mensch + architektur

issue 103/104

Inspired by the so-called »sand rose«, a natural bizarre crystal structure made of sand and plaster, which is created in hot deserts by the evaporation of water, the French architect Jean Nouvel designed the National Museum in Doha / Qatar.

The Japanese-Australian architect Koichi Takada, who designed the museum shop in the National Museum, was inspired by the underground sanctuary in Qatar, Dahl Al Misfir, which is a 100-meter-deep cave made of sand and plaster, also called the »cave of light«, due to the fluorescent surface made by plaster crystals. He wanted to set… Read more

Sydney Morning Herald

3 October 2020

by Stephen Crafti

There could only be one name given to the Arc, given the number of brick arches and the 300,000 bricks that went into making it.

A key building in Sydney’s CBD, it was designed by Koichi Takada Architects and clearly references the brick arches in a neighboring building dating from the early 20th century.

The architects’ clients, Crown Group, wanted a mixed-use residential/hotel/serviced apartments and retail, but one that also connected Clarence Street on one side and Kent Street on the other.

“We were conscious of working in a heritage… Read more

Australian Design Review

28 September 2020

Architect Koichi Takada uses his Urban Forest residential development to imagine the tranquility and restorative powers of a rural retreat within a bustling cityscape.

“It is possible to design buildings that reconnect people with nature even in densely populated, inner-city locations,” says Takada.

The founder and principal of Sydney-based Koichi Takada Architects takes his cues from nature, harnessing light, solar and wind energy in ways that enable his designs to echo nature rather than constrain it. His ambition is to uncover ways to swap out “dead materials” like concrete, steel and glass for… Read more

GQ

18 September 2020

Brad Nash

A high-rise tower playing host to over 20,000 plants.

Ironically enough at a time when many cities are trying their best to cram as many people into a confined space as possible, other companies are busy at work trying to figure out a way of making Australia’s urban sprawl a naturaistic paradise once again. Most major architectural projects unveiled these days have some kind of green element to them, from the plants you see growing out of Sydney’s Central Park, to the timber-clad Atlassian HQ.

But a new design for a building proposed… Read more

Dezeen

16 September 2020

India Block

Urban Forest is a 30-storey apartment building covered in thousand trees and plants that Koichi Takada Architects has designed for Brisbane, Australia.

The mixed-use high rise building owned by developers Aria Property Group will include 392 homes, a two-level rooftop garden and a public park at ground level.

Urban Forest will be covered in 1,000 trees

Australian studio Koichi Takada Architects plans to cover the stepped facade with 1,000 trees and 20,000 plants, in a combination of over 250 species native to Queensland.

The architecture studio and developers are attempting to make Urban Forest the “world’s greenest… Read more

Archdaily

September 9th 2020

by Christele Harrouk

Urban Forest, a 30-story mixed-use residential high-rise is the latest development designed by Koichi Takada Architects. Located in South Brisbane, Australia, the building features one of the world’s most densely-forested vertical gardens, going beyond regular green buildings norms and achieving “300% site cover with living greenery, featuring 1000 plus trees and more than 20,000 plants selected from 259 native species”. Increasing biodiversity and reducing the ecological footprint, the structure highlights another stage in the evolution of the architectural vertical garden.

Submitted for planning approval, the Urban Forest project is part of a new global movement of Vertical planting… Read more

Domain

05 September  2020

Elicia Murray

Architect Koichi Takada describes the view from a curvaceous new apartment building on the lower north shore as “like living inside a picture-perfect postcard”.
“You have Bradfield Park in front of you and the iconic engineering masterpiece of the Harbour Bridge,” Takada says. “To the side, there are glimpses of the Sydney Opera House and, of course, the harbour.”

Aqualuna Milsons Point from developer Zone Q Investments is a collection of 63 apartments in an eight-storey building inspired by the organic lines of the harbour. Takada, one of Australia’s most in-demand architects, is… Read more

Designboom

03 September 2020

Lynne Myers

Koichi takada architects has shared a first look of their latest project – a new mixed-use residential tower planned for the cultural precinct of South Brisbane, Australia. designed with the ambition of being the world’s greenest residential building, the ‘urban forest’ project features a host of sustainable design strategies alongside a densely-forested vertical garden.

Designed for Aria Property Group, the program of the 30-story building includes 382 apartments, a two-story rooftop with garden and residential amenities, and an open public park on the ground level. at… Read more

INSIDE Magazine

Issue 110 – July / August 2020

Elisa Scarton

Born in Japan, based in Sydney, architecture Koichi Takada has breen championing nature in the urban form for decades. Now, he says it’s essential to the industries survival.

“We try to sit on a bench and it says, ‘Please do not sit.’ Or, ‘Make sure you keep a 1.5-metre distance’. The rule completely destroys the idea that open spaces are the most idealistic way to connect architecture or any building to the public domain. I call it the death of architecture.”

Koichi Takada doesn’t have a flair for… Read more

Architecture & Design

24th July 2020

by Branko Miletic

Koichi Takada is a member of a new generation of architects that aim to ‘naturalise’ architecture in the urban environment – an approach he developed after living in cities of high urbanisation: Tokyo, New York, and London.

In this interview, Takada talks about his latest projects, why bringing the ‘outside-in’ is the new black, and how COVID-19 has altered human activity for god and what this means for architects and designers both here and abroad.

Click here, link to the broadcast interview.… Read more