New Projects
Artisanship meets contemporary architecture
- Site Verrier de Meisenthal _ SO–IL + FREAKS
- Interview _ Florian Idenberg + Michèle Woodger
High-density downtown living with heritage
- KAMPUS _ Mecanoo
- Interview _ Rick Splinter + Herbert Wright
Parking for Good
Parking for good: the public garages gradually turning cities green _ Michèle Woodger
Antwerp’s new sustainable parking building
- Park + Ride, Antwerp _ HUB
A futureproofed downtown parking garage
- The 9th Avenue Parkade and Innovation Center _ 5468796 Architecture + Kasian
- Interview _ 5468796 Architecture + Michèle Woodger
The world’s largest bicycle parking in Utrecht
- Bicycle Parking Stationsplein _ Ector Hoogstad Architecten
Small Additions
Small Additions: the interface between now and then _ Idil Ayral
Vivid geometry for art and community
- Art Gallery Extension of Nanjing University of the Arts _ Atelier Diameter
A school extension with vibrant yellow bridges
- Robert Koch High School _ SSP Rüthnick Architekten
- Interview _ Elisabeth Rüthnick + Idil Ayral
Monumental forecourt at an old chapel
- Biot Municipal Building Extension _ Atelier EGR
Sport Halls and Spirituality
Sport Halls and Spirituality _ Michèle Woodger
Linear promenade frames a historic monastery
- Triple Sports Hall, Cantonal School Wettingen _ :mlzd
Athletic space with structural integrity and light
- Waseda University Honjo SHS Senior High School Gymnasium _ Nikken Sekkei
Dwelling Now > Housing
Living with Trees in the Sky
Living with Trees in the Sky _ Herbert Wright
Green towers bring life to business district
- Valley _ MVRDV
Two Chinese towers let 404 trees bloom
- Easyhome Huanggang Vertical Forest City _ Stefano Boeri Architetti
- Interview _ Yibo Xu + Herbert Wright
The first visibly green towers in a Taiwanese city
- Sky Green _ WOHA
C3 no.423 (2023-1/6)
Parking for good: the public garages gradually turning cities green
Almost as soon as it was introduced, the car became the dominant mode of transport across the world. And throughout the 20th century our city-centers, wider settlements and transport networks molded in deference to the car, often, in hindsight, to detrimental effect. It is the challenge of the 21st century to undo the negative consequences of car-dependency – such as environmental degradation, inhospitable urban settings, lack of safety, social isolation, unhealthy lifestyles (the list goes on) – and attempt to define a new relationship that does not compromise public space for private vehicles.
But while central governments, local authorities, academics and ordinary citizens alike are all aware of the deleterious impacts of car usage, in real-world scenarios, the pace of change is slow. Countless people rely on cars as a fundamental means of transportation, especially in places where the wider geography or infrastructure simply does not currently permit other options, and, for many, car ownership is still a measure of status.
The projects featured in this edition are innovative examples of how towns can accommodate cars – literally, in parking garages while mitigating their deleterious effects on people and on the urban realm. [...]
Small Additions: the interface between now and then
Interventions in structures designed in accordance with the realities and needs of their time are inevitable, and it is a necessity to adapt them to today’s spatial practices. Building extensions, as one of the prevalent techniques for this adaptation, play a role in emphasizing the value and presence of an existing building while responding to the need for additional space.
The relationship between the existing structure and the new extension is determined by architectural and sociocultural values. The architect’s task is to examine the urban landscape, define the architectural language, and interpret the physical and cultural factors to establish a dialogue between the edifices and the surrounding. [...]
Sport Halls and Spirituality
The gymnasium originated in ancient Greece, and was an important part of social and cultural life. These complex spaces included courtyards for combat sports, baths and changing rooms as well as covered porticoes, where philosophers held discourses. Athletic training prepared men for martial combat, and athletes exercised in the nude (gymnos), as the values associated with physical process were fundamentally tied into the culturally-embedded ethical and aesthetical appreciation of the male body. At the ancient gym, care of the body and of the mind went hand in hand. [...]
Living with Trees in the Sky
The first generation of high-rise residential buildings in which vegetation is designed into all levels is emerging. They enrich the cityscape and bring well-being and ecological benefits. We need many more to mitigate the climate crisis. [...]
We look at three recent examples. In all of them, trees are a major characteristic of the appearance. That is a radical departure from the hard and inert look of normal high-rise architecture which exposes concrete, steel and glass. But first, why live in a living green tower? Proximity to nature has many psychological benefits, including reduction of stress and mood disorder, increasing attention, memory and creativity, and improving sleep. At the same time, all urban green brings familiar ecological benefits, such as CO2 sequestration, mitigation of the urban island heat effect and storm run-off, boosting pollination, and absorbing particulate pollution. Green roofs and garden landscaping bring these benefits, but the active green area possible for a given plot of land can multiply by stacking vegetation vertically. [...]
C3 no.423 (2023-1/6)
Parking for good: the public garages gradually turning cities green
Almost as soon as it was introduced, the car became the dominant mode of transport across the world. And throughout the 20th century our city-centers, wider settlements and transport networks molded in deference to the car, often, in hindsight, to detrimental effect. It is the challenge of the 21st century to undo the negative consequences of car-dependency – such as environmental degradation, inhospitable urban settings, lack of safety, social isolation, unhealthy lifestyles (the list goes on) – and attempt to define a new relationship that does not compromise public space for private vehicles.
But while central governments, local authorities, academics and ordinary citizens alike are all aware of the deleterious impacts of car usage, in real-world scenarios, the pace of change is slow. Countless people rely on cars as a fundamental means of transportation, especially in places where the wider geography or infrastructure simply does not currently permit other options, and, for many, car ownership is still a measure of status.
The projects featured in this edition are innovative examples of how towns can accommodate cars – literally, in parking garages while mitigating their deleterious effects on people and on the urban realm. [...]
Small Additions: the interface between now and then
Interventions in structures designed in accordance with the realities and needs of their time are inevitable, and it is a necessity to adapt them to today’s spatial practices. Building extensions, as one of the prevalent techniques for this adaptation, play a role in emphasizing the value and presence of an existing building while responding to the need for additional space.
The relationship between the existing structure and the new extension is determined by architectural and sociocultural values. The architect’s task is to examine the urban landscape, define the architectural language, and interpret the physical and cultural factors to establish a dialogue between the edifices and the surrounding. [...]
Sport Halls and Spirituality
The gymnasium originated in ancient Greece, and was an important part of social and cultural life. These complex spaces included courtyards for combat sports, baths and changing rooms as well as covered porticoes, where philosophers held discourses. Athletic training prepared men for martial combat, and athletes exercised in the nude (gymnos), as the values associated with physical process were fundamentally tied into the culturally-embedded ethical and aesthetical appreciation of the male body. At the ancient gym, care of the body and of the mind went hand in hand. [...]
Living with Trees in the Sky
The first generation of high-rise residential buildings in which vegetation is designed into all levels is emerging. They enrich the cityscape and bring well-being and ecological benefits. We need many more to mitigate the climate crisis. [...]
We look at three recent examples. In all of them, trees are a major characteristic of the appearance. That is a radical departure from the hard and inert look of normal high-rise architecture which exposes concrete, steel and glass. But first, why live in a living green tower? Proximity to nature has many psychological benefits, including reduction of stress and mood disorder, increasing attention, memory and creativity, and improving sleep. At the same time, all urban green brings familiar ecological benefits, such as CO2 sequestration, mitigation of the urban island heat effect and storm run-off, boosting pollination, and absorbing particulate pollution. Green roofs and garden landscaping bring these benefits, but the active green area possible for a given plot of land can multiply by stacking vegetation vertically. [...]
