Archinect - Features

Architecture, Consumerism, and Human Rights: On ‘Subverting the Narrative of Power Systems in Thailand’ with Shopping Malls

2022-07-08T15:29:00-04:00

Thesis projects offer an exciting glimpse into the minds of emerging designers and their unique architectural perspectives as they navigate through their careers. This is the case for Syracuse University B.Arch graduates Pin Sangkaeo and her collaborative research partner Benson Joseph. Together they explore the practice of merit-making and how political tactics and consumerism have impacted Thailand's social and political agendas through their thesis project, Temples of Consumerism.

According to Sangkaeo, the project "investigates the role of shopping malls as physical tools of maintaining the status quo, used by those who hold political powers in order to superimpose their ideologies on the collective citizens and perpetuate the systems."

Kicking off this season's 2022 Thesis Review series, the duo discusses their project along with Sangkaeo sharing her own experiences and findings while abroad in Bangkok. They also discuss their plans for the future as both continue their resea...

Columbia GSAPP MSAUD Students Tackle the Redundant Infrastructure of Retail

2020-07-24T09:00:00-04:00

Recent Masters in Science of Architecture and Urban Design (MSAUD) graduate students of Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) aim to redefine the retail model with an emphasis on small businesses and community. A research project initiated by Einat Lubliner, Sushmita Shekar, Hatem Alkhathlan, and Chris Zheng titled Post Retail Apocalypse investigates a new approach for reusing big box stores by implementing design solutions that foster "social interaction and equity."

According to the group, "With the global transition from traditional shopping to e-commerce and the change in consumer trends, main street retail, Big Box stores, and malls, which were a de facto social space for American small towns, have transformed into redundant infrastructure. The repercussions of this have highly impacted social interaction, local economy, existing infrastructure, jobs and services." Their international world views and backgrounds add to the pro...

What do you buy an architect for the holidays? Check out Archinect's 2019 Holiday Gift Guide

2019-11-28T11:53:00-05:00

Like them or not, the holidays are here! When it comes to holiday shopping, architects and designers can be a tough crowd to please. Whether you're looking for something practical or whimsical or simply need some inspiration, surprise the architect(s) dearest to you with an item or two (or three) from Archinect's 2019 Holiday Gift Guide.

From unique household items, to sleek everyday-carry essentials, to contemporary classics, this curated selection of gifts is sure to delight any coworker, boss, or your architecturally inclined friends and family. Plus, we have some charming ideas for mini-modernists and aspiring architects.

Abruzzo Bodziak Architects Embraces the Beautiful Complexities of Architectural Practice Through Optimism and Narration

2019-11-01T15:45:00-04:00

What happens if running a practice can be viewed as one long project? With this perspective and approach to establishing themselves as a formidable architecture studio, the Brooklyn-based duo of Abruzzo Bodziak Architects has continued to make their design imprint within the fabric of New York's diverse design community.

As practicing architects and academics involved in teaching and fellowship, Emily Abruzzo and Gerald Bodziak use their multidisciplinary approach to design solutions that work toward a built environment which "engenders belonging."

For this week's Studio Snapshot, Archinect connected with Abruzzo and Bodziak to learn more about their journey as a budding architectural practice and showcasing the "synthetic process" of the built form through narrative.

A Conversation with Pamela Tan, the Architectural Designer Challenging Malaysia's Design Perspective

2019-05-28T12:59:00-04:00

Studying architecture is a challenging yet rewarding transdisciplinary nature, according to Malaysian architectural designer Pamela Tan. Through her work, she explores architecture as a celebration of diversity and narrative. After receiving her architectural education from Taylor's University and the University of Greenwich, Tan set out to explore various ways the discipline of architecture can intertwine within other disciplines such as art, philosophy, social science, literature, and poetry. Blending the speculative with ethereality, movement, and patterns, Tan has used her multi-dimensional approach to design in ways that highlight community and alternative perspectives.

Challenging Malaysia's perspectives on the importance of art, architecture, and design culture, Tan has pursued these interests by merging these fields in order to recreate opportunities for architectural narratives in Southeast Asia. This week Archinect chats with Tan for an in-depth interview discussing influ...

In Focus: Jesse Rieser and His 2D Facsimile to Architecture

2019-01-30T10:34:00-05:00

In Focus is Archinect's recurring series dedicated to profiling the photographers who help capture architecture and who make the work of architects look that much better. In this series we ask: What is their relationship to architecture? Is there a difference between capturing a building versus capturing people? What are their thoughts on seeing their work on public platforms like blogs and Instagram?

For this installment, Archinect chats with photographer Jesse Rieser. Although Rieser wouldn't consider himself an architectural photographer, his recent series, The Retail Apocalypse: The Changing Landscapes of American Retail, captures the beautiful stillness and abandonment retail buildings can represent over time. Specifically focusing on rundown, commercial buildings in Phoenix, Arizona Rieser imbues expressive color palettes and geometric forms with a sense of nostalgia to give these structures a second life.

Between art and design: rethinking function with Hand Job Gallery Store

2016-02-23T17:55:00-05:00

Google “art vs design” and you’ll find a slew of fairly common sense diagrams and articles. “Good art is a talent”, stipulates one, while “good design is a skill”. Or, similarly, “good art is interpreted”, whereas “good design is understood”. My favorite includes two identical images of a chair. Beneath one reads the caption, “a chair: design”, while beneath the second, “a tree: conceptual art”.