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Heydar Aliyev Centre
When it opens its doors to the public later this year, the Heydar Aliyev Centre is expected to play an integral role in the intellectual life of Azerbaijan’s capital city Baku, and a pivotal one in a country eager to re-establish an independent cultural identity.
Architect Zaha Hadid Architects Location Baku - Azerbaijan Company involved ThyssenKrupp Steel Website http://www.thyssenkrupp-steel-europe.com -
Ferrari World
One design issue that was never in question at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi was the colour of the roof cladding. Ferrari red was the only colour under discussion for this giant building whose roof, splatted like an outsize starfish onto Yas Island, apparently mimics the double-curvature of the side elevation of a Ferrari GT.
Architect Benoy Location Abu Dhabi - UAE Company involved Euramax Coated Products Website http://www.euramax.nl -
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