Even though its current owner has boring plans to turn it into flats and a shopping complex, architects can't resist imagining new uses for Battersea Power Station. Architecture firm Atelier Zndel Cristea (AZC) is the latest, rendering a future station that's both a museum of architecture and a giant rollercoaster.

Before you get too excited, this isn't going to actually happen any time soon -- the site is owned by a consortium of Malaysian investors who are intent on turning the power station into the centrepiece of a new 3,400 home development that is incredibly dull. AZC, though, is the firm that was behind the idea for a trampoline bridge across the Seine, and that sense of fun can be seen in "The Architectural Ride", with the power station turned into a museum which visitors can get a full view of by taking a ride on a rollercoaster that encircles and slices through the iconic brick building.

It's the winner of a competition hosted by ArchTriumph to imagine a new Museum of Architecture for London using the power station as its site and inspiration. The rollercoaster is for people who want to see the Sir Giles Gilbert Scott-designed building from all angles, but a number of new floors and galleries inside and on the roof will host exhibitions on architecture from the modern era to as far back as the Middle Ages.

The Tate Modern -- located down the river in the former Bankside Power Station -- also serves as an influence. The AZC team write: "Our project puts the power station on centre stage. Our created pathway links together a number of spaces for discovery: the square in front of the museum, clearings, footpaths outside and above and inside, footpaths traversing courtyards and exhibition rooms. The angles and perspectives created by the rail's pathway, through the movement within and outside of the structure, place visitors in a position where they can perceive simultaneously the container and its contents, the work and nature. They come to participate in several simultaneous experiences: enjoying the displayed works, being moved by the beauty of the structure and the city: river, park, buildings."

The power station has arguably been a victim of its own fame, and has tended to be worth more as an investment than an active project for its successive owners over the years. Proposals for the site have come and gone without anything actually happening, leaving the building empty and falling apart since 1983. The very first winning bid, submitted at the time, was from the owners of Alton Towers, who wanted to turn it into the centrepiece of a new central London theme park.

In recent years there have also been proposals to convert it into Chelsea Football Club's new stadium, or to tear down all but the front and rear walls with the chimneys and create a new park, and even to turn it back into a functioning (and ecologically-friendly) power plant running on bio-fuel. We can only hope that the current developers now reconsider their plans for luxury flats, luxury flats, shops and more luxury flats instead.

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Architects imagine a Battersea Power Station rollercoaster conversion

TDG Architects creates trusted partnership, helps to grow clients business into franchise reality

Troy, Mich. (PRWEB) March 11, 2013

The Big Salad has prioritized the design, interior finishes and overall aesthetic of its restaurants to best serve its customers with top rated service, food and atmosphere. The company has partnered with TDG since its establishment in 2008 to consistently scope, design and fit a balanced front and back of house into all locations.

I came to TDG Architects with a passionate concept that they they shared, which allowed them to turn it into a vibrant reality, said John Bornoty, owner and CEO of The Big Salad. Their creativity and passion for a superior client partnership is what differentiates TDG from the rest. Since we opened our first restaurant, TDG has been and continues to be involved in every new location we open. Five years and four stores later, they still share my passion for every new Big Salad we launch, including our new Ann Arbor restaurant which will open this spring. TDG designs our space and they bid and manage the project to ensure that the contractors are building the space just as they designed it to be.

In addition to front of the house design, TDG streamlined the design of The Big Salads prep, kitchen and customer areas to ensure the flow of traffic is fluid and without bottlenecks for optimum efficiency, food safety and customer experience. Bornoty believes that restaurant design is the most important feature of his restaurants, and without superior thought and design, food safety and ultimate customer satisfaction would waver.

If you walk into a space without a preconceived notion, youre liberated to do a better job and think creatively, said Brian Gill, president, TDG Architects. We spend a lot of time talking about branding. There always has to be a balance between form and function. Thats where I think we are the strongest. Weve found a true client partner in John and The Big Salad and as a Michigan based company, were proud to help The Big Salad grow its brand and franchise business.

We have been so happy with Brian and the group at TDG that we have made it mandatory that every new franchisee use them, Bornoty explained. TDGs talent goes beyond basic architectural services. Their knowledge of creating and building decorative materials combined with a keen ability to connect with suppliers has proven to be a very valuable asset in the continued growth of our company. After all, should a space be decorated for its functionality before its designed? We think so.

About TDG Architects

Since 1996, TDG Architects has had the privilege of providing architectural services for a wide variety of clients in the commercial, office, retail, manufacturing, and residential markets. Clients include top corporations, financial institutions, developers, governmental agencies, and more. TDG's projects range from small but challenging to large and complex, layered with multi-level financing and governmental oversights. For more information about TDG Architects, visit: http://www.tdgarchitects.com.

About The Big Salad

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The Big Salad Names Architects of Record for Corporate, Franchise Locations

Architects from Eugene and Portland know a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when they see one.

Eugene is looking for an architect to design its next City Hall, which will replace the closed downtown City Hall on East Eighth Avenue.

Architectural firms have until Thursday afternoon to apply for the job. The city will select a firm in April.

City officials expect the new City Hall will be built in 2 years.

Some of the citys largest architectural firms are forming teams of engineers and other experts to apply for the work by Thursdays deadline, architects said.

Every architect whose firm has the capability to work on a project such as this would jump at the opportunity, Eugene architect Paul Dustrud said.

Architects view the City Hall project as a rare opportunity to design an important building, both for the community and for their firms.

How often does an architect have the opportunity and privilege to vie to work on rebuilding and reinventing the government center of their town? said John Lawless, a principal with TBG Architects & Planners.

The city asked for proposals starting on Feb. 11, but it expects to get applications up until the 2:30 p.m. Thursday deadline, said Jaime Garner, a city purchasing analyst.

Illustrating the interest in the project, 28 people, including representatives from several architecture and engineering firms from Eugene and Portland, attended a Feb. 21 meeting to learn about the citys selection process.

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For architects , City Hall job is a prize

Just the Basics 4. Groups and Components - SketchUp Tutorials for Landscape Architects
This tutorial is in a series exploring the basics of SketchUp for Landscape Architects. This series is replacing an older series of tutorials made in the pas...

By: DigitalArchLand

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Just the Basics 4. Groups and Components - SketchUp Tutorials for Landscape Architects - Video

GET a chance to showcase your residential renovation at major cities in Malaysia by winning the inaugural Persatuan Arkitek Malaysia-Home Decoration Exhibition (PAM-Homedec) Award which is now open for entries.

The award is a first for PAM and Homedec which honour the work of architects in the home renovation field.

PAM president Saifuddin Ahmad said the award would help promote good architectural design and encourage homeowners to appoint architects for their renovation works.

Many Malaysians rely on contractors or unqualified persons for renovation advice and design.

This mostly result in completed works that lack design aspirations and do not harmonise with its surroundings.

It sometimes sticks out like a sore thumb and may even be unsafe, said Saifuddin.

He added that architects were well-versed with the regulations and building laws, ensuring health and safety requirements were met as well.

Homedec organiser C.I.S Network Sdn Bhds president Vincent Lim said the exhibition had become a Malaysian household name for renovation, refurbishment and redecoration.

People come to discover designs, solutions and the latest trends and ideas to spruce up a home. Architects play a major role in turning a homeowners vision or ideas into reality, he said.

Lim added that they would be considering providing the platform for showcasing regulations and laws when it comes to renovations.

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Chance for architects to exhibit their designs

Successful architectural branding includes understanding a companys brand and the underlying value proposition. The creative minds at OTJ Architects look for creative and unique ways to tell compelling brand stories and create differentiation, which can increase employee recruitment and retention and allow for company growth.

(PRWEB) March 07, 2013

The firms architects and designers understand that credibility and reputation are built on quality products and services, but a strong corporate brand adds depth and value to a companys offerings. OTJ offers corporate branding and interior and exterior signage capabilities in addition to the architecture and interior design services for its clients. The Sutter Group, a creative marketing agency, points out in its blog that employees are going to want to work for the company that has a brand and workplace that make them feel good, while clients will also appreciate a positive, more personalized image as well.

Effective workspace design addresses the following tips which pose challenges for many of todays organizations:

By integrating a companys branding signage, color scheme, marketing materials and displays into the office design, it creates memories for clients and brings a brand to life, according to the workplace design specialists OTJ Architects. It can also create an exciting internal environment that can boost employee morale by creating an exciting space for staff to go to work each day.

Physical spaces, whether they are corporate headquarters, retail storefronts or conference centers, create rich opportunities for memorable brand experiences, said Lance Jaccard, Partner at OTJ Architects. Architecture is the most powerful way to approach the multidimensional communication with the brand, creating memories that inspire brand trust and loyalty.

OTJ recently experienced an example of how its corporate architectural design strategies have enhanced employee retention and acquisition at the Capital One Innovation Lab in Arlington, VA. This design included custom lighting, finishes, furniture and millwork throughout, including millwork designs of a C and 1 at the reception area to provide a unique entrance identity, homage to corporate identity and integrated seating and informational display.

Since the completion of the Capital One Innovation Lab, the team has said, our recruiting pool of the best and brightest thought leaders in contemporary banking has doubled since our Clarendon Ideation Lab opened two months ago.

OTJ Architects design professionals encourage full client participation to understand brand development and truly design a competitive edge in today's marketplace.

For more information please visit http://www.otj.com/

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Commercial Architects at OTJ Share Tips on how Branding Affects Employee Recruitment and Company Mission

Less than 24 hours removed from hearing feedback on initial building plans, architects working on the new Galesburg Public Library design presented reformed plans Thursday to the public, who had some ideas for how to better connect the new building with Galesburgs past and future.

A series of four building layouts were shown to members of the librarys advisory committee Wednesday, and input on each of those drawings was taken into account in the refined version displayed Thursday. The interior of the building remained largely unchanged, while much of the discussion Thursday focused on the exterior design.

Initial comments from the advisory committee led architects from the Iowa firm FEH and Associates to draw a pitched roof for the building, a concept that was rejected by the crowd gathered Thursday. A highly pronounced roof looked too much like a dormitory, City Council member Corine Andersen said, and it could lead to less natural light on the librarys second floor.

The crowd had a bigger complaint with the north end of the building, which will be visible from Main Street and from the West Main Street overpass. The current drawing was heavy on brick and stone, with small windows opening up the design, giving the building a classic, academic look. Residents wanted more glass, like what was drawn for the south end of the building that will serve as the main entrance. Perhaps open up the entire length of the 300-foot building to glass, except for near the east and west ends, to bring a more inviting feel to the building, residents said.

Architects said the idea for the more enclosed front came from meetings with the citys Landmark Commission, who wished for a more historic look to the building that they thought would better blend in with downtown. But the idea isnt to blend in, its to connect that history of downtown buildings with a more modern future.

Does it participate in envisioning a town with a future? Knox Art Department Chairman Mark Holmes asked of the building design. A library, which is right at the very core of the civic life, needs to play that role. This starts to get there. It embodies a sense of connectedness across time.

The point of putting the new library at the corner of Main and Academy streets is so the new building can usher in a revitalized downtown Galesburg, library Director Harriett Zipfel said.

This building can foster that redevelopment, architect Greg Baum said.

The building will be 300 feet, which gives architects room for some green space on the corner of Main and Academy. A 140-space parking lot will be behind the building, and will open up onto Simmons Street. The interior of the building will include a cafe, Friends of the Library book store, terrace seating, childrens patio and 225-capacity meeting room.

Before the presentation of the most recent building renderings, a meeting of the library board was held so board members could authorize a contract with the projects construction manager and OK a bid for an environmental survey of the property. Both pieces, as well as initial design features, need to be in place for the board to qualify for a state grant that could cover three-fourths of the $15 million project. The grant deadline is April 15.

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Architects further refine library design

Business leaders are scrambling to take their organizations deeper into the cloud, leverage the growing amount of data about their customers, and protect their companies from new security threats. Enterprise architects are usually their first call when it comes to bringing order to IT business process chaos, but EAs are also having to adapt to the very same trends impacting corporations.

Those tasked with helping organizations better manage their processes are themselves having to manage a lot of change these days.

Enterprise architects are looking at several trends impacting their roles in the business world -- the growth of cloud computing, the arrival of big data, more security challenges and the overall rate of technological advances.

These are the topics discussed at conferences, and the feedback from EAs at these events ranges from struggles in defining their roles so they can remain relevant, to embracing the new opportunities that can help businesses drive transformation.

A panel of enterprise architecture experts discussed the trends, challenges and opportunities in their field at the recent Open Group Conference.

The panelists included Chris Forde, general manager for Asia-Pacific and vice president of Enterprise Architecture at The Open Group; Iver Band, vice chair of The Open Group ArchiMate Forum and enterprise architect at The Standard, a financial services company; Mike Walker, senior enterprise architecture adviser and strategist at HP and former Director of Enterprise Architecture at Dell; Henry Franken, the chairman of The Open Group ArchiMate Forum and managing director at BIZZdesign, and Dave Hornford, chairman of the Architecture Forum at The Open Group and managing partner at Conexiam.

The discussion was led by Dana Gardner, Principal Analyst at Interarbor Solutions.

Here are some excerpts:

Dana Gardner: When it's a dynamic environment, lots of change, lots of movement, the enterprise architects' value can go up. If things were slow, constant and predictable, perhaps their value wouldn't be as high. Any thoughts about that?

Henry Franken: Well, sure. What you see is that the challenge within large organizations on business transformation is increasing and the number of good enterprise architects is small, so their value increases. It's simple mathematics.

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With Business Foundations Shaking, Good Enterprise Architects Are Hard to Find

Houston school district administrators are asking the Board of Education for authority to negotiate contracts with three firms on three more 2012 bond projects, including Grady Middle School, Condit Elementary, and the Mandarin Chinese Language Immersion K-8 School.

The board will consider the recommendations at its regular meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday, March 7, in the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center, 4400 West 18th St.

HISD officials spent several weeks reviewing qualifications submitted by 85 architectural and engineering firms seeking to do work with the district under the 2012 bond program, which will build or renovate 40 schools across the district, fund middle school restroom renovations, technology upgrades, and safety and security upgrades.

The firms recommended as most qualified for the selected projects are:

Mandarin Chinese Language Immersion K-8 School (new facility) -- PBK Architects

Grady Middle School (new addition) -- Natex Corp.

Condit Elementary School (new facility) --VLK Architects

The recommendations are the latest in the $1.89 billion bond program approved by voters last November. On Feb. 14, the school board authorized the district to execute contracts with eight firms for selected projects, as follows:

Middle school restroom renovations -- Robert Adams, Inc.; VCS; English & Associates, Inc.; and Courtney Harper + Partners, Inc.

North Houston Early College High School (new facility) -- RdlR Architects, Inc.

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HISD recommending architects for three Examiner-area schools; board meets Thursday

Wood WORKS! BC 2013 Green Building Award recipient: Peter Busby, Perkins + Will |Centre for Interactive Research

VANCOUVER, March 4, 2013 /CNW/ - Coastal BC swept the 2013 Wood WORKS! BC Wood Design Awards, with projects of the winning architects and structural engineers located in and around Vancouver and the Gulf Islands, including three projects on the UBC campus.

More than 350 distinguished design and building professionals, including architects, engineers, project teams, industry sponsors and guests gathered this evening to honour the nominees and winners of the 2013 Wood WORKS! BC Wood Design Awards. The 9th annual awards evening at the Vancouver Convention Centre (West) recognized leadership and innovation in wood use while being an opportunity to publicly salute and celebrate continued excellence in the building and design community.

There were 98 nominations in 12 categories for the 2013 awards from all over the province, as well as some national and international submissions, including one by a BC architect for a project located in Tajikistan and another in the Yukon. "We are truly amazed by both the structural and architectural uses of wood; we are seeing innovation beyond anything we could have imagined a decade ago," explained Wood WORKS! BC executive director Mary Tracey. "Builders and designers have always embraced wood for its beauty and sustainability, and now with technological advances in wood products, they are recognizing it as a building material that offers them opportunities to create distinctive and expressive projects because of its remarkable versatility, flexibility and cost-effectiveness. The project teams are exploring wood's potential and advancing the science and art of wood design and building which are the goals of our awards program."

The panel of five judges included Henry Hawthorn, Architect (retired); Tom Guenther, P.Eng. Chair - Civil Engineering Department,Okanagan College; Douglas MacLeod, Ph.D., MRAIC, Chair - RAIC Centre for Architecture, Athabasca University; Thomas Tannert, Ph.D. Associate Chair - Wood Building Design and Construction, UBC; and Dwight Yochim, RPF, Executive Director -Truck Loggers Association.

The Wood Champion Award was presented to Vancouver-based and internationally renowned structural consulting engineering firm, Equilibrium Consulting. Its principals, Eric Karsh and Robert Malczyk were chosen for their work on such projects as City of North Vancouver Civic Centre Renovation and Prince George Airport. Founded in 1998, this firm has been successfully involved in over 800 projects world-wide, including many award-winning designs. The BC architect who nominated this firm for the 2013 Wood Champion Award had this to say about Equilibrium Consulting: "As architects that are fascinated by structure, we ask a lot of them in pushing the limits of wood technology. They always deliver for us and have helped us create some very unique technical solutions. Their ability to resource solutions from Europe and adapt them to Canada has been exemplary for improving the wood design industry as a whole". Elegant solutions with brilliant engineering are the hallmarks of this esteemed firm.

Equilibrium co-founder and principal Eric Karsh was also the recipient of the Engineer Award. He was honoured this evening for his commercial, residential and institutional projects, all of which provide innovative, sustainable structural solutions. His showcase project, City of North Vancouver Civic Centre Renovation was deemed to demonstrate a highly-innovative use of wood and the jury appreciated his ability to push the envelope on the design. "For many years, this engineer has chosen not to take the easy route, and has encouraged and supported advances in wood design," stated the nomination. As a leader in the field of timber engineering, Eric Karsh is the engineer of record for numerous award-winning projects, including the Earth Sciences Building at UBC and the Raleigh Durham Airport.

In addition to finding solutions for large scale commercial projects, he has been actively promoting solid wood construction as a viable alternative to concrete, and as an answer to going taller with wood. He is also co-author of the widely publicized "Tall Wood" report (co-authored with BC architect Michael Green, principal at Michael Green Architecture, formerly principal at mgb ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN), which introduces a structural concept to build timber high-rises of 30 storeys or more, even in high seismic zones such as Vancouver.

Kimberley Smith and Bo Helliwell of Helliwell + Smith Blue Sky Architecture, West Vancouver, architects whose names are synonymous with innovative architecture, were the recipients of the Architect Award. The principals of this firm acknowledge it has taken decades of practice to understand the economy and versatility of both conventional wood frame, and timber post and beam construction. The appreciation for wood is evident in their designs which encompass residential, multi-family and commercial projects. They continue to experiment with exposed timber frame structures and new wood products, as well as traditional wood products - in-turn developing an architecture that is expressive, economical and lasting. The ingenious use of organic, flowing spaces in their designs suggest that wood is a malleable material, not confined to straight lines and right angles. Their award winning work has been widely published and exhibited locally and internationally.

The Wood Innovation Award recognizes creative and innovative approaches in the use of wood in building design, product design and/or processes. The winners of this category were Vancouver-based Peter Busby and Jim Huffman of Perkins + Will for their project, VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre in Vancouver. This remarkable project creates a harmonious balance between architecture and landscape, and features extensive wood products, including a complex panelized roof structure. With wood as the primary building material, the wood provided an added environmental benefit - it sequesters enough carbon for the project to achieve carbon neutrality. The jury applauded the structural expression of the roof, calling it highly-dramatic and very innovative. It is the first building in Canada to register for the Living Building Challenge, the most stringent measurement of sustainability in the built environment.

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Winning architects , structural engineers and project teams enthral and inspire at 2013 BC Wood Design Awards