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Renoma
Complex ground conditions and the close proximity of neighbouring buildings, were among the many challenges facing architectural practice Maćków Pracownia Projecktowa in its recent restoration and enlargement of the former Warenhaus A. Wertheim department store in Wroclaw, southwestern Poland, now called the Renoma retail centre.
Architect Pracownia Projektowa Mackow from Wroclaw (Zbigniew Mackow, Piotr Krynicki, Marek Kotowski) Location Wroclaw - Poland Company involved 3A Composites (ALUCOBOND®) Website http://www.alucobond.com -
Agora Theatre
You can’t miss the new theatre in Lelystad, the Netherlands, designed by UN Studio. A faceted building, clad in the colours of the setting sun, it is a project that makes its presence felt despite its relatively low height. The excitement of the exterior is not diminished as you move inside, to a series of spaces of complex geometry and bright colours, culminating in the womb-like, multisurfaced interior of the bright red theatre itself.
Architect UNStudio Location Lelystad - The Netherlands Company involved Alcoa Website http://www.alcoa.com -
AV College
Look at one side of the AV College Helsinki and you appear to be studying a pixellated image of ... well, you can’t tell what, and that is a deliberate strategy on the part of the architects. Ark-House Architects, also based in Helsinki, used six different off-the-shelf colours of prepainted metal to create an almost entirely windowless facade that makes reference to the digital techniques that are happening inside this college, dedicated to audiovisual education. The practice’s Pentti Kareoja says that they considered putting in a definite image, such as a face, but decided to leave it abstract – a wise decision. ‘Now people can find their own images,’ said Kareoja.
Architect Ark-House Architects (Pentti Kareoja) Location Helsinki - Finland Company involved Rautaruukki Website http://www.ruukki.com