Ateliers Jean Nouvel

Ateliers Jean Nouvel is one of the largest architectural practices in France. It is the culmination of of a series of practices headed by Jean Nouvel that date back as far as 1970. Someone worth investigating further?? I think so.. Shown earlier on my blog was one of Nouvels most famous designs - the Institute du Monde Arabe in Paris with the adaptive facade, completed in 1987. Since he has continued to push boundaries in design and particularly in the use of light, both natural and artificial be it through a facade system or using other techniques. This is something that interests me a lot..

Sofitel Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

Made up of a 5* hotel with 182 rooms, conference rooms, fitness club, restaurant with panoramic views from the 18th floor, retail area and even a public car park.

Doha Office Tower, Qatar.

A 45 storey office building in Qatar, designed to exceed its surrounding predecessors in remaining crisp, clean and dust-free. The building has an interesting facade that controls light and also acts as a skin.

And the building complete...

I think this last image really shows how well this building is designed when shown next to the surrounding towers... it relates back to something a guest lecturer had referred to. He feels identity is being lost in buildings, each countries vernacular architecture - that was designed that way for a reason - is being lost in these high rises. Across the world high rise have become similar, tall glass boxes that do not succeed in providing natural, sustainable comforts from the user.. unlike our older buildings. This Doha Office Tower however goes some way towards adding some character to an area that has been for so long deprive of any.