Ecca collection

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.’

Read more

Doha Pedestrian Bridge

The ruling family of the hydrocarbon-rich state of Qatar has decided to its capital city Doha as the centre of the Gulf region.

Doha’s growing corporate and commercial activity, which will include the FIFA World Cup 2022, has initiated a number of impressive construction projects, and the Public Works Authority (PWA) has recently announced that several “state-of-the-art” pedestrian bridges will be built around the city.

Read more

IKEM Z7

The prestigious IKEM (Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine), the Czech Republic’s largest centre for clinical research, is located in the Kunratice forest, on the southern side of Prague. The softly curving pale green exterior of the new Z7 laboratories pavilion sits comfortably, in visual harmony within this woodland location.

Read more