Archinect - Features

10 Controversial Buildings That Became Iconic Landmarks

2024-10-07T06:48:00-04:00

Architectural landmarks often become beloved symbols of their cities, but many were not always welcomed with open arms. Throughout history, some of our most acclaimed structures have in fact provoked heated debates, divided public opinion, sparked fierce controversy, and in one case, caused the late great architect Richard Rogers to be attacked by an elderly Parisian with an umbrella.

To mark World Architecture Day 2024, we take a look back through the history of some of the architectural structures most beloved by the public today, and demonstrate how their status as landmarks was hard-won.

To see how a building initially deemed a monstrosity, an eyesore, or an insult to tradition can evolve into the defining element of a city’s character is an interesting exercise in itself. Beyond the novelty, however, these stories raise apt questions for architects today. To what extent do, or should, we design in response to present tastes? Do we too quickly abandon ideas today in response t...

How to Get a Job at Workshop/APD

2023-10-26T07:41:00-04:00

Established by founding principals Andrew Kotchen and Matt Berman in 1999, New York City-based firm Workshop/APD has grown into a design force whose reach far exceeds the American Northeast with completed projects also in the Rocky Mountains, South Florida, California, Europe, and the Bahamas. As a vertically integrated practice with offices in NYC, Nantucket, Greenwich, and Minneapolis, the studio now employs a diverse team of more than 100 whose background and qualifications allows them to unite a wide range of services — including architecture, interiors, product design, planning, and branding — under one roof.

For this episode of Archinect's "How To Get A Job At ____" series, we talked to members of the Workshop/APD leadership team to learn more about their hiring process, what the firm is looking for in prospective new "Workshoppers," and how the company encourages work-life balance within the office.

Understanding a City’s Image: Exploring New York Through the Spatial Experiences and Perceptions of Its Users

2023-03-31T12:45:00-04:00

For our latest installment of the Thesis Review series, we connected with New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) M.Arch graduate Jay Patel to discuss his project, Urbanary — Enjoy the City While Moving.

Patel explained that his work reflects the perception of urban spaces. He uses the city of New York as a reference to investigate "how a human-oriented city image is formed with people’s perceptions to design and define future cities and spaces." Patel's thesis project aims to explore a concept that "emphasizes how each urban location has a distinctive character that has been shaped by human interaction."

In our interview, he discussed his motivations for exploring the topic of architectural perception, urban usability, how Kevin Lynch's work influenced his research approach, and he shared his own path toward licensure in both India and the U.S.

America’s Public Housing is Burning, Fueled by Cold Indifference

2022-03-09T13:22:00-05:00

In early 2022, building fires at publicly-funded properties in the Bronx and Philadelphia claimed 29 lives. The facts and conditions surrounding the fires expose an ongoing failure by officials to provide and maintain a safe standard of housing for some of America's most vulnerable. However, the reactions by the same officials would suggest that a moment requiring urgent reforms in regulations, funding, and oversight is instead being met with indifference.

After 9/11, a Tale of Two Cities: Eight Architects on the Changes New York Has Undergone in the Past Twenty Years

2021-09-11T07:26:00-04:00

As part of the landmark 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Archinect asked a series of architects with ties to New York City to reflect on changes that have defined the past two decades of life and architecture in the city.

Their responses represent a range of opinions as to how New York initially reacted to the attacks and how it has transformed in the intervening decades. For some, the city has developed into a small surveillance state with implications that have been felt around the world. For others, it has turned into a dreamland for designers and developers alike. For all of them, 9/11 was a touchstone that engendered changes to public memorials, office towers, and building science which have come to define architecture in the 21st century.

Scroll down for a collection of answers to our one-question prompt: How has New York City changed since 9/11?

The Collapse of the WTC Twin Towers Heralded a Wave of Reforms To Building Codes

2021-09-08T12:01:00-04:00

It is now almost 20 years since the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York were destroyed during a terrorist attack, killing 2,606 people within the two buildings. As is often the case following both natural and human-made disasters, the collapse of the Twin Towers prompted sweeping regulatory changes in how tall buildings are designed, constructed, and operated.

Op-Ed: The Future of Zoning in New York City

2020-10-02T09:08:00-04:00

It is evident that architecture and design, like most industries, is in a state of flux. From how offices are conceptualized to the way our cities are built, the global COVID-19 health crisis and the current social justice movement will bring about immense change in New York City. With over 40 years of zoning experience, I foresee the following changes in the coming years: outer borough multi-use development; increased height allowances in low- and mid-scale development; preserving historic buildings instead of entire neighborhoods to make way for more development; and the ULURP process becoming increasingly difficult.

Let's Move the Conversation From Demolition to Creating More Affordable Housing

2020-03-10T19:53:00-04:00

At the end of February, a surprising decision by a state judge revoked the approval for the top 20 floors of 200 Amsterdam Avenue, a market-rate, luxury, residential building on the Upper West Side in New York.

The developers amassed air rights, using a zoning loophole to create a 39-sided lot. While the city clarified that these zoning lots will no longer be allowed, it nevertheless sided with the developer to challenge this ruling. Despite the zoning gerrymandering that went into the design and approval of the 52-story building, few would have imagined that after receiving the required approval from the Department of Buildings and the Board of Standards and Appeals, the developer would be asked to demolish the upper third of the building.

Soapbox: Shohei Shigematsu

2019-08-13T14:08:00-04:00

Soapbox is a series delivering a curated set of lectures, talks, and symposia concerning contemporary themes explored through the archives of lectures past and present.

This week, we focus on the words and ideas of Shohei Shigematsu, a rising partner at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) and director of OMA New York who has had a hand in shaping some of the most iconic, revolutionary, and witty architectural projects of the last decade, including the CCTV tower in Beijing, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Cornell University's Milstein Hall, and the Audrey Irmas Pavilion in Los Angeles, among many others. Through some of the collected lectures by Shigematsu, we are able to peer into the layered and highly responsive design ethos that has fueled Shigematsu's rise.

Wasted Space: Comparing Horton Plaza and The Vessel

2019-07-16T13:25:00-04:00

One is brand new, the other, at the end of its life. One is a place for shopping, the other a place for selling oneself. One, a facsimile of the city, the other, a rejection of it.

However unalike they might seem, Jon Jerde’s soon-to-be-demolished Horton Plaza in San Diego and Thomas Heatherwick’s recently-completed The Vessel in New York City have much in common.

Let us count the ways.

A House By the Park; A Look at the Frick Collection

2019-02-07T09:00:00-05:00

Callouts is a review series in praise of architecture, art, and the city.

Contrary to the common use of the modal verb “to call out” which emphasizes negative criticism, “Callouts” here draw from the architectural drawing tradition. Callouts in architecture establish a closer look towards a part of a project that requires more explanation and emphasized attention due to its complexity, uniqueness or typicality. They create a different, more detailed view of what has already been seen, expanding the reader’s understanding of the project.

Following that tradition, “Callouts” is a series of carefully selected complex, unique and banal projects, that have the potential to initiate a discussion, be didactic and affect their contemporary contextual mythology. Reviews for projects that do not satisfy these criteria can be found by typing “architecture” on your search bar.

A tale of many cities with Rosalyne Shieh and Troy Schaum of SCHAUM/SHIEH

2019-01-14T14:54:00-05:00

Based out of New York City and Houston, Rosalyne Shieh and Troy Schaum of the practice SCHAUM/SHIEH discuss the power of learning from cities through their complexities. Over the years, both have taken their interests in urbanism to look at the scale of individual buildings and the role they play in the larger built environment. As architects and educators, the two view their firm—and its projects—as the reflection of both a social unit and a cultural endeavor; all while still being a professional body of service.

For this week's Studio Snapshot, the duo talks with Archinect about the importance of identifying their values as a small practice and using collaboration to make room for each person to evolve. Focusing time and energy on the power of revision, SCHAUM/SHIEH reflects on the strength of their processes and how it translates to their work.

The Photographic and Film Work of Imagen Subliminal Playfully Translates the Architect’s Ideas to the Public

2018-03-13T09:00:00-04:00

In Focus is Archinect's recurring series dedicated to profiling the photographers who help make the work of architects look that much better. What has attracted them to architecture? How do they work? What type of equipment do they use? What do they think about seeing their work in blogs?

For this installment, we interviewed Imagen Subliminal, a New York and Madrid-based practice run by Miguel de Guzman and Rocío Romero.

Ate Atema Reveals Upscaling Goals for His Small NYC-Based Studio

2017-11-13T12:14:00-05:00

Atema Architecture is an innovative studio based in New York City focused on commercial and residential projects with an emphasis on collaboration between clients, consultants and builders.

As part of our Small Studio Snapshots, we talk with Ate, the principal of the firm, about developing a structure early on allowing for adaptability, his upscaling goals, and the agility of a small firm.

"I think of architecture as an act of writing in the city": Vishaan Chakrabarti discusses PAU's upcoming projects

2017-06-22T13:27:00-04:00

As the founder of PAU, Vishaan Chakrabarti is an architect and urban planner who considers every aspect of the city with foresight, but isn't as concerned with the culture of celebrity that has often dominated the profession. "Calling oneself a humanist over the last couple of decades was a real no-no," he explains via phone. "You're supposed to be a bad-boy, cape-wearing starchitect." He purposefully did not name the firm after himself in order to place emphasis on intelligent discussion, not hierarchy. Although he's excited about taking on more projects, he never wants PAU to grow beyond roughly 30 employees so that he will always know everyone in his office.

Scaling across disciplines: an interview with Founders Rome Prize winners MODU

2017-06-05T06:00:00-04:00

Every Monday we take a look at the ins-and-outs of growing a small architectural practice by highlighting stand-outs in the field. For this Small Studio Snapshot, we're talking with the winners of the 2016-2017 Founders Rome Prize in Architecture, Rachely Rotem and Phu Hoang. The duo, who run the New York-based practice MODU, discuss how the award has altered their practice, how to design for a rapidly changing environment, and how they are scaling across disciplines.

"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.

Strange bedfellows: exploring shades of privacy in co-living

2016-06-20T12:18:00-04:00

From chaste bunking to on-site Pilates classes, co-living companies have as many versions as a cover band. But each incarnation raises the question: how do we architecturally define privacy in the 21st century?

How 4 US cities are applying architectural solutions to homelessness

2016-05-23T18:29:00-04:00

Housing First, a federal policy for ending chronic homelessness that grew out of initiatives in Los Angeles and New York in the late 1980s and early 1990s, provides what appears to be the most effective solution to homelessness in the United States: actually housing people. Since implementing Housing First programs in Utah in 2005, Salt Lake City reported up to a 91% reduction in their rate of the chronically homeless.

The internship test or: why even become an architect at all?

2016-04-06T09:11:00-04:00

The question of internships frames something of a litmus test in architecture – although they tend to indicate more about the hiring firm than the hire. Exploited labor or necessary rite-of-passage? It’s a debate that’s been raging for decades almost exclusively through this binary, even as the context in which it’s been waged has transformed considerably. While certain practices have moved to institute fair compensation into their intern programs, life for many architecture interns today remains a struggle.

Meow Parlour is a modern hangout for NYC's adoptable cats

2016-03-14T15:58:00-04:00

Looking out inquisitively onto a busy New York City avenue, a white and grey cat perches on a counter that is supported by a base that fittingly reads M E O W in bold. She soaks in warm light that beams through a floor-to-ceiling window, while dozens of other felines play and lounge throughout the rest of their 800sf domain. These cats are temporary residents at Meow Parlour, a modest venue that allows adoptable cats and city-goers a chance to interact within a comfortable – and refreshingly upbeat – environment.

Liz Diller gets high: discussing The High Line's development with Christopher Hawthorne

2016-02-19T18:07:00-05:00

Few would have predicted that a “used-condom-strewn” elevated railway line running through what used to be seedy Chelsea would become one of New York City’s biggest cultural attractions. And yet, according to Elizabeth Diller in conversation with Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne at LAX Art on February 16, last year over seven million people walked Diller, Scofidio + Renfro’s High Line. That’s about four million more than attended MoMA or even all of the Yankees games, making The High Line not just a renovated railway, but a literal cultural bridge between the pedestrian and the aesthetic realms.

Imagine that: review of “Imaginary Apparatus: New York City and Its Mediated Representation”

2015-09-17T14:31:00-04:00

Like an infrastructural Ouija board planchette, the Foucaultian “apparatus” isn’t exactly a device, but rather the effect of a multiplicity of participants. Each of these participants, whether they are the media, philosophical traditions, physical objects or even legal proceedings, exert a complex and nuanced force on the other, helping to control the method by which reality is shaped.

The Deans List: Mark Wigley of Columbia University's GSAPP

2014-07-07T14:38:00-04:00

The Deans List is an interview series with the leaders of architecture schools, worldwide. The series profiles the school’s programming, as defined by the head honcho – giving an invaluable perspective into the institution’s unique curriculum, faculty and academic environment.

For this issue, we spoke with Mark Wigley, former Dean of Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation in New York City.

Interview with John Szot of "Architecture and the Unspeakable" film series

2014-04-04T17:45:00-04:00

Architecture and the Unspeakable is a triptych of short, magnificently animated films, each exploring a different symptom of architecture’s vulnerabilities. Produced by Brooklyn Digital Foundry and directed by architect John Szot, the films feature architecture proposals from John Szot Studio, imagining distinct fictional buildings in New York, Tokyo, and Detroit -- all animated in striking digital realities.

Student Works: Resilient Public Housing from Parsons

2013-11-06T15:05:00-05:00

Responding to a daunting list of post-Sandy urban concerns, M.Arch students at the Parsons New School for Design proposed a variety of affordable housing complexes in an under-developed patch of Manhattan’s Lower East Side.

In Focus: Simon Gardiner

2011-11-09T13:09:18-05:00

In Focus is Archinect's series of features dedicated to profiling the photographers who help make the work of architects look that much better. What has attracted them to architecture? How do they work? What type of equipment do they use? What do they think about seeing their work in blogs?

In this feature, we talk to British photo artist Simon Gardiner.