Archinect - News

An animated high-rise reminisces about its life in the city in "The Secret Diary of a High Rise"

2024-01-05T15:48:00-05:00

A new animated short film titled The Secret Diary of a High Rise by UK-based animator and artist Stephen Ong uniquely depicts the life of a high-rise building told from the perspective of the building itself.

We follow the experience of the high-rise via its narration, by Sasha Goguel, as it reminisces about its life in the city, including an early romantic love affair with another high-rise and the growth and transformation it experiences as years pass.

The short culminates in a get-together between our protagonist and their friends, who catch up on their own journeys, from new functions to rehabilitation.

Warm, vivid colors create an exciting urban, nightlife atmosphere, which is complimented by the film’s jazzy soundtrack, composed by Jon Hugo Ungar. The Secret Diary of a High Rise has been screened at several British animation festivals.

London’s Battersea Power Station hosts giant Christmas tree animation by artist David Hockney

2023-12-06T13:10:00-05:00

The world-renowned artist David Hockney has lit up London’s iconic Battersea Power Station with a giant installation resembling two Christmas trees. Titled ‘Bigger Christmas Trees’ and set on the station’s two north-facing 328-foot-tall chimneys, the animation will be on display from December 1st until Christmas Day, December 25th.

“Battersea Power Station is such a beautiful building, I wanted to decorate it in a way that I hoped would bring joy and hope to Londoners,” said Hockney about the scheme.

Image credit: Apple

The 10-minute animation was designed by Hockney on an iPad using a digital pencil; an appropriate method given that Battersea Power Station currently houses Apple’s UK headquarters.

In June, we reported on the opening of Foster + Partners’ Apple Store within the station, marking the company’s 40th store in the United Kingdom. Late last year, meanwhile, we covered a review of the newly completed WilkinsonEyre interior spaces in the station alongside a Frank Gehry-desig...

ArchiPaper: An animated story about architecture

2019-09-18T13:00:00-04:00

Model building has always been at the core of what we do as architects. What happens when that age-old practice is embraced and made into a film? Polish architect and filmmaker, Rafał Barnaś has done just that.

Check out the trailer for his new film ArchiPaper below:

Description from the filmmaker:

ArchiPaper. A surrealist story about architecture.
The architect Rafał Barnaś would like to present a trailer of his original project. ArchiPaper is a non-commercial, experimental, short animated film that tells a story about architecture in an unconventional way. The basis and starting point for this work was a physical model of a house designed by BXB Studio. The model was photographed and transformed into an image that teems with life, creating a leisurely-paced, surrealist story immersed in an abstract world, built solely out of paper elements. Operating with atypical means of expression and building a stylistically and compositionally coherent film was quite a challenge. ArchiPaper ...

Studio Ghibli reveals more details of their anticipated theme park

2019-06-07T19:48:00-04:00

At a press conference in Tokyo on Friday, Studio Ghibli producer and co-founder Toshio Suzuki, Aichi governor Hideaki Omura and Chunichi CEO Uichiro Oshima laid out the basic plans for the park. The site is located within the Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park, and in keeping with director Hayao Miyazaki's strong environmental beliefs, is to be built in harmony with existing nature and without cutting down a single tree. The park will not feature roller coasters or other ride-type attractions.

The celebrated Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli announced more details of their upcoming theme park in Nagakute City, in Japan's Aichi Prefecture. The studio and their collaborative partners revealed that three areas of the 494-acre park will open in fall 2022. According to Japan Today, the “Hill of Youth Area” will feature the whimsical, steampunk architecture of the film Howl's Moving Castle; the “Dondoko Forest Area” — in reference to My Neighbor Totoro — will have walking trails; and the “Ghibli Big Warehouse Area” will feature shops, cafes, an exhibition room, and a rumored Cat Bus building. Other parts of the park, which will be modeled after the studio's other beloved films Princess Mononoke and Kiki's Delivery Service, are scheduled to open in the following year.

Studio Ghibli theme park to open by 2022

2018-04-30T15:38:00-04:00

The fantasy world of Oscar-winning animator Hayao Miyazaki will come to life as a theme park, set to open in central Japan in 2022, the regional government said Wednesday. Miyazaki is the cofounder of Studio Ghibli, the nation’s premier animation studio, and is renowned internationally for works including “Princess Mononoke” and “Spirited Away.” Studio Ghibli has released a basic concept for the vast park, which will be built by 2022 near Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture.

Plans for a Studio Ghibli theme park have been floating for some time, but they appear to become more concrete now with the announcement by local officials in Japan's Aichi Prefecture and the release of (very conceptual) illustrations of the park depicting structures that resemble buildings from animation classics like "Howl’s Moving Castle" and "My Neighbor Totoro."

Images: Studio Ghibli.

Take a look at 'Spatial Bodies', a surreal vision of urbanity

2016-07-13T13:43:00-04:00

Spatial Bodies was created by AUJIK, a self-described "mysterious nature/tech cult," with music composed by Daisuke Tanabe. Filmed in Osaka, Japan, the video is "the urban landscape and architectural bodies as an autonomous living and self replicating organism," according to the description on Vimeo.

"Domesticated and cultivated only by its own nature," read the description. "A vast concrete vegetation, oscillating between order and chaos."

According to their Vimeo page, AUJIK has been around since the 1990s, "quietly [spreading] across video platforms featuring proposed active members and fabricated histories."

Check it out below:

Spatial Bodies from AUJIK on Vimeo.

Watch (an animated) Frank Lloyd Wright talk about arrogance in this new short

2016-02-16T13:50:00-05:00

Frank Lloyd Wright stars in the newest episode of "The Experimenters", a mini interview series by Blank on Blank that gives a glimpse into the minds of iconic figures in science, technology, and innovation. Colorfully illustrated by animator Jennifer Yoo, this episode features snippets of an interview between Mike Wallace and a 90-year-old FLW in September 1957.

Blank on Blank found the interview in a collection at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin celebrating The Mike Wallace Interview, a show that ran in the '50s. Wright is as sharp as ever with his words as he talks about the timeless topics of success, arrogance, the Nature of architecture, and his role as an architect.

Watch the entire episode below. You can also find outtakes and more here.

Here's a previous Blank on Blank episode featuring Buckminster Fuller.

This studio illustrates Minecraft's architectural capabilities to create imaginary worlds

2015-08-17T16:34:00-04:00

The BlockWorks studio proves, yet again, that architects can use Minecraft as a design tool to produce rather magical results with impressive detail. The team of architects, designers, and animators envision mystical cubic worlds in response to what they refer to as "Briefs", which include commissions from YouTube personalities, gaming networks, museums, and film studios as well as original submissions to actual Minecraft design competitions.

Although the designs are largely fictional, BlockWorks draws inspiration from real-world buildings from throughout history and even structural details by today's starchitects. As expected, the team's growing portfolio is pretty spectacular, and surely retains one's attention for a good amount of time.

You can check out more of BlockWorks' projects in greater detail on their website. Also, sneak a peek at some their project trailers below or on their YouTube channel.

All images via. H/T Kotaku Australia

These artists revamp familiar U.S. landmarks into hypnotizing animations

2015-05-05T19:07:00-04:00

The Golden Gate Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, and the Space Needle come to life in a growing series of U.S. landmark animations created by illustrators Kirk Wallace and Latham Arnot t. In this collection, Wallace's background in computer science is hinted at through his signature computer icon-like style that he always balances with fun and some bright color. Then, Arnott adds the finishing touch by transforming Wallace's pictograms into hypnotizing GIFs.

The illustrations are available for purchase as prints, which Wallace prints in his studio. Perhaps these aren't your old stomping grounds or your favorite landmarks, but more cities are expected to be added over time.

Buckminster Fuller tells the tale on His Geodesic Life in a mini storybook-style audio interview

2015-03-17T13:40:00-04:00

Quoted Studios — the creators of the acclaimed animated interview series Blank on Blank — introduced The Experimenters, a brand new mini interview series that offers a peek into the minds of iconic figures in science, technology, and innovation. The first episode, which aired today, shines the spotlight on ol' Buckminster Fuller on His Geodesic Life. The other two episodes will feature anthropologist Jane Goodall and theoretical physicist Richard Feynman.

Like a storybook, the short film features a recorded audio interview with Bucky by renowned broadcaster Studs Terkel from 1965 and 1970. "Everyone aware of his work agrees that Buckminster Fuller is one of the original minds of our time," Terkel remarks in the introduction. Colorful animations by Jennifer Yoo accompany Fuller's distinctive run-on conversational style and maintain a sense of charm as Fuller talks about how his own environment — particularly his own personal struggles and painful experiences — catapulted his architect...

Deconstructing architectural icons, with gifs!

2014-06-02T14:49:00-04:00

Alex de Stampa makes tricky and delightful animations of famous contemporary structures, remixing the stale static-images circulated on architectural blogospheres. The animations are part of his "1 Week 1 Project", which you can read more about on Visual News.

Mirador Building by MVRDV and Blanca Lleo.

Zollverein School by Sanaa.

Vitrahaus by Herzog & de Meuron.

Theatre Agora by UNStudio.

Emerson College Los Angeles by Morphosis.

New Museum by Sanaa.

America’s Cup Building by David Chipperfield.

Absolute Towers by MAD.

Memory Museum by Estudio America.

Walking City: Architecture + Evolution + Movement

2014-02-11T14:04:00-05:00

Referencing the utopian visions of 1960’s architecture practice Archigram, Walking City is a slowly evolving video sculpture. The language of materials and patterns seen in radical architecture transform as the nomadic city walks endlessly, adapting to the environments she encounters.

Author: Universal Everything
Creative Director: Matt Pyke
Animation: Chris Perry
Sound: Simon Pyke

Architecture and the Unspeakable 3 - Teaser Release

2014-01-24T20:34:00-05:00

Today we released a teaser for the last installment of the Architecture and the Unspeakable video series. The full video is set to premiere in Chicago on April 8th as part of the MAS CONTEXT Spring talks for 2014. See this for more details.

Chicago - Five Great Buildings

2013-05-23T16:59:00-04:00

Chicago has many truly great buildings. It sits firmly on the map of global architecture and is the birthplace of the skyscraper. Creating a short video about just five great buildings is doing this city a massive disservice, as there are many and this is simply my thoughts.

RUIN

2012-03-22T18:22:00-04:00

An animated short set in a post-apocalyptic universe.

Plan Of The City - Skyscrapers on Mars

2011-05-31T18:40:10-04:00

Check out this new animated film, Plan Of The City, conceived and directed by Joshua Frankel, featuring flying skyscrapers from New York and Shanghai, remixed cities, the Martian landscape and a chamber ensemble. The film is, in part, a love letter to architecture, urban planing, and impossible proposals for each. It is also an experiment in extending the concept of collage through live action video and animation.