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Water Tower In LuxembourgA massive concrete base encased in steel is designed to keep unwanted intruders out of the water tower. © Miguel Fernåndez-Galiano
Luxembourg is a city of hills and valleys. No fewer than ten water towers and pressure tanks used to be needed to supply all parts of the city with sufficient drinking water. An eleventh has now been added to ensure the supply of drinking water to the Kirchberg district, which is currently experiencing strong growth and is home to offices and hospitals.
In 2015, the Spanish architectural firm Temperaturas Extremas won the EU-wide competition for the new building on the northern edge of the Kirchberg plateau. The surrounding forest is part of the more than 25 % of Luxembourg's territory that is protected as a Natura 2000 site. The architects and their client, the local water company, therefore wanted to minimise the impact on the local natural environment. In the competition, Temperaturas Extremas had already decided to divide the required storage volume of 1000 mÂł between two towers. The spaces between the towers would be used as nesting sites for birds and bats.
The two 600 mÂł and 400 mÂł containers are located at the top of the towers. They are supported by two fair-faced concrete cores, 46 m and 53 m high, which are connected at ground level and at a height of around 26 m. Inside the cores, a lift and a staircase lead upwards. While one of the water tanks has a naked sheet metal shell, the other is surrounded by a translucent shell made of various native woods. This, and the steel structure that supports it, incorporate nesting places for around half a dozen species of birds and bats at various heights and locations.
Architecture: Temperaturas Extremas: Atxu Amann / Andrés Cånovas / Nicolås Maruri Associated architect Adelino MagalhaesClient: Service Eaux, Ville de Luxembourg Location: 1855 Kirchberg, Luxemburg (LU)
Structural engineering: Simon-Christiansen & Associés Ingénieurs-ConseilsSite management: Andrés Cånovas, Nicolås Maruri, Joachim Kraft, Ballini Pitt Architectes-Urbanistes - Jimmy BrunnerBuilding services engineering: BSC Ingénieurs-Conseils (Building Solutions & Consulting)Contractor: GalÚre Luxmixed-use
Apr 16, 2025
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Expo Osaka 2025 â The Future Of Our SocietyThe German Pavilion is all about the cycle (of materials). Rendering © German Pavilion / MIR LAVA ff
The world's eyes are on Japan, which will host Expo 2025 in Osaka from 13 April to 13 October under the theme âDesigning Future Society for Our Livesâ. In a country that has always been known for its thirst for innovation and aesthetic precision, this year not only the future of society is being rethought, but also that of architecture. The event brings together impressive national pavilions and numerous initiatives and projects that aim to present forward-looking solutions for a more sustainable society. Expo 2025 will also be a testing ground for innovative construction methods and materials that push the boundaries of modern architecture. In particular, circular economy and resource-efficient construction are central to both the master plan and the pavilions.
Sou Fujimoto's master plan for Expo 2025 is based on the principles of openness, connectivity and flexibility. The site is designed to allow fluid transitions between different areas, encouraging intuitive visitor movement without rigid pathways. The circular Grand Ring, which connects the various pavilions and themed areas, provides central orientation. The concept is complemented by elevated walkways, ramps and extensive green spaces. Sustainability also plays a central role: in addition to modular, reusable structures, the site is characterised by water features and planted areas. At the same time, Fujimoto is integrating digital technologies to create interactive and immersive experiences that make the Expo's theme â the future of a liveable society â spatially tangible.
The Grand Ring is the central structure of Expo 2025, a wide-span wooden structure 700 m in diameter and approximately 20 m high, recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the largest wooden structure in the world. The structure is based on a modular design of glued wooden beams joined together without metal joints using traditional Japanese mortise and tenon techniques. This sustainable construction method not only conserves resources, but also allows the elements to be disassembled and reused.
The German Pavilion at Expo 2025 embodies the principle of circular economy in both content and architecture. Designed by LAVA Laboratory for Visionary Architecture, its striking ensemble of circular wooden buildings is intended to reflect the idea of closed material cycles and is itself designed as a completely circular building â all materials are reusable or recyclable. With interactive exhibition elements, a sophisticated climate concept and green landscaping, the pavilion aims to showcase innovative ways to achieve sustainable construction and a resource-efficient future.
NĂŒssli is building this year's Swiss Pavilion in collaboration with Manuel Herz Architects. It consists of five interconnected spheres whose pneumatic lightweight construction allows for sustainable and transportable architecture. The exhibition is designed to guide visitors through immersive experiences where they can explore Switzerland's innovative strength and create their own visions of a future society. Plants, reusable materials and the integration of light and colour underline the ecological concept, while the character Heidi serves as a bridge to Japanese culture.
With the intention of representing the country's cultural roots, NĂŒssli combines traditional materials such as brick, clay and wood in the Uzbek Pavilion. An 8 m high wooden sculpture symbolising the forest is the focal point, referring to the exchange of knowledge and the ornamentation of Uzbek culture. The open, modular structure and sustainable use of materials, including local Sugi wood from Osaka, invite visitors to actively experience and reflect on the transformation of Uzbekistan.
The Nordic Pavilion, designed by Michele De Lucchi and the AMDL Circle, is a 17 m high wooden structure that reflects the Nordic countries' connection to sustainable construction and timber from forestry. Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden are jointly presenting their innovative strength here. The dark facade, treated with natural oils and pigments, is reminiscent of traditional wood protection techniques and encourages engagement with climate issues. In the open interior, an immersive exhibition invites visitors to explore Nordic advances in sustainability and technology, while the roof terrace offers space for exchange and encounters.
Foster + Partners' Saudi Arabia Pavilion offers a multi-sensory journey through the kingdom, from vast deserts to vibrant cities. Constructed from light Saudi stone and inspired by traditional villages, the structure uses computational fluid dynamics for natural cooling and ventilation. Built to be sustainable with low carbon consumption, photovoltaic panels and rainwater recycling, the pavilion aims to showcase both technological innovation and the country's cultural heritage.
Designed by Kengo Kuma, the Portugal Pavilion brings the ocean to Osaka, translating the movement of water into architecture. Its facade, made of countless taut ropes and recycled fishing nets, reacts to wind and light, creating ever-changing patterns reminiscent of waves. The structure, which appears to float, is intended to symbolise Portugal's close connection to the sea and to address the sustainable use of the oceans, technological innovation and the importance of maritime heritage for the future.
Designed by Nikken Sekkei Architects, the Japanese Pavilion is a circular structure made up of countless wooden slats, mainly CLT, which provide views and perspectives and make the theme of âin-betweenâ tangible in both architecture and content. The pavilion is based on the principle of circulation â both in the way visitors move around it, and in the concept of a living building that uses its own biogas plant to generate energy from Expo waste. After the exhibition, the wood will be reused, making the pavilion a symbol of a closed life cycle.
The Qatar Pavilion, designed by Kengo Kuma & Associates in collaboration with Qatar Museums, combines Qatar's boat building tradition with Japanese wood joining skills to create a delicate wooden structure covered in a white sail-like fabric. The architecture draws on the shared maritime heritage of both nations and references the ocean as a space for exchange and connection. Inside, the exhibition showcases Qatar's Vision 2030 and current strategies for economic diversification.
With the Blue Ocean Dome, Shigeru Ban and Kenya Hara make a radical and sensual statement for the protection of the oceans. Three interconnected domes â made of bamboo, recycled cardboard tubes and carbon fibre â represent innovative lightweight construction methods that require no supporting columns. In the first dome, fine droplets of water spiral through the space, showcasing the element as something precious and fragile. This is followed by an immersive experience space with a 360° film projection designed to communicate the urgency of action against plastic pollution. Finally, in the third dome, the pavilion opens up into a discursive forum where international stakeholders will debate new approaches to marine conservation during the Expo.
Venue: Expo Site, Yumeshima, Osaka, Kansai (JP) Exhibition Duration: 13 April to 13 October 2025 Opening hours: daily 9 am â 11 pm
More information: expo2025.ormixed-use
Apr 10, 2025
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Seminar Building In Berlin By Staab ArchitectsThe new building's shell and roof were cast seamlessly in in-situ concrete. © Marcus Ebener
When the Berlin factory owner Ernst Marlier commissioned Paul Baumgarten to build a villa in the 'Colonie Alsen' on the GroĂer Wannsee in 1914-15, he had no idea what would happen to the building almost 30 years later: On 20 January 1942, the Wannsee Conference took place here, where 15 high-ranking representatives of the Nazi government planned the extermination of Europe's Jews.
However, it would be another 50 years before the site was properly used as a memorial. In the post-war period, the representative building was mainly used as a school dormitory â an uncanny idea in retrospect. In 1992, the House of the Wannsee Conference Memorial and Educational Centre was opened in the villa. The exhibition, which takes up the entire ground floor, is well worth seeing â but for a long time there was no room to expand the educational programme.
Back in 2015, Staab Architekten won the competition for a single-storey seminar building on the southern boundary of the site, between the former gardener's house and the rose garden. Nine years later, it has finally been completed. The new building is entered through a full-length atrium with a barrel-vaulted roof reminiscent of Louis Kahn's Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth. The space facing the old building is completely glazed. At the rear, three doors with deep reveals lead into the hall, which can be divided by folding walls into three seminar rooms of equal size. It is flanked on both sides by adjoining rooms: To the east are the sanitary facilities, to the west the chair storage and technical areas. The timber panelling around the hall acts as a parking pocket for the folding walls and also accommodates built-in furniture, sun protection, lighting and media technology.
The exterior walls and roof of the seminar building were cast seamlessly and monolithically in lightweight concrete. The building is supplied with cold and heat via geothermal boreholes and a heat pump, and the flat roof is extensively landscaped. The previously unsatisfactory catering situation on the site is also set to change in the near future: According to press reports, a cafĂ© is soon to open in the neighbouring garden centre building.Â
Architecture: Staab ArchitektenClient: State of Berlin, represented by BIM Berliner ImmobilienmanagementUser: Erinnern fuÌr die Zukunft - TrĂ€gerverein des Hauses der Wannsee-KonferenzLocation: Am GroĂen Wannsee 56â58, 14109 Berlin (DE)
Structural engineering, building physics: Bollinger + Grohmann IngenieureLandscape architecture: Reinald Eckert LandschaftsarchitektBuilding services engineering: Köster Planung, Plarewa - Ingenieurgesellschaftmixed-use
Apr 09, 2025
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Conversion Of A Barn Into A Residential Building ...The new dining and living area with lightning-like pendant lamp, © José Hevia
H3o Architects took inspiration from an ancient legend to transform an old barn into a home. The building is part of a traditional Catalan farmhouse in Sant Just Desvern on the outskirts of Barcelona. The client, a historian, told the young architects about the Can Cardona lightning strike, in which a bolt of lightning passed through the chimney of a farmhouse but spared the occupants. At his request, the natural phenomenon is now used as an architectural reference throughout the 55 mÂČ house. It can be found in various places and transforms the old barn into an expressive and playful refuge.
The pitched roof of the old barn was left visible, but is now painted white. It provides a neutral canvas for the new fixtures and fittings. In addition, the architects used expressive colours to highlight various elements, such as the floor-to-ceiling doors, the epoxy resin floors and the plasterboard walls. The latter create a new spatial zoning and are folded in a zigzag pattern. The whole creates a sculptural force that is not monumental, but rather light and almost fluid, in keeping with the lightning reference. The unconventional concept is most evident in the yellow pendant lamp, which shoots through the room as a multiple bent design object.
The design extends into the dark blue bathroom, where shard-shaped wall mirrors surround a washbasin. Different areas are defined by a main colour, from the white living and dining room to the pink bedroom. Furniture is placed at an angle in the room to match the overall dynamic. Although the lightning house looks like a sculpture, it has its own kind of cosiness. This is also due to the loving details, such as the pebbles that have been repurposed as door handles. If you look closely, you can see the historical reference from the outside: the lightning bolt is literally driven into the fireplace as a decorative element.
Architecture: H3o ArchitectsClient: private
Location: Barcelona (ES)mixed-use
Apr 03, 2025
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Ceramic Highlights For Indoors And OutdoorsThe trade fair is expecting over 70,000 visitors, which would be at least as many as last year. According to the industry portal Focus Piedra, Cevisama 2024 was the fifth most visited international design and construction © Marcos Soria / Feria_Valencia
From 24 to 28 February 2025, the 41st edition of Cevisama, the International Trade Fair for the Ceramics Industry, will once again open its doors in Valencia. In addition to new products, projects and technical innovations, topics such as decarbonisation and recyclability will once again be at the forefront of discussions. Â
This year, exhibition partner Ascer is tackling a more emotional issue. With its "The Secret Ingredient" campaign, the Spanish Association of Ceramic and Tile Manufacturers is focusing on the European ceramics sector and its demands for design, quality, sustainability and innovative production. The association is concerned with respect, the environment, cultural heritage, working conditions and the regional roots of the ceramics industry. More than 100 companies are members of Ascer. Their products and showrooms appeal not only to Spanish architects and interior designers, but also to those in European and German-speaking countries.
As part of the Interior Design, Architecture and Contract Forum in the Cevisama Lab, numerous architects and designers, including Mexican interior designer Amparo Taylor and studios such as Stone Design, Estudio Animal, El Equipo Creativo, Alfaro-Manrique, Ruiz-Larrea and Wearetodo or Mil Studio, will give an insight into their work.
Last year, more than 70,000 trade visitors from 156 countries travelled to Valencia. According to the industry portal Focus Piedra, Cevisama 2024 was the fifth most visited international design and construction trade fair. This year there are around 260 exhibitors and the organiser expects at least as many visitors as last year. HK
Exhibition venue: Feria de Valencia, Av. de les Fires, s/n, Pobles de l'Oest, 46035 ValĂšncia, Spain (ES)Exhibition duration: 24 February to 28 February 2025Opening times: Monday to Friday 9 am - 6 pm
Further Information: cevisama.feriavalencia.commixed-use
Feb 20, 2025
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Sports Hall Near Milan By Giulia De AppoloniaOn the entrance side of the hall, a steel portico extends well beyond the facade. © Filippo Poli
A basketball court, a retractable stand for 350 spectators, changing and storage rooms and a bar for spectators on the upper floor: the spatial programme of the new sports hall in Olgiate Olona, near Milan, was rather unspectacular. Nevertheless, architect Giulia de Appolonia from Brescia found a concise form for it. She divided the building into two parts: The lower part, reserved for the athletes, is made entirely of fair-faced concrete, while the upper part is a steel structure with a delicate plastic skin.
The two parts are also staggered: On the entrance side, the steel structure cantilevers over the facade, forming a kind of portico over the two main entrances to the hall. One of these leads to the dressing rooms on the ground floor, while the other gives access to the bar on the floor above. At the rear of the building, we find the reverse image: Here the plastic facade recedes behind the ground floor to make way for a roof terrace.
There are four changing rooms and showers in the lower part of the building. Further changing rooms, including those for the referees, are located in the entrance area of the building. On the upper floor there is a small warm-up room next to the bar. Giulia de Appolonia describes her design as follows: âThe two levels represent the relationship with the earth and with the sky: a heavy and opaque basement constructed in prefabricated concrete that roots the building on the ground and protects the sport space and a translucent volume realized in polycarbonate and glass that enters diffused light and establishes the relationship with the sky, also thanks to its high camouflage value to reflect the different colors of the sky and transform chromatically depending on the hours of the day.â
Architecture: Giulia de AppoloniaClient: Comune di Olgiate OlonaLocation: Olgiate Olona (IT)
Structural engineering: Stefano Santarossa, Gino PolveriniBuilding services engineering: Stefano SantarossaContractor: Esteel s.r.lmixed-use
Feb 19, 2025
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Company Building In Nordhorn By Westphal ArchitektenThe rows of shed roofs give the building a striking silhouette. © Olaf Mahlstedt
Westphal Architekten have designed a prestigious headquarters for the Nordhorn-based company Rosink. The striking shed roofs of the production hall give the building an unmistakable identity.
Rosink Objekteinrichtungen, based in Nordhorn, on the border with the Netherlands, supplies customised interior furnishings for offices, shops and medical practices. In order to accommodate its growth and modernise its production, the company decided to leave its old location and build a new building that would adequately represent the company. To this end, Rosink invited ten architectural firms to participate in a restricted competition, which was won by Westphal Architekten.
The Bremen-based firm's design is characterised by clarity of form and function. The production hall and the administration wing are separated by a narrow inner courtyard. The two functional areas are held together by a uniform facade cladding of champagne anodised aluminium trapezoidal sheeting, which lends the building an understated elegance.
The courtyard leads employees and visitors to the main entrance in a two-storey foyer that acts as a hinge between production and administration. Central functions such as a meeting room and a spacious lounge and multi-purpose room for around 65 employees are also located here. In the office wing, glass walls provide plenty of light but also openness and transparency.Â
The production hall is also flooded with light through the shed roofs and side windows that follow the shape of the sheds. The striking silhouette is clearly visible from the adjacent main road. The non-glazed, south-facing part of the shed roofs is covered with photovoltaic elements. The wide-span support structure, with only six internal columns, allows for long-term flexibility of use, allowing for different production scenarios or future conversions. Technically, the building is state of the art. With new machinery and a fully digitalised control system, the medium-sized company has been able to significantly reduce its production times. The building is heated exclusively with the company's own wood waste.
Architecture: Westphal ArchitektenClient: Rosink ObjekteinrichtungenLocation: Nordhorn (DE)
Structural engineering, building services engineering: Lindschulte IngenieurgesellschaftOpen space planning: Anke Deeken, BĂŒro fĂŒr Architektur Stadt- und Freiraumplanung LichtplanungFire prevention planning: Böcker IngenieureSound insulation planning: Zech Ingenieurgesellschaftmixed-use
Feb 13, 2025
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Company Building In Nordhorn By Westphal ArchitektenThe rows of shed roofs give the building a striking silhouette. © Olaf Mahlstedt
Westphal Architekten have designed a prestigious headquarters for the Nordhorn-based company Rosink. The striking shed roofs of the production hall give the building an unmistakable identity.
Rosink Objekteinrichtungen, based in Nordhorn, on the border with the Netherlands, supplies customised interior furnishings for offices, shops and medical practices. In order to accommodate its growth and modernise its production, the company decided to leave its old location and build a new building that would adequately represent the company. To this end, Rosink invited ten architectural firms to participate in a restricted competition, which was won by Westphal Architekten.
The Bremen-based firm's design is characterised by clarity of form and function. The production hall and the administration wing are separated by a narrow inner courtyard. The two functional areas are held together by a uniform facade cladding of champagne anodised aluminium trapezoidal sheeting, which lends the building an understated elegance.
The courtyard leads employees and visitors to the main entrance in a two-storey foyer that acts as a hinge between production and administration. Central functions such as a meeting room and a spacious lounge and multi-purpose room for around 65 employees are also located here. In the office wing, glass walls provide plenty of light but also openness and transparency.Â
The production hall is also flooded with light through the shed roofs and side windows that follow the shape of the sheds. The striking silhouette is clearly visible from the adjacent main road. The non-glazed, south-facing part of the shed roofs is covered with photovoltaic elements. The wide-span support structure, with only six internal columns, allows for long-term flexibility of use, allowing for different production scenarios or future conversions. Technically, the building is state of the art. With new machinery and a fully digitalised control system, the medium-sized company has been able to significantly reduce its production times. The building is heated exclusively with the company's own wood waste.
Architecture: Westphal ArchitektenClient: Rosink ObjekteinrichtungenLocation: Nordhorn (DE)
Structural engineering, building services engineering: Lindschulte IngenieurgesellschaftOpen space planning: Anke Deeken, BĂŒro fĂŒr Architektur Stadt- und Freiraumplanung LichtplanungFire prevention planning: Böcker IngenieureSound insulation planning: Zech Ingenieurgesellschaftmixed-use
Feb 13, 2025
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Emmanuel College, Cambridge By Stanton WilliamsThe new Young's Court, a hall of residence for students, blends seamlessly with the College's older buildings. © Jack Hobhouse
Rarely has Emmanuel College in Cambridge seen such intensive building work as in recent years. Under the direction of architects Stanton Williams, a 48-bed student residence, a new social centre for student community life and a third extension with teaching rooms have been built. The almost 6000 mÂČ project was the most significant extension to the college in the last 100 years. For the client, it was a clear step towards the self-imposed goal of accommodating all undergraduate students in the college itself.
The site was a former car park on the southern edge of the college campus, acquired by the client for its extension. A new entrance courtyard has been created, dominated by the new three-storey Young's Court building.
The student residence had the difficult task of mediating between the monumental architecture of the older college buildings and the adjacent residential buildings to the south. Deep window reveals structure its facade, while the architects chose the reddish brickwork to echo the existing neighbouring buildings.
Next door is Furness Lodge, a Victorian villa also renovated and extended by Stanton Willams. The old building now houses accessible seminar rooms and a new common room for postgraduate students. The extension provides additional apartments, music rehearsal rooms and a two-storey bar. Here, too, the red brick palette continues seamlessly.
The third new building on the college campus is located slightly to the north, between two older post-war student residences. The 150 mÂČ social hub replaces an older student bar that was no longer worth maintaining, and also has a completely new look. Instead of low plasterboard ceilings, a column-free wooden beam ceiling spans the space, which is open to the outside on both sides.Â
The architects also placed great emphasis on the sustainability of their building project. Up to 70 % of the concrete was made using cement substitutes with a lower CO2 content. Heat and electricity are supplied by a geothermal heat pump, photovoltaic panels on the roof and a combined heat and power plant. Overall, the new buildings achieve a CO2 balance that is 50 % below the limit set by national energy regulations. About 40 % of the energy will come from renewable sources.
Architecture: Stanton WilliamsClient: Emmanuel CollegeLocation: Cambridge (GB)
Structural engineering: Smith and WallworkLandscape architecture: Bradley-Hole Schoenaich Landscape ArchitectsBuilding services engineering: Skelly & CouchMonument preservation: Caroe Architecturemixed-use
Feb 05, 2025
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Residential Building By Unemori ArchitectsA new shell wraps around the existing architecture. © Atelier Vincent Hecht
In the city of Saitama, north of Tokyo, Unemori Architects have renovated and converted a building complex. The existing structure â a house, an outbuilding, a workshop and a warehouse â was built by the client's father, a carpenter. Various extensions and alterations have been added. At the client's request, the architects separated the outbuilding and workshop from the original residential building and converted them into a new dwelling. To do this, they built a wooden shell around the existing building, which now serves as a house within a house and can still be seen.
When the architects began the conversion, they found a complex structure of wood and steel. The new building is docked onto the existing building and uses its foundations. The new flat roof floats above the exposed trusses, which, together with the exposed walls, envelop the space and create different spatial levels. The new facade has large windows. They not only allow plenty of daylight into the interior, but also create a visual dialogue between inside and out. This makes the old building visible from the street and adds depth to the new building, which is designed as a simple wooden box.
The amalgamation of different spatial and temporal layers creates a varied architecture in which the old and new buildings merge seamlessly. An outer spatial layer runs along the facade and contains a generous access area reminiscent of a landscaped staircase. In addition, there is a service layer with bathrooms, toilets, work areas and storage space. Inside, surrounded by the existing building, are the kitchen, living and dining areas on the ground floor and the bedrooms on the first floor. This creates an interplay in which time and space enter into a multi-layered and atmospheric dialogue.
Architecture: Unemori ArchitectsClient: private
Location: Saitama (JP)mixed-use
Jan 22, 2025