Archinect - News

Complexity over clarity? What happens when we try to sound too "smart"

2019-11-21T15:05:00-05:00

Earlier this week, I was reading a brief for an exhibition at a well-known school of architecture and something stood out to me, something that seems to be a typical case in academic circles. I read this prompt, which was probably about 500 words. At the end, I had no idea what the exhibition was about. I read it a couple more times and finally got a general sense of what they were trying to say.

The primary premise of the event could have been communicated in a clearer way, but because of the obscure word choice, bizarre passages, and melodramatic jargon, the purpose of this writing, which was to communicate the intent of the exhibition, became overwhelmingly lost.

Feynman, Einstein, and Occam's Razor

Once, David Goodstein, a colleague of the theoretical physicist Richard Feynman, said to the Nobel Prize recipient, "Dick, explain to me, so that I can understand it, why spin one-half particles obey Fermi-Dirac statistics." Feynman looked at Goodstein and said, "I'll prepare a fresh...

Mid-reviews are coming up. Don't forget these three things

2019-11-06T14:30:00-05:00

You're short on time. I know. This is a quick one. As you approach your mid-review, keep these three things in mind:

The jury is there to help you grow and get better. You're not there to prove anything to anyone, but rather to identify what you can work on and develop. Let this reduce the stigma around your presentation. Check out How to Face a Jury in Architecture School if you want to dive deeper.
Arguing isn't always the answer. It's great to stand up for our convictions as a designers, however, sometimes we need to relent and take on another way of seeing something. Go into your presentation ready to defend your idea, but also have an open mind and be willing to receive a viewpoint counter to your own. In the end, you are the judge for what you allow to take root and what you don't. Check out Better Critics Than Crickets for a closer exploration.
Take time to rehearse your presentation. We all need to organize our thoughts. Even Steve Jobs rehearsed. This doesn't have to be a dra...

One key tip to nailing your presentation

2019-10-14T08:00:00-04:00

If there is one skill we learn as architects and designers, it's how to talk. We know how to dress up our ideas and present them eloquently and compellingly. As a result, we sometimes build a tricky habit of winging presentations. This happens in school and in professional practice. Most of the time it turns out well, especially for those more seasoned practitioners.

I remember the first time I went to a client presentation when I was just starting out. A colleague of mine and myself had worked diligently on a project for a lucrative client. On the presentation day one of the principals was going to present the design scheme to this client. We briefed him on the work we had done for maybe 5 minutes or so before the meeting. To my colleague and I this concept was very complex and nuanced, after all, it took us two weeks to figure out.

In that 2 weeks this principal maybe spent about 2 hours of time working with us on this project (which is totally fine, this is to prove to the poin...

Bjarke Ingels Will Make You Believe in the Power of Architecture

2014-11-04T13:20:00-05:00

A few years ago, the city of Copenhagen invited architects to submit their ideas for the design of an important new facility—a power plant that will use trash to generate electricity. [...] BIG, pitched a concept in which the plant took the form of a giant artificial ski slope. To Ingels’ surprise, it was selected as the winning submission. Now, it’s under construction, slated for completion in 2017. The power plant was just one of the several projects Ingels shared at WIRED by Design [...].

Click here to watch the full video of Ingels' presentation.

Texas A&M architecture students design portable Ebola treatment clinics

2014-09-23T12:47:00-04:00

Design concepts for portable, rapidly deployable Ebola virus treatment clinics created by Texas A&M Master of Architecture students will be unveiled at a 2 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24 presentation on the fourth floor of the Langford Architecture Center’s Building A on the Texas A&M campus.

The final proposals of the 10 shortlisted Rebuild by Design teams

2014-04-08T17:18:00-04:00

The ten Rebuild by Design finalist teams spent the past eight months doing intensive research and engaging with local communities to find local and resilient solutions to rebuild the Eastern Seaboard cities affected by Hurricane Sandy...Each team presented their final proposals to the public at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, NJ late last week. Secretary Shaun Donovan of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will announce the winning projects later this spring.

BIG, WXY + West 8, OMA, Sasaki Associates, Interboro Partners, and notable universities are only a few of the multidisciplinary team leaders in this global group of finalists.

While we wait for the winning results, check out the final proposals below.

BIG U by the BIG team
Location: New York, New York

The Commercial Corridor Resiliency Project by HR&A Advisors, Inc. with Cooper, Robertson & Partners
Location: Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York; Far Rockaway, Queens, New York; Asbury Park, New Jersey

Living with the Bay: A Comprehensive Regional Resiliency Plan for Nassau County’s South Shore by the Interboro team
Location: Long Island, New York

New Meadowlands: Productive City + Regional Park by MIT CAU + ZUS + URBANISTEN
Location: The Meadowlands, New Jersey

Resist, Delay, Store, Discharge: A Comprehensive Strategy for Hoboken
by OMA
Location: Hoboken, New Jersey

Hunts Point Lifelines by PennDesign/OLIN
Location: Hunts Point, Bronx, NY

RESILIENCE + THE BEACH by Sasaki/Rutgers/Arup
Location: Jersey Shor...

Archinect Blogger extraordinaire, Freda Weng Chu, shares news of her architecture exhibition in Macau

2013-03-25T20:15:00-04:00

I had my first architecture exhibition early this year in Macau, China and it was the greatest experience I have ever had... The exhibition was divided into 2 halls; the primary hall included all my Graduate school work in Washington University in St. Louis - concept sketches, technical drawings, renderings and physical models. The secondary hall contained concept sketches and all my traveling / study abroad experiences in Barcelona, Spain, Brazil, Buenos Aires, Argentina and a lot more!