Looking much like the real whales this area is known for, a new visitor center will rise from the tip of a Norwegian island 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle. “The Whale” by architecture firm Dorte Mandrup aims to be an unobtrusive addition to the setting while also drawing even more visitors to the remote area of Andøya, a prime whale-watching destination.

“The new Arctic attraction, The Whale, tells the story of the big inhabitants of this underwater world, rising as a soft hill on the rocky shore – as if a giant had lifted a thin layer of the crust of the earth and created a cavity underneath,” say the architects.

“A single curved concrete shell makes up the roof of The Whale. This parabolic form effectively transmits the forces to three support points in the corners of the building, creating a large, inner column-free room.”

The “whale tail” effect is only visible from a certain angle, but it’s still pretty cool, and the structure’s low-lying form is meant to help human visitors maintain a minimal impact on the area (though ecotourism remains controversial, as some say it’s having a negative impact and others say it helps raise crucial funds and awareness for affected species.) Other popular activities in Andenes include taking in the northern lights, exploring fjords, hiking, fossil hunting and berry picking.

The design beat out stiff competition from the likes of Snøhetta, Reiulf Ramstad and Bjarke Ingels Group, chosen for its combination of creativity and respect for the natural environment. You can see all of the proposals at The Whale’s website and judge for yourself.

A remarkable new building hovers over the surface of the Randselva River in Jevnaker, Norway, connecting two forested riverbanks as part of the Kistefos Museum, Northern Europe’s largest sculpture park. Appropriately called “The Twist,” the new gallery space by architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) achieves a beautiful curving form using nothing but straight lines.

This “art bridge” allows visitors to enjoy large outdoor works spread throughout the park on either side of the river as well as the historic Kistefos Wood Pulp Mill, a reclaimed factory onsite. The 1,400-square-meter building provides space for an information center, museum shop, triple-height gallery space, smaller gallery spaces and an outdoor terrace.

As visitors pass through the curving structure, the rotation of the glass changes the quality of light. The wide, naturally lit gallery on the north side offers panoramic views of the landscape, and the tall, dark gallery on the south end allows for more control with artificial lighting. A glass stairway leads down to the museum’s lower level on the north embankment.

“A simple twist in the building’s volume allows the bridge to lift from the lower, forested riverbank in the south up to the hillside area in the north. As a continuous path in the landscape, both sides of the building serve as the main entrance. from the south entry, visitors cross a 16m aluminum-clad steel bridge to reach the double-height space with a clear view to the north end, similarly linked with a 9m pedestrian bridge.”

“The double-curve geometry of the museum is comprised of straight 40cm wide aluminum panels arranged like a stack of books, shifted every so slightly in a fanning motion. The same principle is used inside with white painted 8cm wide fir slats cladding the floor, wall and ceiling as one uniform backdrop for Kistefos’ short-term Norwegian and international exhibitions. From either direction, visitors experience the twisted gallery as though walking through a camera shutter.”

IKEA furniture can get your interior design most of the way to where you want it, but another Scandinavian company has enlisted three world-renowned architecture firms to help get you the rest of the way to a high-end design.

Reform enlisted architects from Bjarke Ingels Group, Henning Larsen Architects, and Norm Architects to create a series of finishing touches for existing IKEA products, from customized handles to stylized surfaces. Tapping into the popularity of Nordic design as well as the thriving industry of IKEA hackers, Reform aims to make luxury design affordable.

The company specializes in kitchens, seeing them as oft-overlooked spaces of opportunity for design improvements, but they also are working on mods for living rooms, bathrooms and wardrobes. Here are the three core designs, with notes on inspiration and materials from their designers:

“The kitchen is simple, but exclusive in its timeless design. Carrying no handles, it presents a table top covering the entire surface and adding to it an exquisite finish – like the best design furniture. The materials, which have seldom been used in kitchens, give away a clean but raw expression. They come in three different variants: Fiber-concrete, bronzed tombac, and sawn and smoked oak.”

“For a thoroughly personalised kitchen you can stand on the shoulders of Norm Architects and add your own mix of materials creating a the visual expression of your liking. All the natural materials have been selected for their durability and reaction to wear. That is, the kitchen does not grow ugly. On the contrary it will patinate beautifully, which the bronzed tombac is a fine example of. Slowly it will shine golden in those areas of continuous wear.”

The vivid blue and green artificial ski slope atop Bjarke Ingels Group’s mountain-shaped Amager Resource Center in Copenhagen is ready for action. The novel waste-to-energy plant aims to be fun and educational while producing power, offering three different gradients of ski surfaces suitable for all experience levels as well as a park complete with hiking trails, climbing walls and greenery, all for year-round public use. While the slopes won’t be open to all for a few more months, Denmark’s TV2 Lorry was on hand to capture some early tests.

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Situated in an industrial waterfront area, the so-called “urban mountain” adds to a range of fun physical activities and sports accessible nearby, including sailing, cable skiing and go-karts. But the architecture firm isn’t necessarily trying to gloss over the purpose of the building with all these unusual features. In fact, the mountain will release a ring of smoke into the air every time one ton of carbon dioxide emissions is produced “as a gentle reminder of the impact of consumption.”

BIG calls the project “a fun new breed of waste-to-energy plant, one that is economically, environmentally, and socially profitable. Instead of considering Amager Resource Center as an isolated architectural object, we consider the assignment to design a facade as an opportunity for the local context.

Slope images by TV2/Lorry; all other photos by Aldo Amoretti

When you’re judging thousands of architectural projects from all around the world, even the process of narrowing down the shortlist to 535 has got to be hard. This year, the World Architectural Festival (WAF) had its biggest year yet with submissions from 81 countries, and in November, the shortlisted teams presented their designs to a jury of more than 100 international judges in Amsterdam. More than 35 winners took home prizes in categories like Small Project of the Year, Use of Color Prize, Use of Certified Timber Prize and Leisure-Led Development. Here are 10 standouts from those winners, including the World Building of the Year – see the rest at the WAF website.

World Building of the Year 2018, supported by GROHE: WOHA Architects – Kampung Admiralty, Singapore, Singapore

WOHA landed the top prize with Kampung Admiralty, a cascading complex of greenery bringing public facilities and services together in Singapore. Designed to maximize land use and meet the needs of the island nation’s aging population, the project layers a community plaza, medical center, community park and other healthcare, social and commercial functions along with apartments for seniors. Its lush, elevated green village enhances the quality of life of its residents and enables plenty of cross ventilation and daylight, all on a tight plot of less than a hectare (about 2.5 acres) with a hight limit of 45 meters (147 feet.)

Glass Future Prize, supported by Guardian Glass, WINNER: Studio Gang, Tour Montparnasse / Paris, France

Winner of the Glass Future Prize, Studio Gang’s vision for Tour Montparnasse Tower aims to redesign the French capital’s infamously “ugly” building to transform it into a new 21st century landmark. Not only are the twisting facets of the skyscraper visually dynamic, lending it a shimmering effect, they help shade the interiors and make the structure more resistant to wind. The transparent base of the tower helps blur the boundaries between indoors and outdoors, and it’s full of cascading gardens, open-air markets, shops and spaces for large events.

Landscape of the Year WINNER 2018: Batlle i Roig Arquitectura – Pedestrian Path along the Gypsum Mines, Barcelona, Spain

A dynamic new path cuts through the hillside in Barcelona, leading from a lookout point that gazes out at the city of Igualada to an old complex of gypsum mines below. Designed by Battlle i Roig Arquitectura, the Lookout Path is part of the larger scheme of the Igualada Green Ring, which aims to create a green belt for pedestrians and bicycles around Barcalona’s perimeter. The zig-zagging track includes luminescent concrete paving for a blue-green glow after dark.

Culture – Completed Buildings Winner: Conrad Gargett – The Piano Mill, Stanthorpe, Australia

Australian practice Conrad Gargett won the Culture category with The Piano Mill, a new structure in Queensland that addresses the intersection of architecture’s role in the environment of cultural buildings. “This authentically Australian project celebrates the culture of early colonial settlement in our country, demonstrates an entwined collaboration of art, music and architecture, as well as pioneering music composition,” says architect Bruce Wolf, Conrad Gargett’s Company Chair. The building functions as an art installation, an oversized musical instrument and a “performance machine,” containing sixteen pianos tuned radar blades and sonic periscopes set on elevated balconies around a three-story void.

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Best Of The Year 10 Projects Honored At World Architecture Festival 2018