Over recent months, China has been stealing the spotlight of FC&A’s portfolio pages. This month, the light beams radiantly on the south coast of the east Asian country on a region that’s echoing the vibrancy and neon-lined streets of Las Vegas. Macau, sited on the western side of the Pearl River, is hitting the headlines both here in the UK and across the globe as Asia’s answer to America’s ‘sin city’; however, it’s not only the wealth of casinos bordering the kitsch streets that’s pulling in the attention of tourists, it’s also the redefined Macau skyline.

In China, the name Shenzhen is associated with frenetic pace. The city’s metamorphosis from a fishing village with 30,000 residents into a 15 million-strong metropolis took just 30 years. A start-up at this location required only two decades to become the world’s fourth-largest industrial enterprise. Tencent, the high-tech concern that started out as an email provider, has already overtaken Facebook in terms of its market value.

France; a country rightfully recognised for producing some of the world’s most discerning architects and designers – from Jean Nouvel, Le Corbusier and Jean de Chelles through to Gabrielle Bonheur and Christian Dior. While the nation’s cities and towns boast historically-significant ornamental architecture that flank its charming bars and cafes, the contemporary designs produced both for and from this design-rich realm are equally notable. Here, FC&A explores one of France’s modern-day designs – a kaleidoscope-like ‘veil’ concealed inside a Parisian mall by Canadian-based practice, UUfie.

The outer curved profiles and internal sweeping geometries of the prominent Oslo Airport extension may call to mind FC&A’s lighting feature from back in January. Those who checked in to our first issue of 2018 will recall the airport’s stunning illumination design which synchronises with Norway’s daylighting in a bid to save energy. Here, FC&A explores the Nordic – Office of Architecture-designed extension and finds out just how the scheme lives up to its appellation as ‘the world’s greenest airport’.

Scandinavia is currently the centre of attention on the global stage as the world goes mad for its clean, minimalistic aesthetic and interesting lifestyle trends such as ‘hygge’. However, Norway and Oslo, in particular, seems to be at the hub of it all. Here Leonard Design Director, John Morgan, discusses ‘the Oslo factor’ as the city is named the fastest-growing capital in Europe.