Amazon has submitted a proposal for one of their new HQ2 (their 2nd headquarters) buildings in Arlington, Virginia.
The Helix at will include lush gardens and flourishing trees native to the region. A true double helix in shape and structure, this unique building will feature two walkable paths of landscaped terrain that will spiral up the outside of the building, featuring plantings you may find on a hike in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.
Read more about the effort by 2 architects to improve living conditions, Lagos shows how a city can recover from a deep, deep pit:
In 1997 two architects set out to rethink Lagos, an African megacity that had been largely abandoned by the state. Amid the apparent chaos and crime, they discovered remarkable patterns of organisation. Two decades later, Rem Koolhaas and Kunlé Adeyemi discuss the past, present and future of the city – and reveal why their own project never saw the light of day
There work is a great example how appropriate technology and architecture can be used to provide for the needs to communities. Here is a longer video on Kunlé Adeyemi efforts:
Related: Influential Architects: Mies van der Rohe – Using Algae Filled Window Panes to Provide Passive and Active Solar – Concrete Houses 1919 and 2007 – Green Building with Tire Bales
Creating livable green spaces in the middle of urban sprawl is a great goal. And good work in elevated green spaces has been done in the last 10 years. This image is a rendering of a proposed huge green roofing and park project spanning many buildings (double the size of the current largest green roof).
Rendering of proposed green roof.
The whole development seems pretty spectacular and the huge green roofing concept is very cool. I wonder how likely it is to be developed? The location in the Silicon Valley makes it much more likely it seems to me as there is plenty of money there for extravagance. The entire project is estimated at $3 billion.
World’s largest green roof unveiled in the heart of Silicon Valley
The Hills at Vallco’s crown jewel is without a doubt its $3 million 30-acre green roof, an unprecedented engineering feat that’s “at least twice as big as anything attempted before it.” The elevated community park will include 3.8 miles of walking and jogging trails along rolling hills, orchards, vineyards, meadows, organic gardens, children’s play areas, and a sanctuary for native fauna and flora.
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On street-level, the new mixed-use neighborhood will feature a highly walkable and bikeable downtown street-grid anchored by two town squares. Parking would be primarily tucked underground and a transit center may be built at the shopping center. The 15-block street grid will be filled with 625,000 square feet of retail, 2 million square feet of office space, and 800 residential units.
I am not sure what the $3 million price tag includes. It sure doesn’t seem like much money given the scope. My guess is it must exclude most of the costs – such as creating the infrastructure for laying the green roof; unless it is much cheaper than I would think.
The development site sits between Apple’s Infinite Loop headquarters and the spaceship-like Apple Campus 2 in Cupertino, California.
Related: The Benefits of Green Roofs – University of California, Berkeley: 2010 Livable Buildings Awards – Wonderful Low Impact Woodland House with a Green Roof
Wonderful design to allow bikes to safely travel. The dominance of cars in our transit solutions is something that we need to improve. This is a nice step in the right direction.
These types of urban planning solutions are also part of the health care system. Encouraging healthy activity in many ways does more to promote health than treating the symptoms of inactivity.
Related: Traffic Congestion and a History of Non-Solutions – The Case for Physically Separated Bike Lanes – Car Style Mass Transit Mag Lev System – How Walkable is Your Prospective Neighborhood – Disregard for People by FedEX and UPS