Often adaptive reuse is thought of in the context of old buildings. So Surfacedesign’s recent project Bayfront Park in San Francisco is notable in that building materials with local lore and natural elements were creatively repurposed into seating and an observation platform. The result is a sustainable outdoor space filled with meaning.
Bayfront Park extends 5.5 acres across the eastern edge of Mission Bay near the Chase Center. Prior to industrialization, which turned the area into a shipbuilding and maritime hub, the land was a habitat for wildlife, namely water birds. In its recent reimagining of the former industrial site, Surfacedesign considered both of these histories. Through a supportive planting scheme and the reuse of maritime infrastructure that could have otherwise been discarded, the landscape welcomes both wildlife and people. The local firm was awarded the project in 2015, so its opening this week was nearly 10 years in the making.
Elevation of the park was raised to address future sea level rise. (Marion Brenner)
According to the landscape designers, the park is “intentionally flexible.” Its sloping hills and trails abutting the sea can be used for just about any recreational activity, from morning jogs to afternoon picnics to evening strolls. The park has three primary zones: the waterfront, a duo of lawns and gardens, and the 16th Street Plaza. Along the waterfront, wide pathways connect to trails running through and around the park along with an elevated wooden boardwalk referred to as The Porch. Programming in the 16th Street Plaza includes picnicking and interpretive exhibits on the history of the site.
Bayfront Park was designed for myriad recreational opportunities. (Marion Brenner)Wide pathways can accommodate a range of activities. (Marion Brenner)
Mindful of Bayfront Park’s proximity to the ocean, Surfacedesign said it raised the site’s elevation “to provide a buffer from sea level rise and coastal surges.” It rises 14.5 feet at its highest point. To prevent the raised land from caving in or sinking, a lightweight fill was used.
The proximity and connection to the bay is seen not just in the waterfront vistas; it’s felt throughout the landscape thanks to the reuse of locally sourced building materials. Among these are steel elements taken from the demolition of the eastern span of the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge. Spans of steel beams and trusses from the bridge now function as benches, shading devices, and an observation platform for Bayfront Park. The lookout deck was positioned so as to slightly cantilever over the water. The patina on the reused metal corresponds well with the natural surroundings and recalls the history of the site.
The observation deck was built from spans the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge. (Marion Brenner)Elsewhere, parts of the old bridge are now shading devices. (Marion Brenner)
Other homages to the maritime past woven into Bayfront Park were a historic seawall transformed into another seating venue. An anchor from the Port of San Francisco acts as a sculpture. Natural elements, such as rip rap rocks used to shield the shoreline, were positioned across the park to integrate a connection with the water. These coastal rocks were also used as pavers along the Bay Trail.
As for the vegetation, Surfacedesign opted to create three different environments that relate to the site conditions. Abutting the water is what the firm calls “coastal scrub,” a combination of sage bushes, yarrow, and other low-lying plants interspersed with rocks. In the portion of the park marked by grassy lawns, closer to the city, Surfacedesign curated an “upland coastal prairie palette” primarily made up of wispy grasses. A third area, the “bioretention gardens” is more than just a habitat. The grasses, milkweed, and planting here manage stormwater runoff and protect the site from flooding. Safeguarding the site from sea level rise is important given that in Mission Bay sea level is estimated to rise three feet by 2100 and a 100-year storm surge would likely bring the waterline up an additional three feet.
The Porch is a wooden boardwalk that snakes through the park. (Marion Brenner)The planting scheme was conceived for coastal resiliency. (Marion Brenner)
At Bayfront Park these startling statistics were addressed and the site’s high elevation means it will outlive those estimates. The land around Bayfront Park has endured for centuries and it is looking like it will last for more. James A. Lord, founding partner of Surfacedesign, echoed this sentiment in a statement, saying “Our hope is that Bayfront Park will become a vibrant San Francisco treasure for generations to come.”
Greenways, as a typology of urban design, have become an essential element in the planning of modern cities. They emerge in response to the increasing fragmentation of urban landscapes by elements such as highways. They usually integrate natural and constructed spaces, providing much-needed connections across various parts of the city. At the same time, they promote pedestrian accessibility, recreation, and social interaction. The Rose Kennedy Greenway in downtown Boston, United States, exemplifies this human-centered approach to design. The project, which began construction in 1991, showcases the potential of greenways to reconnect urban environments and enhance community life. As a series of parks designed by various architecture firms, it aims to create physical links and meaningful spaces that foster social development and a sense of place.
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In the late 1980s, Boston faced a notorious traffic issue centered around the Central Artery, an elevated highway that ran through the heart of downtown. It was originally built in 1959 to accommodate about 75,000 vehicles daily. However, by the early 1990s, the highway was overwhelmed, carrying over 200,000 vehicles and becoming one of the most congested roads in the United States. According to government sources, traffic crawled for over 10 hours daily, with accident rates four times higher than the national average. At the same time, the two tunnels connecting downtown to East Boston and Logan Airport faced similar problems. This congestion costs motorists an estimated $500 million annually, stemming from frequent accidents, wasted fuel, and delayed deliveries.
The Central Artery was one of the two high-speed highways that Kevin Lynch, in his book The Image of the City, describes as follows:“…(it) winds inexplicably through the city center, and breaks the orientation link with the North End by blocking Hanover Street”. He described it as a fragmentary edge: continuous in theory and spatially prominent, but at some points impassable for pedestrians, creating isolation between two important districts. This divide was reflected in the highway being visible to pedestrians only at select points, enabling the uninterrupted flow of cars while bypassing the city entirely.
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To address this problem, the government started drafting plans in 1982 to develop what is known today as the “Big Dig”. A massive infrastructure project, that started in 1991, aimed to replace Boston’s deteriorated six-lane elevated Central Artery (I-93) with an underground highway. Often referred to as one of the largest and most expensive public work projects in the history of the United States, it also gave way to the Rose Kennedy Greenway: a linear park that sits atop the expressway tunnels.
Through this major undertaking, the planners were hoping to reduce traffic and improve mobility in one of America’s oldest, most congested cities, while also reconnecting downtown with the waterfront. The Big Dig’s unique challenge was constructing in the heart of an urban area without deteriorating its economy. Maintaining traffic flow and minimizing disruption to businesses and residents were critical priorities, with mitigation efforts consuming over a quarter of the project’s budget to ensure fair treatment and continued economic stability during construction.
In addition to motorized traffic improvements, this offered the space for a greenway, a typology broadly studied in academia. Scholarly articles describe urban greenways as a form of landscape planning and design that may address challenges and opportunities for cities, especially those related to urban landscape fragmentation. Its main characteristic is its linear nature, followed by its ability to provide a linkage across spatial scales in the urban environment. These projects are usually pedestrian-friendly corridors including constructed and natural spaces. Finally, they are designed with elements that provide opportunities for physical activity, recreation, and transportation. It is important to highlight the intrinsic human-centered approach in all the descriptions above. Greenways always try to create a sense of place and a space for social development and interaction.
The Rose Kennedy Greenway opened in 2008 and stretches for over one Mile (1.5 km). It winds through several neighborhoods that make up a highly dense section of the city: Chinatown, the Financial District, the Wharf District, and the North End. Several iconic features are spread throughout its 11 acres of parkland: a labyrinth, a carousel, many public art pieces, a pavilion for visitors, horticultural beds, fountains, and an urban arboretum. These elements stretch across different neighborhoods through multiple park sections, all designed by different architecture and landscaping firms: Chinatown Park was co-designed by Carol R. Johnson Associates and the 2023 Oberlander Prize winner Kongjian Yu of Turenscape; the Dewey Square project was led by Machado and Silvetti Associates; Fort Point Channel Parks and Urban Arboretum was designed by Halvorson Design Partnership; the Armenian Heritage Park was designed by Tellalian Associates Architects & Planners with landscaping by Stantec; the Wharf District parks by AECOM and Copley Wolff Design Group, and finally the North End Parks were designed by Gustafson Guthrie Nichol Ltd and Crosby Schlessinger Smallridge.
Another important aspect to highlight is how the greenway forms part of an extended park network, known as the Emerald Necklace. It was originally proposed by Frederick Law Olmsted as a series of natural and open spaces to connect the city. In this context, the North End Park gives access to the Boston Common through the City Hall Plaza, serving as a connection to this chain of 200 miles (320 km) of green space that stretches across the larger metro area.
Today the effect of the greenway in the city is visible. For the North End parks alone, research from 2014 recorded that thanks to the new public space and equipment, this section increased its visitor count to at least 1,190,000 people during that year. This was due to the new offerings such as food vendors, public Wi-Fi, and cultural events. At the same time, reports show that the greenway has a positive greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint. It currently has a natural carbon stock of approximately 113 tons, about 2.4 times the Greenway’s annual emissions from energy consumption. The project has also been successful in creating a sense of “place”, by providing a space with history and unique cultural identity that gives people somewhere to invest meaningful time with their friends and families. Finally, government data states that the improvements also provide around $168 million per year in time and cost savings to travelers, with travel times dropping around 74 percent.
The insertion of the Rose Kennedy Greenway in downtown Boston is an example of how thoughtful urban landscape design can have a significant impact on a city’s social and environmental context. The project managed to convert a once-isolated area characterized by a highway, into a thriving and accessible public space. In this way, it contributed to the enrichment of the urban fabric with parks, cultural elements, and ecological diversity. These characteristics speak to the value of human-centered design in urban planning. As the Greenway continues to evolve, it stands as a model for other cities seeking to integrate green infrastructure into their urban cores while fostering community and ecological responsibility.
This feature is part of an ArchDaily series titled AD Narratives, where we share the story behind a selected project, diving into its particularities. Every month, we explore new constructions from around the world, highlighting their story and how they came to be. We also talk to the architects, builders, and community, seeking to underline their personal experiences. As always, at ArchDaily, we highly appreciate the input of our readers. If you think we should feature a certain project, please submit your suggestions.
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“Good morning Dublin!”—These were Michael Newmuis’s opening words at a ribbon cutting ceremony this morning at Philadelphia’s LOVE Park, home to the iconic 1976 sculpture by Robert Indiana.
Newmuis, director of the City of Philadelphia, was there to christen The Portal’s debut in his hometown. “Philadelphia is not just the City of Brotherly Love. It’s the city of global love!” he said into the mic.
At the ribbon cutting, Philadelphians gestured hello to Dubliners, danced, and took pictures with their cellphones. Meanwhile, a crowd gathered in Vilnius, Lithuania, where The Portal’s founder Benediktas Gylys hails from. The Portal’s installation in Philadelphia was paid for entirely by Gylys, and came at no cost to Pennsylvania taxpayers, Newmuis said.
The Portal now on view at LOVE Park is the same one New York had, but lost. The sculpture was transported this week by laborers from the Flatiron District. But it didn’t take long before controversies started: When The Portal was being installed in LOVE Park, a crack was spotted, as reported by CBS News.
“This portal does have a crack. I can say confidently that crack is not the result of vandalism, and it’ll be fixed in a few days,” Newmuis said, who likened The Portal’s crack to the Liberty Bell’s beloved blemish.
Dublin City Council are delighted to announce the Dublin Portal is now linked to Philadelphia in the USA. The Portal is Philadelphia is located in the city’s JFK Plaza. The livestream will now alternate every 3 minutes between Dublin, Vilnius, Lublin and Philadelphia. pic.twitter.com/90KhztUC96
New York’s portal opened last March, as reported by AN. It was temporarily closed in May because of “inappropriate behavior.” In the few months that it stayed open, most visitors were respectful, but there were some instances where things went awry.
One Dublin drunkard stood before The Portal and flipped New Yorkers the bird for almost one minute, forcing parents to cover their children’s eyes. Another New York TikTokker exposed herself to unsuspecting onlookers in Dublin.
Not long after, an inebriated Irish woman was stopped by the Gardai from “grinding her bum” on The Portal. Irish teenagers also stuck up their iPhones and broadcast images of 9/11 and swastikas into The Portal, catching some New Yorkers by surprise.
Will The Portal find less controversial refuge in Philadelphia? Only time will tell, but the internet has already weighed in. One skeptic from the peanut gallery asked on Reddit: “How long do we think it will last before someone either does something lewd (mooning, flashing, etc.) or intentionally breaks it? Days? Hours? I’m going with hours.”
An X user commented that installing The Portal in Philadelphia was “breathtakingly irresponsible” because “[Philadelphia] can’t have nice things.”
Not everyone is pessimistic, however. Another Redditor asked fellow interlocutors to think about The Portal’s potential for world peace, and even romance: “Imagine if two people met via [The Portal] and fell in love?” A nice thought for the City of Brotherly Love.
Over the past twenty years, the Holcim Foundation Awards has committed USD 20M to spotlighting projects from an industry-changing cast of architects, designers, and engineers who champion innovative practices in sustainable design and construction.
To better tell these success stories, the Foundation launched a short film series called ‘Words with Winners.’ The series includes a conversation with Loreta Castro Reguera, co-founder of Taller Capital in Mexico City, about the design of the highly innovative La Quebradora Waterpark, which received a Holcim Foundation Award in 2018.
Courtesy of Holcim Foundation
Water management is an increasingly urgent issue in Mexico City. Droughts and floods often plague the Mexican Capital, which largely lacks the infrastructure to effectively address either challenge. With this in mind, Loreta Castro Reguera, alongside Manuel Perló Cohen, director of the Institute for Social Research at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, set out to design La Quebradora Waterpark for the densely populated neighborhood of Iztapalapa.
The ingenuity of their resulting proposal propelled the project to win a Holcim Foundation Award in 2018. The award came at a critical time, as changes in local leadership threatened to halt the waterpark’s construction.
‘Winning the award helped us convince the people that had to decide between continuing its construction about the project’s benefits. Having the credibility this prize gives to projects, we were able to make the government understand that they were making the correct decision,’ says Castro Reguera.
Courtesy of Holcim FoundationCourtesy of Holcim FoundationCourtesy of Holcim FoundationCourtesy of Holcim Foundation
The waterpark works by diverting rainwater from the Sierra de Santa Catarina mountain range, which typically floods Ermita Iztapalapa Avenue. Two roads serve as stormwater channels, guiding runoff to La Quebradora, where it passes a series of screens, filters into two permeable basins, and eventually infiltrates the underlying soil and groundwater.
Surrounding these basins are a series of sloping, tree-studded terraces and community buildings designed to encourage local engagement. This space features an open-air theater, a skate park, and various sporting facilities and plazas where residents can gather and socialize.
‘During the project’s design, we were going into many workshops to understand how we could help communities engage with it,’ explains Castro Reguera.
Courtesy of Holcim FoundationCourtesy of Holcim FoundationCourtesy of Holcim Foundation
In an underprivileged urban neighborhood like Iztapalapa, where open public spaces are scarce, projects like La Quebradora are particularly vital. The opening of the waterpark not only doubled the amount of public recreational space available to residents but also tripled the number of trees. “Instead of having a lawn that is always very expensive to maintain because it needs a lot of water, we decided to create a lot of hardscapes with trees,” explains Castro Reguera.
One of the featured projects in the series is The Hikma Complex in Dandaji, Niger. It stands as a testament to the power of architecture in preserving cultural heritage while addressing contemporary needs. Designed by Mariam Issoufou of Mariam Issoufou Architects and Yasaman Esmaili of Studio Chahar, the project was a Holcim Foundation Award winner in 2018. Learn more about the project here.
THE HOLCIM FOUNDATION AWARDS 2025
The world’s leading competition for sustainable design, Holcim Foundation Awards 2025, is calling for entries. The Swiss-based Holcim Foundation invites innovative projects at any scale, supported by clients and in the late-stage design phase, to compete for global recognition. The competition is free of charge with a prize pool of USD 1M and will be awarded across 20 winning entries.
Projects already under construction are eligible, provided construction is not completed before February 11, 2025. The entry window is now open from October 1, 2024 until February 11, 2025, with the Awards Ceremony at the Foundation’s Venice Forum event on November 20, 2025.
Competition Entries Close: 11.02.2025 20 Winners Globally USD 1M Prize Pool 5 Special Recognition Prizes Free to Enter
Text description provided by the architects. The Orchestra Park in Kunshan’s Huaqiao Economic Development Zone covers 8,500 square meters between two high-density residential areas and along the confluence of two rivers. With mature camphor and dawn redwood trees and nearby wetlands, the project faced the challenge of integrating a skateboarding area, preserving the natural woodland, and adding essential amenities like restrooms. The design prioritizes ecosystem preservation, creating a functional, modern park for all age groups while providing a green, natural retreat. This project transforms an urban vacant lot into a vibrant recreational space that serves the public and is beloved by the community. We aim to create a livable green space that meets residents’ diverse needs while providing a rich natural experience—a green oasis and social hub in the neighborhood.
The Jiangnan Silk and Bamboo music tradition, featuring instruments like the bamboo flute and erhu, is known for its graceful melodies and was recognized as part of Kunshan’s intangible cultural heritage in 2007. Inspired by this cultural heritage, our design incorporates smooth lines and natural forms that reflect the rhythms of the music. The park’s layout uses curves inspired by these instruments, blending recreation with a three-dimensional representation of the music, and offering residents a harmonious mix of nature and culture. We fully respect the existing conditions of the site, aiming to preserve the natural woodland and the undulating terrain to the greatest extent. The overall layout is structured around the symbolic forms of silk and bamboo, with a circular jogging path running through the entire park, connecting Xugongqiao Road and the two adjacent residential communities to the north and south. This path also divides the park into two main areas: a riverside greenbelt and a vibrant recreational zone.
The design of the riverside greenbelt prioritizes the preservation of existing woodland and vegetation, using a minimal intervention approach. We added a waterside viewing platform along the riverbank and created winding exploration paths under the natural canopy, featuring playful sound-interactive installations to enhance visitors’ experiences. This greenbelt seamlessly integrates natural woodland, planting design, and functional spaces, resulting in a layered park environment with a balanced mix of open and dense areas, distinct seasonal changes, and a clear thematic focus. This design provides residents with a lush space for relaxation and a unique opportunity to connect with nature.
The vibrant recreational area utilizes the site’s natural topography to transform the two-dimensional outlines of Jiangnan silk and bamboo instruments into an abstract three-dimensional experience. It features a series of unique interactive facilities, including a skatepark, climbing area, fitness playground, open-air theater, bamboo grove pathways, musical fountain plaza, and a small music classroom. These spaces appeal to residents of all ages, encouraging exploration and engagement with the environment. The Orchestra Park integrates diverse activities while preserving Huaqiao’s cultural heritage. This community park offers spaces for viewing, leisure, and exploration, quickly becoming a favorite destination for local residents. With activities for all ages, it serves as both a natural retreat and a vibrant gathering place.
Text description provided by the architects. A renovation and expansion project that enhances the building’s efficiency while respecting its original designers’ architecture. Designed in the 1950s by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni and Luigi Fratino, the 12-floor Tower of the Permanente was an addition to the building of the same name, which was designed and built in 1886 by Luca Beltrami, in Via Filippo Turati in Milan. Currently housing the Museo della Permanente, the complex is located in a strategic area on a thoroughfare connecting the city center and the Central Station.
Guided by a painstaking historical and philological analysis, the redevelopment, conservation and expansion project of the tower by Park Associati stems from both a consideration of the context, which is strongly characterized by contemporary architecture, and a respect for the identity and architectural value of the original building. The project establishes a balanced interaction with the original design, a fine example of Milanese Modernism, while enhancing the efficiency of the building, which maintains its original intended use, covering about 3,500 square meters of office space. The removal of any superfluous addition and the building’s adaptation to the current plant engineering and casing’s performance requirements aim to minimize, where possible, the impact of the interventions and to integrate any new ad hoc elements into the original project.
The expansion envisages the construction of two additional floors with a glazed front that recalls the Milanese tradition of post-war towers, generating a volume that completes the building. The original elevation’s construction lines are revisited but interpreted in a contemporary key using a different material approach. The existing building features bush-hammered concrete and a klinker cladding, while the new volume is characterized by the use of anodized aluminum and brick cladding with recessed and protruding courses, which create a new rhythm on the façade.
The intervention on the façade enhances the formal cleanliness of the vertical, straight, and parallel lines, highlighting their compositional rigor. The window frames are recessed, resulting in more pronounced shadow lines that give the façade greater dynamism. The external reveal coated in bronzed sheet metal echoes the finish and color tones of the additional floor. The top of the window frame houses a lighting system consisting of an opal LED diffuser which, at night, emphasizes the rhythmic segmentation of the main elevation. The lift well and the balconies on the inner façade of the tower are clad in bronze-colored micro-perforated stretched plate, which echoes the colors and finishes of the added floor and the windows’ recesses.
The entrance to the tower is through an open-air lobby on Via Turati, adjacent to the Museum’s entrance. The redevelopment of the hall, which is also of great architectural value, highlights the original details through the removal of the superfluous additions built after the 1950s project. The floor’s mosaic decoration is thus brought to light, as are the grooves that incorporate a light source pointing to the same. The finishes and coatings of the new lift landing are in line with the pre-existing building. The work environments created by the project in the indoor spaces are flexible and efficient open space areas that can be customized by future tenants. Thanks to the large glazed surfaces, these functional and elegant office spaces enjoy excellent natural lighting and are enhanced by a spectacular view of the city: on one side the contemporary architecture of Porta Nuova, on the other the dense historical fabric of old Milan.
The client’s voice – “The Torre della Permanente is not just a symbol of innovation and regeneration, but also a concrete example of how we can reconcile history with the future. This operation perfectly aligns with our philosophy, which aims to preserve the cultural heritage of places while transforming it to meet new social and urban needs. In Park Associati, we found the ideal partner, with whom we share the vision of a renovation that respects and enhances the historical features of the building, interpreting them in a modern and innovative way.” – Flavio Petraglio, CEO of Artisa Group.
The architect’s voice – “Intervening in Milan’s Modernist designer buildings is always a privilege. Recovery and renovation have always been key themes for Park Associati. These processes imply the ability to take a ‘step back’ from the project, so as not to distort the original vision. In the case of the Torre della Permanente we sought to maintain and enhance the formal uncluttered style of the building’s lines, emphasising its compositional rigour. The intervention is a renewed challenge to engage with the most significant Milanese and Italian twentieth-century architectures, ensuring they remain central to the contemporary urban fabric, with the awareness that the most sustainable building is the one that already exists.” _Filippo Pagliani, Founding Partner Park Associati
Text description provided by the architects. The creation of Tripolis, a trio of idiosyncratic office buildings of 11,000, 8,000, and 6,000 square meters, was inextricably linked to Van Eyck’s masterpiece, the Amsterdam Orphanage. Completed in 1960, the orphanage was one of the most important projects of the Structuralist movement, yet by 1986 it was already threatened with demolition. A successful international campaign was launched to save the orphanage, and the municipality of Amsterdam offered the adjacent land to the developer – on the condition that Aldo and Hannie van Eyck should design the new office complex. In 1994, their new design was completed, and thus Tripolis began its life as the symbolic savior of the orphanage.
MVRDV’s design makes the next step in this history. The original Tripolis did not prove commercially successful, standing empty for years. Meanwhile, an upcoming expansion of the adjacent A10 highway, which includes a new on-ramp right alongside the Tripolis site, threatened to bring increased noise and pollution. Like the orphanage in the 1980s, the Tripolis buildings, in turn, needed an intervention to ensure their future. Following archival research and close collaboration with Van Eyck’s heirs, MVRDV’s design has restored the buildings’ façades not to their original state, but one step better: to Van Eyck’s initial designs. For example, the façades are now fully clad in wood, unlike the cheaper wood and granite combination requested by the Tripolis developer in the 1990s. The building’s multi-colored window frames are also retained.
Inside, the renovation keeps characteristic elements such as the staircases and the natural stone floors, but it also adapts the buildings to bring them in line with modern standards, where offices are increasingly seen as spaces for meeting and collaborating. Dividing walls have been removed, so that the building is less compartmentalized, while various interventions make the building more sustainable. The roofs are now used more intensively, with greenery and pavilions that enable interaction between all users of the complex and which can be used for events. Solar panels are also introduced, helping the development achieve BREEAM Outstanding sustainability certification.
The project isn’t just a renovation, however: a 12-story landscraper known as “The Window” stands on the edge of the plot, pushed as close as possible to the A10, to form a protective wall between the highway and the rest of the site. A large rectangular window has been cut from the gridded south facade of the 34,000-square-metre office building, offering a view of the original Tripolis complex to emphasize the project’s heritage aspects. On the other side of the building, the northern facade responds playfully to the Tripolis buildings, indented by an “echo” of their complex shapes. This intervention creates an undulating interior, an exciting, low-noise intermediate space where bridges connect the old and new buildings.
“Demolition of heritage is always the easy option, especially if it is located in a business district dominated by high-rise buildings,” says MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas. “Tripolis Park offers an approach to protecting heritage that at the same time meets people’s expectations for an office today. It combines this with new densification, a continuation of the development at Amsterdam Zuidas, that doesn’t copy Van Eyck’s intention but creates a new one, like a new layer in time. And it celebrates the in-between which, as Aldo explained to me when I was a student, is one of the main sources of beauty in architecture.”
With Tripolis Park, Van Eyck’s monument is re-established within the current office rental market, evident in the fact that it has attracted two prestige tenants in Uber and law firm De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek. In the coming years, work will continue on the third of the original Tripolis buildings. The greening of the site, which will be easily accessible via walking and cycling paths from the other parts of the Zuidas and the nearby metro station, will also continue, forming a park-like campus in which Aldo van Eyck’s buildings – from 1960 and 1994 alike – are sheltered and preserved.
The Cuyahoga River bank seeps into downtown Cleveland, Ohio, like a snake in long grass. The shoreline, which once hummed with longshoresmen and cargo ships, has been incrementally transformed from derelict brownfield into usable public space for some time now.
In 2021, Wendy Park was finished, as well as Canal Basin Park which converted 30,000 square feet of asphalt into green grass and bike paths. Both Wendy and Canal Basin Park are connected to the Towpath Trail, a 101-mile path for hiking and biking.
Now, Merritt/Chase is working with city and state officials to redesign Canal Basin Park, just below the elegant Detroit-Superior Bridge. The Indianapolis-based landscape architecture office was tasked with reimagining 20 acres along the Cuyahoga River, a water source that’s so polluted, it catches fire.
Canal Basin Park’s riverfront boardwalk will be redone by Merritt/Chase, all the way form Settler’s Landing to Center Street. (Courtesy Merritt/Chase)
“Canal Basin Park will be a signature destination park that reflects the history of the site and Cleveland’s development along the Cuyahoga River,” shared Chris Chase, cofounder of Merritt/Chase. “The park is the northern terminus of the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail connecting the Cuyahoga Valley National Park to Lake Erie.”
Shore-to-Core-to-Shore
You might not know it today, but the Cuyahoga River bank has had a foundational role in Cleveland’s growth—one could even call it the city’s raison d’être. Mera Cardenas, the executive director of Canalway Partners, noted that the site was the “western boundary of the United States” where Moses Cleveland first landed in 1796. Legend has it that Alexis de Tocqueville took his “first steps” in the U.S. where Canal Basin Park is located.
The initiative to upgrade Canal River Basin and tell its history is part of Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb’s Shore-to-Core-to-Shore program which is delivering the North Coast Lakefront Connector, the Bedrock Cuyahoga River Redevelopment, and the future Irishtown Bend Park.
“Canal Basin Park is also located at the historic site where the 1832 canal met the Cuyahoga River,” Chase continued. “The design incorporates this history of the site by revealing the original canal basin through an interpretive stone stormwater feature connected by a series of river gardens and accessible riverfront spaces. The design celebrates the identity of the site by revealing stories of the river, ecology, and cultural and industrial heritage.”
Canal Basin Park will be connected to the Towpath Trail, a 101-mile path for hiking and biking. (Courtesy Merritt/Chase)
Completing the Towpath Trail
Looking ahead, Canal Basin Park’s riverfront boardwalk will be redone by Merritt/Chase, all the way form Settler’s Landing to Center Street. There will also be a new square, Mile Zero Plaza, for runners and cyclists, marking the last mile of Towpath Trail.
To tell the site’s story, designers have ideated a Canal Stormwater Basin made of Berea limestone situated where a 19th century naval throughway once stood. This will coalesce near a dog park, playground, and events lawn.
The project is being shepherded by the City of Cleveland Mayor’s Office of Capital Projects with partners including Cuyahoga County, Canalway Partners, Cleveland Metroparks, Downtown Cleveland, and Flats Forward. Development partners on the project include OHM Advisors, ThirdSpace Action Lab, Partners Environmental, KS Associates, Algebra AEC, and Riverstone.
Construction on Canal Basin Park should finish in 2034.
KTM’s all-new Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) is rolling out on the upcoming 1390 Super Adventure tourer, and the company claims it’ll change the way we ride motorcycles. It comes with a P – N – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 gear sequence – and of course, no clutch lever.
Who would’ve thought we’d live to see a “Park” gear on a motorcycle? Who would’ve thought we’d need one? For decades, it’s been ‘throw the thing on the sidestand, stick it in gear if it’s in any danger of rolling down a hill, job done!’ Not anymore, says KTM.
BMW, Honda, and Yamaha have had various different types of automatic motorcycle on the market for many years, and KTM is the latest to follow suit. This is the first alternative gearbox system from the Austrian brand, although certainly in the dirtbike world, it’s been possible to ride KTMs without using the left lever for a long time thanks to aftermarket suppliers like Rekluse.
KTM AMT – Automatic Manual Transmission
KTM
The riding experience won’t change too dramatically – KTM has retained the standard foot-shift gear lever, “manual” mode lets you use that for complete control over the gears – no clutch required.
There are some drawbacks to riding clutchless. Seasoned riders, for instance, might feel more comfortable having that precise control over drivetrain engagement. Some highly technical off-road riders and stunters might miss the left-hand lever and its ability to quickly lift the front wheel, either to get over a log, or to entertain the children.
There is no need for a clutch on the KTM AMT
KTM
On the other hand, KTM says the clutchless system has benefits in braking, pulling away, riding at lower speeds, and handling slopes. It’ll certainly save some sore wrists for riders on bigger, heavier bikes, going slowly in heavy traffic or highly technical terrain – just twist ‘n’ go, like a scooter rider.
What sets KTM’s AMT apart from other manufacturers is that the Austrian maker has chosen to use a centrifugal clutch in the setup – similar in that regard to the Rekluse system mentioned above. The clutch plates are pushed apart by weak springs while the engine’s idling, but as soon as some throttle’s applied and the engine spins up, the additional centrifugal force actuates a system to bring the friction and steel plates together, and you’re away.
The spring force is precisely tuned to ensure the bike is highly responsive in low-speed operation – and KTM promises there’ll be no stalling with this AMT system. No matter how fast or slow the bike goes, stalling the engine should be impossible.
The shifts are controlled via the ECU and a Transmission Control Unit, supported by an electromechanical shift actuator. In manual mode, you get two options for changing gears: a paddle on your hands or the conventional foot gear lever. In the automatic mode, the bike controls the shifting based on the user’s ride style and speed – but any shift input through the foot lever or paddles will override the auto shift for four seconds before handing control back to the ECU.
The right hand side AMT switch cube
KTM
KTM says the AMT system can change gears in 50 milliseconds depending on an array of variables, including the rider’s inputs, bike speed, acceleration, lean angle, and actual gear position. There are three shift modes as well, namely Comfort, Street, and Sport. This would enable the riders to adjust the gear changes to suit their riding style and riding conditions. You will also be able to shift gears closer to the redline if you’re really flogging the bike, thanks to the AMT’s switchable High Rev limiter shifting option.
As opposed to a conventional gear sequence (1 – N – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6) on a motorcycle, KTM’s AMT is like that of a car (P – N – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6). But why the “P”, you ask? That’s because the centrifugal clutch remains disengaged with the engine stopped, so you do need some other way to lock the rear wheel. Thus, the “Park” mode is extremely useful to keep the bike steady when parked on a slope.
Regardless of whether the engine is running or not, Park and Neutral can only be engaged via the shifting paddle on the handlebar. As for the first gear, either the front or rear brake must be applied to engage it. The forward drive will engage as soon as the engine gets going by engaging the first gear. Concurrently, the centrifugal clutch will engage, permitting the motorcycle to move forward.
The AMT gearbox was first revealed on the KTM 1390 Super Adventure R prototype
KTM
One feature that stands out is that when Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) is engaged, the AMT system will cause the bike to slow down to a stop if the vehicle in front of it stops. The bike will then automatically begin to accelerate if the halt lasts less than three seconds. If the halt duration is more than 3 seconds, you’ll have to accelerate manually or press the cruise control’s resume option. Full stop/start radar cruise on a motorcycle… Pretty bloody nifty, ain’t it?
“This isn’t your grandad’s auto transmission,” says KTM, of this fully automatic 6-speed auto with the option of a clutchless manual. Mind you, the likes of Yamaha and Honda could make the same claim of their their Y-AMT and E-Clutch respectively. So we’re not 100% sure this ISN’T my grandad’s auto transmission.
The incoming KTM 1390 Super Adventure S or its Evo trim might be the first motorcycle to get the AMT as stock
Bosch
Our friends over at MCNews were one of the lucky few to test-ride the KTM tech on some yet-to-be-revealed KTM models. They had only positive things to say about the AMT. Most importantly, the automatic shifts took about the same time as a conventional modern quick-shift set-up per MCNews. Another positive is that the AMT system only adds a kilogram or two to the bike’s overall weight. So no foreseeable impact on ride dynamics as well.
All of this sounds sweet in an age when most tech around us is getting automated. It’s all fun and games when you want to sit back, relax and let the bike do all the work.
But honestly, is that why we ride motorcycles? In the car world, automatics are practical and simple for the majority of commuting drivers, but enthusiasts often prefer the extra control and involvement of a clutch and a stick-shift. Motorcycles are hard to ride well – the kinesthetics of a complex control system are part of the physical dance between rider and machine that makes these things so endlessly absorbing to ride.
Perhaps it makes us sound like ancient curmudgeons to say it, but wasn’t there already a place for automatics in the two-wheeled world? And wasn’t that in the scooter-commuter market, about as far away as possible from the wild machines KTM is known for? Ah well, thus far, we’ve seen very little out of Austria that hasn’t been a ton of fun to ride, so I guess we’ll wait and see how these things go.
Snøhetta has announced a project to rebuild the Refuge de Barroude, a mountain refuge located in a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Pyrenees Mountain range of France. The old building, destroyed in an accidental fire ten years ago, is set to be revived as a stop-off point for hikers on the Haute Route des Pyrénées and as a support center for the staff of the National Park. The next phase of the project is due to begin in 2025.
The new design aims to create a subtle addition to the grandiose mountainous landscape, respectful of the local fauna and flora and with a limited environmental footprint. This understated approach Is coupled with the intention of creating a safe space for hikers, and a subtle local landmark in the valley of Cirque de Barroude. The concept is centered around two words: Terrier, referencing integration, warmth, and security, and Cairn, symbolizing its role as a destination, but built from the natural elements of the mountains. The resulting architecture features a materiality of stone, wood, and aluminum, providing a soft contrast to its surrounding landscape.
Located on the site of the former refugee, an area outside of the protection zone for endemic flora and fauna, the new intervention takes advantage of the local topography. Its shape minimizes the need for extensive earthworks, while the compact structure limits the surfaces exposed to the elements. The dual orientation also encourages natural ventilation while protecting the outside spaces from prevailing winds. Additionally, the planted roof, following the lines of the landscape, protects the recycled aluminum envelope and helps the building blend into its surroundings.
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Functionally, the building is organized into two main areas, one open to the public, serving as the reception area, dining room, dormitories, and toiles, and a private section reserved for the refuge warden and staff. The layout is adapted to balance privacy and openness, transitioning from communal areas to protected dormitories. It features various types of accommodation, including dedicated winter dormitories, plus 8- and 6-person dormitories for hikers. Additional rooms are available for staff. The design fosters community, providing a friendly, light-filled environment with panoramic views.
The shelter features a structure of recycled wood and aluminum, promoting low-carbon materials and prefabrication to reduce installation impact and helicopter use. Minimal earthworks and concrete foundations allow the structure to ‘skim’ the ground, enabling reversibility and a shortened construction period. Local stone is used for the base, ensuring integration with the landscape and a reduced carbon footprint. The refuge’s design echoes the natural topography, with a planted roof enhancing the connection to the mountain environment.
In other similar news, Snøhetta, together with Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture, has recently inaugurated the extension to the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, United States. The internationally recognized office has also recently opened the Čoarvemátta Cultural and Educational Hub, in collaboration with 70°N arkitektur and Joar Nango. The center offers community spaces, cultural facilities, and animal husbandry for the indigenous Sámi community.
