Archinect - Features

‘I Seek To Create an Escape From Everyday Life’; A Conversation With Ma Yansong of MAD Architects

2022-10-15T07:16:00-04:00

Much has changed for Ma Yansong since Archinect last spoke to him in 2014. From their roots in Beijing, China, Yansong’s firm MAD Architects has expanded to offices in Los Angeles and Rome, employing over 160 people on major architectural commissions. In 2022 alone, our editorial has offered updates on the firm’s work across continents, be it the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles, the Cloud Center in Aranya, China, or the commercial MoLo complex in Milan. Added to this list in October was the Quzhou Sports Park, whose newly-completed stadium marks the first step in what will become the world’s largest earth-sheltered complex.

Following news of the stadium’s completion, Archinect’s Niall Patrick Walsh spoke with Ma Yansong for an insight into the project, and how it represents MAD’s architectural philosophy. We also use the discussion to reflect on Yansong’s own journey through architecture, his role in MAD, and his thoughts on nature, cities, and history. The discussion, ...

Thesis Review: Beatriz Santos Challenges the Built Environment to Redefine Urban Identity Through Nature

2020-02-12T09:00:00-05:00

Thesis Review is a collection of conversations, statements, and inquiries into the current state of thesis in academia. Thesis projects provide a better understanding of the academic arena while painting a picture for the future of practice. Each feature will present a contemporary thesis project through the voice of those who constructed it.

This week, we chat with Beatriz Santos from the University of Miami and her thesis titled, "Garden Cosmologies: Curated Nature in the Contemporary City." Santos shares the challenges of thesis and the stressors one faces when finding ways to develop, and ultimately defend, one's project. For Santos, the intention to focus on garden typologies stemmed from a curiosity about the relationship between architecture and human interaction with the built environment.

Thesis is a moment that not only challenges but also reinforces one's architectural perspective. Santos explains that "as the urban fabric continues to change in order to accommodate the...

The Conflict Between Nature and Architecture: an Interview with Diana Agrest

2019-09-06T10:50:00-04:00

How should an architect situate their work against the natural environment? This has been a central question posed to those in the profession since its principles were first established in Vitruvius’ Ten Books of Architecture; The question has gained a unique urgency in the 21st century. Diana Agrest, a highly influential theorist and long-time professor at The Cooper Union school of architecture, is the latest to challenge common attitudes towards the built and natural environments by considering their interchangeability.

Agrest’s newest book, Architecture of Nature/Nature of Architecture, collects the student work of Agrest’s eponymous studio at The Cooper Union over the last eight years. Asked to represent geologic forces with the same attention to detail and use of tools they had otherwise ascribed to architecture, Agrest’s students have expanded the limits of architectural representation by including scales of time and space too vast to be comprehended in human lifetimes. I in...

Branch Studio Creates a Stunning Residential Extension With Raw Charcoal-Rammed Earth, Timber, Steel and Glass

2017-08-31T00:20:00-04:00

“A Pavilion Between Trees” in Balnarring, Australia stands out nicely in its rural landscape without being overbearing. Designed by the aptly named Australian practice Branch Studio Architects, the 85 m2-building is a new, private residential extension comprising a bedroom, an ensuite, and incorporated ancillary spaces that allow its occupants to take a breather and slow down. The structure's quiet atmosphere reflects on idyllic, simpler times long before the days of our tech-driven lifestyles.

SelgasCano's Magical Rock-Like Auditorium Opens in Spain

2017-08-17T12:47:00-04:00

Located on the boundary between the town and the country, in outskirts of Plasencia, SelgasCano's dreamy auditorium sits on a steep hillside—the edge between the nature and the city. Gently occupying the lot, cantilevering off the ground, the building stands out from the mountain landscape, its surprising materiality and colors both—complementing and contrasting the shrubby semi-urban setting.

With 'Ways of Life,' 19 Architects Reimagine What It Means to Live and Work in Nature

2017-06-21T12:30:00-04:00

According to research from 2015, between 35-38% of people do some, if not all, work from home. And, even back in 2009, a study found that 1 in 5 spent two to ten hours working from bed. In short, the way we work and live is changing, as many ditch (or have to ditch) the commuter express for their bedrooms. While Walter Benjamin said of the 19th century, “for the private citizen, for the first time the living-space became distinguished from the place of work,” in the 21st, that distinction is blurring once more. Alongside this, the split between the urban, as loci of labor, and the rural or suburban, as retreat, is complicated.

"The environment we design, designs us back:" A Conversation with Eran Chen of ODA

2017-02-16T12:53:00-05:00

Founded in 2007 by Eran Chen, ODA’s distinctive residential projects seem to ripple and blossom in the urban realm. From housing to libraries to mixed-use structures, ODA’s design philosophy is both socially inclusive and visually compelling. I spoke to Eran Chen about his ideal city, the challenges behind designing “permeable buildings,” and what he learned from his dealings with Donald Trump.

Win ECO-MONOPOLY by playing for sustainability, not profit

2016-09-07T11:42:00-04:00

When the Parker Brothers' version of the game Monopoly was released in 1935, it was primarily a celebration of capitalism; players were encouraged to build as much high-priced real estate as they could by acquiring desirable tracts of land and then forcibly renting them out to unlucky arrivals. The goal was to bankrupt the other players, all the while dodging the slings and arrows of the often financially ruinous 'Chance' cards.

Screen/Print #17: Scenario Journal's "Building the Urban Forest"

2014-05-30T16:52:00-04:00

Scenario Journal pools fresh, collaborative conversations on urbanism from design and the sciences, focused on rethinking urban landscape performance. Metamorphosing from its previous incarnation as the Landscape Urbanism Journal, the journal builds on the theoretical foundation of "landscape urbanism," which emerged from the backlash against both modernist urban planning and New Urbanism. It champions landscape manipulation as the core organizational system of successful contemporary urban environments — a move away from objectified buildings as the currency of a thriving urban space.

Screen/Print #9: Sean Lally's "The Air From Other Planets"

2014-03-04T11:18:00-05:00

Screen/Print is an experiment in translation across media, featuring a close-up digital look at printed architectural writing. Divorcing content from the physical page, the series lends a new perspective to nuanced architectural thought.

For this issue, we’re featuring Sean Lally's The Air from Other Planets.

Do you run an architectural publication? If you’d like to submit a piece of writing to Screen/Print, please send us a message.