Archinect - Features

'Architecture as Provider Instead of Shelter': Matter Design's Brandon Clifford Discusses Architecture and Speculative Design as a Catalyst for Social Good

2021-04-14T08:25:00-04:00

Learning how a design studio begins its journey into professional practice is an eye-opening experience. For Matter Design, they started with a mission to build projects they designed themselves. While this response may seem simple in its approach, they explain, "we were much more interested in the means, the methods, and communication between design and materials." Yet, four years after our Studio Snapshot interview with co-founders Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee, the practice has grown into a catalyst for bridging architecture, speculative design, and interdisciplinary social missions.

Archinect re-connected with Clifford to discuss recessions, running a speculative design studio, and how the firm's latest project AquíAquí is more than just a public space project. Clifford shared, "I can say that we have built Matter Design on a series of speculative built works that serve as individual challenges to default practice." In response to the development of AquíAquí, he explains, "we t...

From the Editors: What We're Thankful For in 2020

2020-11-26T16:21:00-05:00

2020 has been an extraordinarily challenging year. Covid-19 forced us to isolate from family, friends and colleagues, and work from home as the industry struggled to keep up with the changes the pandemic brought. Many firms experienced drastic reductions in work, as industries such as hospitality and retail faced incredible hardship and an uncertain future. As a result, many individuals in our industry faced layoffs, furloughs and pay cuts. Political tensions, cultural divisions and a heightened push for social justice further defined this historic year. During this hardship, however, there remains much to be thankful for. We'd like to take this opportunity, as Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, to share a few those things that our team is grateful for in 2020.

Op-Ed: Don’t Waste A Recession

2020-05-30T09:00:00-04:00

"Your Life Must Suck."

That was the greeting I received from the CEO of a structural engineering firm during an AIA event in 2010. As the founder of an executive search + management consulting firm in the depth of a recession, I didn’t think his sentiment was unexpected - but it was profoundly wrong. Yes, many companies were in the midst of layoffs. The economy was struggling and companies were challenged to navigate the unpredictable future. My response: “Yes, many firms are downsizing. At the same time, those same firms are adding key leadership talent to propel their short- and long-term growth.” We were retained for and successfully recruited two new leaders for his company, one to run a new division and the other to establish a new office.

Update for May 15th: Archinect's Guide to 2020's Economy & Business

2020-05-15T19:45:00-04:00

With America's re-opening continuing apace, design energy has turned toward figuring out which and how everyday spaces like offices, schools, and restaurants are set to change. Taking a typological approach, designers and researchers are investigating how the existing built environment might be retrofit for post-pandemic use and what those changes might entail from a design perspective. Additionally, as economic losses continue to mount as the pandemic continues to kill thousands by the week, attention has begun to turn to how any potential economic recovery can be designed to benefit the greatest number of people.

This is weekly article update helps collect some of the top economic- and business-related aspects of the COVID-19 situation each week as reported by Archinect in an effort to help design professionals connect the dots between various macro-and micro-economic trends currently impacting the field. Be sure to click "follow" at the top of this article to track updates here...

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.

Architecture Deans on How COVID-19 Will Impact Architecture Education

2020-04-29T12:45:00-04:00

In an effort to gather more information regarding how schools of architecture are adapting to the COVID-19 crisis, Archinect has reached out to a collection of architecture deans and program chairs for specific insight into how each institution is responding to the crisis individually.

The first installment of a three-part COVID-19-specific Deans List update explored the fast-paced changes that are taking place at these institutions as uncertainty and rapid-response approaches become a matter of daily life. For the second installment of this series, we asked architecture directors to convey cover how COVID-19 has impacted traditional end-of-the-year activities like final reviews, thesis exhibitions, and other events. Our final installment, we asked these architecture leaders to share what they view as potential long-term impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on architectural education.

School of Architecture Deans Detail COVID-19’s Impact on End of the Year Activities

2020-04-28T12:00:00-04:00

The first installment of a three-part COVID-19-specific Deans List update explored the fast-paced changes that are taking place at these institutions as uncertainty and rapid-response approaches become a matter of daily life. For the second installment of this series, we asked architecture directors to convey cover how COVID-19 has impacted traditional end-of-the-year activities like final reviews, thesis exhibitions, and other events. Part three will focus on the potential long-term impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on architectural education.

School of Architecture Deans Voice Institutional Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis

2020-04-27T12:49:00-04:00

The first installment of a three-part, COVID-19-specific Deans List update explores the fast-paced changes that are taking place at these institutions as uncertainty and rapid-response approaches become a matter of daily life. We asked the architecture educators below to provide a general statement regarding how their institutions are handling the pandemic. The second installment of this series will cover how COVID-19 has impacted traditional end-of-the-year activities like final reviews, thesis exhibitions, and other events. Part three will focus on the potential long-term impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on architectural education.

Architecture Firm Owners Share Their PPP Woes

2020-04-21T12:11:00-04:00

“Tiring,” “Mismanaged and not communicative,” “Disappointing, but not surprising,” “Time consuming, anxiety riddled, frustrating,” “Horrendous.”

These are some of the words that architecture firm leaders have used to describe their experiences, via Archinect’s COVID-19 Economic Relief Survey, while attempting to access the small business relief programs crafted by the federal government in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The botched roll-out of the emergency economic aid package and its attendant Payment Protection Program and Small Business Administration-backed loan initiatives has accelerated an already fast-burning financial crisis among small businesses across the country, including within the architecture community, where many firms operate on thin margins even in good economic times.