#38 Mar/Apr 2011

News and observations

• EYE Film Institute, Amsterdam (NL)
• Bilbao's newest icon (ES)
• Book: Energyscapes
• Update: sports halls
• Christof Grave, new director of the VAi (BE)
• Art Nouveau-esque architecture in London (UK)
• and more…

New projects

• Block renovation, Porto (PT) by FA Architects
• Science centre, New Belgrade (RS) by Wolfgang Tschappeler
• Turkish bath, Stockholm (SE) by Arklab
• Concert hall, Warsaw (PL) by Atelier Thomas Pucher
• Holiday village, Ylläs (FI) by Eriksson Architects
• Housing complex, Zurich (CH) by a Swiss-Dutch collaboration

Wandel Hoefer Lorch & Hirsch: Contemporary reconstructions

Nikolaus Hirsch and Wolfgang Lorch speak about the political dimension of architecture, their critical position between reconstruction and avant-garde, and the fact that one can appreciate Daniel Libeskind's Jewish Museum without necessarily liking its expressiveness.

New buildings

• Housing, Paris (FR) by KOZ architectes
• Conversion of a factory, Barcelona (ES) by Jordi Garcés
• Apartment building, Sofia (BG) by I/O architects
• Residential home, Büttenhardt (CH) by Bernath & Widmer
• Workshop, Kouvola (FI) by Architects NRT
• Visitor centre, Kristianstad (SE) by White
• Mixed-use building, Amsterdam (NL) by Onix
• Aviation Museum, Cracow (PL) by Pysall.Ruge Architekten & Bartłomiej Kisielewski
• House and annexes, Káli Medence (HU) by Vincze & László Architects

Sustainable solutions

Sustainability: for years now it has been a 'hot item' in architecture. But as interest in sustainability grew, so too did the hype and scepticism surrounding the topic. What does green actually mean? About one thing there now seems to be agreement: not building is more environmentally friendly than new-build. The waste in terms of energy and materials that is inherent in the replacement of existing buildings by new ones can never be offset by any CO₂-free, state‑of‑the‑art project, whatsoever.

Focusing on European countries, cities and regions

• Dietmar Koering's research on floating permaculture
• A tour of Greater Prague (CZ)
• Home: Adelina and Rado Iliev's sensual summer house in Yasna Polyana (BG)
• Profile: French architects AIR

Buildings from the margins of modern history

The Franjinhas building in Lisbon, designed by Nuno Teotónio Pereira and João Bráulia Reis and erected in 1967, shows that good architecture is timeless and can still be considered contemporary, even 43 years after it was built.