Archinect - News

Kanye West unveils renewed construction photos of dome shelters

2020-07-07T11:33:00-04:00

Kanye West, who almost a year ago, was forced to demolish his housing project in Calabasas for lack of permitting and failure to comply with building codes, unveiled July 5th on Twitter what appears to be a new stab at the endeavor. "YZY SHLTRS in process #2020VISION" the post reads. The accompanying photo appears to contain three structures, each at a different stage of development. One can see some shoring happening on the structure closest to the camera, and off at the top right of the frame looks to be a structure whose structural form has already taken on a dome like aesthetic.

This news follows the musician's recent announcement on Twitter that he will be running for president of the United States. This was the first time we were introduced to the #2020VISION hashtag from the artist, something that many are attributing as a title for West's campaign for president. However, many are doubtful that West will actually run for office. In any case, we will all be waiting to see mo...

What if Zaha Hadid had designed a pair of YEEZYs?

2019-09-23T15:00:00-04:00

What we have here is a seamless, one-piece, alabaster molded slip-on, punctured by organic-shaped holes and replete with the sort of bulges, curves, and shapes that, for the design inclined, should conjure not only connections to modern automotive design, but thoughts of the late Zaha Hadid’s oeuvre as well. It’s perhaps reductive to say, as we have, that this is a Hadid version of a Croc, but it’s also accurate and curious.

Surface magazine commends West for his study and reference to design and architecture, reporting on his personal acquaintance with Hadid and his positive remarks on the work of Rem Koolhaas and Herzog & de Meuron. It is only natural, the publication reports, that West's fashion would show his architectural influences. The new Yeezy Foam Runners will drop in 2020.

Kanye West's futuristic domes have been demolished

2019-09-10T10:49:00-04:00

Kanye West's "housing project" has been destroyed. Although the music mogul and controversial media star has made headlines with his plans to design and build a "new" type of home, TMZ's sources have confirmed the project has been shut down. The futuristic housing structures previously built in Calabasas, California faced destruction on Monday afternoon due to a failure to comply with building codes.

TMZ provides more details of the project's status: "All but one of the housing prototypes were torn down with about a week to spare before the September 15 deadline ... imposed by the L.A. County Dept. of Public Works for violating the building code."

Many Yeezy fans may be devastated by the news. However with one of the housing prototypes still standing, status of the project being moved elsewhere is still unknown.

Kanye West's domes lack permits, face potential demolition

2019-08-07T19:11:00-04:00

Last week, we received news of Kanye's plans to "build a new type of home" that he believes will separate barriers between the rich, middle-class, and the poor. Built on his 300 acres of land in Calabasas, CA, the ambitious egalitarian now seems to have left out one crucial step in the building process — apparently there are no permits.

According to TMZ's sources close to the project, it looks like "several neighbors have complained to the L.A. County Dept. of Public Works, and after inspectors came out to the property, they determined the project violates the building code, and if Ye doesn't get the property permits by Sept. 15, the structures must be torn down."

An inspector that went out to the site was told by the site manager that "the domes were part of a 'production,' and they were temporary structures." A convenient line of reasoning to avoid the need for permits. But upon further inspection, it was found, among other things, that the domes were sitting on a concrete foundat...

Kanye West is building domed housing in pursuit of breaking down class barriers

2019-07-31T19:31:00-04:00

Kanye West's passion for architecture is no secret. Almost a year ago he announced his YEEZY Home venture which emerged as a low-income housing endeavor composed of prefabricated concrete modules. We've also seen him pop up at the GSD and SCI-Arc to explore the academic depths architecture has to offer. In 2010, West cited a lamp design by Le Corbusier as a guiding inspiration for his hit single All of the Lights. About five years ago he spoke at length of a previous partnership with Rem Koolhaas. Several years later, West hired interior designer Axel Vervoordt to re-design the Calabasas home West shares with his wife, Kim Kardashian West. And more recently, West worked with Los Angeles architect Willo Perron to design Yeezy's California headquarters in Calabasas.

"I was able to take my position as a musician...and as a celebrity and be able to invest in a project with a company to that level," he expressed in an interview with Koolhaas' son, Tomas. West elaborated on his desire and...

Kanye West's first YEEZY Home project appears to be a prefab affordable housing scheme

2018-06-04T14:00:00-04:00

It's been merely a month since rapper/entrepreneur/design aficionado Kanye West announced on Twitter that he would launch an architecture venture with his design firm, to be called YEEZY Home, and now first renderings have appeared on Instagram that list West among the designers.

"Low income housing scheme, made of prefabricated concrete in collaboration with Petra Kustrin, Jalil Peraza, Kanye West, Nejc Skufca," reads the caption of an image that shows a minimalist courtyard flanked by walls that mimic the brutalist, austere aesthetic of West's latest private estate as well as his YEEZY HQ in Calabasas, a posh Los Angeles suburb.

Image via Jalil Peraza/@jalilperaza on Instagram.

The image was shared by designer, and former Kanye West collaborator, Jalil Peraza who added another rendering this morning of an ultraminimalist kitchen with muted brass and concrete surfaces, crediting the same design team.

Image Jalil Peraza via hypebeast.com.

Hypebeast also published another rendering o...

Is Kanye West really starting a Yeezy architecture venture? (He tweets he is.)

2018-05-07T14:07:00-04:00

Kanye West's flirt with the architecture profession appears to take on a more 'It's complicated' kind of status—if you're willing to lend enough credibility to his tweet from yesterday, announcing "we’re starting a Yeezy architecture arm called Yeezy home. We’re looking for architects and industrial designers who want to make the world better".

It's unclear whether West was already looking for prospective would-be employees for this newly announced venture when he made a surprise appearance at SCI-Arc's Spring Show recently, but he's certainly expressed his admiration for the profession for some time now—receiving mixed reactions from practitioners for statements like, "I hang around architects mostly, people that wanna make things as dope as possible … This is the reason why I’m working with five architects at a time," among others.

Kanye being Kanye, we're accepting his 146-character venture announcement with enough caution and see if Yeezy home actually turns into a stable 'In ...