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Playful and reduced
School in Madrid by Office for Political Innovation
The six-storey building that is home to the Colegio Reggio school draws attention even from afar. With its diverse shapes, colours and textures, the building resembles a toy castle.
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A light-flooded learnscape
School near Basel by Thomas Fischer Architekten
The shed roofs of this secondary school in Laufen conceal spacious teaching spaces with a workshop character.
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A glass building with stack effect
Corporate Headquarters near São Paulo by Mario Cucinella Architects
At the new HQ for the home-management company Nice in the Brazilian city of Limeira, the roof plays a principal role both in its design by Mario Cucinella Architects and for the building’s climate strategy.
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Call for Projects
Call for Projects
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A pastel-coloured trio in concrete
School near Lausanne by GNWA
A public square stands at the centre of Bussigny’s new school complex, which was designed by GNWA. It encompasses a primary school, a nursery and a gymnasium; moreover, it also serves as a meeting place for the community of 10 000.
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A house of worship in a high-rise district
Church near Shanghai by Wutopia Lab
At the Fengxian Qixian Jesus Church south of Shanghai, many layers of materials and spaces create plays of light and shade while delimiting the various building functions from each other.
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Digital resurrection of a building tradition
Wood Pavilion in South Korea by JK-AR
With the Pavilion of Floating Lights in the South Korean city of Jinju, the JK-AR studio have resurrected a wood-based building without adhesives or nails. Augmented reality played a role in this project.
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A refuge for those in need of protection
Women’s Shelter and Day Centre for Homeless Women in Barcelona
The socialist government may no longer be in power in Barcelona, but the city is still home to many social projects. This sensitive building by CPVA Arquitectes will offer sanctuary to society’s most vulnerable: women threatened by violence or facing homelessness.
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A motley school building
Renovation of an Elementary School near Paris
Colour with courage: Near Paris, SOL Architecture et urbanisme have renovated an elementary school. In keeping with the young users, the architects have designed a colourful, participative concept with a special focus on sustainability.
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Set on stilts
School Expansion near Barcelona by AMB + RGA Arquitectes
The high school in Tiana, a town northeast of Barcelona, had outgrown its capacity. Now, a wooden addition on stilts houses nearly as many classrooms as the pre-existing building.
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School replaces market hall
Educational Ensemble in Lyon by Vurpas Architectes
In Lyon, Vurpas Architectes have transformed an old market hall into an elementary school with its own day-care centre. The old commercial building is now a place of education built of concrete, brick and wood in a child-friendly environment.
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Find more than 3.800 captivating projects along with detailed construction drawings here!
Schools
Daily life in schools has undergone a more profound transformation than any other public institution – and architecture is responding to this shift by adapting the programme to align with new digital teaching methods and educational concepts. This concept issue presents a compilation of new school buildings that address this change in various ways. From Copenhagen and Munich to Madrid and Antwerp, these structures cater to diverse educational institutions. Yet, they share a common trait: their rooms are not monofunctional but multipurpose, offering a spectrum of choices. A central objective of these cutting-edge school designs is to create opportunities for social interaction and meaningful encounters. In the digital age, this becomes paramount in schools. Students need an environment that cultivates community, allowing them to connect and develop socially. The crucial question is how best to achieve this. Sandra Hofmeister
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Expansion on a brownfield site
Residence and Office near Inverness by Loader Monteith
In the north of Scotland, Loader Monteith have planned an office building and residence for a mountainbike holiday company. A second residence is to follow.
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Nearly 50 m of wood-frame construction
Residential High-Rise in Paris by Moreau Kusunoki
With Le Berlier, a 15-storey residential tower, Moreau Kusunoki have created a model for large-scale wood-frame construction in the French capital.
Interiors & Design
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Advertorial
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Mobile and easy-to-move to where it's needed: the FULD folding chair, designed by Stefan Diez for Herman Miller, adds a missing element to existing workspace typologies.
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Living in a factory
Residence in Barcelona by Aramé Studio
In this conversion project in Barcelona’s Poblenou district, Aramé Studio have transformed a factory into an open, yet sheltered live-in atelier with its own inner courtyard.
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Thresholds and transitions
Hotel at East Side Gallery in Berlin
Berlin‘s new branch of the Locke hotel chain lies directly by the East Side Gallery. Its interior offers an eclectic design inspired by its location as well as its history.
Climate & Resources
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Solid wood on masonry
Hotel La Briosa in Bolzano by Felix Perasso and Daniel Tolpeit
At the Hotel La Briosa in Bolzano, a new solid-wood construction meets historical masonry work. Felix Perasso and Daniel Tolpeit have combined old and new into a concordant whole.
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Exhibition in Berlin
Building with Natural Materials: Closer to Nature
The Berlinische Galerie presents the exhibition Close to Nature – Building with Fungi, Trees, Mud. Featuring three projects in Berlin, the show presents new approaches to natural building materials.
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For International Women's Day
8 Remarkable Female Architects
More visibility for women in architecture: To mark International Women's Day, which is celebrated annually on 8 March, the Detail editorial team presents eight remarkable female architects of our time.
Books
Current Topics Detail 1/2.2024
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Stairs and colourful boxes
Metamorphosis of the Pyramid of Tirana by MVRDV
In collaboration with Tirana’s IRI Architecture studio, MVRDV have transformed a monument to Communist dictatorship into a welcoming, democratic place for the denizens of the Albanian capital.
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Building with earth
Social Housing Construction on Ibiza
Innovative social housing in Catalonia makes the headlines again and again. Now the Barcelona-based architectural duo Peris + Toral have built 43 publicly assisted apartments out of the natural construction material of compressed earth.
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Room to grow
House near Potsdam by c/o now
Lacaton & Vassal as a model: Following the house-in-house principle, an affordable single-family home that can easily be expanded as needed has been created in Brandenburg.
Refurbishment
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Textile factory conversion
Creative Centre in Mexico City by Productora
Under the direction of the architectural studio Productora, a former textile factory has been repurposed into a creative centre.
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Revitalised 1970s building
Innoasis Office Building in Stavanger by Helen & Hard
Even after its refurbishment by Helen & Hard, the administration building in Stavanger, Norway remains a product of the 1970s. But a radical transformation has taken place in the interior, where a wealth of wood and more natural light now ensure greater amenity value.
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Slumber no more
Hangar Y by Data Architectes in Meudon
For 50 years, the world’s oldest airplane hanger stood empty. Data Architectes have transformed it into a modern cultural centre and event venue.
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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Advertorial
Flexible Seating for New Work Environments
Mobile and easy-to-move to where it's needed: the FULD folding chair, designed by Stefan Diez for Herman Miller, adds a missing element to existing workspace typologies.