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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 -
Tin House
Located in London, one of the most densely populated cities in the world, the Tin House has been designed by Henning Stummel Architects to create a secluded and tranquil living environment. Occupying a previously empty site, the building comprises six metal-clad ‘pods’ which each accommodate one function. Services, such as toilets and stairs, are housed in the corridors that link the pods.
Architect Henning Stummel Architects Location London (UK) Company involved SSAB Website www.ssab.com -
Ville Verdi
The five residential blocks that make up the Ville Verdi in Vienna, Austria’s capital city, lean back almost lazily in a way that makes one imagine that the apartments might have sloping floors, with furniture sliding inexorably towards the rear elevation. Of course this is not the case, but that sense of fantasy is enhanced by their extraordinary location.
Architect Albert Wimmer Location Vienna - Austria Company involved ThyssenKrupp Steel Website http://www.thyssenkrupp-steel-europe.com