Our Readers’ Favourites in December

In January, our readers were particularly enthusiastic about the following three contributions: a museum extension in Hasselt (Belgium), a courtyard house in Lanškroun (Czech Republic) and a student residence in Sheffield (Great Britain).

Genius Loci Re-defined: Museum Extension in Hasselt by Francesca Torzo

Francesca Torzo’s addition to Art Museum Z33 is unconventional in many respects – from the façade surfacing in lozenge-shaped brick tiles to the almost completely windowless 60-metre-long entrance wall. Inside the building, the architect from Genoa has provided spatial sequences with a number of surprises in store.

Clients: Provincie Limburg, Z33
Architecture: Francesca Torzo
Structural engineering: Conzett Bronzini Partner, ABT België
Location: Bonnefantenstraat 1, 3500 Hasselt (BE)

Out of Line: Courtyard House in Lanškroun by Martin Neruda

A row house that steps out of line in fulfilling a client’s wish to live at close quarters with the garden: this has been made possible in a housing area of Lanškroun by Martin Neruda Architektura. The new-build follows the slight slope of the plot in cascade-like fashion.

Architecture: Martin Neruda Architektura
Structural engineering: Tomáš Novotný
Location: Lanškroun (CZ)

A Pink Shimmer on Concrete: Student Housing in Sheffield 

Park Hill, which was built in the 1960s, is Europe’s largest subsidized-housing complex. Whittam Cox have now redesigned the southeast tract as a student residence. In this project, the architects lay particular value on preserving the original concrete elements, bricks and mortar joints.

Client: Alumno Group
Architecture: Whittam Cox Architects​​​​​​​
Structural engineering: Civic​​​​​​​
Location: Rhodes Street, Sheffield (GB)

The Name Says It All: Triangle House in London

On a small corner lot in the Kentish Town district of north London, the city’s Child Graddon Lewis studio have transformed a gloomy office building into a naturally lit, three-storey residence. In their design, the architects play with the triangular area; their façade takes up elements of the neighbouring factory structure from Victorian times.

Architecture: Child Graddon Lewis
Structural engineering: Conisbee
Location: London (GB)

A Different Way to Get Well: Hospital Nova by JKMM in Jyväskylä

Hospitals are usually a work in progress. Thus it is a rare thing for an architectural office to gain a commission to not only plan a clinic from scratch but completely rethink its very concept. Yet this is what has happened in Jyväskylä in central Finland, where JKMM architects have designed the new district hospital that took up operation in 2020. Indeed, JKMM founding partner Teemu Kurkela has been putting thought to new hospital concepts since 2010 as part of a research project.

Client: KSSHP, hospital district, Central Finland
Architecture: JKMM, EGM Architects
Structural planning: Ramboll Finland
Location: Hoitajantie 3, 40620 Jyväskylä (FI)