Archinect - News

Architect Julia Koerner blends design, technology, and fashion to help Black Panther win an Oscar in best costume design

2019-02-25T14:43:00-05:00

Beyond the silver screen buzz and Hollywood glam, the Oscars highlight professionals in non-acting categories like best original soundtrack, set design, and costume design. This year, a film, which received several awards and nominations, shined through its use of 3D printing and architectural design concepts. In the film Black Panther, architect Julia Koerner used traditional techniques combined with digital technologies to create the intricate accessories worn by Queen Ramonda.

Left, a Zulu woman in the traditional headdress of a married woman; center, a conceptual costume sketch by Ms. Carter (design) and Ryan Meinerding and his team (concept artists); and right, the headdress as worn by Angela Bassett designed by Julia Koerner and Ruth Carter. Credit Getty Images; Marvel; Marvel/Disney

Inspired by African patterns presented in the initial design sketches of Ruth Carter, Koerner's Zulu hat and shoulder mantle were designed to look as though it were created by technology from the f...

This modern backyard bat house raises awareness on a natural form of pest control and bat conservation

2018-10-26T16:25:00-04:00

In response to the increasing number of mosquitoes and other pesky insects that climate change is bringing about, BatBnB is one company that wants people to be less reliant on harmful chemicals and pay attention to a more natural form of pest control: Bats!

Co-founded by Harrison Broadhurst (an architectural designer at Nomi Design) and Christopher Rännefors (a Sales & Operations Manager at Google Fiber), BatBnB designs stylish, bat expert-approved houses that mimic bats' natural habitat and provide them with a safe environment to sleep, stay, and raise their pups. With these houses, Broadhurst and Rännefors want to show that bats aren't the filthy blood-thirsty pests many people assume they are. In fact, bats can eat thousands of insects in one night, making them a better form of pest control.

Image via BatBnB.

Made from rot-resistant cedar, the BatBnB currently comes in three sleek designs and can be installed on a house, barn, pole, or tree. It c...

Art of Intervention: One-to-One #34 with architect Abraham Burickson, founder of the immersive theater company, Odyssey Works

2016-08-16T17:06:00-04:00

In the spring of 2015, we ran a Working Out of the Box feature with Abraham Burickson, the practicing architect who founded Odyssey Works—a theater company that produces performances for an audience of one, often lasting days. Participants are extensively researched and the performances are rigorously planned, so that the whole thing unfolds before them spontaneously, as they move about the world.

To Burickson, theater and architecture are one and the same—their objective is to immerse the audience, and make them feel something. And in preparation for this month’s theme of Games, it's impossible not to see Odyssey Works' performances in the same genre of experience: game-like interventions that change the way we experience the built environment.

The following interview is our conversation from February of 2015, edited for time and clarity.

Listen to One-to-One #34 with Abraham Burickson:

iTunes: Click here to listen and subscribe to the new "Archinect Sessions One-to-One" podcast
SoundCl...

Editor's Picks #410

2015-04-06T10:10:00-04:00

For the latest edition of Working out of the Box Archinect talked with Abraham Burickson , founder of Odyssey Works.

He explained "Architecture school required total commitment, and in Odyssey Works that’s the case as well – absolute, total commitment. Because otherwise nothing new is possible, and it’s almost not worth it, that was the other thing I walked out of architecture with, that it’s not really worth it to go into any project without a total commitment."

Donna Sink commented "This was a great read, and I really appreciate the very close links to architecture and daily experience that somehow moves you out of a set mindframe and into a new one. Mr. Burickson is an excellent example of how it can be beneficial to get degrees in (or learn a lot about) other disciplines and apply a more general knowledge to our experience of living in a built world."

News

Reacting to the latest iteration of Peter Zumthor's design for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Evan Chakroff criticized "...

Editor's Picks #394

2014-11-21T12:30:00-05:00

The latest edition of Working out of the Box: featured Hendo Hoverboard inventor and co-founder of Arx Pax , Greg Henderson. You can hear the full interview with Greg with his wife Jill, co-founder of Arx Pax, as part of episode 4 of Archinect Sessions here. Click here to subscribe.

Meanwhile, the latest Showcase: - No.4 High School Fangshan Campus is located in Beijing and designed by local firm OPEN Architecture.

News
On episode 5 of Archinect Sessions co-host/NJIT grad Ken Koense took issue with NJIT's statement against Kean University's upcoming Michael Graves School of Architecture. Listen to Koense's take on NJIT's statement, or download the whole episode here.

Sebastian Mlekicki argued "Including NJIT there are already 7 NCARB accredited architecture schools in a 25 mile radius of NJIT, and there here have been less students signing up for architecture in NJ all together. How is adding another program economically feasible?".

On a visit to Cleveland, Monica Ponce de Leon made...

Editor's Picks #393

2014-11-14T13:38:00-05:00

"394,000 US$!! This is the budget of homes in America that are 1/10th of this quality. Perhaps it's for two people, who are empty nesters, and entertain for a large extended family. The simplicity of materials and form, is exceedingly elegant". - b3tadine[sutures]

The latest edition of Showcase: features Slate House, located on a site in Laval, a suburb of Montreal. Designed by Affleck de la Riva architects, it stands in sharp contrast to the tract houses that surround it.

b3tadine[sutures] exclaims "394,000 US$!! This is the budget of homes in America that are 1/10th of this quality. Perhaps it's for two people, who are empty nesters, and entertain for a large extended family. The simplicity of materials and form, is exceedingly elegant".

As part of Archinect’s continuing ACADIA 2014 coverage Amelia Taylor-Hochberg reviews the keynote by creator of SimCity Will Wright's, which she labels "almost a exegesis".

News
Mark Minkjan spoke with Rory Hyde re: the ongoing relevancy of the profession and Future Practice. Darkman felt the need to clarify "Most architects I know build schools, hospitals, churches, malls, apartment buildings etc. It's just the media that feeds us the Versaces...and Ivy League universities".

The Wall Street Journal published...

Editor's Picks #391

2014-10-30T23:30:00-04:00

In Screen/Print #26: an interview with Jessica Walsh, currently half of design firm Sagmeister & Walsh , was excerpted, from the 2nd issue of Intern Magazine (devoted to "intern culture" in the creative industries).

Darkman was confused "Strange choice to interview the most hated designer in the world for Intern magazine...She almost brags about not paying interns...Reads like PR I've already read". Similarly Mr_Wiggin wrote "seems, to me, diametric to the message Intern Magazine should be publishing".

Malaysia-born Melbourne-based sculptor Daniel Dorall spoke with Archinect for the latest installment of Working out of the Box. He finished up his Bachelor of Architecture at the University of Melbourne in 2005, as he explains that now

"In a nutshell, I make miniature objects out of cardboard – it usually takes the form of the maze...creating walk through maze-installations". midlander felt the work was "Fantastic! Witty and meticulous".

News
Anthony Morey attended Acadia Conference of 20...

Editor's Picks #387

2014-10-02T12:29:00-04:00

For the latest edition of Working out of the Box: Archinect talked with Adora Lo, Architect turned Pro LEGO Builder.

They discussed the "challenge of keeping it LEGO legal" and the satisfaction of designing a "Star Wars building in LEGO". midlander was impressed "That Boston model...The Lego version of 111 Huntington is nicer than the real one!"

Plus, Amelia Taylor-Hochberg shared the debut issue of ‘LOBBY ’, The Bartlett School of Architecture ’s new architecture magazine, for Screen/Print #25.

News
The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) announced that it will be making significant changes to its Intern Development Program (IDP). Separate from other considerations to change the IDP's terminology, this decision chiefly includes two phases: (1) the removal of "elective" hourly requirements, and (2) condensing IDP's experience areas from the current 17 into six "practice-based categories".

The general consensus seemed to be underwhelmed - midlander quipped "So......

Editor's Picks #381

2014-08-19T20:36:00-04:00

Nicholas Korody penned, Shitting Architecture: the dirty practice of waste removal. Therein drawing lessons; from Slavoj Zizek on the toilet and Timothy Morton (of Object-Oriented Ontology [OOO]) on sustainability as the preservation of the status quo, he argues that "Under the weight of the ecological crisis, the world has been flattened. There is no exit".

In response, Orhan Ayyüce offered up an image of the sublimely absurd, "I am always baffled by big houses that are marketed with +5.5 bathrooms (very common in wealthy neighborhoods) and so on. And of course these host extremely hi end living styles. It is kind of funny to think all these people do all day is shit and shit and shit everywhere in the house".

For the latest edition of Working out of the Box: Archinect featured Francis Tsai, of Francis Tsai Illustration and Concept Design, who received a Master's degree in 1993 from University of Texas in Austin.

Xenaxis "worked with Francis Tsai at Rockstar games and he was one of t...

Editor's Picks #370

2014-06-04T15:36:00-04:00

The latest edition of the Working out of the Box series featured Daniel Carper , Product Designer at Loaded Boards and Orangatang Wheels. Thayer-D was impressed "Very cool stuff. I've often wondered about the intersection of industrial design and architecture".

Plus, Amelia discusses TELOS: The Fantastic World of Eugene Tssui, a documentary in which Kyung Lee explore what "Tssui’s outsider status means in the shifting waters of architectural discourse, as the architect seeks approval for his TELOS project".

News

R.I.P - Massimo Vignelli, the award-winning designer, who died at the age of 83 after a long-term illness.

The LA Times published Christopher Hawthorne’s review of 9/11 Memorial Museum, in which he writes "The intensity, scope and sheer unrelenting literalism of this approach marks a significant change in how we choose to mark national trauma".

EKE chimed in "I think the museum was a bad idea on this site. ..I do think that the site is a sacred one because of the deaths that ha...

Editor's Picks #364

2014-04-22T21:24:00-04:00

For the latest edition of the Working out of the Box feature Archinect talked with Emily Fischer, Founder of Haptic Lab.

In the interview she explains how she started "The very first quilted map I made was designed to be a wayfinding tool for the visually impaired; my mother was diagnosed with glaucoma and macular degeneration while I was a student at TCAUP”.

Fred Scharmen commented "Those kites are amazing!".

Meanwhile issue #12 of Screen/Print highlighted The Cairo Review's "Future of the City" along with One:Twelve (the student-run journal from the Knowlton School of Architecture) seventh issue, Black and White.

News
As demolition of the Folk Art Museum began Amelia and Paul moderated a conversation between Archinect Contributors Ken Koense and Donna Sink, Quilian Riano and Lee Rosenbaum, who writes about art museums for the Wall Street Journal.

vado retro was curious "Would we have the same outrage say if a hospital were the ones tearing down the FAM...Our response of outrage is a...

Editor's Picks #353

2014-02-05T14:37:00-05:00

For the latest edition of Working out of the Box, Archinect talked with Miguel McKelvey, Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer at WeWork. He just so happened to study architecture at University of Oregon with Paul Petrunia, Archinect's founder!

Mr. McKelvey explains "I have applied what I learned in architecture to pretty much every aspect of building a business - and for the right person, I would make the argument that architecture is a better preparation for being an entrepreneur than business school is".

Meanwhile edition #6 of Screen/Print an experiment in translation across media, highlights MONU's 19th issue, Greater Urbanism.

News

Archinect contributors / Parsons MArch students Ayesha Ghosh and Alex Stewart attended a panel discussion regarding MoMA expansion and Folk Museum demolition. The event was hosted jointly by the Architectural League, the Municipal Art Society, and the AIA's New York chapter and everyone in the audience missed the State of the Union address.

Ayesha and Alex...

Editor's Picks #341

2013-11-12T19:20:00-05:00

Beth Rosenthal penned an Op-Ed - Millennials and Opportunity: Embracing Intentional vs Spontaneous Change in the Workforce. In the piece she puts a challenge/question to her contemporaries; "What if rather than changing jobs or companies, you tried to change the system or culture within your existing work environment?...as our generation of millennials 'grows up' a little bit, and decides to potentially (just maybe?!) settle down a bit, how do we identify opportunities to yield change through a thoughtful investment of time and commitment?".

Steven Ward agreed with the gist but added "i think there is value in change at the beginning of your career…later on, stability is good…but don't just stick to stick. find a situation that you value, that makes you want to become rooted and engaged in a more committed way".

Plus, the latest edition of the Working out of the Box featured Liz von Hasseln, one part of the husband-and-wife team and 3D sugar-printing design firm, The Sugar ...

Editor's Picks #328

2013-08-14T13:58:00-04:00

In the latest edition of the Working out of the Box series Archinect interviewed Brooklyn-based designer & artist Doug Johnston. His current profession is creating "objects by stitching rope together" and he explains "I guess sometime early on, I realized that my design work wouldn't be limited to buildings or objects, but would extend to the ‘design’ or planning of a functioning business and studio practice. This guided my choice to work in smaller offices so that I could have more exposure to the nuts and bolts of generating income managing workflow and cashflow, etc...Being able to apply design thinking to the business structure itself has been really exciting and helpful".

Thayer-D liked what he saw "Really beautiful stuff. It makes me think it would be incredibly useful to have architecture students actually build things besides models during school. If only to get a tactile understanding of what their drawings might be and what goes into realizing them".

News
Over ...

Editor's Picks #317

2013-05-28T19:03:00-04:00

In the latest edition of Working out of the Box: Archinect interviewed Larraine Henning who is currently seeking funding for A Practical Guide to Squatting on Indiegogo. @bawshaw commented "@LandMass - agreed. although the thesis is interesting, this is not out of the box in terms of a career"...Yet Connely Farr disagreed "@ LandMass - yep. you sound like an ass".

In the latest edition of Working out of the Box: Archinect interviewed Larraine Henning who is currently seeking funding for A Practical Guide to Squatting on Indiegogo. Buy a copy of the book “A Practical Guide to Squatting”, and help support independent art and promote the squatting movement! During the interview, she reflected "I think the most valuable thing architecture school bestowed upon me was tolerance and persistence...School taught me to bear conviction and purpose with whatever project I take on, to be earnest and to take judgement in stride"...

@bawshaw commented "@LandMass - agreed. although the thesis is interesting, this is not out of the box in terms of a career. half of my graduating class ended up taking similar paths; more as a product of the recession than anything else. these paths may be alternative to the modern career, but not to architecture specifically. i do applaud her for doing what she believes in".

Yet Connely Farr disagreed "@ LandMass - yep. ...

Danish Architect Maps Every Plane, Helicopter Shot Down by Syrian Rebels

2012-10-22T17:29:00-04:00

a Danish architect and part-time aviation journalist is mapping each claimed shoot-down of Assad’s jets and helicopters, resulting in the first running tabulation of the cost — at least in terms of machinery — of the escalating Syrian air war. Bjørn Holst Jespersen’s map, sponsored by journalist David Cenciotti’s blog The Aviationist, marks 19 possible “kills” by rebel forces, as reported in the press or seen in YouTube videos.