Studioninedots Transforms a Former Tobacco Factory into a Mixed-Use Urban Complex in Groningen, Netherlands

Studioninedots is leading the transformation of a 200-year-old tobacco factory site into Niemeyer, a mixed-use urban complex accommodating digital innovation, cultural venues, hospitality, education, and manufacturing within the existing industrial buildings. Located on Paterswoldseweg in Groningen, the Netherlands, the 38,000 m² project is commissioned by MWPO, with MWPO and Campus Groningen jointly acting as clients for the Shared Facilities. Currently in the design phase (2023–2025), the project's provisional timelines indicate a phased construction start beginning with the factory's southern section in 2026, followed by the northern section in 2027. The Amsterdam-based office's proposal opens the formerly closed industrial ensemble to the public, introducing cafés, galleries, workshops, and shared workspaces distributed across interior streets and adjacent park areas.

Wang Shu: Reimagining Chinese Architecture through Craft and Memory

Born in 1963 in Urumqi, Xinjiang, China, architect Wang Shu has dedicated his career to defining a contemporary approach to building that is deeply rooted in China's cultural and material history. In 2012, he was recognized with the Pritzker Prize, becoming the first Chinese citizen to receive the distinction. The award jury acknowledged his body of work "for the exceptional nature and quality of his executed work, and also for his ongoing commitment to pursuing an uncompromising, responsible architecture arising from a sense of specific culture and place." In 2027, along with his wife Lu Wenyu, Wang Shu will be a curator for the Venice Architecture Biennale.

Community Center Rottenbach / atelier st

Rottenbach is part of the community of Königsee on the edge of the Schwarzatal valley. The landscape is characterized by the rolling hills of the Thuringian Forest, historic villages with slate roofs. In between lies the historic railway station complex. All in all, a scenery as harmonious as any you might have seen as a child on a model railway.

Cut Bend Fold Play House / Matharoo Associates

The house for a migrant businessperson, his wife, and three daughters is located in the dense urban fabric of Chennai, a metropolis in southern India. The tight and narrow site of 41 x 102 feet (12.5 x 31 meters) is only open on one corner that connects it to the cul-de-sac. Being bound by houses on three sides, and a high apartment complex on its longer side, left little scope for light and ventilation, and deprived it of much of its privacy.

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