ROMAN VILLA by Marte.Marte Architekten

ROMAN VILLA

a project by Marte.Marte Architekten

Rankweil-Brederis, Austria, completed 2008

________________________________________________________

This rusty metal tower was designed by Austrian studio Marte.Marte Architects to help tourists locate excavated Roman ruins on the outskirts of a town in western Austria. Stefan Marte of Marte.Marte Architects created the structure between the remains of two Roman villas at the location of an ancient traffic intersection in Brederis. Few traces of the original buildings remain, so the new installation provides the only landmark above ground level.

THE WALL OF NISHIHARA by SABAOARCH

THE WALL OF NISHIHARA

a project by SABAOARCH

Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, completed 2013

________________________________________________________

Japanese studio Sabaoarch has built a concrete house with tiny windows on a narrow strip of land in Tokyo. The Wall of Nishihara occupies a sliver of sloping land between two streets in Shibuya, Tokyo, so Sabaoarch enclosed it in concrete walls, which are punctured with tiny windows to give the residents privacy but still bring in light. 

TEXTURED TOWER by Coll-Barreu Arquitectos

TEXTURED TOWER

a project by Coll-Barreu Arquitectos

Bilbao, Spain, completed 2012
________________________________________________________

The sculptural Textured Tower is a project designed by the practice of Coll-Barreu Arquitectos in 2012 for fire training and it is located in Miribilla, Bilbao, Biscay, Spain, proving that a simple training space can become a ground for experimentation and discovery.

REFUGI LIEPTHAUS (CONCRETE CABIN) by Nickisch Sano Walder Architekten

REFUGI LIEPTHAUS (CONCRETE CABIN)

a project by Nickisch Sano Walder Architekten

Flims, Switzerland, completed 2013

________________________________________________________

If you didn't know know better, you'd think the Refugi Liepthaus in the Alps was just another quaint log cabin from afar. But if you get close, you'll realize that those ridges on the walls are not logs but a beautiful brutalist exterior. Refugi Liepthaus is an award-winning house designed by Nickisch Sano Walder Architekten in Flims, Switzerland. The site actually used to be the home to a historic (presumably beyond repair) all-wood barn, but the architects replaced it with this all-concrete 40-square meter creation last year. Pouring concrete, after all, is usually cheaper than restoring historic wood structures.