Dolder Grand Hotel, Zurich, Switzerland: extension completed 2008 by Foster + Partners, photo: Foster + Partners

Journalist Klaus Leuschel provides a crash course in, and a guided tour of, grand hotels, and how even design excellence in the five-star tradition is of no avail when the quality of hospitality does not match it.

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Photo: Maria da Schio

A collage of stories and urban situations from around the world: BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, Topotek1 and Superflex’s response to Copenhagen’s most multi-cultural district. Everything about Danish architect Bjarke Ingels seems a long way from a minimalist approach prone to subtraction: his office’s name, BIG; the name of one of his projects, Superkilen(1); his motto “Yes is more”, a rereading of Mies van der Rohe’s historic dictum; his way of moving, working and expressing himself. (by Valentina Ciuffi)

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House F by Kenji Ido / Ido, Kenji Architectural Studio, photo: Takumi Ota

House F by Kenji Ido is a house designed for a couple in Osaka, Japan, made of wood, is three stories high and is located on a narrow urban site. The neighbourhood is mixed-use where small houses, small factories, and small office buildings coexist without much harmony.

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Stadthalle concert and event hall by Max Dudler, photo: Stefan Müller courtesy American Hardwood Export Council

Officially opened in January 2013, architect Max Dudler’s Stadthalle is devoted to cultural events and concerts and is located in a traditional urban setting in Reutlingen, Germany next to Bürgerpark, a local public park.

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Entre Cielos by A4estudio

The spring of architectural creativity is in full flow, with a number of offices internationally adding value to the age-old practice of therapeutic bathing. Architonic’s Simon Keane-Cowell presents our selection of the best of the latest spa and wellness architecture. Go ahead. The water’s warm.

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Suitcase Desk by TILT for Club Workspace, photo: Jill Tate

UK-based architecture and design practice TILT has designed two new coworking spaces in London for Club Workspace, a fast-growing network of creative coworking clubs for entrepreneurs, freelancers and professionals.

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Swedish architectural office Claesson Koivisto Rune’s Villa Widlund foregrounds its constructedness by leaving the joins between its constituting concrete elements exposed; photo Åke E.son Lindman

Head north and you’ll find a thriving design culture where the level of consideration given to the way things look, feel and work isn’t determined by their scale. Be they housing projects, chairs or taps, the Scandinavian approach to design continues to be a more democratic one, driven in no small part by the number of Nordic architects who design beyond buildings. Architonic’s Simon Keane-Cowell takes a comprehensive look at contemporary Nordic architects who cross design boundaries.

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Torafu Architects’ design for the Nike 1Love store in Tokyo; photo by Daici Ano

In spite of the rise of e-commerce, the physical point of sale is still with us. That said, the traditional store is having to up its game in terms of the experience and brand relevance it offers consumers – not only to compete with online shopping but also to support it. Architonic goes all secret shopper to investigate… (by Simon Keane-Cowell)

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