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Maritime Centre Vellamo
A giant wave appears to rise 30 m from the waterfront in Kotka, southeastern Finland. Set in the area that has been the heart of the town since the 1870s, this is Maritime Centre Vellamo, a dominating steel structure with a multi-coloured surface that reflects and changes with the light.
Architect Lahdelma & Mahlamäki Architectys Location Kotka - Finland Company involved Rautaruukki Website http://www.ruukki.com -
Corlett Drive
105 Corlett Drive is a striking commercial building in the Johannesburg suburb of Birnam housing the innovative advertising agency The Creative Counsel. A two-storey office building sits above a three-storey car parking podium on three double-volume cones clad in lacquered steel “scales” from ArcelorMittal. These, together with high-specification glazing of the office space, comprise a dynamic architectural envelope that reflects the ever-changing sunlight, the sky and surrounding landscape, adding an element of high drama to an otherwise serious looking structure.
Architect Paragon Architects (Anthony Orelowitz) Location Melrose Arch, Sandton - South Africa Company involved ArcelorMittal Website http://www.arcelormittal.com/construction -
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