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China Pavilion - Shanghai Expo
One of the most striking pavilions at last year’s Shanghai Expo came, appropriately, from the home country. It was obvious immediately that it was Chinese, through both the inverted pyramid of its shape, with strong horizontals, and the bright red that is immediately reminiscent of monuments such as Beijing’s Forbidden City. The horizontals, with ends cantilevering a short distance beyond the supporting elements below, pay homage to one of the most typical forms in traditional Chinese architecture, interlocking ‘dougong’ brackets. These were always realised in timber but here, in this modern interpretation, are clad in aluminium.
Architect South China University of Technology Institute of Architectural Design (He Jingtang) Location Shanghai - China Company involved Hunter Douglas China Website http://www.hunterdouglasgroup.com -
Harley Davidson
The new Harley Davidson showroom in Auvergne (France) makes maximum use of a vibrant corporate colour scheme to draw in customers. The building is one of the most important Harley Davidson showrooms in Europe and needed to be approved by head office in the United States before the design was finalised. The result is landmark representation of the company’s identity.
Architect ARCHI 3A (Sébastien Chevalier) Location Puy-de-Dôme - France Company involved ArcelorMittal / Bacacier Website www.arcelormittal.com - www.bacacier.com -
Carton Levert House
A house and office in County Donegal, in the west of Ireland, make a refreshing change from much of the depressing housing that has gone up in the country in the last few decades. Responding to very specific requirements from the clients for notions of retreat and also flexibility, the buildings are uncompromisingly modern, while making deliberate references to the material palettes of local agricultural buildings.
Architect MacGabhann Architects Location County Donegal - Republic of Ireland Company involved Tata Steel Website http://www.colorcoat-online.com