World Heritage Site

Inaugurated during the celebrations for the nomination of Matera as Capital of Culture 2019, La Suite is a refined 5-star hotel overlooking the enchanting historic centre of the 15th century city. A design undoubtedly sought after for a structure originally born as a residential building and then recoded by a careful design by Studio Marco Piva. The natural comfort of the bioclimatic pergola The spaces of domestic design have made it possible to rethink the receptive environments in an innovative way, creating a hotel composed exclusively of suites, the most spacious of which are located on the fifth floor and enjoy a large open-air terrace overlooking the historic walls. Protecting and embellishing this exclusive view is the Bioclimatic... More

Brushed Nordic Royal copper alloy fins help define a major redevelopment that completes a historic square in Scotland’s capital. Comprising 9,300m2 of ‘Grade A’ office space, 6,500m2 of leisure and retail, and a suite of luxury apartments, the redevelopment occupies most of the southern edge of St Andrew Square in the heart of Edinburgh’s Georgian ‘New Town’ World Heritage Site. Designed by Hoskins Architects and CDA, the scheme involves a massing strategy of projections and recesses, reflecting the scale of historic plots on this side of the square. A series of metal and stone fins enables the complex to be very ‘open’ when viewed directly, taking advantage of the extraordinary long views an... More

The new classic Pulitzer Amsterdam has been revealed after an extensive restoration of almost 1.5 years. On 15th August 2016, the iconic 49-year old hotel has celebrated its Grand Opening, the completion of a quintessentially Dutch redesign across the hotel’s labyrinth of 25 Golden Age canal houses.   The re-opening this summer of Pulitzer Amsterdam’s Prinsengracht canal side of the hotel will see the unveiling of areas including the main entrance and lobby, the inner gardens, a two-storey gym, as well as 225 guestrooms and suites.   An impressive new entrance, the first new building since the canals received UNESCO status, will welcome guests in style, guiding them into the eccentric yet luxurious lobby, furnished... More

The Malt Malt whiskey distillery is the new factory, new office, and visitor center for a company named ThaiBev, the Thai food and beverage company. The project is located to the north of Thailand capital close to Kamphaeng Phet historical park, one of a UNESCO world heritage site. Designed in a style of campus, 3 functions for Visitor center, Distillery, and Warehouse. The buildings are grouped and surrounded by big ponds and open parkland.   The Pattern of Randomness The architects proposed the brick as the main material and create a dialog between the buildings in the present and the history of the ancient town. The way the architects used the variety of the brick’s patterns by randomness, is a connection to the carcass of t... More

Vietnam has an abundance of nature and townscapes that are registered as World Heritage Sites. Economic growth due to the increase in tourism has raised the standard of living but has also given way to reckless development by clearing away nature. To tackle this situation, we want to create a house that will connect people and nature. Ha Long, home to Ha Long Villa, is a beautiful coastal city in northern Vietnam, 160 km northeast of Hanoi. It is also home to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ha Long Bay. In particular, it is a city abundant with local industries such as fisheries and coal mining, and it is a region that is rapidly developing alongside its tourism industry. The site is near the coast and overlooks Ha Long Bay with a landsca... More

Modern architecture has three established branches: design, structure and equipment. In recent years where environmental consideration has become a prerequisite in designing new buildings, an increased number of efforts to review regional characteristics are being put into design and equipment. However, such efforts have not yet reached the branch of structure, and buildings are usually designed based on common reasonability when structure was environmental architecture in and of itself before Modernism—a branch principally based on regional characteristics.   The site is located in a residential neighborhood covering the hilltop overlooking Sakurajima. To our surprise, an American owner asked us for a sustainable residence usi... More

Sitio Eriazo, our client, is a collective whose aim is to recover empty, abandoned, urban spaces in the city of Valparaiso, Chile, which are currently rubbish dumps and attract vermin and delinquents. The members of the group are recent graduates from theater, art and architecture schools. The activities of the group rely on self-motivation, mutual support and a non-hierarchical organisation; they work to recover and make available to the community the urban patrimony of the city of Valparaiso which was declared UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003.“The colonial city of Valparaíso presents an excellent example of late 19th-century urban and architectural development in Latin America. In its natural amphitheater-like setting, the... More

Office buildings mixed tower Located near a historic city center listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the heart of the Bordeaux conurbation, with the future European TGV station as centrality, the ZAC Saint Jean-Belcier territory stretches along de la Garonne, from the Saint-Jean bridge to the future Jean-Jacques Bosc crossing and on the edge of the Sainte-Croix district.Located on lot 4.8 of the ARS domain, the tower will occupy the angle formed between the Jardin de l'Ars and rue Carle Vernet, culminating at 55 meters in height, it will form a signal emerging from the construction sequence bordering the northern limit of the Jardin de l'Ars. The general volume placed on a 2091m² plot will be divided into two main volumes, clea... More

The Hotel Granbaita is a third-generation family-run hotel located in the centre of Selva in the Val Gardena, surrounded by the impressive peaks of the South Tyrolean Dolomites. The area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has been a popular holiday destination for international holidaymakers for decades, both in summer and in winter.  Since its construction in the 1960s, the house has undergone countless structural extensions, modernizations and restructurings, but in 2019, as part of a core renovation, it was time to give the main building – including reception, bar and dining room, as well as the wellness area – a uniform design and an architecturally contemporary appearance.  The existing balconies and wooden cla... More

Shi-An is a movable tea house constructed for the Japanese Culture EXPO 2016 at the Daidokoro in Nijo-Jo Castle UNESCO World Heritage Site, Kyoto Japan.Nijo-Jo Castle is known as one of the most prestigious flat land castle constructed in 1603 at the beginning of EDO era by Ieyashu Tokugawa.   This tea house is inspired by the beauty of transientness which represents Japanese sense of values towards space and environment.By using solely "Washi" paper as a structural element, the materiality elaborates a contemporary space in tradition.   In order to stabilize this fragile paper material, the Origami methodology is utilized to obtain a structural stiffness as well as a joint mechanism as a modular system to assemble its body.... More

The Catholic Diocese of Pécs intended to establish a new kindergarten institution in the historic downtown of Pécs, in the immediate vicinity of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.   The site, like much of the town centre regarding Pécs, has been structured in overlapping layers for the past 2000 years, which have always and continuously determined its development. As they were transformed or rebuilt, they created new values .   In the spatial structure and urban fabric preserved in the present age, along the rebuilt superstructures and walls, there is still a reverence deriving from the past, which was inherited in a coherent network. The unified system of scattered memories survived from age to age and still... More

Some of the most prevalent structures found everywhere around Al Ula are walled date plantations, usually rectangular in shape with large, centrally aligned gates. With palm tree crowns peaking above the sand coloured walls, we can imagine the refreshing shade within, a place where one could rest from the surrounding arid desert. Not far from Al Ula is Hegra, Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site for its rock-cut monumental tombs. The most significant of these are decorated in an eclectic weave of architectural styles in precisely cut sandstone columns, arches and cornices: fine examples of delicate design and incredible craftsmanship. Interior space is usually a clear, carved void defined by the mass of cut stone – an... More

The house is situated in a quiet residential neighbourhood between Orchard Road, the upscale shopping street in Singapore, and the UNESCO World Heritage site 'The Singapore Botanic Gardens'.   The planning of the house was initiated by the client's requirement for a private gallery to exhibit his art collection. As guests would be invited for viewing of the art collection, the gallery is separated from the other private living spaces. A glass pavillion adjacent to the main structure serves as the entrance to create a formal sense of arrival. It is also a transitional space where circulation splits between guests and family members. Guests move directly to the gallery beside the entrance, while family members proceed via the entrance... More

Award-winning interior design studio LTW Designworks is pleased to unveil the designs for JW Marriott Qufu – a new luxury hotel in Qufu, China, the birthplace of renowned philosopher Confucius. Celebrating ancient heritage with modern elegance, LTW brings forth a timeless design that pays tribute to the deep-rooted ancient traditions and cultures of The Analects.   Sitting adjacent to the Confucius Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site, the two-storey JW Marriott Qufu stands as an emblem of the ancient city. Tastefully appointed with traditional Chinese features, the hotel’s distinctive exterior emulates structures from the ancient city, with architectural accents such as wood partitions and columns that blend seamlessly w... More