Richard Meier

24/10/2017

Engel & Völkers Headquarters and Apartments
Hamburg, Germany
2012 - 2018

Engel & Völkers’ new headquarters and apartments in Hamburg is a building with a unique approach presented by the classic challenge of transparency, organization, and form within a courtyard building typology. While following the urban requirements of the HafenCity district, the building provides a new perspective on the usual disposition of the courtyard typology.

The design of the project began with a pairing of the courtyard building with the organizational system of a hybrid building that contains a multiplicity of different programmatic uses such as apartments, training academy, offices and retail spaces within a singular and identifiable building. The organization of these various disparate programmatic uses are planned uniquely to provide the maximum benefits for each use in plan and section. The exterior of the building reads as a continuous and evenly articulated shell with elaborations that trace the internal differences of the project. The interior contains and reveals a series of shared experiences of its disparate parts.

The courtyard itself is transformed into an atrium as central circulation core and as an urban living room in the tradition of grand hotel lobbies. Its ceiling divides the public domain (training academy, shop, café and gallery) below from the private functions (residential and office) above but also unifies them through the introducing of natural light and views through a skylight.

In addition to the building structure the building is defined by the open and spacious, light-flooded interiors with ceiling-height doors and floor-to-ceiling windows open to the city, the Elbe River, and the city port. Residents of the apartments will also enjoy access to a private gym situated on the 16th floor with panoramic views of Hamburg.

Each floor of the building is a study in balancing transparency and natural light with various degrees of privacy and opacity required for the residential and office interiors by stringent sustainability specifications. The 16-storey ensemble aspires to contribute to the redevelopment of Hamburg’s HafenCity district and to the skyline of the city.

24/10/2017

Cittadella Bridge
Alessandria, Italy
1996 - 2017

Repeated flooding along the River Tanaro confirmed the need to replace the original Cittadella Bridge dating from the Napoleonic era. During the floods of 1994, the water level rose to cover the roadway, and the piers of the bridge trapped much of the debris in the river, effectively acting as a dam. The new design, a single span raised above the flood plain, not only eliminates the possibility of such obstruction recurring but also enhances the natural flow of the river. Since traffic on the old bridge made it unsafe for pedestrians, the new bridge provides separate but structurally connected spans for pedestrian and vehicular circulation.

The 70-foot high bowstring arch carrying both spans is curved to the south in order to counterbalance the inflection of the vehicular roadbed bowing out towards the north. The weight of the pedestrian bridge on the opposite side of the arch helps to maintain the statical balance of the overall structure.

The new bridge design is integrated with the proposed reconfiguration of the adjacent Piazza Gobetti. This reformulation envisages an extension of the park land beneath the bridge and along the embankment. The 70-foot tower introduced as a focal point on the Piazza Gobetti will not only provide a view of the bridge from above but is also a vantage point from which to survey the connection from the city center through the Piazza Gobetti and across the bridge to the Cittadella itself.

09/07/2016

Leblon Offices
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2011 - 2016

The new Leblon office building, a state-of-the-art commercial office building in the Leblon neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, is the iconic new international headquarters for VINCI Partners in Brazil. The project consists primarily of open office spaces and a series of terraces which open up to and create a direct connection with the urban artery of Av. Bartolomeu Mitre and a private interior courtyard.

The building consists of 10 floors for a total height of 25 meters with a leasable floor area of 6,500 m². A generous lobby anchors the building to a recessed open retail plaza and a three-story underground structure provides additional leasable spaces and private parking.

The design of the office tower with its refined formal vocabulary reflects the distinct orientation of the site while addressing issues of sustainability, maximum efficiency and flexibility. The entire building is recessed from the urban frontage and masked with a carefully composed set of louvers designed for both maximum sun shading and privacy retention to the west. On the east, the building has been pulled away from its neighbors to create an internal courtyard and provide natural day lighting on two exposures for all office spaces. This void houses a generous vertical garden that ties back into a rough and refined exposed architectural concrete core which services the building. The entire project straddles between the refined precision of a white aluminum and glass, free-plan office and the roughness of concrete and vegetation within the courtyard and is reconciled by an illuminated glass bridge.

08/04/2016

Arch Madness 2016: Richard Meier Wins

The New York architect beat out the Los Angeles-based Thom Mayne for the final title.

19/10/2015

Ulm Stadthaus Exhibition & Assembly Building
Ulm, Germany
July 8, 2015 - November 22, 2015

Designed by Richard Meier & Partners Architects, The Ulm Stadthaus presents a new exhibition of some of the most iconic and current projects by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Meier. The works on display explore the development of the work of Richard Meier with some of his early residential projects in contrast to some of the more recent urban and large scale projects all around the globe in New York City, Hamburg, Prague and Mexico City.

The exhibition includes a selection of models, original sketches, drawings and photographs. Some of the projects exhibited on the show include the house designed by Richard Meier for his parents in Essex Fells, New Jersey, the Ulm Stadthaus, and the iconic Smith House in Darien, Connecticut. Other projects in the exhibition are some of the more recent and large scale developments such as the Reforma Towers, the East River Masterplan, Coffee Plaza, the Charles & Perry Street Condominiums, ECM City Tower and the unbuilt competition proposals for Madison Square Garden and the New York Historical Society.

The opening reception will be on July 8, 2015, and the exhibition will be on display from July 8, 2015 to November 22, 2015. Picture, Tower, Building. Richard Meier and the Ulm Minster is organized by Dr. Sylvia Claus, Prof. Dr. Matthias Schirren, the Stadthaus Ulm and Richard Meier & Partners Architects.

17/10/2015

Richard Meier Chess Set for Wallpaper*
2013

Richard Meier bespoke Chess Set designed for Wallpaper* Magazine.

17/10/2015

2014 Design Awards
AIANY Center for Architecture
New York, New York
April 24, 2014 - June 13, 2014

AIA New York’s annual Design Awards Program recognizes outstanding architectural design by New York City architects and work in New York City by registered architects practicing anywhere in the world. The purpose of the awards program is to honor the architects, clients, and consultants who have achieved design excellence.

This exhibition presents the 2014 AIANY winning projects divided in four categories: Architecture, Interiors, Projects and Urban Design. Designed by Richard Meier & Partners, the Fire Island House is part of the selected projects displayed in the exhibition.

Fire Island House
Fire Island, New York
2013

Located on a private bay-side site along the beach in Fair Harbor on Fire Island, this 2,000 sq. ft. residence opens up to the surrounding landscape and the ocean. The views of the site are framed between the raised platform of the main level and the horizontal roof overhang, creating a direct connection between the interior and the nature surrounding the house. The main house extends across the site connecting to a garden, a swimming pool and accessory pool pavilions.

Upon accessing the main entrance stair on Elm Walk, the house opens up to views of the bay with double-height curtain walls on three sides. A planar roof overhangs above two staggered volumes; one containing a double height living room, the other accommodating a media room and kitchen on the ground floor and the master suite on the second floor. A shift between these two volumes maximizes natural daylight and views of the bay. In the center, the volumes interlock to provide a service core with powder and laundry rooms on the ground floor and a sky-lit master bathroom on the upper level. A floating stairway connects the ground floor to the second floor corridor, which overlooks the living room below.

The windows, curtain wall and skylights are composed of transparent, high-performance solar glazing with white aluminum mullions and transoms. The interplay of light and shadow across the terraces, double height spaces, curtain walls and skylights fills the residence with an airy, yet intimate atmosphere. The material palette of the project is minimal and understated, with an emphasis on lightness and transparency; glass, wood and white finishes reflect the natural colors and beauty of the surrounding bay.

17/10/2015

Taipei, Taiwan
2012 - 2017

Taipei is considered as one of the cultural and economic centers in Asia with a unique vision towards a modern and cosmopolitan lifestyle that is at the forefront of the 21st century. As a city rooted in tradition, as well as one of the global hubs in technological innovation, Taipei encapsulates the history of Taiwan and contemporary living.

Commissioned as an urban landmark by Continental Development Corporation, the Xin-Yi Residential Tower rises 127 meters into the sky and will set a new precedent in Taiwan as a private building that dedicates its entire landscape to the public realm. Oriented along a distinct east-west axis on Xin-Yi Road, the building respects the characteristics of the site through its organizing grid and scale in dialogue with the urban context. The ground plane is a continuation of the urban fabric that becomes an open landscape where the base of the tower is immersed in a field of trees and sculptures by international artists. Therefore, one of the most prominent elements of the project is its civic value as a building that offers a generous public space amidst the heart of the city.

The design of the tower is founded upon principles of geometric clarity and openness that are reflected in its horizontal and vertical organization. The building consists of two complimentary volumes, a transparent south volume and a solid north volume. The relationship between these two main elements is emphasized through a subtle shift in both plan and elevation that creates a dynamism and variation in scale that responds to the immediate urban environment. Fundamentally, the solid north volume contains the services and core of the residential units that flow towards the transparent south volume which is a natural light-filled space where living, social and the more public programs are located. A carefully crafted geometric organization allows viewing corridors towards the mountains in the far distance.

The massing and proportions of the building are in harmony with the existing context, creating an articulated lower and upper tower volume. The lower part of the building will have two apartments per floor and the upper portion is designed as one large apartment unit per floor, creating an expansive free open plan. Luxury amenities, including an exterior swimming pool and roof deck, are located on the top floors of the tower with views towards Taipei 101.

The CDC Xin-Yi Residential Tower has a strong architectural form with connections to the sky through its south façade and the floor-to-ceiling clear glazing, and it responds to the land with its heavier solid massing which accommodate the more private spaces. These elements are combined to generate a balance of heaviness and lightness that enhance the contemporary qualities of urban living under the tropical sun of Taiwan. The project aims to contribute to the continuing growth of the Xin-Yi district as well as the city of Taipei as a modern and vibrant urban center in Asia.

17/10/2015

Gardone Riviera, Italy
2010 - 2016

Villa Gardone is part of a villa ensemble in Gardone Riviera, Italy designed in collaboration with notable architecture firms from Europe and the US. The residence sits on an east facing slope opening south towards Lake Garda and prominently located on a site that offers unique views of the water, the city center and the surrounding areas.

The villas’ visual relationship with the local context, the direction of the sun, and its position along a steep slope are key factors that have played a central role in the design. As a design strategy, two rectangular solids were placed perpendicular to one another and then arranged on top of each other running parallel and crosswise to the slope of the terrain.

The living room and bedrooms are located within the top volume. This volume is placed perpendicularly to the slope to maximize the views toward the lake and also to take advantage of southern exposure and natural light. In contrast, the lower base like volume consists of a garage which is positioned parallel to the slope, opening up towards the access road. These volumes are then lifted apart from one another creating an intermediate level, which serves at the main entrance.

Every level has access to outside terraces with different orientations depending on their program, ultimately providing the users with varying views and privacy.

17/10/2015

Situated on the waterfront promenade of Tokyo Bay, this project is a focal point for the Harumi district. The buildings are highly visible along the Harumi Canal and from the Harumi Bridge when commuting from the waterfront district toward the center of Tokyo.

The two residential towers of the Harumi 2-Chome Condominium project are each 48 stories tall and contain 1,800 units. At equal heights of 172 meters tall, the towers capitalize on expansive views of the Harumi Canal stretching off into the horizon. Oriented North-South as a response to urban planning requirements, the towers create an exceptionally open and liberated residential atmosphere of sky and seascape with views of many significant urban landmarks including the Rainbow Bridge.

As one of the largest and most prestigious undertakings of the Mitsubishi Estate, Co., the Harumi-2 Chome Condominium project is to serve as the flagship of their brand. Therefore, the pair of towers will be emblematic of Mitsubishi’s commitment to providing metropolitan Tokyo with a more appealing cityscape and alluring image of Japan and aim to serve as a model of their contributions to modern society.

The Harumi 2-Chome project provides a clear expression of form, space and texture using natural materials, light and reflection. The design is the result of a meticulous process of artistic craft that is in harmony with its cultural and environmental context.

The design is open-ended, neither dictatorial nor perfectly symmetric. Modular precision temporarily yields to asymmetry, and the man-made is overlaid with ever-changing natural elements to reach balance. The design gains from the patina achieved with passage of time.

20/11/2014

Do you want to have a look at Shamberg House of Richard Meier in 3D view

http://www.lohud.com/panorama/meierhouse/virtualtour.html

11/11/2014

Reforma Towers

Mexico City represents one of the most important cultural and commercial centers in Latin America. As the city’s economy continues to thrive, it is our intention to develop a project that is sensitive to the history of Mexico and its rich architectural legacy.

Reforma Towers will be located along Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City. This distinguished Boulevard was designed to commemorate the history of the Americas and has become a major commercial thoroughfare that cuts diagonally across the city. Sitting boldly along this Boulevard, the proposed development is a mixed-use building complex designed by Richard Meier & Partners and developed by Diametro Arquitectos.

The new development is comprised of two buildings unified by a base. An iconic 40-story mixed-use tower that will accommodate a range of programs; such as high end offices, retail space, restaurants, a fitness center and space for parking. In addition, a 27 floor Hotel tower that follows the same design principles as its counterpart will complement the activities of the complex. The overall design of the project considers the current constraints of the city while accounting for the possibility of future development and change of its surroundings.

The project’s design operations challenge typical tower conventions. By strategically carving a central void through the tower volume, structure and program become redistributed into unconventional yet efficient configurations. The new possibilities of this internal logic are reflected on the exterior through volumetric cut-outs. A gesture that allows maximizing internal natural light and natural ventilation within the center of the office floor spaces improving transparency and emphasizes views of the historic city center and Reforma Boulevard.

The iconic image of the new Reforma Towers will establish a dynamic relationship between the buildings and the existing fabric of Mexico City; while creating a visual statement which defies traditional tower typologies.

(From richardmeier.com)