Archinect - Features

The Ego and the Architect

2013-05-20T09:36:00-04:00

A few weeks ago, I witnessed an interaction that I imagine most people in the design industry experience numerous times both in school AND professional life. What transpired was this: a few junior architects were pinning up carefully composed drawings, renderings, and sketches for a client meeting. Under a tight budget and time constraint, the amount of thought, options, and exploration on the wall felt vital and impressive. As the last drawing was being pinned, a visiting architect from a different office briefly stepped into the room, looked at the wall for about thirty seconds, and quickly claimed “Oh, I built this building in the 90’s…”

UNEXPECTED COSTS ~ Big ticket design software versus alternate methodologies

2013-04-15T18:25:00-04:00

Not twenty years ago, if you wanted to start your own firm, you could do so on a Mayline drafting board in your basement. Sharpen your lead holder, unroll a length of vellum and you were ready to go. There were no promises of your skill or success but the tools were within reach. Today, my partner and I sit on our couch as we write up a wishlist of basic softwares we might need for a fledgling practice: Revit Architecture, Autocad, Rhino, a decent rendering engine, Adobe CS, maybe Sketchup Pro. Meanwhile, a small house addition and competition briefs await on the coffee table. We click around on the internet for single-use licensing costs, tally the price tags, and the bottom line drops like an anvil: just over $15,000.

Working out of the Box: Nadia Amoroso

2013-04-15T13:50:00-04:00

Working out of the Box is a series of features presenting architects who have applied their architecture backgrounds to alternative career paths.

In this installment, we're talking with Nadia Amoroso, an architect who has switched careers to help create the data visualization software DataAppeal.

Are you an architect working out of the box? Do you know of someone that has changed careers and has an interesting story to share? If you would like to suggest an (ex-)architect, please send us a message.

NEXT SERIES: Media Specialist Wanted

2013-04-10T11:59:00-04:00

In architectural media, what it used to be "there is no such thing as bad publicity" in the prime print years, has turned into "puffery is the only publicity" in the age of social media and infinite promotion. There might be some flickers of hope here and there for intelligent criticism, but media in general might as well be one big love fest for the positive thinking which is explained in Herbert Marcuse's One Dimensional Man. The quantity is the key word here and it is counted by thumb up style likes..

ShowCase: Shrine of the Virgin of "La Antigua" by Otxotorena Arquitectos

2013-04-02T19:19:00-04:00

ShowCase is an on-going feature series on Archinect, presenting exciting new work from designers representing all creative fields and all geographies.

We are always accepting nominations for upcoming ShowCase features - if you would like to suggest a project, please send us a message.

Student Works: Beyond Prototype

2013-03-21T13:27:00-04:00

Beyond Prototype is an advanced digital fabrication seminar developed at Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation by Jason Ivaliotis and Nicholas Kothari. This course focuses on the development of hybridized, folded meshes that simultaneously serve as both structure and building envelope. Students develop parametrically controlled tessellations and transform them into building component systems that can be built using conventional sheet stock materials. These tessellated systems are extracted from the digital realm and built at full scale.

ShowCase: Hotel Wiesergut by GOGL ARCHITEKTEN

2013-03-06T19:55:00-05:00

ShowCase is an on-going feature series on Archinect, presenting exciting new work from designers representing all creative fields and all geographies.

We are always accepting nominations for upcoming ShowCase features - if you would like to suggest a project, please send us a message.

ShowCase: Santo Tirso Fire Station by Álvaro Siza Vieira

2013-02-18T15:44:00-05:00

ShowCase is an on-going feature series on Archinect, presenting exciting new work from designers representing all creative fields and all geographies.

We are always accepting nominations for upcoming ShowCase features - if you would like to suggest a project, please send us a message.

ShowCase: 253 Pacific Street by James Cleary Architecture

2013-02-11T14:20:00-05:00

ShowCase is an on-going feature series on Archinect, presenting exciting new work from designers representing all creative fields and all geographies.

We are always accepting nominations for upcoming ShowCase features - if you would like to suggest a project, please send us a message.

Student Works: New Horizons Iceland Expedition

2013-02-04T14:01:00-05:00

In late November 2012, London's The Bartlett School of Architecture Unit 3 embarked on an expedition to Iceland.

Warmed by the Gulf Stream, endless geysers and caught between two major tectonic plates, this land of endless volcanic activity is also home to Europe's largest glacier.

Twelve 2nd and 3rd year students designed, built and tested a series of shelter/surveying devices to research and charted varied aspects of Iceland.

Archinect Interviews George Brugmans, IABR - Part 3, São Paulo, Rotterdam and Beyond

2013-01-30T17:09:00-05:00

Continuation of Orhan Ayyüce's interview with George Brugmans, Executive Director of the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR).

Previously: PART 1, Making City and PART 2, Arnavutköy, Istanbul

Archinect Interviews George Brugmans, IABR - Part 2, Arnavutköy, Istanbul

2013-01-28T15:15:00-05:00

Continuation of Orhan Ayyüce's interview with George Brugmans, Executive Director of the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR).

Previously: PART 1, Making City

In Focus: Yohan Zerdoun

2013-01-24T16:13:00-05:00

In Focus is Archinect's series of features dedicated to profiling the photographers who help make the work of architects look that much better. What has attracted them to architecture? How do they work? What type of equipment do they use? What do they think about seeing their work in blogs?

In this feature, we talk to Germany/Switzerland-based architectural photographer Yohan Zerdoun.

Archinect Interviews George Brugmans, IABR - Part 1, Making City

2013-01-23T17:42:00-05:00

“I do not believe in throwing good stuff away. Every IABR edition builds on earlier editions. We refocus, change perspective, pick up new elements; we re-use and reconfigure, and then we scramble and stir. Compared to most other Biennales, we’re poor and small, so we have to be smart, not waste what we have, choose our battles, break rules, find shortcuts, work with good people, make friends and truly commit ourselves.” - George Brugmans

IABR, International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam is the most engaged urban Biennale in the world. Supported by the Dutch Government, the city of Rotterdam, the municipalities where the IABR runs test sites and the collaborators from NGO's, this urban biennale continues to discuss, engage, make, critique and invent solutions for pressing problems regarding the present and the future of the cities in this so called urban century with rapidly growing megalopolises and populations.
IABR holds that when we would all be living in better-made citie...

Fishing for Architecture with John Lurie

2013-01-16T13:20:00-05:00

I became familiar with the work of John Lurie in mid 80's when a friend put in a cassette tape during an intoxicating balmy night on Aegean coast of Turkey with meandering sounds of Lounge Lizards mixing into the starry skies above. Since then, I have listened to more of his music, watched the films and became aware of his fascinating artistic output. Due to his illness, suffering from Lyme disease, John Lurie had to refocus his artful existence doing paintings which are no less expressive and heartfelt than his masterful work in other forms. I had an opportunity to ask him to talk with me about architecture and this conversation resulted over a few days of messaging in cyber space. By the end, we became somewhat friends and so far have been checking in with each other on a daily basis. He is a rare, multi-talented artist for sure. And I really believe he knows more about architecture than he thinks.

Archinect's 12 Top 12 for '12

2013-01-02T00:07:00-05:00

Just like last year, we're transitioning into the new year by reflecting back on the 2012 by sharing the most trafficked pages in Archinect's diverse online ecosystem, with a list of 12 top 12 lists for '12. As always, we're listing the most popular pages from across the site, based exclusively on visits by unique page-views. There's no emphasis on quality or relevance here... we're simply providing a non-subjective reflection of what our valued readers are reading and sharing the most.

Working out of the Box: Airi Isoda, Architect-turned-Fashion Designer

2012-12-12T17:39:00-05:00

Working out of the Box is a series of features presenting architects who have applied their architecture backgrounds to alternative career paths.

Student Works: The Petropolis of Tomorrow: Drift & Drive

2012-12-10T01:11:00-05:00

Drift & Drive proposes a new model of water-based urbanism by readdressing the technological and logistical challenges of offshore oil extraction. Our project is a solution to the desire on the part of Petrobras, the Brazilian petrochemical company, to relocate workers offshore, as rigs are established ever further from the coast, increasing the transportation cost of both workers and oil.

ShowCase: Folkwang Library by Max Dudler

2012-12-07T17:44:00-05:00

ShowCase is an on-going feature series on Archinect, presenting exciting new work from designers representing all creative fields and all geographies.

We are always accepting nominations for upcoming ShowCase features - if you would like to suggest a project, please send us a message.

ShowCase: Villa Solaire by JKA + FUGA

2012-12-06T11:53:00-05:00

ShowCase is an on-going feature series on Archinect, presenting exciting new work from designers representing all creative fields and all geographies.

We are always accepting nominations for upcoming ShowCase features - if you would like to suggest a project, please send us a message.

ShowCase: House in Moreira by Phyd Arquitectura

2012-11-20T20:02:00-05:00

ShowCase is an on-going feature series on Archinect, presenting exciting new work from designers representing all creative fields and all geographies.

We are always accepting nominations for upcoming ShowCase features - if you would like to suggest a project, please send us a message.

Harvard in Rotterdam – Harvard GSD / AMO presentation in the Rotterdam Dependence

2012-11-20T14:04:00-05:00

by Jaakko van ‘t Spijker

It was an event with a pop-up nature, announced only days before and with no one really knowing what to expect. On Friday night, November 16th, the first findings of a studio in the Harvard GSD program, dealing with ‘the Elements of Architecture’, were publicly presented in a packed Dependance at the Schieblock in Rotterdam. It unfolded as an unpretentious evening of public brainstorming, with a strong guiding presence of Rem Koolhaas that demonstrated the powerful potential of education by research. Although no finite conclusions were drawn the night was a success. It turned out to be one of those moments of synergy when content, format and location reinforce each other.

ShowCase: House Yagiyama by Kazuya Saito Architects

2012-11-13T13:20:00-05:00

ShowCase is an on-going feature series on Archinect, presenting exciting new work from designers representing all creative fields and all geographies.

We are always accepting nominations for upcoming ShowCase features - if you would like to suggest a project, please send us a message.

Student Works: DRX 2012 – Minimal Surface Highrise Structures

2012-11-02T20:04:00-04:00

The Design Research Exchange (DRX) is a non-profit residency program for researchers hosted by HENN Architekten. The DRX, initiated by Moritz Fleischmann (HENN Research Director) and Martin Henn (HENN Design Director), provides an open platform to unite experts from various fields. By exploring architectural topics of shared interest, the DRX promotes a multi-disciplinary discussion between academics and professionals.

Working out of the Box: Skip Schwartz

2012-10-30T15:15:00-04:00

Working out of the Box is a series of features presenting architects who have applied their architecture backgrounds to alternative career paths.

ShowCase: Augmented Structures v2.0 by Refik Anadol & Alper Derinbogaz

2012-10-26T18:04:00-04:00

ShowCase is an on-going feature series on Archinect, presenting exciting new work from designers representing all creative fields and all geographies.

We are always accepting nominations for upcoming ShowCase features - if you would like to suggest a project, please send us a message.

ShowCase: Cerebral Hut by Guvenc Ozel

2012-10-25T15:09:00-04:00

ShowCase is an on-going feature series on Archinect, presenting exciting new work from designers representing all creative fields and all geographies.

We are always accepting nominations for upcoming ShowCase features - if you would like to suggest a project, please send us a message.

ShowCase: Liyuan Library by Li Xiaodong/Atelier

2012-10-24T19:19:00-04:00

ShowCase is an on-going feature series on Archinect, presenting exciting new work from designers representing all creative fields and all geographies.

We are always accepting nominations for upcoming ShowCase features - if you would like to suggest a project, please send us a message.

ShowCase: Cassia Co-op Training Centre by TYIN tegnestue Architects

2012-10-16T16:53:00-04:00

ShowCase is an on-going feature series on Archinect, presenting exciting new work from designers representing all creative fields and all geographies.

We are always accepting nominations for upcoming ShowCase features - if you would like to suggest a project, please send us a message.

ARCHIPELAGOS: Ungers vs. Rowe

2012-10-09T16:58:00-04:00

This brief text attempts to discuss two interrelated concerns: an examination of the techniques and analyses of the city that underpinned the work of O.M. Ungers and Colin Rowe, and secondly, the way in which that examination served as the conceptual foundation for a graduate architecture studio I taught in Fall 2011 at Cornell University which took their legacies and positions as the basis for a urban design and architectural project. The four projects shown here each enacted a rigorous process of manipulation, transformation and distortion of precedents by Ungers or Rowe (two of each). In doing so, the distinction between architectural history and design was purposely collapsed, requiring a combination of analogical and analytical thinking. While the discourse surrounding these two significant figures is vast, the precise relationships between their distinct projects is less well-known. Nevertheless, a key point of overlap (among others) is the issue of contextualism (a term wit...