november 2007
division of Archi-Europe


 Editiorial


The beginning of a new era in property sales

Born out of the recent merger of a property sales company and a commercial property development company, both working in the Brussels market, Herpain Urbis has decided to place environmental considerations at the heart of its property developments. The main idea is: to construct buildings that can be copied, steadfastly based around sustainable development.

An initial project, the Solaris building, located on Brussels green belt land, is the result of collaboration between the Assar architectural firm and the 3 E consultancy and design group.

In order to keep in step with market expectations in terms of look, feel and functionality, this type of building has the advantage of being less of a drain on energy through the use of renewable energy, covering all or part of its energy requirements and through the use of materials requiring less "grey energy".

The technology used enables almost a 50% reduction in the building's primary energy consumption: the front lets in a maximum amount of natural light, integrating semi-transparent photovoltaic solar panels, flat roofs fitted with more photovoltaic panels to increase the sun-trap surface area, geothermal heating and heat pumps and chilled ceilings. Going beyond this, the promoter is calling for greater responsibility to be shouldered by everyone concerned. They want to see lobbyists moving the debate forward, politicians taking charge, encouraging and acting, with occupants and investors responding to the cause. It is thanks to this interaction that responsible construction will become a more widespread practice.

The Archi-Europe Team!

 
Portrait of the month
Books
Project of the month
Contact
Product of the month        



 Portrait of the month


Meletitiki - Alexandros N. Tombazis & Associates Architects, Athens - Greece

"Remember that building, which is what architecture is all about, means injuring our planet. So be gentle, tread lightly, for we have only one of its kind", wrote the Greek architect Alexandros N. Tombazis in his "Letter to a Young Architect". This book, published by Libro, was unveiled this year during a retrospective of his work at the Benaki Museum in Athens, entitled "The Invisible Thread". Respect for the environment is one of the exhibition's main themes. In his advice to young architects, Tombazis highlights his concerns for the environment.

With 45 years of experience, Tombazis bases his major projects around solar energy. In the 1960s, his architectural approach and practices were diametrically opposed to those of most of his contemporaries. What dominated his architectural vision at the time were not the functional or aesthetic aspects of his work, but rather the art of building in itself, and technology. Following the oil crisis of the 1970s, Tombazis started looking at using solar energy in his work. His approach gradually developed into bioclimatic design, which was to become a fundamental part of his architectural practice. Tombazis is now known as one of the leading figures in this field.

Since then, solar energy - more than just a technology - has formed an integral part of his architecture. His structures optimise the use of natural light in bioclimatic design. This is a common thread running through his various projects, from the Bin Madiya mosque in Dubai (1990) to the ABB complex (1998) and the renovation of the Delphi Archaeological Museum (2000-2004). This research in natural light is a major component of work aimed at reducing energy consumption and environmental impact.


 Legends of the pictures

1. Alexandros N. Tombazis
© Nikos Kokkalias

2. & 3. AVAX headquarters - Athens (1998)
Located in a heavily built-up urban area in central Athens, the construction is part of the THERMIE EC 2000 scheme run by the European Commission. The triangular location, the placement and the climatic data dictated most of the architectural decisions. The façade is framed by concrete columns supporting a double-skinned system working as a diaphragm. Vertical glass silkscreen panels that revolve like fins provide shadow for the façade, thereby enabling the penetration of the sun's rays to be controlled and the natural light to be optimised by the narrowness of the building. This device is complemented by a series of horizontal visor grills. Energy-saving strategies include night-time mechanical ventilation, a central cooling system (air/water heating pump), high-efficiency lighting and motion detectors controlling artificial lighting.

4. & 5. Residential home - Athens (2001)
This private dwelling has undergone work on its lighting and solar gains. Opening onto a garden that extends into different areas in the form of partially-enclosed open spaces, the building looks like it is floating on water included to keep the atmosphere fresh. The exterior and interior of the dwelling blend together thanks to the transparent façade.

6. & 7. Renovation and extension of the Delphi Archaeological Museum (2002-2004)
Begun in 1985, this project formed part of the EC DG TREN energy scheme. The objectives were to maximise the efficiency of the existing building, which already had very good passive properties for the reduction of energy consumption, in order to provide an improved visual aspect through the use of natural light, to improve acoustics and heating. The creation of new rooms, new openings and a fresh exhibition plan makes the visitor route easier to follow.

8 & 9. Church of the Holy Trinity - Fatima, Portugal (2007)
In collaboration with Paula Santos Arquitectos Lda.
Winner of an international competition (1997) among pre-selected architects, the new building is a monumental structure, standing out with its 125m diameter circular form. A symmetrical design was chosen for symbolic, aesthetic and functional reasons. The saw tooth roof structure supports 3200m² of photovoltaic panels. Highly advanced scientific simulations were undertaken to optimise the bioclimatic devices and the daylight penetrating the building. This has resulted in considerable energy savings.

 
click to enlarge


1. Alexandros N. Tombazis


2. AVAX headquarters


3. AVAX headquarters


4. Residential home

5. Residential home

6. Archaeological Museum

7. Archaeological Museum

8. Church of the Holy Trinity

9. Church of the Holy Trinity



 Project of the month


International Baiyun Congress Center - Guangzhu, China
Architect: Bureau 2, Roeselare (Belgium)



Winner of an architectural competition in China, this ambitious project was completed in March 2004, extending over 24 hectares in Guangzhu, a city of 10 million inhabitants situated in southern China. The new congress centre is intended to be the driving force and a tool for a return to the links between the site, nature and the city.

Most congress centres are solitary, indifferent objects, totally removed from their surroundings. In this case, the architects opted for a building opening onto an urban environment and onto the mountain in order to reconcile human culture and nature. Extending over a surface are of approximately 210,000m², the new complex has been designed as a fragmented area, leaving open views across the site. More than simply a building, it is an intense landscape made up of gardens, patios and four "bridges" crossing the road. A system of slopes descends from the roof to ground level. Five red-brick areas emerge from the base, to form artificial hills - a symbolic reference to the "five goats" from a famous local legend.

Distributed among three central blocks surrounded by two hotels, the plan was also designed to be as horizontal as possible, with independent sections facing south-west. The internal structure is simple and clear. Architecturally, a standard constructive module was used as the starting point in order to guarantee feasibility and budgets. Some simple transformations were then undertaken in order to integrate the interior and exterior areas better. The result shows an overall dynamic unit. The choice of materials was red stone, often used in local traditional buildings, and highly-efficient glazing protected by stainless steel visors. The durability, minimal and ecological use of the materials, alongside the choice of renewable energy sources formed the basic principles behind the design.
Revealing a personal view of the construction process of this exceptional building, the Belgian photographer Philippe van Gelooven presented his testimony in the exhibition "Images | Imagination, Citygate in Red", recently shown in Brussels. His images show that contemporary architecture cannot exist without a set of cultural stratifications.


click to enlarge


 


 




 Product of the month


LED lighting has helped turn visionary design into practical reality. Solid-state or LED lighting represents the most significant development in lighting since the discovery of electric light well over a century ago. Offering unprecedented design freedom in terms of colour, dynamics, miniaturisation, architectural integration and energy efficiency, it is opening up possibilities we could previously only dream of, e.g. for ambience creation.


Spot LED Dynamic, paint with light
Catch the eye by adding pulse and dynamics to your lighting.
The optical lens provides perfectly mixed colour and gives an amazingly uniform beam without any colour shadows. In addition to coloured effects, the Spot LED Dynamic also creates high-quality white light varying from 2700 K to 6500 K.
With a family of surface-mounted, suspended and recessed versions, Spot LED Dynamic enables true visual consistency using the highest quality materials and finishings. Flexible aiming (tilt and rotation) ensures maximum adjustability. The Spot LED Dynamic features unique multi-die LED technology (RGBW) with an optical system that delivers 100% colour mixing into a 20-degree beam. With no UV or heat in the beam, it is possible for objects to be lit from a short distance. This makes the Spot LED Dynamic ideal for application in showcases, displays and for lighting precious architectural details and works of art.









click to enlarge




 Room to Read

An homage to an exceptional initiative: the international NGO "Room to Read".

Founded by John Wood, the current President, this organisation – receiving plaudits from President Bill Clinton - grants access to education for thousands of children around the world. Around 3.5 million textbooks in local languages have already been distributed in 5000 libraries in six countries in Asia and South Africa. The aim is to reach 3.5 million copies in 10,000 libraries by 2010 in three continents.


In the event that any infrastructure does not allow for the storage of books and reading areas, the foundation also funds the construction of buildings or architectural structures.



 
 Agenda

- GERMANY -

  • Architektur aus Rheinland-Pfalz
    (> 2/12/2007) - Berlin
    Deutsche Architektur Zentrum
    The BDA Rheinland-Pfalz presents the recent work of 31 offices with a range of their respective projects. The variety encompases the restoration and reconstruction of listed buildings as well as new residential houses, schools and universities and urban planning.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Im Rampenlicht. Baumeister als Bühnenbildner
    (> 9/12/2007) - Stuttgart
    Kunstmuseum
    Willi Baumeister (1889-1955), a painter and typographer who came to be known as one of the most important representatives of abstract painting, designed his first stage set for the »Deutsche Theater Stuttgart« in 1919. The exhibition will show expressive sketches and striking designs for a range of theatre productions. Photos of theater rehearsals and performances, press reviews, and correspondence containing humorous, private sketches will supplement the exhibition material.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Traveling Landscape. Ai Weiwei, Beijing
    (> 9/01/2008) - Berlin
    AedesLand
    The exhibition on Chinese artist, architect and urbanist Ai Weiwei is put on display at AedesLand after Ai Weiwei's campaign 'Fairytale'. Created for Aedes, his installation 'Traveling Landscape' plays ironically with the journey of the suitcases, which traveled with the 1001 Chinese visitors to Germany. Just like the accommodation and fittings for the documenta guests in Kassel, they had been designed especially by Ai Weiwei, each of them a unique specimen. By now, the suitcases have finished their global container journeys - Beijing-Kassel-Beijing-Berlin - just like most of the everyday objects that surround us today.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Architecture, People and Resources | Baumschlager & Eberle 2002-2007
    (> 13/01/2008) - Munich
    Pinakothek der Moderne
    Since its establishment as a partnership in 1985, the architectural practice of Baumschlager & Eberle in Lochau / Vorarlberg has completed well over 300 construction projects and building studies, earning itself an international reputation. Recent representative works include large-scale projects such as the Vienna airport extension, the MOMA high-rises in Beijing, the WHO / UNAIDS building in Geneva and the 1,000-bed hospital in Kortrijk (Belgium). Key to the Baumschlager & Eberle philosophy is that architecture is a complex entity requiring the integration of many different elements, to which justice can only be done if a building meets all the demands made on it in terms of structural intelligence, ecology, economic efficiency and social acceptability. This philosophy is reflected in the division of the »Architecture, People and Resources« exhibition into three distinct parts.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Le Corbusier
    (> 10/02/2008) - Weil am Rhein
    Vitra Design Museum
    The work of Le Corbusier remains highly significant and relevant in today's architectural discourse. Yet during the past two decades, no major museum show has addressed the many aspects that still make Le Corbusier's work such an important point of reference for contemporary architecture and urbanism. To fill this void, the Vitra Design Museum is now joining forces with the Netherlands Architecture Institute and the Royal Institute of British Architects in the production of an international retrospective.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Megacity Network
    (8/12/2007 - 17/02/2008) - Francfort/Main
    DAM

    This exhibition presents for the first time some architects and architectural practices of South Korea, in order to better understand the architectural movements of this important Asian country. About fifteen offices show some of their projects realized during the last ten years: residential, cultural and office buildings, shopping centres and schools.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • MATERIAL VISION
    (22 - 23/11/2007) - Francfort/Main
    Materials for Product Development, Design and Architecture International Trade Fair and Conference
    --- Go to the site ---

  • HEIMTEXTIL
    (9 - 12/01/2008) - Francfort/Main
    International trade fair for home and contract textiles
    --- Go to the site ---

  • IMM INTERNATIONALE MÖBELMESSE
    (14 - 20/01/2008) - Cologne
    International furniture trade fair
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Contractworld
    (12 - 15/01/2008) - Hannover
    Hannover Messe
    International forum for architects and interior designers and will now take place for the eight time at the trade fair Domotex. The line-up of speakers for the contractworld.congress features many international high-fliers in the world of architecture and interior design (Daniel Libeskind, Professor Stephan Braunfels, Alejandro Zaera Polo, Eric Owen Moss, Piero Lissoni, etc.)
    --- Go to the site ---

- AUSTRIA -

  • Architektur 24/7 - eine alltägliche Beziehung
    (> 13/11/2007) - Graz
    Haus der Architektur
    This exhibition reveals the daily life in the architecture photographies because architecture is lived 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Omer Fast
    (> 20/01/2008) - Vienna
    Museum Moderner Kunst
    Omer Fast was born in Israel and has been residing in Berlin for five years. His previous projects frequently concerned places that can be considered historical collections or archives. These projects included an open-air museum of 'living history' in Virginia, and a disused movie set in Cracow, where Omer Fast explored the ways in which our media-driven society transforms historical events into contemporary tales. Omer Fast's solo exhibition at Mumok will present a new video installation.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Chinaproduction
    (> 21/01/2008) - Vienna
    Architekturzentrum Wien - Old hall
    Under this title the exhibition presented in the Az W reflects the current international debate about contemporary architecture in China that is developing from a Maoist-communist state to a political and economic superpower with Western tendencies
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Art after 1970. From the Albertina
    (> 16/03/2008) - Vienna
    Albertina
    This exhibition is presenting selected highlights from its collection of international contemporary art. This first show of a new exhibition series includes groups of works and single works by 16 artists who have decisively influenced the last three and a half decades.
    --- Go to the site ---

- BELGIUM -

  • The Void
    (> 30/11/2007) - Brussels
    Palais des Beaux Arts

    This exhibition presents 11projects of the Portuguese practices Gonçalo Byrne and Aires Mateus.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Stockmans limited, Take care!, Artwork!
    (> 9/12/2007) - Brussels
    Gallery Royal Boch
    Pieter Stockmans, one of the most famous contemporary Belgian ceramist has created small series of objects, artistic items and architectonic installations.
    T + 32 (0)2 503 33 39

  • La Passion des Evidences. Clair-Obscur
    (> 9/12/2007) - Hornu
    Grand-Hornu

    The Belgian designer Nedda El-Asmar recently awarded "Designer of the Year" works the metal in contemporary views. She tries to transform the everyday life.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Vienne-Bruxelles
    (> 23/12/2007) - Brussels
    Musée d'Architecture - La Loge
    The exhibition relates the decisive influence of the Viennese Art on the young generation of architects in Brussels at the beginning of the 20th century. Especially Léon Snyers, but also other architects who were influenced by this revelation : Henry Van de Velde, Léon Sneyers, Paul Hamesse, Jean-Baptiste Dewin, Emile Van Averbeke, Renaat Braem, Louis Herman De Koninck et son épouse, Fernand Khnopff, Edouard Pelseneer, Maxime Brunfaut, Raymond Moenaert...
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Des Fantômes et des Anges
    (> 6/01/2008) - Hornu
    Musée des Arts Contemporains du Grand-Hornu (MAC's)
    On the occasion of its fifth anniversary the Museum welcomes an exceptional exhibition coming from the collections of the Musée d'art moderne Lille Métropole - Villeneuve d'Ascq.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Melting Ice. A Hot Topic
    (> 6/01/2008) - Brussels
    Palais des Beaux Arts

    This innovative exhibition brings together 40 artists from around the world to address issues confronting our changing environment as reflected in the melting and thawing of ice, snow, and permafrost from the Himalayas to Kilimanjaro, from the Andes to the Artic.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Christopher Dresser: pionier van modern design
    (> 13/01/2008) - Ghent
    Design Museum

    Christopher Dresser (1834-1904) born in Glasgow has been the first industrial designer. Trained to be a botanist, he used botany as a source of inspiration for his language of forms.
    After a visit to Japan in 1876-1877, the brilliant Dresser created several objects that were clearly influenced by Oriental models. It is those objects, with their minimalist forms and with which he earned himself a name in later years that will be on display.
    Dresser showed a keen interest in the industrial production process. Most of the time he worked with standardized elements. He made designs for metal, ceramics and glass. If it weren't for Dresser, modern design would be rather different today.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Sottsass
    (> 13/01/2008) - Ghent
    Design Museum

    Ettore Sottsass (1917), Austrian by birth but Italian in heart and soul, opened his own architecture and design studio in 1947. From 1958 he was the design consultant for Olivetti for over 20 years. In the late 1960s - early 1970s, Sottsass played an important role in the avant-garde culture. Sottsass worked both for Studio Alchimia and for the Memphis group.
    The exhibition, organized on the occasion of the 90th birthday of Ettore Sottsass, gives an overview of his large but varied oeuvre. Both the aspects of architecture and design are highlighted.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Milton Glaser
    (22/11/2007 - 3/02/2008) - La Hulpe
    Fondation Folon
    Designer of the well known logo 'I LOVE NY', Milton Glaser was a friend of Folon and they worked together several times. The Folon Foundation will exhibit the artist's graphic and colourful universe: posters, serigraphs and aquarelles.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Quai des orfèvres
    (> 10/02/2008) - Seneffe
    Château de Seneffe
    Five Belgian designers and personnalities (Franco Dragone, Alain Hubert, Olivier Strelli, François Schuiten et Dimitri Weber) display antique silverware in the lounges of this pretigious 18th Century cassle.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Triënnale voor Vormgeving. Schoonheid Enkelvoud - Meervoud
    (14/12/2007 - 2/03/2008) - Brussels
    Royal Museum of Art and History

    Design Flanders organises this year the Design Triennial around the central theme of 'beauty' in its unity and diversity. This event places a number of designers in the spotlight.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Alechinsky from A to Y
    (23/11/2007 - 30/03/2008) - Brussels
     Fine Arts Museum

    In honour of Pierre Alechinsky, a famous Belgian artist now aged 80, the retrospective exhibition shows many important works in close cooperation with the artist: paintings, drawings, engravings and book illustrations selected in national and international collections.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Willy Van der Meeren
    (> 30/03/2008) - Brussels
     Atomium
    The exhibition presents the differents periods of the exceptional professional life of the Belgian architect and designer Willy Van der Meeren (1923-2002).
    --- Go to the site ---

  • BRUSSELS INNOVA ENERGY
    (22 - 25/11/2007) - Brussels
     International trade fair for Technological Innovation focused on Energy
    --- Go to the site ---

  • LINEART
    (30/11 - 4/12/2007) - Ghent
     International Art Fair 19th, 20th and 21st centuries
    --- Go to the site ---

  • POLYCLOSE
    (17 - 19/01/2008) - Ghent
     European fair for window, door, sunprotection, entrance and facade technology
    --- Go to the site ---

  • STONE EXPO
    (27 - 29/01/2008) - Ghent
     European fair for natural stones, ceramics and quartz composites
    --- Go to the site ---
- DENMARK -

  • Copenhagen Changing
    (> 6/01/2008) - Copenhagen
    Dansk Arkitektur Center

    The exhibition displays MAD's use of imaginary shapes and high-tech visualisations and shows how they, combined with a sustainable agenda and with ideas for the future Chinese city, challenges Chinese approaches to values, culture and the environment.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Richard Avedon Photographs 1946-2004
    (> 13/01/2008) - Humlebæk
    Louisiana Museum
    Fashion photographer of vibrant cool and a fantastic creator of portraits. Richard Avedon is today considered one of the greatest photographers of the USA. It is impossible to write the history of photography without him. A World Premiere: Louisiana has the privilege of showing the first retrospective exhibition of Avedons work since his death in 2004.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Now that it is time
    (16/11/2007 - 14/02/2008) - Copenhagen
    Danish Museum Art & Design

    Three significant personalities in Danish sculpture and architecture, Thomas Bang, Ingvar Cronhammar and Poul Ingemann have especially for this exhibition created works and installations, which exist in a widely expanded territory between the functional object and the sculptural gestalt without function, where the concept of purpose assumes unexpected and new dimensions.
    --- Go to the site ---

- SPAIN -

  • Paula Rego
    (> 30/12/2007) - Madrid
    Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
    This retrospective of the Portuguese painter Paula Rego (Lisbon, 1935) presents 80 paintings, 60 drawings and 60 litographies.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Be-Bomb: the Transatlantic War of Images and all that Jazz. 1946-1956
    (> 7/01/2008) - Barcelona
    Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona
    This exhibition analyses the dialogue between different spheres of post-war political and cultural life in the United States and France, documenting a particular period between 1946 and 1956 and encompassing from the euphoria of the liberation and reconstruction following the Second World War to the shadows and fear of the Cold War.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Yves Tanguy. The Surrealist Universe
    (> 7/01/2008) - Barcelona
    Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya

    Classed as "the most surrealist of the Surrealists" by André Breton, the driving force behind this artistic movement, Yves Tanguy (Paris, 1900 - Woodbury, Connecticut, 1955) is today one of its representatives least-known to the public at large. The exhibition comprises over two hundred and fifty pieces. About fifty of his paintings, the most important part of his work, are exhibited, from the early post-Cubist and Expressionist works of 1924 to Multiplication of the Arcs, painted shortly before he died.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Chacun à son goût
    (> 3/02/2008) - Bilbao
    Museum Guggenheim
    This exhibition is designed to promote the creativity of contemporary Basque artists by inviting them to produce specific works that interact with the exhibition spaces of the Museum. The selection of works will demonstrate that the artists chosen are authors of international vocabularies and respond to and question the tensions of their specific locus.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Art in the USA: 300 Years of Innovation
    (> 25/04/2008) - Bilbao
    Museum Guggenheim

    This exhibition features a compelling selection of approximately 200 artworks culled from a range of private and public collections in the United States. Six historical periods demonstrate how the art of each era both reflected and contributed to a complex visual narrative of a nation during times of discovery, growth and experimentation.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • The 4th «European Symposium on Research in Architecture and Urban Design EURAU'08»
    (16 - 19/01/2008) - Madrid
    Escuela Tecnica Superior de Arquitectura
    --- Go to the site ---

- FINLAND -
  • Carnegie Art Award
    (> 6/01/2008) - Helsinki
    Kiasma

    Carnegie Art Award was founded in 1998 to promote Nordic contemporary art and artists. In addition to the exhibition, the event includes awards to four of the participating artists, an exhibition book and a film presenting the artists. The prize is this year awarded to Torsten Andersson, Jesper Just, John Kørner and Nathalie Djurberg. Biannually, the experts of the Nordic contemporary art each nominate five artists they consider prominent. Of the 143 artists nominated this year, the jury chose the 26 artists for the Carnegie Art Award 2008 exhibition.
    --- Go to the site ---
  • Yuki Hayama - Ceramic Stories
    (> 6/01/2008) - Helsinki
    Design Museum
    Yuki Hayama is a self-educated Japanese ceramic artist, who combines the traditions of Japanese ceramic art with his own personal style.
    --- Go to the site ---
  • Emerging Identities - East!
    (21/11/2007 - 17/02/2008) - Helsinki
    Museum of Finnish Architecture
    On display is contemporary built culture from former Socialist countries which have recenty become members of the European Union. This Eastern European journey focusses on the built projects of young architects. They develop projects out of their own initiative and idealism, and their buildings embody strong conceptual thinking and the implementation of the concept. It is not only the new public buildings, but far more the many small interventions that represent current tendencies. There are over 90 participants from 9 countries: Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland.
    --- Go to the site ---

- FRANCE -

  • Création architecturale et Innovation urbaine dans le centre historique de Bordeaux
    (> 23/12/2007) - Bordeaux
    Arc en rêve centre d'architecture
    Call for new ideas on architectural creation on the occasion of the 50 th anniversary of INCITÉ with Manuel Aires Mateus, Lisbon • Fabre/ de Marien, Bordeaux • La Nouvelle Agence, Parempuyre / Christophe Hutin, Bordeaux • Duncan Lewis & Off Architecture, Bordeaux • Jan de Vylder Architecten, Ghent.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Artek
    (> 15/12/2007) - Paris
    Instutut Finlandais
    Artek is renowned as one of the most innovative contributions to modern design.
    Long-term durability and high quality combined with a clean-lined form language are the essential elements in the creation of every single product that bears the Artek name. Artek's comprehensive furnishing system can be used in all kinds of situations from public spaces to offices, museums to schools, hotels to homes.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • La peau. Entre texture et ossature
    (> 31/12/2007) - Paris
    Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine - Palais de Chaillot
    The building's skin has always been a challenge for the architects and the builders. The scenography of this exhibition conceived by the architects Hamonic+Masson presents 14 projects recently realized or under construction in France.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Le Corbusier : 103 maisons et la ville de Chandigarh
    (> 5/01/2008) - Toulouse
    Centre Méridional de l'Architecture et de la Ville
    From 1951 the his death in 1965, Le Corbusier associated with Pierre P Jeanneret, Maxwell Fry andJane Drew, has worked on the construction of Chandigarh, the new capital of the Indian State of Punjab.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Design contre Design
    (> 8/01/2008) - Paris
    Galeries nationales du Grand Palais
    The exhibition focuses on international design, from Verner Panton to Ingo Maurer, from Gaetano Pesce to Marc Newson.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Voisins.Voisines
    (> 12/01/2008) - Marseille
    Maison de l'architecture et de la ville Paca
    The exhibition presents 40 new housing projects in France with a strong architectural added value.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Purs décors ? Chefs-d'œuvre de l'Islam aux Arts Décoratifs
    (> 13/01/2008) - Paris
    Musée des Arts Décoratifs
    Les Arts Décoratifs has a collection of over 3,000 works of Islamic Art. Exceptional both in size and quality, it includes a number of unique masterpieces (carpets, textiles, ceramics, miniatures, etc.). Three hundred of these works show the influence of the Arts Décoratifs collection in the applied arts at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and emphasise the role the institution has played in this field.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Henry Moore et la Mythologie
    (> 28/02/2008) - Paris
    Musée Bourdelle
    The exhibition presents many works belonging to the Henry Moore Foundation or coming from public or private collections throughout the world.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • Matières à cultiver
    (5/01 - 16/03/2008) - Paris
    Galerie VIA

    An exhibition that aims at showing the new possibilities for using renewable materials: timber, multiplies, composite fibres of vegetable origin.

  • "Table ronde"
    (25/11/2007 - 5.30 pm) - Bordeaux
    arc en rêve centre d'architecture
    With Alain Juppé, Mayor of Bordeaux Hugues Martin, President of InCité François Barré, President of “arc en rêve centre d'architecture” and the architects Manuel Aires Mateus, Fabre/ de Marien, Parempuyre / Christophe Hutin, Duncan Lewis, Jan de Vylder.
    --- Go to the site ---

  • SALON DE LA PISCINE, SPA ET SAUNA
    (1 - 9/12/2007) - Paris
    Swiming pool, spa and sauna fair
     --- Go to the site ---

- GREAT-BRITAIN -
  • Zaha Hadid Architecture and Design
    (> 25/11/2007) - London
     Design Museum
    The first woman to win the Pritzker Prize for Architecture in its 26 year history, Zaha Hadid has defined a radically new approach to architecture by creating buildings, such as the Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati, with multiple perspective points and fragmented geometry to evoke the chaos of modern life.
    --- Go to the site ---
  • Curtis Moffat: Experimental Photography and Design, 1923-1935
    (> 13/01/2008) - London
    Victoria & Albert Museum Architecture Exhibition Gallery
    Curtis Moffat created dynamic abstract photographs, innovative colour still lives and some of the most glamorous society portraits of the early 20th century. He was also a pivotal figure in Modernist interior design. Moffat's archive, containing over 1,000 photographic prints and negatives as well as press cuttings, scrap books and ephemera, was generously donated to the V&A in 2007 by Penelope Smail. The donation is celebrated by featuring some of its highlights in this display. It also acts as a starting point to study Moffat's pioneering but hitherto little-known work in more depth.
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  • Louise Bourgeois
    (> 20/01/2008) - London
    Tate Modern

    This first major survey since 1995 of the work of the French-born artist Louise Bourgeois (b.1911) will provide an unprecedented opportunity to reassess her work. Over a long career, Bourgeois has worked in dialogue with most of the major international avant-garde artistic movements of the twentieth century, from Surrealism to Conceptual art, but has always remained uniquely apart, powerfully inventive and often at the forefront of contemporary practice.
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  • Seduced: Art and Sex from Antiquity to Now
    (> 27/01/2008) - London
    Barbican Art Gallery
    It is a major exhibition focusing on representations of sex from diverse eras and cultures. Provocative and ambitious, it includes around 250 works, spanning over 2000 years, including Roman marbles, Indian manuscripts, Renaissance and Baroque paintings and sculptures, Chinese paintings and prints, Japanese woodcuts, 19th century photographs and contemporary video. Drawn from important public and private collections from around the world, some of the works have never been seen in public, others rarely shown and many have never been exhibited in the UK.
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  • My Sust. House
    (> 17/02/2008) - Glasgow
    The Lighthouse

    The Lighthouse opens the door of its interactive 'eco-house'! This fun, activity packed sustainability den offers a hands on opportunity to learn about cutting edge and traditional approaches to energy saving and renewable energy.
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  • Jean Prouvé
    (7/12/2007 - 25/03/2008) - London
    Design Museum
    The radical, functional and inspiring work of the French designer and engineer Jean Prouvé (1901 –1984) will be shown in this first comprehensive overview of his work in the UK. With examples of his unique furniture design, architecture, drawings, film and photographs, the exhibition will present the enormous influence of Prouvé within the history of 20th Century design. This exhibition re-designed for the Design Museum was originated by the Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany in cooperation with Deutsches Architektur Museum, Frankfurt and Design Museum Akihabara, Japan.
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  • DESIGN INTERIORS
    (7/12/2007 - 25/03/2008) - Birmingham
    Design Interiors, Furniture, Furnishing Accessories, Outdoor Collection, Lighting
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- GREECE -
  • Places
    (> 25/11/2007) - Athens
    Benaki Museum

    Contemporary art in Greece through the collections of the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art
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  • ARES competition
    (1 - 31/12/2007) - Athens
    The exhibition presents the Prize winners of an international ideas competition. The Technical Chamber of Greece (TCG) and the UIA Work Program on architecture and renewable energy sources (ARES) invited architects to develop new construction methods for efficient shells and settlement units that will satisfy the urgent housing needs resulting from different geographic, topographic, ecological, social, or political crises.
    --- Go to the site ---
  • POLIS
    (15 - 18/11/2007) - Thessaloniki
    Benaki Museum
    International Exhibition for Municipalities, Public, Social Sector and Private Enterprises
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- ITALY -
  • Mark Rothko
    (> 8/01/2008) - Roma
    Palazzo Esposizioni
    Rétrospective de l'oeuvre d'une figure remarquable de l'art contemporain américain