photograph : Roger Frei

Project description:
The clients for the single-family house in Vitznau in Switzerland wanted to live in a wooden house. However, as the site was on a piece of steeply sloping terrain, architects’ office Lischer Partner Architekten Planer AG decided to design a solid structure whose hard shell of a concrete facade enclosed and protected the soft core of a wooden house. As a result, the wooden structure is now a house inside a house. Initially, the prefabricated wooden building was put together out of modular elements, after which the concrete facade was fitted onto it as a single shell. The completely wooden interior lining is made of stock-lumber larch wood.

At the openings and recesses, the wood is also visible from outside. The solidly framed fixed glazing in larch wood emphasise the view of different landscape features along the banks of the Vierwaldstättersee. A clear cubature design anchors the house firmly on the slope, while a bridge serves as a connection to the open yard with garage and house entrance. The shared rooms are located on the top floor and the two lower bedroom floors are accessed via two spatially offset staircases. Built-in features and fixed furnishings create zones in the different spaces.

DETAIL Reader Prize 2012:

Platform of Arts and Creativity, Guimarães, Portugal

Project description:
The new building in the market square in Guimaraes, Portugal, Capital of Culture in 2012, was created by Pitágoras – Arquitectura e Engenharia Integradas, Lda, as a platform for art and creativity. As a result of the old city market’s transformation into a multi-functional public space, the square and surrounding buildings will be upgraded and regained as an active centre for the municipal area.

The concept for the new building and the design of the square is determined by the programme that envisages three main areas. Exhibitions and performances take place in the Art Center. In the form of creative labs, there are work rooms and offices for artists. An area for workshops and temporary actions supplement the programme.

Shops and businesses in the existing buildings on the east side enliven the scenario and are in line with the original function of the square. Analogous to the new use, the volume and surface of the new building starkly contrast with the surroundings. The serially arranged shops contrast with an irregularly structured, shiny metal construction. The copper facade made of metal rods is interrupted by glimmering glass surfaces and elements that mark the entrance areas.

photograph : Joao Morgado

24 Aug 2012

DETAIL Prize 2012

DETAIL Prize 2012 – Readers and jury choose their favourites

The voting procedure for the DETAIL Prize, which honours outstanding architecture in all parts of the world, is now entering the decisive round. Architects from around 45 nations have taken advantage of the opportunity to submit a total of 589 projects from 50 different countries. In the first round, the DETAIL editorial team nominated 24 projects as a selection from the total number of submissions. Now, the DETAIL readers and the international jury are being asked to choose their favourites by 20 September 2012. There are two prizes to be awarded: the DETAIL Prize and the DETAIL Reader Prize. Every vote counts!

Munich, August 2012 – For this year’s DETAIL Prize 2012, DETAIL is again looking for high-quality architectural projects that convince through their innovative details within a coherent overall concept. Altogether, architects from 45 countries decided to take part and submitted their completed projects by 31 July 2012. Out of the 589 projects sent in, the DETAIL editorial team picked out the best ones.

Platform of Arts and Creativity, Guimarães – nominated for DETAIL Prize 2012:

photograph : Jose Campos

From 20 August to 20 September 2012, all nominations will now be shown in the Internet at www.detail.de. The DETAIL readers are able to vote once by clicking their favourite project. The project that has received the most clicks by 20 September 2012 will be awarded the Reader Prize.

At the same time, the international jury, consisting of David Chipperfield, Odile Decq, Norman Foster, Jürgen Mayer H., Richard Meier, Volker Staab and Graham Stirk, will assess all the nominations from a professional point of view. They will then pick the winner of the DETAIL Prize 2012.

The results of the competition will be published on the DETAIL website in November 2012 as well as in the DETAIL magazine. The two winners will also be honoured in the framework of the prize awards ceremony in Berlin on 22 November 2012. In the capital, the prize winners will meet well-known personalities from the international architecture and culture scene as well as from the areas of research, politics and industry.

The aim of the prize is to enhance the importance of architecture in social discourse, to strengthen the role of architects in public life and to reinforce the network of architects, industry, clients and politics. DETAIL are extremely pleased that these goals support the BAU 2013 world expo as the joint organiser with DETAIL, on the one hand, and the company Josef Gartner, on the other. You can also take part in this dialogue by choosing your favourites for the DETAIL Reader Prize.

DETAIL Prize – Nominated Projects 2012

DETAIL Prize 2012 Shortlist

photo : Werner Huthmacher

Jury

– David Chipperfield, David Chipperfield Architects, London/Berlin/Milan/Shanghai
– Odile Decq, Odile Decq Benoît Cornette architectes urbanistes, Paris
– Norman Foster, Foster + Partners, London/Abu Dhabi/Hong Kong/Madrid/New York
– Jürgen Mayer H., Jürgen Mayer H. Architekten, Berlin
– Richard Meier, Richard Meier & Partners Architects LLP, New York/Los Angeles
– Volker Staab, Staab Architekten, Berlin
– Graham Stirk, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, London/Madrid/Sydney/Shanghai

All the competition details can be obtained at www.detail.de/detailpreis

Location: Munich, Bavaria, South Germany

German Architectural Designs

German Architecture – major cities

photo : Ester Havlova

Contemporary German Buildings – outside major cities

Berlin Architecture

Frankfurt Building

Cologne Architecture

Architecture Awards

Architecture Prizes

Stirling Prize

Aga Khan Award for Architecture Prize

BCO Awards

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