Archinect - Features

The Story of Horace King, Slave-Turned-Architect

2019-06-20T12:20:00-04:00

For over 250 years, African Americans in the United States endured the bondage of slavery, a cultural, political, and economic regime that exploited their forced labor in order to clear land, harvest crops, and build America’s cities and towns. Under these conditions, human beings were viewed as a form of property and as a source of free labor. Individuals and families were bought, sold, torn apart from loved ones, and subjected to untold violence and exploitation, an existential debt that has yet to be properly or meaningfully reconciled.

Amid this historical context, Horace King, a man born into slavery on a South Carolina plantation, rose to become a prolific architect, real estate developer, and Alabama state legislator. Educated and trained on the jobsite as an engineer and contractor, King built bridges, courthouses, and industrial facilities across the southern United States.

This is his story.

A Conversation with Guy Nordenson, Recipient of the 2017 Richard Neutra Award

2017-12-14T11:19:00-05:00

On October 9th Guy Nordenson was presented with the 2017 Richard Neutra Award for Professional Excellence from the Cal Poly Pomona Department of Architecture. Established in honor of Richard Neutra's architectural legacy, the medal recognizes individuals for their dedication to the research and development of new environments in everyday life. Nordenson joins the award's esteemed roster of recipients, which includes Carme Pinós, Tadao Ando, Enrique Norten, Michael Rotondi, and Thom Mayne.

A few hours before Nordenson received the award, Archinect's Orhan Ayyüce had a chance to meet with him at the historic Neutra VDL House. His unique position as a highly creative and visionary structural engineer led to this conversation.

Danny Forster, Extreme Host

2006-05-30T20:00:00-04:00

This Wednesday, May 31st, a new season of the Discovery Channel's Extreme Engineering will debut at 10pm. This season will introduce an on-screen host to replace the previous voice-over narrator. The new host, Danny Forster, also happens to be an architect who is currently working on his MArch at Harvard's GSD. Archinect's founder/director Paul Petrunia recently had an opportunity to talk to Danny about the show, his studies, and his previous gig as a stand up comic.