7 Breathtaking Designs from Snøhetta, the People Behind the New French Laundry

A special reflective treatment of the pavilion’s façade is designed to mirror the changing seasons, highlighting different physical aspects of the building depending on the time of year.

Snøhetta’s take on the home of one of France’s most well-respected newspapers includes a huge plaza, above which clusters of LEDs move across the roof above it like clouds or stars.

The opera house seems to rise straight out of a fjord, and its walls of windows give the public glimpses into the backstage workings of the scenery shop, where sets are made for every show.

Snøhetta’s goal in its redesign of Times Square was to create an “outdoor room” in the center of New York City on the bowtie-shaped pedestrian mall. The new surface they used to pave their new “room” will reflect the ever-present neon lights of the billboards and make them dance along the ground.

On a rock outcropping north of the Arctic Circle, Snøhetta designed and is building a beautiful modern hotel. Slated to open during 2015, it is the ultimate luxury getaway in one of the most remote places on Earth.

Commissioned in 1989 but not opened until 2002, the 750,000-square-foot re-creation of the ancient library from the time of Alexander the Great includes countless calligraphic inscriptions along its façade recalling many of the world’s ancient civilizations.

One of the finalists to build the Obama Presidential Center, Snøhetta designed its building to be green. The shape of the roof allows rainwater to be collected for use in edible gardens below.