Archinect - News

How the architect behind Pizza Hut's iconic roof turned a tiny design fee into a small fortune

2022-07-11T17:50:00-04:00

“As the story goes, Burke had originally charged the brothers a hefty upfront fee that the fledgling pizza start-up wasn’t able to scrape together,” the company wrote in a 2015 blog post. “Instead, they offered Burke $100 per store built using his design, never guessing that Pizza Hut would become the global company that it is today.”

Contemporary licensing agreements between architects and chains like the Hut are typically undisclosed, but the low price commanded for each meant that, for all their liminally-pleasurable aesthetic, the otherwise unknown designer of the "red roof" restaurants, Richard D. Burke, might have raked in a small fortune for the services he rendered overtime since the late 1960s (the real number remains unclear, but Curbed once put the number of built units of his design that still existed by 2004 at around 6,300).

The sometimes odd reuses of Burke’s reportedly $100 apizza (forgive me) creations have been well-documented by bloggers since the beginning of the 2010s and brought about a death knell for over 300 former locations as well as many of the iconic red-tiled roofs that came along with their original designs. Yum! Brands, which now operates Pizza Hut, began shifting away from the model and towards a more modernized look in mid-decade.

BIG proposes 500-foot observation tower for San Diego

2019-07-23T13:11:00-04:00

A proposed observation tower at the edge of Pacific Highway is a polarizing symbol of change that could make or break the larger, $2.4 billion redevelopment effort planned for downtown’s Central Embarcadero.

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and developers 1HWY1 have proposed a 500-foot cylindrical observation tower for San Diego's waterfront Central Embarcadero as part of a massive $2.4 billion Seaport San Diego project.

The part-hotel, part-theme park development could include 385 hotel rooms, a 170,822-square-foot "vertical aquarium," and other retail, office, and leisure spaces, according to a recent report from The San Diego Union-Tribune.

The proposal, which will have to undergo extensive environmental review and be approved by the California Coastal Commission, is not without controversy, however.

Ground-level view of the proposed observation tower. Image courtesy of Seaport San Diego.

Melody Lasiter, a San Diego coastal planner, told The San Diego Union-Tribune, “We have concerns about the bulk and scale of the project in general."

Lasiter added, “Our major concern is that the existing development down at Seaport Village right now is easily accessible for a wide range of incomes. The...

Brutalist collection of vintage postcards highlight iconic Eastern Bloc architecture

2018-09-18T15:45:00-04:00

With flawless blue skies and the latest landmarks of cutting edge design, postcards from across the Soviet Union were miniature propaganda posters for the success of the communist system. Showcasing brutalist hotels, futurist TV towers, and bold concrete tower blocks, each image is a snapshot of the transformative decades between 1960 and 1990: from the endless optimism of Khrushchev's Thaw, to the closing years of the Cold War.

These Soviet Union postcards have been collected as part of a book project, Brutal Bloc Postcards, featuring some of the most iconic brutalist landmarks within the Eastern Bloc. Many of these structures are now abandoned, derelict, or completely gone. Take a look at this unique glimpse into the past:

Eastern Gate of Belgrade or Rudo Buildings, late 1970s. Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia. Image: FUEL.

Memorial to the Marines, 1978. Zhdanov, Ukrainian SSR. Image: FUEL.

Recreation home of the Ministry of the Interior, 1970s. Budapest, Hungarian PR. Image: FUEL.

Residential housing, late 1970s. Chișinău, Moldavian SSR. Image: FUEL.

You can check out more of these brutalist postcards here.

Architect shares wonderfully Photoshopped Thomas Kinkade and Modernism mashups on Twitter

2018-08-22T13:40:00-04:00

Architect twitter account @robyniko known as 'the "schtick" haver' has started a thread where worlds collide locating iconic modernist architecture in Thomas Kinkade landscapes. Whether or not this should have ever been done is up for debate. These mashups may just be so terrible you can't look away...

Charles and Ray Eames' Case Study Cabin:

Philip Johnson's Glass Cottage:

Check out the whole thread for more blasphemous thrills:

Lost UK brutalist buildings honored through illustrations

2018-06-25T18:09:00-04:00

Despite being recognized as an important architectural movement, many iconic examples of modernist architecture have been knocked down in the UK, and many more are threatened by alteration or demolition. From The Tricorn Centre in Portsmouth to Gilbey's Gin complex in Harlow, these illustrations by GoCompare pay tribute to Britain's lost post-war brutalist buildings.

The Tricorn Centre, Portsmouth (1966 - 2004)

Pimlico Secondary School, London (1970 - 2010)

Trinity Square Car Park, Gateshead (1967 - 2010)

Derwent Tower, Dunston (1972 - 2012)

Greenside, Virginia Water, Surrey (1937 - 2003)

Milton Court, London (1959 - 2008)

Dunlop Rubber Factory, Brynmawr (1951 - 2001)

Gilbey's Gin HQ, Harlow (1963 - 1993)

Royal Mail Mechanised Letter Office, Hemel Hempstead (1985 - 2012)

What would The Louvre look like if it was Brutalist?

2018-05-01T15:23:00-04:00

These 7 iconic buildings have been reconstructed in different architectural styles, such as The Louvre in Brutalist style pictured above. The effect is jarring to say the least...

Buckingham Palace in Bauhaus style:

Falling Water House in Classical style:

Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Niterói in Sustainable style:

CN Tower in Ancient Egyptian style:

Petronas Towers in Gothic style:

Sydney Opera House in Tudor style:

These reworked renderings were designed by NeoMam Studios for Expedia Canada.

Find all 30 architectural references in this challenging 3D puzzle

2017-12-21T17:54:00-05:00

Architecture has seen a lot of different styles in the past 3000 years, from the grand temples of ancient Egypt to the small, cubical dwellings of Japan. Fumio Matsumo, a project professor at the University of Tokyo's University Museum, has managed to fit elements from 30 distinct icons of architecture into a single 3D model. As Co.Design reports, Memories of Architecture acts as both a history lesson in design and a challenging puzzle for architecture fanatics.

Each element in Matsumo's design puzzle references architecture history beginning with 18th century BCE at the base and working it's way up to modern day. If you get stuck or just want to know/(cheat) here is a full list of all the iconic buildings represented in the model.

The Archisutra is an architect's manual to sex positions

2017-12-05T17:59:00-05:00

London-based architect Miguel Bolivar recently released his side project Archisutra, an architecture and design take on the Kama Sutra. This manual gives you all the data with annotated scale drawings and informative descriptions including categorizations of 'Typical Location' and 'Sustainability'. Each position is inspired by an iconic building and often incorporates the use of designer furniture.

Truss Me, in 'Archisutra' by Miguel Bolivar. Photo: The Archisutra/Facebook.

Archisustra's precise drawings were inspired by da Vinci's Vitruvian Man and Le Corbusier's standard model of the human form, The Modulor. Bolivar explains the project arose from questioning how sex should be considered in design, and furthering the idea that architecture should be centered around human life.

The Pompidou, 'Archisutra' by Miguel Bolivar. Photo: The Archisutra/Facebook.

Reflecting on an era of architectural icons

2017-05-01T13:54:00-04:00

And still they come. The Gherkins, Shards, Walkie-Talkies, Cheesegraters, Scalpels, giant iPhones, Bird’s Nest stadiums, flying tabletops, big pants. Like the conveyor belt of consumer items that older readers will remember in Bruce Forsyth’s Generation Game, the supply of funny-looking buildings with funny names seems never-ending. Nicknames are converted into brands; satire and marketing merge.

There has been an era of architectural invention like few others, combined with a sense of hollowness, the feeling of not knowing what it’s all for.

The politics behind China's ban on "weird" architecture

2016-03-01T19:38:00-05:00

...eye-catching edifices began as China’s way of announcing its arrival as a powerful player on the world stage. Now, however, the Chinese government has changed course: It has officially declared this to be “weird” architecture that must be stopped. Chinese leaders have turned their backs on these structures, a shift that underscores China’s new conception of itself and its ambitions for the future [...]

"But the government’s mandate explicitly addresses both the function and form of new buildings, and the planning imperative seems designed to go beyond improving the quality of life. The end of “weird” architecture ties in to the government’s recent efforts to champion frugality, revive traditional values, and keep foreign ideas at bay—priorities that have assumed even greater importance in the midst of China’s ongoing corruption crackdown and fears of an economic slowdown."

For more on China's turbulent relationship with contemporary architecture, check out these links: