Architectural Gems: 13 Blinged-Out Buildings Cut Like Stones

Health Department Offices, Coll-Barreau Architects, Bilbao, Spain
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The restrictive zoning rules of Bilbao paired with a need to update an ugly health department building led to an incredibly creative solution. Coll-Barreau architecture created a second facade in the form of a faceted glass skin that regulates temperature, enhances air circulation and lets in lots of daylight.

Diamond Pavilion by WHAT_architecture
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Designed to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the Diamond Pavilion by WHAT Architecture features transparent walls that make it feel like an inflatable modern cathedral.

Orchard Central by DP Architects, Singapore

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Singapore’s first vertical mall, Orchard Central by DP Architects, consists of 12 stories wrapped in a metal-and-glass facade with surfaces angled to offer glimpses of the activities going on inside, especially as the lights stream out at night.

Faceted Atrium for a Century-Old Roman Palazzo
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The facade of a 100-year-old palazzo in Rome was perfectly preserved in its historic context, making the dramatic interior renovation capped with a glass ‘parasitic addition‘ all the more unexpected. A steel-and-glass structure stretches from the ground floor all the way up to the roof, bringing in daylight and brightening up the new retail spaces inside.