Ensamble Studio’s Hemeroscopium House, in Madrid; photo: Roland Halbe

Architects love structure—and with good reason. In a profession that frequently blurs the lines between artistic disciplines, structure is one of the few things that architects can uniquely call their own. From Mies van der Rohe to Félix Candela, many masters have made their affinity for engineering central to their architectural style. And though we still celebrate their work, these architects weren’t the only ones who loved their steel I-Beams and concrete arches. That’s why we wanted to take a look at some recent projects that showcase architects and firms who aren’t afraid to shape space with structure. See our 9 picks below!

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Not all seaside architecture need be weathered and worn. England may be famous for its salt-pelted beachfront villages, but the isle’s traditional vacation spots have begun awakening to the sleeker charms of modern design. No doubt we owe some of this progress to the evangelism of the pop philosopher Alain de Botton, who brought modern materials like concrete, glass, and aluminum to the Suffolk seashore through his starchitect-studded vacation rental outfit, Living Architecture.

Before de Botton began his campaign for modern architecture tourism, the Manchester-based practice Arca Architects parked a sleek steel and glass café on the beach in Morecambe, a once-thriving seaside resort that had fallen on hard times. With its pod-like steel wrapper and ample glass, Arca’s design for the Silver Café has more in common with an airport terminal than the old stonework and masonry of nearby structures. So how did the firm build this modern gem in a land of clapboard and crumbling stone? Read more!

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Image via Twitter user @Lucien_N_Smith

Images of the 2013 Serpentine Pavilion by Sou Fujimoto are slowly trickling out of London. Now under construction, the pavilion, as seen in conceptual renderings, will take the form of a dreamlike dematerializing cloud of white rods, tethered to rationality through its cubic lattice.

Fujimoto describes his concept:

For the 2013 Pavilion I propose an architectural landscape: a transparent terrain that encourages people to interact with and explore the site in diverse ways. Within the pastoral context of Kensington Gardens, I envisage the vivid greenery of the surrounding plant life woven together with a constructed geometry. A new form of environment will be created, where the natural and the man-made merge; not solely architectural nor solely natural, but a unique meeting of the two.

The Pavilion will be a delicate, three-dimensional structure, each unit of which will be composed of fine steel bars. It will form a semi-transparent, irregular ring, simultaneously protecting visitors from the elements while allowing them to remain part of the landscape. The overall footprint will be 350 square-metres and the Pavilion will have two entrances. A series of stepped terraces will provide seating areas that will allow the Pavilion to be used as a flexible, multi-purpose social space.

Check out some of the construction shots culled from Instagram and Twitter, as well as the renderings, below.

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This project won the 2013 Architizer A+ Jury and Popular Choice Awards in BOTH the Government & Municipal Buildings AND Parks categories. See the full list of winners here.

Rising above misty Norwegian fjords, the Trollstigen National Tourist Route provides unprecedented access to a sublime Scandinavian landscape. The bold forms and robust materiality employed by Oslo-based Reiulf Ramstad Architects evoke rugged modernism with a cinematic flair. This exquisite project astounded our esteemed jurors and avid fans alike, sweeping both the Jury and Popular Choice Awards in two different categories to become the most highly decorated Architizer A+ winner! A masterwork of composition and material, the project’s true beauty lies in its restraint and technical execution, perched atop the world. Read more.

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This project won the 2013 Architizer A+ Jury  Award in the bars & nightlife category. See the full list of winners here. 

Building a contemporary winery in a UNESCO-protect landscape isn’t easy. The Lavaux Vinyard Terraces have stretched along the southern shores of Lake Geneva since monks started the precarious plantings centuries ago. Yet Swiss atelier Fournier-Maccagan took up the challenge of designing a modern space dedicated to tasting and displaying wines grown on the surrounding terraces, without disturbing the valuable planting surfaces.

With nowhere left to build but directly into the rock, the architects devised a stunning contemporary facade on the cliff-face to announce the winery’s presence among the farmed terraces. The facade of ‘VINORAMA’ is covered by a sculptural steel rain-screen, designed by Swiss artist Daniel Schleapfer. It’s pixelated surface depicts grapevines, which impart a pleasant dappled light to the interior tasting rooms. Read more!

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Project:  Cruise Ship Terminal

Architect:  [baragaño]

Location:  Bilbao, Vizacaya, Spain

The new Cruise Ship Terminal for the Port of Bilbao is an “orthogonal metallic prism” dissected along the port’s quayside. Clad in jet-black steel panels, the terminal building balances a contextual industrial aesthetic with an elegant contemporary character. Large skylights flood the terminal’s interior with light, reducing the need for endless florescent fixtures across the deep space. The assertive architectural presence creates a sense of place that is too often absent from transportation hubs.

Read more about this project in the Architizer database!

Photos: Mariela Apollonio

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Project: Park Pavilion

Architect: Moneo Brock Studio

Location: Cuenca, Spain

This astounding park pavilion in the historic city of Cuenca acts as a catalyst for rehabilitating the abandoned surrounding natural landscape. The crowning jewel of a larger urban project that includes the construction of performance spaces, an ice-skating rink, bars and restaurants in a cluster of historic buildings, the park pavilion functions as a venue for the city’s annual fair and weekly market. Composed of 23 pentagonal modules of glass and steel and linked by a structural network, the crystalline pavilion glitters in sunlight, and is sure to capture the eye of any onlooker. By blending material allure with a fragmented layout, the design speaks of a neglected history now infused with a reinvigorated future.

Read more about this project in the Architizer database.

This project was chosen as a Special Mention in the Architizer A+ Awards

Photos: courtesy of Moneo Brock Studio

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Architecture has been called a plastic art, but don’t let the term fool you. Rather than images of soft, malleable polyurethane, today we bring you architecture on point—sharp buildings that span the gamut from impossible knife-edges to bristling spikes. These unusual forms capture the imagination and catch the eye. But beware, in this case, looks can kill.

These buildings will having you thinking twice before you mess with architecture. Click through for the slideshow!

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Photo © Bruce Damonte

Rust usually denotes decrepitude of a sort. It’s the slow erosion and eventual disintegration of iron and steel, mechanization and industrial prosperity. It’s the nasty, depressing byproduct of vanquished hopes, dreams, and growth. After all, they don’t call it the Rust Belt for nothing.

Still, despite its metaphoric drawbacks, rust—weathered steel—is being embraced by architects all over the world (or at least by those in hospitable climates). One of the year’s most significant projects, SHoP’s Barclays Center in Brooklyn, wears a bristling coat of the stuff, though, it should be said, much to the neighborhood’s dismay. Herzog & de Meuron used it in Madrid for their much-beloved CaixaForum Madrid, where the rusty facade is paired rather nicely with a vibrant garden wall. In any case, rusted materials are indeed difficult to work with, but that isn’t stopping architects from making great use of them. Just have a look at these ten projects to see just how to use rust. Click through for the slideshow. 

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Project:  Steel Study House II

Architect:  Archipelontwerpers

Location:  Leeuwarden, Netherlands

Function:  This modern home is a reiteration of a classical courtyard house, spreading fully across its lot while preserving a central void, onto which the adjacent rooms open. The central patio also divides the house programmatically, with the fully enclosed programs of bedrooms and service spaces facing the street, while the leisure spaces remain opened and face the lake. Lustrous powder-coated panels and operable louvers add texture and cladding to the 6m x 6m steel frame.  Read more about this project in the Architizer database.

Think you’ve got a better project? Submit it for an Architizer A+ Award!

Photos: Marcel van der Burg

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