HABITAT TO SPAN SEVERAL CENTURIES

The Irish architecture firm Douglas Wallace, in collaboration with concept architect Patrick Mellett, has remade an 18th-century bank in Dublin into a large, stylish Habitat store. They opened up the interior spaces, creating a new pedestrian thoroughfare, and treated the interior with various structural elements to rearrange and enhance the spatial experience. Next week we'll take a look at the result.

THE CHANGING WORKPLACE

Computer and communication advances have generated a new white-collar prototype: the mobile worker. These employees now often work from home or alternate locations, so their employer may no longer provide them with a permanent work area. As a result, architects are creating a different kind of work environment that is open and flexible, but still private and supportive. Next week Colleen Lyman will explain how this new trend is changing commercial offices.