Magazine

The Interlock, a new five-story mixed-use building in London's Fitzrovia neighborhood, features a brick facade that was designed by Bureau de Change Architects to appear "of uncertain heritage: simultaneously historic and contemporary, familiar yet foreign." John Hill

Think "Bordeaux" and most likely the French wine comes to mind. Yet Bordeaux is also a city that wants to modernize its image, and is doing it partly with contemporary architecture. Herzog & de Meuron's new stadium is one recent example, as is XTU Architects' La Cité... John Hill, Thomas Geuder

Gasholder No. 8 is a historic cast iron structure that has been transformed into Gasholder Park as part of the huge King's Cross development in London. A subtle yet dramatic lighting design by Speirs + Major ensures the striking structure has a strong presence at night. John Hill

For the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College in Michigan, Studio Gang Architects uses a traditional yet obscure masonry technique to give the trefoil-shaped building its distinctive appearance. John Hill

The proliferation of building façades covered in apparently random rectangles of color should be called "the Swisspearl effect," due to the colorful spectrum offered by the Swiss company for its fiber cement rainscreen panels. Yet some architects use the colors more selectively... John Hill