Could this 500 foot, Bjarke Ingels-designed observation tower rise in San Diego?

A new 500-foot observation tower from Bjarke Ingels Group could grace San Diego’s waterfront Central Embarcadero in the near future… if it passes an environmental review and is approved by the California Coastal Commission.

If built, the observation tower would be like nothing else that currently exists along California’s coast, thanks to the 1976 Coastal Act that puts a 30-foot height restriction on most of the state’s coastal zones. But, as The San Diego Union-Trubune reports, Downtown San Diego is exempt from that restriction.

The tower is designed as a stack of spinning discs that appear differently at varying vantage points and elevations. At the base, the tower will include retail, food options, and a hotel.

At the tower’s peak, exhibits will be spread across several floors to encourage the public to explore all the space has to offer. Possibilities include a butterfly exhibit, a suspended net for climbing, a wind garden with sustainable technology exhibits, an outdoor auditorium, and a 170,000-sf vertical aquarium that would span the length of the tower and resemble the varying depths of the ocean. The developer, 1HWY1, describes the concept as a “learning laboratory in the sky.”

But unless this radical design gains the approval it needs, the tower may never be more than a 500-foot-tall quixotic dream.

On April 17, Michael F. Engestrom, Dann H. Hall, Michael A. West, Stephen A. Mahin, Wallace W. Sanders, Jr., Mark V. Holland, Steven C. Ball, Rafael Sabelli, Judy Liu and William J. Wright will be recognized by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) for their exceptional contributions to the advancement of the structural steel design and construction industry.

| Mar 29, 2013

Shenzhen projects halted as Chinese officials find substandard concrete

Construction on multiple projects in Guangdong Province—including the 660-m Ping'an Finance Center—has been halted after inspectors in Shenzhen, China, have found at least 15 local plants producing concrete with unprocessed sea sand, which undermines building stabity.

| Mar 14, 2013

25 cities with the most Energy Star certified buildings

Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Chicago top EPA's list of the U.S. cities with the greatest number of Energy Star certified buildings in 2012.

| Feb 28, 2013

Lend Lease builds world's tallest timber apartment building

Construction giant Lend Lease recently put the finishing touches on Forté, a 10-story apartment complex in Melbourne, Australia's Victoria Harbour that was built entirely with cross laminated timber (CTL) technology.

| Feb 21, 2013

AIA College of Fellows awards 2013 Latrobe Prize for 'The City of 7 Billion'

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) College of Fellows has awarded the 2013 Latrobe Prize of $100,000 for the proposal, “The City of 7 Billion.”