Desert Rock Resort / Oppenheim Architecture
Carved into the Hejaz Mountains, Desert Rock Blends Architecture with Nature, Setting a New Standard for Immersive Travel
Articles by Andreas Luco
Desert Rock Resort / Oppenheim Architecture
Carved into the Hejaz Mountains, Desert Rock Blends Architecture with Nature, Setting a New Standard for Immersive Travel
De Nederlandsche Bank / Mecanoo
De Nederlandsche Bank (1968) is located on the historic ‘Utrechtse Poort’ site close to Amsterdam’s canal belt. Until 1929, this was the location of the Paleis voor Volksvlijt (Palace of Industry), designed by Samuel Sarphati, which was destroyed by fire that same year. Sarphati’s vision – uniting culture, economy, entrepreneurship, and science in one place for all people – was revolutionary at the time. De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) is the independent central bank of the Netherlands, committed to financial stability, a smooth and secure payment system, and the supervision of financial institutions. The DNB building, designed by architect Marius Duintjer, was modern and functional. However, it was not embraced by the people of Amsterdam, who found that it was unapproachable and contrasted with the historic architecture of the city centre. For the complex – consisting of a low-rise, square-shaped building (110 x 120 metres) and a 73-metre-high office tower – Duintjer drew inspiration from the mid-century modern architecture of Mies van der Rohe and SOM found in the United States. At the time, the design was pioneering due to its minimalist lines, restrained use of materials, and transparency. However, that sense of transparency was soon lost due to security requirements; the building became a fortress with fences, large boulders, and armed military police. In 1991, a circular tower was added in the courtyard, and a third floor was placed atop the low-rise square. With the decision to relocate the gold reserves and banknote operations to the Cash Centre in Zeist, the opportunity arose to transform this heavily secured and overdue-for-renovation building and open it up to the greater public in a more engaging way. The circular tower was no longer needed and could be dismantled in a modular manner.
Wave Cube / Scenic Architecture Office
Wave Imaginary — Whether in literature or science, waves are both ubiquitous and mysterious. In the everyday environment of Earth, only a few visible continuous media generate observable waves, such as water waves, while experiences at the human scale are even rarer, with surfers being among the few who can enter the interior of ocean waves. As a man-made structure, architecture is formed through static systems that create fixed spaces to meet human needs for activities and rest within flat surfaces. Consequently, it is challenging to draw direct comparisons with dynamic systems like waves. Only fixed locations such as skateboarding pools provide an experience of dynamic undulation. In recent works by Scenic Architecture Office, the focus has consistently been on three directions: “courtyard settlement,” “extension of homes,” and “free cell.” Among these, “free cell” explore new architectural forms through the integration of technology and spatial experience. The continuous undulation of mountains and waters, the traditional clustering of architectural rooftops, the reproduction of cells, and the transmission of information all share a morphological connection to waves. We have been continuously thinking whether the morphology of waves could offer further insights for the future of architecture. The “Wave Cube” project by Jin Hai Lake has provided us with a rare opportunity for exploration.
Yuanfeng Road Fire Station / genarchitects
The site is located on the suburban edge of Kunshan High-Tech Zone, within an area planned as an industrial park. When we first visited, the area was still largely vacant land. A small canal along the western edge connects to the Wusong River a short distance to the south; downstream it becomes Suzhou Creek, which flows through Shanghai and joins the Huangpu River at the Bund.
Renovation of the Old Riverside House / Ref Architects + 0.5m Studio
Project Background and Site Understanding — The site is located on an elevated riverside plot along the Wuxi River in Wangcunkou Town, Suichang County, Zhejiang Province, descending toward a natural stone riverbank. Historically, it served as an important water transportation dock during the Ming and Qing dynasties and later became an active area of revolutionary history. With the shift of time, the site has remained abandoned for many years. Although the village is structured along the river, most of the riverbank is occupied by residential buildings, leaving little public access to the water. The renovated house sits between a small plaza and the riverbank, and its enclosed condition had long blocked villagers’ approach to the water. The design goal therefore emerged clearly: to transform “separation” into “connection” by renewing the old house and releasing an openly accessible waterfront public space for the community.
Lefferts Manor House / Abruzzo Bodziak Architects
The Lefferts Manor section of the Prospect Lefferts Gardens Historic District in Brooklyn is a remarkably well-preserved series of historic houses from the late 19th to early 20th-century: stately and large enough for families, the interiors can pose challenges to contemporary living, with outdated building systems, a lack of storage, and dark, divided spaces. New owners of a corner house—a couple with backgrounds in marketing and journalism, raising two children—came to ABA for something “clean, bright, natural, highly purposeful/functional, and kid-friendly.” While the exterior of the building is protected by landmark status, ABA approached the interiors not as restoration, but as reinvention. Looking to retain character while minimizing complexity, ABA suggested unifying spaces and bringing calm and simplicity by using as few ingredients as possible, consistently throughout. In doing so, the design process simultaneously references the house’s historic form, borrows from early modernists like Adolph Loos in material usage, and unapologetically eliminates detail.
Mirzé Refuge / Estúdio HAA!
Every architectural project is shaped by a unique story. At Estúdio HAA! we believe that spaces should reflect the personal rhythm and intentions of those who inhabit them and Refúgio Mirzé is a direct response to that principle.
PARENTS’ House / YES.ARCH
The First Act of Organization: Tracing the Trajectory of Life — The existing three-story building sits on terraced terrain, accessible from both north and south. Years of habit had formed a vertical functional zoning: the second floor, connecting to the vehicular road in the southern community, served as the main entrance, housing the living room, garage, guest room, balcony, and atrium; the first floor, backing against the hillside retaining wall and facing the rear garden, connected to the pedestrian secondary entrance and consisted of the dining room, kitchen, and entertainment room; the third floor was the most private sleeping area, containing two bedrooms and a study. After continuous discussion and comparison of schemes, this zoning was retained in the renovation. The thinking focused on how to release the spatial potential of the house to become a catalyst for the evolution of future life.
Jingzhou City Wall Archaeological Site Exhibition Pavilion / Qing Studio
A Millennium Cross-Section on a Living Street — This project originates from a major breakthrough in the archaeological discovery and conservation practice at Bastion No. 11 of the Jingzhou City Wall. Since 2016, this section of the ancient wall had been listed for emergency conservation due to foundation settlement and structural cracking. During the repair process, a stratified structure of “walls built upon walls,” spanning the Five Dynasties, Song, Ming, and Qing periods, was uncovered. This led to the approval by the National Cultural Heritage Administration for systematic archaeological excavation.