Desitecture @ Vertical Cities Conference - Hong Kong

We were invited earlier this year to participate and present at a Marcus Evans event called Vertical Cities. The Vertical Cities conference that took place from the 5th - 7th of March 2012 in InterContinental Grand Stanford, Hong Kong. Vertical Cities was specifically designed to meet all building industry practitioners' demands to secure and guarantee their investments.

Prof. Layton Reid took with him a presentation for the conference regarding our own experience in designing a Vertical City and also gave an illustrated explanation on how we envisage future living.


















"Today’s world is soaring and rising high with Vertical Cities boasting of cutting-new edge ‘urban architecture’ i.e. new buildings and preserving the heritage buildings recognisable around the world. The epitome of Vertical Cities is an integration of buildings within a city life with important sociocultural implications. Vertical Cities is a collaboration of typical high-rise forms which includes retail malls and multi-use towers that stack and mix commercial, retail, and residential functions.

In a congested city, the main concerns are designing of sustainable high density built environments where the problems of urban sprawl, traffic congestion and pollution have threatened the prospects of biodiversity, greenery, livability and general well-being of the inhabitants. The solution to cope with high density cities is to build upwards. In the past, many countries have deployed tall buildings as a way to solve urban problems, while at the same time creating national identity for the country through a powerful skyline. Vertical cities are now a sought-after urban habitat in upcoming cities. Vertical cities are seen as the only solution to achieving economies of scale and to address issues pertaining to space, high land prices and density challenges."

This event provided insights on the state-of-the-art techniques that can be drawn upon from the vast experience of our global speaker line-up through practical case studies and panel on its importance to the building sector be it upcoming or existing buildings; will have to adopt green initiatives and energy efficiency to remain competitive and at the same time sustainable.

The three days agenda included a choice of three streams over two days and two streams on the third day - GreenBuild: Towards Eco Sustainability. The streams for the first two days of conference were Masterplanning and Typology, Engineering and Structural Design and Sustainability and Revitalisation and the third day were Innovative Technologies and Smart & Sustainable Materials.

Speakers at the Vertical Cities event were:
- Ir. Conrad T. C. Wong Chairman of Hong Kong Green Building Council
- Dr. Ken Yeang Chairman and Director of Design of Llewelyn Davies Yeang, UK
- Marshall Strabala Founder and Design Partner of 2DEFINE Architecture
- Julien De Smedt Founder & Director of Julien De Smedt Architects, Brussels & Copenhagen
- Silas Chiow Director of Skidmore Owings & Merrill, China
- Layton Reid, Founder of Desitecture, UK
- Robert Forest Founding Partner, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
- Cathy Yang Vice President of Taipei Financial Center Corp, Taiwan
- Ian Milne Design Director of Atkins, Hong Kong
- Agnes Ng Chairman of BEAM Society Limited
- Dr. Benny Chow Director of Sustainability of Aedas Ltd., Hong Kong
- Ar. Rajendra Kumar Principal Architect, Architect Rajendra Kumar, India


Do check the links:
http://en.acnnewswire.com/press-release/english/8862/key-building-and-architecture-experts-to-present-at-the-vertical-cities-in-hong-kong

http://www.verticalcities-lse.com/

Visions of the Future, Architecture for the 21st Century - Publication

Earlier this year Desitecture had two projects published within "Visions of the Future, Architecture for the 21st Century" by Loft publications, Barcelona.

We are very pleased with the outcome and the work looks great, sat alongside other brilliant architects like MVRDV, Will Alsop, Mitchell Joachim etc. It is a privilege to be associate with such esteem company.

The book highlights the alternatives envisaged by international experts about how we will live within a few decades: inevitable high-rise cities due to urban crowding or eco-friendly and self-sufficient metropolises are some of the prevailing trends seen in the seventy-plus projects included in the book. Via photos, plans, architectural illustrations, sketches, diagrams, texts and captions, this volume offers readers a clear image of the types of housing and cities to expect in a possible, and not so distant, future.

Science Museum - New Galleries Pitch

A space where experience is science.

Desitecture took part in a speculative proposal for new galleries at the science museum london, in collaboration with a group of graphic, interactive, experience, exhibition and creative designers and artists. The seamless form evokes an undulating valley with a stream of circulation populated by flowers of information and climates of visual experiences. The proposal intends to house and narrate the treasures of the science museum as they relate to time, communication and the inclusive world.






























The gallery is an immersive environment with visitors free to stay, rest, sit or even recline on the surfaces, a veritable alternative, yet tangible virtual world; a place of play. The developed form takes the visitor on a journey through a landscape of experiences which reveal the interconnectedness of cultures and scientific endeavour.

Children have a special role in the continued development of the relevance of the gallery through their continued participation in a programme of lunchtime activities ending in the creation of a lunch box of ideas fro the future which is constantly updated and exhibited in the space.