Archinect - News

Origami-inspired "foldable office" addresses the mobile workspace

2020-10-01T13:26:00-04:00

WOOD-SKIN Inside, the think tank arm of WOOD-SKIN, a Milan-based team of architects, designers, and engineers has created a new product for the home worker. the Foldable Office is an origami-inspired workstation that helps users have more mobility throughout their work day.

The product is manufactured with high performance Biesse CNC Machines and sustainable materials.

The design enables users to pivot between a workstation configuration and a space divider through the folding nature of the assembly.

The product will launch live on Kickstarter on October 19th 2020.

Interdisciplinary design conference invites an architect, chef, escape room designer, blacksmith, and more to lend insights on design

2020-02-14T14:26:00-05:00

Architect and author Francis D.K. Ching is among this year's speakers, along with blacksmith Matt Jenkins of Cloverdale Forge; Duluth installation artist Kathy McTavish; escape room designers and engineers Jamie Fassett-Carman and Mark Larson of Trapped Puzzle Rooms; 3-D printer and researcher Kevin Johnson; and chef Lucia Watson.

For the 32nd annual Lake Superior Design Retreat, organized by AIA Minnesota, architects and those interested in design come together to explore multidisciplinary aspects of design. In the spirit of the conference, this year's speakers cover a wide range of crafts and disciplines, one of which includes the legendary Francis D.K. Ching, known most popularly for his books Architecture: Form, Space, & Order, Building Construction Illustrated, and Building Codes Illustrated.

Architect Gustav Dusing selected for inagural Antarctic Biennial

2016-12-13T15:19:00-05:00

As part of the newly launched interdisciplinary Antarctic Biennial, architect Gustav Dusing and artist Sho Hasegawa will be sent to Antarctica in March 2017 for what could be described as an inspiring, if chilly, imaginative tabula rasa. The winners for the Biennial were chosen during this year's Art Basel Miami. As the website for the organization explains, "We are building a unique community of people who are interested in reimagining the future of shared spaces, beginning with Antarctic culture as a model for global development. With the artistic core, we are creating the platform for the interdisciplinary dialogue."

For more on ice-related architecture:

"Textscape" depicts the evolution of printing in 3D-printed documents

2015-01-13T14:00:00-05:00

"Textscape" by interdisciplinary artist and University of Hawaii at Manoa educator Hongtao Zhou is a visually engaging work of 3D text documents that nods to one of the Four Great Inventions of Ancient China: printing. The letter-sized documents examine how the role of printing has shifted from duplicating text to producing objects, thanks to the rise of 3D printing.

Reflecting Zhou's background in furniture design, sculptural installation, and architecture, the documents are 3D depictions of their respective subject matters, such as cities or landscapes.

Zhou — and a group of participating artists consisting of Tyler Francisco, Rhealyn Dalere and Chin Fang Chen from the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Architecture — created additional Textscapes "written" in braille, different languages, calligraphies, and number systems with the intention to turn the pastime of reading into an interactive process and into works of art that can be widely appreciated.

How to depict the rules of attraction, according to the PARADOR film

2014-12-11T18:07:00-05:00

PARADOR is a collaborative project by Paris-based architect David Tajchman and filmmaker Benjamin Seroussi that fuses each of their signature styles and specialties. Starring dancer Olivier Mathieu and model Katya Pushkina, the short film's theme touches on the "complex rules of attraction and repulsion that end up creating energy, shape evolution, and anti-gravity," as mentioned on Tajchman's website.

Seroussi's experience in fashion film and music videos is obvious in PARADOR, which uses strong angles and slow-paced panning techniques seen in high-end fashion ads on TV. Mathieu and Pushkina, in all their conventionally attractive physical features, are decoratively armored in tetrahedral structures as they dance and pose around each other like two birds engaged in a courtship display. The futuristic structures they wear — which Tajchman and the design team created — hint at Tajchman's work methods of using digital tools and handcrafted models.

Watch the film in its entirety right b...

Vinn Patararin challenges the possibilities of textile architecture

2014-11-12T14:42:00-05:00

Vinn Patararin combines the craftsmanship, experience, and interests of multi-disciplinary designers Vinn Chokkhatiwat and Patararin Pongprast. Training separately at prestigious architecture and design schools in Thailand and France followed by working with different Parisian haute couturiers, Chokkhatiwat and Pongprast also incorporate cross-disciplinary theories from sociology, history, art, and culture in their design philosophy.

Vinn Patararin's garments don some seemingly common traits of architecture-meets-fashion pieces — like emphasis on material choice, utilitarian details, pared-down colors, etc. — but the designers add their trademark with their lattice-patterned textile.

Vinn Patararin wanted to create an architecturally structured textile pattern that can adapt to the functional needs and expression of the user. Whether the textile is worn on a human body, used as furniture accents, in art installations, or even applied as a building façade, the designers wanted to chall...

Five teams selected to participate in the Re-Envisioning Branch Libraries Design Study in New York

2014-07-14T18:23:00-04:00

Although anyone with Internet access can do a quick search online, nothing replaces a brick-and-mortar public library for quality resources and info — yet these centers are consistently overlooked by city policymakers. After setting up an RFQ for the Re-Envisioning Branch Libraries Design Study in New York, the Architectural League and the Center for an Urban Future selected five interdisciplinary teams out of 45 submissions.

They are:

Andrew Berman Architect | Library Development Solutions  | Neil Donnelly | AEA Consulting | Auerbach Pollock Friedlander
Marble Fairbanks with James Lima Planning + Development and Special Project Office
MASS Design Group
SITU Studio
UNION

To find out more, head over to Bustler.

Winners of AZURE Magazine’s 4th annual AZ Awards

2014-07-07T20:33:00-04:00

Leading Canadian contemporary design magazine AZURE celebrates the best of cross-disciplinary design in their annual AZ Awards, now in its fourth year. As the only open international competition of its kind in Canada, the AZ Awards welcomed projects from designers, architects, firms, and manufacturers from all disciplines, and from students as well.

Here's a glimpse of this year's winners:

Find out more on Bustler.

11th Street Bridge Park competition in Washington D.C. shortlists six teams for phase one

2014-05-06T20:24:00-04:00

Six teams of architects and landscape architects are still in the running for the 11th Street Bridge Park competition in Washington D.C. The nationwide competition is hunting for the best design to transform an old freeway bridge into D.C.'s first elevated park: the 11th Street Bridge Park.

Out of more than 40 teams and 80 firms that responded to an open call for submissions this past March, the jury selected the phase-one finalists -- who have all formed into the following interdisciplinary teams below:

Balmori Associates / Cooper, Robertson & Partners
Piet Oudolf with Glenn LaRue Smith/PUSH Studio / WXY architecture + urban design
OLIN / OMA
Stoss Landscape Urbanism / Höweler + Yoon Architecture
Wallace Roberts & Todd (WRT) / NEXT Architects
Workshop: Ken Smith Landscape / Davis Brody Bond

More info about the competition can be found on Bustler.

Seventy-six nominations listed for Designs of the Year 2014

2014-02-11T21:27:00-05:00

Nominations were announced for Designs of the Year 2014 -- the event where work from the "cool kids" in the big world of design are sure to be found [...] A total of 76 nominees include international stars, crowd-funded start-ups, and student projects. A winner in each category and one overall winner will be announced later this year. All nominations will be exhibited at London's Design Museum starting March 26 - Aug. 25, 2014

Here's a small selection of this year's nominated designs.

Architecture - MAKOKO FLOATING SCHOOL - Designed by NLÉ, Makoko Community Building Team Photo by NLÉ

Furniture - NEW INTERIOR FOR UNITED NATIONS NORTH DELEGATES’ LOUNGE (NEW YORK) - Designed by Hella Jongerius, together with Rem Koolhaas, Irma Boom, Gabriel Lester and Louise Schouwenberg. Photograph by Frank Oudeman

Graphics - CHINEASY - Created by ShaoLan Hsueh with Illustrations by Noma Bar. Photo by Brave New World

Digital - LEGO CALENDAR - Designed by Adrian Westaway, Clara Gaggero, Duncan Fitzsimons, Simon Emberton. Photographs by Adrian Westaway

Find the complete list at Bustler.

Win a copy of "Out of Hand: Materializing the Postdigital"

2013-12-03T11:12:00-05:00

Giveaway time! Five Archinectors will get their hands on (couldn't resist the pun) a fresh hardcover copy of "Out of Hand: Materializing the Postdigital."

Released by black dog publishing in October 2013 and edited by Museum of Arts & Design Curator Ronald T. Labaco, "Out of Hand" has 304 pages showcasing the interdisciplinary digital fabrication works of more than 80 architects, designers, and artists like Ron Arad, Greg Lynn, Zaha Hadid, Maya Lin, Anish Kapoor, and Marc Newson.

"Out of Hand" is also the accompanying book for the exhibition currently at the Museum of Arts & Design in New York until July 2014.

To enter the giveaway, fill out this survey by 3pm EST, December 13, 2013.

Here's a further look into the book:
"Representing some of the most compelling creations from the past decade ranging from sculpture and furniture to fashion and transport, Out of Hand demonstrates an explosive, unprecedented scope of artistic expression ranging from sculptural fantas...