Ecca collection

Las Arenas de Barcelona

Barcelona’s historic bull ring Las Arenas, constructed at the very end of the 19th century, fell largely into disuse during the 1970s, owing to the declining popularity of bull fighting in Catalonia.

Images courtesy of Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners

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AV College

Look at one side of the AV College Helsinki and you appear to be studying a pixellated image of ... well, you can’t tell what, and that is a deliberate strategy on the part of the architects. Ark-House Architects, also based in Helsinki, used six different off-the-shelf colours of prepainted metal to create an almost entirely windowless facade that makes reference to the digital techniques that are happening inside this college, dedicated to audiovisual education. The practice’s Pentti Kareoja says that they considered putting in a definite image, such as a face, but decided to leave it abstract – a wise decision. ‘Now people can find their own images,’ said Kareoja.

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Quai 9

From a distance, the outer shell of Quai 9 resembles an alien spaceship which has landed in the town of Lanester in north-western France. But on closer inspection, the facade is clearly composed of a series of triangular shapes which evoke the white sails of the boats that have been the lifeblood of this area for centuries. The name Quai 9 reflects both the maritime heritage of the region, and the fact that Lanester was established as an independent town in 1909.

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