Archinect - News

Your next role could be with Kardashian and Abloh collaborators Food Architects

2023-12-27T12:27:00-05:00

Following last week’s look at an opening for a Senior Architect at Zuru Group, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for a Project Manager at Food Architects DPC.

The role, based in Chinatown, New York, calls for an individual with a bachelor’s degree in architecture, along with over five years of experience in all phases of the design process, from concept and schematic design through design development, construction documents, and construction administration. The candidate must also have experience managing a team of designers, and excellent skills in organization, client communications, project scheduling, and consultant coordination.

Applications for the role close on December 31st, 2023.

West Kardashian Calabasas House. Image credit: Food Architects

Why the role interests us

The role at Food Architects offers us the opportunity to profile a firm that has produced architectural works for an eclectic selection of cl...

Travis Scott wants to pursue architecture at Harvard GSD when he retires from music

2023-05-27T08:00:00-04:00

Travis Scott has revealed that he plans to attend the illustrious Harvard University to study architecture once his rapping days are done. La Flame covered the latest issue of PIN-UP magazine on Wednesday (May 24) where he showcased his love for all things design from A-Z.

For PIN-UP’s Issue 34, Scott spells out his design principles across every letter of the alphabet, displayed through a visually exciting collection of photographs where the artist’s body replicated and contorted to make up the letters. "A" for him is "Architecture," in which he states: "Architecture is my true passion. I plan to apply to the architecture program at Harvard GSD when I’m done with music, which won’t be for a while. It would be dope to do both at the same time."

In 2018, Scott guest-lectured at Harvard, where he provided a master class on creativity to 500 students.

hey @trvisXX, get an early start on your architecture education at #A23Con DM us for a pass! https://t.co/14GlusB7w5
— AIA National (@AIANational) May 26, 2023

In addition to announcing his future plans, the rapper notes his appreciation for Brutalism and Postmodernism, along with Zaha Hadid. He also mentions how great of an inspiration the late multi-hyphenate Virgil Abloh has been to him, which can explai...

Royal College of Art establishes a new scholarship fund named for the late design visionary Virgil Abloh

2022-11-07T13:35:00-05:00

The Royal College of Art has recently unveiled a new scholarship named for its late visiting professor and designer, Virgil Abloh.

The £35,000 (about $40,000) RCA Virgil Abloh Scholarship will cover the full tuition and fees for talented Black British students facing financial restrictions who are interested in studying any program at the London institution’s School of Design.

The scholarship also provides important networking and professional opportunities to students as supported by Abloh’s former creative partner Samuel Ross and additional parties in various creative industries across the UK.

Previously on Archinect: Virgil Abloh announces new $1 million scholarship fund for Black fashion students

An RCA press release indicated its intention to “recognize Abloh’s support for education, his career-long ethos of using his practice to create social change and his position as a renowned champion for equality of opportunity.”

The school also says the money will “help break down barrier...

The first posthumous Virgil Abloh retrospective will showcase at the Brooklyn Museum this summer

2022-02-10T12:57:00-05:00

This summer, the Brooklyn Museum will stage a version of the first institutional survey dedicated to the late fashion designer and creative visionary Virgil Abloh. The show, titled “Virgil Abloh: Figures of Speech,” will build on an earlier exhibition of the same name that originated at the MCA Chicago in 2019, and then traveled to ICA Boston, the High Museum in Atlanta, and Qatar Museums.

The Brooklyn Museum’s showcase of the exhibit is organized by writer and curator Antwaun Sargent and will be Abloh’s first posthumous retrospective since his passing at the age of 41 in November.

Originally a mid-career survey, “Virgil Abloh: Figures of Speech,” designed by AMO director Samir Bantal, explores two decades of Abloh’s prolific career that saw the creative merge the gaps between seemingly disparate realms, including streetwear, high fashion, architecture, and music.

Previously on Archinect: AMO's exhibition for Virgil Abloh opens in Chicago

The exhibition will be on view at the Brooklyn Museum from July 1, 2022, through January 29, 2023.

Virgil Abloh, visionary in design and fashion, passes away at 41 following cancer battle

2021-11-28T15:43:00-05:00

The acclaimed designer Virgil Abloh has passed away at the age of 41 after a two-year battle with cancer. The American designer and entrepreneur was originally trained as an architect, but his impact on the design world was felt throughout fashion, interior design, music, and product design.

While a student of the Master in Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Abloh developed an interest in fashion having been partly inspired by a Rem Koolhaas building under construction at the campus. Following collaborations with Kanye West, Abloh founded the high-end streetwear brand Off-White in 2013. In 2018, he become the artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear ready-wear line, while one year later, he was appointed to the board of directors of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

Related on Archinect: AMO-designed new flagship for Virgil Ab...

AMO-designed new flagship for Virgil Abloh's Off-White has opened in Paris

2021-07-06T20:57:00-04:00

A new collaboration between OMA/AMO and design icon Virgil Abloh has opened in Paris this past weekend, giving the 9-year-old Off-White brand a flagship location in the couture capital’s 1st arrondissement.

The store is the second project from AMO and the famed designer after opening a Miami location at the end of last summer. The two had previously paired on a retrospective exhibition of Abloh’s work held at the MCA Chicago in 2019.

Off-White founder and creative director Abloh told Hypebeast he views the new flagship as “an incubator for new talent, a cultural connector within the community, and an experimental laboratory of creativity and innovation.”

The three-floor retrofitted 19th-century space features a ground floor with a dedicated wing for Nike products, gallery space, and two contrasting retail areas meant to “amplify the voices of the community” and evoke bygone Parisian flea markets respectively.

The remaining two f...

From +Pool and works for West to 'New Spaces of Justice'

2021-04-19T20:41:00-04:00

As a young architect in the 2010s she was working with clients like Kanye West, designing everything from his Parisian apartment to a seven-screen audio-visual experience...A few years later alongside Wong, she designed that iconic mountain that split in half and turned into a volcano during the Yeezus Tour in 2013.

@Lei_Takanashi profiles Oana Stănescu, who now runs her own eponymous multifaceted practice, after her and her partner Wong decided to close Family New York in 2018.

#025YEZ by Oana Stanescu & Dong-Ping Wong

h/t @LaoluRG

Dieter Rams’ Wandanlage hi-fi audio wall unit is reimagined in collaboration between Virgil Abloh and Braun

2021-03-18T15:19:00-04:00

In celebration of its 100th anniversary, German consumer products company, Braun, has teamed up with Chief Creative Officer and founder of Off-White and artistic director of Louis Vuitton Menswear, Virgil Abloh, to reimagine one of the brand’s most iconic products.

Dieter Rams' classic Wandanlage hi-fi audio wall unit has been reimagined by Virgil Abloh. All Images courtesy of Braun.

This unique collaboration sees the infusion of Abloh’s personal influences and design language into the classic 1965 Wandanlage hi-fi audio wall unit, originally designed by German industrial designer, Dieter Rams. Transformed into a piece of “functional art”, the Wandanlage has been transported into 2021 with an updated polished chrome finish. This new, lustrous coating reflects the parallel between Braun’s polished chrome design aesthetic and the style of Abloh’s cultural and music references of the past 100 years.

Dieter Rams' classic Wandanlage hi-fi audio wall unit has been reimagined by Virgil Ab...

Virgil Abloh announces new $1 million scholarship fund for Black fashion students

2020-07-09T15:35:00-04:00

Virgil Abloh announced today that he has raised $1 million to support Black students through the Virgil Abloh™️ "Post-Modern" Scholarship Fund. This new offering will be managed in partnership with the Fashion Scholarship Fund (FSF), a fashion-oriented education and workforce development nonprofit.

According to Abloh's team, the fund's mission is to foster equity and inclusion within the fashion industry by providing scholarships to students of academic promise of Black, African-American, or African descent. The "Post Modern" name is meant to represent that recipients will also be provided with access to career support services and mentoring in addition to the funds.

Previously on Archinect: "The Manifold Transparencies of Virgil Abloh." Photo by Fabien Montique.

"I've always been passionate about giving the next generation of students the same foundation for success that was given to me," said Abloh in a statement. "That's why I'm excited to launch this Fund in partnership with the ...

Virgil Abloh has created a playlist for us while working from home

2020-03-25T12:26:00-04:00

Working from home has its ups and its downs. Perhaps one of those positives is the freedom to listen to whatever we desire without the judgment or disruption of co-workers. Sure, this was possible in the office, but the accompanied setting of one's own home adds a certain level of personalization not present otherwise. But, we've all found ourselves in those moments searching for something new, looking to escape the repetitive cycle of music in our digital libraries.

Previously featured on Archinect: The Manifold Transparencies of Virgil Abloh

For something new, check out Virgil Abloh's stay-at-home playlist for your listening enjoyment. "I always have music playing in the background of pretty much everything I do," Abloh told Vogue. As the former deejay works from home he too, must find ways to tap into his creativity, and music serves as one of those mediums.

The playlist contains a wide array of different styles and tastes. "This is the latest batch of what I’m listening to," A...

Virgil Abloh will be the keynote speaker for the AIA 2020 conference

2020-02-11T18:23:00-05:00

Virgil Abloh, the artistic director for Louis Vuitton's menswear collection who has positioned himself as quite the polymath, has been announced as the keynote speaker for the 2020 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Conference on Architecture. On May 14th, Abloh will sit for an interview with keynote host Roman Mars of 99% Invisible to discuss "democratic design and intellectualizing the mundane" at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Previously on Archinect: The Manifold Transparencies of Virgil Abloh. "...Abloh is himself trained as an architect...and has since gone on to describe the lessons learned and architecture studied during these years as crucial to his current success." - Shane Reiner-Roth. Shown: A fashion shoot styled by Virgil Abloh in the Barcelona Pavilion, by Mies van der Rohe. Photo by Fabien Montique.

Abloh has earned degrees in both architecture and engineering. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Mad...

Virgil Abloh's latest concrete collection reminds us how an architecture education can push creativity

2020-02-10T11:50:00-05:00

Recognized as the creative world's "jack of all trades," Virgil Abloh's multidisciplinary approach to design has positioned him as one of the industry's top rising talents. Over the last decade, his impact on the music and fashion industries has quickly created a robust following for the 39-year-old designer. Abloh's most recent venture outside of the fashion world pivots away from clothing, slightly, and toward concrete furniture pieces that retain his trademark nods to street culture.

Image © Morgane Le Gall. Courtesy of Galerie kreo

Abloh's furniture collection, "Efflorescence," showcases seats, coffee tables, and vases crafted from hard, concrete shapes embellished with bright graffiti and porous geometries. In addition, companion pieces include large, steel mirrors filled with holes that offer wavy and distorted reflections. The Brutalist-lite collection includes a total of 20 pieces on display at Galerie kreo in Paris, France. A...

Virgil Abloh teams up with IKEA for a new limited collection

2019-10-10T14:00:00-04:00

MARKERAD collection, a collaboration between IKEA x Virgil Abloh...This range stylishly fuses functionality with street cred and high cultural references, it brings you statement pieces that challenge tradition. The collection of 15 pieces consists of a range of fashion-forward homewares that cater towards fluid and contemporary living, including a day bed, table, chair, mirror, lighting, bed textiles, cabinet and accessories.

"It’s about elevating the anonymous, everyday icons that we use without noticing. When we put a doorstop on one of the legs of an ordinary chair we create something unexpected – an interruption," said Abloh about the collection.

MOCA Chicago celebrates Virgil Abloh's career outside of architecture

2019-08-21T18:11:00-04:00

I doubt that Virgil Abloh is ever going to design a building, even if Rem Koolhaas, Hon. FAIA, the most successful spotter of talent in allied fields that architecture has seen in the last century, has added him to his stable of associates...

The famous Louis Vuitton designer has carved out an impressive career for himself, working as a DJ and advisor to Kanye West in addition to producing "furniture, performance sets, art work, and graphic design projects." Despite receiving his Master of Architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 2006, Abloh has foregone a traditional path in architecture for a more multidisciplinary one.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago has a current exhibition about Abloh's near 15 year career that will run until September 22, 2019.

AMO's exhibition for Virgil Abloh opens in Chicago

2019-06-18T14:23:00-04:00

Polymath designer Virgil Abloh's 12 Figures of Speech exhibition has opened at the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art. The exhibition was designed by Samir Bantal, director of AMO, the research and design arm of Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA).

A screen-printed temple front. Image by Nathan Keay, Courtesy of MCA Chicago

3D-printed models wearing 3D-printed clothing. Image by Nathan Keay, Courtesy of MCA Chicago

The exhibition highlights Illinois Institute of Technology-trained designer's relentlessly inventive creative efforts, enterprises that include works of fashion, painting, sculpture, and furniture design. A mix of high- and low-culture, found and bespoke objects, the exhibition presents a multi-faceted vision into Abloh's creative process and output.

One gallery, for example, contains frameless photographic prints depicting Abloh's couture designs. There, matte black walls and a domed ceiling frame images that touch on elements of racial politics in fashion and art, ...

Virgil Abloh's take on the future of retail design could be another stepping stone for Nike

2019-06-03T12:51:00-04:00

Called the NikeLab Chicago Re-Creation Center, the space feels like being inside a giant Nike shoebox designed by Abloh himself. It features the self-aware, over-indexed print labeling that Abloh is known for. The Re-Creation Center sign itself has “for promotional use only” printed on top. The rest of the space’s irony is more subtle, or arguably nonexistent.

Virgil Abloh is a name that's grown synonymous with what is trending in design and fashion. A connoisseur of creating new things from the simplest of concepts, Abloh's collaboration with Nike has emphasized his influence not only in design but in design culture. Having worked with some of the biggest names in fashion, the arts, and sports, it's not hard to imagine Abloh's dive into retail design.

Nike's new Re-Creation store in Chicago focuses on the celebration of merging sustainability with experiential design. With online shoppingtaking over the consumer market brands like Nike have teamed with architects and influential designs like Abloh to take a new and improved approach to the concept of retail design.

From the walls to the chairs in the space, the concept of "re-creation" is all around the store. The walls of the store are lined with shoeboxes and the other pieces in the store are made from "Grind," a material Nike coined which consists of ...

AMO designs Virgil Abloh exhibition for the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

2019-05-16T14:11:00-04:00

As an architecture student-turn-fashion designer, Virgil Abloh has famously straddled the line between the two professions. An exhibition of his work, which has been described as 'ultramodern' and 'genre-bending,' will highlight this Interdisciplinarity at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA), starting June 10th.

Off-White™ c/o Virgil Abloh, Spring/Summer 2017, Look 30; Courtesy of Off-White™ c/o Virgil Abloh. Photo: Fabien Montique.

The exhibition will be designed in part by Samir Bantal, the director of AMO, OMA’s research wing, and curated by Michael Darling. Bantal has expressed that the exhibition will focus on the different worlds Virgil moves in: Architecture, Fashion, Design, Music and Art. After the show's opening, there are plans for it to travel internationally and become part of an ongoing collaboration between AMO and Abloh.

Virgil Abloh, “Material Table,“ 2016. Courtesy of the artist.

AMO has previously provided creative input for exhibitions on fashion, includin...

Archinect Outpost is now stocking Real Review 8, featuring interviews with Virgil Abloh and Chelsea Manning

2019-03-28T12:08:00-04:00

10 copies of the newest issue of cult favorite magazine Real Review have recently arrived at Archinect Outpost. With a focus that straddles the line between design and politics and a memorable tagline ('What it means to live today'), Real Review has quickly developed a following.

Spread of Real Review 8 featuring readymades by Nicole Mclaughlin.

Of particular interest with the newest issue is its surprising list of contributors. The issue starts off with an interview conducted between Real Review editor-in-chief Jack Self and Chelsea Manning, the former United States Army soldier who famously disclosed nearly 750,000 military and diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks. Given that the theme of issue 8 is 'Against from Within,' Self asks Manning about her exposure of military secrets while under its employment. "We are increasingly seeing risky and aggressive confrontational approaches to activism," she responded.

Spread of Real Review 8 featuring images from Virgil Abloh

Further into the is...