#37 Jan/Feb 2011

News and observations

• Lyon's Monolith (FR)
• Victoria & Albert in Dundee (UK)
• Stefano Boeri not the next mayor of Milan (IT)
• Stuttgart 21: symbol of a new planning culture (DE)
• Update: Dutch playgrounds
• Two hidden gems in the Slovenian countryside
• and more…

New projects

• Housing competition, Milan (IT)
• School and day care centre, Helsinki (FI) by JKMM
• Museum extension, Riga (LV) by Processoffice
• Public square, Lodi (IT) by Spedstudio

OFFICE KGDVS: The importance of being precise

Kersten Geers and David van Severen are among the most successful of a new generation of architects in Belgium. They speak about their design approach and what it means to be an architect in Belgium: 'There have of course been occasions when someone asked whether we're Belgian or Flemish architects. We are European.'

New buildings

• Faculty extension, Groningen (NL) by pvanb architecten
• Education centre, Porto (PT) by Atelier Veloso Arquitectos
• Music school, Granville (FR) by K-architectures
• Media design office, Steyr (AT) by Gernot Hertl
• Conversion of two houses, Jaén (ES) by Brijuni Arquitectos
• Student housing, Helsinki (FI) by Playa Arkkitehdit
• Hydroelectric power station, Kempten (DE) by Becker Architekten
• Housing, Dublin (IE) by A2 Architects
• Villa, Palanga (LT) by arches
• Apartment building, Ostrava (CZ) by Kuba Pilař Architekti
• Hospital entrance building, Florence (IT) by ipostudio architetti, CSPE and Elio Di Franco

Light & mood

Although lighting is primarily a functional element of architecture and urban design – it renders spaces visible – light plays an equally important role in the aesthetic quality of buildings and cities. In a way, light could be regarded as architectural 'make-up'. With judiciously positioned lamps, spotlights, up- and downlights, architects are able to flatter spaces or reveal materials in all their rawness, accentuate certain elements, and add depth, direction and colour.

Focusing on European countries, cities and regions

• Is Finland still on the architectural map?
• A tour of great architecture in Grand Paris (FR)
• Home: Lasse Lehtinen's black house, Lammi (FI)

Buildings from the margins of modern history

The architect became persona non grata for the communist rulers, his building a symbol of the repressive regime. But seen from an architectural perspective, Karel Prager's former Federal Assembly (1966–1973) remains one of the most radical buildings anywhere in Prague.