Archinect - News

What would The Louvre look like if it was Brutalist?

2018-05-01T15:23:00-04:00

These 7 iconic buildings have been reconstructed in different architectural styles, such as The Louvre in Brutalist style pictured above. The effect is jarring to say the least...

Buckingham Palace in Bauhaus style:

Falling Water House in Classical style:

Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Niterói in Sustainable style:

CN Tower in Ancient Egyptian style:

Petronas Towers in Gothic style:

Sydney Opera House in Tudor style:

These reworked renderings were designed by NeoMam Studios for Expedia Canada.

Find all 30 architectural references in this challenging 3D puzzle

2017-12-21T17:54:00-05:00

Architecture has seen a lot of different styles in the past 3000 years, from the grand temples of ancient Egypt to the small, cubical dwellings of Japan. Fumio Matsumo, a project professor at the University of Tokyo's University Museum, has managed to fit elements from 30 distinct icons of architecture into a single 3D model. As Co.Design reports, Memories of Architecture acts as both a history lesson in design and a challenging puzzle for architecture fanatics.

Each element in Matsumo's design puzzle references architecture history beginning with 18th century BCE at the base and working it's way up to modern day. If you get stuck or just want to know/(cheat) here is a full list of all the iconic buildings represented in the model.

Legendary Texas architect Frank Welch has passed away aged 90

2017-06-27T19:54:00-04:00

With a sleek modern sensibility and an awareness of the power of open, cleanly articulated vistas, Frank Welch designed sophisticated homes for a sophisticated clientele. Known affectionately as "The Dean," Welch's 90 years on earth spanned the creation of numerous spacious, elegant structures in a state primed for the appreciation of wide open spaces.

The Walter Davis House. Image: TCU Press

Some of his most famous works include "The Birthday," and The Walter Davis House. Recently, a house he designed known as the Texas Modern on North Janmar went on the market for $3.75 million. The 6,600 square foot home features his trademark "stick ceilings" and resplendent natural vistas.

Texas Modern on North Janmar Drive. Ima ge: Virginia Cole Realtors

Texas Modern on North Janmar Drive. Image: Virginia Cole Realtors

As PaperCity Magazine noted, "Welch was recognized with more than 50 awards for design excellence, and in 2006, the Texas Society of Architects presented him with its highest hono...

LA's Donut Time, the LGBTQ landmark in “Tangerine”, is now permanently closed

2016-06-29T18:29:00-04:00

Anyone who's seen the iPhone-shot feature Tangerine or cruised by the doughnut shop at night knows that Donut Time wasn't just another of Los Angeles' dozens of purveyors of sweet, glazed pastries. Much more significant than that, it had long served as a haven for sex workers — many of them transgender women — who make a living on the streets nearby. "I didn't think it would ever go away. It's really sad," [Tangerine director Sean] Baker says. "I think the film caught an end to an era."

According to LAist, Donut Time's closure may be related to a massive mixed-use development proposed for that stretch along Santa Monica Boulevard, where (of course) gentrification is on the rise. It's not yet known if anything will replace Donut Time.

Will LA's building boom produce beloved icons or hated eyesores?

2016-01-12T14:26:00-05:00

L.A. has always been a place of experimentation, but now it appears to be in an architectural arms race, a competition to build the tallest, shiniest, and weirdest buildings. Adding to some Angelenos’ trepidation is how many of the projects popping up around the city are museums—built to last for 40 years or more, which is an eternity in a city known for knocking things down.

Related:

Syracuse University student and faculty work: a review of Trans(inter)ference

2015-07-23T19:11:00-04:00

What is iconic in architecture? It's a debate that will never be settled precisely because the definition of "icon" is perennially changing to reflect the culture from which it derives. An icon, after all, is not necessarily a classic, and this inherent tension is partly what fuels Trans(inter)ference, an installation designed by Maya Alam in collaboration with Daniele Profeta and three Syracuse University students: Emily Greer, Waralee Kaewkoon and Thomas Byung H. Kim.

Made up from repurposed VHS tape strung over a frame system that has a rectangular series of partitions and a curved awning-like flourish, the work seems to never quite come into focus due to the fluttering of the tape. This constant subtle motion means that there is no one "right" way to perceive it: each observer's experience is free from a predetermined context. In this sense, Trans(inter)ference achieves its stated goal of being "an in-between object that weaves subject, object, and context into one."

Mounted in ...

"Soundscape New York" captures the sounds of NYC's iconic buildings

2015-03-18T14:13:00-04:00

Karen Van Lengen, who created the installation with her husband, James Welty, says to really soak in a building, you need to listen to it. 'If you close your eyes, what you're going to hear are things that you can't hear with your eyes open,' says Van Lengen, an architecture professor at the University of Virginia.

You can also find more about the exhibition on Bustler.

A second chance for a new St. Petersburg Pier

2014-08-18T19:34:00-04:00

The City of St. Petersburg is up for attempt #2 in selecting a new architect to redesign the historic St. Petersburg Pier after the first proposal, "The Lens", was met with controversy and never built -- even after revisions were made.

In hopes that a new iconic Pier can be built this time around, the City recently set up a two-stage Request for Qualifications where balancing community input will be key. Once the September 5 deadline passes, each Statement of Qualification will be reviewed by the seven-member Selection Committee who will shortlist up to eight teams to be invited to Stage II. Shortlisted teams will each receive a $30,000 stipend and 10 weeks to submit a complete initial design concept.

After a technical review to analyze the concept's feasibility and budget, the committee will select the finalists, whose concepts will be presented to both the committee and the general public. The public will then have the chance to vote in a public survey. The committee will take resu...

Mid-century Norwegian design pieces make their way to New York’s Openhouse Gallery in Soho

2014-05-21T20:38:00-04:00

After success in Oslo and Tokyo, the Norwegian Icons: Important Norwegian Design exhibition is ready to make its U.S. debut in New York's Openhouse Gallery starting May 23. Highlighting Norway's contribution to mid-century Scandinavian design, the selling exhibition will showcase over 500 high-end designer objects created by 44 Norwegian designers between 1940-1975.

The objects will be arranged with iconic Norwegian artworks, including those by renowned artist Edvard Munch. Works will be presented so as to showcase the artists' various roles in shaping the traditions of Norwegian design and architecture during the 20th century.

Find more event details on Bustler.

Postcard-perfect: the big business of city branding

2014-05-06T15:38:00-04:00

Yet uniqueness is the goal of city branding, which during the past few years has grown into a global industry connected to tourism and the media-sports-and-entertainment complex. Originally a promotional scheme meant to lure new residents, city branding is now a slogan tied to a public relations campaign to make the places where we live into “destinations”. As always with branding, image is everything.

André Chiote illustrates the role of iconic buildings in the "urban collective memory"

2013-12-09T13:52:00-05:00

Rendered into clean lines and bold graphic hues, Oporto-based architect and illustrator André Chiote draws some of the world's most iconic contemporary structures designed by their equally iconic architects. He began developing this project by choosing specifically-programmed buildings that became cultural symbols eventually engrained into the "urban collective memory."

Even by only highlighting a particular detail, the building is still recognizable whether one remembers seeing it on TV, online, in print, or in person. The souvenir poster/advertisement-like quality of Chiote's illustrative style further emphasizes the popularity of these structures.

In his last approach, Chiote illustrated famous museums like Renzo Piano's addition to LACMA or the Mercedez-Benz Museum by UNStudio, among others.

Chiote continues exploring the role of these memorable buildings with "Sport's Buildings" -- many that have been seen in past Olympic Games. Here, he describes them as examples of "...

Investing in risk: How the Gherkin became a British icon

2013-10-23T20:50:00-04:00

Architecture is stuck between past and future -- years of anticipatory planning designs a structure that, once constructed, is stuck referring to all that came before. A building can't actually predict the future, although it seems like the best ones always run the risk of trying. Jonathan Massey's essay "Risk Design", perceives architecture as a mediator and optimizer of risks, using Foster + Partner's fantastically phallic skyliner in London's financial district, known as the "Gherkin", as a case study. Massey turns the Gherkin inside out, mapping details of its design onto local and global concerns such as terrorism and global warming, in an attempt to understand how architecture negotiates risks, and whether it succeeds. That the Gherkin's major tenant, Swiss Re, is a reinsurance company adds no small irony to his study.

Archinect is proud to feature Massey's piece in full, in line with our ongoing investigation of architectural accountability. "Risk Design" was originally ...