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China Pavilion - Shanghai Expo
One of the most striking pavilions at last year’s Shanghai Expo came, appropriately, from the home country. It was obvious immediately that it was Chinese, through both the inverted pyramid of its shape, with strong horizontals, and the bright red that is immediately reminiscent of monuments such as Beijing’s Forbidden City. The horizontals, with ends cantilevering a short distance beyond the supporting elements below, pay homage to one of the most typical forms in traditional Chinese architecture, interlocking ‘dougong’ brackets. These were always realised in timber but here, in this modern interpretation, are clad in aluminium.
Architect South China University of Technology Institute of Architectural Design (He Jingtang) Location Shanghai - China Company involved Hunter Douglas China Website http://www.hunterdouglasgroup.com -
Bilbao Arena
Architectural practice ACXT admits that local geology and vegetation were both influential in the design of the striking Bilbao Arena and Sports Centre, which occupies a steeply inclined site, within a park, in the city’s central Miribilla district.
Images courtesy of Jorge Allende and Aitor Ortiz
Architect ACXT (Javier Pérez, Nicolás Espinosa) Location Bilbao - Spain Company involved ArcelorMittal Website http://www.arcelormittal.com/construction -
Las Arenas de Barcelona
Barcelona’s historic bull ring Las Arenas, constructed at the very end of the 19th century, fell largely into disuse during the 1970s, owing to the declining popularity of bull fighting in Catalonia.
Images courtesy of Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners
Architect Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP) (Richard Rogers) Location Barcelona - Spain Company involved Miralu Website http://www.miralu.fr