Archinect - Features

The Architect's Power in Tomorrow's Energy Infrastructure

2021-10-04T14:35:00-04:00

The architecture of energy systems is undergoing a renaissance. As our ability to generate, consume, and store energy in a clean, sustainable way continues to accelerate, spurred by a heightened awareness of climate change, architects are steadily sculpting a new architecture to celebrate, showcase, and interweave these new technologies into the built environment.

To explore this new architecture of energy infrastructure, we spoke with two prominent architecture firms, AL_A and C.F. Møller Architects, both of whom have recently overseen the design of energy schemes that prioritize transparency, interaction, and a contemporary architectural flare. In addition to exploring the design process of energy infrastructure, we reflect on future possibilities for the energy typology and the role that architecture studios large and small can play in shaping it.

Exploring the architecture of the atomic age, starting with the Chicago birthplace of the world's first nuclear reactor

2017-08-24T09:30:00-04:00

The 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial blog is edited in partnership with Consortia, a creative office developing new frameworks for communication. This article also features embedded content from Are.na, an online platform for connecting ideas and building knowledge.

Ornament and Extinction in the Nuclear Era

2016-10-26T13:01:00-04:00

The Anthropocene is a contested name for "the era of geological time during which human activity is considered to be the dominant influence on the environment, climate, and ecology of the earth." As the fourth installment of the recurring Architecture of the Anthropocene series, this piece looks at a design problem that is larger, and perhaps more important, than any other imaginable.