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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
Architect a-lab (Arkitekturlaboratoriet) Location Oslo - Norway Company involved Elval Website http://www.elval.gr -
Multifunctional Centre Hart van Meerdervoort
When the municipalities of Zwijndrecht and Trivire in the south of the Netherlands decided to create a multifunctional centre for the Kort Ambacht Zuid neighbourhood, they initially specified a brick-clad structure. Set on an elongated site, the building needed to accommodate an elementary school, a gym, childcare centre, welfare organisation, and local housing association.
Architect Architectenburo Frans van Roy Location Zwijndrecht (The Netherlands) Company involved Tata Steel Website www.tatasteelconstruction.com/en_GB/OurBrands/Colorcoat -
Two Housing Blocks
The housing designed by Dubosc & Associes in Montargis, France, is certainly uncompromising. Clad entirely in metal, it eschews any of the conventional domestic touches but it does so in a manner that is refreshing and bright. The only punctuation to the neutral metallic colour comes from the front doors in a cheerful red, with large painted numbers, and sensibly generous vision panels. There is no chance here of forgetting where you live, and the sloping external staircases are both inviting and, argues Eric Dubosc, important places of social interaction. ‘People never talk on internal staircases,’ he says. ‘Here they are out of doors, so they talk and their children play together.’
Architect Dubosc & Associes Location Montargis - France