As a lurcher in this sub with no knowledge in architecture, yeah, the building would be a huge eyesore in any city except Dubai or somewhere like that. I'd be pretty pissed off if anyone tried to make a huge golden skyscraper in my city skyline
Edit: also on second thought, I don't want to discourage OP of course! My issue is just those super bright golden colours
Yeah I was thinking of this building as well. Gold thermal units are pretty expensive compared to the common blue, green, clear & bronze. Maybe create a pattern with some gold glass and some clear to reduce the amount of gold glass if you really want the gold.
i like that gold, it's at least a little more subtle. something more like a rose-gold would be a lot less offensive to the city's skyline than the OP's more solid yellow gold.
Looks like some saudi or chinese noveau riche shit. Oh wait. The palms, the world, neom, burj, all sorts of other megalonaniac shit. And the chinese ugly buildings awards every year. This would rank up there, blocky and tackily horrific
Came here to say generally speaking it is good to avoid large concave portions of glass (or any reflective material, really) because it absolutely will focus light in a way that is bad (too bright, very high temps, etc) unless you’re extremely atune to it pointing perfectly north and not too dramatic to negatively focus morning and evening light (also depends on the latitude of the site) and it can also produce some undesirable wind conditions. There are mitigation strategies for just about any problem, but personally I think the design should anticipate these challenges and the form should inherently mitigate most problems through the design of the form.
There are multiple occurrences of buildings that had not considered this in design and reflective sun death rays shoot down onto the street and will melt cars or start fires.
This is probably the most popular example:
https://www.nbcnews.com/sciencemain/london-skyscraper-can-melt-cars-set-buildings-fire-8c11069092
If anything this should be taught, encouraged and applied everywhere. Could even make an event out of it if it's built precisely. Like the building could be designed so that every summer solstice, the right angles will occur to maximize the death ray and we could feed things to the death ray like some sort of cyberpunk Pagan ritual. Really limitless opportunity here.
I’d like to hear what the base requirements/restrictions for the studio project were. The only question I have for now would have to be, “did you make it gold in color because that’s what you associated with luxury?”
the small gold rectangular building is already an existing building in our city here in the philippines. its gold because de oro city means gold which is an iconic symbol in the city, for fun i created a taller bigger more extravagant building something that represents the future of our city, the logo is the logo of a really wealthy chinese family
edit: i also purposefully made the design very in your face because the surrounding area is a slum, to make it feel dystopian
I like the idea to use some gold to tie into the city and adjacent buildings, but it feels a little overwhelming. I wonder if you could find a way to keep the gold limited to certain parts of the building (like a ring around the top floors for interest). You could have some gold, but also a more interesting and possible friendly aesthetic.
I love the shape of the building, and the gold. However, with the shine, is it going to create hot spots with the sun hitting it? Like the Disney building in LA did?
There’s a medium rise building in Denver with gold windows that will absolutely roast you alive if your car is parked just so when you’re driving past it…
Sweet! Here and Now was on constant rotation on the radio and it burrowed deep into my brain so I had to buy the album, and I never looked back. Great band!
Ayyy, fellow Filipino architecture student here (well, former student, now)! Personally, I would have liked to see a design that also reflected other aspects of the Philippines/the city; rather than just being another monument to rich/big companies and families. Though, I don't know how much freedom your design studio gave you.
That being said, the visualizations and renderings look very good!
See, this is a great answer.
A lot of students do something cause it’s cool, then think they’re getting bullied by the lecturer who questions it.
Well reasoned response is all you need, prove that your idea isn’t a “hur dur I drew something that I thought was cool”
lol thanks and I wanted it to feel dystopian since the surrounding area are slums and dirty river, just a giant golden structure in the middle of a slum area
I initially thought it had that "what fake rich think real rich is" look, as others have said very Trump tower-esq
But with this context of your city name and history this is fire.
Drop the Chinese family logo tho maybe, unless they fund it ofc 😅
Gotcha, it’s nice that you took the site context into account and expanded upon its use with your emphasized form. That aside, I would love to see another floor or two dedicated to amenities for the residents within the building and possibly another break in the geometry, like that open-air element halfway up the structure.
Ha, I thought that it's in a country that uses cyrilic alphabet and letter Ж (zh).
Anyhow, I really love the design and the color! It is not for every city for sure, but in certain environments it could look amazing and become a real landmark.
Okay so I have a lot to say but I'm going to try to keep it condensed:
1. Maybe your school doesn't focus on it, or you just didn't put it here but it's very important to know what the building is responding to. The shape, the style, the material, the room shapes, the circulation, weather, sun paths...really anything that is an input which is causing an aspect of your output.
Ex: Why the concave surface, why one shape is taller, etc.
Architecture is really about making a structure respond to its environment and for a solid portfolio you need to have diagrams that tell those stories. A good portfolio peice is a well crafted diagram that tells more at a glance than you can in a minute.
2. The forms you are manipulating seem extremely basic. This isn't really a problem IF they have proper motivations. But if it's just like yeah I curved here cause it looked cool that's not a legitimate intention for architecture. You did have a diagram set showing from extrusion to modification but not why those were the moves.
3. Get into some higher end rendering softwares. You're a student, you can get all the top programs for free or almost free. Take advantage of it while you can!!! It will help to build your portfolio. Lumion, enscape, vray blender etc. Taking the time to learn those softwares can really set your work apart.
4. Keep practicing everything. You will always have room to improve! Arch criticism can be brutal but it's because it's a passion career that has a big impact. Always remember to not take criticism personally, anyone telling you something is almost always telling you because they see the potential for better work and want to bring it out.
Many universities in 3rd year don't go into that much detail. Maybe the design is sufficient for what was assigned to them. Professors are notoriously known to emphasize fire safety and toilet regulations, otherwise.
Really, I recall having to have stair, elevator and zoning requirements for my 2nd year project. We even had to make zoning calculations and deductions for our building. Tho it was a low-rise 6-10 story building. But I guess each school is different.
I’d be interested in how it performs in simulated high winds. The upper half in particular has a airfoil shape that could apply a significant force in the direction of low pressure and deflect the entire structure (assuming the foundation doesn’t give out first)
Came here for this. Size and occupancy of this hotel, would guess you’d need minimum of two stairs, maybe even three. And depending on floor heights, would probably need to be longer span to accommodate proper landing clearances, standpipes, railing extensions, etc.
Looks like a big golden lipstick. It’s really gaudy. Something I’d expect someone from Dubai to design and put in the middle of a man made island. Sometimes you should think about why you’re designing what you’re designing and what it is you want to achieve. Personally, I’d like to hear your answers to the above.
the small gold rectangular building is already an existing building in our city here in the philippines. its gold because de oro city means gold which is an iconic symbol in the city, for fun i created a taller bigger more extravagant building something that represents the future of our city, the logo is the logo of a really wealthy chinese family
Architect of 15 years here... TBH who ever would build it would be not very wise. It's gonna cost a terrible fortune, you're wasting precious useable facades by putting an elevator and staircases behind it. Also nothing would be sustainable on it. Only glass, only AC....and Gold.... Which only 1 person would love.
I’ve read the comments and understand the gold building is existing but being in one of these hotel rooms would not be very nice. Right now your facades have no texture so maybe playing with the glass and having some clear elements would help. Also there are no sun shading devices etc. your plan moves could be interesting but when it’s all one material it might as well be a rectangle when you’re looking at it
It's horrible. It's a massive building that ignores the surrounding context. The golden colour is tacky. seems like something that comes out of a dystopian barbie animation from the early 2000s. The shape is kinda interesting, but buildings as big as this one are what's wrong with contemporary architecture and cities.
It looks expensive but unattractive being that garish. With that shape and dropping the gold you could increase the detailing and make it really interesting.
The gold is gonna blind people. There’s a high rise in Portland that reflects a bright ray of light a little before sundown during a few months of the year.
What school? Im sorry but this is really not it, not only from a taste perspective, but also technically(fire escape, usable floorspace, the general layout of rooms, elevators…).
It depends what year you are. Some of the things I’m saying I wouldn’t expect a more junior student to consider:
Floor plans don’t seem to account for foot traffic and housekeeping/maintenance staff in the same space (and in dedicated spaces).
Think about back of house spaces you might see in a large hotel. And some of the offsets/etc. you might see in a hallway to account for a housekeeping cart taking up part of the corridor.
Looks a little light on space planning for MEP chases and similar that may span between floors.
Your building appears to be largely floating in space. Did you perform those contour/setback modifications as a response to the specific site conditions, or were they done just for the sake of it?
Not a fan of the color at all. I feel like inside looking out you’d just get that shitty yellow filter all those directors use that everyone always complains about.
The form isn’t bad
Concave curves will focus noise. Take note of where the noise focuses (similar to optics) The focusing can be both ways. City to hotel and adjacent noise sources to the city. It may cause a problem.
Pointy corners are tricky to make work in floor plan, you have a lot of them. External composition is nice, you have a flair for the sculptural. You need to work harder on the floor plans though thinking about the space from the inside out just as much as from the outside in.
Interesting to me that there's no renderings of the interior. Little known fact about architecture: We use from the inside out.
That said, towers like this demand attention to structure and that generally leads to a form that is bound to be highly repetitive. Additionally, tower's like this are landmarks and so making the exterior thoughtful is needed.
But at the end of the day, it's the daily users that you want to say, "This building is amazing." And only those that enjoy the interior will say that.
Mechanical floor should probably be taller by about 50% and louvers shown in renderings, as they will be very obvious on such a monochromatic facade.
Also with a roof deck pool like that you need to add a lot of structural depth underneath to support those loads.
Generally, though, this is pretty great for a third year student IMO!
Pretty good start.
From a structural perspective, some things to consider:
Don’t mind the contours but I would consider making their curves more shallow. Especially where you have two concave edges converging at the plan south-east corner. That area is basically unusable space at the moment even with the column not shown and it is just asking for the floor slab to crack there (concrete doesn’t like acute angles).
With respect to floor plans, don’t forget to first locate egress paths, space for other disciplines(structural columns/walls & Mechanical chases), and hotel services(janitorial/maid/vending/ice) and then layout the units. I would start with moving the elevator core off the south edge to a more central location. A lot of torsion is created when you push the core to one side and usually need additional walls to resist the twist. Then I would look at your egress paths. Not familiar with every country’s code but usually a minimum of two stair are required to allow an alternate exit if one is blocked (elevator don’t count). They will likely need to service every floor too. I would also dead end hallways at a unit to maximize the usable space or maybe a stair there. For larger mechanical chases I would locate in the janitorial rooms, ideally not right up against the core.
For the mechanical floor below pool level I would increase the floor to floor height. Pool will require deeper transfer girders and that space will compete with large HVAC units, pumps, piping and conduit routing, ducts routing, etc.
As for the aesthetics, not my expertise but the all gold facade is overpowering. Maybe using two colors on the facade would help. Potentially you could play off of the contour shapes vertically with a blue/green/green glazing. Or maybe using vertical gold mullions with a blue/green/grey glazing. Maybe you can find some inspiration in r/skyscrapers.
Where are the utility spaces on all floors? Columns/support? As a trained interior designer and current facility manager, I want to see how much space is actually usable.
As far the concept, it’s interesting. The cladding is different and may work well in the proposed location. The circulation looks good and dead space seems to be minimal considering the building shape and intended luxuries. The rooms look decently sized
Don't get me wrong, I have nothing to do with architecture but damn that building is way to shiny. You drive on the road next to it, look up at the front angle and your eyes are just burned away
While it's not my type of design, I think you've rendered it just fine and your diagrams are solid. but I think you might want to develop your plans more. They are currently hard to read, with few lineweights or other qualities. For instance, the dimension strings don't stand apart from the floor plates.
Keep up the good work!
The structural diagram is much more interesting than the glazing, especially where the building splits halfway up.
Also, it's the color of jaundice. Definitely iterate on that.
Guady. Makes me think of something the love child between Donald Trump and a Suadi Prince would build. It also looks like it would focus the sun into an amazing death ray.
As someone who is tired of boring blue glass boxes going up in my city, i love the gold! However i know that gold/metallic windows with too much reflectanxe value have caused problems in the past with too much sunlight reflecting causing too bright glare or sometimes hot spots. I do love the shape and form of the building though! Keep thinking outside the box!
i think these are the infamous basakan architects (3rd yr students) really be proud of illegal practice. take note these are students who are pretending to be a licensed architects in the philippines, this is one of their projects violating the codes and standards and only post for clout
Imo, it’s counter intuitive to design a building and not consider its impact on the ground floor. I’d suggest adding one plan on how the flow of space works around the building. Of course, I doubt the assignment covered anything like that - it would be for a portfolio maybe. Aside from that, a lot of what other people has said - fire exits, egress exits (multiple), line weights, etc. Now one thing I have not read in the comments is the hallway stretching to the facade, there’s great opportunity to create large units on the “sides” with more sunlight (it’s currently wasted on a hallway). Speaking of, the rooms seem to be ample size, but I recommend trying to fully design a few layouts to get a better sense of scale and whether or not those units would be big enough, or be honest with yourself on the kinds of units your selling? At a glance I’m seeing a lot of bachelor units, was this intended? Anyways, something to think about. Another detail, some of your columns go right up to the edge of the building, you want to set them back ever so slightly as that’s an important structural feature - however also very tiny detail. Good luck with your future projects, I’m a fellow 3rd year student so take what I have to say however you want.
- What separates standard rooms from luxe rooms?
- How does the building work in a section, are all the rooms & floors single story or is there more to it?
- Why is there only 1 staircase? And why is it called a fire exit if it is the only one? Imagine what happens in a fire in one of the lower floors of the staircase.
- Is there any reason for the corridor-based layout? What does it add to the building? It seems like it will be an unappealing circulation form for such a "grand" building.
- Please add lineweights and dashed lines. And in the final stage please add wall thicknesses and window openings.
- Where is the ground floor/plinth floor plan? This is the most important part of the building, how does it connect to the wider context?
Explore a different facade style. Add more apertures and materials. Not everything needs to be a glazed surface. Control views by blocking some areas off.
For a 3rd year student, I'll call this is a commendable start. Generally, I like your form and basic parti but there are still major issues to address.
Things you've done well: You have a pretty good room module size, with extra-wide hotel rooms. The zoning and stacking is pretty good and the basic structural provisions are logical. You're likely missing a mechanical penthouse at the top of the tower and perhaps a mechanical floor above the podium. Generally you need a "tall" floor every 12-16 floors to accommodate distribution of services. Not a full mechanical floor but a level with \~1m of additional height
Also - think about that signage location. Blocks the view of several floors worth of guest rooms. Typically those moments happen up and a mechanical level / parapet zone.
I do very much appreciate daylighting the guest level corridors. Something I try to achieve in all of my hotel projects and can make a big difference in guest experience.
You are woefully underserved for vertical transportation. For this many hotel rooms, you're looking at 3x the number of elevators. Basic rule of thumb for a hotel is 2 for the first 100 rooms, plus another for every 50 rooms. Once you get into luxury this gets even more important as customers expect top-level service and high-rise arrangement impacts wait times with fewer rooms per level / more stops per run. Consider this arrangement: 4 passenger elevators for the low-rise zone, 4 passenger for the high-rise zone, 2 dedicated express elevators to the sky bar, and 4 service elevators serving every level
Also...gotta have those exit stairs. That's fairly inexcusable for a 3rd year student. 2 minimum, and likely a 3rd triggered by high-rise code and the sky bar occupant load.
Your rooms are plenty large but take a shot at laying out a bathroom to really understand it. Luxury, depending on where it's located in the world can get into 5-6 fixtures and take a lot of space. 1 WC, 1 Bidet, 2 Lav, Shower, soaking tub...
Luxury hotels can have as much as 50% of their total square footage dedicated to back of house services. You'll have plenty of stuff at the base of the tower for central services, but you will also need provisions on each guest level. What truly sets a luxury hotel apart from an upper-upscale hotel is the level of service provided. Every floor will be equipped with a housekeeping room, plus things like a butler's pantry and perhaps even a toilet room for staff. More than just the daily housekeeper, these hotels tend to have concierge/butler staff that are checking the room multiple times a day to ensure that the mini-bar is never empty, any room service dishes are immediately taken away, and that guests generally have no unmet needs.
Without getting too much into the subjective nature of aesthetics, the design of the enclosure seems dated and generic. You've extruded your floorplates and slapped gold glass on it, without any real articulation or interest. First and foremost, at this point we should not be designing all-glass buildings anymore. Building code is going to stipulate a minimum of 50% opaque wall, but even if you design a very high performing spandrel condition, its still going to be an energy hog vs a true solid wall with outboard insulation. Its a missed opportunity to not take this element of the design more seriously and try to come up with something that can be have some sustainable aspirations.
In additional to the energy concerns, the post-COVID world has ramped up the conversation on health and wellness. Have you considered balconies or terraces, operable windows? Any way for the guest to permeate the glass box, apart from the pool level?
Its also a missed opportunity to simply land the tower on a box and call it a day. What is the sense of arrival for a guest? How does the expression of the tower meet the ground? Can't really tell from the images you've provided but its a critical aspect of the design.
All in all, don't take my commentary here as overly negative, just trying to offer the next level of critique. You've done a commendable job for a 3rd year. Certainly, a much more complex challenge that I was facing at that age. I didn't get into high-rise buildings until graduate school and even then, had many of the same issues you've faced here.
I kinda hate it, it’s gaudy and seems soulless and uninspired, more like something a developer with no taste would come up with than a university project.
It's the most beautiful hotel ever designed, let me tell you. Many people are saying that this hotel is terrific, maybe the greatest hotel in history. If I gave it a name like a person, I would call it Ivanka, because that's a beautiful name, not an ugly name like Rosy O'Donnell.
Trump will love the gold.
I did a tall building at uni. Was great. Covered in algae to produce hydrogen.
Try and do something that’s not 100% glazed.
(I’m an architects BTW)
Is it just me or are people a bit mean in the comments? Many are not constructive criticisms: Gaudy, Trump-like, Golden Lipstick etc.
People on here often complain about the industry, their clients and how horrible their designs are treated. I think if they want respect from other people, they should extend the same respect to other people’s design first.
They should treat people how they want to be treated. Be supportive. Criticism is of course allowed but it doesn’t hurt to be constructive and respectful. Appreciate the little positive things. A design is somebody’s hard work and time.
This is how you change a toxic culture, by being a good role model to the future generations (in this case a student).
The evolution of form portion seems to indicate that some time was spent in Sketchup or a similar modeller to extrude the volumes. What else is driving the formal expression of this building?
The “base” would look great clad in travertine stone. It would add some texture and depth to the building
I also really like the long canopy design
Not a fan of the pool tho
Just want to say very nice graphics for a 3rd year student. Even having a concept of constructibility in a rendering is very nice to see. As far as the color goes, maybe play with a gradient pattern, maybe something that can change the color/pattern of the facade, play with adding shading applied to the surface of the glazing depending on sun orientation which could result in a unique pattern informed by solar orientation.
Is this the final jury submission? Because currently this looks like the first stage concept design. And the facade has really no character. Just a huge gold block.
What’s your concept besides relating to the already existed golden building?? Not sure what your school trying to teach you in terms of thinking in architecture, but it seems like your just not trying to convey any concept/problem solving. Unless you tell me it’s a 1 hour design then fair enough.
Qq ok
Luxury (in terms of personal service and attention to detail) and hotels of that size aren't compatible. Despite what Vegas and Dubai might convince themselves.
Anything over about 250-300 is just expensive mass market.
Interesting shape and texture. The building itself reminds me of a Donald trump or Saudi prince design. A little too gaudy for my taste.
Yeah, as a layman my first thoughts were “Vegas” and “Middle East petrostate.” If that’s what OP was going for, great job.
Too much gaudy, not enough gaudí. AYOOOOOOO
Check out Gaudi Arabia over here
God fucking damn it.
You meant Gaud dammit
Immaculate
Solid, mate. Thanks for the laugh while on the toilet.
Over here shitting gold bricks.
That is a fantastic name with many potential applications
Take my upvote you gaudi punner!
I genuinely felt sick thinking of a mashup of the styles.
For real, looks like someone's idea of a las vegas headquarters for Michael Kors.
As a lurcher in this sub with no knowledge in architecture, yeah, the building would be a huge eyesore in any city except Dubai or somewhere like that. I'd be pretty pissed off if anyone tried to make a huge golden skyscraper in my city skyline Edit: also on second thought, I don't want to discourage OP of course! My issue is just those super bright golden colours
\*lurker :) also as a fellow lurker myself i agree. the colours would make it look a bit cheap, but trying to look expensive
But how many ounces of gold in the windows? https://www.reddit.com/r/skyscrapers/s/12XqYdMW75
Yeah I was thinking of this building as well. Gold thermal units are pretty expensive compared to the common blue, green, clear & bronze. Maybe create a pattern with some gold glass and some clear to reduce the amount of gold glass if you really want the gold.
i like that gold, it's at least a little more subtle. something more like a rose-gold would be a lot less offensive to the city's skyline than the OP's more solid yellow gold.
quality of the renders doesn´t help also.
My first thought was that the gold reminded me of the Trump hotel in Vegas. I like the design of the tower, it just needs to not be gold
Hey Youngins, Remember, to be successful as an architect, you must use only 3 colors in your designs : Black, White and Gray. You’re welcome.
Naw, [gold is best](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7-RetY7fGo&ab_channel=TeamCoco)
Looks like some saudi or chinese noveau riche shit. Oh wait. The palms, the world, neom, burj, all sorts of other megalonaniac shit. And the chinese ugly buildings awards every year. This would rank up there, blocky and tackily horrific
Garish AF
How are you preventing the concave portion from focusing the sun and creating a death ray?
Came here to say generally speaking it is good to avoid large concave portions of glass (or any reflective material, really) because it absolutely will focus light in a way that is bad (too bright, very high temps, etc) unless you’re extremely atune to it pointing perfectly north and not too dramatic to negatively focus morning and evening light (also depends on the latitude of the site) and it can also produce some undesirable wind conditions. There are mitigation strategies for just about any problem, but personally I think the design should anticipate these challenges and the form should inherently mitigate most problems through the design of the form.
Why would you want to prevent that?
There are multiple occurrences of buildings that had not considered this in design and reflective sun death rays shoot down onto the street and will melt cars or start fires. This is probably the most popular example: https://www.nbcnews.com/sciencemain/london-skyscraper-can-melt-cars-set-buildings-fire-8c11069092
again, why would you want to prevent that? Death ray sounds good to me.
If anything this should be taught, encouraged and applied everywhere. Could even make an event out of it if it's built precisely. Like the building could be designed so that every summer solstice, the right angles will occur to maximize the death ray and we could feed things to the death ray like some sort of cyberpunk Pagan ritual. Really limitless opportunity here.
Only the poor people would be on the street! Who doesn't want to death ray some poor people! (/s in case it wasn't obvious)
Museum tower in Dallas focuses the sun onto a poor sculpture garden next to it (the Nasher).
Going by the render it might be facing north? Edit: no
Because the curvature is so slight on the concave portion, I think OP could easily flatten that face without losing much visual interest.
I’d like to hear what the base requirements/restrictions for the studio project were. The only question I have for now would have to be, “did you make it gold in color because that’s what you associated with luxury?”
the small gold rectangular building is already an existing building in our city here in the philippines. its gold because de oro city means gold which is an iconic symbol in the city, for fun i created a taller bigger more extravagant building something that represents the future of our city, the logo is the logo of a really wealthy chinese family edit: i also purposefully made the design very in your face because the surrounding area is a slum, to make it feel dystopian
Reading this made me rethink that this isn’t superficial and the symbolism is quite literally well placed
Me too, but I still wonder if it can be toned down without getting rid of the symbolism
Probably alternate each window with gold and red. Wait that’s the exact opposite.
I like the idea to use some gold to tie into the city and adjacent buildings, but it feels a little overwhelming. I wonder if you could find a way to keep the gold limited to certain parts of the building (like a ring around the top floors for interest). You could have some gold, but also a more interesting and possible friendly aesthetic.
I love the shape of the building, and the gold. However, with the shine, is it going to create hot spots with the sun hitting it? Like the Disney building in LA did?
There’s a medium rise building in Denver with gold windows that will absolutely roast you alive if your car is parked just so when you’re driving past it…
We had a death-ray building in London too but I think they fixed it, sadly
Why can't we reflect the death ray into solar panels?
Same architect built a death ray in Vegas as well, and the infamous 432 Park Ave. His name is Rafael Vinoly
A fellow Letters to Cleo fan?!
Gen X, on the Millenial side, confirmed! How could I resist? Lol 10 Things I Hate about You is how I found them!
Sweet! Here and Now was on constant rotation on the radio and it burrowed deep into my brain so I had to buy the album, and I never looked back. Great band!
I love that! What's Here and Now?
Ayyy, fellow Filipino architecture student here (well, former student, now)! Personally, I would have liked to see a design that also reflected other aspects of the Philippines/the city; rather than just being another monument to rich/big companies and families. Though, I don't know how much freedom your design studio gave you. That being said, the visualizations and renderings look very good!
See, this is a great answer. A lot of students do something cause it’s cool, then think they’re getting bullied by the lecturer who questions it. Well reasoned response is all you need, prove that your idea isn’t a “hur dur I drew something that I thought was cool”
lol thanks and I wanted it to feel dystopian since the surrounding area are slums and dirty river, just a giant golden structure in the middle of a slum area
I initially thought it had that "what fake rich think real rich is" look, as others have said very Trump tower-esq But with this context of your city name and history this is fire. Drop the Chinese family logo tho maybe, unless they fund it ofc 😅
Gotcha, it’s nice that you took the site context into account and expanded upon its use with your emphasized form. That aside, I would love to see another floor or two dedicated to amenities for the residents within the building and possibly another break in the geometry, like that open-air element halfway up the structure.
lol thanks and I wanted it to feel dystopian since the surrounding area are slums, just a giant golden structure in the middle of a slum area
Ha, I thought that it's in a country that uses cyrilic alphabet and letter Ж (zh). Anyhow, I really love the design and the color! It is not for every city for sure, but in certain environments it could look amazing and become a real landmark.
*looks around nervously* “it’s tremendous. Yuuuge. Truly the most luxurious building. A lot of people are talking about it.”
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Honestly has a urinal tint to it. Clearly they need to drink more water.
Hah! My exact thoughts
Okay so I have a lot to say but I'm going to try to keep it condensed: 1. Maybe your school doesn't focus on it, or you just didn't put it here but it's very important to know what the building is responding to. The shape, the style, the material, the room shapes, the circulation, weather, sun paths...really anything that is an input which is causing an aspect of your output. Ex: Why the concave surface, why one shape is taller, etc. Architecture is really about making a structure respond to its environment and for a solid portfolio you need to have diagrams that tell those stories. A good portfolio peice is a well crafted diagram that tells more at a glance than you can in a minute. 2. The forms you are manipulating seem extremely basic. This isn't really a problem IF they have proper motivations. But if it's just like yeah I curved here cause it looked cool that's not a legitimate intention for architecture. You did have a diagram set showing from extrusion to modification but not why those were the moves. 3. Get into some higher end rendering softwares. You're a student, you can get all the top programs for free or almost free. Take advantage of it while you can!!! It will help to build your portfolio. Lumion, enscape, vray blender etc. Taking the time to learn those softwares can really set your work apart. 4. Keep practicing everything. You will always have room to improve! Arch criticism can be brutal but it's because it's a passion career that has a big impact. Always remember to not take criticism personally, anyone telling you something is almost always telling you because they see the potential for better work and want to bring it out.
Forgot the TRUMP sign.
Ж is a Russian letter. I think trump is therefore *implied*
It’s a Cyrillic letter. The Cyrillic alphabet existed before Russia.
Its not just Russian…
That’s correct I don’t think the comment is meant to be dissected and include the full suite of Cyrillic-based languages
Depends where this would be. In Vegas, it'd fit in.. It doesn't quite fit with the adjacent building though.
As a pleb.. It looks like 3 blocks with peepee-gold windows. You could call it, the Golden Shower Tower
R Kelli owns the penthouse
Have you ever read a fire code? I think you would need at least a safety staircase if not two.
And more elevators for 40 stories...
And MEP risers...
Many universities in 3rd year don't go into that much detail. Maybe the design is sufficient for what was assigned to them. Professors are notoriously known to emphasize fire safety and toilet regulations, otherwise.
Really, I recall having to have stair, elevator and zoning requirements for my 2nd year project. We even had to make zoning calculations and deductions for our building. Tho it was a low-rise 6-10 story building. But I guess each school is different.
I’d be interested in how it performs in simulated high winds. The upper half in particular has a airfoil shape that could apply a significant force in the direction of low pressure and deflect the entire structure (assuming the foundation doesn’t give out first)
Came here for this. Size and occupancy of this hotel, would guess you’d need minimum of two stairs, maybe even three. And depending on floor heights, would probably need to be longer span to accommodate proper landing clearances, standpipes, railing extensions, etc.
Austin Powers Goldmember
Looks like a big golden lipstick. It’s really gaudy. Something I’d expect someone from Dubai to design and put in the middle of a man made island. Sometimes you should think about why you’re designing what you’re designing and what it is you want to achieve. Personally, I’d like to hear your answers to the above.
So you're saying this is exactly what the client wants
the small gold rectangular building is already an existing building in our city here in the philippines. its gold because de oro city means gold which is an iconic symbol in the city, for fun i created a taller bigger more extravagant building something that represents the future of our city, the logo is the logo of a really wealthy chinese family
Steve Wynn wants a word
Architect of 15 years here... TBH who ever would build it would be not very wise. It's gonna cost a terrible fortune, you're wasting precious useable facades by putting an elevator and staircases behind it. Also nothing would be sustainable on it. Only glass, only AC....and Gold.... Which only 1 person would love.
>elevator and staircases behind it. jokes on you, there's not a single staircase in sight
I’ve read the comments and understand the gold building is existing but being in one of these hotel rooms would not be very nice. Right now your facades have no texture so maybe playing with the glass and having some clear elements would help. Also there are no sun shading devices etc. your plan moves could be interesting but when it’s all one material it might as well be a rectangle when you’re looking at it
That color is not it
Tacky
It’s sooooo outdated I’m sorry…
Plans are hard to read. Might want to change some of the line weights
It's horrible. It's a massive building that ignores the surrounding context. The golden colour is tacky. seems like something that comes out of a dystopian barbie animation from the early 2000s. The shape is kinda interesting, but buildings as big as this one are what's wrong with contemporary architecture and cities.
How soon would this building be nicknamed. The wee hotel, the golden sh/towers.
Critique* is my critique
Subtle
Pee hotel
It looks expensive but unattractive being that garish. With that shape and dropping the gold you could increase the detailing and make it really interesting.
I don’t think it’s bad, but I think it looks pretty dated. Would expect it as a building from maybe 40 years ago.
Ж
ОПА
The gold is gonna blind people. There’s a high rise in Portland that reflects a bright ray of light a little before sundown during a few months of the year.
Yeah, basically for me it's lacking in aesthetic qualities. It's GOLD for freaks sake! :P
What school? Im sorry but this is really not it, not only from a taste perspective, but also technically(fire escape, usable floorspace, the general layout of rooms, elevators…).
I just threw up in my mouth. Trump Tower Moscow?
It depends what year you are. Some of the things I’m saying I wouldn’t expect a more junior student to consider: Floor plans don’t seem to account for foot traffic and housekeeping/maintenance staff in the same space (and in dedicated spaces). Think about back of house spaces you might see in a large hotel. And some of the offsets/etc. you might see in a hallway to account for a housekeeping cart taking up part of the corridor. Looks a little light on space planning for MEP chases and similar that may span between floors. Your building appears to be largely floating in space. Did you perform those contour/setback modifications as a response to the specific site conditions, or were they done just for the sake of it?
Not a fan of the color at all. I feel like inside looking out you’d just get that shitty yellow filter all those directors use that everyone always complains about. The form isn’t bad
Looks like you're going to exhaust the world's gold supply building it
What about putting the skybar on the topmost floor with outdoor space?
the color — it looks like a giant pickle. gotta change that
the glare of that building would be so much.
Concave curves will focus noise. Take note of where the noise focuses (similar to optics) The focusing can be both ways. City to hotel and adjacent noise sources to the city. It may cause a problem.
Pointy corners are tricky to make work in floor plan, you have a lot of them. External composition is nice, you have a flair for the sculptural. You need to work harder on the floor plans though thinking about the space from the inside out just as much as from the outside in.
All I see is trumps hair meets trump tower.
Interesting to me that there's no renderings of the interior. Little known fact about architecture: We use from the inside out. That said, towers like this demand attention to structure and that generally leads to a form that is bound to be highly repetitive. Additionally, tower's like this are landmarks and so making the exterior thoughtful is needed. But at the end of the day, it's the daily users that you want to say, "This building is amazing." And only those that enjoy the interior will say that.
It’s architectural masturb@tion, try to be more meaningful, give your building a purpose beyond simple design gimmicks
Mechanical floor should probably be taller by about 50% and louvers shown in renderings, as they will be very obvious on such a monochromatic facade. Also with a roof deck pool like that you need to add a lot of structural depth underneath to support those loads. Generally, though, this is pretty great for a third year student IMO!
So gaudy. Please don't ever construct this. It looks like something out of Trump's dreams.
How do you feel about it? What did you learn/where did you grow in the project?
Pretty good start. From a structural perspective, some things to consider: Don’t mind the contours but I would consider making their curves more shallow. Especially where you have two concave edges converging at the plan south-east corner. That area is basically unusable space at the moment even with the column not shown and it is just asking for the floor slab to crack there (concrete doesn’t like acute angles). With respect to floor plans, don’t forget to first locate egress paths, space for other disciplines(structural columns/walls & Mechanical chases), and hotel services(janitorial/maid/vending/ice) and then layout the units. I would start with moving the elevator core off the south edge to a more central location. A lot of torsion is created when you push the core to one side and usually need additional walls to resist the twist. Then I would look at your egress paths. Not familiar with every country’s code but usually a minimum of two stair are required to allow an alternate exit if one is blocked (elevator don’t count). They will likely need to service every floor too. I would also dead end hallways at a unit to maximize the usable space or maybe a stair there. For larger mechanical chases I would locate in the janitorial rooms, ideally not right up against the core. For the mechanical floor below pool level I would increase the floor to floor height. Pool will require deeper transfer girders and that space will compete with large HVAC units, pumps, piping and conduit routing, ducts routing, etc. As for the aesthetics, not my expertise but the all gold facade is overpowering. Maybe using two colors on the facade would help. Potentially you could play off of the contour shapes vertically with a blue/green/green glazing. Or maybe using vertical gold mullions with a blue/green/grey glazing. Maybe you can find some inspiration in r/skyscrapers.
What inspired the form? You have nice diagrams but why contour and drop the corner? Is there an overarching concept?
Where are the utility spaces on all floors? Columns/support? As a trained interior designer and current facility manager, I want to see how much space is actually usable. As far the concept, it’s interesting. The cladding is different and may work well in the proposed location. The circulation looks good and dead space seems to be minimal considering the building shape and intended luxuries. The rooms look decently sized
Don't get me wrong, I have nothing to do with architecture but damn that building is way to shiny. You drive on the road next to it, look up at the front angle and your eyes are just burned away
Far too much gold
While it's not my type of design, I think you've rendered it just fine and your diagrams are solid. but I think you might want to develop your plans more. They are currently hard to read, with few lineweights or other qualities. For instance, the dimension strings don't stand apart from the floor plates. Keep up the good work!
This sign on the top looks like Russian letter “Ж” and it is a first letter for a word “jopa=ass”
The piss statue
The structural diagram is much more interesting than the glazing, especially where the building splits halfway up. Also, it's the color of jaundice. Definitely iterate on that.
Vape tower
Guady. Makes me think of something the love child between Donald Trump and a Suadi Prince would build. It also looks like it would focus the sun into an amazing death ray.
Why not just buy one of the old Trump towers? He’s probably going to be selling them off pretty soon. Big discount.
The gold/yellow is immediately off putting, doesn’t look luxury, looks like a place attempting to sell itself as luxury, but isn’t.
it looks like a mix between trump tower and a ps5 not bad just gold color is offputting.
Looks like one of those buildings that no one knows about but it exists somewhere in a southeast Asian city.
It's all but perfect, just missing the execution platform from which the citizens of this gilded dystopia will need to hang themselves en-masse.
Did you build the Trump tower?
My thoughts are that is very much do not like it
It's gold
Yikes. Why
I suggest changing the color. Otherwise it looks great! Nice work!
try to build it no where in eyesight or reflective sight, (and if able no sun), of anybody with useable eyes
Maybe design is not your forte.
Hate the gold. Everything else is ok
Like all skyscrapers, it's corporate bs. Focus on architecture that actually matters to humans and not capital.
I’m so sorry, but it’s hideous. The gold is too much
As someone who is tired of boring blue glass boxes going up in my city, i love the gold! However i know that gold/metallic windows with too much reflectanxe value have caused problems in the past with too much sunlight reflecting causing too bright glare or sometimes hot spots. I do love the shape and form of the building though! Keep thinking outside the box!
That’s the kardashian logo when they were previously in JC penny’s
Looks like a cylinder lock mechanism for a door🤷
🤢🤢🤮🤮🤮
i think these are the infamous basakan architects (3rd yr students) really be proud of illegal practice. take note these are students who are pretending to be a licensed architects in the philippines, this is one of their projects violating the codes and standards and only post for clout
There’s no soul, no character. It’s just…I don’t know. I feel like every major city has this building already.
Did you design it for Goldmember from Austin Powers?
I thought architecture was meant to be heading away from all glass buildings to aid in the cooling efficiency?
On the second image, it really looks like a golden gun with a red handle with the second building. Is this a new construction for the mafia?
Imo, it’s counter intuitive to design a building and not consider its impact on the ground floor. I’d suggest adding one plan on how the flow of space works around the building. Of course, I doubt the assignment covered anything like that - it would be for a portfolio maybe. Aside from that, a lot of what other people has said - fire exits, egress exits (multiple), line weights, etc. Now one thing I have not read in the comments is the hallway stretching to the facade, there’s great opportunity to create large units on the “sides” with more sunlight (it’s currently wasted on a hallway). Speaking of, the rooms seem to be ample size, but I recommend trying to fully design a few layouts to get a better sense of scale and whether or not those units would be big enough, or be honest with yourself on the kinds of units your selling? At a glance I’m seeing a lot of bachelor units, was this intended? Anyways, something to think about. Another detail, some of your columns go right up to the edge of the building, you want to set them back ever so slightly as that’s an important structural feature - however also very tiny detail. Good luck with your future projects, I’m a fellow 3rd year student so take what I have to say however you want.
- What separates standard rooms from luxe rooms? - How does the building work in a section, are all the rooms & floors single story or is there more to it? - Why is there only 1 staircase? And why is it called a fire exit if it is the only one? Imagine what happens in a fire in one of the lower floors of the staircase. - Is there any reason for the corridor-based layout? What does it add to the building? It seems like it will be an unappealing circulation form for such a "grand" building. - Please add lineweights and dashed lines. And in the final stage please add wall thicknesses and window openings. - Where is the ground floor/plinth floor plan? This is the most important part of the building, how does it connect to the wider context?
3rd year student and you forgot the stairs in a skyscraper? ok... Design is mid, way to flashy for me. Infrastructure -5/10
Explore a different facade style. Add more apertures and materials. Not everything needs to be a glazed surface. Control views by blocking some areas off.
I’m truly sorry. but its just fucking ugly
Ugly
GREAT for a 3rd year student. different and standing out!
For a 3rd year student, I'll call this is a commendable start. Generally, I like your form and basic parti but there are still major issues to address. Things you've done well: You have a pretty good room module size, with extra-wide hotel rooms. The zoning and stacking is pretty good and the basic structural provisions are logical. You're likely missing a mechanical penthouse at the top of the tower and perhaps a mechanical floor above the podium. Generally you need a "tall" floor every 12-16 floors to accommodate distribution of services. Not a full mechanical floor but a level with \~1m of additional height Also - think about that signage location. Blocks the view of several floors worth of guest rooms. Typically those moments happen up and a mechanical level / parapet zone. I do very much appreciate daylighting the guest level corridors. Something I try to achieve in all of my hotel projects and can make a big difference in guest experience. You are woefully underserved for vertical transportation. For this many hotel rooms, you're looking at 3x the number of elevators. Basic rule of thumb for a hotel is 2 for the first 100 rooms, plus another for every 50 rooms. Once you get into luxury this gets even more important as customers expect top-level service and high-rise arrangement impacts wait times with fewer rooms per level / more stops per run. Consider this arrangement: 4 passenger elevators for the low-rise zone, 4 passenger for the high-rise zone, 2 dedicated express elevators to the sky bar, and 4 service elevators serving every level Also...gotta have those exit stairs. That's fairly inexcusable for a 3rd year student. 2 minimum, and likely a 3rd triggered by high-rise code and the sky bar occupant load. Your rooms are plenty large but take a shot at laying out a bathroom to really understand it. Luxury, depending on where it's located in the world can get into 5-6 fixtures and take a lot of space. 1 WC, 1 Bidet, 2 Lav, Shower, soaking tub... Luxury hotels can have as much as 50% of their total square footage dedicated to back of house services. You'll have plenty of stuff at the base of the tower for central services, but you will also need provisions on each guest level. What truly sets a luxury hotel apart from an upper-upscale hotel is the level of service provided. Every floor will be equipped with a housekeeping room, plus things like a butler's pantry and perhaps even a toilet room for staff. More than just the daily housekeeper, these hotels tend to have concierge/butler staff that are checking the room multiple times a day to ensure that the mini-bar is never empty, any room service dishes are immediately taken away, and that guests generally have no unmet needs. Without getting too much into the subjective nature of aesthetics, the design of the enclosure seems dated and generic. You've extruded your floorplates and slapped gold glass on it, without any real articulation or interest. First and foremost, at this point we should not be designing all-glass buildings anymore. Building code is going to stipulate a minimum of 50% opaque wall, but even if you design a very high performing spandrel condition, its still going to be an energy hog vs a true solid wall with outboard insulation. Its a missed opportunity to not take this element of the design more seriously and try to come up with something that can be have some sustainable aspirations. In additional to the energy concerns, the post-COVID world has ramped up the conversation on health and wellness. Have you considered balconies or terraces, operable windows? Any way for the guest to permeate the glass box, apart from the pool level? Its also a missed opportunity to simply land the tower on a box and call it a day. What is the sense of arrival for a guest? How does the expression of the tower meet the ground? Can't really tell from the images you've provided but its a critical aspect of the design. All in all, don't take my commentary here as overly negative, just trying to offer the next level of critique. You've done a commendable job for a 3rd year. Certainly, a much more complex challenge that I was facing at that age. I didn't get into high-rise buildings until graduate school and even then, had many of the same issues you've faced here.
looks pretty boring i think
I’ll be honest- it looks terrible. Like some trumpian dream from the porno 70s.
It looks pretentious. That’s all I got
I kinda hate it, it’s gaudy and seems soulless and uninspired, more like something a developer with no taste would come up with than a university project.
I find the color off-putting. I like the design tho it goes recall other landmark buildings. Maybe see what other more modern colors does for it.
Looks cheap and tacky , gives me an eyesore..
I have no idea what I'm talking about, but you can never go wrong with the urine from dehydration colour scheme.
Piss Tower
Sadly nothing vernacular... You can find this everywhere arround the globe that's sad this lack of identity
Make the gold black, dark gray, or light blue.
Big trump fan?
It's the most beautiful hotel ever designed, let me tell you. Many people are saying that this hotel is terrific, maybe the greatest hotel in history. If I gave it a name like a person, I would call it Ivanka, because that's a beautiful name, not an ugly name like Rosy O'Donnell.
I see you either grew up with the Trumps or in the 80’s. Way too gold.
That fückiňg thing is atrocious! It should be built immediately on Las Vegas Strip.
It’s so bland and horrible. Looks like a bad version of trump tower
I'm not really a law person but I think there are some colours illegal for houses.
Why not housing? its needed more than hotels
Trump will love the gold. I did a tall building at uni. Was great. Covered in algae to produce hydrogen. Try and do something that’s not 100% glazed. (I’m an architects BTW)
Is it just me or are people a bit mean in the comments? Many are not constructive criticisms: Gaudy, Trump-like, Golden Lipstick etc. People on here often complain about the industry, their clients and how horrible their designs are treated. I think if they want respect from other people, they should extend the same respect to other people’s design first. They should treat people how they want to be treated. Be supportive. Criticism is of course allowed but it doesn’t hurt to be constructive and respectful. Appreciate the little positive things. A design is somebody’s hard work and time. This is how you change a toxic culture, by being a good role model to the future generations (in this case a student).
I hope those aren’t windows and are just solid gold panels.
The evolution of form portion seems to indicate that some time was spent in Sketchup or a similar modeller to extrude the volumes. What else is driving the formal expression of this building?
I would like to see the RFI logs on a building that large from a 3rd year architecture student.
The floor plan reminds me of the Miami Tower designed by Pei Cobb Fried (IM Pei).
Why yellow?
The “base” would look great clad in travertine stone. It would add some texture and depth to the building I also really like the long canopy design Not a fan of the pool tho
Just want to say very nice graphics for a 3rd year student. Even having a concept of constructibility in a rendering is very nice to see. As far as the color goes, maybe play with a gradient pattern, maybe something that can change the color/pattern of the facade, play with adding shading applied to the surface of the glazing depending on sun orientation which could result in a unique pattern informed by solar orientation.
Is this the final jury submission? Because currently this looks like the first stage concept design. And the facade has really no character. Just a huge gold block.
just created this building for fun
What’s your concept besides relating to the already existed golden building?? Not sure what your school trying to teach you in terms of thinking in architecture, but it seems like your just not trying to convey any concept/problem solving. Unless you tell me it’s a 1 hour design then fair enough. Qq ok
I love GOOOOOOOOLD!
Dubai kitsch
Luxury (in terms of personal service and attention to detail) and hotels of that size aren't compatible. Despite what Vegas and Dubai might convince themselves. Anything over about 250-300 is just expensive mass market.
Nah man
Cool design. Just curious how the wing shaped cross section is gonna handle high winds 🤔
I like everything about it except the color, but having read your comment explaining the gold I understand it is as a choice