Archetech Issue 42 2019 | Page 101

W onderwoods is one of several biodiverse projects to win at the 2019 awards, as architects from around the world took inspiration from nature in creating the residential and commercial buildings of the future.   Several of the concepts celebrated across the 16 award categories seek to help nature flourish in the city and restore our ability to connect with the natural world as our planet undergoes the largest wave of urban growth in history. SuzHou High Gardens, in Suzhou, China, was named winner in the Big Urban Infrastructure category. Designed by architecture firm One Design for the client Suzhou New District Urban Planning Bureau, the project features a series of modular and adaptable gardens that form connecting lines and a continuous series of enjoyable green spaces between SuzHou’s urban blocks. Integrated Hub, the winner of the Big Urban Projects category, designed by architect Andrew Bromberg at Aedas, is a concept for South East Asia, that blends office, retail and civic uses including a sports centre, immersed in a lush, landscaped urban park. Tropicalia, a concept for the world’s largest tropical greenhouse in Côte d’Opale, France, was named the winner of the Hotel and Leisure category.  Designed by Coldefy & Associés, the ambitious environmentally friendly 20 000m2 ‘double-dome’ encompasses a tropical forest, an 82-foot-high waterfall, a pool for Amazonian fish, and a long walking trail as well as a modern auditorium, restaurant, a lodge and a laboratory facility. St Pauli, the winner of the Office category, designed by Blauraum Architekten for the city of Hamburg in Germany, includes several conservatories and double facades filled with flora and living walls to create buffer zones for the internal climate as well as terraces, staircases and planting. Aqualuna, the winner of the Residential category is designed by 3XN Architects for the client Tridel and Hines in Toronto, Canada. The residential design features townhouses that animate the public realm and with lively green roofscapes and stepping terraces, providing generous greenery and trees which extend residential life outwards. Sadra Civic Center Stockholm Loop WONDERWOODS IS A PROPOSITION THAT BRINGS GREENERY AND NATURE TO THE HEART OF THE CITY Integrated Hub