ING Amsterdamse Poort, Amsterdam Netherlands

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Alberts and Van Huut designed these ING buildings in Amsterdam for ING Bank. This one opened in 1987 and works together with a large shopping area for the city. A series of ten oddly-shaped buildings wind in an S-shape, with a continuous circulation running through them. This openes up exterior courtyards and views.

The erratic planes and carefully placed openings magnify the power of connecting views in this building and out. The light and natural-looking materials also work well in this regard for the display of native art.

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NOW IN TOWN: JULIA JOHANSEN

Welcome to London to beautiful Julia Johansen. The 20 year old from Finland will be meeting London clients for the next few weeks, and with those pretty freckles and perfect pout we're sure they're going to fall for her straight away!

ONE TO WATCH: KELLY MOREIRA

ANOTHER amazing girl from Elite Model Look? Yes please! Meet Kelly Moreira, who sent her photos in for the contest just 3 months ago. When the SS10 show season got underway she was preparing for the Elite Model Look France Final, and by the time the circus rolled into Paris she was the must-book new face of the season, racking up appearances at Lanvin, Yves Saint Laurent and Dries Van Noten. Absolutely one to watch, and we can't wait to see her in London soon...

Kelly rocks Lanvin in her debut season

AMY for NIVEA

Hot on the heels of her work with Bourjois, The Body Shop and Avon, Amy Hanson's latest beauty campaign is for Nivea's cosmetic collaboration with luxury lingerie giant Chantal Thomass. Our very English Amy pulls of this very sexy campaign in style... and we love that trademark Chantal Thomass wig!! Have a look at the print campaign on Nivea's mini-site HERE and see the TV commercial below.

A BIG NIGHT IN CHINA

ELITE MODEL LOOK WORLD FINAL

The contest started with 350'000 worldwide applicants... the final 70 spent two weeks at model boot camp in beautiful southern China and after were eventually whittled down from 70 to15. On the night of the final show, the top four new faces for the Elite network were named... congratulations girls, and especially to our Emily!

The girls can look forward to an exciting future at the very top of the fashion industry, after all they are following in the footsetps of supermodel greats Cindy, Gisele, Christy and Linda, who all got their big break at ELITE MODEL LOOK. And current campaign queens Sigrid, Constance and Denisa all started here too... the future looks bright!

Lingotto Factory Fiat, Turin Italy

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Renzo Piano transformed the historic Lingotto building into a mixed-used complex of hotels, concert halls, cinema, shops, and businesses. Mattè Trucco designed the automobile factory 1923 with its distinctive racetrack on the rooftop.

Modernist Le Corbusier praised the innovative design as the largest and most respected plant of its day. Fiat closed the factory, but Lingotto moved to solidify it as a cultural masterpiece. It opened in 1989.

The cantilevered Scrigno, the 16,000 piece translucent roof, and other utilitarian factory wonders retain the hard quality in a place of labor, but now serve as a picture gallery.

Video: historic photos
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Dominus Winery, Yountville California

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Herzog and de Meuron designed the Dominus Winery in Yountville, Napa Valley California. It was completed in 1997.

De Meuron employs a technique used for retaining structures on highways, steel cages called gabions containing locally produced rocks. Used as the structure for the building itself, the basalt rocks mitigate temperatures, and allows sunlight and air penetration. Larger rocks near the top allow more sunlight while smaller rocks at the bottom block almost all light and air.

The form sits down comfortably on the horizon line, blending into the landscape. Only shadows really stand out. The simple rectangle shape has a frame cut out to indicate the entrance. Napa Valley's typical Italian-villa style winery competes with the beauty of the landscape, but the Dominus Winery allows itself to be a simple augmentation of the scenery. Strips of windows are carefully placed for views out from important public functions.

The long rectangular motif fits well in the lines of grapevines. Yet it is more earthly and permanent, a great statement for any winery.

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BLANKA'S AUTUMN TV CAMPAIGN FOR DEBENHAMS

We love our beautiful brunette Blanka's slinky new TV commercial for Debenhams, currently airing across all major channels....

National Library of the Argentine Republic, Buenos Aires Argentina

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This modern building for the Biblioteca Nacional de la república de Argentina Clorindo Testa, Francisco Bullrich, and Alicia Cazzaniga. The brutalist structure reflects the coups and struggles for democracy in which the libary played such a significant role. Though it was designed in 1961, it was not completed until 1992.

As a symbol for industry and new technology, this building establishes clearly defined spaces with an outside public plaza and entrance on the ground floor. It also searches for a heart of the inconsistent country; the library itself dates back to 1810. The structure is lifted by 4 concrete cores, each with 13 piles.
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OUTI IS ONE 2 WATCH

It doesn't seem possible that just a couple of months ago 16 year old Outi Ranua was finishing school in a village in Finland, but after we snapped her up in that scout's paradise of Topshop Oxford Circus, this glacial new face hasn't looked back. See her now at The Ones to Watch where she features in Nadya Wasylko's story - It's Not What She Said... it's How She Said It.

Cathedral of Christ the Light, Oakland California

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Skidmore, Owings and Merrill designed the Cathedral of Light, which opened in 2008.

A symbol of spiritual and civic renewal in the troubled city Oakland, the building seeks a sense of permanency with a stone foundation and inclusiveness with soaring curved glass. In the heart of downtown, the evocative form gives a very transparent connection of inside and outside, inviting people inside. The use of wood for structure gives a humble tone, something which is sorely needed in this sometimes offish building.

The concrete blocks and gridded glass certainly fits into the context, but curved with a dynamism that sucks you inside. The large font is an interesting element, perhaps connecting the experience back to nearby Lake Merritt. Sustainability was key throughout this design.

Natural daylight was carefully crafted through the windows to provide special artistic elements, such as the Omega Window. The structure is also supposedly beefed up. The last cathedral was unusable after the 1989 earthquake.

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