BusinessWeek Online Architectural Record Awards: DOUBLE DUTCH TREATMENT

It sits on the flat Netherlands landscape like a zeppelin, a 469-foot-long softly sculptured shed that is, in fact, a huge waste-sorting plant. No one wants such a facility in the neighborhood, so the townsfolk of Zenderen turned to architect Kas Oosterhuis for a solution. The result is a structure whose graceful curves visually reduce its bulky size, allowing it to sit lightly on the landscape. The plant will do its dirty job for up to 15 years--and will then transform itself into a stadium. For now, the shed is built with one side open to accommodate a fleet of trucks bringing garbage to be sorted and hauled off to a nearby landfill. Once that landfill is topped off, however, the shed is designed to be closed, a step toward converting it into a sports stadium or concert hall. The Dutch architect managed to solve a delicate problem in a cost-efficient way that is also easy on the eye.