This project won the 2013 Architizer A+ Jury Award in the kindergartens, primary, & high schools category. See the full list of winners here. 

Now here is a building that really considers its surroundings. Located in the foothills of the Swiss Alps, the town of Bovernier is highly prone to avalanches. In order to protect itself from one of these sudden natural disasters, administrators at the existing Bovenier Primary School commissioned Swiss architects Bonnard Woeffray to design an addition that would not only provide extra space, but would also act as sturdy protective armor. 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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“Encerclement à dix,” Chapelle Jeanne d’Arc/Centre d’Art Contemporain, Thouars, France, 1999

Optical illusions painted on architectural spaces? Um, yes please! We’re crazy about Swiss artist Felice Varini’s large-scale anamorphic paintings, which transform from random swooshes to 3D-like geometric forms once the viewer finds the right focal point. The artist developed these mind-bending works in 1979, with smaller-scale paintings done in simple shapes. But he has gradually expanded his canvas to include spacious rooms, majestic exteriors,  and even an entire Swiss village, which he decorated with white-rimmed circles. See more photos of his trippy murals after the jump. 

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Project:  A Sauna

Architect:  BUREAU A

Location:  Geneva, Switzerland

Perched jauntily atop a roof terrace in Geneva, this droll sauna achieves an appropriate ‘separation’ from the apartment’s primary living spaces. Like the more typical rural outbuildings, this urban sauna retains a vernacular appeal, while also adapting to the post-industrial roof-scape. The sauna’s stove chimney is a defining element of the simple volume, and is at home among the neighboring vents and smoke stacks.

Read more about this project in the Architizer database!

Images courtesy Dylan Perrenoud

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There are two types of hotels. First, there are the ones that merely provide a place to rest your head in between sight-seeing bouts—the hostels or chain hotels that dot popular tourist spots such as New York or Paris. And then there are ones that are so magnificent you’ll never want to leave—luxurious resorts in middle-of-nowhere Utah, rooms in romantic caves in rural Italy, or a modern spaceship in Dubai. These lodgings, with their picturesque settings, crazy amenities, and (of course) amazing design, aren’t just a place to sleep: they are vacation destinations in and of themselves. We’ve rounded up some of our favorites—from the drop-dead gorgeous to the head-scratchingly insane—from around the globe. Click through to see our picks!

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If you haven’t noticed, we’ve made sort of a big deal about education in the past couple days. Between nurseries and all-around learning, it’s more than an important topic. Today we are featuring all of the facilities that have been shortlisted for the A+ Awards’ “School” category. From kindergartens to higher education buildings, all of these projects create an environment that encourages the advancement of knowledge— plus they’re fun to look at! Click through to see them all.

Spot a favorite? Make sure to vote for it over at the A+ Public Voting site!

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Project: Museum der Kulturen

Architect: Herzog & de Meuron

Location: Basel, Switzerland

With all the grace of a barnacle, Herzog & de Meuron’s addition to the Museum der Kulturen in Basel sits atop an older structure that dates back to 1917. The museum building, the first of its kind to have been built in Basel, has white masonry walls that support the new black volume, creating a visual dichotomy that’s mediated by hanging green vines.  The sculptural headpiece adds a new level of gallery space and was constructed as part of renovations made to the museum, which were completed in September of 2011, and signaled its reopening to the public. Read more about this project in the Architizer database.

Photos: Roland Halbe

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Project: Messe Basel New Hall

Architect: Herzog & de Meuron

Location: Basel, Switzerland

Herzog & de Meuron’s new exhibition hall in Basel isn’t meant to be an icon, per se. While it’s hoped that the project will stimulate development around the Messeplatz (Basel’s Exhibition Square), the building is much more restrained than the flash formalism typical of the genre. Constructed of a scaly aluminum façade, the new hall ushers in a new era for the Messeplatz, and takes the place of two outdated spaces that could no longer meet the necessary exhibition requirements. Three levels of open exhibition space centers around an outdoor central courtyard, and features an event area for 2,500 spectators. Read more about this project in the Architizer database.

Photos © MCH Group

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The Zumthor properties at Leis, Switzerland

If you like your holidays steeped in nostalgia for times you never had and imbued with the irritant smell of pine  and the hue of sallow cedar wood, chances are you’ll be shopping around for a winter cabin to spend this Christmas vacation. Yes, it’s late in the game to be conducting your search, but you might try your luck and look up a Mr. Peter Zumthor, whose first-rate lodgings in the mountain valley of Leis, Switzerland seem to still be available. You read correctly; the architect and his wife Annalisa have, for the first time, opened up one of their timber homes to potential renters, at a rate ranging from $3,770 – $5,170. What a deal?

Continue.

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It’s winter in our corner of the world, and while the weather outside may feel frightful, the view can be oh so delightful. What’s better than sitting by the fire, drinking hot cocoa, and watching the snow cover the outdoors in a big white blanket? Well, we can think of one thing: doing all that inside one of these cozy snow huts. So, put on your hat and gloves and click through to see our 10 favorite (indoor) winter wonderlands. And be sure to share your favorites in the comments section below!

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