March 23, 2017

Text: Edie Cohen

4 Bold Civic, Cultural, and Educational Buildings

Civic, cultural, and educational buildings push the architectural envelope.

MOCAPE by Coop Himmelb(l)au. Photography by Sergio Pirrone.

1. Firm: Coop Himmelb(l)au.

Project: MOCAPE.

Site: Shenzhen, China.

Standout: A shared atrium entry serves formerly separate institutions, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Planning Exhibition, that have come together in a single building.

Institute of Science and Innovation for Bio-Sustainability by Cláudio Vilarinho Arquitectura e Design. Photography by João Morgado.


2. Firm: Cláudio Vilarinho Arquitectura e Design.

Project: Institute of Science and Innovation for Bio-Sustainability.

Site: Guimarães, Portugal.

Standout: At the University of Minho, research takes place behind a facade of prefabricated cementitious-composite panels with apertures inspired by microscopic nanotubes.

The Romanesque Interpretation Center by Spaceworkers. Photography by Sergio Pirrone.


3. Firm: Spaceworkers.

Project: Romanesque Interpretation Center.

Site: Silvares, Portugal.

Standout: A new landmark along the Route of the Romanesque, this building’s different volumes, rendered in concrete, evoke a village street from the medieval era.

The Roma Convention Center by Studio Faksas. Photography by Roland Halbe.


4. Firm: Studio Fuksas.

Project: Roma Convention Center.

Site: La Nuvola.

Standout: Meant to resemble a cloud, fiberglass wraps a steel frame to enclose the 1,850-seat auditorium floating inside the convention center’s double-glazed box.

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