NEW FIRE STATION FOR NANTERRE

There's a newcomer to an otherwise typical Parisian suburban landscape of highways, factories, and housing. In the fast-growing town of Nanterre, a fire station (photo by Georges Fessy) has become a new landmark, with a copper-colored facade that changes with the daylight. Next week architect Christian Horn will describe the new building by Jean-Marc Ibos and Myrto Vitart.

BUILDING TO THE EXTREME

A scene that might look like it's straight from a video game or science fiction movie is actually a serious entry (by Hugh Broughton Architects) in a design competition — for a real building to be constructed at a research station in Antarctica. Next week architect Maijinn Chen will explain how, with their knowledge in human habitability issues, architects are making significant contributions to building in extreme environments.