Archinect - News

Christophe Benichou designs extreme balconies for extreme climbers

2019-12-06T18:12:00-05:00

The Verdon Gorge is one of the most popular climbing destinations in France. As climbers ascend the limestone cliff walls of the canyon they are able to look down upon the Verdon River that shoots through the void. With over 1,000 feet to scale, climbers are likely to want a place to rest and regroup along the way. That's where Christophe Benichou Architectures comes in.

Verdon Balconies. All renderings via Christophe Benichou Architectures

Called Verdon Balconies, the group has conceived a theoretical resting space for climbers of the gorge. "At the heart of this vertical universe, suspended platforms offer a welcome horizontal rest. They can welcome climbers for a simple break or for the night, basically sheltered from the wind and the falls of stone," the studio writes about the project. The structures are entirely metallic, offering a light minimalist product for the fatigued seeking refuge.

HofmanDujardin imagines a Funerary Center that offers a contemporary, peaceful space for celebrating the deceased

2018-07-20T16:01:00-04:00

Many funerary homes still around these days typically feel stuffy and gravely outdated, like you suddenly stepped back into a previous century. Based on their personal experiences, architects Michiel Hofman and Barbara Dujardin of the Amsterdam-based firm HofmanDujardin took their own approach to this typology by designing the Contemporary Funerary Center.

According to the architects, the design concept responds to the lack of modernized funerary spaces that bring a sense of ease to the bereaved. Immersed in a lush landscape, the 1,600 m2 building features a calming, pared down aesthetic with wide panoramic windows that bring in ample natural light and views of the surrounding landscape. A sequence of three rooms are shaped around a central area where a coffin can be placed.

Rendering: VEROVisuals.

In the first room, the family, friends, and guests are enclosed by a “memory wall”, a multimedia screen that displays a collage of photos and videos of their loved ...

Architects + artists conceive of the world differently than other people, study reveals

2017-07-06T12:39:00-04:00

In a study conducted by UCL and Bangor University researchers in which people were shown a Google Street View, a painting of St. Peter's Basilica and a surreal computer generated image, architects, sculptors and painters consistently conceptualized of the space differently than those with no background in these professions. As this article in Science Daily explains:

The painters tended to shift between describing the scene as a 3D space or as a 2D image. Architects were more likely to describe barriers and boundaries of the space, and used more dynamic terms, while sculptors' responses were between the two. Painters and architects also differed in how they described the furthest point of the space, as painters called it the 'back' and architects called it the 'end.' The control participants gave less elaborate responses, which the authors say went beyond just a lack of expert terminology.

Watch "Ex of IN House," an unusual, compelling new video from Steven Holl

2017-01-24T12:43:00-05:00

Poetry, abstracted Venn diagrams of spheres, and a love for natural materials are just some of the components that go into this video from Steven Holl, who acts as a kind of a hyper-thoughtful Huell Howser as he explores a gorgeous new home parented primarily by concept. Entitled "Ex of IN House," the video explores the formulation, execution, and daily reality of a home built on a splendor of acreage in Rhinebeck, New York. Likening program to a bunch of bananas, Holl advocates for abstraction in the design process, explaining that with the concept of IN, "all space is sacred." With a soundtrack that seems to combine the plinkiness of Thomas Newman with the urgency of Clint Mansell, it's a bit of a wonder (click here to view).

One brick per Bible verse in Napp Studio's enormous, lightbulb-infused "Archive of Light"

2017-01-05T14:44:00-05:00

The imaginary realm of architecture frequently ventures off into scales that are improbable, if not outright impossible, on the politically and gravitationally constrained Earth (think Étienne-Louis Boullée, or Lebbeus Woods). In a similar if less secular vein, Napp Studio has conceived of an enormous, walkable brick wall that would feature every verse of the bible and/or other spiritual texts inscribed on titled, lightbulb-illuminated bricks. The idea here is to create the sensation of leafing through a book page by page, with each page being loosely represented by a brick.

As the architects note, "The bricks are books written with text of living stories of the everyday reality, yet, a reality with hope. Hope is the most significant spiritual grain we rely on when facing the sometime harsh life, it provides us with strength and will – the light to live on." The massive scale of the project does not place it beyond the realm of the possible, although there's no word yet of an officia...

Would you cross these bridges? Check out a few Nine Elms to Pimlico Bridge entries for London's River Thames

2015-02-24T20:44:00-05:00

As part of the Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea Opportunity Area Planning Framework, London's Borough of Wandsworth has its sights on constructing a new pedestrian bridge across the River Thames, between the two very distinct districts of Nine Elms and Pimlico. Quite evidently, the teams currently in the Nine Elm to Pilmico Bridge competition aren't holding back their imaginations.

Launched this past December, the competition invited multidisciplinary teams worldwide to conjure up a design concept that would serve as a basis for the final design of the bridge for construction -- if the project even gets to that point. The competition organizers state on their website that they're not looking for a specific design, but rather the best team that shows the strongest capability of designing the landmark bridge.

Out of the 74 schemes from Stage One, we picked out a few that caught our attention:

↑ Scheme 70

↑ Scheme 60

↑ Scheme 62

↑ Scheme 04

↑ Scheme 43

↑ Scheme 08

↑ Scheme 80

↑ Scheme 10

↑ Scheme 29

↑...

Think of sunnier days ahead with this floating "Walk-On" balcony

2015-02-11T15:07:00-05:00

On a regular office workday when the weather is fair, it can be hard to resist stepping outside to take a quick breather. The designers of Zalewski Architecture Group from Gliwice, Poland found themselves in a similar mindset as they looked out onto the dreary courtyard outside from their third-floor office. Then came the idea for the "Walk-on" balcony.

At only 80 cm wide, the narrow grassy pathway whirls and intertwines with itself while suspended in the air, latching itself to the walls of the surrounding buildings. It also features a polished metal palate underneath that mirrors its surroundings. Unless you're afraid of heights or are seeking a little adventure, the pathway "allows for a relaxing walk 'from office to office'" and adds some whimsical fun to the courtyard, as described by the designers.

With spring and summer outdoor events around the corner, the Zalewski Group's idea of the "Walk-on" balcony has potential to be fully realized into an interactive installation. From t...

Winners of the Competition of Competitions

2014-05-08T17:44:00-04:00

The winners were finally revealed for Storefront's Competition of Competitions, where entrants got to question the boundaries and shortcomings of competition brief formats by writing their very own. From the 18 finalists announced back in February, the jury picked 4 prize-winning projects, 7 honorable mentions, and a Storefront Special Prize.

All selected projects will be publicized and given support to reach the pertinent agents and authorities. The Storefront Special Prize winner will get to run their submitted competition as part of the 2014 Storefront for Art and Architecture program calendar.

Below are the winning competition briefs:

1ST PLACE WINNER - US$2,000: Deploy Yourself, Not Your Designs
By The Coalition for the Improvement of Refugee Camps (Marcy Monroe & Lee Dykxhoorn)
2ND PLACE WINNER - US$1,000: Labyrinth
By grey_matter(s) (Annie Charleston William McCommon Megan McDonough Shota Vashakmadze)
3RD PLACE JOINT WINNER - US$500: Amazonia 2020
By Civic Projects (Kati Rubinyi, Deborah Richmond , Michael Powell, Ewan E. Branda)
3RD PLACE JOINT WINNER - US$500: Open Source Open Space: Hacking the Built Environment
By Boot/Trunk (Nicole Lindahl, Louise Mackie and Samantha Senn)

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

The City is The Room. The Room is The City by FormFictionFormat [Elena Palacios Carral, Manijeh Verghese]
dePOLITIsign: An open ...

A recap on the Unbuilt Visions Exhibition in Ankara, Turkey

2014-01-22T15:51:00-05:00

Shortly after the 2013 Unbuilt Visions competition concluded, d3 hosted the Unbuilt Visions exhibition showcasing some of the winning entries at the TSMD Turkish Architectural Center in Ankara from Jan. 7-21, 2014.

If you didn't get a chance to be there in person, here are a few photos and a video from the event:

Related: Winners of the d3 Unbuilt Visions 2013 Competition

Find out more on Bustler.

Walter De Maria, Artist on Grand Scale, Dies at 77

2013-07-28T01:15:00-04:00

He was best known for large-scale outdoor works that often involved simple if rather extravagant ideas or gestures: a SoHo loft filled with two feet of earth, for example, or a solid brass rod two inches in diameter and one kilometer long driven into the ground in Kassel, Germany, so that only its smooth top was visible (a work consistent with an artist who once noted that “the invisible is real”).