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New address with a striking effect
Busch & Takasaki Architects Create Wood and Copper Sculpture in Hamburg
A striking pavilion made of wood and copper now forms the new entrance to the Hamburg Energy Networks campus. Designed by Busch & Takasaki Architects in collaboration with gmp, it combines sustainable construction, clear design and a strong identity.
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Danish architectural tradition
Heatherhill Beach House by Norm Architects
The Heatherhill Beach House combines Danish tradition with modern design, featuring clean lines, natural materials, and deliberate perspectives that open up spaces to the landscape, creating an understated elegance.
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Reinvigorated British High-Tech Icon
Renovation of the Waterloo International Terminal in London by Aecom
From 1994 to 2007, Nicholas Grimshaw's Waterloo International Terminal in London was the terminus for Eurostar trains crossing the English Channel. After that, it remained unused for over ten years. Now Aecom Architecture has transformed the terminal into a suburban railway station.
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Advertorial
Campus Architecture in China: Between Function and Community
Two large-scale buildings in China demonstrate how high density can become a quality: the Shanghai Pinghe School Jinding Campus and the Feicheng Civic Center organise many people within a compact space.
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Modular ceiling made from plastic boxes
Akelarre Supermarket in Mallorca by Minimal Studio
Minimal Studio's "Plastic Box" supermarket combines radical minimalism with urban flair. Clean lines and geometric shapes characterise the sales area, which is designed as a raw concrete shell.
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Functional log cabin
Reception Building for the Vintgar Gorge by Ofis Arhitekti
The architectural practice Ofis has created a new entrance area for the Vintgar Gorge in Triglav National Park. The gorge is one of Slovenia's most popular natural attractions.
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Strengthening the community
Rammed Earth Tennis in Ghana
DeRoche Projects' Backyard Community Club in Accra is a pioneer in the use of prefabricated rammed earth systems for construction. It is also helping to develop a tennis culture beyond the elite.
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Hidden conversion
Conversion of a Former Pigsty into a Modern Detached House
The architectural firm MADE.V Arquitectos has transformed a former pigsty into a contemporary detached house in the Spanish town of Sasamón. By inserting a wooden box inside, the traces of the conversion remain almost invisible from the outside.
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Creating regional identity
Frankfurt Rhine-Main Is World Design Capital 2026
The Frankfurt Rhine-Main metropolitan region is World Design Capital 2026. Under the motto “Design for Democracy. Atmospheres for a better life,” numerous events will take place in the region. The grand opening will kick off at Centralstation in Darmstadt on January 16.
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DETAIL Readers' Favourites 2025
The Most-Clicked Articles of the Year
At the end of the year, we present the highlights chosen by our readers: two detached houses in Switzerland and a holiday home in De Hoge Veluwe National Park in the Netherlands
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Art instead of coal
Power Plant Conversion in Xi'an by Nomos Architects
The architectural firm Nomos has transformed a former coal-fired power plant into an exhibition space for art. A polycarbonate facade allows filtered daylight to enter the interior.
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More projects, images and detailed drawings on our knowledge platform DETAIL Inspiration.
Simply Well Built
How can architecture deliver on its promises when budgets are tight, tasks are pressing, and resources are limited? A new generation is rethinking the act of building: pragmatic, yet far from simplistic. By concentrating on what truly matters, they achieve unexpectedly inventive outcomes even under austere conditions. Standards, regulations, and established norms can sometimes stand in the way of intelligent ideas – but they can also set them in motion. Building simply remains a complex field. In this issue, we hear from architects who have embraced the discipline of doing more with less. For Ludwig Zitzelsberger, the smaller the budget, the greater the freedom for architectural expression.
The architect of the Kunstscheune sees the real appeal in paring the project back to its essence. Our editorial team was struck by the care invested in the well-considered details, such as the transition where the folded roof surface meets the gutter. The Swiss firm Holzhausen Zweifel, in their project for a temporary bus terminal, discusses the sometimes challenging dialogue with the building trades. Installing services neatly enough to avoid cladding can result in double the expected workload – by no means an unusual occurrence. Here, the cost difference lies in labour rather than materials, as Sebastian Holzhausen explains. Meanwhile, Spanish studio Harquitectes distils an entire philosophy of simplicity into a single wall in their multifamily building – a wall that carries loads, insulates, and regulates the indoor climate. The House for Five Women in Bosnia takes a different path: by refining the raw shell, Kollektiv Ten creates a place that opens doors to the future – a space for autonomy and community. Architecture that makes a difference while relying on very little: it may sound like an old mantra, but it remains a good strategy. Keep it simple! Jeanette Kunsmann
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DETAIL Readers' Favorites 2025
Your Interiors & Design Highlights of the Year
At the end of the year, we present the three most popular articles from the Interiors & Design category: two sensitively modernized conversions and a pavilion that inspires with its tactile and sensory spatial qualities.
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A house full of stories
Detached House in London by 31/44 Architects
In London's Crystal Palace, Will Burges has built a house for himself and his family of four that stores knowledge and memories within its compact structure.
Interiors & Design
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Iconic Awards 2025
Mapping the Present: Iconic Awards 2025
Renovation instead of new construction, attitude instead of icons: the Iconic Awards 2025 show how architecture is shaping change with everyday concepts for work, health, education and energy.
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Modular playground
Daycare Centres in Lisbon by Summary
The Portuguese architecture practice Summary has designed a prototype daycare centre based on a prefabricated, modular system of U-shaped, reinforced concrete elements.
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Asymmetrical roof
Residential Building in Catalonia by Alventosa Morell Arquitectes
The compact residential building by Alventosa Morell Arquitectes is clad in cork.
Climate & Resources
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Strengthening the community
Rammed Earth Tennis in Ghana
DeRoche Projects' Backyard Community Club in Accra is a pioneer in the use of prefabricated rammed earth systems for construction. It is also helping to develop a tennis culture beyond the elite.
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Hidden conversion
Conversion of a Former Pigsty into a Modern Detached House
The architectural firm MADE.V Arquitectos has transformed a former pigsty into a contemporary detached house in the Spanish town of Sasamón. By inserting a wooden box inside, the traces of the conversion remain almost invisible from the outside.
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Creating regional identity
Frankfurt Rhine-Main Is World Design Capital 2026
The Frankfurt Rhine-Main metropolitan region is World Design Capital 2026. Under the motto “Design for Democracy. Atmospheres for a better life,” numerous events will take place in the region. The grand opening will kick off at Centralstation in Darmstadt on January 16.
Books
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Refurbishment Manual student priceSpecial Price €30.00 Regular Price €79.90Incl. 7% VAT , excl. Shipping Cost
Current Topics Detail 12.2024
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Fired and unfired clay
Hotel Leo in St. Gallen by Boltshauser Architects
The Hotel Leo in the garden of the Villa Wiesental is clad in greenish and white-grey clinker brick. The interior walls are made of clay bricks and earth blocks.
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Provisional as a concept
House 14a in Copenhagen by Pihlmann Architects
From the outside, the house from the 1950s has changed very little. Inside, Pihlmann Architects and art historian Marianne Krogh have created open, flowing spaces.
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Sculptural monolith
Performing Arts Centre in Brighton by krft
For the Performing Arts Centre at Brighton College, Krft and Nicholas Hare Architects designed a solitaire with a shell of flint blocks and light grey Seeton bricks.
Natural Building Materials
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In the midst of nature
Student-Built Observatory near Barcelona
The Flora observatory built near Barcelona for observing nature was developed and erected by a team of students and researchers at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia.
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Interview with Sarah Wigglesworth
Creative Solutions to Combat the Climate Crisis
British architect Sarah Wigglesworth drew international attention with her Straw Bale House in London. In this interview with Heide Wessely, she describes how to design cities more sustainably.
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Sustainable and single-origin
London’s Tallest Circular-Design Office Building Made of Wood
With the Black & White Building, Waugh Thistleton have not only created London’s tallest solid-wood office building, but have also made a significant contribution to the circular economy.
Sustainable Construction
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Repurposing
Wilkinson Eyre Overhaul Battersea Power Station in London
On behalf of an investor from Malaysia, Wilkinson Eyre have transformed London’s Battersea Power Station into a shopping mall featuring offices and flats. For the most part, the interiors of the impressive turbine halls have been preserved.
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Theatre factory in old foundry
The Mercury Store in New York by CO Adaptive Architecture
Assigned the task of repurposing an industrial building into a performing arts centre, the architects consistently set their focus on retaining and opening its historical structure.
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Pivoting walls
The Plato Art Gallery in the Czech Republic by KWK Promes
In the Czech city of Ostrava, KWK Promes have transformed an old slaughterhouse into an art gallery. The dilapidated condition of the exposed-brick building represented both challenge and inspiration for the planners.
Videos & Podcasts
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Hotels, hostels, resorts
Where’s the Journey Headed? – Editorial Detail 3.2023
The current issue of Detail takes a look at new beginnings. Few sectors of the economy were so battered during the corona years as the hotel industry.
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Meet the Architects
DIIIP, Loft M in Cologne
In our video series #Meet the Architects, architects present current projects from their offices. Jochen Reetz from DIIIP explains the design for the Loft M project in Cologne.
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Refurbishment
Taking Stock – Editorial Detail 1/2.2023
Apart from the ecological, social, and economic necessity to do so, adaptive reuse often raises unforeseen structural and detailing issues, which we address at the start of the year. We document seven selected projects energy-efficient renovations, the addition of new functions to existing buildings, the densification of inner-city areas, and conversion.
Videos
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Ecological resistance
The Rambla Climate House in Spain
In a suburb of the Spanish city of Molina de Segura, Andrés Jaque and his office Offpolinn have created the Rambla Climate House, a single-family dwelling conceived as a climate- and eco-house. The project won the 2022 Simon Architecture Prize.
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Structural fire protection
Frame House in California
Mork-Ulnes are designing a single-family house that will withstand future disasters.
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Surrounded by nature
Modular House in Madrid
The DelaVegaCanolasso architecture studio specialize in small houses using modular techniques. In this video, Ignacio de la Vega and Pilar Cano-Lasso shed light on their latest project, the Fresnos house in Madrid.
Products & References
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Intelligent lighting control
Intelligent lighting at the Origo Stockholm office.
In the Origo office building, Fagerhult's Organic Response system controls each luminaire individually and wirelessly. This technology precisely adjusts the lighting according to presence and daylight, supporting flexible, data-based building operation.
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Advertorial
The Return of Buildings as Breathing Systems
New projects in China focus on microclimates, open structures, and integrated systems, thus taking a contemporary approach to sustainable construction.
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Company Portrait
Glasfabrik Lamberts