Archinect - Features

Narrative, Media, and AI in Architectural Academia; A Conversation with Natasha Sandmeier

2023-11-06T13:00:00-05:00

Archinect last spoke with Natasha Sandmeier on the themes of visual media and narrative storytelling in 2019. Back then, few could have imagined the seismic impact that generative AI would have on such fields. In her leading role at UCLA AUD's Entertainment Studio, Sandmeier sits at the forefront of an architectural academic landscape, already asking what the recent popularized adoption of AI in design and world-building means for authorship, ethics, representation, learning criteria, and the role of the architect.

The intervening four years since 2019 have also seen a shift in Sandmeier's own responsibilities. Beyond her position as an assistant adjunct professor at UCLA, Sandmeier is now the Executive Director of Los Angeles' A+D Museum, offering yet another outlet to explore the question of how technology is changing the face of architecture and media. The latest appointment adds to Sandmeier's long list of prior positions in the worlds of architectural academia, practice, and cu...

Storytelling, Bias, and Exploitation in Digital Realms; A Conversation with Miriam Hillawi Abraham

2023-10-24T12:01:00-04:00

For Miriam Hillawi Abraham, the digital realm is one fraught with both opportunities and dangers. The Ethiopian designer and researcher sees digital media as an impactful, playful, and unrestrained way of shaping immersive stories that challenge Western narratives and power dynamics imposed on the African continent, its histories, its built environment, and its people.

Meanwhile, Abraham sounds a timely note of caution on the potential for digital technologies and artificial intelligence to generate a single, incomplete visual language for the future, further propagating a Western-centric monoculture under a false guise of democratization, opportunity, and accessibility.

In July 2023, Archinect’s Niall Patrick Walsh spoke with Abraham about her life, work, and reflections on the relationship between architecture, storytelling, digital realms, and power relations. The discussion, edited slightly for clarity, is published below.

This article is part of the Archinect In-Depth: Artifici...

'You Need to Use AI Much More Than You Think to Get Unique Results From It'; A Conversation with Alexis Christodoulou

2023-07-26T08:00:00-04:00

Studying Alexis Christodoulou’s work, including his highly popular Instagram portfolio, one would expect his images to be the product of decades of education, training, and practice at the top of the field. The fact that Christodoulou is a self-taught artist of ten years, preceded by a career in advertising and winemaking, is a testament to the artist’s flair and passion for exploring new frontiers.

That same passion for exploration has allowed Christodoulou’s work to evolve from its simple architectural beginnings to vivid, minimalist experiments in Modernism, Brutalism, and the natural world, to present-day commissions by luxury brands through his company, Color C Design Studio.

In June 2023, Archinect’s Niall Patrick Walsh spoke with Christodoulou about his career in 3D visualization, including his background, process, tools, and thoughts on how artificial intelligence intersects with his field. The discussion, edited slightly for clarity, is published below.

This article is part...

Sound and Place: Archinect's Summer Music Playlist to Keep You Moving

2023-07-20T10:24:00-04:00

“The interference patterns of visual, sonic, and kinetic waveform transmissions that flooded the dance floor and enveloped me were deeply transformative. Along the perimeter, bass-bins sent out shock waves that rattled your ribcage and tweeter horns above them fired a percussive hailstorm into the twitching crowd.” – Merijn Royaards, one of three designers of The Shed’s new temporary Sonic Sphere performance space on his first experiences clubbing in Rotterdam in the early-90s.

'AI Is a Dangerous Distraction From the Pressing Issues Defining Our Generation'; A Conversation with Liam Young

2023-07-17T08:21:00-04:00

Liam Young was once described by the BBC as “the man designing our future.” In 2023, with open letters penned on the risks of extinction posed by artificial intelligence, such a role should be in high demand.

Young’s speculations on the future take the form of fictional stories that join the dots between culture and technology; a skill which he believes should sit at the core of the architecture profession. Amid the media frenzy on generative AI tools such as Midjourney and ChatGPT, Young stresses the vital need for a creative discipline that measures the dangers of AI against those of climate change: a crisis which Young sees as more dangerous both for its scale and deceptive ubiquity.

In June 2023, Archinect’s Niall Patrick Walsh spoke with Young about his career across design and media, as well as his views on artificial intelligence, climate change, and the role of the architect in addressing both topics. The discussion, edited slightly for clarity, is published below.

This arti...

'AI Could Be Seen as a Culture of Death in Its Darkest Sense'; A Conversation with Genevieve Goffman

2023-07-11T08:16:00-04:00

Genevieve Goffman does not create art about artificial intelligence; at least, not yet. The New York-based artist has instead grounded her acclaimed work in fantasy and narrative world-building, often through the medium of evocative and ornate 3D printed sculptures derived from digital modeling.

While not engaging directly with AI, Goffman’s work finds common ground with contemporary AI discourse through their mutual addressing of the human condition. Reflections on technological progress, failed human ambitions, and digital afterlives weave their way through Goffman’s work to create an indirect bind with AI-inspired reflections on humanity’s ability to define its present and chart its future. In this light, it is no surprise that Goffman’s latest piece The View, sits alongside a selection of architects and designers at the forefront of architecture’s AI discourse within the exhibition /imagine: A Journey into The New Virtual at the MAK in Vienna.

In June 2023, Archinect’s Niall Pat...

Archinect's 2023 Summer Reading List

2023-07-10T20:46:00-04:00

Summer is here, and whether you're on vacation or preparing for one or looking to lay low at home, a summer must is a good book. The Archinect team has curated a list of reading essentials to explore.

Below is a collection of books organized into five categories – New Releases, Books Every Student Should Read, Books for Motivation and Introspection, Books on Artificial Intelligence and Beyond, and Coffee Table Collectables. We've also included book suggestions from the Archinect team, Archinectors from our forum, and individuals we've interviewed in the last year.

'The Notion of AI as a Form of Augmentation or Enhancement Is Fascinating to Me'; A Conversation with Behnaz Farahi

2023-06-05T07:31:00-04:00

Behnaz Farahi stands at an eclectic intersection between culture and technology. Trained as an architect, with specializations in computational design, interactive technologies, additive manufacturing, and digital fabrication, Farahi asks how emerging technologies can allow us to creatively explore the most pressing social and cultural issues of our time, from hierarchies and biases to objectification and bodily perception.

Among these many explorations, Farahi has won particular acclaim for her use of fashion to interrogate and subvert the subject of the male gaze on female bodies. In addition to honors and awards from the Cooper Hewitt, Fast Company, and beyond, Farahi's work has been the subject of several exhibitions, including Returning the Gaze at Milan Fashion Week (2022), Caress of the Gaze at the A+D Museum (2016), and most recently, in the immersive experiences Oneness and Blindness at the CSULB Innovation Space on June 10th, 2023.

In May 2023, Archinect's Niall Patrick W...

‘Every Piece of Architecture is First a Work of Fiction’; A Conversation with Ole Scheeren

2023-01-20T07:51:00-05:00

For the past 30 years, Ole Scheeren has built a career defined by an internationalist outlook. The German architect has lived in 10 countries, and worked in 25, always guided by a philosophy that recognizes "the power of bringing people, cultures, and practices closer together."

Nowhere is Scheeren's philosophy better encapsulated than through Büro Ole Scheeren; the firm that Scheeren founded in 2010 having previously served as a Partner and Director at OMA. Today, his 100-person-strong studio operates offices across Hong Kong, Beijing, Bangkok, New York, London, and Berlin, designing and delivering schemes throughout Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Despite their varying typologies and geographies, the projects are united by Scheeren's belief that architecture can instill an emotional anticipation of narratives and stories.

In December 2022, Archinect’s Niall Patrick Walsh sat down with Scheeren at the 2022 World Architecture Festival in Lisbon, Portugal for a wide-ranging discussi...

In Focus: Jason O’Rear’s Captivating Architectural Photography Comes from the Eye of a Trained Architect

2022-01-17T13:36:00-05:00

In Focus is Archinect's recurring series dedicated to profiling the photographers who help capture architecture and make the work of architects look that much better. In this series, we ask: What is their relationship to architecture? How do they work? What are their goals when capturing buildings?

For this installment, Archinect talks with Jason O'Rear, a San Francisco-based architectural photographer. With a career including a professional background in architecture, Jason brings an experienced and empathetic eye to the spaces he captures with his camera. His work brings into focus the synthesis of structure, human experience and landscape.

Architecture and Urban Planning YouTubers worth a 'Like and Subscribe'

2021-12-01T14:31:00-05:00

A new crop of content creators is at the forefront of envisioning and producing some of today's most commonly consumed forms of media. Individuals on various internet platforms, namely YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, tell their stories covering a limitless range of topics.

While not nearly generating the same astronomical viewership as some of the medium's top stars, there is a large community of creators whose work centers on the built environment, covering architecture, design, urban planning, and construction subjects. Through a diverse array of perspectives and ways of communicating information, their content serves as a resource for students, professionals, and enthusiasts alike while making these subjects more accessible to wider audiences.

For this particular showcase, we focus on YouTube and its most exciting creators within this niche. While there are plenty of noteworthy genre-specific channels on this platform, here is our pick of fun, informative, and engaging channels...

Unpacking Politics and the 'Apparatus of Power' Through Architecture and Film with SCI-Arc Graduate Julia McConnell

2021-11-02T08:37:00-04:00

Architectural representation in film and television often provides highly impressionable results. Beyond a story's narrative, architecture can be used as a secondary 'character' to help create a sense of place, tone, and facilitate visual association for the viewer and the story's setting. Julia McConnell, a recent M.Arch graduate from SCI-Arc, used her interests in film to further explore questions relating to representation, ethics, and aesthetics.

In her thesis project, "Pledge of Allegiance," McConnell explained that her thesis research requires "architects flatten the ontological plane and view individual instances of a particular type for their particularity. Thus, establishing that we may be able to differently value what architecture inherently contains: a myriad of views, positions, and possibilities."

Architecture thesis acts as a catalyst that allows young designers to explore their interests while expanding their perspectives and architectural thinking. Continuing with ...

Barbara Bestor Reflects on the Julius Shulman Institute and Woodbury University's Commitment to Celebrating Architectural Photography Through Exhibition

2021-10-29T10:13:00-04:00

Architecture and photography are two disciplines whose relationship has blossomed into visual documentation used repeatedly for reference, inspiration, and research. While there are many architectural photographers whose work has been exemplary in presenting the public with a glimpse into the world of architecture, Julius Shulman remains an industry icon and pioneer in the field. Since 2005, the Julius Shulman Institute (JSI) has acted as an important bridge for Woodbury University to connect the public with the disciplines of architecture and photography. To learn more about the JSI, its history, and its mission, I spoke with Woodbury University's Julius Shulman Distinguished Professor of Practice and Executive Director of the JSI, Barbara Bestor.

"Our goal is to change the way Architecture and photography of the built environment are understood and presented in our culture and museums," shared Bestor. "It's rare for there to be an architecture department in any given museum. On t...

Can a Building Dream, Learn, and Hallucinate? A Conversation with Refik Anadol

2021-09-24T12:43:00-04:00

Refik Anadol has carved an eclectic career, rich with confluences. His work blurs the boundaries between art and science, the visible and invisible, the operational and emotional, the fleeting and permanent. The composition of this studio further demonstrates this confluence; housing artists, architects, data scientists, and researchers, drawn from 10 countries and fluent in 14 languages. Since establishing Refik Anadol Studio in 2014, the Istanbul-born artist has produced a litany of projects that celebrate, and define, the aesthetics of data and machine intelligence, from his installation at Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2018 to his Sense of Space exhibition at the 2021 Venice Biennale.

Archinect’s Niall Patrick Walsh spoke with Anadol in September 2021 at an exciting time for the artist: not only during his ongoing project at the Venice Biennale, but also on the eve of his latest milestone: a first-of-its-kind NFT project to be auctioned by Sotheby’s Hong Kong. In the...

That's Chunes: Archinect's architectural-themed playlist certified to make you sweat

2021-08-26T17:30:00-04:00

With all the heat and high-profile stories in the season, it’s easy for Archinect users to get a little beleaguered this time of year. Here's a chance to stomp back into the groove with a mix that's guaranteed to get you moving this summer as we begin to transition into the fall and a post-pandemic society.

2020 saw a rise in impromptu solo performances with plenty of site-specific tie-ins that offer design aficionados as much musically as they do architecturally. Now, as the days start to grow shorter, catch up on what’s been going on in the industry of late with these scorching summer sounds dedicated to the built environment and all who appreciate its principals, practitioners, and awe-inspiring power.

Our eight-set playlist can be seen below:

‘What Is the Future of the Middle City?’ — Larger-Than-Life Exhibit Columbus Installations Activate the City of Columbus, Indiana

2021-08-25T14:37:00-04:00

On Saturday, August 21, the city of Columbus, Indiana welcomed thirteen larger-than-life installations displayed throughout the area as part of Exhibit Columbus' 2021 Exhibition. The program explores art, architecture, design, and community in Columbus. While the city itself has garnered a reputation for being the home of notable modernist architecture, landscapes, and art, this year's curators and exhibition team unpack the meaning of civic life by showcasing a series of design projects aiming to identify and question: "What is the future of the middle city?"

The theme, New Middles: From Main Street to Megalopolis, What is the Future of the Middle City?, raises an important question about cities located within the center of the U.S., their ties to the past, present, and future through site-specific and site-responsive installations. According to the Exhibition's curators, Iker Gil and Mimi Zeiger, the design programming this year asks to "re-evaluate, refresh, and reframe" the city...

Post-Digital Rendering: Leaving Drawing Behind

2021-04-01T11:21:00-04:00

Not too long ago, a novel graphic representation, rebelling against the digital tools and techniques that dominated the past two decades, took the architecture world by surprise. Post-Digital Drawing, coming mostly from European offices, started propagating across professional circles, competitions, and academia. This style of representation, noted by Sam Jacob, embraces digital technology in a critical way; utilizes digital tools like Photoshop and Illustrator, and techniques like drawing and collage without aiming for realism. Instead, "this new cult of the drawing explores and exploits its artificiality, making us as viewers aware that we are looking at space as a fictional form of representation. This is in strict opposition to the digital rendering’s desire to make the fiction seem 'real.'" However, by taking a look at the work of emerging practices, competitions, and academia today, one can discern that an evolution starts to emerge. Ironically, this evolution of the Post-Digi...

How Will Architecture be Affected by the Rise of Blockchain Technologies like NFTs?

2021-03-24T08:53:00-04:00

In the midst of a media cycle dominated by the ongoing pandemic, last week’s news that Christie’s sale of artist Beeple’s Everdays for a staggering $69 million made its way into national headlines. A rarity for any art event even in normal times. This served as a watershed moment for the growing online community of crypto collectors, whose use of blockchain technology and platforms like SuperRare to acquire digital art sold as Non-Fungible Tokens (or NFTs for short) has shaken up art sales in ways that are only now starting to become clear.

Discussing Technology and 'Architecture as Transient Media' With Güvenç Özel and Benjamin Ennemoser of UCLA's IDEAS Technology Studio

2021-02-19T13:39:00-05:00

Architecture is currently at the cusp of a paradigm shift, where the environments we occupy are becoming increasingly virtual and mobile. Considered as an ecosystem of technologies rather than a tectonic assemblage of materials, architecture is shifting toward a non-static and non-physical form of experience. This opens up the potential for it to be considered as a transdisciplinary medium that merges the worlds of fabrication, gaming, and media design.

The IDEAS Technology Studio, one of four studios offered as part of UCLA Architecture and Urban Design’s Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design (M.S.AUD) program, investigates the design of new media in digital and physical forms and its potential to radically transform the human experience. Recognized as a leading research institution UCLA Architecture and Urban Design is also a part of the UCLA School of Arts and Architecture. This unique blend and integration of departments allow both students and faculty "to connect ...

Architectural Memory and Film with UCLA's Alekya Malladi, Gesthimani Roumpani, and Yanrong Yang

2020-07-29T13:11:00-04:00

Architecture and it's ability to frame visual narratives has impacted film and entertainment for decades. With the evolution of design techniques and software, a new form of digital storytelling can aide how architecture is used to test design process and pedagogy. University of California Los Angeles Architecture and Urban Design M.Arch students Alekya Malladi, Gesthimani Roumpani, Yanrong Yang use film to dissect architecture and AI in their project, Incognito.

Advised by UCLA's IDEAS Entertainment Studio advisors Natasha Sandmeier and Nathan Su, the group explains how their film "serves as an exposé on memory, spatial reconstruction, and the role of contemporary media in delivering fact and fiction." Archinect connected with the trio as they share their perspectives on working through the pandemic and what their future holds as they enter professional practice. "Our interactions with professionals in the architecture industry have shown us that establishing a clear identity and i...

UCLA AUD's Akshada Muley, Neha Oswal, and Aishwarya Rajasekar Narrativize Plastic Waste

2020-07-14T12:57:00-04:00

Archinect recently connected with Akshada Muley, Neha Oswal, and Aishwarya Rajasekar, recent graduate students of UCLA Architecture and Urban Design's Master of Architecture II program. Together we unpack their final project: FOREVER. With the proposal, the trio aims to address the issues of plastic use and waste by creating a new narrative to counter the "anthropocentric way we often describe the city." By anthropomorphizing how a city and its waste can be described, they portray how the "world is shared with many other non-human entities, each with their own tendencies and dispositions."

Archinect connected with Muley, Oswal, and Rajasekar as they explain their use of film as a medium to explain their project. They add, "our story makes plastic viscerally and emotionally present in the city. Here plastic is no longer the much-maligned victim, the neglected creature made to serve us, and discarded when no longer needed." Advised by Natasha Sandmeier & Nathan Su of UCLA's IDEAs Ent...

MIT M.Arch Graduates Kevin Marblestone and Emily Whitbeck Investigate Architecture Pedagogy's Relationship to Time

2020-07-13T12:42:00-04:00

In their thesis project, graduate students Kevin Marblestone and Emily Whitbeck engage with architectural pedagogy by exploring time and it's relation to the design process. According to the duo, "Architecture needs a new generation of practitioners that can think differently about time."

Recent graduates from MIT's School of Architecture, Marblestone and Whitbeck make use of time-based media to work through their thesis project Pedagogy of the Fourth Wall. Archinect connected with the duo to learn more about their exploration and dissection of contemporary design pedagogy and their thoughts on the architecture industry as a whole.

Archinect's Spotlight on 2020 Thesis Projects: 2020 has been an extraordinarily challenging year for architecture graduates. Students were displaced as schools shut down, academic communities had to adapt to a new virtual format, end-of-year celebrations were canceled or changed dramatically, and now these students are graduating into an extremely challen...

UCLA's Chunsu Ouyang, Tianyi Song, and Xianrui Wang on Unpacking Architecture Through Video Game Narratives

2020-07-01T10:00:00-04:00

This week Archinect connected with Chunsu Ouyang, Tianyi Song, Xianrui Wang to learn more about their final project - INNERMOST. The trio of recent graduate students of UCLA Architecture and Urban Design's Master of Architecture II discuss their project's use of video game narratives in architecture, working remotely, and their outlook on finding a job after graduating.

Advised by Natasha Sandmeier & Nathan Su of UCLA's IDEAs Entertainment Studio program, the students work towards "conceiving a game that can make a metaphor of people growing up/self-developing while collaborating with others, in order to explore the possibility of a game as a new social medium."

SCI-Arc's 2020 Digital Spring Show: The Future of Showcasing Student Work Online?

2020-06-04T13:48:00-04:00

With COVID-19 challenging the nature of in-person events, architecture groups and schools have been forced to think outside the box with how they conduct these gatherings by pivoting to virtual events for online audiences.

Specifically within the academic context, online video platforms and community streaming services have aided in adjusting to this new focus on virtual interactions and gatherings. However, when it comes to highly anticipated school events like thesis exhibitions, spring shows, and graduation, is it possible to replicate the excitement of the IRL experience?

Using Optimism to Guide Online Education with Karl Daubmann, Dean of Lawrence Technological University College of Architecture and Design

2020-05-13T09:00:00-04:00

Archinect's Deans List is an interview series with the leaders of architecture schools, worldwide. The series profiles the school’s programs, pedagogical approaches, and academic goals, as defined by the dean–giving an invaluable perspective into the institution’s unique curriculum, faculty, and academic environment.

For our latest installment, Archinect spoke with Karl Daubmann Dean of Lawrence Technological University College of Architecture and Design (LTU CoAD). What makes the university unique is it is one of four American universities that is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) to offer an online Master of Architecture degree.

During our conversation, Daubmann unpacks the program's decade-long experience in providing an online master's education. Together we discuss common misconceptions about choosing an online degree, online studio culture, and building trust with students. According to Daubmann, the beauty of the school's programming is in its ...

How the Pandemic Is Impacting Architectural Photography

2020-05-06T12:14:00-04:00

While most of the professional and academic architecture world managed to, more or less, cope with the new reality of the pandemic by transitioning to remote work, some specialized roles in the industry intrinsically rely on the physical interaction with space in its unique location.

To find out how architectural photographers around the world have kept up so far with the sudden limitations to business, we have reached out to a number of photographers previously featured in Archinect's popular In Focus series.

We asked them how architecture had been impacted in their region, if social distancing was even possible during shoots, and how they planned on operating now with numerous new safety measures in place.

Berenblum Busch Architects on Exploring the Constraints of Miami's Climate

2020-02-28T15:31:00-05:00

When running an architectural practice, most architects can attest to the profession's fair share of rewards and obstacles—many variables factor in starting and maintaining a practice, after all. For Miami-based duo Gustavo Berenblum and Claudia Busch of Berenblum Busch Architects, the decision to start their own firm stemmed from the 2008 recession. "Although the great recession was very much present in 2010, in a way, it created a space for us to breathe and think about the future. We decided then to do what we always dreamed of: to have our own firm," the duo explains.

For this week's Studio Snapshot, Archinect chats with Berenblum and Busch as they share how they stay focused and inspired while also working in a city that is as fast-paced as Miami. From their expertise in port design to accommodating Florida's environmental constraints, both architects express their passion for the profession and what keeps their firm going.

Technoflesh: An Interview with Simone Niquille on Normalizing the Body Digitally, Physically, and in the Workplace

2020-02-24T11:55:00-05:00

Creator of the design and research practice Technoflesh, Simone Niquille draws from her background in graphic design, photography, and branding to demystify the processes behind the digitization of the body. Currently working in Amsterdam, Niquille received a BFA in Graphic Design from the Rhode Island School of Design and an M.A. in Visual Strategies from the Sandberg Instituut Amsterdam. While currently teaching Design Research at ArtEZ University of the Arts in Arnhem, Niquille continues to produce research, graphic work, films, and installations internationally, most recently as a commissioned contributor to the Dutch Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Biennale entitled Work, Body, Leisure.

In Focus: Adam Gibson Captures Tasmania's Modern Architecture in Gorgeous, Moody Hues

2020-02-17T14:11:00-05:00

For this installment, Archinect chatted with Australian photographer Adam Gibson. Based in Tasmania, Gibson documents the stunning work of the island's architecture scene in his unique style that often straddles the intriguing border between architectural and lifestyle photography.

In Focus: Creating Spatial Sensibility and Cinematic Narratives With Kevin Scott

2020-02-07T14:35:00-05:00

In Focus is Archinect's recurring series dedicated to profiling the photographers who help capture architecture and who make the work of architects look that much better. In this series, we ask: What is their relationship to architecture? How do they work? What equipment do they use? What are their goals when capturing buildings? And is there such thing as the perfect photo?

For this installment, Archinect chats with London and New York-based photographer Kevin Scott. With his experience as a trained architect, Scott uses his keen eye and spatial sensibility to capture some of the most mesmerizing photographs. Working with an esteemed list of architecture firms such as Rojkind Arquitectos, Zaha Hadid Architects, MAD Architecture, and Olson Kundig Architects, Scott has established himself as a photographer with a penchant for exhibiting cinematic beauty and compelling narratives.

His enthusiasm for the work and dedication to the craft of photography is something that doesn't easily g...