Switches

Best Place to Live Fitzrovia – Although located in the heart of London, this unconventional district is the polar opposite of the neighbouring West End with its thriving business life. Fitzrovia is known for its lively art scene, and has always held a fascination for famous personalities, such as Virginia Woolf, George Bernard Shaw and Arthur Rimbaud. Even today, poets, designers, and musicians are drawn to the district's many bars, pubs, and concert venues, and it is also widely known for its traditional handicrafts. There is certainly no better place in the whole of London to combine business with pleasure, and inspiration with relaxation. In 2016 "The Sunday Times" even bestowed Fitzrovia with the honour of being London's most liveabl... En savoir plus

Restoration and renovation in 2016 The Koetshuis has now been given a suitable purpose after a period of different uses, as it now houses the West Brabant Archive. The ground floor has been given a public function as a reading room and visitor centre for the archive service. The intermediate floor was thoroughly rebuilt and has now been furnished as office space for the archive staff. The cellar has a multifunctional purpose and can be used independently both during the day and in the evening. Exterior Some limited changes have been implemented to the exterior. For instance, the inward opening doors have been replaced by new ones, which invitingly open outwards and have been given a fresh blue-grey tone. The paintwork on the door frame... En savoir plus

‘Henri Dutilleux’ Conservatoire of Music, Dance and Dramatic Arts, Belfort The building is located in the upper part of the town. It backs onto the woods, forming the final outlying limit of the built-up area. Echoing the open landscape, it faces to Belfort Lion on the hilltop opposite. In this strong context, the building offers its solidity, an almost opaque mass of grey concrete. The surface of the mass has an unusual texture, hinting at plants or the veins in marble. It has been achieved by drip painting in two shades of blue. The drips of paint lend depth and thickness to the skin of the building. The surfaces vibrate in the light, apparently in motion – matter ceases to be static. The concrete monolith exudes an enigmatic prese... En savoir plus

This project has the ambition of becoming a new model for media libraries. The programme calls the functions of a media library into question, lending it the content of a ‘third place’ – a place where members of the public become actors in their own condition, a place for creation as well as reception. In association with the basic programme, the building includes areas for displays, creation, music studios, and a café-restaurant.To give meaning to this new programme, it seemed necessary to question the way in which a place of this kind is produced. The various activities in the programme blend into each other, creating a dynamic arrangement.The spatial principle is based on a non-hierarchical superposition of different systems. The buil... En savoir plus

The Bredeney House with its generous driveway in an open, semi-public front garden, takes reference from the partly still existing 1960s houses. A separation from the public space is only achieved by the level of the house itself. As regards its modesty, the large, lying building is to a greater extent also oriented by earlier buildings in this quarter. It rather sees itself as a manifesto against the much too extensive arbitrariness of today’s “villa architecture”. The interior programme of the residence follows the wishes expressed by the residents and naturally rests on the existing topography. A hall connects the 4-metre high ground level accommodating the kitchen, the dining and living areas to the wing with private rooms. The paren... En savoir plus

The detached house in Dortmund impresses with its simple elegance. Large glass areas let lots of light enter the house and provide a direct view of the pool from the living room. Kitchen, eating area and living room are arranged in a large, L-shaped space. A dark wooden floor makes an attractive contrast to the light walls. The electrical installation by JUNG blends in harmoniously with the overall design and connects all technical functions such as lighting, shade and heating control with the KNX system. The door intercom system with video function from JUNG provides security for the residents. The electrical installation is maintained in the classic LS 990 switch design. In pure white, it sets clear, puristic accents. With its high qua... En savoir plus

The location on a steep south-facing slope required an access to the house from the public road running below to the site situated about 12 metres higher. These conditions inspired the idea of embedding a mountain pass road into the site, which serves both as a drive and a footpath. At the top end, one reaches a generous piazza, which is framed by low walls. At this point, the site already offers magnificent views to the valley and to the slopes on the opposite side. One can even see the Schönberg Tower, which was built according to plans by Theodor Fischer in 1905 at the Albtrauf in the neighbouring town of Pfullingen. The powerful appearance of the tower with two white soaring vertical sections partly inspired the basic idea for the res... En savoir plus

The Hochschule Ruhr West - University of Applied Sciences in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany, in short the HRW, is part of a nationwide development of new universities. With a total of eight buildings and about 62,000 m² of GFA, the university has the dimensions of an autonomous district: four institute buildings, a canteen, a lecture hall and a library as well as a multi-storey car park have been built on the former railway site in the Broich district. The HRW functions not only as a new educational institution, but also as an important component of the urban development concept for the entire university surroundings. For this reason, the various campus buildings reflect the heights and volumes of the surrounding development and the campus it... En savoir plus

Since 2015, small and large fans can visit Mickey, Donald and Co. in Schwarzenbach a. d. Saale. In Germany's first museum for comics and the art of language, a permanent exhibition presents the life and work of the German "mother" of the residents of Duckburg. Erika Fuchs (1906-2005), the translator and chief editor of the German Mickey Mouse magazine, lived in Schwarzenbach in Upper Franconia for around 50 years. The high point of the 600 m² exhibition is the walk-through Duckburg with the money bath in the money bin. The museum has a central location in Bahnhofstrasse. As the foremost building line, it follows the existing layout of the road. With its full-height, seamless façade projecting backwards, it stands out from the surroundin... En savoir plus

At the southernmost end of the tropical island of Hainan – also known as China’s Hawaii – the Park Hyatt Sanya Sunny Bay Resort rests behind its private beaches of white sand at the heart of a breathtaking bay. Developed by Belgian architect Jean-Michel Gathy and his architecture firm Denniston, the resort’s six solitary and arched structures allow nature’s “chi” to flow freely between the ocean and mountains, while giving guests the best possible views of the captivating natural surroundings from any location. The buildings are linked by boardwalks, where skilfully staged paintings and sculptures create a soothing stroll through the works of art. The modern, elegant interior design in a nuanced Chinese style imparts a homelike a... En savoir plus

In the old town of Lisbon, at the "Praça da Figueira", is the 4-star Beautique Hotel Figuera. The lively entertainment district of the city, the Bairro Alto, is only a few minutes away. And the famous railway station Rossio is within walking distance. The name Figueira (fig tree in English) not only gives the hotel its name, but is much more the motif for the complete interior design. The design was the responsibility of the prize-winning studio Nini Andrade Silva. As a symbol for the beauty of nature, an artificial fig tree grows through the complete building over all eight floors. Branches, leaves and fruit wind from the entrance via the guest rooms to the spa area and the roof terrace. The trunk of the fig tree breaks through all floo... En savoir plus