2018-03-30

The importance to international cities of mixed-use and landmark ......

The importance to international cities of mixed-use and landmark tower development

On 23rd Mar, Haskoll Chairman Mr. Peter Goldsmith was invited to give a talk to Evergrande Zhengzhou, one of the most cherished clients of Haskoll. We have cooperated in several projects including Zidong Mixed use and Technology Market Upgrading. More than 60 related staffs of Hengda attended the activity. With his more than 40-year practice of architectural design, Mr. Peter Goldsmith shares his idea about the mixed use and landmark through the view of an architect.
 
Unlike what we usually think, the landmark is more than a concept of height, but is defined by its value to the human agreeableness through space and time. Haskoll are obliged to help our clients to develop high quality projects in terms of both social and company responsibilities, in the trends of urban renewal in china.


In ancient time, landmarks played the rolls as the center of gathering, as well as believing.  As for the super cities nowadays, Beijing and London for instance, more and more skyscrapers grown up as the city and popularity growing, witnessing the prosperous of the city.  These landmarks make a city several centers, or rather, the Main Commercial Zones.

With the transition of urban function, the definition of landmarks is changed accordingly. When talking about the landmarks, people now more refer to the CBD, but no longer to the Forbidden City.


The Landmarks are primarily the spaces for the residents. As Haskoll’s slogan says” Creating memorable places and workable space”, landmarks and mixed use give people a space to live in all aspects: Physical, Economic, Social, Environmental, and Cultural (PESEC).
 
The connection with people on the one hand is the value of landmarks to the city; on the other hand, however, is the problem an architect or a developer need to solve.
 
Referring to the most livable cities in the world, the keys can be interpreted into five points:  Future Proof, Diversity Mixed Use, Integrate Nature, Active& Functional Public Realm, and New Development Solutions.


The idea how a landmark was designed, developed and constructed was also illustrated in the meeting. Some projects conducted by Haskoll were introduced as the references, and Peter introduced the 6 Principle Types for Organization and Circulation, which are significant to mixed use projects.
 
As for the company identity and values, Peter referred to some projects in china to clarify. The concept and design is various as the projects differ. Also, the technical details were introduced through the drawings of some of the Haskoll Projects.