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LAI Designs 52-acre Housing Complex in Kazakhstan

Image courtesy of Lee and Associates.

In association with the Korean design firm Gaone and DA architects, Lee and Associates, an urban design & landscape architecture firm based in Washington, D.C., recently completed the design and development of a 52.3 acre, 4266 residential complex in Kazakhstan’s largest city, the southern capital of Almaty. The client for this project was Woolim Construction Company, Ltd.

The design team’s approach maximized the view of the Tien-Shan Mountains with
innovative street and building layouts reinterpreting Kazakhstan cultural landscapes and lifestyles. The site includes southern and northern residential buildings along three major blocks and the core commercial district.

In developing the southern housing blocks, LAI transformed the undulating landscape into intriguing area gardens attached to the main pedestrian spine of the Silk Road Retail Strip. Water was introduced to guide pedestrian movement along the northern end of the site, animating the experience between carefully crafted urban parks and the street level retail. As the core commercial blocks proceed from the main entrance plaza to the enclosed terminal plaza, outdoor stages and gathering places of various sizes align water channels accentuating the dynamics of place and activities ranging from the shopping experience to special programmed events for the public areas.

Lee and Associates win the 455 acre Waterfront Master plan for Woonbook Leisure Complex City in Incheon, Korea

Image courtesy of Lee and Associates.

Lee and associates will provide the design oversight for all of the future phases of this project. Jeff Lee, ASLA, the principal in charge of the winning effort stated, “ As a Korean born American practicing in Washington, D.C., it is a tremendous thrill to be working on such a commission.”

EDSA has been recognized by Zweig White, a leading source of management consulting, information, and education for the design and construction industry, as one of the fastest growing firms in the country. Every year Zweig White evaluates hundreds of architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental companies on their ability to survive economic instabilities over the previous few years while still increasing revenue.

EDSA became one of only 100 firms ranked in The Zweig Letter 2006 Hot Firms list by nearly doubling their revenue from 2002 to 2005 with an 82 percent growth rate. “We’re very pleased with ranking among an elite list of competitors and colleagues,” says Joaquin Vendrell, CFO at EDSA. “Our strategy has been one of continuous, quality growth, if not for obvious reasons, for the opportunities it brings our employees.” The internationally recognized firm has an established project/client base in major regions around the world including China, Dubai, and Spain. The firm’s international and domestic work has made it necessary to double the staff in the past three and a half years.

American Hydrotech Inc. has received an award from Green Roofs for Healthy Cities for its involvement with the Ballard Library project in Seattle. This project is also included in the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Top 10 Green Projects of 2006.
 
All told, American Hydrotech was involved in 6 of 7 projects that received Awards of Excellence at the recent Green Roofs for Healthy Cities conference in Boston. They include:
 

• Extensive Institutional: Ballard Library, Seattle
• Extensive Residential: Eastern Village, Silver Spring, Maryland
• Extensive Industrial/Commercial: Phillips Eco-Enterprise Center (PEEC), Minneapolis
• Intensive Residential: Seapointe Village Deck Restoration, Wildwood Crest, New Jersey
• Intensive Institutional: Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, Mashantucket, Connecticut
• Intensive Industrial/Commercial: 601 Congress Street, Seaport District, Boston

The award write-ups are posted online at the Green Roofs for Healthy Cities website. Click on 2006 Award Winners on the left-hand side for the complete list of projects.

Joseph R. Volpe Associates has received an honor award from the Boston Society of Architects Urban Design Ideas competition for its project, “Edge as Center Brickbottom, Somerville, Massachusetts.”

The Brickbottom urban design proposal seeks to transform the area into a more sustainable urban neighborhood grounded in the three principles of sustainability: 1) Engage the landscape of natural processes of earth, wind, sun, rain, and the plant community; 2) Invest in the entrepreneurial enterprises of a research and development park devoted to The Ecology of Energy, Resources, and Consumption; and 3) Promote social equity in housing and neighborhood commerce. The key is mass transportation and friendly, democratic streets linked to a pedestrian network and significant open space system of greenways, parks, and plazas.

In judging the project, Adele Naude Santos, FAIA, dean of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Architecture & Planning, said, “This project is cited because it is well researched and developed. This project proposed a mixed-use district and made great attempts to stitch everything together. The jury also noted the designers’ close attention to the scale of places—green space, residential, and workplaces.”