Project

Amazon has submitted proposed designs for Phase 2 of Bellevue 600 project in Washington, US.

Being developed in two phases, the Bellevue 600 project will house additional Amazon employees at the location. 

Phase 1 of the project involves redevelopment of the eastern section of the property and will include a 43-story office tower with underground parking. Under Phase 2, the firm will demolish the existing Bellevue Corporate Plaza structure and build a 31-storey office building.

Amazon’s Bellevue 600 site spans 3.5 acres and will stretch from 110th Avenue NE to 108th Avenue NE. It comprises two sustainable office buildings, which will have a combined capacity for more than 7,000 Amazon employees.

The second tower of the project will comprise mixed-use office space, meeting rooms, and informal gathering areas with 8,000ft² retail and exhibition space on the ground floor. Additionally, the tower will feature more than 14,000ft² of street-level retail space and a new day care centre.

Amazon said it would build an ADA-accessible, 16ft-wide park-like walking path in a new outdoor plaza and garden between the two buildings. It will also provide access to new art installations and a locally operated coffee bar to the public.

The Bellevue 600 site will also provide direct access to the adjacent Bellevue Transit Center and Link light rail station to the employees and visitors.

Image: Artist rendering of Amazon’s new Bellevue 600 site. Credit: Amazon

Project

BAM and Sweco to modernise British Antarctic Survey research stations

BAM Nuttall and Sweco are set to modernise the British Antarctic Survey research stations.

The companies have secured a tender for a new ten-year partnership commissioned by UK Research and Innovation to carry forward the Antarctic Infrastructure Modernisation Programme.

The partnership provides the framework for delivering a range of sustainable construction projects such as new scientific support buildings, laboratories, accommodation, upgraded recycling and waste management facilities and runway enhancements.

The project will help the British Antarctic Survey meet its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2040 through innovation, design and technical capability.

Project

Suffolk constructs mixed-use building in western Los Angeles

Real estate company Suffolk has completed the construction of a multi-family, mixed-use building designed by Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects in western Los Angeles, US.

Developed by CIM Group, the five-storey complex 1500 Granville has been constructed for the University of California (UCLA) medical students.

It covers 174,000ft² and features 153 units, namely 15,000ft² of retail and 308 subterranean parking spaces.

CIM Group sold 1500 Granville to a joint venture between UCLA Housing and UCLA Medical.

The building will serve as a housing option for UCLA Medical’s house staff, medical graduates and other students.

Design

Urban Confluence announces winner of Silicon Valley landmark competition

Urban Confluence Silicon Valley has announced SMAR Architecture Studio’s Breeze of Innovation as the winner of the global open ideas competition for an iconic landmark in Silicon Valley, California, US.

Fernando Jerez and Belén Pérez de Juan of SMAR Architecture designed the Breeze of Innovation.

The winner has been selected from 963 submissions received from 72 countries on six continents, the competition jury comprising local, national and international design and place-making experts.

Located at Arena Green in Guadalupe Park and Gardens, San José, the project has raised more than $2.5m to date and fundraising efforts are ongoing. The project is scheduled to go before the San José City Council for approval of the winning design this May.

The Breeze of Innovation is intended to create a dramatic visual effect of swaying in the wind by making use of the natural movement of 500 dynamic rods. It will also generate sufficient power to light the structure, giving it a strong presence during day and night.

The design envisions a conical void within a 200ft tower, creating a vertical space, multiple levels of walkways and a viewing platform that offers 360^o views from the structure’s top.

Singapore awards civil contracts worth $391.45m to build four rail stations

The Land Transport Authority of Singapore has awarded two civil contracts, worth a total of $391.45m, to build four stations for the Jurong Region Line. A joint venture between China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation and SCB Building Construction was awarded $195.7m to build two stations, while Hwa Seng Builder won $195.7m to design and construct the other two stations.

SLAM designs expanded ER department at Mt. San Rafael Hospital in Colorado

The S/L/A/M Collaborative (SLAM), in partnership with Mt. San Rafael Hospital in Trinidad, Colorado, recently completed $25m worth of renovation work to the hospital's new two-story emergency room department addition, as part of an overall renovation project designed to improve the delivery of care for the community and modernise the hospital’s image and brand.

Choice Properties and Daniels to redevelop Golden Mile Mall in Canada

Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) has partnered with the Daniels Corporation on phase one of the Golden Mile Shopping Centre redevelopment in Toronto, Canada, which involves redeveloping the 67-year-old, 19-acre shoping centre into a mixed-use, mixed-income, multi-generational and transit-oriented community. It will include two condominium towers, a purpose-built rental building, as well as retail, institutional and office spaces.

Perry Barr residential scheme in the UK achieves construction milestone

Kier has announced the culmination of the Perry Barr residential scheme in Birmingham, UK, which is a significant construction milestone for the project.

Once completed, the eight-storey mixed-use building will provide 267 residential apartments and commercial units. The Perry Barr residential scheme is part of the wider regeneration in the city’s north-west. It includes improved leisure and community facilities and upgrading transport infrastructure.

Eiffage secures contract for Dassault Systèmes Campus in Velizy-Villacoublay

Eiffage Construction has secured a contract to create a 27,600m² extension to the Dassault Systèmes Campus in Velizy-Villacoublay and Meudon in France. Led by site owners Covivio and Crédit Agricole Assurances, the project involves building a new addition the five buildings that make up Dassault Systèmes headquarters. Arte Charpentier Architectes designed the five-storey block around a central patio featuring a glass atrium and a monumental staircase.

The Star Grand Hotel Brisbane fit-out to commence from late 2021

As Queen’s Wharf Brisbane continues to rise into the city’s skyline, construction contractor Multiplex is preparing to install the external façade that will secure the towers and allow the internal fit-out to commence. Late last year, Multiplex was awarded the fit-out contract for towers two and three, which are the two arc-shaped buildings facing the Brisbane River that will house The Star Grand, a luxury five-star hotel expected to open in late 2022.