Ground has been broken for the Chinatrust Bank headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan, designed by NBBJ with Fei & Cheng Associates. Image: NBBJ Extra Large Image

Houston · 2009.0304
New York City-based Handel Architects LLP has revealed its design for a new 28-story residential tower in Houston, Texas. The Regent Square tower will include 150 condominiums, a 15,000-square-foot (1,400-square-meter) amenity deck, and 10,000 square feet (930 square meters) of indoor amenity areas. LEED certification is expected.

The design combines two distinctly different halves. The eastern half features floor-to-ceiling curtain wall with views of downtown Houston. The western half introduces double-height outdoor space to each unit with expansive views towards Memorial Park. Gary Handel, AIA, is serving as partner-in-charge. The building is part of a 15-acre (six-hectare) master plan for a pedestrian-oriented neighborhood. The developer is GID Urban Development Group.

Daytona Beach · 2009.0304
Construction is complete on a $76 million expansion of the Daytona Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Atlanta, Georgia, office of tvsdesign (Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates) designed the project with outdoor spaces and transparency to connect with the ocean and adjacent scenic byway. Materials and colors refer to auto racing and beachside life.

The expanded center now offers more than 200,000 square feet (19,000 square meters) of interior space for meetings, conventions, concerts, and trade shows, including a 97,000-square-foot (9,000-square-meter) exhibit hall, 41,000 square feet (3,800 square meters) of meeting rooms, a renovated 14,000-square-foot (1,300-square-meter) ballroom and a 10,000-seat arena. The expansion is part of a larger precinct master plan.

New York · 2009.0303
Three vice presidents of New York City firm Stonehill & Taylor Architects have been named principals and equity owners: Neill Parker, Jr., AIA; Michael Suomi, AIA; and Christina Zimmer, AIA. Parker has been with the company for 21 years, overseeing academic residence, historic preservation, and hospitality projects. Suomi has been with the firm five years and leads the firm's interiors business. Zimmer has worked at the firm for ten years and is a key manager of its hospitality practice.

Princeton · 2009.0227
KSS Architects of Princeton, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has promoted associate architects Merilee Meacock, AIA, LEED AP, and Scot Murdoch, AIA, to principal, and associate architect Andrew Tucker, AIA, LEED AP, to director of sustainable design, a new position in the firm. Meacock has designed many academic and education projects and is the market leader for the firm's K-12 market. Murdoch focuses on industrial architecture, and has designed millions of square feet of commercial buildings and distribution centers. Tucker has helped the firm strengthen its sustainable design capabilities in all market segments.

Taipei · 2009.0225
Ground has been broken for the Chinatrust Bank headquarters (rendered above) in Taipei, Taiwan. The 2.5 million-square-foot (230,000-square-meter) complex was designed by the Los Angeles, California, office of NBBJ, in cooperation with the local firm Fei & Cheng Associates.

The development will consist of a 30-story headquarters building, a 21-story commercial office building, a ten-story hotel, and a four-level retail center. The tower will have a series of vertical atriums carved into it, like vertical courtyards. These spaces will add a vertical dimension to the typically more horizontally orientated high-rise office tower. A central plaza, open to the public for various functions, forms the heart of the complex.

The complex was designed to meet the Taiwanese standard equivalent to a LEED-NC Gold rating. The facades of the office towers will feature curtain-wall design optimized for maximum daylight through narrow floor plates, with floor-to-ceiling glass and automatic sensors. The podium will be covered in roof gardens, reducing rainwater runoff and the urban-heat-island effect. Completion is slated for 2012.

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