italian National Museum of 21st Century Arts in Rome was awarded the Royal Institute of British Architects’ highest accolade – the Stirling Prize – in 2010. ZHA’s Evelyn Grace Academy won the Stirling Prize in 2011.

Hadid was one of 1,064 recipients of the new title and one of 498 women who were recognized for their services on the Honours List. Also joining Hadid on the list for their services in architecture were Jerome Frost, Head of Design and Regeneration for the Olympic Delivery Authority who received an OBE; Dr Lori Barbara McElroy, Director of Sustainability who was awarded an MBE for services to sustainable building design; and Francesca Berriman, Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists who also received an MBE.
On receiving her title, Dame Zaha Hadid commented: “It is a tremendous honour for me to receive this award. I would like to thanks all my colleagues and clients for their hard work and support. I am delighted that architecture has been recognised in this way. My father went to the London School of Economics in the 1930s, and everything he learned at the time is why I have always leaned towards the UK.”

Beautiful Green Roofed Affordable Housing In the UK

 Affordable housing meets stylish design, renewable energy, green roofs, energy efficiency and prefabricated construction in this fantastic housing project in the London Borough of Hillingdon. Birchway Eco Community was built as an infill project to provide affordable housing for residents of Hillingdon and is more than just a series of green built prefab homes. The residents are creating a green charter that will serve as a guidebook for the community on how to live greener lives.

Designed by Acanthus LW Architects and built by Paradigm Housing in partnership with Hillingdon, Birchway is made up of 24 one and two bedroom units. Five buildings with curved sedum covered green roofs make up the complex, along with garden space and bicycle storage. The buildings are constructed from prefabricated modules made from 65% recycled steel, which were delivered with the kitchens and bathrooms already installed. Upon arrival, the modules were set into place by crane, connected together and then the exterior, roof and finishes were added. From site clearing to construction completion, the project only took two months to build out.
The beautiful green roofs include both skylights and daylighting windows to let in light to the rooms below. Rainwater is collected from the roof and stored on the side of the house. Photovoltaic systems are installed on the southern aspects and wood-pellet biomass boilers provide heating and hot water. With tight insulation, passive ventilation and heat recovery systems, energy efficiency was a top priority. On top of the spectacularly unique design, the award winning development was built to Level 5 of the UK’s Code of Sustainable Homes, with 6 being the highest.

Italian Firefighter House is Carved Into a Cave

Bergmeisterwolf Architekten have essentially turned Italy's Margried volunteer firefighting team into superheroes by building their new fire brigade in the depths of a sharp black-fronted cave. Instead of using up valuable agriculture land, the community opted to carve three caverns out of rock, thereby minimizing the use of new materials and reducing the project's energy load.

Enclosed with a pair of folding glass doors that reveal the red fire trucks and then protected from falling rocks by a strong pitched wall tinted to resemble burned wood, the fire brigade features three large caverns furnished with simple materials such as wood, glass and steel designed to contrast with the plastered interior walls. A heat simulation test conducted prior to construction revealed that only the administrative area of the “cave” needed insulation.
Otherwise, even when it’s 10 degrees Celsius below outside in winter, the cave maintains a fairly steady temperature of about 12 degrees Celsius. At the front, however, which has more exposure to the outside doors, it is colder, so the design team installed triple-insulated glass to mitigate heat loss. A cantilevering glass cube inserted into the cave near the offices brings in natural lighting, further reducing energy requirements. And the remaining heat for hot water and the interior is met with an ecological pellet heating system.