The structure’s outer concrete shell protects the interior’s wooden core, while solar cells built into the large, south-facing window provide all the energy the facility needs; photo L J B AS, E Marchesi, Statens Vegvesen

We’d like to talk to you about a delicate matter. The toilet. The WC. The lavatory. However you choose to refer to it, we all require regular access to this most prosaic of environments. Which is why it’s refreshing to see a number of recent public conveniences receive a greater degree of design consideration than has historically been the case. So, sit down, relax and don’t forget to flush…

(by Simon Keane-Cowell)

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Selvika National Tourist Route by Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter; photo courtesy of the architects

Overlooking the Arctic Ocean and surrounded by the spectacular, coastal scenery of Havøysund, north Norway, this winding concrete structure has been developed by Oslo-based practice Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter. One of the 18 National Tourist Routes in Norway, it was realised ‘to single out and magnify the experience of walking from the roadside down to the seaside at this very special place.’ The striking, serpentine path has been officially inaugurated less than a month ago, on 22 June. (more…)

MuséoParc Alésia by Bernard Tschumi Architects; photo by Christian Richters

New York-based architectural practice led by the Swiss-born Bernard Tschumi have completed this circular, wood-clad interpretative center which commemorates the history of the battle between Julius Cesar and the Gauls in 52 B.C. Located in Alise-Sainte-Reine, Burgudy, the striking development encompasses two separate but related structures: a museum and a visitors centre. (more…)

Healthcare Centre for Cancer Patients by Nord Architects Copenhagen

Coincidentally, today’s second featured project also comes from the Danish capital, this time in a form of a recently-completed convalescent centre for patients battling or recovering from one of the most fundamental of diseases, cancer. Realised in 2011 by Nord Architects Copenhagen near the Copenhagen city centre and Copenhagen University Hospital (Rigshospitalet), the striking, white-clad centre comprises a number of individual, yet interconnected by a common multifaceted roof houses, which ‘provide the space needed for a modern health facility, without losing the comforting scale of the individual.’ (more…)

Mirror House by MLRP; photo by Stamers Kontor

As part of the new Interactive Playground Project in Copenhagen, an American-Danish architectural practice MLRP have converted a disused, dilapidated structure into this striking playground pavilion by cladding its gables and shutters with highly reflective mirror polished stainless steel. Completed in 2011, the renovation transformed the previously nondescript, unusable building into ‘Mirror House’ which is now used by kindergarten classes. In order to improve the energy efficiency of the structure, insulation values, sun shading, heating, ventilation and lighting systems have also been upgraded. (more…)

Triple V Gallery by Ministry of Design; photo by Edward Hendricks

A Singapore-based practice Ministry of Design have realised this dramatic, triangular permanent show gallery and tourist information centre in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin. Featuring characteristic sharp edges and sky-piercing roof, the 750-square meters Triple V Gallery encompasses three spaces of diverse functions: a tourist information centre, a gallery and a discussion lounge. Completed in only four months, the sea-facing pre-weathered Corten steel-clad building was officially opened in November 2011. (more…)

Architectural model for Studio Gang Architects’ The Garden in the Machine project for Cicero, Illinois. Photograph courtesy of James Ewing. © 2011 James Ewing

Following last summer’s workshops which saw five interdisciplinary teams of architects, urban planners, ecologists, engineers, and landscape designers team up at MoMA PS1 to envisage new housing and transportation infrastructures that could catalyze urban transformation in five sites across the United States —near New York; Chicago; Tampa; Los Angeles; and Portland, Oregon — an exhibition showcasing the outcome of these seminars has opened this week (15 February) at MoMA’s Architecture and Design Galleries. (more…)

Roadside Reststop Akkarvikodden by Manthey Kula; photo by Knut Hjeltnes

Set within panoramic and remote surroundings, on a narrow plateau between the mountains and the sea on the Lofoten archipelago in North Norway, this public restroom facility has been realised by the Oslo-based architectural practice Manthey Kula. Located along one of 18 National Tourist Routes in Norway, the austere, copper-coloured development has been designed to ‘shut the [intense, ever-present] scenery out.’ Structurally resembling a small ship, the reststop is made of welded steel plates, locally reinforced with steel flanges while its walls have been clad with glass panels which serve as a protective layer ‘preventing rust from discoloring the clothes of the visitors.’ (more…)