Set within a residential neighborhood interlaced with equestrian trails, horse paddocks and mature stands of Douglas fir trees, Benjamin Franklin Elementary School shares its 12-acre site with a large wooded area.


Recognizing the value of this rich environment, the new replacement facility is positioned to preserve and harness the forest as a site amenity and learning opportunity. Moreover, it is designed to reinforce connections with the broader surroundings, and achieve green goals for resource efficiency and sustainability.

All photos by Benjamin Benschneider

The Biochemistry Department at Oxford University is the largest in the UK and internationally renowned for research work in DNA, cell growth and immunity. The building achieves a new ethos of “interdisciplinary working” where the exchange of ideas is promoted in a large collective and connective environment. At the same time researchers have the space to concentrate on intense work in highly serviced laboratories.

The new building designed by Hawkins\Brown deliberately challenges public perceptions of the secretive nature of research. Elevations are transparent with research spaces brought to the external face, making a political point about the value and integrity of biomedical research.

The proportions of this house have been dictated by the restraints of the site. A flood level two meters above natural ground and the 405m2 area of the site meant that this home had to be developed across three levels. Living occurs on the mid level and opens to both a rear deck and central courtyard deck to provide a connection to the outdoors where close proximity to the landscaped yard was not possible.

North Vancouver firm mcfarlane green biggar architecture + design (mgb) has been honoured with two of this year’s six International Interior Design Association awards. Out of nearly 300 projects nominated from around the world, the design for the Rennie Gallery + Offices at Wing Sang, and the inventive interiors for Lynn Steven boutique were both chosen as winning entries for the 37th Annual Interior Design Competition.

Hord Coplan Macht, Inc. (HCM) announced yesterday that one of its projects entitled Friends Community School, located in Greenbelt, Maryland, has achieved LEED-New Construction Silver Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

As described by the architects, the 26,900-square-foot, high-performance building accommodates 200 students in kindergarten through eighth grade with a staff of 30. Planned to help teach the school’s core science and environmental curriculum – and built of a rapidly renewable material – its straw bale construction is ideal for its acoustical and thermal insulation qualities.

Singapore based architect, Wallflower Architecture + Design has created innovative architectural spaces amidst urban density for a homeowner in Singapore East Coast area.

The owners wanted a spacious, contemporary house that would be as open as possible but without compromising security and privacy at the same time.

Surrounded by neighbours on four sides, the solution was a fully fenced compound with a spatial programme that internalised spaces such as pools and gardens, which are normally regarded as external to the envelope of the house. By zoning spaces such as the bedrooms and servants’ quarters on alternative levels, i.e. 2nd storey and basement levels, the ground plane was freed from walls that would have been required if public and private programmes were interlaced on the same plane.

Photographer: Albert Lim