Adamson Projects Win Façade 2023 Awards

Adamson is the Executive Architect for two big winners in the Façade 2023 Design and Engineering Awards. Organized by the UK’s Society of Façade Engineers, the awards were announced November 8, 2023, at the Hilton Park Lane, in London.

Our most recent collaboration with Renzo Piano Building Workshop, the cube-shaped crystalline tower Paddington Square, was named the Project of the Year – New Build UK. The trophy for the category was presented to WSP along with Adamson’s Andy Seman, who was on hand for the ceremony.

A Senior Associate based in Adamson’s Toronto office, Andy was a Project Manager for Paddington, as well as for Adamson’s second winner of the evening, Google Bay View. He joined the Arup team to accept the prize when the tech giant’s Silicon Valley HQ was announced Project of the Year – New Build International. The Bay View  project is characterized by its innovative façade, composed of catenary roof modules clad in custom “dragonscale” photovoltaic panels.

See the complete list of winners here

Leadership Update: Our Newest Principals

We are pleased to formally introduce two new Principals who joined our global leadership over the past year, Marc Salette and Michael Gore.

Marc Salette joined Adamson Associates, Inc. in 2017. He was previously a partner with Gehry Partners, LLP, and a founding principal of multidisciplinary firm Chee Salette – both based in Los Angeles.

Over the course of his career Marc has built an impressive and diverse portfolio that includes a myriad of world-renowned cultural centres, among other works. He served as the partner-in-charge for Gehry’s Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, and also contributed to two Guggenheim museums, including the transformative Guggenheim Bilbao in Spain. Now a Principal in our Los Angeles office, Marc is leading several intriguing new projects throughout California, including the biophilic office tower Park Habitat, in San Jose, and a trio of office blocks at the Power Station mixed-use development, in San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighbourhood.

Michael Gore joined Adamson Associates (International) Limited in 2005. He holds a Master of Architecture from the Edinburgh College of Art, and began his career working with Seattle-based Olson Sundberg, and Dutch firm Mecanoo.

Michael has played a significant role in many of our Canary Wharf projects, including as a lead for much of Adamson’s work at the Crossrail Place development, and the interiors of the Elizabeth Line Station that sits below. He also made important contributions to the prominent residential tower One Park Drive. Now a Principal in the London office, Michael is heading up our work on Future Olympia, a project that revitalizes London’s historic exhibition site with a diverse mix of new development that includes hotel, office space, and cultural venues.

 

 

 

Google Bay View Campus Achieves LEED Platinum

We are excited to share the news that our Google Bay View campus project has officially achieved LEED Platinum certification, making it the largest LEED v4 BD+C: NC Platinum certified project in the world! The announcement was made in early November by USGBC president Peter Templeton, at the Greenbuild International Conference in San Francisco.

The all-electric Bay View campus is packed with sustainable features, including the bespoke “dragonscale” solar skin that covers the sloping canopy roofs and will generate 40% of the buildings’ electricity needs each year. Cooling and heating is provided by the largest geothermal pile system in North America, which is expected to cut carbon emissions by nearly half and reduce the amount of water used for cooling by 90%.

Learn more about Google’s first ground-up campus, and its extraordinary innovations here.

Google Bay View

Canary Wharf Station in the Spotlight

Among several high-profile Adamson projects that have had their big reveal this year, Canary Wharf Station is likely the one that has been seen – and enjoyed – by the largest number of people.

The project is one of ten new stations that comprise London’s new Elizabeth Line, which – it was recently announced – has provided travellers with 14 million more journeys than projected since opening in late May. The line’s impressive passenger numbers make Canary Wharf Station a highly visible development – despite the fact that it’s built not just under ground, but under water. Hidden below oversite development Crossrail Place, for which Adamson collaborated with design architects Foster + Partners, the station box sits in the waters of Canary Wharf’s North Dock, reaching 28 metres below ground level.

For those who haven’t had the chance to travel the new transit artery, or see the station in person, Transport for London has produced a video series documenting the design and architecture of the Elizabeth Line. Senior Associate Michael Gore takes viewers through Adamson’s design of the station in a recent installment, which can be viewed here.

 

New Appointment: Michael Ritchie

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Michael Ritchie to Principal. Michael has worked at AAI New York since 2014. During this time, he has established himself as a highly-skilled architect, designer, and project manager.

Michael lends to our team more than a decade of experience in design, BIM coordination, and the administration of large teams of architects, MEP engineers, andconstruction managers. Most recently, Michael led AAI’s Architect-of-Record team on the renovation and repositioning of the award-winning 390 Madison Avenue.

 

2020 ENR Best Projects Awards

ENR 2020 Best Regional Projects Awards

AAI has worked on four of 2020’s ENR Best Projects in New York:

  • Cultural/Worship Award of Merit: LMCC’s Arts Center at Governors Island
  • Residential/Hospitality Best Project: 53W53
  • Residential/Hospitality Award of Merit: One Manhattan Square.
  • Specialty Construction Best Project: Nordstrom facade restoration (as part of Central Park Tower)

 

2020 ULI Urban Open Space Awards

Salesforce Park is a 2020 Urban Land Institute (ULI) Open Space Awards Finalist. Designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli with Executive Architect, Adamson Associates, Inc., the 5.4-acre public park sits atop the 1.5 million square foot Salesforce Transit Center, which runs along four blocks of downtown San Francisco south of the Financial District. The new transit center consolidated regional bus systems and will serve as the future rail terminus for the Caltrain commuter rail and California High Speed Rail connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles. Designed for beauty, mixed-uses, and sustainability, Salesforce Park has become a hub of community activity.

*Salesforce Transit Center and Salesforce Park are public properties and the name is the result of a naming rights agreement with saleforce.com.

Staircase at One & Five Bank Street

Simon Groves, a Senior Associate in our London office, recently shared details on the unique asymmetrical staircase at One Bank Street in London, via Archello. The 700,000-square-foot office tower at Canary Wharf was designed by Kohn Pederson Fox with Adamson Associates (International) Limited as Executive Architect. Interiors were provided by TP Bennett.

TP Bennett produced the initial design concepts for the staircase. “We originally worked up the design as a spiral,” explained Andrew McLean. “But we have a designer who’s very interested in the geometry of stairs and he produced a more interesting ‘ribbon’ design.”

The refinement of that SketchUp concept was carried out by Adamson’s team, which developed the detailed design in close collaboration with the specialists at EeStairs.

Staircase at One & Five Bank Street Staircase at One & Five Bank Street

“I wanted to create a staircase that had a pure form,” says Groves, who lead the refinement of the feature stair. “Simplifying the ribbons of the inner and outer balustrade enclosures, and raising them to 1900mm, with no unnecessary undulation at the landings between the stair flights was key. This meant there were no stop-start points in the balustrades, just a pure form.”