In the tenth edition of the weekly digest, the boundary between architecture and nature dissolves: Ecuador’s National Museum becomes an artificial mountain rising from a city park, museum halls in Munich temporarily turn into a living web, Norwegian galleries hide בתוך a cliff, a cultural center in Rotterdam is designed as an urban biotope, and in Sydney the world’s tallest hybrid timber skyscraper is under construction.
Ecobrutalism Becomes an Ecosystem
The project resembles a cluster of massive "living stones": seven rock-like volumes form a vertical landscape with terraces, gardens, and public routes leading to viewing platforms above the Maas River. The porous surfaces include niches for plants, birds, and insects, while inside there will be a 5,000 m² immersive exhibition, a 200-room hotel, educational spaces, a food court, and conference halls. Rotterdam ROCKS! is conceived as a public experiment, with the authors promising to openly document what works—and what does not.
A Museum Inside the Shore
A finalist selected from 164 entries, the new museum building dedicated to Norwegian artist Nikolai Astrup is embedded בתוך the steep берег of Lake Jølstravatnet. From the historic estate, it will be barely visible; from the road, it appears as a narrow crack in the rock. Inside are 1,500 m² of galleries, a café, and public spaces organized around a stepped foyer. Low passages alternate with tall halls, and darkness gives way to panoramic lake views. The design uses stone extracted during construction, and the roof will be planted with native vegetation.
A New Height for the Old Post Office
A 155-meter tower rises above the courtyard of the former Central Post Office—one of the few buildings in central Rotterdam to survive the 1940 bombing. The structure stands on an arched base, keeping the courtyard open while extending the rhythm of the historic facade vertically through a grid of prefabricated glass fiber concrete arches. From afar, the tower appears almost monolithic; up close, deep reveals and shifted arches create a dynamic play of light and shadow.
Architecture of a Web
A large-scale exhibition by artist Tomás Saraceno explores air, water, salt, and a "web-like" model of collective existence. At its center is the installation Algo-r (h)i (y)thms, made of tensioned ropes that vibrate and produce sound when touched. Visitors are invited to crawl, jump, and navigate through the structure, embodying the collective behavior of spiders. Another section highlights indigenous communities' պայքարը to protect groundwater in Argentina’s salt flats.
A Handmade Mountain
The new National Museum of Ecuador is conceived as an extension of La Carolina Park: circular pavilions, courtyards, and green terraces form an مصنوع landscape with a flat вершина and stepped slopes. Inside is a system of public spaces and exhibition halls of varying scale. Its curving geometry is oriented toward the Pichincha volcano, and the concept was developed in collaboration with Indigenous, Afro-Ecuadorian, and mestizo communities.
A Skyscraper with a Timber Heart
The under-construction headquarters of Australian IT company Atlassian has reached its planned height—180 meters and 39 floors—making it the tallest hybrid timber building in the world. Steel and concrete elements are combined with 10,000 m³ of engineered wood, which will remain visible in the interiors. According to the designers, this approach will halve the carbon footprint compared to a conventional office tower. The 75,000 m² of office space is divided into seven four-story clusters with terraces and natural ventilation, while the first five floors will house a hostel.
@gorkjournal · GORK
3D · Photo · Render · Ai
Ecobrutalism Becomes an Ecosystem
The project resembles a cluster of massive "living stones": seven rock-like volumes form a vertical landscape with terraces, gardens, and public routes leading to viewing platforms above the Maas River. The porous surfaces include niches for plants, birds, and insects, while inside there will be a 5,000 m² immersive exhibition, a 200-room hotel, educational spaces, a food court, and conference halls. Rotterdam ROCKS! is conceived as a public experiment, with the authors promising to openly document what works—and what does not.
A Museum Inside the Shore
A finalist selected from 164 entries, the new museum building dedicated to Norwegian artist Nikolai Astrup is embedded בתוך the steep берег of Lake Jølstravatnet. From the historic estate, it will be barely visible; from the road, it appears as a narrow crack in the rock. Inside are 1,500 m² of galleries, a café, and public spaces organized around a stepped foyer. Low passages alternate with tall halls, and darkness gives way to panoramic lake views. The design uses stone extracted during construction, and the roof will be planted with native vegetation.
A New Height for the Old Post Office
A 155-meter tower rises above the courtyard of the former Central Post Office—one of the few buildings in central Rotterdam to survive the 1940 bombing. The structure stands on an arched base, keeping the courtyard open while extending the rhythm of the historic facade vertically through a grid of prefabricated glass fiber concrete arches. From afar, the tower appears almost monolithic; up close, deep reveals and shifted arches create a dynamic play of light and shadow.
Architecture of a Web
A large-scale exhibition by artist Tomás Saraceno explores air, water, salt, and a "web-like" model of collective existence. At its center is the installation Algo-r (h)i (y)thms, made of tensioned ropes that vibrate and produce sound when touched. Visitors are invited to crawl, jump, and navigate through the structure, embodying the collective behavior of spiders. Another section highlights indigenous communities' պայքարը to protect groundwater in Argentina’s salt flats.
A Handmade Mountain
The new National Museum of Ecuador is conceived as an extension of La Carolina Park: circular pavilions, courtyards, and green terraces form an مصنوع landscape with a flat вершина and stepped slopes. Inside is a system of public spaces and exhibition halls of varying scale. Its curving geometry is oriented toward the Pichincha volcano, and the concept was developed in collaboration with Indigenous, Afro-Ecuadorian, and mestizo communities.
A Skyscraper with a Timber Heart
The under-construction headquarters of Australian IT company Atlassian has reached its planned height—180 meters and 39 floors—making it the tallest hybrid timber building in the world. Steel and concrete elements are combined with 10,000 m³ of engineered wood, which will remain visible in the interiors. According to the designers, this approach will halve the carbon footprint compared to a conventional office tower. The 75,000 m² of office space is divided into seven four-story clusters with terraces and natural ventilation, while the first five floors will house a hostel.
@gorkjournal · GORK
3D · Photo · Render · Ai