évasion
fly away
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لنتحـلق
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La Gazelle 56 I
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Nymphenburg porcelain manufactory’s trendiness,
BMW has ordered an ensemble that consists of a
shelf, in three sizes, with cups, dishes and objects
made from the finest, hand crafted porcelain, for the
new Mini concept-car…
The taste for beauty is also visible in the streets. In
Munich, the urban landscape is undergoing profound
change and the contemporary architecture is
flourishing. Big businesses situated in Munich,
leaders of various sectors of activity such as banking,
insurance, automotive, multimedia, biotechnology or
publishing, contribute by considering their
headquarters or administrative centers as jewels of
contemporary architecture : HypoVereinsbank (Betz
Architekten Agency’s project with an installation of
the visual artist Dan Flavin), Mercedes-Benz (by the
Munich-based office Peter Lanz), Swiss Re,
ClassiCon, Deutsche Bundesbank and of course the
extraordinary BMW Welt by the Viennese Coop
Himmelb(l)au, show this strong tendency.
Munich’s inventiveness and boldness are quite
obvious. With some amazing achievements on a
small scale, such as the very stylish renovation of
stables, warehouses and even bunkers, transformed
into trendy bars and restaurants, but also with
infinitely more spectacular projects like the Allianz
Arena, the stadium inaugurated at the end of May
2005 that Herzog and Meuron covered with an
inflatable membrane composed of diamond shapes,
and whose façade glows in various colours depending
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on which football team is playing. Furthermore, Swiss
architects have designed the shopping center of the
“Funf Höfe” (the five days), a total “must“ downtown.
The museums follow the movement, especially the
“Akademie der Bildenden Künste” (recently expanded
by Coop Himmelb(l)au), “Sammlung Goetz” (designed
by Herzog and De Meuron, them again !), the
Pinakothek der Moderne and the brand-new
Brandhorst museum, equally successful neighbors.
We look forward to see the result of the renovation
and expansion of another museum, the Städtische
Galerie im Lenbachhaus, under the direction
of Norman Foster. End of works in 2012… The
contemporary architecture has even found its place in
places of worship : the Jewish center St-