The idea “forest and fortress” comes from the literal meaning of the Chinese term for Luxembourg. The pavilion, built from steel, wood and glass, will be an open fortress around with greenery. The 15-meter-high main structure will resemble an ancient castle with large openings surrounded by medieval towers,

“All the materials are recyclable,” said the architect of the pavilion, Francois Valentiny. Also, the outside walls will be translucent, on which Chinese characters will be shown. The exhibition area of the pavilion is about 1,300 square meters. The downstairs hall will stage a satellite video show displaying live scenes from the country. “Visitors will be able to talk with Luxembourg people through satellite. And we will bring live programs of Luxembourg events here,” said Jeannot Krecke, the country’s Minister of the Economy and Foreign Trade.

Seen at Archtracker. More images after the break. read more »

© Iwan Baan

Rem Koolhaas’ latest project -The Prada Transformer- is not just a building, but also a statement on today´s state of architecture. Dubbed the anti-blob, this “object” rejects all common blobby shapes we have seen lately. Simple geometrical shapes (a circle, a cross, a rectangle and an hexagon) enclose a space that depending on its rotation results on different spaces suitable for fashion exhibitions, cinema, art exhibitions and other special events. Each face is the platform on which these activities take place, while also being served by the other faces enclosing the space.

A few weeks ago, we presented the Transformer at Position 1 (Fashion Exhibition) with photos by Iwan Baan . Now, he sent us his photo set for the Transformer at Position 2: Cinema.

From June 26th to July 5th, the Transformer used a center piece on one of the faces to project “Flesh, Mind and Soul”, a film festival co-curated by Alejandro González Iñárritu (director Babel, 21 Grams). Please note that the interiors are now almost all black.

As of now, the Transformer is going through some changes to debut on its new position on Jul 30th to host “Beyond Control”, an exhibition by the Prada Foundation.

More photos by Iwan Baan after the break and the complete photo set on Iwan’s website:

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© David Frutos

Architects: Moho Arquitectos + Carlos Abadía Sánchez
Location: Campus UMH. Elche, Spain
Architect in Charge: Álvaro Abadía Sánchez
Construction: Villegas
Client: Miguel Hernandez University
Budget: $443,580.16 €
Project year: May 2007
Project Area: 395 sqm
Photography: David Frutos

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The Tulane City Center houses the Tulane University School of Architecture’s urban research and outreach programs. So far this year, the students at the Tulane School of Architecture have built three projects, a Green Pavillion (a sustainable exhibition on rainwater re-use, a Farmer’s Market in Hollygrove, and a LEED certified (soon to be) house in Central City. All of these projects are located in New Orleans.

You can find more on the Tulane City Center here. Images and description of the three projects, after the break. read more »

Architect: René van Zuuk Architekten
Location: Roosendaal, the Netherlands
Client: Gemeente Roosendaal / NL
Design Team: René van Zuuk, Jorrit Spel, Chimo Villa Belda
Program: Pavillion – shops/lunchroom/office / entrance for parking area
Project Year: 2005-2009
Constructed Area: 620 sqm
Photographs: Christian Richters

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AsBEA (Brazilian Association of the Offices of Architecture) and APEX (Brazilian Agency of Promotion of Exports and Investments) have announced the winning project to represent Brazil in the Shanghai World Expo 2010. Architect Fernando Brandão won with a design based on the “Pulsing Cities” of Brazil. The inverted parenthesis on the facade represent that pulsation.

The structure will feature recycled wood painted green which will be leaned on a metallic structure. You can find more information here (in Portuguese). More images after the break. read more »

© Sungpil Won

Architects: Mass Studies - Minsuk Cho + Kisu Park
Location: City Park, Denver, Colorado, USA
Design team: Joungwon Lee,Bumhyun Chun, Kyungmin Kwon, Sungpil Won
Structure: Pneumatic
Construction: ABR
Finishing: Nylon fabric with silver dot printing
Gross floor Area: 673 sqm
Design year: 2004-2008
Construction year: 2008
Photographs: Sungpil Won / Mass Studies

© Mass Studies

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The Lightbox and Tent London has selected Brooklyn‐based Tina Manis Associates from among a group of five finalists to design The Art Fund Pavilion.

The Pavilion will initially appear as part of Tent London’s exhibit at the London Design Festival 2009 before taking up residence at The Lightbox as an annual summer pavilion and gallery space. The structure is to be engineered and constructed by Facit and funded by the Lightbox Museum’s £100,000 Art Fund Prize 2008.

More images and architect’s description after the break. read more »

The Shanghai 2010 World Expo will without a doubt be a huge event. Countries from all around the world will show what they have to offer in gigantic pavillions built specially for the occasion. So we bring your our first Round Up of previously featured Shanghai Pavillions on ArchDaily.

Denmark Pavillion / BIG
The pavilion is a big loop on which visitors ride around on one of the 1,500 bikes available at the entrance, a chance to experience the Danish urban way. At the center there’s a big pool with water from Copenhagen’s harbor, on which visitors can even swim. At the center of the pool you will find The Little Mermaid, a statue that has become a symbol for Denmark. And this time, it will be moved temporarily to China (read more…)

Macau Pavillion / Carlos Marreiros
The Macau Pavilion will take the shape of a jade rabbit lantern. Designed by Chinese firm Carlos Marreiros Architects the pavilion will be wrapped with a double-layer glass membrane and feature fluorescent screens on its outer walls. Balloons will serve as the head and tail of the ‘rabbit’, which can be moved up and down to attract visitors. The building will be constructed with recyclable materials (read more…)

UAE Pavillion / Foster + Partners
Foster + partners decided to base on a sand dune for their UAE Pavillion design. The pavillion is a reference to the symbolic feature of the desert landscape shared by all seven emirates. The peak rises to 20 meters in height and it is entered via a glazed lip at the pavillions base. Light penetrates the building’s business center and VIP area through glazed vertical strips which illuminate the pavillion from within by night (read more…)

Austrian Pavillion / SPAN and Zeytinoglu Architects
The main driving force behind the design of the Austrian Pavilion for the Shanghai 2010 Expo can be described as acoustic forces, or more accurately as music. Music as a concept that reflects continuity in terms of architectural articulation that seamlessly connects the various spaces within the program. The embodiment of the sonic conditions within the space manifest the architecture of the pavilion (read more…)

Korean Pavillion / Mass Studies
The Korean Pavillion is situated in Zone A, directly neighboring the Japan Pavillion and the Saudi Arabia Pavillion, and in close proximity to the China Pavilion. The site is around 6000m2, and it is one of the largest lots within the expo compound. Located on the perimeter of the zone, the site takes advantage of the views out towards the Huangpu River and the Shanghai skyline in the distance (read more…)

Our friend Pierre Forissier, from Cre8 Architecture, shared with us their entry for the Art Fund Pavillion Competition London 2009.

“Panelion” was selected as an exception entry and will be exhibited at The Lightbox London.

More images and architect’s description, after the break. read more »

Our friend Péter Archibald Bodola sent us their design of a temporary art pavillion for a competition called TOGS (Temporary  Outdoor Gallery Space) in March of this year, where 200 entries from all over the world were received by the organizers. The temporary architecture installation is an outdoor exhibit which provides prestigious gallery space.

More images and architect’s description after the break. read more »

Our friends from Sponge Architects sent us their design of a temporary art pavillion for which they received an Honourable Mention recognition by the Art Alliance Austin.

The project was designed for a competition called TOGS (Temporary Outdoor Gallery Space) in March of this year, where 200 entries from all over the world were received by the organizers. The temporary architecture installation is an outdoor exhibit which provides prestigious gallery space.

More images and architect’s description after the break. read more »

Our friend Marcello Silvestre, from Iodice Architetti sent us their design por the Italian Pavillion for the Shanghai World Expo 2010. Silvestre, along with Francesco Iodice and Giuseppe Iodice from Iodice Architetti worked with Giampaolo Imbrighi, Teresa Crescenzi, Antonello De Bonis, and Cosimo Dominelli in the design of the pavillion. The project proposes a building which integrates a typical model of the Italian urban building, with the architectural structure of the Chinese construction game called Shanghai. More images and architect’s description after the break. read more »

The Macau Pavilion at Shanghai World Expo 2010 will take the shape of a jade rabbit lantern. Designed by Chinese firm Carlos Marreiros Architects the pavilion will be wrapped with a double-layer glass membrane and feature fluorescent screens on its outer walls. Balloons will serve as the head and tail of the ‘rabbit’, which can be moved up and down to attract visitors.

The building will be constructed with recyclable materials and consists of solar power panels and rain collection systems. The design was inspired by rabbit lanterns popular during the mid-autumn festival in south China in ancient times.

Seen at designboom. More images after the break. read more »

Our friends from Mass Studies sent us their design for the Korean Pavillion for the Shanghai World Expo in 2010.

The Korean Pavillion is situated in Zone A, directly neighboring the Japan Pavillion and the Saudi Arabia Pavillion, and in close proximity to the China Pavilion. The site is around 6000m2, and it is one of the largest lots within the expo compound.

Located on the perimeter of the zone, the site takes advantage of the views out towards the Huangpu River and the Shanghai skyline in the distance.

More images and architect’s description after the break. read more »