Archinect - Features

How One Architecture Remains Small While Working on Massive Urban Resiliency Projects

2018-01-22T09:00:00-05:00

Matthijs Bouw is a Dutch architect and urbanist and founder of One Architecture, an award-winning design and planning firm that was established in Amsterdam in 1995 and again in New York in 2015 after the firm won the Rebuild by Design competition in partnership with BIG. Bouw is also the Rockefeller Urban Resilience Fellow for PennDesign at the University of Pennsylvania, where his work centers on urban resilience and water management projects.

For this week's Small Studio Snapshots, we talk with Bouw about opening up his New York office, the difference between working in the Netherlands versus the United States, and the benefits of keeping a small team despite working on large-scale projects.

The Proust Questionnaire: Francine Houben

2017-05-09T12:02:00-04:00

For this week's Proust Questionnaire, we talked with the Delft-based architect Francine Houben, co-founder of Mecanoo, and received some answers quite fitting for a Netherlander. Her favorites flowers? Tulips. Her favorite poet? Ramsey Nasr. Read on to find out what else makes Houben tick.

Playtime! 7 bold and whimsical playgrounds from around the world

2016-08-12T12:44:00-04:00

The act of play rests heavily on the ability to indulge in the imagination. While a certain degree of functionality is required for elements like swings, slides, and climbing walls, the key to any great playground design is that it be inspiring: and oddly enough, it doesn’t always have to be strictly for children. Game-playing takes multiple forms, from the stream of consciousness rules of a child's adventure to the psychologically penetrating/illuminating construct of an artist. These examples of architectural spaces for play from around the world openly embrace the esoteric and playful.

Touring some of the world's most attractive public housing projects

2016-08-09T09:24:00-04:00

Can affordable public housing be beautiful? It’s a question that for years was answered with indifference.

It's the Culture, Stupid: curatorial statement for the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam, from executive director George Brugmans

2016-07-09T09:38:00-04:00

It all started January 2010 when I first interviewed the director of International Architecture Biennale of Rotterdam George Brugmans for Archinect. Since then, our relationship developed and I closely followed his work at IABR which I find arguably the most serious biennale concerning urbanism and city-making at the highest level of reality and usefulness.

Making space (and a business), one thread at a time

2016-01-12T18:39:00-05:00

I met with Samira Boon earlier this year at her studio in Amsterdam, while on a trip around Europe and Asia to talk with people who are carrying the profession of architecture in new directions. I admit this is a bit of a red herring, because practice is always changing, but we are now witnessing a period where outliers are becoming a bit mainstream, even rewarded for their efforts. Which makes it absolutely the best time to talk with them.

Show Case: ‘Schapenboeten’ Holiday Home by Benthem Crouwel Architects

2014-07-31T19:03:00-04:00

Slightly quirky, modest and covered in fishnets, Benthem Crouwel Architect’s holiday house turns a piece of Dutch vernacular into a sleek but cozy nest. Modeled after the local ‘schapenboeten’ sheds for storing hay and tools in a windy climate, the home is now part of the landscape on Texel island, a popular tourist destination in the Wandsee known for its fishing and unique sheep breed.

Screen/Print #11: OASE's "Building Atmosphere"

2014-03-28T13:24:00-04:00

OASE runs on the steam of academic discourse. The peer-reviewed architecture journal is based in the Netherlands, but keeps a high standard of international contributions, most of whom have a foot in both camps of design practice and academia. The journal is published twice a year, our Screen/Print featuring the second issue of 2013, OASE #91: "Building Atmosphere".

In Focus: Ossip van Duivenbode

2012-01-18T19:42:00-05:00

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 Dutch photographer Ossip van Duivenbode.

ShowCase: Shou Sugi Ban Maarn

2012-01-09T16:30:00-05:00

ShowCase is an on-going feature series on Archinect, presenting exciting new work from designers representing all creative fields and all geographies.

We are always accepting nominations for upcoming ShowCase features - if you would like to suggest a project, please send us a message.