Les Bains des Docks by Jean Nouvel

Les Bains des Docks Aquatic Centre designed by Jean Nouvel has been opened in the historical Port of Le Havre. We marvel at the way the light plays over the surfaces, and of course the splash of colour. Inspired by Roman baths, these baths are part of a revitalized dock area of the port city.

Les Bains des Docks, Le Havre, France by Jean Nouvel
Photos by Cl.Guillaume

A Room With a View in Switzerland

Rustic and simple materials lend this all-season holiday home it charm, but the real gem is its location, perched on a mountain near Lucerne, Switzerland. What a view.

Holiday House, Rigi Scheidegg, Switzerland, by Gabrielle Hächler and Andreas Fuhrimann

Bond. Forty Bond, by Herzog & de Meuron

Nightclub maestro-turned-hotelier-turned-developer Ian Schrager, has just about sold all units of 40 Bond in New York: “The attention to detail is what makes this building so different from any other in the city,” says Schrager, pointing at the pixels on screens beneath the green glass that go from marble-sized concentric circles to pin-sized. “I think the last building that approached this level of architectural achievement in this city is the Seagram’s Building by Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson.”

40 Bond is impressive for a loft building, this may be the future direction of urban renewal.

40 Bond New York, USA, $6.8 million – $9.9 million, by Herzog & de Meuron
Photos by Iwan Baan

Travel: Stay at Benesse House by Tadao Ando

If you can’t live in a house designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando, then a stay at the Benesse house may come in a close second. Designed as a group of four novel buildings on the grounds of Benesse Art Site Naoshima, the setting fuses an art museum with lodging facilities so guests can leisurely enjoy art amid the natural beauty and gentle pace of Naoshima island.

Benesse House, Designed by Tadao Ando, Gotanji, Naoshima-cho, Japan, from JPY 36,960 per night.
Reservations: Benesse

Hexagonal Structure at the Sinosteel International Plaza

Sinosteel International Plaza, Tinajin, China, by MAD
via: dezeen

Cantilevered House by Jackson Clements Burrows

Cape Schanck House, Victoria, Australia, by Jackson Clements Burrows Architects
via: Arch Daily

Baron Summer House by John Pawson

Built as a summer house for Fabien Baron, one’s first impression is of its virtual invisibility. The design draws significantly on local vernacular models which are transformed through the introduction of elements of new materiality and detailing, to create volumes with a contemporary quality of abstraction whose interiors are bathed in light and views. Entry is via a lofty space framed by a pair of walls finished in fine vertical slats of dark stained timber and set below steeply angled roof planes.

Baron House, Southern Sweden by John Pawson

Casa X, No Ordinary box in Ecuador

Casa X, Tumbaco Valley, Quito, Ecuador, by Adrian Moreno and Maria Samaniego, for Arquitectura X

Fragmented Views—Dutch Embassy Berlin

The client demanded a solitary building, integrating requirements of conventional civil service security with Dutch openness. With glimpses of the river Spree, The Television Tower (‘Fernsehturm’), a park and the wall of embassy residences, part of the building is described as a ‘diagonal void’.

Embassy of the Netherlands, Berlin, Germany. By Rem Koolhaas/OMA

Light and Sound at Liquidrom Therme Berlin

Liquidrom Berlin opened in the Neuen Tempodrom at the Anhalter Bahnhof in Berlin as the first Liquid Sound Day Spa. The concept fits perfectly in the capital city. With a programme of regular live concerts at full moon, DJ evenings in the Liquidrom club, jazz or classical music programmes, poetry readings and light-art-water events, the Liquidrom has quickly established its distinct profile in the cultural capital of Germany.

Liquidrom Therme, Berlin, Germany Architect, Meinhard von Gerkan, gmp