Archinect - Features

'Beauty Is a Measure of Ecological Intelligence'; A Conversation with ecoLogicStudio Founders Claudia Pasquero and Marco Poletto

2023-07-31T09:00:00-04:00

Against the backdrop of a frenzied AI discourse dominated by end-product tools such as ChatGPT and Midjourney, Claudia Pasquero and Marco Poletto articulate a refreshing call to adventure. The two ecoLogicStudio founders have built their professional and academic careers at the intersection of computation and biology, allowing them to articulate a vision of artificial intelligence that, in their words, "is more like a slime mold, a spider's web, a microalgae colony, or a mycelium network." Here, the computational and biological find common ground in their use of patterns as meta-language; a commonality that, when pushed, invites both human and non-human designers to shape the built environment as an organism itself rather than a static entity enlivened only by our own mechanics.

For Pasquero and Poletto, this is no theoretical exercise. ecoLogicStudio has already won wide acclaim for its real-world applications of ecological systems in the built environment while also articulating ...

Finding Value in Waste: Japan’s Kamikatsu Zero Waste Center is a Temple to Material Reuse

2022-02-03T15:37:00-05:00

Today, building materials account for half of all solid waste generated worldwide every year. In response to mounting concerns over the impact of construction on the built environment, a growing number of architects and material scientists are investigating the potential for recycled materials to form an integral part of future construction. In this article, we reflect on a recently completed building in rural Japan that embodies an alternative approach to the norm; with the added accolade of being perhaps the world's first waste recycling center constructed almost entirely from recycled waste.

San Francisco-based Design Firm SAW Tackles Architecture's Design Blindspots by Challenging Possible Outcomes

2019-06-13T13:34:00-04:00

Within architectural practice, navigating through blind spots in the design process is something many studios work through. In Dan Spiegel and Megumi Aihara's case, SAW's mission is to approach these moments of design obscurity by focusing on their passions for architecture, landscape architecture, and design. With their goal of designing both for the inside and outside, Spiegel and Aihara use object materiality and scale to produce potential outcomes in spatial design.

From their stunning residences to the integrative urban-scaled projects they design, SAW uses their interdisciplinary approach to develop highly technical yet subtlety beautiful landscape and architectural works. For this week's Studio Snapshot, Archinect chats with Spiegel and Aihara about their experience in running a practice and the strategic risks they take when designing for the ever-changing environment.

Baumgartner + Uriu is a Small Studio with Big Innovations

2018-02-05T10:00:00-05:00

Baumgartner + Uriu (BplusU) are innovators known for pushing boundaries. With an in-house fabrication studio, the LA-based practice is consistently experimenting with the latest digital techniques and materials. Founded in 2006, the firm is led by Herwig Baumgartner and Scott Uriu, both with a background in music and working for Frank Gehry. For this week's Small Studio Snapshot, we talked with the duo about how they got their start, what drives their work today, and what is on the horizon.

Sustainable slate tiles dress this Danish family’s energy-efficient “Future House”

2016-12-19T15:24:00-05:00

In Scandinavian design, it’s the little things that count. When this Danish family wanted to design and build their own home, they wanted all the little things to add up to a balance of energy efficiency with light and atmosphere, cost with comfort, aesthetics with sustainability. All that would combine to create something that lasted, both functionally and aesthetically. The resulting “Future House” by Danish firm Novaform Arkitekterne gets the job done elegantly, harnessing a modest structure to diverse ends.

Material Witness: Insanity in the walls of "True Detective" and "Twin Peaks"

2014-07-11T11:10:00-04:00

What is the line between sanity and insanity? Specifically, what is the material?