Ecca collection

Statoil Offices

After winning first prize in an open competition to design a new building for Norwegian energy producer Statoil, Oslo-based architectural practice a-lab found it had little time to celebrate.

Images courtesy of Luis Fonseca, a-lab and Ivan Brodey

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College André Maurois

One of the driving forces in French school design and redesign has been the disastrous fire at the College Edouard Pailleron in 1973.Built to a mid century pattern common to many schools throughout the country, it was of lightweight steel construction with no fire protection. The fire spread rapidly through voids and 20 people died of whom 16 were children.   There were more than 1,000 schools in the country built in a similar way, of which 57 used the exact same technique. These became known as Paillerons and were, quite rightly, slated for improvement or replacement.

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ThyssenKrupp Headquarter Essen

ThyssenKrupp’s decision to relocate its operations from 15 different sites across the Ruhr region to a former industrial site at Essen, where the company was founded, has resulted in an award-winning collection of strikingly modern buildings amid a newly created green and peaceful urban district boasting its own micro-climate.

Images courtesy of C. Richters / AACMA / JSWD

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