Archinect - News

Managed decline: leaving architecture to rot

2020-02-05T15:30:00-05:00

Politicians, planners and policy-makers have frequently debated the benefits of allowing architecture to decay – neither demolishing nor preserving it, but letting entropy take hold. What makes this approach to ruins equally empowering and horrifying?

Writer and artist Owen Vince penned an excellent Failed Architecture essay on the intricate interplay between managed decline and indifferent decay, architectural reverence and conscious abandonment, preservation, erasure, and deliberate ruination.

"To allow a structure to degrade — refusing to affirm it through erasure or preservation — is to look into the eyes of a thing while it suffers through its death," Vince writes. "It is to say: you have no power over me, and I will give you nothing in return."

Vacant jewels: a closer look at Boston's empty buildings

2019-06-17T14:40:00-04:00

All over town, buildings sit empty, somehow unused despite a fierce shortage of housing and a long-running development boom that has transformed long-quiet patches of the city into hot property. [...] Some are better kept than others. Some have more prestigious addresses. But each is a puzzle unto its own.

Boston Globe reporter Tim Logan investigates the factors behind Boston's many vacant buildings — despite a booming real estate market. "Even crumbling and empty buildings serve a purpose in a new Boston where so much is shiny and fresh," writes Logan.

Record heatwave is revealing hidden historic sites across Britain

2018-07-30T15:15:00-04:00

Southern England has been particularly parched, enjoying the driest June on record, but the hot weather has lead to an array of unlikely discoveries across the British Isles. Outlines of ancient and historic sites are being revealed – some of which haven’t been seen in living memory.

"As the grass and crops dry out in the fields, the remains of wood and stone features are being spotted. The effect is caused by soil building up above the foreign material left in the ground over centuries in a way that makes the live material react to the conditions at a different rate to that found within regular soil," The Telegraph explains the phenomenon of 'ghost gardens' which have been appearing across Britain during the country's most extreme heatwave in decades.

The increased prevalence of drone and aerial photography has made it much easier to spot them than during previous heatwaves.

Getting architects to pay attention to their building's lasting impact

2018-03-27T16:33:00-04:00

In architecture, there is an obsession with a building’s official completion, while its actual lifespan is often left out of the picture.

In his Failed Architecture piece "What If Architects Would Embrace, Rather Than Ignore, a Building’s Future?", René Boer looks at the imbalance of attention a building gets during its opening day compared to its lasting 'future legacy': "The fact that most architectural projects of a certain scale will leave a spatial legacy of some sort gives those involved a responsibility. Therefore, the spatial professions might want to broaden their horizon and attempt to relate to the future of their projects at least in some way."

Watch 7 ancient ruins get reconstructed

2018-03-23T18:06:00-04:00

It can be difficult to picture what ancient architecture would have looked back when it was first erected. Reconstructions by NeoMam and Thisisrender help you visualize what these ancient ruins looked like at the height of their glory. Take a look back in time and watch these historical structures get rebuilt.

The Parthenon, Athens, GR

Temple of Jupiter, Rome, IT

Milecastle 39 (part of Hadrian’s Wall), Northumberland, ENG

Luxor Temple, Luxor, EG

The Pyramid of the Sun, Teotihuacán, MX

Area Sacra di Largo Argentina (Temple B), Rome, IT

All images courtesy of viewfinder.

Take a 360° tour of Steinert Hall, Boston's iconic underground theater

2017-07-26T17:40:00-04:00

Built in 1896 for piano dealers M. Steinert & Sons, Steinert Hall is a magnificent six-story limestone and brick building tucked 40 feet below the street level. Appropriately nicknamed “The Little Gem”, it was designed by Winsell&Weterell and incorporated a Beaux Arts-style facade with terra-cotta ornament and a copper cornice.

Until the 1940s the space functioned as a grand venue for performances—its curved walls bounced compositions performed by many iconic musicians including Polish pianist and former prime minister of Poland, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, and pianist/composer, Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Now in ill-repair, the concert auditorium has not been used since its closure in 1942 due to fire code restrictions and the prohibitive cost of upgrading the hall. However, in May of 2015, it was announced that the hall would be renovated in an attempt to open it again for performances.

Paul Murphy, who formerly owned Steinert Hall, noted, “people walk by here every day and they don’t kno...

St Peter's, Cardross: Birth, Death and Renewal

2017-02-13T14:13:00-05:00

St Peter's made a dramatic architectural statement when it was built, but its first incarnation as a seminary was short-lived. It is hoped this 21st Century rebirth by NVA, bringing the structure back into productive use, will prove more enduring.

Gorgeous photos of the past and current state of the Brutalist St Peter's Seminary, designed by Gillespie, Kidd & Coia.

Credit: Glasgow School of Art

For more about the history of the project/site check out the book by Diane M Watters.

Restricted Areas: abandoned Soviet structures photographed in all their eerie beauty

2016-07-25T20:24:00-04:00

Danila Tkachenko is a Russian photographer whose series Restricted Areas crystallises the tendencies of many artists working on themes of the post-Soviet space. As Calvert 22’s Power and Architecture season demonstrates, there is a healthy interest in the abandoned or neglected buildings that once served as landmarks of Soviet ambition: the rack and ruin of utopia. What sets Tkachenko apart is the unforgiving simplicity of his compositions.

All photos from Danila Tkachenko's series Restricted Areas. For far more of these beauties, head over to Calvert Journal.

Download a 3D model of a column from Palmyra

2016-06-28T20:48:00-04:00

In ‘A World of Fragile Parts’, La Biennale di Venezia and the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) explore the threats facing the preservation of global heritage sites and how the production of copies can aid in the preservation of cultural artifacts. Ecological uncertainty, violent attacks, and the increasing demands of tourism are just a few of the factors putting global heritage sites and cultural artifacts at risk of destruction and loss.

For the Venice Biennale exhibit "A World of Fragile Parts," the digital archaeology project #NEWPALMYRA made a chrome version of a capital from the recently-destroyed city of Palmyra. Now, anyone can download the 3D model and print it, use it in a model of their own, or simply spin it around.

Palmyra is an ancient city dating back to the Neolithic era that housed one of the world's most impressive collections of Roman colonial architecture. But last year, ISIL took control of the city and destroyed many of the ruins.

#NEWPALMYRA has been carefully remaking the destroyed archaeological site using digital means, and making their work freely available to the public. For more information, or to download the model, visit their site.

Play around with it here:

ISIS allegedly not interested in bulldozing Palmyra architecture but intends to "pulverize" statues

2015-05-27T12:21:00-04:00

In an apparent video message, ISIS forces occupying the ancient city of Palmyra and its environs have stated that they do not intend to bulldoze its architecture, but plan to “pulverize” unspecified statues that they believe have been worshipped by “heretics” in the past. [...] The veracity of the message cannot be independently confirmed, but it has been assumed to be authentic by specialists on the subject, including the journalist Hassan Hassan, co-author of “ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror.”

Previously:

Meanwhile in Palmyra: ISIS executes more than 300 civilians in Syria’s Palmyra

ISIS militants seize control of ancient Syrian city of Palmyra

2015-05-20T17:51:00-04:00

Islamic State militants swept into the desert city of Palmyra in central Syria on Wednesday, and by evening were in control of it [...]. Palmyra has extra resonance, with its grand complex of 2,000-year-old colonnades and tombs, one of the world’s most magnificent remnants of antiquity [...] that has raised fears both locally and internationally that Palmyra, a United Nations world heritage site, could also suffer irrevocable damage.

Previously: Ancient Syrian city of Palmyra under threat by ISIS

Ancient Syrian city of Palmyra under threat by ISIS

2015-05-15T14:18:00-04:00

The ruins of an ancient city that have withstood centuries of conflict in the Syrian desert are now facing their greatest threat yet: the militants of the Islamic State. Activists, officials and citizens of the city say ISIS has launched a prolonged assault on Palmyra, an "oasis in the desert" north of Damascus that the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO says contains the "monumental ruins of a great city that was one of the most important cultural centers of the ancient world."

UPDATE: ISIS militants seize control of ancient Syrian city of Palmyra

Previously

Massive tomb complex unearthed in Beijing suburb

2015-05-05T16:34:00-04:00

Archeologists have unearthed a massive tomb complex in a southwest suburb in Beijing, according to the Beijing Institute of Cultural Heritage on Monday. They said the complex is a rare discovery given its size, time span and location. The 70 hectare archeological site consists of 129 tombs built over 1,100 years, spanning from the East Han Dynasty (25-220) to Tang Dynasty (618-907) and Liao (907-1125).

Repurposing Old Rail Stations in the Rust Belt: What Buffalo, Detroit, and Cincinnati can tell us about adaptive reuse

2014-09-08T13:39:00-04:00

The CTRC’s efforts are part of a larger phenomenon of rail station preservation occurring throughout the Rust Belt, including places such as Cincinnati’s Union Terminal, and Detroit’s Michigan Central Station. And while a geographic disadvantage and heavy rehabilitation costs make for an uphill battle, the Buffalo nonprofit and its ebullient members have high hopes for the future.

Ten years on, Athens 2004 gives Greece little to cheer

2014-08-11T18:50:00-04:00

It was billed as a chance to transform Greece's image abroad and boost growth but 10 years after the country hosted the world's greatest sporting extravaganza there is little to celebrate at the birthplace of the modern Olympic Games. [...] For Greeks who swelled with pride at the time, the Games are now a source of anger as the country struggles through a six-year depression, record unemployment, homelessness and poverty. Greece has struggled to generate revenue from the venues.

Despite Successes, Blight Still Threatens Detroit’s Future

2014-07-02T14:07:00-04:00

Urban blight is the single biggest challenge to large-scale revitalization efforts underway in the city of Detroit, where roughly 84,000 properties and vacant lots are considered blighted or at risk of blight [...]. In an interview with DLA Piper attorney and ULI member Jay Hailey, Gilbert kicked off the Institute’s public/private partnership conference in Detroit.

The tragedy of Tampico, Mexico: a city of violence, abandoned to the trees

2014-06-02T14:00:00-04:00

As a result of the violence, the local real estate market has bottomed out. Those who flee the city usually can’t sell their homes and businesses, so more and more buildings, including some of Tampico’s largest and most impressive ones, lie abandoned. Buildings that could easily survive for another century are mere empty shells, with huge trees growing through the roofs and out of the windows. Such levels of abandonment are rarely seen in the centre of a major city.

Can Detroit's Architectural Past Inspire It to Claw Back to Greatness?

2013-07-29T18:14:00-04:00

It often happens that news events create a new context for existing photo projects, and such is the case with Philip Jarmain’s photos of Detroit in light of the city’s recent filing for bankruptcy. Jarmain’s series American Beauty documents architecture from a pre-Depression era Detroit — a time when the city was on the rise. They now stand in contrast to its current rock-bottom economic straits.