Glass beams

Cargo station in riga revamped into a culture venue, By reinis liepins and sudraba arhitektūra Riga — the capital city of Latvia was one of the biggest and advanced industrial and port cities in the period before the World War I. This 19th century capitalist city — not only brick buildings of numerous factories and workers’ wooden tenement houses but in fact whole core of the contemporary city with its public buildings and multi-storey apartment houses — could be considered as the most significant part of Riga’s identity.   The extensive heritage of the industrial age has played significant role in the fact that the architects of Riga are involved so much in those fields of architecture which are relate... More

As part of Ivanhoé Cambridge’s Projet Nouveau Centre, Le Cathcart Restaurants et Biergarten at Place Ville Marie, launched in last January, is conceived by Sid Lee Architecture and A5 Hospitality, and executed by Sid Lee Architecture and Menkès Shooner Dagenais LeTourneux Architectes in consortium.   The revitalization of the Place Ville Marie Esplanade forms part of Projet Nouveau Centre, Ivanhoé Cambridge's vision for downtown Montreal. The revitalization aims to position Place Ville Marie as a major urban gathering point, rivalling those of other great metropolises.   “Renovations performed in the 1980s had become quite dated, and the owners wante... More

When asked to design a house in a highly dense neighborhood of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, we are faced with many challenges (a West-facing long and narrow building lot with three sides blocked by other houses), which simultaneously pose fascinating opportunities for economical and innovative design solutions. The attempt is to create refreshing and playful living spaces for the young couple with their two small children as well as interesting photography opportunities for their business. Learning from Vietnam’s diminishing traditional shop-house topology, we apply one of its most prominent characteristics–  the use of multiple courtyards sandwiched in between living spaces, allowing for natural light, wind, as well as big plants t... More

Fortunen Arkitektur completes Norway’s first all-structural glass building.The residents of Europe’s rainiest city finally gets to enjoy the atmosphere of a sidewalk restaurant while comfortably protected from the weather. On the main street in the west-norwegian city of Bergen, Fortunen Arkitektur has completed a pavilion in all-structural glass: the first of its kind in the country. In a city characterized by its rapidly changing weather and (in)famous as the rainiest city in Europe, this project allows the dining guests to enjoy a sidewalk restaurant atmosphere despite the climate.“When the restaurant wanted something utterly unique for its outdoor seating, we challenged ourselves to make an uncompromising space, transparent and hig... More

Office buildings contribute to the clear identity of a company and in all aspects reinforce the image to a good and tightly structured basis or architectural work-platform for their product. This 100 m long concrete socle or plinth slides into the sloping landscape as a sculptural under-layer and high-tech motherboard for the position of three glass beams with landscape offices and management offices. A curved recess below leads the cars to the parking, and marks, together with the glass entrance hall, the dynamics of this span as an intersection of all traffic flow. Large sunken patios reconcile all adjacent lecture rooms, meeting spaces and offices to one visually interactive experience in relationship to the restaurant and the circulatio... More

The new Pop centre in Taipei is a city in itself, designed to transcend its visitors into a total escapism of pop. The enclosure makes the experience inside strong and focused and gives the structure’s different districts a framework of function and identity. The wall will act as a noise barrier as well as a very straight forward tool of communication. The tower in its center projects light to the different parts of the town as stage lights or to enhance the setting. Every district uses the effect from the tower in some aspect and is consequently designed according to the angles of light. The lights can make the whole building expand dramatically in appearance, from rather low key from a distance into a spectacular body of light; form... More