Archinect - News

Pentagram utilizes architectural forms to create a new visual identity for the Memphis Art Museum

2023-11-02T20:04:00-04:00

Pentagram has released materials showcasing their new visual identity project undertaken for their clients at the Memphis Art Museum (formerly the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art) ahead of the completion of its Herzog & de Meuron-led expansion in 2025.

The lettering and logo included in the kit derive from cross-section drawings of the new 122,000-square-foot building, which will grace the center of downtown at Overton Park. The expanded museum also forms the anchor of a wider riverfront development master plan that will reorient the commercial/cultural district. Costs for the expansion have been reported around $180 million.

“We have worked with the greater Memphis community for years on our vision for a new museum, and as it begins to take shape, we are proud to see that it will be a place for community and connectivity unlike anything in our city’s history,” the museum's board president, Carl Person, told the Memphis Flyer newspaper recently about the institutional pivot. “It is tru...

Pentagram co-founder Colin Forbes has died aged 94

2022-05-31T20:02:00-04:00

The graphic design industry has lost an icon as multiple outlets are reporting the death of Pentagram co-founder Colin Forbes last week at his home in Westfield, North Carolina.

Forbes was seen as a monumental figure who pioneered various typographical concepts and was pivotal in the migration of design consultancies towards things like brand identities at a time when graphic design was beginning to present itself as an asset in a world awash in corporate advertising.

In an obituary published Thursday by The New York Times, Forbes was recalled as a “Designer’s designer” whose personal designs for brands like the Pirelli tire company, Nissan, and Jack Daniels went hand-in-hand with his role as the “principal architect” of a “partnership structure that balanced independence and collaboration” to make Pentagram into a global mainstay.

Forbes was born...

London's Camden Highline proposal submitted for planning, set to open first phase in 2025

2022-05-19T18:51:00-04:00

London’s proposed Camden Highline has been submitted for planning. Led by the practice behind the New York High Line, James Corner Field Operations, and Camden-based firm vPPR Architects, the project will regenerate a disused railway viaduct to establish an elevated park that connects Camden Town to Kings Cross.

The master plan will create walking routes between local neighborhoods and inject needed green space across a mix of communities. It will feature gardens, walkways, seating areas, cafés, arts and cultural interventions, spaces for charitable activities, and play areas for children. The initiative also aims to boost the region’s biodiversity by providing wildlife habitats for birds, insects, and animals.

Previously on Archinect: James Corner Field Operations to lead design for new UK Highline

“We are extremely excited to share this design vision for Camden Highline,” said Lead Designer James Corner. “The design is intended to celebrate and amplify the unique characteristics ...

Pentagram designs new visual identity for Tulane School of Architecture

2022-02-24T09:00:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by Tulane School of Architecture

Creating a strong and impactful visual identity for brands and companies is essential. This follows suit for institutions and academic departments. Tulane School of Architecture recently announced its partnership with renowned design firm Pentagram and unveiled its reimagined visual identity. Together, Tulane and Pentagram created a "new suite of branded materials and an entirely redesigned website."

According to Tulane, the school is entering a "new era of educating future professionals in the built environment on the importance of navigating humans' relationship with water and supporting local communities in a wide range of design challenges." With this in mind, the visual rebranding also aimed to cultivate discourse in how the school addresses "pressing environmental, social, and economic challenges."

Video courtesy of Tulane University School of Architecture.

The Pentagram design team brought an impressive level of e...

FXFOWLE announces new firm name FXCollaborative with logo by Pentagram

2018-01-19T17:48:00-05:00

The world-renowned architecture, interiors and planning firm FXFOWLE Architects will now go by the name FXCollaborative. Originally founded 40 years ago as Fox & Fowle, the firm is rebranding with a new logo and a new location. In less than four years the firm will move from their long standing Manhattan location into a Brooklyn building of their own design.

The firm's new logo was designed by Pentagram. Michael Bierut, partner at Pentagram said, “The new identity is not so much a logo but a statement of purpose and a commitment to a way of working.

FXCollaborative office team. Image: FXCollaborative.

Claiming the scarce middle ground between small boutiques and large global firms, FXCollaborative's new name reflects their core values of information and knowledge exchange expressed by few boundaries between disciplines and typologies.

London Design Festival has revealed a host of installations for 2016

2016-05-04T12:29:00-04:00

Installations announced for LDF 2016 include a giant curved walkway made of sustainable wood, a takeover of a disused stairwell and sit-in boxes that aim to address the housing crisis. The Smile, designed by Alison Brooks Architects, is an outdoor installation supported by the American Hardwood Export Council and ARUP, and is a 36m-long curved rectangular tube made from sustainable timber.

Here are some more of this years offerings:

Baboushka Boxes are design by dRMM and supported by financial company Legal & General as well as the homeless charity Shelter.

Created by consultancy Gilthero and supported by Italian watch maker Panerai, The Green Room will be based in a stairwell at the V&A and explores the concept of time.

The much discussed crazy gold course conceived by Sir Paul Smith which still needs to raise £120,000 through Kickstarter to happen.

Already announced the live robotically sculpted canopy at the V&A.

For related installations, check these out:

Get Lectured: Yale, Spring '15

2015-01-15T13:20:00-05:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Winter-Spring 2015

Archinect's Get Lectured is back in session! Get Lectured is an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back frequently to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

Lectures begin at 6:30 p.m. in Hastings Hall (basement floor). Doors open to the general public at 6:15 p.m. Below are upcoming events only.

Jan 15
George Morris Woodruff, Class of 1857 Memorial Lecture
Anthony Vidler / Vincent Scully Visiting Professor in Architectural History
“The Brutalist Epoch: Histories, Theories, and Criticisms"

Jan 22
Niall McLaughlin / Norman R. Foster Visiting Professor
“Origins and Translations”

Feb 12
Gordon H. Smith Lecture
Steve Burrow...

The long-lost design bible of the New York subway is (briefly) back in print

2014-09-10T15:37:00-04:00

To many designers, the manual became an exemplar of the form—and a design classic in its own right. [...] When Hamish Smyth and Jesse Reed, who work at the New York design firm Pentagram, stumbled across a copy a few years ago, it was buried under old gym clothes in a locker. They digitized the manual, and now they’re reprinting it with the blessing of the MTA. A complete reissue, which includes a new essay on the manual’s history, is being sold on Kickstarter starting today [...].

Get Lectured: Yale Fall '13

2013-10-07T12:21:00-04:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Fall 2013

Here on Archinect we recently launched "Get Lectured", where we'll feature a school's lecture series--along with their snazzy posters--for the current season. Check back regularly to stay up-to-date and mark your calendars for any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

Our first poster of the week comes from the Yale School of Architecture, specially designed by Pentagram, Michael Bierut, and Jessica Svendsen.
(It's hard to not get hypnotized by that typography, no?)

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

Below are events listed under Lectures only. Lectures begin at 6:30 pm in Hastings Hall (basement floor). Doors open to the public at 6:15 pm.

AUGUST

August 29
John Spence
Edward P. Bass Distinguished Visiting Architecture Fellow
“Five Star Hippie”

SEPTEMBER

September 5
Sylvia Lavin
“Architecture That Is Near and Arc...