Contemporary Design News

Slovenia-based architecture studio Elementarna, with headquarters in Ljubljana, has renovated the Old Glassworks buildings and upgraded the adjoining public spaces in the historic town of Ptuj, Slovenia. The Old Glassworks, with its courtyard, and the formal Vrazov trg square - an urban landmark for cultural events - along with the adjacent streets, connect Castle Hill, the town, and the river, creating a vibrant city.

The two halls of the Old Glassworks incorporate cantilevered folding doors, allowing the spaces to fully open up to the courtyard and forming flexible event spaces.

Lisbon-based Bak Gordon Arquitectos has designed a house on Rua São Francisco de Borja, adjacent to the National Museum of Ancient Art in Lisbon, Portugal. The house replaces an industrial building on a long and narrow plot measuring 7 meters by 26 meters. The facade of the house features a ventilated wooden grid on the ground floor, a single window on the first floor, and a recessed space for a small garden, facing the street, on the second floor.

Stockholm-based Kolman Boye Architects used oak and Douglas off-cuts from Danish flooring manufacturer Dinesen to create Saltviga House, a recreational home in Grimstad, Norway. Over 12,000 waste oak off-cuts were pre-cut to minimise wastage and pre-treated before being transported to the site.

London-based, Stirling Prize-winning architects Witherford Watson Mann have reinterpreted the almshouse concept for the 21st century with their Appleby Blue project in Bermondsey, South London. Appleby Blue is a social housing development comprising 57 almshouses for those over 65, situated off a busy high street. This is in contrast to conventional older people's homes, which are typically located on the fringe of cities.

Mexico City-based architects, Centro de Colaboración Arquitectónica (CCA) have designed the Community Development Centre (CDA) as part of the Urban Improvement program in Jalpa de Méndez, Tabasco, Mexico. The project was conceived as a sculpture created from eight giant concrete panels perforated with arches, forming spaces for workshops, a multi-purpose room, a library, and an auditorium. Void spaces within the arches provide interior gardens, while a central communal garden offers views from the interior spaces.

Italian architects Bricolo Falsarella designed Villa Tarika at Lake Garda in Italy, allowing the inhabitants to experience the intensity of the landscape. The approach was to create a combination of spaces that allow views of the lake and those that restrict the view.

A large stone wall and a slatted wall enclose the villa at its entrance.  A small opening at the entrance level on the first floor leads to a semi-enclosed space that frames views of the Rocca di Garda, Monte Luppia and the dense surrounding vegetation.

Swiss architects Gautschi Lenzin Schenker have designed a building with six small apartments to replace a residential building in Aarau, Switzerland. The three-storey building comprises six 2.5-room apartments across three floors and an attic, with ancillary rooms in the basement. A covered area with space for bicycles leads to the ground floor, which is raised for flood protection.

Japan-based studio Tetsuya Mizukami Architects has designed a house for a young couple in a residential area of Fukui City, Japan. The site is accessed by climbing a slope that offers mountain views in front and, from the southern end of the site, views of the city with mountains beyond. The architects aimed to incorporate this experience into the house by creating bright, open spaces that are offset by half a floor, providing views through openings onto void spaces that connect to the surrounding landscape. Photo Ken'ichi Suzuki. Mizukami Architects

Swiss architects Bearth and Deplazes have created Winery Obrecht at the eastern entrance to the village of Jenins in Switzerland. The architects have formed a courtyard by adding a new building to the 'assembly' of existing structures, which include the former 'Zur Sonne' inn and wooden stable, with later additions including an additional stable, a shed, and a barn.

Berlin-based Sehw Architektur has designed a building comprising 159 apartments for students in Oberschöneweide, Berlin.  The corner building with similar treatment of its walls and sloping roof gives it a monolithic appearance. The external colour divides the building into two parts, and the slight horizontal shift in the windows provides the facade with a 'playful dynamic’.  The building features open-plan kitchen-living rooms, common areas to promote social interactions, and compact apartments with large windows. Photo Helen Bereket. Sehw Architektur

Swiss-based Bolthauser Architekten has designed the high-rise H1 building on the Zwhatt site, in the Banhoff Nord development area of Regensdorf, near Zurich. The building is a response to a pavilion designed by artist Alexander Brodsky and is part of Peter Märkli's masterplan, which includes a second high-rise building designed by Märkli. The 24-storey, 75-meter tall building is constructed with a three-floor concrete 'table' supporting a timber structure above. The ground floor is accessible to the public and includes a bistro, while the next two floors comprise co-working areas. Above this, there are 150 apartments of various sizes, configured according to the timber structure.

London-based architecture studio Jonathan Tuckey Design has refurbished and converted a 200-year-old farmstead in Piedmont to create a home and studio. The project, named Cascina, aims to open up the facade to reconnect the building to the landscape and also to strip back additions made in the 1990s. With the methodology of 'elegant appropriation', the original fabric, including the stone walls and roof timbers, together with roof tiles, are reused. New repairs and upgrades are woven into the existing structure, creating a rich tapestry.