Home Builder Developer, Interior Renovation and Design

Developer, architect, lay out design for Class A-plus office tower at entrance to West Palm Beachs downtown tent site.

WEST PALM BEACH -- Developer Charles Cohen on Monday gained conceptual approval for what he promised would be a world-class office tower at the entrance to West Palm Beachs downtown, one he said would enhance its surroundings and draw top tenants.

And it will get done, he said -- something that has eluded the citys efforts to build on the property nicknamed the tent site for 24 years.

"We are going to make this happen. Weve never undertaken, as a company or me, myself, any project that we havent completed within the time frame that we made our commitment to accomplish."

City commissioners, acting as the Community Redevelopment Agency board, voted 4-0 for the West Palm Point project to rise on the 2.4-acre property at the corner of Okeechobee Boulevard and South Dixie Highway. Commissioner Cory Neering was absent.

Cohen Brothers Realty now is to spend several months refining plans for the 338-foot glass tower, conducting traffic studies and seeking city approvals for project details before construction begins.

Cohen and chief architect Kristin Hawkins of world-renowned Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects presented the board with their concept for the project. It will include an elliptical tower with 23 floors of offices, rising beside a 10-story garage adorned with art and topped with a sky terrace with a reflective pool and landscaped seating areas.

The tower and garage will separated by a walkway called a paseo, 45 feet across at its widest, with tables and chairs, "a very active space, kind of a destination space," as Hawkins called it. Shops will line the garages ground level, along Dixie and elsewhere.

Mayor Keith James asked Cohen whether the project could attract tenants in a COVID-19 world that has thrown into question how strong office demand will be.

The developer responded with a reference to the Kevin Costner movie Field of Dreams.

"If we build it and do the job right, which we have every intention of doing, they will come," Cohen said. "We have time," he said, adding that development is a long process and this project has the advantage of an environment of available financing with low interest rates.

The company has yet to address one of the biggest concerns facing downtown -- traffic. Cohens attorney for the project, Brian Seymour, said traffic studies could not be done until the conceptual design was completed but that now they would be.

The developer recognizes the building will not exist in a vacuum, Seymour said.

"We know traffic on Okeechobee is an issue for the community. I cant tell you how were going to deal with all of it, because were not at that stage yet but we are going to deal with that," he said.

The developer will look for ways to integrate trolley service, scooter-share and bike-share facilities with the design, he said, forms of transportation the city has encouraged to reduce dependence on cars.

Hawkins, with Pelli since 1985, was design team leader for Cohens Red Building, the 800,000-square-foot final building of the award-winning Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, Calif. She is leading the design team for a natural history museum in China.

"Its deeply ingrained in our process that our buildings become good citizens," she told commissioners. "We design them to fit into their context, not necessarily to be the same as, but to fit in so that they complement the existing context and become positive additions to the fabric thats already there."

The architects approached the project as almost a campus master plan, with components that relate to each other "without talking over each other," she said. At West Palm Point, the main components are the tower, the garage and the paseo.

Early on, they considered having the garage as part of the tower but decided that would look too massive, she said. Instead the two will be linked only by the ground floor paseo and a small garage-top bridge.

The tower, with its main drive-up entry on Quadrille Boulevard, will be of lightly tinted glass, she said. Its designed to look transparent, airy and open, so you can see through the lobby to the paseo, she said.

The tower will taper slightly toward its top, with subtle "fins" on the sides, to accent its verticality.

The garage is designed not to be disguised, as in some buildings, but to be as "soft" and attractive a structure as possible, with colorful art by Felice Varini wrapping around its sides, around its corners and into its interior, with fragmented geometric shapes that look different from different angles.

"What makes the building important in today's world is that It has all the latest technological advances," Cohen said, touting its quality level as Class A-plus.

"Were in a different world now and we will use that to educate ourselves, to make a building that will be not only world class in its planning and construction," the developer said, "but in the building systems and how it will be a healthy environment that is all focused on wellness and allowing people to feel safe and secure in an office environment."

tdoris@pbpost.com

@TonyDorisPBP

Chybik + Kristof Architects & Urban Designers, Lahofer Winery, Dobice, Czech Republic, 2020

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Lahofer Winer by Chybik + Kristof Architects & Urban Designers follows the rhythm of the viticultural landscape - Domus

Argentinian architect Emilio Ambasz is considered a pioneer of green architecture, has taught at the School of Architecture at Princeton University, and served as curator of the MoMA from 1969 to 1976. He has been the recipient of major international awards, such as the Honorary Fellowship at the American Institute of Architects and the Honorary International Fellowship at the Royal Institute of British Architects. One of his important works, the ACROS centre, which stands for Asian CrossRoad Over the Sea, designed in Fukuoka in Japan, recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. The project is the result of a line of research that the Argentinian architect had embarked upon fifteen years prior, based on the idea of giving back to nature the land taken from it with the construction of a building, neatly summarised by the saying green over grey. Indeed, the need for new government offices in Fukuoka was nearly irreconcilable with the fact that the only available site was a two-hectare public park in the city centre. The idea of using this last green area for a new construction, albeit for public purposes, was met with strong opposition and protests from citizens. The design proffered by architect Emilio Ambasz had the merit of reconciling the two opposing positions, allowing for the same span of green land to be preserved whilst still constructing the new offices, with the added benefit of obtaining an iconic building representative of the entire city.

The Argentinian architects idea, based on a system of garden terraces, allowed for the expansion of the buildings faade, all whilst compensating for the portion of green land taken up by the construction. The structure features 14 large terraced gardens, each alternating with pools and water courses. Finally, on the roof, there is a belvedere that offers panoramic views over the port and the areas surrounding the city. All this is accessible and open to the public, along with the land in front. Talking about his project, the architect Emilio Ambasz said: The building is at the heart of a city that previously had a two-hectare square and which still has a two-hectare square. Inside, a surface of over 97,000m2 is home to: multipurpose spaces with an exhibition hall, a museum, a 2000-seat theatre, conference rooms, government and private offices, an information centre for tourists, commercial spaces and four underground levels.Emilio Ambaszs green pyramid has had a profound influence on subsequent projects which sought - and still seek - to establish a relationship of coexistence between architecture and nature. The ACROS centre has won major international awards, such as the American Institute of Architects Business Week/Architectural Record Award and the first prize from the Japanese Institute of Architecture. Twenty-five years after its construction, there are two solid tests proving that the Argentinian architects intuitions remain valid to this day. The building has shown significant natural development: whereas at its opening, the green pyramid was home to 76 plant varieties and 37,000 plants, today it boasts 120 varieties and 50,000 plants. In addition, a thermal environment measurement survey conducted by Takenaka Corporation, Kyushu University and the Nippon Institute of Technology has certified that the ACROS centre makes a significant contribution to reducing the heat island around it and to reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions, making for a 15C difference between the exterior and interior of the building in the hotter seasons.

(Agnese Bifulco)

Architects: Emilio AmbaszLocation: Fukuoka, Japan

Continued here:
Architecture and nature: 25 years of Emilio Ambasz's ACROS centre in Fukuoka - Floornature.com

CHICAGO Hours after Mayor Lori Lightfoot scolded a large, maskless crowd at Montrose Beach on Twitter, city crews erected fencing to try to block off access to the closed beach.

Its called a pandemic, people. This reckless behavior on Montrose Beach is what will cause us to shut down the parks and lakefront. Dont make us take steps backwards, Lightfoot warned in a tweet.

In a follow-up tweet, Lightfoot said she visited Montrose Beach personally.

In case you were wondering, I stopped by to see for myself. Its being addressed, Lightfoot wrote.

By Sunday, approximately 300 yards of fencing was installed between the grassy area that leads to the beach and the sand.

Less than 24 hours after Lightfoots tweet, people continued to gather near Montrose Harbor and the nearby lakefront. Many people walked around the fencing.

Some entered the area by walking past The Dock at Montrose Beach, the newly reopened beachside restaurant. But owner Luke Cholodecki said he does not let customers wait outside his restaurant and none of his patrons were involved in the partying condemned by the mayor.

Amy Osborne of Lakeview who was at the beach with two friends said she didnt see the mayors tweets.

I dont think its really a problem, she said.

Chicago Park District spokesman Michelle Lemons confirmed that park district employees installed fencing Sunday to deter large gatherings.

While the lakefront trail is open, Chicagos beaches and parkland east of Lake Shore Drive remain closed under the Chicago Department of Public Healths executive order, Lemons wrote in an email.

On Sunday evening, Chicago Police and emergency workers blocked cars from entering the driveway that leads to the beach from both Montrose and Wilson Avenues, but were not stopping pedestrians on foot.

Another woman at the beach who declined to give her name said she did see the mayors warning. She shrugged her shoulders in response.

Her boyfriend, who accompanied her, responded with a shrug, too, and a laugh: That says it all.

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City Fences Off Montrose Beach After Lightfoot Scolds Beachgoers: 'It's A Pandemic, People' - Block Club Chicago

Clinton was hit very hard from the storm last night. Clinton County is one of many that Governor Reynolds has declared a disaster area, which means they are eligible for federal aid.

Trees are down all over Clinton, and one was in the middle of a road. Local Four News spoke with one neighbor who had some property damage.

David Martensen just moved into his new house in Clinton a couple weeks ago. Last night was a wild one and its one that he will never forget.

I came home. I came with my mom in a car and we came here to see the damage at my house and I witnessed branches and trees laying on my shed here and its pretty devastating. I was pretty frightened.

As the severe weather was rolling in, Martensen immediately went to his mothers house to pick her up and get her to safety.

I cant really get her down in the basement so I figured it would be safer to get her in a car and find some shelter somewhere. So we found kind of like an overpass to just hide under.

Matensen didnt have any damage to his house, but his shed and fence in his backyard werent so lucky.

I was renting another house up in the north end of town, central part of town and I loaded it up on a trailer and just brought it down here because I thought it would be a nice little extra shed to keep lawnmowers and stuff in and I wasnt really expecting a limb to fall on it and destroy it the way it did.

Considering the extent of the storm, Martensen knows it could have been a lot worse.

I was surprised that was all there was. It was just a shed. Im not complaining at all.

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Clinton man has shed and fence destroyed from severe weather - WHBF - OurQuadCities.com

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Minnesota's temporary fence around the state Capitol has cost taxpayers at least $38,000 -- and counting -- and state officials say the barrier will stay up indefinitely.

The decision to keep the fence up is a reversal in tone from last month, when officials said it would come down soon. During Monday's meeting of the Advisory Committee on Capitol Security, state officials said the Capitol has recently become the target of increasing vandalism.

Minnesota's temporary fence around the state Capitol has cost taxpayers at least $38,000 -- and counting -- and state officials say the barrier will stay up indefinitely.

The fence has been in place since May 31. Large protests broke out after the Memorial Day police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, prompting Gov. Tim Walz's administration to order the Minnesota National Guard and a large contingent of state troopers to guard the Capitol around the clock. The National Guard has gone home and most of the troopers have returned to their regular posts, but the fence has remained.

The fence cost $18,707 for installation plus $274 a day in rental fees, according to a copy of the contract with Minneapolis-based Mortenson Construction and Keller Fence in St. Paul. The money is coming out of the Department of Administration's operational budget.

The fence -- and the locking of the Capitol because of the coronavirus pandemic -- has blocked the public from entering the building, even as the Legislature has held two high-profile special sessions this summer. A third special session is scheduled to start Wednesday.

"Its helpful, and thats the bottom line," State Patrol Col. Matt Langer said of the fence. "I would hope it could stay in place for the foreseeable future."

In the past two months, Langer said the State Patrol has "staffed the Capitol complex like we have never staffed it before and is significantly over budget for security. The Capitol is "extremely large" to protect with troopers alone, added Capt. Eric Roeske, the head of the State Patrol's Capitol Security unit.

Administration Commissioner Alice Roberts-Davis said the Capitol complex is increasingly a target. In recent weeks, taggers have put graffiti on concrete, statue pedestals and security bollards. Someone used a chisel to damage the Peace Officers' Memorial, she said.

The Peace Officers' Memorial is being repaired, Roberts-Davis said. She did not say whether anyone was caught or arrested for the incidents, and a follow-up email to the state Department of Public Safety went unanswered.

The most infamous incident on the Capitol grounds in recent weeks happened June 10, when protesters toppled the Christopher Columbus statue. No one has been arrested in that incident. The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension turned over the case to the Ramsey County attorney in July, and prosecutors are "getting close" to a charging decision, Langer said.

The fence has many critics.

State Sen. Scott Dibble said the Walz administration should take it down by January, when the Legislature is scheduled to start its 2021 session.

"Ill just make the point that the fence is ugly and sends a really negative message," said Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis.

Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who has argued for fence removal in July, said she also wanted an answer by January so the public would know how to engage with lawmakers.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea pushed for a timeline on fence removal, and said the court wants to hear cases in its Capitol courtroom in September.

"Its almost middle of August now. So what is the deadline for when were going to have a plan here?" Gildea asked.

Monday, no one provided any timelines. Roberts-Davis made a cost-savings argument, pointing to the recent $310 million restoration of the Capitol and said the state must protect its investment.

What I would hate to see is us take the fence down and go through that expense and then end up in a position where we have to put the fence back up because of something thats happened again," Roberts-Davis said.

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Minnesota's fence around the Capitol is costing $274 a day -- and it's staying up indefinitely - FOX 9

The video clip I received to my cellphone contained 29 seconds of waves breaking on rocks. Were in Tel Aviv, my friend wrote me. How much excitement was compressed into those few words.

She is from Nablus. She, her husband and their two children did what tens of thousands of Palestinians from throughout the West Bank have been doing in recent weeks. They left through a breach in the separation fence and entered Israel.

LISTEN: Trump's tragedy, Netanyahu's debt and Jewish unityHaaretz

This was the first time her 25-year-old son had crossed the Green Line and seen Palestines sea. He didnt want to leave, my friend said. He went crazy over how beautiful the sea is.

As chance had it, they exited through the breach at Farun, east of Taibeh, about half an hour after I left that exact same spot. Like them, I saw the soldiers standing on the road and watching as masses of people crossed on foot from the fence to waiting minibuses or taxis.

I saw entire families, groups of young people, couples, babies in strollers and toddlers trotting along the dirt road after their parents. Some went down the sides of the narrow wadi and climbed up toward the breach. Still others chose the longer but easier, paved route there.

It went on all day and all evening. They came from cities, villages and refugee camps. Some headed to Acre and some to Netanya. Some planned to spend the night in the Galilee or the Triangle region, others would go home at midnight. The excessive price for a taxi ride angered them, but didnt deter them.

And as usual, there were small-scale entrepreneurs there. One was selling masks. Another lugged a canister of cooking gas all day, back and forth, and sold coffee or sage tea. Im afraid the soldiers will shoot me, because theyll think the canister is a weapon, he said. But the lure of some income was stronger than his fear.

These breaches in the fence are no secret, and BTselem the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories has documented cases in which soldiers shot and seriously wounded laborers who entered Israel through them. Yet the army, the lord and master on the ground, hasnt closed them.

Its also well-known that these breaches have multiplied since the coronavirus pandemic began. They are now spread out along the entire length of the fence.

Before dawn, laborers come through them. Israel needs their work, and they need a livelihood. Farmers whose land is locked away on the other side of the separation barrier also come through them. That way, when they go to and return from their fields, they dont have to wait for soldiers to open the gate.

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And over the past two weeks, even before the Eid al-Adha holiday on July 31, they have been joined by a never-ending stream of vacationers people who long for normalcy, freedom of movement, fun and visits to friends. Theyre hungering to travel around their homeland, said Ehab Al-Jariri, editor and host of one of Palestinian radios most interesting talk shows.

I decided to wait with the story and pictures of this exodus. I was afraid that any attention to it from the Israeli media would hasten the closure of the breaches. An opportunity for another few thousand Palestinians to exercise their right to travel around their homeland is much more important than any journalistic report.

For the same reason, photographer Oren Ziv of +972 Magazine, whom I met during one of my visits to Farun, decided to temporarily shelve his photographs. But now that the story has already been told on Israeli television, we have been freed from this decision.

When so many breaches have remained open for around half a year, its clear that this is a decision from above. Israeli security officials have made some sort of cost-benefit calculation, once again proving the extent to which Israeli control over the Palestinians is present, invasive and capricious.

In the morning, soldiers actually do lie in wait near the breaches in some parts of the West Bank and fire tear gas canisters at people as they pass by. Why? Its not clear. Palestinians have been busy speculating about why the breaches havent been closed and why soldiers sometimes fire tear gas at them and sometimes dont. Indeed, by Tuesday morning reports from along the fence were telling about soldiers shooting tear gas and closing some breaches.

The fear or the dangers the vacationers may face are dwarfed in comparison to the possibility of freeing themselves of the usual suffocation and stress, if only for a day. Even if afterward, the feeling of being imprisoned in West Bank enclaves merely grows stronger.

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Homeland tour: Why I didnt write about the breach in the border fence - Haaretz

A Visalia man is accused of being under the influence crashed through a fence and fled the scene, police said.(Photo: File photo)

A Visalia man who crashedthrough a fence and fled the scene may have been driving under the influence, police said.

Around 4 p.m. Monday, officers were called to Whitendale Avenueand Chinowth Street after someone reported a car had nearly slammed into a home.

The driver fled the scene before officers arrived. Police say the fence was damaged, but no one was hurt in the yard or home.

Officers searched the area and eventually found Jeremy Kyle, 38, on the Linwood Elementary Schoolbaseball field. It's unclear what he was doing on school grounds.

"School was not in session and there were no students present during the incident," Sgt. Mona Whaley stated in a press release.

Kyle was evaluated by officers who determined he wasunder the influence. He suffered minor injuries and was treated at Kaweah Delta Medical Center.

He was later released from the hospital and booked into Tulare County Pretrial Facility on suspicion of DUI and hit-and-run.

Because no injuries were reported, Kyle will likely avoid felony DUI charges but could face a stiffer penalty for the hit-and-run, if convicted. He will be required to pay restitution fees to repair the fence, if the charges stick.

If anyone has information regarding this incident, they are urged to call the Visalia Police Department at 734-8116.

Sheyanne Romero covers Tulare County public safety, local government and business for the Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register newspapers. Follow her on Twitter @sheyanne_VTD. Get alerts and keep up on all things Tulare County for as little as $1 a month. Subscribe today.

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Alleged drunken driver crashes through fence, runs from Visalia police - Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register

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Check out this great blue heron spotted on a fence in Brownwood. Thanks to Richard Steiner for sharing!

Great Blue Heron On Fence In Brownwood

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Great Blue Heron On Fence In Brownwood - Villages-News

Omaha police were called to Millard Family Hospital around 1 a.m. Monday.Upon arrival, they spoke with the 18-year-old victim who said she was injured when she and some friends were attempting to sneak into a closed pool at the Autumn Grove Apartments on South 156th Court. The teen said she slipped while climbing the fence and impaled her left arm on the spiked top.She was taken to the hospital by her friends.Police believe alcohol was involved. It is not clear if the victim will face any charges.

Omaha police were called to Millard Family Hospital around 1 a.m. Monday.

Upon arrival, they spoke with the 18-year-old victim who said she was injured when she and some friends were attempting to sneak into a closed pool at the Autumn Grove Apartments on South 156th Court.

The teen said she slipped while climbing the fence and impaled her left arm on the spiked top.

She was taken to the hospital by her friends.

Police believe alcohol was involved. It is not clear if the victim will face any charges.

Original post:
Omaha police: Teenage girl impales arm on fence while trying to sneak into closed pool - KETV Omaha

Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

We are going to make this happen: Developer gives more details on next-gen office tower for West Palm – Palm Beach Post

Lahofer Winer by Chybik + Kristof Architects & Urban Designers follows the rhythm of the viticultural landscape – Domus

Architecture and nature: 25 years of Emilio Ambasz’s ACROS centre in Fukuoka – Floornature.com

City Fences Off Montrose Beach After Lightfoot Scolds Beachgoers: ‘It’s A Pandemic, People’ – Block Club Chicago

Clinton man has shed and fence destroyed from severe weather – WHBF – OurQuadCities.com

Minnesota’s fence around the Capitol is costing $274 a day — and it’s staying up indefinitely – FOX 9

Homeland tour: Why I didnt write about the breach in the border fence – Haaretz

Alleged drunken driver crashes through fence, runs from Visalia police – Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register

Great Blue Heron On Fence In Brownwood – Villages-News

Omaha police: Teenage girl impales arm on fence while trying to sneak into closed pool – KETV Omaha