Richard Meier unveils design scheme for residential high-rise in Taipei

Juxtaposed against the super-tall pagoda-like Taipei 101 tower, Richard Meier & Partners designed a sleek and slim residential high-rise commissioned by Continental Development Corporation, designboom reports.

Officially titled the CDC 55 Timeless Xin-Yi tower, the building will rise to a total height of 417 feet, standing atop a public field and plaza, dubbed to be a new precedent in Taiwan where a private building dedicates its entire landscape to the public.

With configurations that range from two apartments per floor to one large apartment unit per story, the development is targeted at high-end buyers. Luxury amenities include an outdoor swimming pool and roof deck offering views of the city’s landmark Taipei 101 and the rest of the skyline.

According to designboom, the building’s horizontal and vertical organization is “based on a strong geometric clarity.”

“The relationship between these two main elements is emphasized through a subtle shift in both plan and elevation, creating a dynamism and variation in scale that responds to the immediate urban environment,” the architects explain. “The solid north volume contains the core of the residential units that flows toward the transparent south volume, which is a natural-light-filled space where living, social, and the more public programs are located. A carefully crafted geometric organization allows viewing corridors towards the mountains in the far distance.”

Construction is under way, and is scheduled to be completed in 2017.

The Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball team announced that it has reached an agreement with St. Petersburg and Pinellas County on a $6.5 billion, 86-acre mixed-use development that will include a new 30,000-seat ballpark and an array of office, housing, hotel, retail, and restaurant space totaling 8 million sf.

Engineers | Sep 15, 2023

NIST investigation of Champlain Towers South collapse indicates no sinkhole

Investigators from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) say they have found no evidence of underground voids on the site of the Champlain Towers South collapse, according to a new NIST report. The team of investigators have studied the site’s subsurface conditions to determine if sinkholes or excessive settling of the pile foundations might have caused the collapse.

MFPRO+ Research | Sep 11, 2023

Conversions of multifamily dwellings to ‘mansions’ leading to dwindling affordable stock

Small multifamily homes have historically provided inexpensive housing for renters and buyers, but developers have converted many of them in recent decades into larger, single-family units. This has worsened the affordable housing crisis, say researchers.

Deciphering the Differences in Smart Lock Networks

Adaptive Reuse | Aug 31, 2023

New York City creates team to accelerate office-to-residential conversions

New York City has a new Office Conversion Accelerator Team that provides a single point of contact within city government to help speed adaptive reuse projects. Projects that create 50 or more housing units from office buildings are eligible for this new program.