Archinect - News

Anywhere but Here: Deserted Banking Empire turned Skyscraper Slum

2013-05-13T14:04:00-04:00

It was built for stockbrokers and bankers in their thousand dollar suits to make million dollar deals, but for nearly two decades it has held the less impressive title of the world’s tallest squat. Welcome to the Centro Financiero Confinanzas, more commonly known as the Torre David (the Tower of David) in Caracas, Venezuela, an unfinished skyscraper which has now been colonised by an ad hoc community of over 700 families.

Domus visits Maio at their nice Barcelona studio

2012-12-10T13:50:00-05:00

It is divided into two sections. One of these, the working area, is dominated by its single central desk, which is 12,5 metres long, without any divisions or boundaries. This desk is shared by graphic designers, architects, data visualisation experts, video artists and anyone who the team can share experiences and collaborate with.

The architects have shared the following images and text about their project with us...

The project, designed by architects Anna Puigjaner and Guillermo Lopez, members of MAIO design team, involves the conversion of a space that formerly housed a washing place into an open studio for professionals from different fields of architecture and design.

The existing 40-meter long building was a continuous space, with variable sections and extremely poor lighting. Hence, the proposal focuses on the opening of a patio, literally conceived as an outer room, to improve the interior lighting. This outer room divides the 40 meters of the initial space into two areas. The front area is open to the street and left empty to accommodate activities related to the public, such as meetings, events, exhibitions ... - while the rear side houses a 12,5-meter long table and is intended as the main workspace.

The thickness and warmth of the three new, large windows opened in the patio has b...

DC's Lorton Prison to be converted into apartments

2012-11-26T15:38:00-05:00

At one time, the dorm housed as many as 40 or 50 prisoners packed together like sardines, according to Caperton. The plan is to convert the space into two or three one-bedroom apartments, which is a considerably more comfortable arrangement than the last residents of the building had. Caperton says that in the 1980s and '90s Lorton Prison had a reputation for being dangerously overcrowded.

Budapest's "Ruin Bars"

2012-10-17T20:16:00-04:00

... they started opening up in abandoned (but interesting) buildings where nobody wanted to spend the money to restore them to their former glory. Some didn’t have a roof (and still don’t), while others had a big courtyard offering ample space for revelers. Set up a bar, get the toilets working, and you’re set. Eventually some expanded to take over several adjoining buildings. The first ones were a success, others followed, and now they’re a fixture on the nightlife circuit...

"Let's Build a Goddamn Tesla Museum" - Initiative gets funded on Indiegogo

2012-10-11T13:54:00-04:00

We're trying to raise money to buy back Nikola Tesla's old laboratory, known as the Wardenclyffe Tower, and eventually turn it into a museum.

Tesla fans are celebrating the successful funding of their plan to buy back Tesla's laboratory. According to their website:

Even though we've already hit our goal, I plan on letting the campaign run the full 45 days. Every extra penny we earn will go toward restoring the property, building exhibits, and turning this land into something worthy of Tesla's awesomeness. The original goal of $850k was enough money to bid on the property, but it's going to take a lot more to turn it into an actual museum.

The non-profit behind this endeavor is beginning the process of working with the realtor to make a bid on the property.

An Ever-Expanding House of Architectural Salvage

2012-08-16T14:22:00-04:00

When Mr. Archer, 62, finds something intriguing (and it’s usually a very large something), he often builds a new wing around it. His house, which he bought 30 years ago for $135,000, was once a 3,000-square-foot, two-story box. Now it is somewhere between 11,000 and 13,000 square feet, with wings flying every which way, a pterodactyl of architectural detritus.

Architectural White Elephants: Beijing, London, and The Post-Olympics Curse

2012-08-14T19:43:30-04:00

Sydney spent three times its original $2 billion Games budget—its Olympics facilities still operate at a loss. Most of Athens’ stadia remain empty, some in graffiti-covered disrepair.

MVRDV’s Transformation of Disused Dijon Mustard Laboratory Completed

2012-07-13T14:58:00-04:00

Rotterdam's MVRDV has completed the transformation of a disused mustard laboratory in Dijon, France (previously on Bustler) into an innovative call center with an education center, incubator and social program.

Previously in the Archinect News: MVRDV to Transform Dijon Mustard Lab into Call Center

Abandoned Farm House Turned Into Life-Size Dollhouse

2012-06-29T12:07:00-04:00

This is an abandoned farm house that artist Heather Benning turned into a human-sized dollhouse (provided a human-sized dollhouse is just a regular house with no wall on one side).

An Old Slaughterhouse Is Now A Public Cinema Center

2012-05-11T13:18:00-04:00

When architects and designers are called in to redesign a space that already exists for a specific reason and their goal is to reinvent that space for an entirely different use, professionals are faced with a duality of responsibility and potential. In order to respect what once was and bring truth and beauty to the space that is without time or purpose, the task at hand becomes visceral. Questions arise as to how we want people to feel in this space.

A tale of two Toronto church conversions

2012-04-26T18:18:00-04:00

During the age of foolishness, when congregations moved on, the last visitor to these sacred spaces was usually a wrecker’s ball. Now, it seems as though a spring of hope is upon us, as more and more churches become homes.

Abandoned stable becomes off-grid, luxurious family dream home

2012-02-24T18:02:00-05:00

Without access to the grid, the Alonsos added photovoltaics and hydro power and worked to ensure the home wouldn't use much energy. The original position of the stable worked to their favor. The southern exposure allows for the sun to be the main source of heat during the winter. The Alonsos also added large wooden shutters that slide closed like a second skin, covering the large windows at night to trap in most of the home's daily solar heat gain.

Making Over the Mall With Parks and Sermons

2012-02-06T14:17:00-05:00

Designers in Buffalo have proposed stripping down a mall to its foundation and reinventing it as housing, while an aspiring architect in Detroit has proposed turning a mall’s parking lot there into a community farm. Columbus, Ohio, arguing that it was too expensive to maintain an empty mall on prime real estate, dismantled its City Center mall and replaced it with a park.

747 Recycled Airplane Wing House Completed in Malibu

2011-06-16T14:15:20-04:00

Built from a decommissioned Boeing 747, the home features a floating roof made out of the plane's wings that results in a curvilinear home with large floor-to-ceiling windows to take in the sights of the Malibu mountains and Pacific Ocean below.

Inhabitat has just received the first photos of David Hertz Architects' completed 747 wing house in Malibu.

Recycled Airplane Restaurant Serves up First Class Meals in Zurich

2011-05-26T14:19:18-04:00

This retired Soviet Iluyshin IL-14 plane has found new life as an incredible restaurant and bar in Zurich, Switzerland. The vintage plane and its hangar, located across from the Zurich International Airport, have been converted into a unique dining experience, called Runway 34. The aviation-themed restaurant offers visitors the opportunity to enjoy meals, stiff cocktails, cappuccino and cigars inside the renovated aircraft and its environs.