The innovative design of the Réseau Express Métropolitain (REM)'s stations heralds an era of transformation for Montreal's cityscape. The inaugural Rive-Sud line, designed by the Lemay, Bisson Fortin and Perkins & Will consortium, is an important component of the REM, reflecting on the Canadian city's commitment to sustainable public transport as a symbol of its regeneration.
The Merkurhuset project designed by the Swedish Olsson Lyckefors studio not only takes its name from one of the most iconic buildings in Sweden's second largest city, but also enters into dialogue with the protected historical pre-existing architecture. An 8,000 square metre building is born that fits harmoniously into the urban context, without losing its identity.
Once again this year, Ivrea - the industrial city of the 20th century and a UNESCO World Heritage Site - opens its doors for visitors to marvel at Olivetti’s architecture, with involvement from local citizens and a media partnership with Floornature. There are two weekends available - 23/24 September and 30 September/1 October - as well as days dedicated to photography and architecture on 22 and 30 September respectively.
The former colonia Fara in Chiavari, Italy is a case study in recovery of our modern architectural heritage. Five entrepreneurs in the Tigullio area formed a consortium to restore the tower block, which originally opened in 1935 as a summer holiday camp for 400 children; its new-found beauty is revealed in a series of new photographs taken from the sea.
Salem Public Library, in Salem, Oregon, is a concrete and glass structure designed by George Rockrise and Donald Richardson in 1970. Hacker Architects and local residents made sure that the building’s Brutalist architecture was skilfully preserved, improving its structural resistance and construction systems to meet the requirements of today’s standards.
Multi-award-winning architecture firm AR Design, based in Winchester, last year completed a project in Hampshire dubbed ‘The Athletes House’. The brief was to extend a private 1950s home in a way that deftly combined the clients’ passion - triathlon - with a desire to blend the contemporary with the traditional.
Argentinian studio Hitzig Militello Architects has come up with a new attraction for Paseo La Plaza, a cultural and shopping complex in the San Nicolás district of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Manduca Market brings new life to this popular place, staying true to the studio’s tradition of drawing on local history and references.
London’s famous Battersea Power Station opens to the public today, 14 October, concluding the second phase in London’s greatest ever urban regeneration project, the Battersea Embankment Development. The primary purpose of the reclamation and conversion of the power plant by award-winning studio Wilkinson Eyre is creation of a multi-purpose mixed-use development that will become an exemplary project for the city. The interiors are designed by Michaelis Boyd.
Last weekend the Floriade Expo 2022, the international horticulture exhibition held in the Netherlands every 10 years, closed in Almere. For six months, the 60-hectare Floriade park, on the Weerwater lake, presented the latest horticultural developments from around the world and now the park will be transformed into Hortus, a new sustainable residential area.
Floornature is an international design and architecture portal with a focus on contemporary architecture, exclusive interviews with great masters of international architecture and the most interesting new developments in the world of architecture.