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...

The Paris Model: Adapting and Creating Public Space as Cities Get Hotter

2019-10-03T05:00:00-04:00

This July, Paris recorded an all-time high temperature of 42.6 degrees Celsius (108.7 Fahrenheit).

The Parisian authorities quickly introduced measures to cool people down, including an app to point people towards 922 “Urban Islands of Coolness.” The measures included the installation of misting machines, water fountains, late night opening of parks and pools and the mapping of cultural spaces. Through absolute necessity, a whole new network of public spaces has been created, adapted or highlighted in the city via new technologies in reaction to soaring temperatures.

Let's explore some of those approaches.

#ArchinectMeets @lucborho

2018-12-11T12:00:00-05:00

#ArchinectMeets is a series of interviews with members of the architecture community that use Instagram as a creative medium. With the series, we ask some of Instagram’s architectural photographers, producers and curators about their relationship to the social media platform and how it has affected their practice.

Social media has undeniably affected the way we perceive, interpret and share opinions about architecture today. While we use our own account, @Archinect, as a site for image curation and news content, we wanted to ask fellow Instagram users how they navigated the platform.

We spoke to Luc Borho (@lucborho), a photographer and art director. Borho has added an ethereal spin to the badlands of SpaceX and the brutalism of his native Paris through his carefully lit photography. His work shows the lives buildings make possible after their construction, in ways their architects or planners might not have imagined.

French Architect Cyril Lancelin Applies Slow Living Concepts to his Small Studio Town and Concrete

2017-09-26T12:29:00-04:00

Cyril Lancelin from Town and Concrete is our latest Small Studio Snapshot. The Paris and Lyon-based architect reinvents domestic spaces using simple shapes and innovative design. We talked with Lancelin about working from home, slow living and Instagram.

Looking to "Frank Gehry", after Paris but before Los Angeles

2015-08-05T14:00:00-04:00

On September 13 of this year, Los Angeles will get its first major exhibition of Frank Gehry’s work, ever. Despite being the adopted hometown of the world-famous architect, and the city whose new-millennium architectural identity has been inflected most by his work, Los Angeles has not yet hosted a show exclusively on Gehry's retrospective.

Showcase: Antoine de St exupéry home for dependent elderly people, by Naud & Poux Architectes

2014-12-08T00:16:00-05:00

In the complex and fraught world of elder care, architecture can seem indifferent, dictated primarily by medical and physical concerns. Not so with Naud & Poux Architectes' facility in Villejuif, France, whose solid and distinctive design accommodates the needs of dependent elderly people, while looking more like a home than a hospital.

Working out of the Box: Anne Dérian, Architect turned Mosaic Artist

2014-10-15T11:16:00-04:00

Working out of the Box is a series of features presenting architects who have applied their architecture backgrounds to alternative career paths.

In this installment, we're talking with French-born Berlin-based mosaic artist and pattern designer Anne Dérian.

Are you an architect working out of the box? Do you know of someone that has changed careers and has an interesting story to share? If you would like to suggest an (ex-)architect, please send us a message.

Art + Architecture: Bruno Zhu in a Symphony of Objects

2014-08-19T19:01:00-04:00

Bruno Zhu’s work, contained in self-published books but also posted on social media sites like Tumblr and Instagram, captures accidental sculptures and fleeting moments as he wanders cities. Instead of vast landscapes, urban environments are portrayed through intimate encounters with objects. Zhu also investigates the lives of his images as they become dispersed across various networks, excavating nonfictional narratives centered around the ghostly protagonist of the image itself in his book, Facsimile.

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.