Robert Adam Architects

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“1458 Marfaa is a mixed use building on an historic site. Completed in October 2009 the building responds to the client’s request for a building of ‘timeless’ quality for a prominent corner site that marks an important medieval gateway into old Beirut.

The Bab Idriss gate of the city was said to have once sat on this site and marked the line of the rising sun on the day of the city’s foundation. The building design draws on this historic memory relating physically and symbolically to Beirut’s past.
The building also acts as a formal entrance into the Place de L’etoile, created under the French mandate.

British architect Robert Adam cooperated with the Beirut architect and friend Fadlallah Dagher after his firm Dagher Hanna & Partners Architects won a competition to develop the site.

This building provides 5,840 m2 of retail and office space and eleven luxury apartments, plus additional levels below ground for car parking.

Decoration reinterprets traditional Ottoman and Islamic forms and uses different levels of embellishment across each façade, graded in detail from the simplified street elevations to the more elaborate classical detail on the corner as the most important element of this building. A modulation of three bays with recessed balconies and set backs creates a characteristic streetscape. A proportion of 1 to 1.8 is used for this building, which is consistent with the proportions of Ottoman period town house bays.

The rooftop beacon or lantern emphasises the corner along the axis of the Roman gateway and provides a focus between the junction of the old centre and the surrounding modern city. It is a contemporary lit structure that develops a Middle Eastern classicism with modern materials.”
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About the Architects
Robert Adam Architects
The Practice was founded in 1955 and became Robert Adam Architects in 1992. It has an international reputation in classical and traditional architecture and has become a world leader in progressive classical design, combining tradition with the latest technology.
As well as significant projects in the UK and the USA the practice works across Europe, the Middle East and Japan.
Its portfolio of award-winning projects includes exclusive town and country houses, public and commercial buildings, pioneering work in masterplanning, urban design and the conversion, restoration and extension of important historic buildings.

The work of Robert Adam Architects has been widely published, exhibited and broadcast. As widely acclaimed experts in classical design and progressive technology, its directors are consulted by government agencies and ministries on policy and design, and regularly invited to write, lecture and teach.
In addition, all five directors are trustees of many national interest groups and founders of international architectural and urban design organisations.”

UK Architect: Robert Adam at Robert Adam Architects
Client’s representative/Local Architect: Dagher Hanna & Partners Architects
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Iwan Baan

Following our article back in January, here is update on Vitra Haus with new photos from Iwan Baan.
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Schmidt Hammer Lassen

“schmidt hammer lassen architects have won a competition for a Congress and Hotel Centre on the central harbour front of Helsingborg in Sweden, which is a 15-minute ferry trip from Elsinore in Denmark. The property development competition was won in conjunction with Swedish developer Midroc and engineering/architect consultants Sweco.”
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Project Details:
Address: Ångfärjan, Helsingborg, Sweden
Client: Midroc Property Development (Sweden)
Area: Hotel and congress 16,900 m2/ Housing and shops 17,100 m2
Competition year: 2009
Competition type. Property development competition
Architect: schmidt hammmer lassen architects
Project Partner: Kim Holst Jensen, schmidt hammer lassen architects
Project Architect: Kristian Lars Ahlmark, schmidt hammer lassen architects
Contractor: Midroc Property Development
Landscape architect: schmidt hammer lassen architects in collaboration with Masu Planning Landscape (Denmark)
Executive consultants: Sweco (Sweden)
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“The project consists of a 16,900 m2 congress and hotel facility and 17,100 m2 housing on the most attractive area of Helsingborg – the former central ferry dock Ångfärjan in the city centre. The new facilities will play an important part in the ongoing development of the promenade running the length of the city waterfront.

The building is characterized by a deformation of the grid into a crystalline expression that has coined the nick name “The Salt Crystals”. The 12-storey hotel volume in the south east corner with its light, generic and broken facades will become the new landmark of the city.

The congress centre starts in three stories at the opposite end and grows gradually to become the 12-storey hotel. The hotel has 230 rooms. The Congress and Hotel Centre run along the sea promenade to meet the apartment blocks that are separated from the congress centre by a small pedestrian street. The apartments have the same ‘salt crystal’ grid, while the facades have a shifting rectangular pattern to reinforce their open and light structure.
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The two new structures will be an important catalyst for the city life in the harbour area with cafés, shops and several squares and green spaces for citizens and visitors.
The façade of the hotel with its broken expression is extended in the pavement across the plaza to the water edge connecting the vertical and horizontal surfaces.
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The apartment blocks vary from two to nine stories. The highest unit is placed in the north corner of the block to provide sun and daylight from the south to all 130 apartments. ”
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Lan Architecture

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Project Details:
PROGRAM: Construction of a complex of apartments, shops and business premises
LOCATION: Terres Neuves District, Bègles, France
DATE:2009
CLIENT: Ataraxia, Saemcib
COST:€ 6.5 M HT
SIZE: 6 500 m2
TIME TABLE: 2009-2012
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Project Description:
A new, sustainable and social living space geared to the 21st century.

“The project’s richness and major interest lie in the possibility of inventing an urban lifestyle set in a highly experimental framework enabling the affirmation of new ecological and contemporary architectures. The diversity of architectural propositions and communal and private spaces had to ensure and enhance this specificity.

The first stage was to ‘sculpt’ the volumes in order to exploit their urban potential and intrinsic spatial qualities.
We directed our research towards a hybrid typology combining the house and the apartment.

The principle underlying our approach was that of stacking containers, and careful study of habitat modes, climatic conditions and the sun’s trajectory throughout the year suggested the way to organise this.
The project’s column-slab supporting structure has a system of lightweight façades providing ultra-high performance insulation levels.

The relative narrowness of the buildings dictated a strategic search for compactness. The idea of variable compactness introduced the notion of a housing unit’s adaptability to seasons and times of day. All residents have the possibility of using their exterior space as a windbreak, a mini-greenhouse or, conversely, as a means of cooling or ventilating.

The morphology of each unit stems from the wish to develop housing units enabling a variety of uses very simply and with no extra technological input. We are therefore proposing cross-building units with adaptable exterior spaces and at least two different orientations.”
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Plans & Elevations:

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Keisuke Maeda / UID architects

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Project Details:
Project Name: MORI x hako
Used materials:
* exterior wall: cedar 120×2050x15mm (processed joint) paint finish
* 1F －floor: Hinoki flooring, wall: structural plywood t=12, ceiling:structural plywood t=9
* 2F・3F – floor: tile carpets, wall: structural plywood t=12, ceiling:structural plywood t=9
Construction methods: Steel structure
Furniture manufacturer: artek, Carl Hansen & Son, sedus
Lighting manufacturer: yamagiwa, DAIKO
Floor manufacturer: Home Co.Ltd
Wall manufacturer: Home Co.Ltd
Floor area:Total: 403.10㎡ 1F: 183.45㎡　2F: 175.89㎡　3F: 43.76㎡
Budget
Date of completion: January, 2009
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Project Description:
Towards a new model for multi-tenant buildings with an appealing philosophy
As an important building type, multi-tenant projects would seem to present somewhat obvious issues for consideration. In practice, however, most projects end up placing top priority on profit maximization and the optimization of floor area. In addition, these buildings often incorporate elements that lead to superficial architecture. Nevertheless, for this project we attempted to rethink the possibilities of a multi-tenant building that would embody an appealing contemporary philosophy while taking into account such routine considerations.
This project is situated in a largely residential area that lies about 1km north of the train station, distinguished by a large number of plots of land that are exceptionally long in relation to their frontage. The site for this project, too, was a narrow, slender plot with a frontage of about 10m and a depth of 50m in relation to the road out front, surrounded on three sides by neighbouring residences. Typically, such a site tends to lead to a situation where the tenant space facing the road out front is blessed with more favourable conditions compared to the other spaces. With this in mind, we tried to work out spatial principles that would allow us to give the inner spaces additional advantages that would equal or surpass the conditions of the front space.
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Layered diversity
Specifically, this project involved a dental clinic on the first floor and an esthetic salon and office on the second floor. These facilities were housed in two boxes oriented towards the east and west, with a third box in the middle containing a staircase and a forest. The four walls formed by this layout of boxes were designed to create a sense of integrated diversity in the architecture, thanks to the layered openings in between the boxes.
Tenants were also involved in the decision-making process from the planning stage onwards. They took a proactive role in deciding how the interior spaces would be designed, and were able to understand the framework of the building as a whole.
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The front and back surfaces of each of the four layers contribute to creating a diverse, interrelated space. The openings ensure the privacy of neighbouring tenants, while the opening and tightening of these openings at regular intervals allows one to be aware not only of vertical connections between floors and horizontal ones between front and back, but also another sort of distance that transcends physical sensations. In addition, we expected that the trees in the forest would cause layers of physical distance to become ambiguous, creating an overall environment that would spread out in an organic manner.
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By manipulating the space in this way, the front tenant space would be separated from the inner tenant space, while also remaining visible to it just beyond the various layers. The mountain scenery that lies beyond the front space, in contrast, feels close and familiar. In this way, it was possible to protect the privacy of each tenant while constructing a space that maintained the tangible presence of both these elements, thus providing the inner tenants with an environment that was equally favourable compared with the front space. The function of a single wall led to both a sense of necessity arising from the multiple layers created by the seemingly random openings, as well as a complex, haphazard character resulting from the movement and behaviour of the tenants. This mixture of necessity and contingency led to a new, three-dimensional expanse and a diversely articulated space.”
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Designer Details:
Designer: Keisuke Maeda / UID architects
Contact person: Keisuke Maeda
Office address: UID architects MORI x hako 2F, 3-10-20 Kinosho-cho
City: Fukuyama-city, Hiroshima
Postal code: 720-0082
Country: Japan
Tel: +81 (0)84 927 0136
E-mail: uid@maeda-inc.jp
Website: http://www.maeda-inc.jp/uid/
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Location Details:
Contact person: Keisuke Maeda
Address: MORI x hako, 3-10-20 Kinosho-cho
City: Fukuyama-city, Hiroshima
Postal code : 720-0082
Country: Japan
Tel: +81 (0)84 927 0136
E-mail: uid@maeda-inc.jp
Website: http://www.maeda-inc.jp/uid/
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Client Details:
Client : Monami Co.Ltd
Contact person: Minoru Ito
Address: 3-10-18 Kinosho-cho
City: Fukuyama-city, Hiroshima
Postal code : 720-0082
Country: Japan
Tel: +81 (0)84 932 7005
Photography credits: Copyrights holder (C）UID architects
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“The new building for Hamburg’s Behörde für Stadtentwicklung und Umwelt/BSU (Office for Urban Development and Environment) consists of one high rise and two wing buildings. Public BSU facilities, like areas for exhibitions and restaurants, are located in the street level floors. The foot of the high rise structure will house a central lobby. Like an amphitheater, it is envisioned to host the exhibition of Hamburg’s urban model which will be highly visible through the large glass facade. From here, the library and conference center can be accessed as well.
Besides the high rise, the concept is structured in seven separate ‘houses’ which are connected via an access ‘road’ that is lit with natural light. Each house has its own open staircase atrium which enhances easy orientation, efficient vertical access, good distribution of natural light into interior spaces, and natural cross-ventilation. Reducing the building’s energy consumption by combining passive and active measures was one of the key ideas behind the concept. Besides enhanced thermal insulation, reasonable transparency, and protection from intense sunlight in the facades, the compact building volume uses renewable resources like natural lighting, natural cross-ventilation, and sun-powered heating. Energy harvested from geothermal and solar equipment is being combined with a gas-powered combined heat and power unit.
The design of the building’s spaces and surfaces supports the quantitatively measurable comfort with an architectural and environmental quality that is appropriate for the agenda of sustainability.”
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Source: Bustler
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Bustler

“Swedish practice Kjellgren Kaminsky Architecture (KKA) has been awarded the Scania Region Architecture Prize for their project Mirage. The prize celebrates the best building this year in Sweden’s southern region Scania.”
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Mirage is a dance hall and restaurant in Falsterbo on the southernmost tip of Sweden for which KKA won an open international competition back in 2007. The building was inaugurated this summer and has also been nominated for the Great Indoors Award and the Swedish Debut Prize.
“Mirage was rewarded with the Region Skåne architecture prize in 2009 because it starts exciting ideas about architecture in motion,” says the jury report. “It participates in the debate about the relationship between nature and culture, it raises questions about if the short-lived contemporary expression can be reconciled with the longstanding local traditions and it is the result of an exemplary process.”
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Asymptote

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“The Yas Hotel project opened in Abu Dhabi, UAE On Nov 3 2009 after a preliminary opening coinciding with the inaugural Ethiad Formula 1 race held on October 30. A 500-room, 85,000-square-meter complex constructed by Aldar Properties PJSC. Asymptote was awarded the commission to design the buildings and environs from a closed competition two years prior to the official opening.”
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Serie Architects

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Project Details:
Building Type: Banqueting hall, Restaurant & Bar
Location: Mumbai, India.
Total Area: 2,500 sqm
Design: Chris Lee / Kapil Gupta
Project Team: Yael Gilad, Dharmesh Thakker, Suril Patel, Purva Jamdade, Advait Potnis, Vrinda Seksaria, Udayan Mazumdar, Mayank Ojha and Atish Rathod
Design Phase: October 2006- September 2007
Construction Phase: December 2007- October 2009

“A series of disused buildings from Mumbai’s colonial past set within the Mumbai Race Course are to be converted to form a series of restaurant and bars. The conservation guidelines call for the preservation of the roof profile for three-quarters of the buildings and full conservation for the remaining one-quarter…”
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“The interesting aspect of the site, however, lies not in the colonial buildings but in the open spaces covered by mature Rain Trees. These spaces are shaded throughout the year by the thinly wide spread leaves of the Rain Trees, allowing almost the entire proposed program to occur outdoors.”
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“Our proposal attempts to continue this idea of a continuously differentiated space, with no clear boundary, into the envelope of the conservation building. A new structure is proposed within the old building envelope…”
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“… The structural system adopted here is that of a tree-branch. The propagation of the branching system along the longitudinal section of the conserved building is differentiated in its growth along the transverse section. …”
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“… This differentiation reorganizes the old buildings with new dining programs. Therefore each dining program (wine bar, restaurant, pre-function and banquet facilities) is captured within a different spatial volume, defined by the variable degree of the branching structure. …”
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“Construction:
The construction of the Tote was a complex combination of restoration works for the Heritage Building and the demolition and reconstruction of the the Banquet wing.”
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“The false ceiling is a complex arrangement of three lighting systems built up in plasterboard and plywood coves. They offer the client flexibility to alter the lighting effects based on event type.”
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“The interior of the Lounge Bar on the upper level is an intricate arrangement of 3-dimensional, faceted wooden panelling, acoustically treated with sound proofing material. The pattern of the panelling is a series of trees with intersecting branches. We devised a 3 point co-ordinate system to map out the pattern onto the walls of the heritage wing, given the 3 dimensional nature of the panelling and that each intersecting point had a totally different x,y and z co-ordinate. This system allowed local craftsmen using fairly primitive tools to achieve a high level of fit and finish for the interior works. The faceted panelling is finished in walnut veneer with bronze channels making up the tree pattern.”
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About Serie Architects:
“Serie Architects is an international practice based in London, Mumbai and Beijing. Serie works in the diverse field of architecture, urbanism and design.
The practice is fascinated by the evolution and mutation of building types in today’s cities and the projection of these forms of intelligence into spatial solutions. Working typologically, or in our terms, thinking and exploring in series – harnessing the cumulative intelligence of building types – is key to the work of Serie.
The practice consistently pushes the boundaries of architectural and masterplanning projects worldwide and provides full architecture and masterplanning services for private and public sectors.”
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KCAP Architects & Planners

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Project Details:
Client: Heijmans IBC Property Development, Almere-Stad
Architect: KCAP Architects&Planners, Rotterdam
Description: Housing complex with 52 apartments, including renovation of Africa warehouse (by Villa Nova) and new design of Building D
Location: Oostelijke Handelskade, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Time frame: 1998-2009
Contractor: Heijmans IBC Construction
Consultants: structural engineering: D3BN, building services: Deerns, building physics: Peutz & Associés, Zoetermeer, fire safety: DGMR engineering consultants, Arnhem
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” Along the banks of the river IJ in Amsterdam, a former dock-land is being transformed into a high-density residential and working area. The increased density is achieved by placing new volumes in front of, behind, alongside and/or above the existing warehouses. This results in a spatial ensemble with a capacity to include the various programmes intended. The volumes are divided into horizontal programmatic zones.

The new building has been designed as a periscope that overlooks the old Africa warehouse in the direction of the river, with respect to the cruise-ship terminal. The entrance to the new Africa warehouse has been formed by maximising the integration of living and working, as well as the creating of a mix between old and new.
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The building is to be accessed by a central corridor. The second lift and staircase connects the building to a subterranean parking garage. The facade is made of rust-coloured prefabricated concrete elements that form a ‘fabric’ in order to emphasise the sculptural properties of the volume. This choice of colour works well with the atmosphere created by the warehouses and the quays.

The northern façade, which faces the river, has been tilted up and is in its entirety constructed of glass. This double façade forms a barrier to the noisy ships. Due to the disturbing noise levels from the adjacent railway line, the other façades are to be made of extra thick glazed elements. The newly placed columns interact with the existing ones in a manner by which the building’s proportions are retained, thus doing justice to this monument.”

Text & Photos: Architecture News Plus
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Behnisch Architekten

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Project Details:
Client: HOCHTIEF Projektentwicklung
Architect: Behnisch Architekten
Competition: 2006, 1st Prize
Planning and construction: 2007–2009
Gross: 38,000 m2
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“The new Unilever headquarter building for Germany, Austria and Switzerland is located right by the river Elbe in Hamburg’s HafenCity. It marks the end of the route out of the town centre to Hamburg’s new attractions: the cruise ship terminal and the promenade on Strandkai.
Here Unilever’s new building opens itself up to the city and its inhabitants. The central element and heart of the design is the generous atrium, flooded by daylight, which, on the ground floor, gives passers-by the opportunity to get to know the company better while browsing in the shop stocked with Unilever products, sitting in the cafe or relaxing in the spa.
The atrium is also the central location for people to meet and communicate. As in a city, bridges, ramps and steps connect central spaces with each other. Here people can meet, talk and enjoy the inspiring ambiance. Vibrant and communicative interaction evolves, thereby fostering a feeling of togetherness among the employees. The workplace is no longer a separate department. The building itself reinforces the identity of the company.
The building follows the principles of holistic, sustainable architecture. While implementing technologies that help save resources, the energy concept adheres to the principle of avoiding technical solutions wherever possible. The office area is cooled by means of thermally activated reinforced concrete ceilings. A single-layer film facade placed in front of the building’s insulation glazing protects
the daylight-optimized blinds from strong wind and other weather influences. The building’s primary energy consumption during operation will be under 100 Kwh/a m². A newly developed SMD-LED system has been deployed both for the building’s general lighting and for workplace lighting. This system is up to 70% more efficient than conventional halogen or metal halide lighting. The Unilever building received the newly established HafenCity EcoLabel in gold.”
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minimalismi

“Fresh news from Zaha Hadid, whose works are currently on display in Palazzo della Ragione in Padova: the studio has designed a retail and business center in the town of Jesolo, Italy, to be situated in two areas half way between Jesolo urban center and Jesolo sea.”

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Project Details:
Client: Home Group
Architects: Zaha Hadid Architects
Design: Zaha Hadid with Patrik Schumacher
Project Director: Gianluca Racana
Project Architect: Paolo Matteuzzi
Design team: Marco Amoroso, David Campos, Ayat Fadaifard, Massimiliano Piccinini, Ivan Valdez, Francesca Venturoni
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“Both areas are facing Roma Destra street. That peculiar position connotes the centre as the new urban city door. In the west area will be built the two floors retail centre including a Disco Bar and a gymnasium. Outdoor spaces are dedicated to public green areas and parking use.
The east area will give hospitality to the new 5 stars hotel including a congress, wellness center, offices and a panoramic restaurant. Volumes that describes the center are spaced like rose petals, creating a centric space, a covered square, that will represent the main distribution core.
The Hotel, as the last petal close the perspective perception opposite the street and, thanks to its shape offers the panoramic view trough the Venice Lagoon.
The retail and congress centre, Jesolo Magica, dialogs with the precious territorial environment, thanks to its sinuosity and long entrances allows natural light and natural environment go dip through the petals-buildings, which became observation point towards the Lagoon.”

Source: minimalismi
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Bustler

Mashhad—home to the shrine of the 8th Imam of Shiites—is one of the most significant religious sites in Iran. It attracts many more visitors than the holy city of Mecca; almost 10 times as many per year. Given the economic and political power of the religious authorities in Iran, as tourism and travel overtake all industries around the world, Mashhad becomes the center of investment and development in this country.

The obvious need for accommodation and entertainment of the visitors has lead to major decisions in the recent Master Plan of the city. The Master Planning Vision has shifted from the strategy of isolation of the shrine via a green belt to a strategy of reconnection via boulevards. These boulevards are lined with large scale buildings with pilgrim accommodation and shopping as major functions. The site of the competition is located on one of the three main boulevards and acts as one of the three gateways to the religious site.

The competition called for entries for a 5-star hotel, hotel apartments, residential spaces, commercial spaces, a public park and a multi-story public parking in a development of about 80,000 m2. The site consists of 5 plots, however the brief allows for and the master plan of the city encourages the project to merge the 5 sites into one.

The competition was held by an architecture office; The Eight Company. The client was a private Iranian bank- Bank-e Pasargad. Of the twelve teams invited to the competition, 4 had been widely known foreign office associates (Atelier Bow-Wow from Japan, BIG from Denmark, BRT from Germany and Guallart Architects from Spain).

The Jury was composed of architects and developers from the city of Mashhad and prominent Iranian architects from the Association of Iranian Architects, including Iraj Kalantari, Abolfath Sepanloo, along with Seyed Reza Hashemi. Of the remaining 11 entries from 8 participating offices, 3 winners and 2 honorable mentions were awarded. The three winners of first to third place will be awarded monetary prizes. In addition, the first place winner will be awarded a contract to execute the project.
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First Place: BRT Engineering GmbH (Germany) + Design Core [4s] Architects (Iran)

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Design Team:
Iran: Sam Tehranchi, Maryam Kompany, Ali Nabi
Germany: Hadi Tehrani, Ingo Hartfil, Heike Heister, Alice Pape, Manal Fakhouri, Zarko Serafimowski, Evgeny Stolyarov
Structure: Markus Maier, Angelos Tsirigotis from LAP
Renderings: Bloomimages
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The formal concept of the building results from stipulated building lines and construction heights in addition to site axis and road alignments. Thus, it creates a monolithic shape that follows the heterogeneous character of the plot in a subtle way.
A continuous band folds down on one end and defines a gateway toward the Holy Shrine while enclosing the block. Its continuity and elongated form emphasizes the direction along the main northern boulevard toward the religious site.
Public, semi- public and private spaces are created within the curves and folds of the structure. Thus a variety of public spaces, from loud and lively to spaces of reflection are created that respond to the brief. The shape of the building, defines an entry to the quiet courtyard in the back. This courtyard is planted with tall trees and water features which emphasize its peaceful character. With the access to the café, and controlled entry via a water feature, it provides a quiet space to linger in.
The hotel is located in a prominent space along the eastern main road on top of the building and defines its presence on the main intersection. It has a central lobby within a glass envelope that is equally accessed from the crossroad and the courtyard.

The residential is located in the western wing of the building. It is an independent part of the complex; technically, statically and functionally it is self-sufficient and can be constructed and operated individually.

Commercial spaces are located on the ground and first floors along the main northern boulevard as well as around the courtyard and form a pedestal for the building. An arcade runs around the pedestal in front of the shops on all sides and allows visitors to stroll around the building throughout the year.
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Second Place: Bonsar Architecture Office (Iran), Guallart Architects (Spain), Delnaz Yekrangian (Iran)
(Mohamad Majidi, Vicente Guallart, Delnaz Yekrangian)

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Design Team: Azar Farshidi, Vicente Guallart, Mehran Haghbin, Zahra Khaniki, Mohammad Majidi, Mehrnush Safdari, Hossein Salavati Khoshghalb, Delnaz Yekrangian
Structure: Mehdi Mirkhosravi
Sustainibility: Afsaneh Tafazoli
Renderings: Babak Taghikhani
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A 5-star hotel, hotel apartments and a residential complex merge with a commercial center that contains in addition to shopping, opportunities for cultural, educational, health and religious promenades not only to accommodate but also to entertain the visitors. In a city where stroll in the city is the main tourist activity next to pilgrimage, the possibility of a stroll within the complex becomes a necessity.
Eight gardens within the project with individual characteristics defined by their location, activities, or their particular vegetation connected via public spaces compose this promenade as an extension of the city within the project. The strategy of the linked gardens provides an opportunity to combine pleasure with sustainability. The openness of the project and its permeability make natural light and ventilation accessible everywhere inside.
The structure of the building is derived from a decorative motif found on the entry courtyard to the Shrine. The decorative calligraphy is exaggerated in scale and defines the entire building. The interpretation is done in a subtle way to avoid an iconic presence for the project which tries to pay homage to the only icon of the city; the holy Shrine of Imam Reza.

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Check the rest of the entries and winners at Bustler
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Bustler

“Kristin Jarmund Architects in collaboration with C. F. Møller Architects, has recently won a major competition to design a spectacular new landmark project in the city of Oslo, for the client KLP Eiendom AS, one of Norway’s largest property investors. The project, which has been dubbed “Crystal Clear”, consists of three towers, which grow organically from the ground to form a sculptural cluster, and are composed of stacked, prismatic volumes.”
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The development totals approx. 90,000 m² of offices, commercial space and possibly housing, located at one of Oslo’s most valuable sites, the former postal sorting office adjacent to the central station. ‘Crystal Clear’ ties in with the city’s skyline, and the string of developing landmark projects that will help turn Oslo into one of Europe’s most modern capitals.

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Check the rest of the article at Bustler
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