Wallpaper's Short List For Best Public Buildings

The Wallpaper Design Award Nominees Countdown Continues...

The Shortlist for Best Public Buildings are shown below with images not found on the wallpaper site. Winners will be announced soon, and of course, you'll hear about them right here.

First, the 5 nominees for Best Public Building Are:

1.Bruder Klaus Field Chapel, Germany:

Peter Zumthor's most recent work proves his ability with different construction methods and traditional craftsmanship. This simple chapel, in Mechernich, southern Germany, is created from layer upon layer of concrete, poured in stages by a team of local farmers over a timber, teepee-shaped frame, which was then burned out to create the final interior, its soot-darkened walls leading up to a skylight.
More pics (click to enlarge, these are great):



2. Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, US by Steven Holl Architects:

Comprising five linked pavilions, the Bloch Building, an extension to Kansas City's NAMA, combines Holl's love of the sculpted form with his understanding of working in the public realm. Detailing inside and out is kept to a minimum and the building comes into its own at twilight, when the translucent walls glow from within to create a new beacon for the arts.
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Roland Halbe/Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Above: The exterior of the new Bloch Building Lobby Lens at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Mo. The New York architect Steven Holl designed the Bloch addition and renovated the museum for $200 million. The museum opened on June 9, 2007.
Here's a link to a blog about the design and status of the Bloch Building.

3. New Museum, US by SANAA:

The New Museum is New York's only museum devoted entirely to contemporary art and it owes its cutting-edge new home in the Bowery district to Tokyo-based architects SANAA. The seven-storey building was conceived as a composition of metal mesh-clad boxes, which softly shift off the main axis, creating a dynamic effect as the building rises.
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above: An open stairway, running 50 feet upward along the building’s north side, connects the third and fourth floors.
See more here.

4. Scenic Arts Centre, Spain by MGM:

Jose Morales, Sara de Gilles and Juan Gonzalez Mariscal's new Níjar theatre is a series of grey aluminium mesh-swathed boxes with contrastingly boldly coloured interiors, glimpsed through the few large windows. Set in the arid Andalusian landscape, the simple rectangular plan contains an auditorium, rehearsal studios and gallery space, and extends below ground.
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See images of the design and drawings here.

5. Tama Art University Library, Japan by Toyo Ito:

Ito's new library building in Hachioji City, Tokyo, comes across as a mix of hi-tech transparency and late Louis Kahn, its tiered façade of concrete arches set flush with expanses of glass. The interior spaces are a forest of fanned concrete pillars, showing Ito's delight in exposed structure, and feature curved banks of shelving designed by Kazuko Fujie.
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See a wonderful post on Dezeen about the Library here.