The small city of Molde in Western Norway recently gained one more architectural attraction: the new cultural center, 'Plassen', designed by Danish 3XN. — bustler.net

As a result of the fire that took place at the Heydar Aliyev Center designed by Zaha Hadid Architects in Baku today no damage was caused to inner part of the building, halls and others, a joint statement of Emergency Situations Ministry and Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office says. — Today AZ

The proposal by Rotterdam-based firm MoederscheimMoonen Architects has recently won the architectural competition for the new community center ‘Het Anker’ in Zwolle, The Netherlands. The commission results from an invited competition which also comprised the offices Koppert + Koenis Architecten, broekbakema, Jeanne Dekkers Architectuur, and BDG Architecten. — bustler.net

The collaborative effort of team BIG+FREAKS freearchitects, dUCKS scéno, Khephren Ingénierie, VPEAS, ALTO Ingénierie, Vincent Hedont, PBNL, Mryk & Moriceau, Ph.A., has won the competition to design a new 12,000 m2 cultural center on the riverfront of Bordeaux, France, merging three cultural institutions into one single building. [...]

The Regional Council of Bordeaux selected the winning team among proposals from SANAA, the Toulouse-based firm W-Architectures and Bordeaux-based FLINT. — bustler.net

The Arch, a new cultural center in the small southern Norwegian town Mandal has officially opened to the public this April. Designed by Danish practice 3XN, construction had commenced in December 2009 and was completed in December 2011. — bustler.net

Earlier this month, we published the winners in the competition for a new cultural venue in Montreal's Verdun Borough with Les Architectes FABG taking home the First Prize. One of the four outstanding finalist entries was submitted by Montreal-based Saucier + Perrotte, Architectes which we present here in detail. — bustler.net

Les Architectes FABG is the winning firm in the architecture competition for a new cultural venue adjacent to the St. Lawrence River in Montreal's Verdun Borough. The project includes a professional theater and also provides for redevelopment and expansion of Verdun's circus school, the École de cirque de Verdun. — bustler.net

Renzo Piano recently unveiled plans for a new waterfront cultural center and urban park in Athens that includes a massive opera house and a library that is directly connected to the park by a sloping green roof. The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center will also incorporate several sustainable technologies with the hope of attaining LEED Platinum certification. — Inhabitat