Archinect - News

How emerging designers find inspiration in socialist-era brutalist architecture

2018-09-19T09:00:00-04:00

Bold and unforgiving, the Brutalist landmarks and modernist housing estates which sprang up across Europe in the wake of the Second World War still dominate cities in the former Eastern bloc. [...] The Calvert Journal talked to designers and creatives across the New East who are now reclaiming socialist-era Brutalism as a driving force behind their work, changing mindsets, updating old designs for the modern age and making their own statements on gentrification, nostalgia and innovation.

The Brutalism-inspired design products by (mostly Eastern) European creatives Calvert Journal talked to range from stylish Russian flower vases to nostalgic Slovak pre-fab panelák furniture, German post-war housing cuckoo clocks, a Modernist Belgrade Map, and Polish miniature tower block building kits and Polaroid photo projects.

"Cuckoo Block" series by Guido Zimmermann, Germany.

"Brutal East" by Zupagrafika, Poland.

Find more design creations here.

Interior color schemes from iconic TV show set designs

2018-08-23T13:42:00-04:00

From the mid century modern world of Mad Men to the traditional English aristocratic look of Downton Abbey, the designs behind our favorite productions play a vital role in creating authentic backdrops viewers can delve into. Compare the Market and Neomam Studios have brought these set designs to the forefront by highlighting color schemes from some of the most iconic TV shows to air.

Take a look below at these familiar scenes with their accompanying color palettes:

Jerry's living room from Seinfeld

Don and Megan’s living room from Mad Men

The drawing room from Downton Abbey

Penny’s living room from Big Bang Theory

Ted, Marshall, Lily and Robin’s living room from How I Met Your Mother

Jess Day and roommates' living room from New Girl

Walt’s living room from Breaking Bad

Reiulf Ramstad's proposal for a multivalent, inspirational Ross Pavilion in Edinburgh

2017-06-29T14:55:00-04:00

While no one can claim that they understand where inspiration comes from, most would agree that it doesn't hurt to have an unfettered view of nature in an architecturally inventive setting. Norwegian architects Reiulf Ramstad are among the seven finalists in the Ross Pavilion International Design Competition to design a new cultural pavilion for Edinburgh's West Princes Street Gardens, and their plans reveal a glass-walled, timber-framed structure that attempts to harmoniously look toward the future while not alienating the centuries-old architecture surrounding it.

Image: Forbes Massie Studio

The result is a surprisingly timeless pavilion that encourages contemplation, relaxation, and an appreciation of the Gardens.

Image: Forbes Massie Studio

As the architects explain, "The Ross Pavilion will be the focal point of the city of Edinburgh and its many visitors, but it can also be a symbolic place for all of Scotland as well. The intervention into the Gardens ...

J Mays, Ford's head of vehicle design, discusses his architectural inspirations

2013-06-04T17:00:00-04:00

As the person in charge of design for Ford's entire vehicle porfolio, Mays looks at architecture a lot. And he's ever mindful of buildings and how they're designed whenever he sets about creating a new car or truck for Ford. What he's learned — and what he likes— about architecture, and Chicago architecture in particular, will be his focus when he joins the panel discussion "Big Ideas in Small Places" on Thursday at the Chicago Architecture Foundation.

Ideas and Inspiration from Ancient Rome

2013-04-30T11:12:00-04:00

In Australia, we tend to think of green building as ‘high tech’ and ‘high spec.’ However, if we take a look at ancient Roman structures, it is clear that green building was on display even then, and without all of the high tech innovations we have available to us in the 21st century.

Renzo Piano: my inspiration for the Shard

2012-12-31T12:18:00-05:00

Piano apparently sketched his idea on a restaurant napkin while meeting property developer Irvine Sellar in March 2000. According to Piano's architectural firm, RPBW, Sellar keeps the famous napkin in his offices. "He saw the beauty of the river and the railways and the way their energy blended and began to sketch in green felt pen on a napkin what he saw as a giant sail or an iceberg," Sellar recalled in a recent interview.

Michael Rotondi's 2012 SCI-Arc Commencement Speech

2012-09-20T17:30:00-04:00

Thanks to Michael Rotondi for providing us with the transcript from his '12 SCI-Arc commencement speech, and thanks to Orhan for bringing it to our attention.

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Now and Then
The Upside of Evolution

Good afternoon everyone –
My name is Michael Rotondi aka Roto
Parents, relatives, friends, my colleagues, Director Moss, Board of Trustees, and especially

all you in the Class of 2012 _ The 40th Graduating Class of SCI-Arc, congratulations

I represent the first Graduating Class___1973………there were ten of us, all top 10.
I have been a part of SCI-Arc for 40 years, in every capacity.
A Student, a Teacher, a Director, a Trustee, and most importantly, a member of the Family.

Throughout, I’ve been a witness to a form of Creation Itself.
A collective organism, conceived at the epicenter,
where the counter productive force of Anger
transforms into the generative power of Creativity.
Although it began as a revolution, SCI-Arc was a Love Child.

I am often asked –
How...

Winners of Inspiration HOTEL Competition Revealed

2012-08-27T14:20:00-04:00

OPENGAP has announced the winners of its international Inspiration HOTEL Ideas Competition which sought for designs of spaces that motivate creativity and concentration, allowing users to focus, inspire and develop their artistic ideas. The Jury was comprised of the architects Ricardo Agraz, Jorge Ambrosi, Salvador Macías, and Álvaro Morales.