1 STEREO NO 1 QUAYSIDE
The London office of the Danish firm BIG architects has designed a 12-storey office building, with a green roof, that overlooks the River Tyne in Newcastle upon Tyne. The new building has a snaking form that follows the hairpin curve in the road beneath it, and echoes the city’s sloping hills and curved bridges. Stereo No. 1 Quayside, which is being built in collaboration with local studio Xsite Architecture, is located on a vacant site bordered by major roads on all sides. External steps lead up through a cascade of roof terraces, one for each floor, to the green roof at the top. big.dk
2 RIVERSIDE REGENERATION
A run-down green space that links the River Thames at Barking Riverside to Barking town centre is being transformed by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, Sustrans and Trees for Cities into a cycle and walking route, a nature play area and fully accessible space for the community. Planting of native trees such as oak, rowan and hawthorn, an avenue of cherries and a small orchard has already got underway at the renamed Ripple Greenway and it is hoped that play areas and exercise points will be added this summer. lbbd.gov.uk/ ripple-greenway-project
3 EXPLODED VIEW BRIDGE
British designer Paul Cocksedge has designed a bridge over Liesbeek
River in Cape Town using crosslaminated timber harvested from Eucalyptus trees, a more sustainable alternative to steel and concrete. The innovative design is derived from an ‘exploded’ view of stacked planks of wood that makes the bridge seem to blend in and out of the landscape. On the inside, lines of timber converge to create benches from which people can enjoy the views through the gaps. The project is a collaboration with Design Indaba, a platform for design in Africa, and building company X-LAM. paulcocksedgestudio.com
4 GRANTON VISION
A new vision for Edinburgh’s Waterfront has been drawn up by Glasgow-based practice Collective Architecture in association with Studio for New Realities. The scheme aims to protect and extend existing green spaces and transform former industrial land into a climate resilient location where people want to live and work. The development framework prioritises pedestrian streets and low-carbon travel, and maximises the existing terraced topography with linear developments that capitalise on sea views. Existing features, such as the gas holder, will be protected within a green loop. collectivearchitecture.com