img(height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=2939831959404383&ev=PageView&noscript=1")

Do not pass St Malo…

Words:
Jan-Carlos Kucharek
Credit: Jeff Molliere

Remember that surge of Monopoly-induced adrenalin you experience when someone lands on Mayfair and you’ve got four houses on it? That’s what I’m reminded of looking at Atelier Loyer’s Terrasses du Rocher. Less than 200m from St Malo’s historic centre, the French firm looks like it stacked them up to optimise what direct light could be gained from the north easterly aspect. Apparently, to sweeten its presentation to planners,  the architect even made a model of sugar cubes. Meanwhile the toy-like apartment roofs were clad in a light grey Quartz-Zinc version of VMZinc’s standing seam system ‘to reflect the Brittany sky better.’ Hardly an encouraging thought for tourists, suggesting that, like the board game’s Jail it might be another place you might not want to GO.


 

Latest

Great architects deeply understood, and responded to, their context. We should talk the language of now, but never let the status quo limit us, argues Muyiwa Oki

We should talk the language of now, but never let the status quo limit us, argues Muyiwa Oki

In Blackheath, south London, Francisco Sutherland Architects replaced a failing 1980s glazed linkway with a barrel-vaulted space that offers glimpses of newly landscaped courtyards

Francisco Sutherland Architects replaced a 1980s glazed linkway with a barrel-vaulted space that offers glimpses of landscaped courtyards

Propose an installation that 'transcends utility' for a square in Bridgetown, reimagine the civic centre of an historic market town, bid for a spot on a construction consultancy services framework - some of the latest architecture competitions and contracts from across the industry

Latest: Caribbean pavilion contest

In the Portuguese capital, Metro Urbe's Museu de Arte Contemporânea Armando Martins deftly weaves together history, culture and hospitality into a harmonious narrative

Metro Urbe's Museu de Arte Contemporânea Armando Martins deftly weaves together culture and hospitality

At O’Donnell + Tuomey's densely programmed dance studio and performance venue in Stratford, east London the acoustic design goes unnoticed - just as intended

Just as intended, the acoustic design goes unnoticed at O’Donnell + Tuomey's Stratford dance studio and performance venue