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David Chipperfield won the RIBA Sterling Prize 2007 this Saturday for his Museum of Modern Literature building in Marbach am Neckar, Germany. Although the competition against the likes of Foster & Partners and OMA was tough, he well deserved the first prize because the design is truly breathtaking. It is comforting to know that in a world where ‘fizzy’ iconic pop architecture, as Chipperfield calls it, sleek and honest design ultimately ends up being the one rewarded. The materials for the museum were carefully selected and what is more, he managed to design a ”building that is simultaneously rich and restrained”. It stands on a hilltop overlooking the Neckar River valley and offers views of the surrounding park on one side of the glass and the greatest texts of German authors on the other.

/slideshow after the jump

Continue reading ‘Museum of Modern Literature | David Chipperfield’

The library in La Ladera, Medellin, Colombia by Giancarlo Mazzanti was completed in 2007 not solely to give the town a new library but also to give it more quality public spaces for the society to enjoy. The three massive concrete cubes are embeded in a green patch on the hillside, that can be used for sports activites, connecting the lower and the upper area of the town. Platforms, terraces, open spaces and voids between the sections (that are there with the intention of hosting outside activities), all provide the town with a colorful variety of new public spaces with an amazing view of the town. The building adjusts itself to the given terrain with the main narrow ’space’ out of which the cubes are accesable. The auditorium, the library and the administration buildings are made out of reinforced steel, are supported by pillars and look as though they were hovering above the meadow. The interiors are mostly in white tones with pieces of colorful furniture giving them a lift.

slideshow: click

photo courtesy:  Sergio Gomez (source)

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(via: Plataforma Arquitectura)