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How connected do architects still feel to the profession? More Dear Architecture letters explore that question

2015-09-23T18:02:00-04:00

While it's just as important to have serious discussions about the future of architecture, so is taking a hard, honest look at its present state. And if the letters from the recently concluded "Dear Architecture" competition indicate anything about how individual architects perceive the field right now, things are looking bleak.

Organized by Blank Space, the competition invited entrants to write an approximately 500-word letter addressed to Architecture, whether as a concept, a social practice, or a community. The 12 Honorable Mention entries, although written as seemingly fictional anecdotes, consistently expressed feelings of disconnection with architecture — topped with a melancholic tone that is just yearning for the better.

Read the 12 Honorable Mentions in their entirety (listed in no particular ranking):

1. Aditya Ghosh

"Dear Architecture,

It’s paper, exactly 9 inches wide and 15 inches high. It’s two dimensional, flat and featureless. A shade of white that is incapable of any ex...

Eco-Porn Competition results expose the sassy side of green architecture

2013-12-20T14:29:00-05:00

Participants in Reality Cues' cheeky Eco-Porn Competition got to have some fun with the green architecture trend. But since there weren't enough submissions to go through with the full judging process, only Honorable Mentions were given.

Here's a handful of the entries that piqued our interest:

Floramorphism: Bloominating Inorganic Objects by BanG studio – Babak Bryan & Henry Grosman

If Robert Moses had his way in 1941… by Ida Tam

Tower of Babel by Feliks Bochenek

The Green Roof Trope by Eric Karasek

Kinesis Honorable Mention 2013 Burnham Prize Competition

2013-06-24T11:56:00-04:00

This honorable mention was described by the jury as an elegant and sleek design with smart and innovative use of materials and good integration of elements.

KINESIS
Chicago BRT iconic stations design
Design Team: Natassa Lianou, Ermis Chalvatzis

Kinesis project, proposes dynamic and iconic light weight structures which land into the city of Chicago and create unique stations for the new BRT network. Since Chicago has a rich architectural and innovative engineering heritage, the BRT stations must consist contemporary statements of Chicago 's on-going evolution. Thus, the design is inspired from the speed and fluidity of contemporary urban life, while it presents a signature statement and brand identity of the BRT operation into Chicago streets.

The structure is consisted from the solid platform/ground, the roof/tensile membrane and the in-between glazing stripe, where these three elements blend together to produce extra features such as seating areas, ticket turnstiles, recycling bins, real-time passenger info display, landscape. Everything is connected and integrated into a unique design language able to represent the hig...