GLOBAL UPDATE

12 News from global architecture, design and development.

PROJECTS

30 LEBANON: Lebanese Milieu
Lebanese architect Jo Geitani presents his two alternatives for the Avenue des Francais Building in the centre of Beirut.

34 TAIWAN: Living Art
Outwardly brutal yet inwardly organic, this art gallery also houses two brothers and their families.

40 JORDAN: Mondrian Painting
The competition-winning design for the Royal Jordanian’s Headquarters in Amman

BIG STORY

46 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Culture Capital
Thanks to the ambitious plans of Abu Dhabi’s Tourism and Development Company (TDIC), Abu Dhabi will soon be not only the capital of the United Arab Emirates – the country with the highest per capita in the world, but will also secure its place as one of the cultural capitals of the world.

With no inhibitions about its ambitions, the TDIC has commissioned no less than four of the world’s most renowned architects for the design of iconic museums and a performing arts centre – Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel, Tadao Ando and Zaha Hadid; all located in the Cultural District, the centrepiece of the Saadiyat Island development. We explore all four museums:

48: Abu Dhabi Guggenheim by Frank Gehry

50 Performing Arts Centre by Zaha Hadid

54 Louvre Abu Dhabi by Jean Nouvel

58 Maritime Museum by Tadao Ando

INHOUSE

62 INDIA: Self Reflection
The house of Mr Parag Shah in the city of Sura, the second largest city in the Gujrat province.

66 CANADA: Sugar Shack
Isolated in a harsh landscape, the archetypal gable of Maison Goulet becomes a benchmark proclaiming the familiarity of shelter

72 CHINA: Treehouse
Inspired by nature, the pentagonal forms of the Waterville Golf Resort’s guest house merge the structure into its context.

TREND SETTER

76 Global happenings and products from the world of interiors

INTERIORS PLUS

82 FRANCE: Salons at 22 Place Vendôme
Fantasy and natural motifs combine with classic French elegance in a unique, very Van Cleef & Arpels atmosphere at the newly renovated boutique at this legendry address

88 FRANCE: Lemaire’s ‘Apartment’
Fashion Designer Christophe Lemaire’s first boutique in Paris is less of a retail environment, but more of a residential apartment.

90 USA: Nobu 57
Inspiration for New Yorks Nobu Fifty Seven’s design shifts from the Japanese countryside and looks to the sea.

94 UK: Lighting up HammersonsLighting Design International’s award winning lighting design

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

98 MEXICO: At the Grasshopper Hill
Competition wining design for Mexico City’s new environmental and educational park.

101 USA: Bridge over troubled waters
The Envisioning Gateway: A Public Design Competition for Gateway National Park

102 USA: Mapping the Ecotone
Winning design for the above competition as chosen by Jury

COMMUNITY & PLANNING

104 UAE: The Future Now
The world’s first carbon-free city by Foster + Partners in the UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi

106 EGYPT: Mansheit Nasser
Locals help transform their shanty town in Cairo

108 IRAQ: Home Swap
Sunni and Shia families swap homes in bid to remain safe

SMART ENVIRONMENTS

110 GERMANY: Golden Architecture in City Sculpture Park
A temporary construction project has been specially created to mark the occasion of the internationally renowned outdoor exhibition Skulptur Projekte Münster 07, in Munster, Germany

112 GERMANY: The LED House
The world’s first house to be completely lit by LEDs: the ‘Hause im Hause’ (House inside the House).

117 GLOBAL: Excellence in Lighting Design
The 24th International Association of Lighting Designers Awards including all 20 winning designs

123 JAPAN: Chino Cultural Complex
The IALD Radiance Award of Excellence for Lighting Design winner, 2007

126 AUSTRIA: Divine Intervention
The newly constructed, award-winning base terminal of Galzigbahn sets new international standards in cable-railway architecture

130 UK: Red Oak at the Northampton School for Boys
Can architecture really contribute to raising achievement within a school environment?

133 FRANCE: Open Climates
The proposed pavilion for the new School of Beaux-Arts in Nantes, France explores how architecture can also depend on a parallel relation to atmospheric conditions generated as much from form as from function

CONSERVATION & PRESERVATION

134 MEXICO: Condensed Chic
The award-winning hotel Condesa df -once simple and glamorous while also cool and pop blossoms in one of Mexico DF’s historical district.

VIEW POINT

142 Vaastu Shastra: Architecture in resonance with life

PEOPLE & PRACTICE

143 Regional industry-related issues and topics