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Heydar Aliyev Centre
When it opens its doors to the public later this year, the Heydar Aliyev Centre is expected to play an integral role in the intellectual life of Azerbaijan’s capital city Baku, and a pivotal one in a country eager to re-establish an independent cultural identity.
Architect Zaha Hadid Architects Location Baku - Azerbaijan Company involved ThyssenKrupp Steel Website http://www.thyssenkrupp-steel-europe.com -
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 EldinArchitect Sweco (Johannes Tüll) Location Shangai - China Company involved SSAB Website http://www.ssab.com -
IT Fornebu
You can’t miss the portal building at IT Fornebu. Set between four intelligently designed but monochrome office blocks on the site of the former Oslo airport in Norway is this brilliant shock of orange, a building that manages to be arresting without being garish, to stand out without seeming incongruous.
Architect a-lab Location Fornebu - Norway Company involved 3A Composites (ALUCOBOND®) Website www.alucobond.com