Ecca collection

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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Deltares

The formation of Deltares in 2008 grouped all the knowledge in the Netherlands relating to delta issues in a single research institute. The aim of merging the different disciplines was to allow the Netherlands to develop better solutions for new challenges such as sea-level rise, extreme precipitation and falling land levels.

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Amstelveen Theater tower

While both bigger and better - in terms of functionality - than the original 1975 edifice it replaces, the newly restored Amstelveen Theater tower is perhaps most remarkable for its shimmering golden façade, which is pimpled with regularly positioned, 13cm-deep hydroformed hemispheres.

Images courtesy of Jannes Linders

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