Articles by Fernanda Castro

Morphosis marked the recent opening of the new 820,000-square-foot research and development (R&D) facility for The Kolon Group, the leading textile manufacturing company in South Korea. The design features flexible laboratory facilities, administrative offices, and active social spaces that encourage greater interaction and exchange across the company departments, with a visually striking façade that demonstrates Kolon’s commitment to innovation, technology, and sustainability. 

Oriented in relation to the rolling hills of its site and views of surrounding mountain ranges, the house is conceived as two elongated volumes – a smaller inner volume sleeved into a larger outer – sitting on a cast-in-place concrete base. Sleeving the two volumes creates two distinct types of interior space: first, between the inner and outer volumes, and second within the inner volume.

Set in the orthonormal organisation of the town of Mons-en-Barœul, the cultural centre pivots, the better to look at the town hall. The building gains in autonomy and becomes an urban landmark. It contains three music studios, one 500‑seat modular auditorium, a bar, an exhibition gallery, and a large rehearsal room.

Accessible Design Goals
The Museum expansion, exhibits, and Arch grounds have been designed to utilize the core principles of Universal Design, which are founded on equal or equivalent means of use for all visitors and staff, and exceeds the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) These guidelines have been instrumental in creating an environment which is as simple and intuitive to use as possible, while also drastically reducing physical and attitudinal barriers to all users. The typical experience by users of all abilities will be enhanced by an environment which is more comfortable to use and thus encourages increased daily use and re-visitation.

Today we celebrate Canada Day by paying a special tribute to timber construction and Canada’s close ties with wood–as evidenced by its maple tree leaf emblem.

Canadian architects have excelled in timber design and architecture at various scales. These 15 examples of Canadian timber projects and their drawings range from temporary installations to an 8-story high-rise wooden structure building. With sustainability and precision in the details, wood continues, and will always remain, one of our favorite building materials.

Sushi, one of Japan’s most popular and traditional dishes has now established itself as a worldwide favorite for people all around the globe and (indeed) for architects, especially. Many countries have established sushi culture into their menus and restaurants from Spain to Dubai have adapted Japanese architecture to create the perfect space for eating sushi. The key to these serene interiors rely on Japanese interior qualities such as soft illumination, wooden finishings and textures that create the right environment.

Since June 18th is World Sushi Day, we are celebrating with this selection of 10 sushi bars and restaurants from all around the world!

Bulgari’s flagship store in Kuala Lumpur has opened with a new façade that imagines the luxury brand’s heritage, and experiments with traditional materials. The storefront is the first in a series of MVRDV façade designs for the luxury brand. This concrete and resin facade is permeated by gold light to create a marble-veined façade.

3 World Trade Center is the third building in the WTC Master Plan, developed by architect Daniel Libeskind.

The new Macallan distillery and visitor experience is set into the landscape of the estate that has been distilling the world’s leading single malt since 1824. The Macallan is one of the most sought after whiskys in the world and wanted to create a building that could reveal the production processes and welcome visitors while remaining sensitive to the beautiful surrounding countryside.

The Murray is a luxury 336-room hotel located on the southern edge of Central with panoramic views of The Peak and the gardens to the south. This major transformation of the listed building aims to reinvent this unique urban quarter – stitching together the urban fabric by linking
the large green spaces flanking the site to
the east and west.