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Architect of powerful landmarks designs century properties tower

Buildings that bear the Studio Daniel Libeskind mark are some of the most imaginative and creatively-designed in the world. These structures have garnered prestigious awards for their aesthetics, humanistic character, and how they powerfully express the culture of their respective home cities.

The proponent of these landmarks, the Polish American architect Daniel Libeskind, believes that architecture should be “innovative,” something “original and inspired”, and “not just taken out of a portfolio of projects”. He thinks of buildings beyond mere structures but as mediums of expression – something that can be shaped by poetry, dance, luminosity, the arts, or the culture of a city.

For his Philippine project, Libeskind collaborated with Century Properties Group Inc. for the residential-office tower Century Spire, which the masterful architect has fashioned to stand out in the Manila skyline.

Century Spire, Libeskind’s first project in the Philippines, is composed of three main elements: an office space component, Armani/ Casa-designed amenities, and residential spaces that reach up to the 60th floor.

The building crown has three interlocking segments – its geometric shapes an interesting fusion of playful and sophisticated design. It is located within Century City, the flagship masterplanned community of Century Properties Group in Kalayaan Avenue, Makati.

The company’s other projects are the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada,  World Trade Center Master Plan in New York City; the Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre in Hong Kong; Reflections at Keppel Bay, Singapore; Grand Canal Theater in Dublin; and the Denver Art Museum Residences.

The Royal Ontario Museum, opened in 2007, has been named the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal after its design that is reminiscent of crystals. Two of these crystals are dedicated to new galleries, with its intersection, named The Spirit House, created as a place for reflection. Another crystal is named The Stair of Wonders, while another houses a restaurant. It has received an award of merit for innovative steel design in 2007.

Libeskind won the design competition for the masterplan of the rebuilding of the World Trade Center in New York City in February 2003. His winning masterplan currently serves as the conceptual basis and technical foundation—supplying the framework for its infrastructure, transportation, sustainability standards, and security strategy—of Ground Zero. It has won the 2012 AIA National Service Medal and 2004 Best of New York Award.

Libeskind has designed the walls of The Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre in Hong Kong to slope or slice through space with its windows asymmetrical in shape. Its sound stages, recording studios, screening rooms, exhibit and performance spaces, a multipurpose theater, and other areas have been designed as “interactive spaces” bathed in natural light.

The nine-story, 263,000-square-foot structure houses a multi-purpose theatre, sound stages, laboratories, classrooms, exhibition spaces, a cafe, and a restaurant. The structure was completed in 2010.

Completed in 2011, Reflections at Keppel Bay in Singapore is a two-million-square-foot residential development comprised of six sleek-curving high-rise towers with alternating heights. Its shifting building orientations create for a unique view—with no two residences seen from the same perspective. The structures likewise offer majestic views of two of Singapore’s most famous places—Sentosa and Mt. Faber.

The architectural design of the 148,000-square foot Grand Canal Theater in Dublin, Ireland, completed in 2010, is based on the concept of stages: “the stage of the theater itself, the stage of the piazza, and the stage of the theatre lobby above the piazza.”

The Denver Art Museum Residences is a 127,000 square-foot residential and retail building that was completed in 2006. It consists of six floors and houses 56 luxury units. It has received the 2008 American Institute of Architects Award of Honor and the 2008 CNBC Americas Property Awards for the Best Development category.

Source: Manila Bulletin | February 12, 2014

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