The Living City

I was a little taken aback recently by a white paper published by our esteemed non-executive director and professor of Engineering for Sustainable Development at the University of Cambridge, <link...

It seems as if we live in a world focussed on end-user technology. Nearly all of us in developed countries have smart phones or equivalent. So an ‘intelligent city’ that gives us access to all the data and digital services we...

We have been making the point for a very long time now that one of the critical elements for delivering successful and sustainable cities is its governance. It was something that we touched upon in our inaugural piece

Buro Happold’s Andrew Comer, director and champion of The Living City, talks to The Raconteur about what the future holds for urban development. Commenting in the article, published on 26th March, he says, “The time frame to...

Historically electricity networks were designed in an ‘inverted tree’ structure with bulk generation at the trunk and ever smaller branches extending out into districts, streets, and homes.  When new communities we

Before we delve directly into a definition of a SMART city it is important to note that the difference between a Living City and a SMART city. In the first edition of the

In 2011 I was commissioned by the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) to prepare a report on sustainable development in infrastructure and it was launched in Seoul in September 2012. The...

Having walked the New York High Line on a number of occasions and been lucky enough to be a part of the design team for the project, it represents for me an incredible piece of public realm that should change the way...

Andy Parker and Lawrie Robertson comment on the first WAD

Living PlanIT, a technology company which focuses on the development of innovative and sustainable “smart” urban environments, engaged Buro Happold to develop the business and physical plan for a “Smart City” outside Porto, in Portugal. The municipality of Paredes is to be the location for this world class new town, called “PlanIT Valley”.

The Arriyadh Region forms a strong focus of demographic and economic growth within Saudi Arabia. Inflows of people and investment into the region have been matched by projects for the development of infrastructure, buildings and services. These projects have been initiated by a wide range of actors from national and local government and the private sector, in response to real perceived need and market demand.

Buro Happold is currently working on the 70 acre development in the Imbi area fronting Jalan Tun Razak. The Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) is a key enabler to strengthen the position of Kuala Lumpur as the global financial city of choice. TRX aims to bring together leading financial institutions and top global companies to create a catalytic pool of world-class players. 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) is the Master Developer for TRX.

The High Line, built in the 1930’s was last used in 1980. The initiative to determine the fate of the elevated railroad line, that spanned 22 blocks from West 34th Street to Gansevoort Street in the Manhattan’s meatpacking district, began in 1999 when its demolition seemed imminent. Buro Happold, working with Field Operations, was selected by the Friends of the High Line and the City of New York to create the master plan for the re-use and re-integration of the High Line.

Completed in July 2006, Palestra was constructed as a speculative commercial office building, aimed to appeal to the high end of the London office market. The original project was designed by Alsop architects, with Buro Happold...