Chinese studio Trace Architecture Office has completed the Aranya Theatre complex at the seaside resort of Aranya in Hebei Province, with a stone amphitheatre for outdoor performances.
Instead of designing a single block filling the seafront site, the Beijing-based practice split the complex into three distinctive spaces – the outdoor Dionysus Theatre, the 500-seat A Theatre and the 300-seat Fengchuao Theatre – with public spaces in-between.
Trace Architecture Office has built an outdoor amphitheatre and two indoor theatres
"By breaking up an excessively large volume into three smaller units, the building integrates into the urban setting without being too obtrusive in scale," explained the studio.
"The Aranya Theatre itself is a stage for the city, and the events in the theatre reflect Aranya's urban public life," it continued.
The Dionysus Theatre is a stone-clad outdoor amphitheatre
Each theatre space has been designed to have its own distinctive visual appearance and to meet a range of different uses, with the three buildings connected by a paved plaza.
The Fengchuao Theatre is a black box theatre designed for professional dramatic performances and is appropriately housed in a low, black metal-clad box in the centre of the site.
The studio wanted to incorporate Hebei city life into the structure
The adjacent A Theatre is a slightly larger space designed for a more flexible range of uses such as conferences and exhibitions, clad with a pattern of pale stone panels that vary in size.
A low lobby structure connects the Fengchuao Theatre to the A Theatre, built using a frame of triangular girders allowing for a column-free space that creates a sense of visual continuity between the two.
Looking to maximise the sense of connection between the theatre spaces and the city itself, doors lead directly from the small lobby into the performance spaces, encouraging visitors to spill out and gather on the surrounding plaza during intervals.
Positioned at a street corner to the south of the site is the Dionysus Theatre, a stone-clad external amphitheatre looking towards the sea that doubles as an informal gathering space when not in use for performances.
Actors and the general public can look out onto the sea from the building
"With the functions of performance, party, relaxation and sea viewing, the Dionysus Theatre acts as a socially cohesive area of the town," said Trace Architecture Office (TAO).
"The concept was to open up the theatre, where the stage takes the sea and the city as a background. The stage set is juxtaposed with the real scene of city life, creating a unique seaside theatre," it continued.
The black box theatre is designed for professional performances
Contrasting the openness of this amphitheatre is a "cave-like" cafe tucked underneath its semicircular form, with windows facing out towards the Fengchuao Theatre.
Hacker Architects has renovated a 1970s house in central Oregon, removing walls to create a more spacious layout and preserving original design features that lend the home a "retro spirit".
The Bailey Residence is located in Black Butte Ranch, a small and isolated community located within the state's Willamette National Forest.
The renovated Bailey Residence is surrounded by forest
Portland-based Hacker Architects' renovation focused on the interiors, which the team described as a "vibrant, nostalgic mix of colours and textures".
The home enjoys stunning natural surroundings, which the team sought to highlight throughout the renovation. One way of doing this was by adding in a large window to the main living space.
A large window was added to the main living space
"Early in the design, the team discovered in the original drawings that a large window in the main living room space had been left out in the original construction," said Hacker Architects.
"We were able to incorporate this element back in through the renovation," the team explained.
Hacker Architects created an open-concept kitchen
On the ground floor, the architects created an open-concept kitchen, living and dining room by removing existing walls.
This space has soaring ceilings finished in natural pine boards, a feature they wanted to preserve and highlight.
Exposed wood creates a cosy atmosphere
"Much of the design focuses on peeling back the aging interior layers to uncover the beautiful wood structural elements of the Bailey Residence that have been there all along," said Hacker Architects.
"The exposed wood creates a rich natural pattern that is reminiscent of a cosy ranch cabin, and provides an elegant, understated backdrop throughout the entire home," they added.
In the living room, the fireplace surround was rebuilt using black soapstone, giving this space a more contemporary feel.
Throughout the home, the architects included plenty of built-in shelving to offer the residents more storage space, and avoid the need for too much furniture.
Pine features throughout the home
In the living room, for example, a built-in couch also has drawers underneath it, and is tucked into a bay window to save on floor space.
Within the home's 1,800 square-foot (167-square-metre) layout, the architects included four bedrooms. The owner's suite is on the top floor and has its own toilet.
Retro, colourful elements brighten up the house
Meanwhile, two bedrooms are located on the intermediate floor, and an additional guest bedroom is found on the ground floor near the entrance.
Planks of scorched wood clad the exterior of Pine Nut Cabane, a wooden retreat in the south of France designed by London studio Daab Design with cabin manufacturer Moustache Bois.
The 35-square-metre cabin was created for a family who wanted a flexible space for their existing farmhouse that could serve as a painting studio, guest house or room for family gatherings.
Daab Design has designed a cabin for a family on a forest clearing in France
Pine Nut Cabane occupies the family's favourite location on the rural site – a small clearing between a pine forest and an olive grove – which they use as a place for painting or playing pétanque.
To complement its setting, Daab Design clad the cabin with planks of scorched pine wood that take cues from the area's farming vernacular.
It is clad in planks of scorched wood
"At the Pine Nut Cabane, our design needed to work with the natural elements at the very special and sentimental site," said Daab Design's co-founder Anaïs Bléhaut.
"We worked closely with our project partners, Moustache Bois, and our clients to incorporate natural materials and design interventions that would really celebrate and enhance the location and views," she continued.
A patio and terrace overlook the surrounding landscape
Pine Nut Cabane is oriented so that its glazed corner faces eastwards to capture the rising sun over a nearby valley, while the pine forest forms a shield from the intense southern sun.
A cut in the northeastern corner of the structure defines the black timber-lined entrance area and limestone-paved terrace, which are sheltered by the deep eaves along the cabin's northern edge.
One room features a glazed corner
Inside, two rooms with simple finishes and large windows are positioned at either end of the cabin and designed to accommodate a wide range of potential uses.
Built-in storage and desks allow the spaces to be easily transformed from guest bedrooms into studios for painting or yoga.
There are two rooms connected by a corridor
In between the two rooms is a central bathroom pod, which is finished in matte black wood and features a "cave-like" shower lined with terracotta tiles.
Matte black wood has also been used for full-height doors that can be closed to separate the two rooms when more privacy is required, or to create a central corridor and cross ventilate the cabin when left open.
The glazed corner of Pine Nut Cabane's eastern room opens onto a wood-decked terrace where there is a seating area and firepit with dramatic views of the landscape.
Internal finishes, which were chosen to create a feeling of calm and respite from the strong sun, include plywood panelling and polished concrete floors, which contrast with the matte black finish of the doors, bathroom pod and window frames.
A matte black pod contains the bathroom
Daab Design was founded in 2014 by Bléhaut and Dennis Austin. In London, the studio recently completed the conversion of a former art dealer's vault into a basement flat, working with an archaeologist to restore a number of original Georgian features.
Cheng Chung Design has used soft-hued materials for the interiors of Dongfengyun Hotel Mi'Le, which forms part of a huge art installation in rural China.
The hotel sits within Dongfengyun Art Town, a new village in Yunnan Province designed entirely by local artist Luo Xu. Set to span two square miles, it consists of a series of curving structures built from locally fired red bricks.
The hotel is in Dongfengyun Art Town, a new village in Yunnan Province
Operated by boutique hotel brand Mgallery, Dongfengyun Hotel Mi'Le includes 232 rooms, two restaurants, two bars, an outdoor swimming pool and meeting facilities.
The interiors created by Hong Kong-based Cheng Chung Design (CCD) celebrate the distinctive forms of the architecture, pairing natural materials with a muted colour palette and soft lighting.
The entrance is a dramatic bowl-shaped volume
"We did not adopt modernised or industrial design expressions," said the studio.
"Instead, the team drew inspiration from local cultural context and leveraged simplistic languages to integrate the space into nature."
The lobby features rammed earth walls and a polished stone floor
CCD is overseeing all of the interior design at Dongfengyun and has already completed 50% Cloud Artists Lounge, a restaurant that doubles as an art gallery.
For the hotel, lighting and ambience were the key ambitions of the design. This begins in the entrance space, a dramatic bowl-shaped volume with a skylight above and a pool at its centre.
Soft lighting creates a distinct atmosphere in lounge spaces
"With natural daylight pouring in, dynamic light and shadows freely move in the space," said CCD.
"The varying rhythms of light and shadows, coupled with surprising sensory experiences and elaborate details, create a sense of ritual to welcome guests."
Throughout the hotel, CCD has combined humble materials with luxury fittings and finishes, hoping to strike the right balance for guests.
This can be observed in the restaurants and lobby spaces, where materials such as rammed earth and clay tiles are paired with polished stone flooring and high-end furniture.
The hotel is organised around a courtyard
Bedrooms and suites are organised around a large courtyard, accessed by open-air corridors withs striking arched windows.
Inside, these rooms are dotted with locally sourced ceramics and other objects.
The 232 bedrooms are dotted with locally sourced objects
"Every detail retains the trace of local craftsmanship and secretly tells its own story," said CCD.
"With warm ambience and original simplicity fusing into the space, the design fully embodies the hotel's aesthetic philosophy, 'art dialogues with everything, inspiration portrays life'."
The photography is by Wang Ting.
Project credits:
Client: Yunnan Urban & Rural Construction Investment Architectural design: Luo Xu Landscape design: Yunnan Zilian Landscaping & Greening Engineering Interior design: Cheng Chung Design Lighting design: Cheng Chung Design Art consulting: WOWU Art Consultancy
After much anticipation, the Taipei Performing Arts Center will finally open its doors in the Taiwanese capital in March 2022.
The cultural venue, which was first unveiled by OMA in 2009, features three unique theatres that plug into a central glass cube. Unlike traditional theatres, all of the backstage areas will be made visible to the public via a looping circulatory space.
This year will see the completion of a palatial football stadium by Zaha Hadid Architects, ahead of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.
Among its defining features will be towering columns and an overhanging roof, which provides shelter for a series of planted terraces on its south-facing elevation.
In Australia, SANAA will complete its extension to the Art Gallery of New South Wales, which has been designed to contrast the existing gallery's neo-classical architecture.
The extension will be composed of a series of cascading glass-walled pavilions and incorporate an underground gallery built in a converted oil tank that dates back to the second world war.
One of the smallest projects on this list is Lanternen, a wooden community centre for water sports that is being built on the coast of Esbjerg in Denmark.
Designed by Snøhetta with WERK Arkitekter, the building is intended to evoke the "craftmanship of boats" and will feature a large opening in its facade that guides visitors down to the water's edge.
Buildings due to complete in the USA this year include the redesigned Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in Little Rock, which is being led by Studio Gang.
The studio offered a preview of the updated museum last year when it released a series of photos of its new folded roofscape. Cast from concrete, this roof covers a series of curving pavilions that aim to unify existing structures on the site.
Foster + Partners has a number of projects due for completion in 2022, but one of the most unusual is the headquarters it has designed for robotics company DJI in Shenzhen (pictured above and top).
It comprises two towers with expressed steel trusses, which will be linked by a curved skybridge designed to show off the company's latest drone technology.
The only educational building to make this list is a primary school by Henning Larsen Architects that will feature a walkable roofscape and adaptable interiors.
Named Sundby School, it is set to become the first building of its kind in Denmark to be awarded the Nordic Ecolabel – an official sustainability certificate for the region that takes into account details such as energy consumption and material usage.
Another late arrival in 2022 will be the mixed-use Nanjing Zendai Himalayas Center, which also featured on our list of projects to look forward to in 2020.
Designed by MAD, the 560,000-square-metre complex comprises a mix of small buildings, green spaces and elevated pathways that are bordered by mountain-like towers with cascading louvres.
The San Pellegrino Flagship Factory by BIG will reach completion in a mountain valley in Italy, almost five years after the studio won the international competition to design the scheme.
Created for the soft drinks company San Pellegrino, the headquarters and bottling plant will pay homage to traditional Italian architecture with details such as arches, an arcade and a portico.
In the Netherlands, the Valley complex by MVRDV will open with three mixed-use high-rises that are lined with projecting stone-clad windows and balconies.
While the building's construction has already finished, its "green layer" of 13,000 plants, trees and shrubs is now being left to grow over the building's uneven edges in time for the 2022 opening.
The second project by OMA on this list is The ReefLine, an underwater sculpture park near Miami Beach that is intended to protect its shoreline from the effects of climate change.
Though the park is being built in stages, its first phase is due to open in December with the first sculptures in position. On and around the artworks will also be geometric concrete modules, which will function as an artificial reef.
Minamisanriku 311 Memorial, Japan, by Kengo Kuma and Associates
Kengo Kuma and Associates is expected to finish a memorial and tourist centre in Japan dedicated to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami – the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan.
Named the Minamisanriku 311 Memorial after the town in which it is located, the building will feature cedar cladding and a large overhanging roof that angles upwards to the sky.
