Kunsthaus Graz, Austria

On the banks of the river Mur, on the corner of the Südtirolerplatz and the Lendkai. Graz has a new architectural landmark, an extraordinary exhibition hall designed by Peter Cook and Colin Fournier. Kunsthaus Graz, better known as the “friendly alien”, is meant to inspire its curators with an interior as a “black box of hidden tricks”, its outer skin is a media facade which can be changed electronically.

Forest Spiral (Darmstadt, Germany)

The “ Forest Spiral”  was built in Darmstadt, Germany, between 1998 and 2000. The “Bouverin Darmstadt” commissioned the architect F.Hundertwasser to design the structure, that is a housing complex with 105 residential units.

F. Hundertwasser was an Austrian architect and painter famous for his colorful architectural designs which underlined irregular, organic forms mixed with an exclusive individualism.

In fact, the idea of Hundertwasser was to plan a building raising up on the site, the Burger Park area of Darmstadt, in form of a forest spiral.

Beside, natural features of  the landscape are expressed in the building, through bands of ceramic tiles and colored stucco, which represented an allegory of the different layers of the rocks.

The structure consists of twelve floors and, on the top, there is a big garden of beech, maple, and lime trees.

On the roof there is a restaurant and the possibility of relaxing activities.

Unfortunately, Hundertwasser, died in February 2000, a few months before the building was completed.

Corinne Vitale

FOREST SPIRAL-HUNDERTWASSER BUILDING
The Forest Spiral  was built by friedens Reich,a celebrated australian architect and painter.
The palace has a U-Shape and unique face,which does not follow a regular grid organization.
It has a diagonal roof,planed whit trees and flowers.
At finally it has glided onion dome,and multicolor painting of building in earth tones.
It contains 105 apartaments, garages, a palygroun for cildren and a small lake.

Martina Zinno

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Wooden Gagster House (Archangelsk, Russia)

Location: Archangelsk,
Founded: started in 1992, pulled down in 2008
Architect: Nikolai Petrovich Sutyagin
Purpose: private house

This 13-story, 144-ft tallresidence of the local entrepreneur Nikolai Petrovich Sutyagin was reported to be the world’s, or at least Russia’s, tallest wooden house. Constructed by Mr. Sutyagin and his family over 15 years (starting in 1992), without formal plans or a building permit, the structure deteriorated while Mr. Sutyagin spent a few years in prison on racketeering charges.

In 2008 it was condemned by the city as a fire hazard, and the courts ordered it to be demolished by February 1, 2009.On December 26, 2008, the tower was pulled down,and the remainder of the building was dismantled manually by the early February.

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