Located in the La Serena neighborhood of Mar del Plata, Argentina, the well-known yet now abandoned Ariston Hotel was designed and constructed in 1948 by the Hungarian architect Marcel Breuer, a great diffuser of the modern movement in architecture. Originally meant for housing social reunions, dances and cocktail parties, this project is notable for its elevated volume with a curving, clover-inspired form that permits maximum glazing.
One of Coop Himmelb(l)au's latest competition winning designs is the Dawang Mountain Resort near Changsha, China, a combination of an entertainment ice world with an indoor ski slope, a water park and supporting restaurant and shopping facilities. Positioned directly on top of a historical cement mining quarry pit and lake, this proposal aims to combine "striking landscape with ambitious design" in a way that could redefine the idea and aesthetics of recreation for the south-central Chinese city.