Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum(HOK), St. Louis, has been selected to design the new Churchill Museum, which will be constructed beneath the Treasury building in London. The project includes renovation of the Churchill family's private quarters and construction of the 97,000-sq.-ft. museum.
One challenge of the project, according to Neil Cooke, director of conservation with HOK, is designing the new space into the existing structure, which includes a 5-ft.-thick concrete slab to protect the building from bombs.
Iceland Air Hotels broke ground for an addition to the 170-room Hotel Esja in downtown Reykjavik, Iceland. Designed by Somerville, Mass.-based architect Arrowstreet, the addition includes the construction of an eight-story tower on top of an existing one-story wing that will add 120 rooms.
Louvers will cover guestroom windows to screen the sun's rays, which, because of the country's extreme northern latitude, strike at an acute angle.