The main loadbearing system of the building is based on V-shaped timber columns &#; providing a structural function while also serving as a reference to both the iconic Swiss alpine landscapes and the centuries-old tradition of timber construction and traditional pitched roofs. Arriving passengers will be welcomed by this distinctly local architecture that showcases high-quality craftmanship while underscoring the airport’s pledge to sustainability.

The studio’s circular shape dismisses the front side-back side logic of a conventional building and produces a non-hierarchical shape that becomes most appropriate in its context of public space. The circular footprint also maximizes its surrounding public space, allowing the recording studio to become more of a sculpture rather than a building. Because the program of the studio has different requirements for clear heights, the roof elevation is strategically varied to form three peaks. These peaks occur at the live room, artists’ private lounge, and academy studios to provide generous space to its users, creating a playful yet elegant roof line reminiscent of the fluidity of sound. The form is then optimized to produce a series of equal horizontal modules that maintain the readability of the undulating roof edge and efficiency of the building structure.

A rooftop venue and café are accessible to the public as well. The sloping of the roof creates an amphitheatre-like space that is framed by a dramatic backdrop of the city itself. With open venues, one sheltered and one with a rooftop view, &#; and traditionally hidden theatre spaces being revealed out towards the city &#; the new National Theatre of Albania will be both stage and actor in the city of Tirana.

Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet is informed by the convergence of form and content in clockwork. It is conceived like the coils of a watch, ticking and advancing in perpetuity like the gallery visitors and watchmakers moving cyclically with the structure. Every element is governed by the functional requirements of the exhibition while appearing as a sculpture conceived in a single gesture. The all-glass structure is made up of two spirals that seamlessly integrate into the existing landscape. The museum’s collection, which showcases some timepieces, is displayed alongside two in-situ production workshops, creating a living museum.

BIG was invited for a competition to design a Maritime museum inside the neighboring decommissioned dry-dock, where ships used to be built. Instead, BIG proposed to place the museum underground, just outside the wall of the dock in order to preserve the dock as an open, outdoor display, maintaining the powerful structure as the center of the Maritime Museum. By placing the museum this way, it appears as a discreet part of the cultural environment associated with the Kronborg Castle and the neighboring Culture Yard, while at the same time manifesting itself as an independent institution.