#2 Mar/Apr 2005

News and observations

• Calatrava's Turning Torso Tower in Malmö (SE)
• New architecture gallery in Victoria & Albert Museum, London (UK)
• Foreign invasion in Ljubljana (SI)
• Jean Nouvel redevelops Alcântara-Mar, Lisbon (PT)
• Glass fibre-reinforced concrete offers new possibilities
• Renzo Piano's 'glass worm' in Cologne (DE)
• Transformation of Oslo's centre for design and architecture (NO)
• Update: the architectural state of affairs in Romania
• and more…

New projects

• Floating architecture in the Danube, Budapest (HU)
• SLA Landscape Architects develop four squares in one in Copenhagen (DK)
• Transient's Hedge House, London (UK)
• The Dual City: Vilnius and Kaunas (LT)
• Private house in Mikolow (PL) by Damian Radwanski and Roman Rutkowski
• Salauna Conference Resort in Tempo Pausania (IT) by architect Michele Saee and philosopher Fons Elders
• T-Studio designs housing for elderly, Pesaro (IT)
• Conversion of a former Bishop's palace into an art centre, Brok (PL)
• The winners of the J5 Competition for Young Architects, Andalusia (ES)
• Winning design for the university library in Split (CR)

Sophie Roulet interviews 'Parisians from elsewhere'

Four firms of young architects of different nationalities confront their experiences as 'Parisians from elsewhere', taking the year 2000 as their point of departure and Paris as their anchorage. Their work is on display at the Galerie d'Architecture in Paris from 4 to 25 February 2005.

New buildings

• Regional blood centre in Porto (PT), by ARX
• Museum of Contemporary Art in Ceaucescu's former palace, Bucharest (RO)
• XXS House by Aljosa Deklava and Tina Gregoric, Ljubljana (SI)
• 'Black Treefrog': apartments by Splitterwerk in Bad Waltersdorf (AT)
• Pierre Hebbelinck's steel house in Comblain-au-Pont (BE) was erected in only a few hours
• School gymnasium in Madrid (ES) by Ignacio Martinez, Adela Carcedo and Angel Jaramillo
• Antoine Stinco's extension of the Maison de la Culture, Grenoble (FR)
• Public Prosecution Service, Assen (NL) by DAAD Architects
• Annexe to Helsinki's parliament building by Helin & Co Architects (FI)
• Mikhail Khazanov's National Centre for Contemporary Arts, Moscow (RU)
• Haack and Höpfer make an architectural event out of a carwash in Germering (DE)
• Casa d by InnoCAD, Hartkirchen (AT)

Focusing on European countries, cities and regions

• Urban development policy in Chemnitz demonstrates the hopes and problems of German cities in East and West
• A mini-tour of 'unmodern' Holland: Hans Ibelings explains contemporary traditionalism in the Netherlands

Buildings that already get their share of media attention

The Scottish Parliament, Scotland's most important building in 300 years, has had a dramatic genesis. Including the untimely death of its architect, Enric Miralles, continuous disagreement and huge delays and extreme budget overruns. However, the general expectation is that in a little while everybody will have forgotten that the building turned out to be so much more expensive than originally estimated.