Archinect - Features

3D Printing, Artificial Intelligence, and Space Habitats: A Conversation with ICON’s Melodie Yashar

2024-03-12T16:00:00-04:00

As a ‘Space Architect’ working on the design and delivery of 3D printed habitats on the Moon and Mars, Melodie Yashar is aware that, even in space, 3D printing does not exist in a vacuum. Like any construction methodology, it requires a confluence of design intent, delivery systems, material science, and accessible economics.

In her role as Vice President of Building Design & Performance at the construction technologies company ICON, Yashar is overseeing the design and implementation of products across all these fields, with an immediate primary goal of establishing a more affordable and sustainable design and construction system. As Yashar outlined in her 2022 TED Talk, the lessons learned from such ambitious endeavors here on Earth can spark lines of inquiry for perhaps humanity’s ultimate unresolved ambitious endeavor: surviving and thriving beyond Earth itself.

Last week, Archinect’s Niall Patrick Walsh spoke with Yashar as ICON was in the process of unveiling a suite of new tec...

AI, Complexity, and Ecological Futures: A Conversation with Alisa Andrasek

2023-12-12T08:00:00-05:00

For Alisa Andrasek, a career in architecture represents a point of convergence for her dual passions for art and science. For the past two decades, a respect for both the mathematic and emotional, the computational and the creative, has propelled Andrasek's enthralling investigations into an ecological vision of urbanism.

Describing cities as "the most complex constructs humanity has ever created," Andrasek sees artificial intelligence, computation, and mathematics as a vehicle for delivering urban and infrastructural environments that respect the planet while instilling a sense of "wonder and discovery" in both designers and citizens alike.

In July 2023, Archinect’s Niall Patrick Walsh spoke with Andrasek about her background, her work across academia and practice, as well as her reflections on the relationship between computation, data, and architecture. The discussion, edited slightly for clarity, is published below.

This article is part of the Archinect In-Depth: Artificial Int...

'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 ...

'AI Is a Dangerous Distraction From the Pressing Issues Defining Our Generation'; A Conversation with Liam Young

2023-07-17T08:21:00-04:00

Liam Young was once described by the BBC as “the man designing our future.” In 2023, with open letters penned on the risks of extinction posed by artificial intelligence, such a role should be in high demand.

Young’s speculations on the future take the form of fictional stories that join the dots between culture and technology; a skill which he believes should sit at the core of the architecture profession. Amid the media frenzy on generative AI tools such as Midjourney and ChatGPT, Young stresses the vital need for a creative discipline that measures the dangers of AI against those of climate change: a crisis which Young sees as more dangerous both for its scale and deceptive ubiquity.

In June 2023, Archinect’s Niall Patrick Walsh spoke with Young about his career across design and media, as well as his views on artificial intelligence, climate change, and the role of the architect in addressing both topics. The discussion, edited slightly for clarity, is published below.

This arti...

‘In the Climate Context, Architects Need to Push a New Frontier’; A Conversation with Mario Cucinella

2023-04-22T05:29:00-04:00

When TECLA was unveiled to the world at the beginning of 2021, it captured the attention of both the architectural community and the imagination of the mainstream media. The world's first 3D-printed house made from raw earth, TECLA was one of 17 projects showcased at COP26 in an exhibition highlighting pathways for the built environment to reduce its carbon footprint.

For Mario Cucinella, the architect behind TECLA, the project represents a broader conviction to “imagine a world where beauty is soulful and sustainable.” This same conviction has seen Cucinella and his team at Mario Cucinella Architects establish not only a portfolio of projects driven by dual principles of sustainability and creativity, but an in-house School of Sustainability encompassing environmentally-themed education, research, and practice.

Archinect’s Niall Patrick Walsh sat down with Cucinella recently at the 2022 World Architecture Festival in Lisbon, Portugal for a wide-ranging discussion encompassing the f...

NJIT’s Hillier College of Architecture and Design Embodies Sustainability Practices From the Inside Out

2022-11-14T13:26:00-05:00

Implementing sustainability practices continues to be a priority among architecture firms, institutions, and organizations around the globe. This is the case for the New Jersey Institute of Technology's Hillier College of Architecture and Design. As one of the leading polytechnic universities in the Northeast for its academic programs, it has also earned global recognition as a top sustainable institution from the Times Higher Education's Impact Rankings.

Its efforts and commitment to being a sustainable campus continue beyond there. These initiatives are also echoed throughout Hillier College's pedagogy. In previously featured editorial coverage of the College, Archinect has had the chance to highlight important events that showcase the engagement and dedication to implementing sustainable design approaches, civic engagement, and climate action. For this unique editorial feature, we emphasize, in broad strokes, important topics explored at the College's research centers and labs, s...

The University of Texas at Austin's Green Core Studio Explores Sustainable Energy Production in Residential Building Design

2022-09-29T12:35:00-04:00

Design studios are one of the core components of an architectural education. Through the guidance and expertise of dedicated faculty members, students are taught the skills and design perspectives needed to navigate architecture studios.

Studios encourage students to explore new ways to design, prototype, think, and build. To bring closer attention to architecture studios, their committed instructors, and the exciting work being developed, we present Archinect Studio Pin-Ups, a new series highlighting architecture studios focusing on new and thought-provoking topics.

To kick off the series, we dive into the University of Texas at Austin's Advanced Spring 2022 Studio - Green Core, led by Jing Liu (Visiting Professor and co-founder of SO–IL) and Claire Townley (UT Austin Alumn '19 and Associate Architect at Pollen Architecture & Design).

NJIT's Upcoming eLCAd Symposium Builds Cross-Disciplinary Bridges in Design and Environmental Life Cycle Assessment

2022-03-19T10:30:00-04:00

Sustainability is more than a buzzword for the team behind New Jersey Institute of Technology's (NJIT) upcoming Environmental Life Cycle Assessment in Design Symposium, better known as eLCAd. What began in 2020 as an idea to bring together the disciplines of architecture, design, and data-driven techniques for assessing environmental challenges has now become a book and industry-focused symposium for working professionals and students.

When it comes to sustainable design approaches and best practices, there are numerous conferences and symposiums to talk about and attend. But what makes eLCAd different? Why highlight this symposium in comparison to others? In a nutshell, eLCAd 2022 is a three-day, international event that "unites two professions engaged in parallel systems thinking [...] to define actionable, collaborative opportunities brought about through continuing advances in computational tools." For John Cays (Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Interim Director of the Schoo...

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.

Dystopia in the Desert: Expo 2020 Dubai Embodies Our Unsustainable Attitude Towards Urbanism

2021-11-12T12:05:00-05:00

In a confluence of events, the autumn of 2021 saw the opening of both the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow and Expo 2020 in Dubai. While COP26 is billed as "the last chance saloon" to save the planet, Expo 2020 Dubai is described by its organizers as "the most sustainable expo in the history of expos." This opinion piece reflects on how beneath Expo 2020 Dubai's rhetorical and programmatic accolades, the event is in fact a symptom of a systemically unsustainable attitude towards the built environment and a warped exercise in utopian thinking.

Business as Usual or Build Back Better? Architectural Leaders Share Their Thoughts on This Weekend’s COP26 Opening

2021-10-29T15:19:00-04:00

With the opening of the UN COP26 climate summit this weekend, the eyes of the architectural world will be upon Glasgow to see what, if any, effective measures of memoranda will come out of the two-week conference. Past COP summits have resulted in monumental policy measures like the Paris Agreement and Kyoto Protocol. Recent conferences have been seen as less successful. The most recent meeting was dubbed “a major disappointment” after failing to produce a consensus on a number of different key climate issues.

This year’s event is perhaps the most anticipated in the organization’s history. The Queen of England will not be attending. Other prominent figures will skip the conference as well. The architectural community will be well-represented, with contingents from the AIA, RIBA, and other institutions and practitioners who all have stakes in climate change policies and the built environment.

Global voices, from Greta Thunberg to Prince Charles, have derided world leaders for their...

Transforming Climate Pessimism Into Resilient Design Action

2021-10-01T08:48:00-04:00

Like in so many places across the US, summer of 2021 was announced by the symphonic celebration of cicadas that, for seventeen long years, were patiently colluding within the earth’s caverns before proclaiming their virtuosity in our parks and green spaces. The cicadas that have made so much noise, literally with their raucous reaching up to 100 decibels, and figuratively as they managed to capture a sensational buzz across various news media, are part of the largest generation of periodic cicadas known as Brood X. The next time we will see these winged torpedoes will be in 2038. By then, the world will look very different.

‘The Regime of Building Is Deeply Flawed’: A Q&A With Graham Foundation Grantee Alican Taylan

2021-09-01T12:36:00-04:00

With exhibitions ranging from an exploration of the structural qualities of Black hairstyling techniques to an examination of local carnival architecture in Trinidad, this year's crop of Graham Foundation Production and Presentation grants has joined a field of notable proposals in their inquiry into the future of architecture and the built environment. Among the twelve grantees in the category, Alican Taylan stands out for his criticism of capitalistic development schemes, industry norms that are out of touch with human needs, and exploitative practices that take advantage of impending ecological emergencies.

Taylan, an architectural designer, critic, and engineer, had been reading Lefebvre and working on marine projects after undergrad when the 2013 Gezi Park protests in Istanbul triggered a shift in his thinking. The protests furthered the idea for him that space is indeed political and sparked an interest in research topics at the center of his forthcoming exhibition. In early ...

The Butterfly Effect: Retrofitting Low-Income Housing

2021-05-27T13:18:00-04:00

America's low-income housing stock is aging. The human health, social, economic, and environmental consequences of substandard housing is felt not just by their inhabitants, but by the general public. However, a growing number of architects, researchers, and policymakers are identifying a solution: retrofitting. In this article, we take a closer look at the current status of America's low-income and public housing stock, as well as the benefits, methods, and potential futures for a large-scale retrofit campaign that transforms both lives and living conditions.

Embodied Carbon and the Aesthetics of an Ecological Age

2021-04-06T08:57:00-04:00

Modernism was said to have died in 1972 with the demolition of the Pruitt-Igoe housing development. Well, many events since seem to contradict that declaration, one of which came as recently as last month with the announcement that the French architects Anne Lacaton & Jean-Philippe Vassal have been awarded this year’s Pritzker Prize. The committee brief states the two’s practice "renews the legacy of modernism." But this must be a reformed modernism, not the same movement that celebrated such starkness, such overdetermined streetscapes, and facades of mid-twentieth-century design. In fact, the entire tabula rasa methodology has yielded to a strategy today that is more gentle, one that emphasizes context and historical juxtaposition.

A Conversation with Audrey Sato on Fostering Hard and Soft Skills in Architecture

2020-01-07T12:27:00-05:00

For architect Audrey Sato, studying architecture may not have seemed like an obvious choice at first, but she eventually realized that her passion for sustainability and a desire to build in parallel with nature made her a natural fit for the job. Sato grew up in Hawaii, and after graduating with a double concentration in Visual Arts and Architecture Studies from Brown University, interned at architecture firms to start off her career.

The experience inspired her to pursue a Master's of Architecture degree at California Polytechnic State University Pomona. After her studies, Sato chose to start an independent practice, Sato Architects, not out of necessity, but because it was "a natural and practical thing" for her to pursue. If you ask Sato now, her plan at the time was to get going and find a way to "do it right later," a vision that, over nearly a decade of practice, Sato admits, "just kept working." Today, aside from running her own firm, Sato is a LEED-Accredited Professional ...

Exploring Virtual Design Possibilities Through BIM and Modular Construction

2019-12-19T09:00:00-05:00

Demand for individuals with an expertise in Building Information Modeling (BIM) is increasing throughout the job market. A modeling platform that has changed the the building industry, many firms have transitioned to using BIM over the last decade to take advantage of the inherent potential for collaboration and coordination the technology offers, both in the studio and on the job site. (For a nuts-and-bolts view of what it's like to work as a BIM Specialist, see Archinect's recent story unpacking the ins and outs of the job title)

Due to BIM's multi-disciplinary scope, construction firms like Windover Construction use the BIM framework and other visual design technologies to bring efficiency to complex construction projects, like those that utilize modular and prefab building components.

To learn more about the implementations of BIM and virtual design within this realm, Archinect spoke with Windover Construction Director of Virtual Design and Construction Amr Raafat and Senior Pr...

It’s Getting Hot in Here: Will Heat Waves Become the New Normal?

2019-07-21T12:28:00-04:00

Let’s face it...it’s hot. Even though it is the summer season, sweltering temperatures ranging in the 100’s with added humidity isn’t due to the season alone. With Archinect’s recent coverage of sustainable cities and alternative building practices to help regulate building temperatures, how can this information be applied to the everyday American? Cities and infrastructures can’t be rebuilt in a day so what can residents, especially those in the Central and Eastern portion of the U.S. do to survive the heat? What can we learn from heat waves like this, and how can the built environment respond to these changes?

One step to staying cool and safe during these extreme weathers is staying informed. In this piece, we break down terms relating to heat waves and learn how the built environment impacts these temperatures.

Glavovic Studio on Using Architecture as a Catalyst for Environmental Stewardship and Social Impact

2019-07-15T12:45:00-04:00

Born in Zimbabwe and raised in South Africa, architect Margi Nothard uses her global heritage and upbringing as a keystone to leading her Florida-based practice Glavovic Studio. A practice whose values stem from community-based engagement, socially conscious designs and environmental stewardship, Nothard has helped transform South Florida. Through her work in urban planning projects, affordable housing, public art projects, and commercial projects, the studio has made a lasting impact in Florida. Leading her firm for twenty years, Nothard's enthusiasm for social change through good design has allowed her and her team to works like the Young Circle Arts Park and the Kennedy Homes.

For this week's Studio Snapshot, Nothard shares her experiences of running a firm and what has changed over time. According to Nothard, "I was told after graduating to go somewhere where I could make a difference." After starting her practice 1999, Glavovic Studio has established itself as one of Fort Laude...

37 Fearless Moments of Modern History: A Review of ‘The Architecture of Closed Worlds’

2019-02-27T11:36:00-05:00

The 37 prototypes in Lydia Kallipoliti's The Architecture of Closed Worlds reveal the 20th century’s nebulous relationship with science, ecology and architecture in a way that helps make sense of that landmark era. Their presentation in a single publication also doubles, intentionally or not, as a survey of some of the most unusual and visionary experiments in modern history.

If you are in Los Angeles March 6th, join us at Archinect Outpost from 7-9pm to host Lydia Kallipoliti and her newest book! Kallipoliti will provide a lecture, followed by a book signing. RSVP here. The book can be preordered here.

Screen/Print #70: Jack Self Revisits Biosphere II, the Most Infamous Earth Science Experiment in History

2019-01-31T11:29:00-05:00

The newest issue of MacGuffin Magazine, "The Ball," collects stories that appear disparate but for their fixation on the consolidating properties of the circular object (whether as the globe, the sphere, or the minimal-surface enclosure).

A Carbon Neutral Practice, the Sydney-based Firm Luigi Rosselli Architects is a Beacon of Sustainability

2018-12-05T12:15:00-05:00

For the Sydney-based practice Luigi Rosselli Architects, sustainability isn't just about designing energy-efficient buildings. Even though they're known for their elegant residential work, often with a focus on off-form concrete, the environmentalism in their work is just as important as how they run their practice. Described as carbon-neutral, the firm addresses everything from how their employees travel to and from work to the amount of paper waste the office produces in order to reduce its own carbon footprint. Today, we talk with founder Luigi Rosselli about their unique approach.

The Yves Béhar-Designed ADU and the Complicated Altruism of the “Fully-Customizable Prefab”

2018-11-13T12:00:00-05:00

My invitation to interview industrial designer Yves Béhar about his first step into architecture, an immaculately designed Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU), brought me to a design festival of unprecedented scale and wealth.

Held in the historic core of Downtown Los Angeles - a neighborhood physically and economically between the Financial District and Skid Row - Summit LA18 was a three day festival that hosted, according to its promotional material, “a wide array of talks, performances, wellness classes, art installations, gourmet food, and experiences designed to foster relationships and inspire new perspectives.”

A cursory glance at the titles of highlighted events, including “Al Gore and Jaden Smith on New Hope for Solving the Climate Crisis” and “Manufactured Organs and The Radical Quest to Cure Aging” was my first clue of what relationships might be fostered and what new perspectives might be prioritized at this event; my second clue was the intensive application for entry (follo...

A Victory Under The Sun Must Also Be Against It

2018-09-19T12:54:00-04:00

Imitative solar panels - designed by companies including Sistine Solar and Tesla - call into question the relationship between infrastructural aesthetics and the urgent need to conserve material resources in the current climate. Can conservation really only be sold in a dress? Is the conflation of the two our only way out of the environmental crisis?

Australian firm Breathe Architecture is Changing the Way Residential Development is Done Down Under

2018-09-05T09:00:00-04:00

With a promise that every project would have fresh air and windows in each room, Jeremy McLeod founded the Melbourne-based practice Breathe Architecture almost twenty years ago. Since, the firm has been applying their concept of environmentally and socially sustainable urban design to a range of commercial and residential projects. More recently, McLeod and his team have begun cultivating their own housing projects, changing the model for multi-residential development in Australia. Frustrated with the way architecture was being dictated by developers, market forces, and financial structures, they started the Nightingale Housing movement to support, promote and advocate for high-quality housing that is environmentally sustainable, financially affordable, and socially inclusive.

Here, we talk with Lola Digby-Diercks, the Business Development Lead at Breathe Architecture and Nightingale, about the firm's innovative practices and the differences they are making within residential develo...

The Venice Biennale Swamp Pavilion, Part II: Futurity Island

2018-09-04T13:27:00-04:00

Earlier this month, we featured the first week of events from the Venice Biennale's Swamp School: Swamp Radio, a series of acoustic space explorations, radio experiments, environmental sound recordings and data sonification.

Futurity Island, the Swamp School's second week of events, was held from June 25th to the 30th. It provided its participants with a space and a series of field trips to speculate on urban and material futures and imagine radically new forms of inderdisciplinarity. Given the recent news of Miami's precarious fate as well as that of other coastal cities and islands, the discussions that took place seemed especially apt.

Given the urgency of collective response, the organizers of the Swamp School, Gediminas Urbonas and Nomeda Urbonas, intended to inspire a single question among its participants: "how can we co-live with the swamp?"

The Venice Biennale Swamp Pavilion, Part I: Swamp Radio

2018-08-15T13:36:00-04:00

Though Venice has been the home of the eponymous Biennale since 1895 and the site of Western trade since roughly 400 AD, its longer history as a swamp is often overlooked. Its parcel of land and sea in Northeast Italy is notably hot, humid and rife with mosquitos, and has been since time immemorial. The ecosystems that depends on its swampy soil and vapor are threatened by human settlement, which has made it one of the most popular tourist destinations in modern history.

The Swamp Pavilion, Lithuania's contribution to the 2018 Venice Biennale, is a networked effort to highlight the intersection of human and natural history present in Venice in the middle of what is commonly referred to as the 'Anthropocene.' Organized by Gediminas Urbonas and Nomeda Urbonas, the Swamp School has developed new theories and pedagogies in the format of a 'school,' through public interventions, field trips, workshops, lectures, discussions, chat channels and printed publications.

Its first of three inst...

Vancouver Based D'Arcy Jones Architecture Stays Small to Maintain Intimacy With Their Work

2018-06-11T16:30:00-04:00

After designing a home for his parents while taking some time away from architecture school, D'Arcy Jones knew he was eager to one day start his own practice. Eventually founded in 2005, his Vancouver based firm has grown into a 9 person studio producing distinguished architecture that is consistently recognized as some of Canada's best—in 2017, the firm had the high honor of receiving the AIBC Emerging Firm Award as well as being named RAIC's Emerging Architecture Practice.

DJA's portfolio is comprised mostly of residential projects that are efficient and thoughtful but the team has recently expanded this approach to tackle commercial spaces, art galleries, and larger multi-family housing projects. In the latest Small Studio Snapshot, Jones discusses this growth and what he sees as a "natural evolution" for the studio.

The Solar Decathlon Competition Showcases Cutting-Edge Home Designs, But Will it Give us the Next High-Tech Home?

2018-02-08T12:00:00-05:00

Having long wanted to attend the Solar Decathlon, the U.S. Department of Energy’s collegiate competition that challenges student teams to design and build full-size, solar-powered houses, I was excited to learn last year that it was going to be held in Denver, where I reside. As the event drew closer, I signed up for two volunteer roles, working one shift as a greeter and a few as a docent, in order to attend.

#WorldArchitectureDay calls upon architects to respond to the Paris Climate Change Agreement

2017-10-02T19:37:00-04:00

The first Monday of October is annually celebrated around the globe as World Day of Architecture. Started back in 2005 by the International Union of Architects, the day of celebration was set up with the aim of reminding the world about the collective responsibility of architects in designing our future cities and settlements.