Archinect

Gulliver Seeks Rental - The Newfound Fascination With Tiny Dwellings

2013-05-20T20:36:00-04:00

Mr. Tyler’s entire home was only 78 square feet. And while his “Midtown mansion,” as he called it, was a far cry from the lavish town homes and shimmering penthouses that have spawned a thousand lustful television shows, a video tour posted on YouTube of Mr. Tyler’s little room has been viewed nearly 1.7 million times over the past year and a half. A similar video, about a 90-square-foot apartment on the Upper West Side, has been viewed even more times.

An exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York, called “Making Room,” brought a 30 percent bump in attendance during its opening week in January, and the museum has maintained an 11 percent increase in foot traffic during the show’s run, compared with the same period last year.

Istanbul, the Bosphorous, Corbusier's sketches, Rex

2013-05-20T19:34:00-04:00

How much of the history of urban design as a discipline can be traced back to Corbusier's reading of foreground and background in Istanbul? He took his first research trip abroad to Istanbul in 1911 and wrote of the relationship between the massive forms of the mosques and the repeated typology of the wooden houses. Waterfront, trees, density - the contemporary concerns of urban design are already here. (His sketches and watercolor below are from "Turkish Architecture and Urbanism Through the Eyes of L.C.")

It is very unfair to position Rex's Vakko headquarters next to the New Mosque of 1597 and a detail of the Marble Door at Hagia Sophia. But the slumped glass holds its own. The interior of the Vakko, not so much. One reads the hurriedness of the project, which was, however, a major aspect of its intelligence.

These towers below, photographed quickly from a taxi on the Asian side, are far from the business parks, much less the Bosphorous or t...

Learning from Krisel...

2013-05-20T19:33:00-04:00

One of the biggest highlights of my experience at the conference had to be getting a chance to meet/connect/and learn from William Krisel. To be honest, prior to attending the conference I knew little of Krisel’s work other than the signature butterfly roof. However, I did know that he was one of the keynote’s and that we would be visiting many of his projects throughout the conference.

USC Class of 1998 and USC Class of 1949!

It was to my great surprise and pleasure that Will actually approached me at the opening reception of the conference. Will had read my bio/profile which the Committee on Design and distributed on the 2013 Knowledge Scholars and Will had taken the time to do his homework. He introduced himself as a fellow USC alumnus and did so in Mandarin! Apparently, Bill was born in Shanghai and grew up speaking fluent Mandarin. He was even stationed in China during World War 2 as a translator.

Bill sharing his experiences with Michael Stern

In any case...

Le Corbusier/New York

2013-05-20T18:53:00-04:00

FT discusses Nouvel's design for the National Art Museum of China

2013-05-20T18:27:00-04:00

The French architect behind the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Fondation Cartier and the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris has designed the breathtakingly bold new National Art Museum of China (Namoc) for Beijing, a vast structure which combines internal complexity with apparent external simplicity.

The Pleasures and Pitfalls of Frank Lloyd Wright Homes

2013-05-20T18:22:00-04:00

For those willing to accept the challenge of owning a dwelling designed by America's most-famous architect, there are about 20 Wright homes currently up for sale in eight states. That's the largest number in recent years. Those on the market now range from a six-bedroom Illinois home listed at $649,000 to a sprawling Montana ranch with a price tag of $5.6 million. "It is a good time to buy a Wright house because there is a variety of prices and locations,'' said Janet Halstead...

Coming this June: James Turrell Reimagines FLW’s Guggenheim Rotunda

2013-05-20T17:45:00-04:00

In his first solo exhibition in a New York museum since 1980, American artist James Turrell sets out to reimagine the iconic rotunda of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum in a dramatic transformation. The luminous and immersive site-specific work, Aten Reign, will be part of the upcoming exhibition James Turrell at NYC's Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum which opens on June 21, 2013.

Cleveland Institute of Art to break ground on final phase of an eight-year, $63.5 million expansion and renovation

2013-05-20T17:44:00-04:00

The institution launched its consolidation in 2007 by hiring the star architect Winy Maas of the hot Dutch architecture firm of MVRDV to design the project. The effort then hit numerous snags, including the worst recession since the Depression, and the revelation in 2008 that the Maas expansion design... would be too costly. The Philadelphia architecture firm of Burt, Hill, originally hired to help realize the Maas design, became the lead designer.

Why Is China Stealing Cities, Towns, and Buildings?

2013-05-20T17:37:00-04:00

A lot of Chinese people look up to the West as an ideal, so the construction of these towns could be seen as a way of accelerating their progress; a quick way of achieving through emulation.

Architecture professor James Wines to receive lifetime achievement award

2013-05-20T17:30:00-04:00

Penn State professor of architecture James Wines, founder and president of SITE, will be honored this fall with the National Design Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. He is being recognized for his work in design of site-specific structures that engage information about the environment, including buildings, public spaces, environmental art, landscapes, master plans, interiors, video productions, graphics and product designs. His work has attracted international attention since 1970, influencing the design of environmentally oriented buildings, interiors, gardens and public spaces throughout the world.

Cooper-Hewitt’s National Design Awards honor lasting achievement in American design and are bestowed in recognition of excellence, innovation and enhancement of the quality of life. First launched at the White House in 2000 as an official project of the White House Millennium Council, the annual awards program celebrates des...

Drawing Speeds with Perry Kulper

2013-05-20T17:14:00-04:00

In my last semester at Taubman College I had the privilege of taking an amazing drawing class with one of the school’s foremost experts on drawing and representation, Perry Kulper. His work has been published extensively, in addition to several posts here on archinect.

For the purposes of the drawing seminar, the work was split up into (4) drawing assignments which explored various methods of using drawing as a generative operation, instead of merely a representational one.

At the end of the semester we held an exhibition to showcase the most interesting work. The majority of the work showcased was from our last two assignments, “generative removal” and “real slow.” Each of the drawing projects involved a large commitment of both time and energy from myself and my fellow classmates. A commitment that, at least in my opinion, was paid back 10x by the final work.

Generative Removal
This work focuses on erasure as a means of generating an arch...

MAS Context - Call for Submissions #19: TRACE

2013-05-20T16:18:00-04:00

3D Printing for Fashion

2013-05-20T15:20:00-04:00

Minding the Gap: The Role of Contemporary Architecture in the Historic Environment

2013-05-20T15:13:00-04:00

Navy Pier remake adds urban park elements

2013-05-20T14:53:00-04:00

Some members of Chicago's design community have said privately that the Navy Pier project's parameters, which limited the scope of changes, stifled creative possibilities, even for highly regarded designers such as Corner. "Anything that makes it more parklike is all to the good," said eclectic Chicago architect Stanley Tigerman. "It can only go up, architecturally."

POST+CAPITALIST CITY 4#Move - Winning Projects

2013-05-20T14:30:00-04:00

The international ideas competition series POST+CAPITALIST CITY has announced the winners of its last quarter, 4#Move. Previous installments focused on the issues of 1#Shop, 2#Work, and 3#Live.

Previously:

Pixelite by Graham Kelman

2013-05-20T14:11:00-04:00

2009

A competition winning entry for an installation within the Philadelphia Artemide lighting showroom that conforms to the design of the Tolemeo classic lamp, converting light into a pixelated screen.

Queens Park Urban Villa, Sydney by POC+P architects

2013-05-20T14:10:00-04:00

A proposal for a new two storey contemporary light-filled urban villa nestled around a private courtyard that receives sunlight all year round.

Quality inclusions and materials are envisioned that will withstand robust family use.

Double height voids allow expansion laterally and vertically promoting slivers of views throughout.

Award-winning residential project R.B.L 1165 Repulse Bay by Aedas begins construction by Aedas

2013-05-20T14:09:00-04:00

Highly commended in the Hong Kong Architecture Mulitiple Residence category at Asia Pacific Property Awards 2013, R.B.L 1165 Repulse Bay is an eight-house residential development in Hong Kong designed by Aedas. The houses, all with a highly sculptural building profile, enjoy spectacular view of Repulse Bay, one of the city’s most famous beaches.

Designs of the houses are inspired by the water. The curves are a motif synonymous with sea waves, creating ever-changing perspectives from different points of view and the diffractions and reflections allow residents to be surrounded by the natural beauty around. The resulting sculptural building profile presents a vivid image to both the residents and passers-by. Besides aesthetic merits, the curves also functionally improve configurations and the quality of interior space.

Inlay screens have been incorporated into the insulated glass panels to reduce glare and undesirable reflection. By choosing different materials for the screens, ...

An Unlikely Architecture Hub

2013-05-20T12:35:00-04:00

the Visitors Center lists some 70 structures as “noteworthy”), many designed by a litany of important American architects: I. M. Pei, Harry Weese, Robert A. M. Stern, Richard Meier, Kevin Roche, Robert Venturi, Cesar Pelli and others...

Recently Nancy Kriplen wrote about a visit to Columbus, Ind, for the NYT Sunday travel section. The city was "ranked sixth among the nation’s cities in 1991 for its architectural innovation and design by the American Institute of Architects".

Win a FREE Full Pass to the 2013 AIA National Convention from reThink Wood

2013-05-20T11:47:00-04:00

reThink Wood Wants to get you into the 2013 AIA National Convention in Denver for FREE!
reThink Wood is offering a full pass to one lucky Archinect respondent!
http://www.aia.org/CONVENTION
Denver, CO | June 20-22

To enter the competition fill out this quick survey. A winner will be selected at random on June 6, 2013.

The AIA National Convention provides architects an opportunity to network, learn about growing trends and gain new resources, and reThink Wood’s attendance at the 2013 AIA National Convention offers just that. This June, reThink Wood will be on site at the AIA National Convention in Denver, Colorado providing education sessions on innovative wood design, resources for designing with wood and on-site advisors who can speak to the benefits of wood building systems and specific product applications.

In celebration of their attendance at the architectural event of the year, reThink Wood is offering a full pass to the AIA National Convention ($860 value) to one luc...

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…”

OUTSIDE-IN by MEIR LOBATON CORONA + ULLI HECKMANN .

2013-05-19T18:31:00-04:00

The sense we trust the most is the sense which exposes us the least. The sense that will bring us into direct contact with life is used the least. The first is to see. What we see, we believe, but it is what we don’t see that holds the truth of what is because then it remains undistorted by our interpretation.

We think that all perception is locked within our body: The sense of seeing from the eyes, the sense of hearing from the ears, the sense of smelling from the nose, the sense of tasting from the mouth, and the sense of touch primarily from the hands. Our garden, entitled ‘outside-in’, is conceived as a visual paradox, as device that enhances such conditions in order to make the audience realize how by relying only on sight we rely on imagination, that is to say, on interpretation. In other words, how the sense of vision can become a shield that precludes us the possibility of having a holistic experience of life, one that involves the entire body and that extends beyond it...

Nomad / Off-grid removable structures by Filippo Taidelli Architetto

2013-05-17T20:55:00-04:00

The aim of the competition was to propose new structures and facilities for tourism and recreation on the Sardinian coast. Our proposal was created for the Liscia beach, located on the north part of the island between the town of Santa Teresa di Gallura and Palau.

The project's context in the protected natural area of the river of Liscia, posed inherent challenges, creating the need to confront and resolve the environmental limits of the area through an energetically self-sufficient structure harmoniously integrated in the existing landscape. To reach this ambitious aim the project branches three different scales: 1. Master plan: the area is divided in functional zones according to various users (pedestrians, bicycles, cars) in order to reduce the visual impact of the new structures within the natural landscape, 2. Building: the design principle responds to the need for maximum flexibility and simplicity in the assembly process, 3. Module: the elements proposed guarantee maximum...

Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Wageningen (The Netherlands) by Claus en Kaan Architecten

2013-05-17T20:55:00-04:00

Two of the existing three branches of the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) are housed in this building. The complex comprises a main building with laboratories and offices, and various subsidiary buildings such as greenhouses. It accommodates a staff of some 160.

The new building is situated on the route that connects Wageningen with Ede, opposite the campus of Wageningen University, and thus in the heart of this green centre of knowledge. Representation is therefore an important core value of the assignment. That visibility is transposed into transparency in the design, whereby both a view of the activities and a working climate that makes contact with the outside world are facilitated.

Moreover, sustainable architecture is naturally a priority for the Netherlands Institute of Ecology. An innovative energy concept, based on the cradle-to-cradle concept, contributes to the principal’s ambition to implement the most sustainable office and laboratory complex in the N...

OCT Bay by Laguarda.Low Architects, LLC

2013-05-17T20:53:00-04:00

OCT Bay embraces the experience of shopping itself. The visitor’s path through the canals and shopping streets is carefully choreographed, with waterways animating the development. The unlimited possibilities created by the unique mixture of entertainment and shopping ensure that no two visits are alike.

This project sits on a truly fantastic site, including a man made lake with a view overlooking the bay. As Master Planner and Lead Architect of OCT Bay, Laguarda.Low conceived of the project as an urban retail/entertainment destination that offers all amenities in one stop, including a boutique hotel, live-work facilities, entertainment, and shopping. The design embraces the experience of shopping itself, and two unique shopping neighborhoods in the North and the East were created to accommodate a range of shopping experiences.

A predominantly indoor environment was created in the North, inspired by the traditional retail arcades of Europe. This is not a generic mall—the exper...

School of Art and Design at New York State College of Ceramics by ikon.5 architects

2013-05-17T20:50:00-04:00

• Lobby
• Exhibition gallery
• Video/Audio Immersive gallery
• Expanded Media Studios
• Art History classrooms
• Ceramic Studios
• 19,000 SF Addition

The McGee Art Pavilion is an expansion to the School of Art and Design at the New York State College of Ceramics in Alfred, New York. The Pavilion is designed as a large ceramic vessel for holding art and light. It is set on a plaza between two existing campus buildings on Academic Alley - the main pedestrian thoroughfare on the campus. Its ceramic façade, made of un-glazed terra cotta tubes, is a solar and rain screen. The unglazed terra cotta tubes that make up the screen are expressive of ceramic vessels and art objects being created inside the School of Art and Design. Their un-glazed ruddy white pigment is similar to the rudimentary nature of student art work before final finishing. The staggered pattern of the façade is inspired by racks and racks of unfinished ceramic objects that line the art studios. Cantilev...

Campus Commons at SUNY New Paltz by ikon.5 architects

2013-05-17T20:48:00-04:00

Objective
The State University of New York at New Paltz needed to expand its 1970 Student Union building by providing informal gathering spaces for students. The existing building was designed as a cellular office building and did not have ample space for student gathering. In addition, the University wished to change the overall experience of the existing building which conveyed an uninspired functional appearance at the gateway to the university.

Solution
The Campus Commons project at The State University of New York is a steel and glass ‘winter garden’ addition to an existing 1970 student union building. The Campus Commons in filled and spanned over an existing underutilized exterior courtyard, transforming the exterior space into a vibrant interior university living room. The Campus Commons houses a large space for informal gathering, multi-purpose meeting rooms, food court, student ID offices, bookstore, entertainment center and meeting rooms.

Inspired by the regional l...

Ground/Work: A Design Competition for Van Alen Institute’s New Street-Level Space

2013-05-17T19:02:00-04:00

Looking for a nice design competition to participate in this month? Our friends at New York's Van Alen Institute just announced the launch of Ground/Work, an international architecture competition seeking innovative designs for a new street-level venue to house the Institute’s work space and public programs. The competition started accepting entries earlier this week, submission deadline is June 13, 2013.

Gia Wolff wins $100,000 Wheelwright Prize

2013-05-17T18:46:00-04:00

Gia Wolff, Brooklyn-based architect, wins $100,000 travel grant for her proposal Floating City: The Community-Based Architecture of Parade Floats

Mohsen Mostafavi, Dean of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, is pleased to announce that Gia Wolff, an architect based in Brooklyn, New York, is the winner of the inaugural Wheelwright Prize, a $100,000 traveling fellowship dedicated to fostering new forms of architectural research informed by cross-cultural engagement.

The Wheelwright Prize jury—Mostafavi, Yung Ho Chang, Farès el-Dahdah, K. Michael Hays, Farshid Moussavi, Zoe Ryan, and Jorge Silvetti—selected Gia Wolff from among 231 applicants from 45 countries, including Afghanistan, Brazil, Burkina Faso, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria, and Spain. Applicants were asked to submit portfolios along with a research proposal and travel itinerary, outlining an extended field investigation and its anticipated benefits for the field of architecture. “The positive response to the Wheelwright Prize has been extraordinary,” said Mostafavi. “It is inspiring to see so many talented architects with clear agendas...