TAKE ARCHITECTURAL CONSULTING LTD. Omar Take, Architect AIBC, M.Arch.A.S., MIT
1-4100 SALSIH DRIVE, VANCOUVER BC, V6N 3M2, Canada - Tel: +1 (604 )719 1907 Fax: (604) 648 9703 Mail: Archiparis@gmail.com OmarTake@alum.mit.edu
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PHILOSOPHY
THE ART & SCIENCE OF BUILDING Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and constructing form, space and ambience that reflect functional, technical, social, and aesthetic considerations. At Tange Associates, we have always strived to create works of Architecture within an urban environment that is geared towards comfort. Places where people feel they want to live, work and visit, again and again. Our professional experience spans the globe, but large or small, regardless of borders, I learned under my mentor Kenzo Tange that our designs should focus on meeting the unique needs and comfort of our clients while adapting to the surrounding environment. To fully understand our clients' needs and aspirations we engage them in continuous, active dialogue. The result is unparalleled, creative and comfortable spaces -- inspired by our clients. It is true that form follows function, however, the aesthetic character of a project is major part of Function because it has an direct impact in people’s lives I reject the notion that Forms Follows Profit which is sadly the practice nowadays. I believe that the challenge of the Architect is to create any building as a sculptural timeless work regardless of budget constraints.
Omar Take, M.ARCH. A. S. M I T
Canadian Citizen, born in Mexico City
1972 - Bachelor of Architecture(with high distinction) , American University of Beirut
CURRICULUM
1975 - Masters in Architecture in Advanced Studies , Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA - Fulbright Scholar
1976 – Lecturer at the School of Architecture, American University of Beirut
1978 - 84
Principal Architect - Kenzo Tange & URTEC, Paris & Tokyo
1985 VP of the Projects Department - Council for Development & Reconstruction of Lebanon & Assistant Professor at the School of Architecture, American University of Beirut 1986 – 89
Senior Partner with E.A.S.T. (Engineering & Architecture Specialist Team)
Kuwait & London
1989 – 2000 Vice President of Kenzo Tange Associates, Paris & Tokyo
2000 -
- Representative of Tange Associates in Canada - Collaboration with Tange Associates for Projects in Europe & Middle East - President, Take Architectural Consulting – Vancouver, BC, Canada
PROFESSIONAL CAREER: PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT - KENZO TANGE & URTEC PARIS/TOKYO - 1976-1985 VP PROJECTS DEPT. CDR – BEIRUT, LEBANON 1985 E.A.S.T. – KUWAIT - Partner 1986 - 1989 VP OF KENZO TANGE ASSOCIATES, PARIS/TOKYO 1989 – 2000 REP. OF TANGE ASSOCIATES IN CANADA 2000 DESIGN CONSULTANT TO VARIOUS COMPANIES, VANCOUVER, 2000 – PRESIDENT - TAKE ARCHITECTURAL CONSULTING, VANCOUVER , CA 2003 –
It has been over half a century that the Tange name has been synonymous with epoch-making and contemporary architecture. Embedded within our creative process is the distinctive Tange "DNA," that has emerged through the practice over these many years, generating our commitment to design quality, client dialogue and respect for local issues. From this inspired "DNA," we strive to create innovative architecture integrated with warm and comfortable spaces as a freelance Design Consultant
HISTORY
1978 – 1984 - AS PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT WITH KENZO TANGE & URTEC
INTERIOR DESIGN OF THE AKASAKA PRINCE HOTEL – TOKYO
DESIGN COMPETITION FOR THE FESTIVAL HALL IN CANNES, FRANCE
MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND PETROLEUM – QATAR
KING FAISAL FOUNDATION, RIYADH, KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA
CENTRAL AREA OF ABUJA - THE NEW FEDERAL CAPITAL OF NIGERIA
PRESIDENTIAL PALACE COMPLEX IN DAMASCUS, SYRIA
URBAN PLANNING FOR A MAJOR URBAN COMPLEX IN NAPLES, ITALY
YARMOUK UNIVERSITY – JORDAN
ARAB GULF UNIVERSITY – BAHRAIN
ROYAL RESIDENCE FOR HIS LATE MAJESTY KING HUSSEIN OF JORDAN
THIS IS THE OFFICE BUILDING WHERE I BEGAN MY PROFESSIONAL CAREER UNDER PROF. KENZO TANGE IN 1978 – KENZO TANGE & URTEC DESIGNED THIS BUILDING IN 1972
THE SCULPTURAL ATRIUM DESIGNED BY THE FAMOUS SCULPTOR ISAMO NOGUCHI.
Location Use No. of stories
: Tokyo, JAPAN : Offices, Sogestsu School : 11 levels & 4 basements
KENZO TANGE & URTEC OFFICE
THANKS TO THIS PROJECT I HAD THE HONOR OF MEETING MY FUTURE MENTOR AND BOSS! I collaborated with Tange’s office from 1976-1978 while I was a resident in Saudi Arabia on this Project and King Faisal’s Foundation Headquarters Building in Riyadh
ROYAL GUEST PALACE OF SAUDI ARABIA
THE PROJECTS INTERIOR DESIGN OF THE AKASAKA PRINCE HOTEL When I first joined Kenzo Tange & URTEC Paris Office in 1978, Professor Tange asked me to travel to Tokyo to work on the interior design of the Akasaka Prince Hotel – a 1000 room hotel that was under construction. He had seen my work when I first met him in Saudi Arabia where my late Mother had been practicing Interior Design since 1970 and was collaborating with Professor Tange who was working on the design of the Royal Palace for the late King Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz. I could not find any fabrics that I liked in Japan, so I flew to Los Angeles and collected all the samples for upholstery, carpets, selected the furniture for the guest rooms, etc. I ended up with 5 different color schemes and to my huge satisfaction, Professor Tange loved them and did not change anything – I was very proud to achieve my first successful assignment!.
Period Location Total floor area Site area Use No. of stories Building height No. of units
:1982 : Tokyo, JAPAN : 67,750.60 sq.m : 31,024 sq.m : Hotel : 39 levels with 2 basements : 138.9 m : 761 rooms
INTERIOR DESIGN OF THE AKASAKA PRINCE HOTEL
CANNES FESTIVAL HALL – DESIGN COMPETITION The second project I worked on was for an International Invited Competition for the design of the Cannes Festival Hall and Casino and worked very intensely on the design scheme that I thought was amazing – unfortunately, the Mayor of Cannes awarded the project to a young architect from Biot The wining scheme became a total disappointment to the City – the City lost a big opportunity to have a landmark created by Tange. This happens a lot unfortunately. I could write a book about this experience. My contribution was limited to the Interior Design but I was working with the design team and learned a lot about Tange’s approach to design. The team prepared 12 different alternative design schemes with volumetric models and they would meet daily with Tange to discuss the pros and cons of every scheme and later on a local architect named Pierre Bergeret flew to Tokyo and helped select the final scheme to be presented because he knew better than anyone else the taste of the local people since he had been practicing over there for over 30 years. The pictures on the next slide shows the Model of our Project with the roof gardens and The Casino on the left overlooking the Mediterranean Sea along the Famous Promenade de la Croissette.
CANNES FESTIVAL HALL – DESIGN COMPETITION Photos of the Model
Period :1979 - 1981 Location : Doha, State of Qatar Total floor area : 4,600 sq.m Site area :8,000 sq.m Use : Office Building No. of stories : 5 levels & basement
MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND PETROLEUM AFFAIRS
MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND PETROLEUM – DOHA, STATE OF QATAR •
This Project was commissioned to our Office in 1979– We designed the Project out of our Paris o ffice and I was appointed as the Chief Project Architect. The fact that I was fluent in 5 languages including the Arabic Language helped a lot in communicating with the Technical Office of His High ness the Amir of Qatar. It consisted in a 10,000 m2 as an addition to an old Ministry building loc ated in the main boulevard of the City.
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This is a project that I handled from the inception to it’s final completion including Preliminary Des ign and Design Development. The working drawings were carried out at our Tokyo office togethe r with the tender documents. I was too busy coordinating other projects in Europe particularly the Naples Project and could not participate in the preparation of the working drawings that were all d one by hand (sadly there was no AutoCAD at the time!) We selected an Engineering Office in B eirut to do the MEP and Structural Design.
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Turner International were appointed as Construction Managers (the head was a Canadian Engine er from Montreal!). He used to send me regularly the shop drawings by DHL and fortunately the aluminum works were executed in France that made it easier to review and approve the aluminu m shop drawings. I would fly to Doha and Beirut to coordinate the Engineering Design and later on once a month for the Top Supervision and approval of finishing elements. I also flew to Carrar a, Italy to select the Sardinian granite that we used for the facades.
Period Use
: 1976 – 1985 : Office Buildings, Shops and Al Khozama Hotel Location : Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA
KING FAISAL FOUNDATION HEADQUARTERS COMPLEX
CENTRAL AREA OF ABUJA – THE NEW FEDERAL CAPITAL OF NIGERIA In 1978, the government of Nigeria decided to build a New Capital in the centre of the nation, 500 kilometers north-east of Lagos. The geographical location of Abuja provided equal accessibility to the three major tribes and was aimed to bec ome a symbol of unity to this diversified nation. Over 900 international architectural firms submitted pre-qualification doc uments for the Urban design of the central area, and after visiting 12 pre-qualified offices, the Federal Capital Developm ent Authority decided to invite 3 firms to a competition in which the scheme prepared by Kenzo Tange Associates was se lected.
I worked full time for 1 month (day and night!) at our Tokyo Office on the Design Competition Scheme of the Ce
ntral Area of the New Federal Capital at ABUJA, and I flew over to Lagos with one of the Senior Planners from our office with the design reports and the Model.
The New Federal Capital Committee appointed by the President of Nigeria sele
cted a jury of 12 people including Tribal Chiefs, 3 architects representing the most influential sectors of the population an d Mr. Sharma, a senior Architect from India that worked on the Chandigarh Project with Le Corbusier. Finally we were only 2 firms to submit proposal: Kenzo Tange Associates and a Canadian Firm from Toronto; the Office of Milton Keynes resigned because of the limited time allocated for the Competition. After a week of deliberations, the J ury unanimously selected our Firm. The first phase master plan focused on the concept of a linear Civic Axis with residential areas located on both sides th at allow for smooth future expansion. This was our same basic concept for the structure of the growing city, adopted in t he Tokyo plan of 1960. In the model shown above, the residential areas were not included because of the large scale of the area. The Central Axis consist of (from the top) the National Assembly, the Presidential Office Complex, and the Su preme Court (so called 3 Power Buildings).
representative of the Legislative, Executive and Judicial Powers). The Ministerial Zone is located south of the Three Ar ms, where all ministries and governmental agencies will be located (Country-related activities). In between the National Mall is located with several plazas symbolizing each of the national tribes together with shops and restaurants situated al ong stepped terraces. These activities help animate and provide security to the area after office hours since the mall is mainly flanked by Ministries. In the heart of the central area is located the Municipality Building (at the crossing of the Central Axis and the Cultural Axi s) acting as a gate to the city-wide activities. In front of the building is the national plaza with cultural and religious institut ions located east and west of this Plaza; such as the National Mosque, the National Cathedral, the National Library etc. South of the National Plaza, through the City Gate, is a pedestrian central shopping mall with commercial activities, office buildings and hotels located in and around this area. At the end of the shopping mall is located the transportation centre which accommodates a future railway terminal, an underground railway station and internal and an intra-bus terminal. Be yond the transportation centre is a reserved area for future expansion of the City. At the far end of this axis will be located a sports centre, in addition to a new airport, which has been already completed. Our Firm was commissioned with the Complete Design of the National Assembly, the Supreme Court, the Presidential P alace and 3 Ministries from Preliminary Design to Construction Documents. For the Ministries, we used the same prefab concrete construction system as the one used successfully in Bologna. When the design was completed, the price of oil went down significantly and the Projects were unfortunately not executed as we originally designed them. I flew over 20 times from Paris to Lagos to make presentations of the design of these buildings and also to Rome where we carried out the preparation of the Working Drawings and Tender Documents with the same firm that helped us in the Bologna Project. I was basically the Project Coordinator between Tokyo, Rome and Lagos! It was a very hectic work but extremely rewarding. I learned more in 2 years than all the education I acquired during my academic work. This was on e of the main reasons I joined the office of Professor Tange who became my mentor not only professionally but helped m e become a better human being! His unshaken integrity as an Architect would not compromise design excellence for an ything. The construction of peripheral infrastructures is still underway and several hotels have already been realized in addition t o governmental buildings as well as several thousand residential units. The Three Arms Buildings and a few ministry buil dings have already been designed by us but have not yet been executed.
CENTRAL AREA OF ABUJA – THE NEW FEDERAL CAPITAL OF NIGERIA
RECENT SATELLITE PHOTO
Daily working sessions with Kenzo Tange and the team with 3 Nigerian Architects seconded to our office
ABUJA AFTER 25 YEARS WITH ASO HILL IN THE BACKGROUND!
PRESIDENTIAL PALACE COMPLEX – DAMASCUS, SYRIA I was fortunate to work on the design and later on in charge of the top supervision of the execution of this very prestigious project. My late Mother was selected as the Interior Designer by Kenzo Tange with the full support of the Government of Syria.
The Project consisted in the Offices of the President of the Syrian Arab Republic; The Offices of the 3 Vice Presidents and the Official Residence of the President with vast Gardens. The terrific landscape design (50 hectares) was carried out by Mrs. Grace Kirkwood, wife of the former President of the American University of Beirut (AUB) who had been my professor in landscape architecture during my undergraduate studies at the School of Architecture and Engineering at the AUB. The MEP was carried out by one of my dear friends Professor Georges Abi Rached, who had been my engineering professors at the AUB. My late Mother was appointed as the Interior Designer . The execution of the works were undertaken by the general contractor OGER LIBAN.
CENTRO DIREZIONALE DI NAPOLI The central district of the city of Naples is historically significant, but is the Italian City that suffers most traffic con gestion and air pollution. In order to help alleviate part of these problems and restore the residential and cultural f unctions and tourist attractions of the historic centre, a project was proposed for the construction of a new civic ce ntre that would act as a modern business and residential district with governmental agencies. The site has an are a of 110 hectares and is situated adjacent to the central railway station. It was previously occupied by factories, w arehouses, vacant lots and markets. When we were invited to design this Project, Professor Tange asked me to fly to Naples and meet with the Client - When I arrived I was taken to a conference room where over 20 people were gathered waiting for me. I was so mehow shocked because of the enormous responsibility as a young Architect representing no other than Kenzo T ange! In the middle of the huge square table lied a large model made out of hundreds of little “red” plastic elem ents – it was supposed to be a volumetric study of what was allowed to build by law in that particular area. I told the developers that included bankers, engineers, architects, urban designers, City Officials, etc. that what t hey had in front of them was not useful at all and what was needed was an detailed URBAN DESIGN SCHEME w ith a volumetric study for every building that would be realized over there in the future. I was very familiar with Ke nzo Tange’s design philosophy, his past work like the Urban Design for the City of Skopje and a new town in Sard egna and had already experienced the same approach in the Urban Design of the Central Area of the New Feder al Capital of Nigeria. The Client agreed and so did Tange with my assessment of the situation. And after negotiati ng a contract for our design services I once again met with the client to get their requirements for the project. Th e Client had already a lot of important information available as to the zoning, total construction volume allowed, et c. However, we had to create a traffic network for pedestrians and vehicles; define the FSR for every new lot; spe cify the finishing materials allowed etc. I was told that there was only 30 cm of solid ground and 80 meters deep water underneath! Therefore, we could n ot make any excavation! We had to use friction piles throughout. I moved to our Tokyo Office for 6 months to wor k on the Urban Design and flew back to Naples from time to time to make intermediate presentations and get feed back from the local authorities regarding building codes and ordinances, regulations, etc. It was a fascinating exp erience.
The project includes 1.100.000 m2 of office and commercial space; 300.000 m2 of residential area and 20.000 m 2 of school grounds, totaling 1.42 million m² of built-up area. About 52 hectares of the area is used for park and r ecreational facilities and public and private parking for 25,000 cars. The first phase of the project has already bee n realized amounting to more than 60% of the overall development area. When completed, the project will accom modate housing for 12,000 inhabitants and business and commercial facilities for 45,000 people. The concepts of this project are summarized as follows: a. Separation of pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Since the site has natural differences in height, we benefited from this slope to split the site into two levels. Moreo ver, the underground conditions made it impossible to excavate due to the presence of water at a depth of 80 met ers. The vehicular network occupies two levels of parking and above it we created a very large pedestrian mall. We designed many large openings along the pedestrian mall to provide natural light to the internal roads located underneath that provide direct access to public and private parking areas to each individual building. b. Three axes extending in the east-west direction (The Green Axis – Pedestrian Mall) This axis is 70 meter wide and 800 meter long and is located at the southernmost end of the business district. Fo untains and public amenities adorn the tree lined concourse. It is flanked on either side by Italian style porticoes p roviding pedestrians with shelter from the elements behind which are located shops and cafes. Residential tower s are built on the south side of the green axis. It has become the most animated pedestrian mall in a City that lack s practically large piazzas where people can congregate and safe for children. (The Civic Axis) The civic axis links the many public and government buildings, including the Supreme Court, the central post offic e, the subway station, regional government offices and central plaza which connects the three axes in the north-s outh direction. (The Sport Axis) Along this axis are courts and fields for various sports and an indoor swimming pool, behind which stands the city housing development.
Harmony and Continuity with the Historical District The project is connected to the historical district by means of sidewalks and porticoes, and by using stone materials t o harmoniously integrate the new and old districts. The transportation network is being improved with the addition of new roads and subway networks. Master planning work began in November 1980 after Naples was hit by a severe earthquake. The west half of the site is owned by MEDEDIL, a public development corporation which was responsible for the first phase of construction, w hilst the rest of the site is owned by the City of Naples. The construction of the second phase will be commissioned to MEDEDIL as well for its development that includes the Campania Regional Government building (180,000m2) commi ssioned to Kenzo Tange Associates in 1989. The building infrastructure for this second phase is in the process of bein g executed including the sport axis facilities. Most of the buildings along the "Green Axis" are already operational and the demand in the apartment tower on the southern edge of the axis has been as high as 10 applications for each ava ilable apartment, an unprecedented ratio in Italy. The network of pedestrian pathways, segregated from vehicular traffic, has created a multipurpose space for pedestri ans free from the congested roads. In contrast to the historic areas of Napoli, the wide open space of the "Green Axis" is the scene of outdoor concerts, plays, and street performances on weekends and has already become a famous loc ation in Napoli. In fact, many visitors from within Italy and abroad come to study the new segregated traffic system. With the successful completion of the first phase of the Napoli Administration Centre Master Plan, the prospects for th e second phase, which has been delayed by domestic economic and political problems, are looking much brighter. The City of Naples, is currently reviewing the East Napoli Overall Development Project, a key project for the future de velopment of Napoli which extends over a 1,000-hectare area. They are trying to make the Master Plan and Design fo r the Napoli Administration Centre not only a blueprint for the relocation of government and corporate offices, but the c ore of new development in East Napoli. The Second phase of the project includes work on the "Public" and "Sports" Axes according to the development plan of East Napoli.
Period Location: Total floor area Site area
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1980 - 1995 Naples, ITALY 1,200,000 sq.m 52 ha
NAPOLI URBAN CENTER
MODEL SHOWING THE GREEN, CIVIC AND SPORT AXES
ARABIAN GULF UNIVERSITY Manama, Bahrain
This Project was commissioned to our Office in 1981 – We designed the Project out of our Tokyo office and was appoin ted as team member for the design of the University. The fact that I was fluent in the Arabic Language also helped a lo t in communicating with the Client. During the preparation of the Conceptual Design after the completion of the programming phase, I came up with the id ea of creating a gallery for the male students on the north side and one for the female students on the south side and t he classrooms and labs in between was where the students could meet to attend certain courses. Professor Tange sai d “follow Take’s concept” – I was delighted! We also hired the same Engineering Office in Beirut, Lebanon for the Structural Design and MEP Systems. Again, I would coordinate my trips to Beirut for the Qatar Project and the University Project. I was travelling 70% of the time between Naples, Doha and Beirut. This was the first University in the Arab Gulf with Male and Female. Students. Recently, our Tokyo Office designed the College of Engineering to be added to the existing Campus.
Period Location Total floor area Use No. of stories
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1982 - 1988 Manama, Bahrain 76,500 sqm University 3 levels and 1 basement
ARABIAN GULF UNIVERSITY
MOVING TO LEBANON In November 1983, I was asked by the President of Lebanon to help in the reconstruction of the Country after 15 years of civil unrest and Professor Tange kindly gave me a leave of absence. I was appointed Vice President of th e Projects Department at the National Council for Reconstruction and Development of Lebanon – CDR - it was a hard decision to make because during that period I was involved in the design of the Royal Palace for His late Majesty King Hussein of Jordan and had the honor of having many working sessions with Her Majesty Queen Noor Al Hussein, who had a degree in Architecture from Princeton University. The Project lately was cancelled du e to the deterioration and the sudden loss of His Majesty the King. The CDR was a super Ministry and we were the only Government Institution that has the power to award constru ction contracts directly without going to tender – in order to save time because of the urgency to reconstruct hundr eds of miles of damages roads, hundreds of damages schools, and other development projects regarding the ele ctric and telephone networks. I was appointed because of my experience in working on large projects like the N ew Federal Capital of Nigeria and the Naples Projects. This was the only time I worked as a government official a nd my office was in the Presidential Palace – The war escalated and we would spend many hours hiding in a shel ter because bombs were falling in the vicinity of the palace. I was able to help reconstruct over 20 schools and give my input on the design ( see picture below) and organize the projects department – I was given carte blanche to select my team of architects and engineers that were resp onsible for the daily supervision of the projects awarded by the CDR and approve payments to the many contract ors.
A friend of mine invited me to open an office in Kuwait, and design a few projects including the refurbishment of a Historic Building in the heart of London owned by the Crown Prince of Kuwait.
HISTORY
1984 - 1989 - AS PARTNER IN EAST – ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE SPECIALIST TEAM – KUWAIT AND LONDON
RESIDENCE OF MR. KHALED AL SANE – KUWAIT CITY
RESIDENCE OF MR., ABDUL RAZZAK AL SANE – KUWAIT CITY
DESIGN OF A MOSQUE – KUWAIT CITY
DESIGN OF A SILICON FACTORY - BAHRAIN
DESIGN OF 300 HOMES IN JUBEIL, SAUDI ARABIA
DESIGN OF A 5 STAR HOTEL IN LONDON, UK
DESIGN OF A HEALTH CENTRE AND INDOOR TENNIS COURTS AT THE HYATT REGENCY HOTEL IN KUWAIT CITY
DESIGN COMPETITION FOR THE ATTALAH SHOPPING MALL AND HEALTH CENTRE IN JEDDAH, KSA
Residence of Mr. Khaled Al Sane – Kuwait City
MOVING TO KUWAIT
DESIGNS FOR A RESIDENCE AND A MOSQUE IN KUWAIT CITY
DESIGN OF A SILICON FACTORY IN BAHRAIN
DESIGN COMPETITION FOR A COMMERCIAL & ENTERTAINMENT CENTER WITH A DOLPHIN SHOW AND GYMS FOR MALE AND FEMALES IN JEDDAH, KSA
The Milestone Hotel London, UK
This was my first encounter with “English Heritage” organization that protects historic Buildings – or as they call them “Listed Buildings”. I also worked closely with the Victorian and Edwardian So cieties because the building was designed partly in Victorian Style and partly Edwardian Style. It had been the residence of the famous bachelor Sir Walter Raleigh facing Kensington Palace whe re HRH Prince Charles and Princess Diana resided. I converted the building into a 50 rooms and suite luxury hotel. I did the Preliminary Design and Design Development at my office in Kuwait and the execution drawings were prepared by a local office. I had to make a very large model scale 1:50 to get the approval of English Heritage beca use it was hard for them to understand the drawings – the windows were located at different elev ations that forced me to have lots of stairs to give access to many of the rooms. I discovered the existence of the “party walls”, the “rights of light” ,etc. It was a total nightmare but at the end I wa s totally satisfied with the result and proud to say that the Hotel continues to be a success and en joys a very good reputation.
The Milestone Hotel London, UK
PHOTO OF THE HOTEL
PHOTO OF THE MODEL
BACK TO PARIS
HISTORY
1989 – 2000 AS VICE PRESIDENT OF KENZO TANGE ASSOCIATES - PARIS & TOKYO OFFICES
PLACE D’ITALIE COMMERCIAL CENTRE, PARIS, FRANCE
MASTER PLAN AND DESIGN FOR ENI ADMINISTRATION CENTRE, MILAN, ITALY
ASIAN ARTS MUSEUM, NICE, FRANCE
HEADQUARTERS FOR BMW ITALIA – MILAN, ITALY
MASTER PLAN FOR THE FALCK AREA IN SESTO SAN GIOVANNI, ITALY
MASTER PLAN FOR THE CITY OF JESOLO, ITALY
HEADQUARTERS OF THE EMILIA ROMAGNA GOVERNMENT CENTRE IN BOLOGNA, ITALY
MASTER PLAN FOR FOUR DISTRICTS IN THE EAST OF THE CITY OF ROME
RESIDENTIAL COMPLEX IN MENTON, SOUTH OF FRANCE
4 COLLEGES FOR KING SAUD UNIVERSITY IN RIYADH, KSA
DESIGN PROPOSAL FOR AN URBAN CENTRE IN MOSCOW, RUSSIAN FEDERATION
PLACE D’ITALIE COMPLEX – PARIS, FRANCE This was one of the most enjoyable projects I have worked on – When I arrived at the Paris Office in 1989, the Project was just about going to be executed. The land belonged to the City of Paris and the building was financed by a French developer. The Mayor at the time was Jacques Chirac. Mr. Chirac who later on became the President of the French Republic was personal friend of Kenzo Tange. He invited Tange to be the Architect of the Project. Our office did the Preliminary Design and Design Development in association with a local engineering office for the structural and MEP systems. However, in France it is the responsibility of the general contractor to prepare the working drawings and shop drawings. That’s where the nightmare started – obviously the contractor prepared the most basic details to save money to the Developer – We were obliged to prepare a parallel set of working drawings to show the contractor how to do the work properly which ended up costing our office hundreds of thousands of dollars but we could not allow our first work in France to be disfigured by a contractor – this is where FORM FOLLOWS PROFIT! I have to admit that thanks to President Chirac personal intervention we were able at least to get most of what we wanted in terms of design and finishing materials. I was lucky to work at the time with the late Peter Rice, who was the most accomplished structural engineer world-wide. He helped us with the steel structure of the Campanile – a high-rise structure housing a panoramic elevator in front of the building where we placed a mobile sculpture designed by Thierry Vide – a famous French Sculptor – it was a huge steel structure moving in the space with a fantastic display of light at night - The reason why we had the campanile it was reminiscent of the Piazzas in Italy where there would always be a dominating tower. Besides working as a diplomat and lobbying with the City to get approval on our designs, I attended weekly site meetings to review and approve the shop drawings and select the finishing materials. I also worked together with Interior Designers for a 3 star studio hotel and a cinema that had the largest screen in Europe. The building changed names from GRAND ECRAN (large screen) to ITALY 2 – the current name. President Chirac decided to re-name the Place d’Italie – Place Kenzo Tange after his death. Working on this project was my first experience to see how projects are designed and executed in France; learning about building codes, ordinances and regulations, levels of responsibilities, professional liability insurance, politics etc…
THE PHOTO SHOWS 4 LEVELS OF OFFICES SUSPENDED FROM A BRIDGE SPANNING 40 METERS ACROSS ENHANCING THE DESIRED TRANSPARENCY CREATING AN EXTENSION OF THE OUTDOOR PLAZA INTO THE INDOOR PLAZA COVERED WITH A SPACE TRUSS WITH ABUNDANT NATURAL LIGHT.
Period Location Total floor area Site area Usage No. of stories Building height
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1984 - 1991 Paris, FRANCE 43,000 sqm 5,800 sqm Image art center, hotel and office 10 levels with 2 basement level 37 m
GRAND ECRAN (PLACE D’ITALIE, PARIS)
PRESENTATION OF THE PLACE D’ITALIE MODEL TO PRESIDENT JACQUES CHIRAC AT OUR PARIS OFFICE – FROM LEFT TO RIGHT – PRESIDENT CHIRAC , MAYOR /MINISTER JACQUES TOUBON, PROFESSOR KENZO TANGE AND OMAR TAKE
IN THE PHOTO: JACQUES CHIRAC – KENZO TANGE AND THIERRY VIDE, THE AUTHOR OF THE MAJESTIC MOBILE SCULPTURE AT OUR PARIS OFFICE
MASTER PLAN FOR THE ENI ADMINISTRATIVE CENTER IN SAN DONATO MILANESE, ITALY San Donato Milanese is a suburb of Milan, situated 7 kilometers away from the noise and glamour of Milan’s downtown. The majority of the land is owned by the ENI Group. The district, close to Linate International Airport, is also the starting point for the Autostrada del Sole (Highway of the Sun) leading to Rome, and the terminus of a subway line. It is therefore well equipped in its infrastructure to become a major satellite city and a sub-center of Milan. The development plan implemented at the time by the ENI Group was sporadic and disintegrated and did not effectively make use of the site’s advantageous conditions. We proposed to restructure the town and the main elements in a clear hierarchy by creating two axes. One axis connects the subway terminal with the cultural center and intersects the other axis orthogonally, ending up in the form of an anchor. Plazas and squares having a unique Italian style are placed at the strategic points in the plan in order to provide public spaces for a variety of activities. The district is self-sufficient in providing amenities to all those who live within it. The project is divided into two zones, one is called Quartiere San Francesco where we designed a complex of 8 buildings with 95,000 m2 of offices, 20,000 m2 of shops and a 15,000 m2 hotel in a site of 30 hectares. In the opposite site lies Quartiere Affari (Business Quarter) with 97,000 m2 of offices, 73,000 m2 of residential flats and 9,000 m2 of shops in an area of 32 hectares. These two areas are at the center of the urban structure of San Donato. The circular image of the historical Foro Bonaparte, which lies in a symmetrical but opposite direction from the center of Milan, is reproduced in the semicircular plaza created between the two zones creating a sense of continuity between the ancient city of Milan and this modern satellite town. The Quartiere San Francesco has not yet been implemented, however, the Quartiere Affari has been built. We did design only 4 office buildings including the BMW Headquarters for Italy. This project required my continuous presence in Milan to make presentations to the client on the different design phases especially during the Master Planning – we had to meet with not only the City Officials but the Officials from the Provincial and State Governments – the Fire Department etc. etc. I also had to meet regularly with the local firm of Architects and Engineers who prepared the working drawings and tender documents. This firm also provided the site supervision. We, however, provided Top Supervision with sporadic visits to the site as well as selection of finishing materials. Fortunately, the flight from Paris to Milan is only 1 hour. I would leave early in the morning and be back in Paris the same evening.
QUARTIERE AFFARI
QUARTIERE SAN FRANCESCO
MODEL OF THE ENI URBAN CENTER SAN DONATO MILANESE, ITALY
BMW SITE
DESIGN OF AN OFFICE BUILDING IN THE QUARTIERE AFFARI – ALREADY COMPLETED
URBAN DESIGN FALCK AREA AT SESTO SAN GIOVANNI, ITALY 1995 The Project is located approx. 7 km, north of Milan. This functions as a gateway providing access and transportation system linking Milan to Monza, Verona and Venice. The City has long prospered from the iron ore industry, the heart of which was the large steel producer known as Falck Industrial. A Large void has been left in the center of the city with the closure of this important steel factory. Our design proposal connects and integrates the urban fabric of Sesto San Giovanni by creating an urban park system. Important amenities are linked together while adding character and harmonious balance to the entire city environment. Our proposal is derived from a analysis of the entire city structure. It takes into account the overall organization of the city’s urban development. It is therefore quite different from the existing general zoning plan of the city, as it suggests a comprehensive urban concept. The City of Sesto San Gionanni has many small parks and a green belt along the river. But these areas have not been utilized to connect the fragmented and detached zones of the City. The proposal also takes in the creation of the City with a park network. This integrates and connects ,any parts of the city into a single comprehensive system
PARIS SEINE RIVE GAUCHE – URBAN DESIGN OF THE 13 TH DISTRICT OF PARIS MONUMENTAL STRUCTURAL DECK COVERING THE RAILWAYS - 1990
The Seine Rive Gauche Project was a proposal for the redevelopment of the 13th district of Paris on the left bank of the Seine River. The 130 ha. site centered alongside a strip of France’s National Railway extending South from Austerlitz train station, was officially designated as an Improvement District of the City of Paris. Our proposal for this project includes an extremely detailed plan for the 30 hectare area immediately surrounding the Austerlitz station. This area is crucial to the successful development of the entire district. The purpose was to extend the 13th district to the banks of the Seine River over the railways by creating a large platform on top of which buildings and avenues would be built. From a historical standpoint, Paris has been steadily developing in a westward direction. There is a trend towards stagnation and decline which can be seen in many eastern districts. In the western section, of the City, a series of monumental structures are located along magnificent city axis extending directly from the Louvre Museum to La Defense area. This axis has served as an armature encouraging further city development. Unfortunately, there is no present city structure fostering development in the eastern section of the city known as the Left bank. Our project proposes the construction of a grand axis creating a new urban creating a new development armature along the left bank of the Seine , this will complement the Louvre Museum, la Defense Axis and the Right Bank. The two axis intercept at the Paris City Hall! We proposed to remove the old Station that had no historic significance by creating a large pedestrian Plaza but unfortunately many people thought otherwise! A huge historic opportunity was missed !
PRESENTING THE PROJECT TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF PARIS AND FUTURE PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC MR. JACQUES CHIRAC AT OUR TOKYO OFFICE. IT COINCIDED WITH THE SAME DAY MONSIEUR CHIRAC INAUGURATED THE TOKYO CITY HALL DESIGNED BY OUR OFFICE IN 1991 – PARIS and TOKYO BEING TWIN CITIES.
THE SEINE RIVE GAUCHE PROJECT DESIGN TEAM UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF PROFESSOR KENZO TANGE
RECENT DEVELOPMENT OF THE AREA
ASIAN ART MUSEUM – NICE, FRANCE The project was the idea of a very dynamic Mayor of Nice, Jacques Medecin who was a great friend of Pierre Yves Trémois, a famous French Painter and Sculptor, member of the prestigious and elite “Academie des Beaux Arts”. Trémois proposed to Mr. Medecin a donation of 300 of his own marvelous works and a private collection of Asian Art on the premise that the Museum would be named: “Musée Donation Tremois”. However, when the building went up, the Mayor’s term came to an end and the Regional Council changed their mind and decided to turn down Trémois’s donation and convert it instead into a Regional Museum and called it the Asian Arts Museum of Nice. I guess the beauty of the Museum seduced the local politicians and media of Nice but I felt sad for my dear friend Trémois who contributed in finding the right design theme for the Museum, particularly the spiral staircase in the core of the building symbolizing the DNA that is present in many of his engravings. The central plan is made in the form of a MANDALA with 4 square spaces built around a center. In Asia, the Taoist "yin-yang" symbol represents opposition as well as interdependence. This is a project full of symbolism The fundamental geometrical forms of Japanese tradition; the square symbol of the Earth, and the circle symbol of the Sky played an important role in conceiving the Museum. One of the main architectural concepts was to have a sculptural building looking like as a swan floating in a lake; we covered entirely the walls and floors with white marble from Carrara. I was fortunate to personally select the block of marble used to cut the tiles for the wall, floors and stair. We decided to place a large area of the Museum under the level of the water and were fortunate to work with Ray Elms, one of the greatest structural engineers in London who created a very light structure for the cubes that allowed us to achieve our desire to give an the impression that the Museum is floating over the lake. The steps of the spiral stair are made out of solid marble resting on a concrete spiral beam acting as a spring conceived by Elms. The circular volume in the second level detached from the cubes acts as a circular beam resting on a flat beam that sits on 4 columns on the corners of the cubes - a marvelous solution.
It was very important for us to have in our team such an ingenious structural engineer that could realize our Architectural concept in a simplified and elegant manner otherwise there would have been many internal columns and a heavy structure defeating the purpose of the architectural design. I am sure you will agree that in this rather small building every detail is amplified because of the simplicity of the design, especially where the materials are very light in color and there is plenty of glass. I was in charge to coordinate the design drawings with the mechanical, electrical, structural, acoustic and other specialized engineers by holding meetings in Nice every other week and of course exchange correspondence on a continuous basis. Later on I was also in charge to supervise the construction of the building on a bi-weekly basis flying over from Paris, which was pretty neat. My involvement also included the review and approval of the sub-contractors shop drawings and selection all the finishing materials to the minor detail that I did with tremendous devotion because I knew that this was a unique occasion that does not happen often in one’s life and that eventually the building would be signed by Professor Tange. This was a sweet responsibility! The Project was so successful that the Mayor of the City handed Kenzo Tange, The Key of the City of Nice and was praised a lot by the national media, for me just working with Tange was already a great honor. The Asian Art Museum of Nice is affiliated to the famous Musée Guimet in Paris and hosts temporary exhibitions and cultural events; it has a modest collection of Asian Art, mainly Buddhist. There is a nice video in youtube.com that has been added with nice music in case you may want to check it out. The web site of the Museum is www.arts-asiatiques.com
Period Location Total floor area Site area Use No. of stories Building height
: : : : : : :
1988 - 1995 Nice, FRANCE 2,458 sqm 3,100 sqm Museum 2 levels & basement 19 m
ASIAN ART MUSEUM, NICE, FRANCE
A SWAN FLOATING ON THE LAKE
BRIDGE OVER THE LAKE LEADING TO THE JAPANESE TEA ROOM
PLANS AND SECTION
The photo shows my friend Trémois at his lovely home at St. Nom la Breteche West of Paris when I visited him in September 2016. You can visit his web site to admire his amazing collection of art www.tremois.com
Period Location Total floor area Site area Use No. of stories Building height
: 1991 - 1998 : Milan, ITALIA : 9,600 sqm : 15,000 sqm : Office, showroom & workshop : 8 levels & basement : 53 m
BMW ITALIA HEADQUARTERS BUILDING
BMW ITALIA - 1996 – 1998 This project was commissioned to Kenzo Tange Associates in 1996 and was realized in the grounds of the Quatiere Affari – San Donato Milanese that was master planned by the firm. I was heavily involved in the design of this build ing at our Tokyo Office and did all the coordination with a local firm of Architects and Engineers that collaborated with us for the engineering and supervision of the Project. I used to fly extensively to Milan for 2 years, a one hour flight from Paris . This building is a good example of a communion between client and architect. The Client’s search for perfection and care for every detail enabled us to create fine detail and forms employing state-of-the-art materials within the limits of a certain budget and come out with excellent execution results. We demanded mock ups of the main finishing elements and sculptural glass staircase. Pilkington did a marvelous suspended curtain wall with a special all white glass. Mr. Paul Tange and myself met with the Members of the Board of BMW and the car designers that gave us very valuable and pertinent comments. The building includes the main offices, showroom, training school for the maintenance of the cars and motorcycles as well as the workshop for repair and maintenance of the cars and motorcycles. The building has 9600 m2 and is 8 storey high. The façade overlooking the highway was designed in a curved shape to represent the speed of the car. The high ceiling showroom is made of glass and metal , materials used to build the cars. We used pure white glass in order to provide the maximum transparency and show as if the cars are parked outdoors and give maximum visibility to pedestrians and people driving by the building. This building has become the flagship of BMW in Europe and stands as a landmark in Milan. Professor Kenzo Tange was presented with the Key to the City of Milan by the Mayor of the City during the opening ceremony!
THIS PHOTO SHOWS THE INTERIOR OF THE CAR SHOWROOM WITH THE SCULPTURAL STEEL/GLASS STAIRCASE WE DESIGNED AS A FOCAL ELEMENT WITH A SKYLIGHT ABOVE. THE FLOOR WAS TILED WITH SPECIAL MADE CERAMIC TILES AND ALL THE LIGHTING FIXTURES WERE CUSTOM-MADE TO PROVIDE INDIRECT LIGHTING .
MASTER PLAN FOR THE CITY OF JESOLO – ITALY I participated in the design of this very interesting project at our Tokyo Office. The City of Jesolo is about 30 km from Venice. The village is very charming and has only 20,000 inhabitants. However, its 15 km beach front has been very problematic to the City – it was built haphazardly in the 1960’s without any master plan by some developers that were only interested in making quick money without any regard whatsoever for design or urban spaces. They created a concrete wall with dozens of hotels close to each other blocking totally the view of the sea from the streets behind. During the summer there are over 1 million people that move to Jesolo from all over Europe, it is a very young tourist population because the hotels are cheap to say the least! The challenge we faced was how to link the Village to the Beach changing the land use from Agricultural use to residential developments in order to help increase the population of the City so that it would get additional financial resources to help it implement the Master Plan. The Second challenge was how to solve the acute traffic problems generated in the Summer time with 1 million people arriving at once – we had to make a traffic network with parking buildings etc. Then we created a series of Marinas, a library, a community centre and new building laws and encouraged the owners to paint their buildings all white to improve the unmatching mosaic of different colors and materials used in the 1960’s mediocre looking buildings! Fortunately, the Mayor and his charming Council were all very young at the time – the average age was 27 ! It was great to see this group of young, energetic and “very rich” entrepreneurs eager to save their town from the chaotic urban development. We formed a team of specialists in traffic studies, agricultural development, social workers, urban planners and our Office acted not only as the composers of the music but also as the conductor of the Italian orchestra! Fortunately we were blessed with a very talented group of professionals. The Master Plan turned out to be a great success – the Mayor was re-elected and they are still in command implementing the Master Plan. The Mayor made 5000 copies of the Master Plan and send them to each home in Jesolo to get the support of the population.
Period Location Site area
MASTER PLAN FOR CITY OF JESOLO
: 1996 : Jesolo, ITALY : 9,000 ha
JESOLO VENICE
LAND USE PLAN
PHOTO OF THE MODEL
PRESENTATION OF THE MASTER PLAN FOR THE CITY OFJESOLO BY OUR TEAM LED BY PROF. TANGE
SOUVENIR PHOTO WITH THE MAYOR OF JESOLO, RENATO MARTIN ,HIS ADVISERS, PROFESSOR KENZO TANGE, PAUL TANGE AND OMAR TAKE
HEADQUARTERS OF THE EMILIA ROMAGNA REGIONAL GOVERNMENT BOLOGNA, ITALY – 1998 – 2004 This was the last project I worked on as a Chief Project Architect out of our Office in Paris. We designed the Headquarters for the Regional Government as the last building to complete the Master Plan of the same project that our office started back in 1975. I was assigned to design the office building that included a large multi-purpose room, restaurant, cafeteria, etc. and a very large underground parking that by law should be naturally ventilated.. I suggested to use the same pre-cast elements that were used for the previous buildings in order to have the project look as originally planned and was happy to get the support of both Professor Tange and the Client (who never ever objected to any suggestion by the Ma ître!) I was responsible for the preparation of the preliminary design & design development drawings. The working drawings and tender documents were carried out by a firm in Milan that we used for the same scope of services during the design of the BMW Building . I coordinated the electromechanical works with the local engineers and the client technical team that were mostly engineers. It took 5 years to construct this unique building! This long period of construction is a normal practice in Italy! The result however was great and the building has witnessed a great success. Mr. Paul Tange was recently in Bologna and kindly sent me the pictures below because he knows how much I worked on this Project and how dear it is to my heart!
Period Location Total floor area Site area
: : : :
1978- 2000 Bologna, ITALY 133,000 sqm 7.8 ha
FIERA DISTRICT CENTER
RECENT PHOTOS OF THE SEAT OF THE EMILIA ROMAGNA REGIONAL GOVERNMENT THAT I HELPED DESIGN IN 1998
THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN DURING ONE OF THE NUMEROUS VISITS OF PROFESSOR TANGE TO BOLOGNA - THE PICTURE SHOWS THE DIRECTORS OF THE FINANZIARIA FIERA DI BOLOGNA (THE CLIENTS) WITH DR GIACOMELLI, MR. GUIDO GADDI AND OTHERS AS WELL AS MR. PAUL TANGE AND OMAR TAKE
2000 – 2010 AS DESIGN CONSULTANT TO TANGE ASSOCIATES
HOTEL ROMEO IN NAPLES. ITALY
BREAST CARE CENTER – KING FAISAL SPECIALIST HOSPITAL AND RESEARCH
HISTORY
CENTRE – RIYADH, KSA
3 WASTE TO ENERGY PLANTS IN SICILY
PRIVATE RESIDENCE IN LEBANON – by TAKE INTERNATIONAL CONSULTING
AS DESIGN CONSULTANT TO IHI PLANNING LTD AND IHI DEVELOPMENTS
A large number of projects that were submitted as design proposals and research projects – some of which were implemented based on an innovative mass customization based building technology some of them shown in the following slides.
VANCOUVER IHI SHOW HOME, VANCOUVER, CA
HCD TECHNOLOGY CENTRE IN ALBERTA, CA
RESIDENTIAL COMPLEX IN SURREY, BC, CANADA – 3 TOWERS
DESIGN OF A TYPICAL IHI MANUFACTURING FACILITY
REPRESENTATION OF TANGE ASSOCIATES IN CANADA www.tangeweb.com
THE DESIGN OF THIS HOTEL WAS VERY COMPLEX BECAUSE WE HAD TO USE AN EXISTING STRUCTURE OF A BUILDING THAT WAS THE SEAT OF THE ACQUILI LAURO SHIPPING COMPANY. IT IS ACING THE PORT OF NAPLES AND THE THEME WAS TO USE AQUATIC ELEMENTS IN THE FAÇADE AND HAVE A WAVY ROOF. I WORKED ON THE SURVEY OF THE EXISTING CONDITIONS, FOUND A LOCAL FIRM OF ENGINEERING TO UNDERTAKE THE MEP DESIGN AND A FIRM OF ARCHITECTS FROM MILAN TO HELP US TRANSLATE PLANS IN ITALIAN, HELP WITH THE BUILDING PERMIT, TENDER DOCUMENTS, BOQ’S ETC. I DID A FEW TRIPS TO MILAN AND NAPLES TO SUPERVISE THE CONSTRUCTION, SELECT THE FINISHING MATERIALS, ETC. WE ARE USED TO EXECUTE PROJECTS IN MORE THAN 30 COUNTRIES, SO THIS WAS NOT TOO BAD! THIS IS A 5 STAR HOTEL, THE ONLY LUXURY CONTEMPORARY HOTEL IN NAPLES THAT CATERS FOR THE MODERN BUSINESSMEN.
HOTEL ROMEO IN NAPLES, ITALY
Period : 2005 Location : Naples, ITALY Total floor area : 8,000 m2 Site area : 860 m2 Use : Hotel No. of stories : 11 levels & basement Building height : 42 m Number of Units : 90 rooms
Entrance Hall Zoning Plan
lettura camino caffetteria e deposito
wc disabili
Library Space
wc uomini h = 2,40 m
direttore mq. 10.00
wc donne h = 2,40 m
mq. 122.00
segretaria mq. 9.00
commerciale commerciale mq.11.00
deposito (+1.60)
vicedirettore
deposito bagagli temporaneo
(+2.50) (+0.80) (-1.13)
vetrina esposiz. al l a nuov a vetrina esposiz. S PA
parete decorata o cascata cassette di sicurezza
vetrina esposiz.
(+2.40) open space amministrativo mq. 21.00
archivio amministr.
office
cavedio
reception
vetrina esposiz.
back office mq. 12.00
aiuola tropicale o fontana vetrina esposiz.
Lounge
vetrina esposiz.
(+0,80)
Entrance Hall
Bar
mq. 52.00
elev atore P/H
(+0,00)
RAMPA
RAMPA
(+0,00)
marciapiede
montac arichi dalla c affetteria
1st Floor Plan Technological systems Fitness area Hotel services Reception area and multifuctional services Hall and distribution Administration offices Business area Rooms suites
A
wc
Roof garden and swiming pool
camera
junior suite
camera
wc
suite
(+9.30)
wc
suite
(+5.00)
camera w.c.
wc
camera
(+0.80)
REI 120
office di piano (+5.00)
(+3.00)
REI 120
suite
wc
quadri elettrici REI 90
(+8.35)
porta metallica con autochiusura
wc wc
wc
camera
camera
wc
camera
wc
camera
wc
camera
wc
camera
wc
camera
wc
camera
wc
camera
camera
2-5th Floor Plan
Typical Guest Bedrooms Plans (30sq.m)
87
Relaxing in the Roof-top Pool watching CAPRI in the background. 88
89
East Elevation Silver Stainless Steel
RF
Wooden Pole: Beige
Wall: Beige Granite
Steel Pole/ White Paint
Stainless Steel Frame/Mirror Fin. and Glass Wooden Louver / Light Beige
+39.25 +38.25
9F
+35.25
8F
+31.85
7F
+28.50
6F
+25.15
5F
+21.80
4F
+18.45
3F
+15.10
2F
+11.75
1F
+8.35
MF
+5.00
Wall: Beige Granite
Stainless Steel Non-direction Fin.
Wooden Louver: Reddish brown Heart Reflecting Glass
Stainless Steel Non-direction Fin.
Silver Stainless Steel Aluminium Silver Frame + Glass
GF GL
Door: Aluminium Silver Frame + Glass
+5.00 +5.00
White Tile
Entrance Door: Glass
Handrail: Stainless Steel Mirror Fin.
Canopy: Stainless Steel Frame / Mirror Fin. and Clear Glass
Canopy: Clear Glass
WASTE-TO-ENERGY PLANTS - SICILY, ITALY PALERMO, AUGUSTA AND CASTEL TERMINI
PROPOSAL TO USE IHI CANADIAN TEC HNOLOGY FOR THE CURVED R OOF PANELS
SORTING BUILDING – PRECAST STRUCTURE
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PHOTOS OF THE MODELS
BREAST CARE CENTER – KING FAISAL SPECIALIST HOSPITAL AND RESEARCH CENTER – RIYADH, KSA
BREAST CARE CENTER KING FAISAL SPECIALIST HOSPITAL AND RESEARCH CENTER Riyadh, KSA Our office was commissioned with the design of the Breast Care Center at the prestigious King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSH) I was very familiar with the Hospital during the time when I was a resident in Saudi Arabia just before I joined Kenzo Tange’s Office in Paris in 1978 – I furnished their offices. I was asked by Mr. Paul Tange to go to Riyadh and negotiate the contract and obtain all the necessary information that was needed for the architectural design. I found out that there was no information whatsoever, therefore, we requested the preparation of a site survey, geotechnical report, traffic studies, environmental studies, etc. We appointed a Hospital Consultant with whom I worked very closely in structuring the space Program. During the programming phase, we interviewed the administration of the hospital, doctors, the head nurses and the Cancerologists that were going to operate the Center. Most of the women that were diagnosed with Breast Cancer found out at a very late stage mainly because they were afraid to get diagnosed earlier or get regular check ups – Therefore we had to create a cozy and inviting environment, like a 5 star hotel where the women would feel at ease to talk to their doctors and get either diagnosed , treated or undergo surgery. I was given the task to work with the Hospital Consultant and do the overall internal planning . We worked with our Hospital Planner in Tokyo with whom we had worked in the past for a number of hospitals designed by the Firm in Japan and other Countries.
We also worked with a hospital consultant who happens to be a surgeon and architect with his head office in Beirut, Lebanon. The communication with him was extremely efficient and he would travel often to Riyadh and meet with the technical office of the Hospital to get the necessary feed backs on our proposed plans. We made several alternative schemes and after 2 years we were able to come out with a functional scheme that satisfied the ultimate users and the administration of the Hospital. We also worked closely with John Hopkins Hospital on the planning, needs and equipment that would be needed. I went to Tokyo to work on the design of the Facades and we presented 2 schemes. The one illustrated here shows a sort of a Veil covering the building because we found out that the rooms on the periphery of the building had different requirements in terms of natural lighting and ventilation. Therefore we needed a strong element that would create a harmonious façade and also assure the necessary privacy to the patient wards. The veil was made out of metal tubes and the form was very playful. Later on the Hospital decided that this center would take valuable land that was scarce within the limits of the Hospital and that there was more of a need for a comprehensive Cancer Center to address all forms of Cancer – therefore the project was shelved and design proposals are being made for the New Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Staff area Vertical louvers are installed for rooms such as the staff rooms and laboratories, which mainly involve staff duties.
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106
107
108
RESIDENCE IN THE MOUNTAINS OF LEBANON The following Project I designed in 2007 for a very old and dear friend of mine in Lebanon – I did a complete set of architectural drawings from my office in Vancouver as Design Consultant and had a local firm of Architects and Engineers prepare all the execution drawings and engineering design. I tried to have the house well fitted into the hillside. The house is built on a sloppy site in the Mountains of Lebanon with spectacular views. It was designed as a summer residence for a Judge who is now a very influential political figure that entertains large crowds in his home. I created for him a terrace design plan with over 700 sq.m. of terraces and 1,200 sq.m. of living space. The large balconies are very spacious and made warm by the wooden trusses. Also the linear porches are striking against the stone approach wall and road. I tried to express very much the juxtaposition of the straight lines and walls of the building with the curvilinear stone wall. I tried to create an interesting contrast between the protective nature of the front main facade versus the openness of the rear façade I was fortunate that the my fiend and his family gave me carte blanche and did not change an iota of the design. They trusted me fully and thank God the design met their high expectations – they keep thanking me for the “Chef d’Oeuvre” – more than I deserve!
SITE PLAN
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
SECTIONS
PHOTOS OF THE HOME SHOWING THE ENTRANCE AND TERRACES
ADNAN AL HALABI PRIVATE CAR COLLECTON SHOWROOM RAS EL-METN, LEBANON
CONCEPTUAL DESIGN PHASE OMAR TAKE – ARCHITECT-AIBC VANCOUVER, BC - CANADA
JAN 2013
VIEW OF THE MAIN ENTRANCE FACING THE STREET
SIDE VIEW - VEHICULAR ACCESS TO SHOWROOM
VIEW OF THE BACK OF THE BUILDING FROM THE SIDE STREET SHOWING THE OFFICE CUBE
VIEW OF THE BACK OF THE BUILDING
INTERIOR VIEW OF THE GROUND LEVEL AND UPPER RECEPTION/OFFICE FLOOR
MR. IAD NOUEYHED’S RESIDENCE A HOME FOR ALL SEASONS
Lebanon
Omar A. Take Architect-AIBC, MRAIC
Vancouver, Canada November 2014
Bird eye view of the Residence with the existing trees
2
FLOOR PLAN
SECTION THROUGH THE RECEPTION AREA SHOWING THE INVERTED ROOF
The structure of the INVERTED metallic roof will allow to conceal the HVAC ducts and light fixtures – The interior ceiling made out of aluminum panels as well as the sun shade element. The roof will be covered with gray slate tiles.
THE MAIN GATE.
DRIVING UNDER THE GAMES ROOM TO DROP GUESTS AT THE MAIN ENTRANCE COURTYARD. A SEPARATE ENTRANCE LEADS TO THE GAMES / MOVIE ROOMS
VIEW OF THE MAIN ENTRANCE COURTYARD LEADING TO THE MAIN ENTRANCE TO THE HOME AND THE OFFICE/LIBRARY BY MEANS OF A RAMP WITH A SHALLOW FOUNTAIN ON THE RIGHT . THE TREES SHOWN ARE EXISTING UMBRELLA PINE TREES.
EXTERIOR VIEW OF THE RECEPTION AREA
VIEW OF THE OPTIONAL SWIMMING POOL, GAZEBO AND DECK
VIEW OF THE MASTER BEDROOM BELOW AND GUEST SUITES IN THE UPPER LEVEL
VIEW OF THE MAIN RECEPTION WITH ITS CHIMNEY. THE COLUMNS ON THE LEFT AND THE FLOOR ARE COVERED WITH TRAVERTINO MARBLE.
The Dinning Room
THE GAMES ROOM WITH A POOL TABLE AS ONE SPACE THAT CAN BE SPLIT INTO 2 ROOMS WITH A FOLDING PANEL ACOUSTIC PARTITION.
Gallery leading to the bedrooms and games room with view to the entrance courtyard.
PROJECTS DESIGNED FOR IHI PLANNING DESIGNING WITH AN ADVANCED UNIQUE BUILDING SYSTEM OF PRE-ENGINEERED TAILOR-MADE CONCRETE/STEEL INSULATED PANELS
Residential community with 5 homes In Beirut, Lebanon - 2004
DESIGN PROPOSAL FOR A PRIVATE RESIDENCE IN VANCOUVER
RESIDENCE AT KING EDWARD AVE., VANCOUVER BC – PREVIOUSLY ASSEMBLED IN 24 HRS. AND COMPLETED IN 72 HRS AT BC INDOOR STADIUM IN VANCOUVERTO SHOWCASE AN ADVANCED BUILDING TECHNOLOGY
BACK OF THE RESIDENCE AT KING EDWARD AVE., VANCOUVER BC
INTERIOR VIEWS OF THE HOME.
ANOTHER HOME DESIGNED WITH THE SAME SYSTEM IN SURREY, BC
THE FUTURE OF CONSTRUCTION – MASS CUSTOMIZATION – RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
THIS BUILDING WAS DESIGNED TO SHOWCASE AN ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY AND WAS BUILT IN ALBERTA, CA . IT WAS ASSEMBLED IN 5 DAYS
ANOTHER VIEW OF THE BUILDING SHOWING THE REAR ENTRANCE
FIRST & SECOND FLOOR PLANS
1ST & 2ND FLOOR PLANS
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INSTALLATION OF THE GROUND FLOOR SLAB OVER THE FOUNDATIONS SITTING ON COMPACTED SOIL
148
.
Assembly of first curved wall for the staircase.
THE ALIGNMENT AND THE SMOOTHNESS OF THE 12,000 PSI HIGHSTRENGTH CONCRETE IS VERY VISIBLE. NO BRACING AND/OR SCAFFOLDING IS REQUIRED. ALL PANELS ARE UNIQUELY ARCHITECTURALLY AND STRUCTURALLY INTEGRATED TO EACH OTHER.
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INTERIOR VIEWS OF THE STAIRCASE AND SECOND FLOOR
THIS SLIDE SHOWS THE CURVED PANELS THAT FORM PART OF THE BUILDING’S STAIRCASE. THIS BUILDING ELEMENT IS MADE OF 6 PANELS CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER WHICH IS THE EQUIVALENT OF A 6 STOREY BUILDING. FIBRE CONCRETE FLASHING WILL BE USED OVER THE PEEL AND STICK RUBBER MEMBRANE TO FINISH NICELY ALL CORNER EDGES WHILE MAINTAINING ALL THERMAL BREAKS.
DESIGN OF A HOME IN PENTICTON, BC – IT WAS BUILT ON A HILLY SITE AND ASSEMBLED IN ONE WEEK WITH THE AN ADVANCED BUILDING TECHNOLOGY USING PRE-ENGINEERED CONCRETE/STEEL INSULATED PANELS.
PHOTOS OF THE ASSEMBLY PROCESS
THIS PHOTO SHOWS THE ASSEMBLED STRUCTURE AFTER 1 WEEK
DESIGN OF 40’ LONG MOBILE HOME, USING PRE-ENGINEERED HIGH-STRENGTH CONCRETE/STEEL INSULATED PANELS CAPABLE OF RESISTING 300 MPH WINDS
BRITANIA BEACH MARINA – MASTER PLAN – BRITISH COLUMBIA - CANADA
VIEW OF THE MAIN ACCESS TO THE MARINA , THE BREAKWATER DOCKS, THE FLOATING HOMES (WITH BOAT STORAGE AT SEA LEVEL) AND THE SEAPLANE LOCATION WITH BRITANNIA BEACH HILLS IN THE BACKGROUND
Floating Yacht Homes – 80’ long
Sea View of the Yacht Luxury Home
A Spacious and robust Yacht’s Home
Top View of the Penthouse
DESIGN PROPOSAL FOR 10 FLOATING HOMES IN A MARINA The Marine Flags are used for individual identity and read the name “Mosquito “ Marina
DESIGN PROPOSAL FOR A FLOATING HOTEL WITH CASINO NORTH VANCOUVER, BC
GROUND FLOOR PLAN – HOTEL LOBBY AND MUSEUM
VIEW OF THE SCULPTURAL ROOF GARDEN
Design proposal for a Floating Hotel transported to the Islands in British Columbia
DESIGN PROPOSAL FOR A 3 TOWER RESIDENTIAL COMPLEX IN SURREY CITY CENTER BC. 30 – 39 STOREYS WITH 600 RESIDENTIAL UNITS 3 DIFFERENT ALTERNATIVE DESIGNS
THE PHOTO ON THE RIGHT SHOWS THE ADVANCED IHI STRUCTURAL SYSTEM THAT IS PROPOSED TO BUILD THESE TOWERS CONNECTING THE PANELS AT EVERY 5 LEVELS AS STRUCTURAL TRUSSES ( FLOORS AND WALLS) EACH SUPPORTING 4 FLOORS. THE TRUSSES ARE CARRIED BY SHEAR WALLS UTILIZING THE SAME STRUCTURAL SYSTEM.
VIEW OF THE INTERIOR OF A TYPICAL 2 BEDROOM CORNER UNIT IN ONE OF THE BUILDINGS .
ALTERNATIVE DESIGN PROPOSAL WITH 2 TWIN TOWERS AND A SHOPPING MALL
TWIN TOWERS AND TOWN HOUSES DESIGN PROPOSAL, SURREY, BC
The Townhouses
The Childcare Centre serving the surrounding community in Surrey BC
DESIGN PROPOSAL FOR A N OFFICE BUILDING /MANUFACTURING FACILITY
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DESIGN PROPOSAL FOR A RESIDENCE IN BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
PIXELS
DESIGN PROPOSAL FOR STUDENT RENTAL HOUSING IN VANCOUVER, BC JULY 2018
DESIGN PROPOSAL FOR STUDENT HOUSING IN VANCOUVER, BC
DESIGN PROPOSAL FOR STUDENT HOUSING IN VANCOUVER, BC
Apartment Building in Vancouver, BC - 2020
Fitting 8 Apartments and 2 Penthouse Duplex Suites in a narrow site 15 m x 50 m deep with underground parking for 10 cars.
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DESIGN PROPOSAL FOR 2 TOWNHOUSES AND APARTMENT SUITES IN A NARROW SITE 50’ X 150’ IN A CORNER LOT WITH UNDERGROUND PARKING FOR 9 CARS, VANCOUVER, BC
SCULPTURAL DESIGN PROPOSAL FOR 2 TOWNHOUSES AND APARTMENT SUITES IN A NARROW SITE 50’ X 150’ IN A CORNER LOT WITH UNDERGROUND PARKING FOR 9 CARS, VANCOUVER, BC VIEW OF THE MAIN ENTRANCE
PARTICIPATION AT THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE “ MIGRATIONS & MOBILITY “ ORGANIZED BY THE UNIVERSAL ACADEMY OF CULTURES AT UNESCO HEADQUARTERS IN PARIS – THE PAPERS PRESENTED WERE PUBLISHED (INCLUDING MY DISSERTATION) AMONG THE PARTICIPANTS WAS MY FRIEND THE LATE UMBERTO ECO. I SPOKE ABOUT THE PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES OF SOLUTIONS FOR URBAN SETTLEMENT DESIGN IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.