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Two Housing Blocks
The housing designed by Dubosc & Associes in Montargis, France, is certainly uncompromising. Clad entirely in metal, it eschews any of the conventional domestic touches but it does so in a manner that is refreshing and bright. The only punctuation to the neutral metallic colour comes from the front doors in a cheerful red, with large painted numbers, and sensibly generous vision panels. There is no chance here of forgetting where you live, and the sloping external staircases are both inviting and, argues Eric Dubosc, important places of social interaction. ‘People never talk on internal staircases,’ he says. ‘Here they are out of doors, so they talk and their children play together.’
Architect Dubosc & Associes Location Montargis - France -
L'Orangerie
The regeneration of the Belgian steel town of Seraing, on the outskirts of Liège, began more than 10 years ago. Among the most striking of buildings to herald the municipality’s metamorphosis is the L’Orangerie, a rectilinear golden filigree-clad building occupied by CMI (Cockerill Maintenance & Ingénierie) and constructed by Willemen Groep company Franki.
Architect Reichen et Robert & Associés Location Seraing - Belgium Company involved Novelis - CMI - Metal Yapi Website www.novelis.com -
Renoma
Complex ground conditions and the close proximity of neighbouring buildings, were among the many challenges facing architectural practice Maćków Pracownia Projecktowa in its recent restoration and enlargement of the former Warenhaus A. Wertheim department store in Wroclaw, southwestern Poland, now called the Renoma retail centre.
Architect Pracownia Projektowa Mackow from Wroclaw (Zbigniew Mackow, Piotr Krynicki, Marek Kotowski) Location Wroclaw - Poland Company involved 3A Composites (ALUCOBOND®) Website http://www.alucobond.com