Centro Abierto de Actividades Ciudadanas in Cordoba, Spain is a project by ParedesPino Architects. ” Its location close to the railway station of the AVE high speed train in Cordoba city can take advantage of this gap as a unique opportunity, giving the character and scale necessary to assume as a new focus of interest not only confined to the neighborhood, but as a magnet in conjunction with the city. We opted for a solution that allows a wide variety of uses. It offers a covered area, protected from the weather, which will house a temporary market two days a week and other activities at other times. It therefore poses a solution based on prefabricated circular elements that vary in height and diameter and arranged in a flexible manner to allow a similar vision of an urban forest of shadows. On each day the parasols are mounted on platforms at work and then rise about three units. The parasols also solve the artificial lighting in the same item and allow drainage of water inside. The provision at different heights (4 to 7 meters) and diameters (7 to 15 meters) and deck the different colors (7 colors), allows assessment of different behaviors compared to light and air movement between parts. ”

The Number House located in Osaka, Japan designed by Matsunami Mitsutomo. Click here to view more images.

Japanese designer Chikara Ohno of Sinato has created the ROLLS installation at the Diesel Denim Gallery Aoyama in Minato-ku, Tokyo. (via Contemporist)

The recently opened Malmö outpost of Sweden’s Museum of Modern Art, from Stockholm studio Tham & Videgård Arkitekter, is both challenging, and beautiful, thanks to the new extension’s jaw-dropping, eye-popping, façade – all clad in shocking, perforated orange metal. Inside, the former electricity station – dating back to 1900 – has been completely refurbished to meet International museum standards and the theme of perforated metal is continued through to the ceiling of the grand turbine hall. Contemporary, unique and so very stylish, Malmö’s new museum provides the city with an exciting new icon… Link here.

The newest addition to IJburg can already be seen from the A10 interstate near exit 114 and has already been given a name: the xxx’s. A prominent and elegant building, formed by a diagonal grid covering the façades. From the interior or the balcony, a striking view across the water with the A10 as a background. 3Years ago, BNB architects and B06 architect-firm took the initiative in self-developing an office building for their own use. The municipality gave them a 2 month option on a building plot on Steigereiland with a GFA capacity of 3500 m2. In this period a sketch design had to be drawn, 65% of letters of intent to be gathered and a financial plan had to be realised. On their own, the two firms were good for 700 m2, thereby creating the idea of CBC. Anyone who decides to join becomes commissioner and is therefore able to participate in decisions and buys condominium at cost. Within 2 months, 8 end users had been found eager to participate in developing their own office, giving the option on the plot a follow-up. Click here for the link.

Seedörfl is a small collection of houses, the surrounding landscape is flat. To the northeast the federal highway B16 cuts through the fields. The two-storey folded volume of the building with its projecting snout, bedrooms on the first floor and striking perforated bands along the façade looks like a built logo. The large asphalted approach, turning and parking area and the self check-in facility in the open foyer give the building something of the flair of a motel. Rooms – from a size of only ten square meters – are reduced on a minimum which doesn’t feel small. The materials are reduced to a minimum too. The bathroom is screened by glass panes with a sliding door. As a result the red three-dimensional bathroom strip becomes an integral part of the room. Link here.

A31 Architecture have designed a workshop for an artist in Boeotia, Greece. This Art Warehouse building was designed by A31 Architecture for painter and sculptor Alexandros Liapis. A part of the landscape was incorporated in the open-space sculpture gallery, hosting the artist’s creations. The new structure is a shell comprised of fair-faced reinforced concrete, completed in three separate phases. The dome, a timeless and interregional architectural coronation element spanning from antiquity to Modernism, interacts with the intimate space of the artist’s house, the “cell”. The new structure is located in the North-South axis, while the orthogonal plan view is divided into 3 zones: Firstly, the cantilever with the balcony in the South, where the entrance is situated, secondly, the artist’s workspace and finally the attic in the North which serves as a storage space. A straight staircase connects the two levels, while the cantilevered concrete steps can serve as exhibition stands for the artist’s work. – A31 Architecture Link here.

The house Bru 1.25 in Bavaria is designed by German firm SoHo Architektur. The roof and external walls have been clad in fibre-cement corrugated panels, eliminating the need for rain-pipes or gutters. The timber structure has a double-height ceiling in the living space, visually connecting it to the upper floor. All photographs are by Zooey Braun. (via Dezeen)

‘ This modern tropical bungalow encapsulates the essence of living in the hot and humid climate of Singapore by creating open spaces which encourage natural ventilation and offer residents views to the ocean. The main design concept is to create a house which has close relationship with nature and this is achieved by having a swimming-pool linking the house with the landscape and ultimately visual connections with the sea. The idea of connection is reinforced by having the basement level media-room with a u-shaped acrylic window which allows diffuse natural light in and also views out into the pool. The curved roofs, which symbolizing the sea waves, also emphasize the idea of the nearby sea. These are almost totally covered with thin bendable photovoltaic panels supplying enough energy to the house, while the remaining area is used as a green roof giving residents some outdoor leisure spaces. Fish House is a modest and yet luxurious residential design which gives residents opportunities to live in harmony and comfortably with nature. ‘ (via Contemporist) Guz Architects website - Photography by Patrick Bingham Hall

‘ The Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) designed the Fab Lab house as their entry into the 2010 Solar Decathlon Europe. The goal of all the houses in the competition is to disseminate among the general public the benefits of using renewable energies, especially solar energy, at home. ‘ Link here.