SMOKE AND MIRROR SLEEPOVERS Two new hotels, one small and one very small, are explorations in the use of light and reflection to transform space — and to create a world unlike anything hotel guests might inhabit day-to-day. — Published 2006.0628
	HOUSE BY UNIT A Nestled on the edge of a town in southwest Germany is the Fleischmann House. Its owner, a photographer, craved open, visually quiet surroundings to counteract the visual bombardment of his profession. One-third studio, two-thirds open-plan dwelling, the house is a sustainable abode flavored by Japanese tradition. The building plan is rectangular. Maki Kuwayama, of unit a architects, describes both the exterior architecture and interior design as "simple and clean... not so much a style as a lifestyle choice." — Published 2006.0222
	ENVIRONMENTAL ELDERCARE The new Caritas House, an eldercare center in Moenchengladbach-Neuwerk, Germany, combines modern group-living with advanced environmental technology. Not only does the passively conditioned building require very little conventional heating energy, it provides unusually high air quality, which improves the quality of life for its residents. — Published 2005.1005
	WHERE THE LAW IS CLEAR At the University of Hamburg, the new Central Library of Law is a showcase of "green" operations that also projects a literally green, leaf-patterned backdrop for a historic villa. The German firm me di um Achitekten, partners Klaus Roloff and Michael Ruffing, conceived the library as a compact and transparent book warehouse, connected to the existing Faculty of Law building by a glass atrium. The library's facades and atrium perform dual roles of energy conservation and accommodation to the existing campus. — Published 2005.0831
	NEIGHBORLY MOD The Ebeling House in Dortmund, Germany makes a direct challenge to conventional expectations and local taste, and it is equally bold in its reference to modernist minimalism. Is this boldness hostile, or friendly? Does it reward analysis? Does it make a humane place for living? — Published 2005.0202
	ISRAEL'S AMBASSADOR IN STONE This was to be Israel's first embassy in Berlin, the same city in which, almost 60 years ago, the then-ruling Nazis decided on a "final solution." That death sentence for millions of Jews is now commemorated in six stone pillars at the building's entrance. In designing the embassy, the architects were faced with the challenge of finding a symbolically appropriate architectural expression, while refraining from monumentalism. Tel Aviv architect Orit Willenberg-Giladi worked in collaboration with German architect Wolfgang Keilholz. — Published 2001.1205
	LIBESKIND ZIGZAG IN BERLIN In an unprecedented happening, more than 300,000 visitors went to see a totally empty museum. During the 18 months between completion of the structure and its official opening, the edifice itself became an attraction in a city bursting with building fever. — Published 2001.1107
	POSTCARD FROM FRANKFURT Dear ArchitectureWeek, This building is a real antidote to a dark, drizzly day. I've been wanting to visit some buildings by Gunter Behnisch for some time, and I'm very pleased to have seen this one — the German postal museum. — Published 2001.0117

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