Ecca collection

Radisson Blu Hotel

Completed in March 2013, the Radisson Blue Riverside hotel in the Swedish port city of Gothenburg overhangs the Göta river like a shimmering shard of titanic proportions.

Constructed for Radisson Hotel’s owner the Winn Hotel Group by major Swedish contractor Skanska, this striking building accommodates 266 guest rooms, together with conference facilities, a bar and restaurant with outdoor seating, and a deluxe roof-top spa.

Images courtesy of Alcoa Architectural Products

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Sports Centre Odessa

Since we all know the story of the tortoise and the hare, a tortoise may not seem the most obvious choice of building form for a sports complex. But it is the form that architect Yuri Seryogin picked for the Yuzhny Sports Complex in Odessa, Ukraine, a building that also has an associated hotel. Other facilities include a children’s play area and a park.

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College André Maurois

One of the driving forces in French school design and redesign has been the disastrous fire at the College Edouard Pailleron in 1973.Built to a mid century pattern common to many schools throughout the country, it was of lightweight steel construction with no fire protection. The fire spread rapidly through voids and 20 people died of whom 16 were children.   There were more than 1,000 schools in the country built in a similar way, of which 57 used the exact same technique. These became known as Paillerons and were, quite rightly, slated for improvement or replacement.

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