Courtesy of LAN Architecture

The hotel project by LAN Architecture rapidly became a small city project, a human settlement in which habitat, commerce, education, politics, and culture are combined. To achieve their objective, they set a strategy where each component of the project plays an essential role in the definition of the whole: rooms become a roof, roof is a plaza, the plaza a window, the window a façade, the façade a landscape, etc. More images and architects’ description after the break. read more »

This week, with the help of our readers, our Architecture City Guide is headed to Paris. For centuries Paris has been the laboratory where innovative architects and artists have come to test their ideas. This has created a city that has bit of everything. Where the architecture of some cities seems to undergo phases of punctuated equilibrium, Paris’s architectural fossil record gives an impression of gradualism; all the missing links are there. This makes it easy to trace the origins of the most contemporary ideas throughout history. Nothing seems to come out of nowhere. If you look around you kind find the design’s inspiration running through the city’s Roman, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Rocco, Neo-Classical, Empire, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Modern, Post-Modern, and Contemporary Architecture. Seen in another context, many of Paris’s buildings might seem out of place, but the bones of this city support the newest iterations on the oldest and most profound questions. The 24 contemporary designs that comprise our list probably should not be viewed outside of this context, even though that is the stated goal of some of the designs.

As the most visited city in the world and arguably the capital of culture, it is impossible to capture the essence of Paris in 24 modern/contemporary designs. Our readers supplied us with great suggestions, and we really appreciate the help and use of their photographs. The list is far from complete and we realize that many iconic buildings are not yet on the list. We will be adding to it in the near feature, so please add more in the comments section below.

The Architecture City Guide: Paris list and corresponding map after the break.

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© Courtesy of LAN Architecture

Architect: LAN Architecture
Location: Paris, France
Project leaders: Sebastian Niemann, Venezia Ferret
Project Area: 3,950 sqm
Photographs: Courtesy of LAN Architecture

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© Julien Lanoo

Architects: LAN Architecture
Location: Bure-Saudron, France
Project area: 6,800 sqm
Project year: 2008 – 2011
Photographs: Julien Lanoo

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Courtesy of LAN Architecture

Paris based LAN Architecture has shared with us their winning design for the competition organized by SAEM EURALILLE to design an office building for Sogeprom / Projectim in Lille, France. Additional images and insight from the architects after the break.

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Courtesy of LAN Architecture

Paris-based LAN Architecture won the competition organized by ICF Novedis to design the block 4.2 of the new Cardinet-Chalabre urban development zone in Paris, France. More images and architect’s description after the break. read more »

Mixed use & overall winner: One New Change, London, UK designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel and Sidell Gibson Architects- St Pauls view

While doing some research for a real estate project I found the MIPIM awards, a competition established 9 years ago to promote good design, related to MIPIM a market for international property trade that takes place in Cannes every year. As this event is aimed to real estate and property professionals, the award gives visibility to what we usually see on architectural magazines to another -very important- audience. In previous years it has recognized works such as the Meydan Umraniye Mall by F-O-A or the Mountain Dwellings by BIG, two programs in which market dictates, but where good design can give added value.

Today 8 projects have received the 2010 award in different categories: Offices, Regeneration & Masterplanning, Residential, Tall Buildings, Sustainability, Big Urban projects, Mixed Use and Retail & Leisure. Also, 16 projects received a “Highly Recommended” mention on those categories.

And the overall award went to One New Change, a massive mixed use project in the City of London by Jean Nouvel and Sidell Gibson Architects. The project includes over 35,000 sqm commercial and 25,000 sqm retail space, and it was a challenge in terms of design and planning, due to its proximity with St Pauls Cathedral.

The Judges applauded the new landmark for transforming the whole image of this part of the financial centre, providing a new focal point for visitors and city users alike. They also observed that One New Change provides a refreshing contrast to the surrounding retro-architecture, providing a successful combination of ancient and modern, praising both the developer and the planning authority for showing “great independence of mind” against pressure to submit a more historicist approach.

Full list of awarded projects after the break:

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LAN Architecture’s Mirror Tower contains more than 30,000 identical facets that reflect 14 of the city’s monuments and are orientated to produce smooth transitions between these panoramic viewpoints.  “The starting point of the project was to imagine Beirut in all its complexity. We have imagined the city as an ‘un-finished’ superposition of histories, contexts, architectures and situations; Our project was conceived as an interface, an algorithm that generates new connections and that creates new view axis, ways of observing the history, the present and the future,” explained LAN architects.   The building’s complex envelope reflects changes in surroundings, the seasons and light.  The reflective façade works by globally defining the orientation of each facet of the cylinder’s surface to create the desired reflection.  With the help of specialists, LAN Architecture produced an automated 3D tool that allowed the team to visualize different instances of the facade by changing viewpoints at will, both the reflective area and the position of the reflected images on the tower.

More about the tower and more images after the break. read more »

Architects: LAN Architecture
Location: Saint Mesmes, France
Client: Marchesini France
Programme: Design and construction of a company headquarters
Constructed Area: 1,250 sqm
Project year: 2008
Photographs: Jean-Marie Monthiers

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Architects: LAN Architecture
Location: Bonneuil sur Marne, France
Client: Bonneuil sur Marne local authority
Team: Cabinet MTC (all-trades engineers)
Budget: US $1,120,000
Constructed Area: 380 sqm
Project year: 2008
Photographs: Jean-Marie Monthiers

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