Ecca collection

Swedish Pavilion - Shangai Expo

Designing the Swedish Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo was a slightly less daunting task than designing many of the other pavilions, because it had a clearly defined function. What makes these projects so difficult in general is the almost entirely open-ended nature of the brief – they have to convey something about the national character, and house an exhibition, but beyond that and the physical limitations of the site, it is possible to do anything. In the case of the Swedish Pavilion, however, there was at least a requirement to house meetings with potential trade partners, and this gave the design more of a functional programme than is customary.

Images courtesy of August Wiklund, Sweco, & Petter Eldin

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City Hall Gauchy

Should you choose to get married in the town of Gauchy en Vermandois, in the Picardy region of France near the Belgian border, you may find yourself a little distracted while taking your vows. Architect Dubosc & Associes has carefully sited the city hall so that the marriage room enjoys spectacular views across the valley. This is calming, one hopes, for tattered nerves rather than a distraction for anyone who is wondering if they have made the right decision.

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Cluj Arena Football Stadium

A sleek and impressive curvilinear structure now sits prominently yet comfortably amid the relatively low-level residential and commercial blocks and trees otherwise occupying the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

The new Cluj Arena, built as a symbolic contemporary landmark, is by far the largest and most overtly modern building in this culturally rich university city.

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