Architecture and Concrete

The Scottish branch of London's Victoria & Albert Museum in Dundee combines architecture with the nature and history of the place and is inspired by the rugged coastal formations of the surrounding area. The outer shell of the building by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma features black surfaces of the highest exposed concrete quality, reminiscent of sedimentary rock.

The Military History Museum of the German Armed Forces in Dresden presents more than 10,000 exhibits from 700 years of history over 10,000 m². Daniel Libeskind's architectural concept captivates with its 30 m high steel and glass construction in the form of a wedge that cuts up the old building.

The 20 m high flagship store of furniture manufacturer Vitra, designed by architects Herzog & de Meuron, consists of a total of twelve buildings stacked one inside the other and glazed at the ends. The varied, partly compressed and curved shapes are also striking. Photo: iStock.com/MichalLudwiczak

The canteen at the PERI headquarters in Weissenhorn was designed by the daughter of the company founder, architect Nathalie Schwörer, in collaboration with architects Mühlich, Fink & Partner. Two cubes of almost equal size create a bright and open atmosphere. The southern cube made of exposed concrete houses the main entrance, the foyer with coffee bar and the kitchen. Glass is the dominant feature in the northern cube. This is where most of the seating is located, practically flowing into the outdoor area. Photo: Hiepler- Brunier Fotostudio esw

The design of the Centro Cívico del Bicentenario de Córdoba is the work of GGMPU Arquitectos and Lucio Morini. It impresses with its sloping concrete facades with irregularly arranged, diamond-shaped window recesses. The striking, sloping edges are reminiscent of a cut diamond. Photo: iStock.com/Vitalii Karas

The idea for the central building of Leuphana University came from Daniel Libeskind. Inclined exterior walls dominate the eight-storey concrete building. The theme of sustainability comes into play with the green roofs of the central building covering a total of 1,700 m².

The Galileo Satellite Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen was designed as a monolithic structure by the architectural offices Schultes Frank Architekten in Berlin and Aichner Kazzer Architekten in Munich. The exterior walls, cores and the roofing of the inner courtyard of the laboratory and research building have a seamless exposed concrete look. In the inner courtyard, three inclined, elliptical exposed concrete towers symbolise oversized telescopes observing satellites in space.

The national art museum MAXXI by architect Zaha Hadid is the first museum for contemporary art in the Italian capital. The museum is characterised by several, widely curved exposed concrete walls with heights of up to 14 m, which seem to flow into, over and under each other. Inside, the building is dominated by generous galleries, slopes and curves.

Amidst the dunes of the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, the headquarters of the environmental company Bee‘ah is being built according to plans by Zaha Hadid. The futuristic building in the shape of a sand dune extends over a total area of 90,000 m² and fits perfectly into its surroundings. At the centre of the complex building structure is the dome above the entrance hall with a total length of around 32 metres and a width of 17 metres. Rendering: Render by MIR ©Zaha Hadid Architects

At the centre of the Copenhagen Zoo's structure, designed by the architectural office Dall & Lindhardtsen, is an elliptical building with an exposed concrete finish. The covered indoor area with a spiral ramp offers visitors an optimal view of the hustle and bustle in the enclosure.

Made possible by PERI technology, the third Louvre Museum in the world was built on Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island. The extraordinary design with the huge, umbrella-like dome with arabesque and modern elements was created by the French architect Jean Nouvel. The dome extends over 180 m and partially spans a complex of squares, pavilions and seawater canals, giving the impression of a city floating in the sea. Photo: iStock.com/funkcanna

The imposing office tower with egg-shaped core and facade walls reaches a height of 142 metres with its 35 floors. Architect Jean Nouvel was inspired by the structures of water when designing the building – smooth, continuous, transparent, coloured and brightly nuanced. Photo: iStock.com/saiko3p

The two residential towers of the Bosco Verticale are part of the ecological high-rise concept designed by Italian architect Stefano Boeri. The building complex consists of an eleven-storey office building and two high-rise residential buildings. The irregularly projecting reinforced concrete balconies are planted with countless trees and shrubs. Photo: iStock.com/kurmyshov

With his design, Polish architect Stefan Kurylowicz has created a building with a striking concrete and glass facade in Warsaw's city centre. The 70 m high Prosta Tower is characterised by a building front made of glass and a diamond-shaped reinforced concrete structure in front with a perfect exposed concrete look. The filigree concrete facade covers the exterior glazing like a net and acts as a load-bearing component.

In collaboration with builder Adrian Corrigall and the RAW architectural office, a residential building made almost entirely of exposed concrete was built in Sussex, Great Britain. In addition to the completely irregular angles of the building, the floor height also constantly alters. Photo: seanpollok.com

Zaha Hadid designed the futuristically shaped high-speed train station "Porta del Sud" near Naples. The new station – a construction of concrete, glass and steel in the form of a bridge that hovers 30 m above the tracks – is characterised by multiple curved shapes. Rendering: Napoli-Afragola High Speed Train Station by Zaha Hadid Architects. Render courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects.

The new headquarters of the building materials manufacturer HeidelbergCement consists of three interconnected building sections of different heights. The focal point of the new foyer are three x-shaped tree supports, which statically serve as the core of the building and are shaped like trees. Photo: Thilo Ross

One of the project highlights is the reinforced concrete ceiling with radial, sharp-edged beams. These stand out in SB 4 white concrete from the underlying ceiling in SB 2 grey concrete due to the striking shapes as well as the colouring. For the slab, PERI special formwork developed especially for the project was used, which was later implemented with a total of 64 factory-preassembled diamond-shaped recess boxes. Photo: Thilo Ross