Archinect - Features

When Buildings Attack: A Six-part Series of Unfortunate Architectural Events

2022-10-31T07:00:00-04:00

In the horror and thriller worlds, buildings sometimes seem to take on a life of their own. From The Shining’s Overlook Hotel to The Watcher’s 657 Boulevard, architecture and space become more than a backdrop or a vehicle but instead become main characters in their own right; sometimes to the peril of their occupants.

Unlike Hollywood, buildings in the real world don’t always follow a script. Even works of architecture overseen by some of the world’s most well-known architects can become unexpected antagonists for those in or around them. Below, we have rounded up six such examples, from heat rays to ice daggers to flying ceramics.

Perceptions of Safety: Weronika Zdziarska Questions Urban Design and Its Impact on Gender-Based Violence Experienced by Women in Cities

2021-09-27T11:43:00-04:00

How safe can one feel in a city? To be more specific, how safe do women feel in the city? While discourse around public space and the perceptions of women's safety in urban and rural areas have been an ongoing topic, one student utilized her appointment as the 2021 RIBA Norman Foster Travelling Scholarship recipient to expand on these issues. Weronika Zdziarska's research proposal, "Don't Stay Out Alone: Addressing women's perception of safety and freedom in cities by design," focuses on urban safety and how better design strategies benefit the well-being of women as well as others. She adds, "special attention is devoted to design solutions that successfully evoke the sensation of safety and freedom."

Zdziarska explains the reason for her research stemmed from conditioning women around the world are all too familiar with when it comes to public spaces and cities. During our interview, she shared that her intention was to explore a topic important to her. She dives into her own exp...

In the Face of the Coronavirus, Workplace Wellness is Key

2020-03-13T09:10:00-04:00

By Janet Pogue McLaurin and Tama Duffy Day of Gensler
Originally published to Gensler's Dialogue Blog

As companies are faced with another global health crisis, they are shifting into emergency preparedness mode to protect their most important assets: their people. While much remains unknown about the new coronavirus, which causes the disease known as COVID-19, as we work to control the spread, analysts predict major implications for the global economy, supply chains, and businesses around the world.

Public officials advise the best line of defense is implementing health and safety precautions to prevent the spread of disease, particularly in the workplace, where people spend the majority of their workweek indoors. In an increasingly connected and mobile world, employers must also develop a clear and coordinated emergency response plan that protects their employees while maintaining effective levels of productivity.

Thoughts on Eric Owen Moss' Gated Gateway Tower

2019-05-19T13:39:00-04:00

Some rumors suggest Samitaur Tower, a project completed by Eric Owen Moss, will open in relation to some milestone for the adjacent public transportation system; others claim it is condemned for exceeding the maximum allowable height according to Culver City’s Zoning Charter. But it is more likely that the act of transgression was designed into the Tower.

This augmented reality helmet could revolutionize the construction site

2016-01-26T12:46:00-05:00

Decades of sci-fi movies have made it hard to imagine a future without augmented reality. Yet besides the largely fizzled-out promise of Google Glass, little headway seems to have been made integrating digitally-enhanced vision into everyday life. That might be about to change, at least according to the folks over at Daqri, a Los Angeles-based “human-machine interface company.” Their recently-announced “Smart Helmet” is billed as the the “biggest makeover” the construction helmet has had in its history.

Sustainability of Workers' Rights

2011-05-23T14:33:01-04:00

The USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system promotes sustainable construction; however, despite the system’s focus on occupant health and comfort, LEED turns a blind eye to worker safety. The building practice, by the nature of its scale, will always rely on mass labor for construction. Yet from early monuments like the Egyptian pyramids or the Great Wall of China to recent slavery charges in the UAE documented by the Human Rights Watch, architecture has always had a complicated relationship with labor rights.