Architecture

Basel based architects Herzog & de Meuron have transformed a derelict 115 year old power plant in Brooklyn, New York, into 170,000 sq ft of workshop space for artists and fabricators. The Turbine Hall of the power plant was repaired and preserved, exposing concrete vaults, brick chases, glazed tilework, and graffiti. The upper level of the Turbine Hall, with its exposed structure displaying refurbished steel trusses, is left as an open flexible space for exhibitions and events. On the site of the Boiler House, which was demolished in the 1950s, the architects have designed a concrete building to sit on the existing foundations, reducing excavations, with window openings that replicate those of the Turbine Hall. Photo of upper floors of the Turbine House. © Iwan Baan. Herzog de Meuron

Toulouse based PPA Architectures has designed the Conservatoire de Musique et de Danse (Conservatory of Music and Dance) in Blagnac, a suburb of Toulouse, France. Set in a landscaped site, the project consists of a horizontal two-storey volume and a perpendicular single-storey concrete building. The upper floor of the main building houses the music teaching rooms, while the dance studios are located in the single-storey building. The central area features a double-height hall that serves as a public space, connected to an adjacent auditorium that can be opened up to create a large, flexible volume. Internally, both spaces are covered with untreated 'pleated' timber acoustic paneling, while externally, perforated metal mesh is utilized as sunscreens. Photo © Sylvain Mille. PPA Architectures

Mæ has completed the John Morden Centre, a day care centre and health facility for the elderly in the Blackheath Park conservation area in South East London. The hub includes a workshop, café, art space, medical facilities and social lounges with the aim of tackling social isolation. A series of landscaped spaces leads to a brick-faced building designed with eaves and ridge heights that relate closely to those of the adjoining Grade I listed building at Morden College. Referencing the original Almshouse and Chapel attributed to Sir Christopher Wren, the building incorporates the language of steep roofs, chimneys, and a cloister into its design. The cloister weaves through existing trees, creating a series of 'outdoor rooms' designed to be inhabited in all seasons. Photo © Jim Stephenson. Mæ

Norwegian architecture studio Sanden+Hodnekvam has designed a house on a steep hillside overlooking Lake Mjøsa, south of Lillehammer in Norway. In keeping with the area's tradition of masonry buildings and brickyards, shades of red brick have been used to clad a load-bearing timber structure. Ash joinery is used externally, and ash plywood is used internally, along with an exposed pine roof structure. The main living and sleeping spaces are on the first floor, with children's accommodation and an apartment on the ground floor. On the top floor, a small tower provides a sitting area with views of the city and the lake. Sanden+Hodnekvam

Mexico based architects HW Studio, designed Casa Enso II in Guanajuato, Mexico using stone as the primary construction material, an abundant local material with deep cultural significance. The project is organised as a crucifix creating four quadrants each with a separate purpose. The entrance quadrant houses a garden, the second quadrant provides space for cars with shading by preserved trees, there is a one bedroom house in the third quadrant and a contrasting vertical element in the fourth quadrant forming an office. Photo Cesar Bejar. HW Studio

Architecture firm Snøhetta, with headquarters in Oslo, has designed a viewing tower and panorama at 2,030 meters above sea level, near the Wiedersberger Horn peak in the Tylolean Alps. The building is of timber construction, following the tradition of buildings in the Alpbactal region, with a concrete base and clad in locally made shingles. Situated adjacent to the cable car station, the building provides keyless access to an unheated but sheltered space with 360 degree panoramic views, in both winter and summer. Photo Christian Flatscher. Snøhetta

Architects Blee Halligan, with offices in London and Turks and Caicos Islands, have created 'Derwent Valley Villa', a family home in the village of Duffield in Derbyshire, England. Inspired by historic 18th century red brick cotton mills in Derbyshire, the house is built of red brick with concrete banding, and designed as linked garden spaces in a wet woodland garden to provide the experience of 'living in a garden'. Photo ©Henry Woide. Blee Halligan 

Belgian based Bovenbouw Architectuur have create the 'Palazzo', an apartment building next to the Kattendijkdok in Antwerp. The Palazzo features an undulating facade on a prominent corner site and comprises 54 apartments over 6 floors with commercial units on the ground floor, a courtyard accessible from the street and underground parking. The building forms part of an urban block with the other buildings designed by Sergison Bates Architects and BULK Architectuur. Photo Stijn Bollaert. Bovenbouw Architectuur

The New Bivouac Fanton, a cabin designed by Italian architects DEMOGO, is situated 2,667m above sea level in the Marmarole mountain range in the Italian Dolomites. The structure is characterised by its inclined profile and designed as a telescope to frame the vast natural space with a distant view of the town Auronzo at the base of the valley. The shade of the exterior, with its natural metallic coating, is influenced by the surrounding rocks and it contrasts with the raw timber interior. Photo Iwan Baan. DEMOGO

Berlin based Sehw Architektur's project 'Twins for Modern Job Nomads' in Berlin Schöneweide provides temporary accommodation for 50 professionals on an urban in-fill site. Rather than completely fill the existing gap, a six storey street facing building is situated to allow entry to a semi public courtyard, which then provides access to a 'twin' rear building via a private communal garden. Photo Helin Bereket. Sehw Architektur

Zurich based Annette Gigon / Mike Guyer Architects have added a two story extension to the Josef Albers Museum Quadrat in Bottrop's historic park Stadtgarten. The form, materials and colour of the structure are designed such that the architectural identity of the adjacent 1913 judge's villa and museum buildings from the 1970s and 1980s, are clearly legible. Photo Stefan Müller, Berlin. Gigon/Guyer

Portuguese architects Carvalho Araújo have designed a glass and concrete house situated in dense woodland near the Caniçada reservoir in Portugal. The form of the three floor house was informed by an existing building on the site. The openings have been designed to allow continuity between the inside and outside, while the surrounding spaces have been preserved with the vegetation providing a sense of enclosure. Photo ©NUDO. Carvalho Araújo

IQON is the tallest building in Quito, Ecuador, and BIG's first project in South America. The building is comprised of 33 stacked concrete boxes, each rotated to offer stunning views and outdoor terraces for residents. Native trees are planted in the balconies, which can be replanted in the city once they outgrow their planters. The building acts a an urban farm utilising the unique climatic conditions of Quito, one of the highest cities in the world at 2,820m. BIG

Rotterdam, São Paulo and Paris based KAAN Architecten were commissioned by the Netherlands War Graves Foundation to create a building in Loenen, Netherlands, to commemorate Dutch victims of the Second World War. KAAN Architecten designed a stone pavilion keeping it as narrow as possible to minimise disturbance to the birch and pine trees in the forest. The design keeps the form horizontal by avoiding vertical elements which was the principle of the original landscape architect for the site, Daniel Haspels. Photo ©Simone Bossi. KAAN Architecten

Swiss architects Herzog de Meuron have created 15,500 sq m of workshop, studio and research space for the Battersea campus of the Royal College of Art in London. The textured brickwork and the large north facing clerestory windows of the studio building, together with the metal fins of the research building, create a distinctive identity for the campus. The building achieves a BREEAM Excellent rating and is designed to be robust, low maintenance and flexible. Photo © Iwan Baan. Herzog de Meuron, Royal College of Art.

Toronto based architects Studio Architecture and Collaboration (StudioAC) have built a house clad in unfinished galvanised steel inspired by local farm buildings. The unfinished galvanised steel walls and roof reflects changing hues of the landscape and sky. The house is situated on the Bruce Peninsula, north of Toronto, Canada. Photo Felix Michaud. StudioAC

The refurbishment of architect John Wardle's own home, Kew House, Victoria, remodels the house while preserving three ancient Scottish Elm trees. It updates the house both in terms of thermal efficiency and also spatially, to accommodate the inhabitants evolving use and to house an extensive art and ceramics collection. The works feature precision Victoria Ash joinery  including a Ash lined study overlooking the gardens. Photo Sharyn Cairns. Wardle

Orma Architettura have created a low carbon, three apartment contemporary building on the site of a ruin in the village of Christinacce  in Corsica. The building is primarily made of timber with wide windows framing views of the mountains. To reduce the carbon footprint the building is constructed using techniques that would allow the use of  higher humidity local Laricio Pine to avoid transporting timber from outside of the island. Orma Architettura

Bak Gordon Arquitectos have designed a bar and pavilion in Belém along the Lisbon waterfront in Portugal. The painted concrete skeletal structure has a small enclosure in glass, such that the glass elements can be completely removed to create one continuous space. The space is open to the river and also has a sense of enclosure under the overhanging roof. Photo Francisco Nogueira. Bak Gordon architectos

Award winning Spanish architect Alberto Campo Baeza designed Rotonda House at the summit of a hill, north of Madrid. The building captures a 360° panoramic landscape from the belvedere situated above a two storey podium made of local limestone. The building is based on a 12m by 12m grid divided into nine 4m x 4m squares, giving it a Palladian flavour. Photo Javier Callejas. Alberto Campo Baeza

Architect Sir David Chipperfield has been awarded the 2023 Laureate of The Pritzker Architecture Prize. Accepting the prize, David Chipperfield remarked that as architects we have a 'role in creating not only a more beautiful world but a fairer and more sustainable one too'. The significant contribution to world architecture spans over four decades and includes over a hundred works including civic, cultural, academic, housing and urban masterplanning. Photo Richard Bryant / Arcaid.  Pritzker Prize, David Chipperfield Architects.

Ludwig Godefroy has created a monolithic concrete house in the middle of a forest outside Mexico City. Contrasting with the concrete interiors is a playful arrangement of top lit spaces featuring a triple height living space. Ludwig Godefroy

The New Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge by Naill Mc Laughlin Architects is awarded the 26th RIBA Stirling Prize. This modern building respects the historic context, uses passive ventilation and natural lighting to minimise energy use and is designed to last in excess of 400 years. Photo Nick Kane. RIBA

The Red House by David Kohn Architects is RIBA's House of the Year 2022. The house in Dorset takes inspiration from the Arts and Crafts movement and is a playful and colourful addition to the landscape. The project features thick walls, deep eaves and steel piles with a slate roof providing a home to the local bat population. Photo Will Pryce.  RIBA, David Kohn Architects

The influential modernist architect Mies van der Rohe built two private villas, Haus Lange and Haus Esters, between 1927 and 1930. Steel is used as the main structural element for the buildings, with a brick covering, allowing large openings that were not previous possible in load-bearing brick buildings. The buildings in Krefeld have been preserved and are now used as exhibition spaces by the Kunstmuseen Krefeld. Photo Volker Döhne © VG Bill-Kunst, Bonn 2019. Kunstmuseenkrefeld

30 September 2020

Sir David Adjaye's significant influence on the advancement of architecture over the last 25 years  has been recognised with the UK's highest honour for architecture, the RIBA Royal Gold Medal. His completed projects range from private homes to major art centres and include the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC, and Ruby City, an art centre in San Antonio Texas. Photo credit Josh Huskin

Dominique Coulon and Associates designed the replacement for the historic theatre in Freyming-Merleback. The 'Théodore Gouvy' Theatre is situated close to the town centre and has become  a symbol of the town's renewal. Dominique Coulon & Associates

The Amsterdam based practice, Civic Architects, have transformed the former locomotive shed in Tilburg, Netherlands to create the Lochal library which incorporates co-working and events space. The Lochal is situated in the railway zone adjacent to the Central Station which is being transformed to form the new heart of the city. Civic Architects

Carmody Groarke create two pavilions in the grounds of a rural family house. One of the pavilions is made of board marked concrete connected to the house by a 40m tunnel. The other is the renovation of the ruins of an 18th century farmhouse, by completing the walls in concrete and adding a new plate steel roof.  Carmody Groarke Architects

Pritzker Prize winner Peter Zumthor has completed his first permanent UK building for Living Architecture, who commission thought-provoking holiday homes by leading contemporary architects. The building named 'Secular Retreat' sits on a Devon hilltop enjoying stunning views and is made of hand rammed concrete and glass. Photo © Jack Hobhouse/Living Architecture. Living Architecture.

6a Architects created Cowan Court, a new hall of residence for the 1960s Churchill College Cambridge, which is listed in recognition of  it being a fine example of British Brutalism. The building was awarded the 2017 RIBA East award. 6a architects was founded by Tom Emerson and Stephanie Macdonald in 2001. Photograph by David Grandorge.  6a Architects

Architect Balkrishna Doshi has been named as the 45th Pritzer Prize Laureate. Balkrishna Doshi is responsible for the Indian Institute of Management (Bangalore, 1977-1992), the Aranya Low Cost Housing (Indore, 1989) and his Sangath Studio (Ahmedabad, 1980). Pritzker Prize