Archinect - News

Checking in on Jony Ive’s San Francisco plans post-Apple stardom

2024-09-27T15:56:00-04:00

But for Mr. Ive, Jackson Square also represents personal reinvention. Few people walk away from their profession’s premier job. Even fewer start over again. A self-professed control freak, Mr. Ive decided that he had fretted enough over the snugness of each iPhone box, the layout of every Apple Watch component and the curve of every iPad corner. He wanted something new.

The former Chief Design Officer at Apple, Ive, is fresh off a $100 million-plus real estate buying spree in San Francisco’s Jackson Square, where a large-scale redevelopment is now planned for 2025. Clients of LoveFrom are paying up to $200 million for his services, per the Times. Ive formed the company in 2019. Lots of projects are still veiled in secrecy, including the development of an AI-powered computing experience that is "less socially disruptive than the iPhone."

MAD's Ma Yansong teams with FENDI for new ergonomic fashion collection

2024-09-20T14:50:00-04:00

Promising what it called a "radical design gesture at the intersection of fashion and architecture," MAD Architects has unveiled their fashion collaboration with Fendi. The collection designed by founder Ma Yansong for the Italian luxury retailer was first seen during the brand’s runway presentation for Men’s Fashion Week in Milan this January.

Image credit: Courtesy of Fendi

A play on the duality of materials and form provides the reference for the new Peekaboo ISeeU bag and FENDI MAD sneakers, which come in dove gray-safety yellow or black-on-black colorways.

Image credit: Courtesy of Fendi

The bags, deconstructed with varnished aluminum wave inserts that break up the smoothed leather surface of their facades, are hewn in Cuoio Romano grain leather. The slip-on shoes, also available in an off-white/silver colorway, are made from mesh with injection-molded soles and similar metallic details. This is the architect’s first foray into the lucrative ready-to-wear market following a prev...

Take a look inside the new Eames Institute Headquarters Workspace

2024-08-14T11:53:00-04:00

The Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity has shared first photos of its new Eames Institute Headquarters Workspace in Richmond, California. Following the opening of the Eames Archive, the organization's first public space, earlier this year, the new office provides learning opportunities with expanded work environments for its staff members.

Photo: Nicholas Calcott, courtesy of Eames Institute

The project included the gut renovation of an original Jim Jennings commercial design from 1997. Two floors – the lower 2,755-square-foot first-floor workspace and the larger, 4,739-square-foot second floor for offices – were remade over the last year after being identified by the owner of the San Francisco-based bookstore William Stout Architectural Books.

Photo: Nicholas Calcott, courtesy of Eames Institute

"It’s such a pleasure to expand the reach of the Eames Institute and further share t...

An armchair for each month of the year: Architect Adorján Portik's unique furniture concept 'Halfway to the Infinite'

2024-08-01T20:51:00-04:00

Berlin-based architect and designer Adorján Portik has shared with us the first details of his new ‘Halfway to the Infinite’ furniture series, a set of twelve armchairs he will create for each month of the year.

The project, now about halfway completed, is targeted at students and fellow artists and seeks to stimulate a sense of discovery and creative inspiration in those who interact with it.

November. Image courtesy Adorjan Portik

November (detail). Image courtesy Adorjan Portik

Embedded within each chair emerges the naturalism that comes with each change of the seasons. November’s design evokes barren forests while, contrastingly, June’s is bedecked with a canvas ship’s sail meant to embody maritime activity and summer leisure.

July. Image courtesy Adorjan Portik

July (detail). Image courtesy Adorjan Portik

Architects will be particularly fond of the March chair, whose seat is a facsimile of an unrolled spool of plotter paper. Portik’s materials range from stainless steel wire mesh ...

Eduardo Souto de Moura debuts new timepiece collection for Cauny

2024-06-05T08:00:00-04:00

Eduardo Souto de Moura has debuted a new timepiece collection for the Swiss watchmaker Cauny. His sober grayscale design evokes both the contemporary and classical with an “ironic” modern use of Roman numerals and a polished steel case. Its wrist strap is made of German leather.

Image courtesy Cauny

“I like this watch because it’s simple, you can tell the time well, and it’s like a building: It has to be simple and functional, and if possible beautiful...or, ‘it has to be beautiful and if it works, even better’ as Oscar Niemeyer said,” quips the 71-year-old Pritzker winner.

Previously: Four Pritzker Prize-winning architects have recently designed watches

Moura's contribution to The Architects of Time Series follows a previous collection he designed for the Spanish brand Lebond Watches. He is one of four Pritzker-winning architects to design watch collections lately, joining Rafael Moneo (also for Cauny), Frank Gehry, and his fellow countryman Álvaro Siza.

Image courtesy Cauny

The wat...

Samuel Ross unveils Brutalism-inspired Kohler smart toilet concept for Milan Design Week

2024-04-02T12:59:00-04:00

Designer Samuel Ross has shared a preview of the new Formation 02, his first smart toilet concept for Kohler, ahead of the opening of this year’s Milan Design Week on April 16th.

The piece is inspired by Brutalist architecture and will retail for $25,000. The brand is marketing his creation as an inspired demarcation from the traditional silhouettes used in its Eir Smart Toilet line.

Ross sees it as a sculptural enhancement of a necessity intended for use in a variety of settings he describes as capable of delivering "democratic, open, public experiences."

Image courtesy Kohler Co.

His design intentions were so described via a scrollable digital 'Manifesto' relating Ross and his studio SR_A’s philosophy and new model for water solutions. This adds to Ross’ longstanding creative relationship with Kohler, which includes the Formation 01 faucets the new product, rendered Haptic Orange, serves to compliment.

Image courtesy Kohler Co.

"Our objective goes beyond function — it’s closer to v...

Kim Kardashian sued by Donald Judd Foundation over false ownership claims

2024-03-28T12:28:00-04:00

Kim Kardashian's name is in the design news cycle once again after the Donald Judd Foundation filed suit recently against her company SKKN BY KIM in which it claims she falsely stated furnishings made by a company called Clements Design were the original works of the artist, who died in 1994.

The New York Times and TMZ are reporting on the lawsuit this week, which stems from a YouTube video tour of the makeup company's California offices that was uploaded in 2022.

The suit claims Kardashian unwittingly made damaging comments that could mislead consumers into believing the celebrity skincare mogul was endorsing the Judd Foundation (she and her ex-husband are, after all, both outspoken proponents of Judd and other minimalist icons like James Turrell).

The Foundation said they expressly forbid the use of their designs for marketing purposes. Kim’s team took down the two-year-old video and claims they contacted them contritely before negotiations broke down and the suit was filed. Cleme...

OMA debuts PRINCIPLES Square collection for Perth Design Week

2024-03-14T19:28:00-04:00

Photos of the central hub for Perth Design Week, the eight-day event taking place now in the Western Australia capital, have been revealed by OMA to go along with the start of festivities.

Their colorful design for PRINCIPLES Square is located inside Cathedral Square in Perth's city center and features the Australian debut of the firm's office furniture collaboration with UniFor, which first premiered at Milan Design Week in 2022.

Intended as the main gathering space for Design Week, the concept creates a variety of socializing and spatial scenarios. For the event's second edition, no less than 20 events will be hosted there. Philippe Braun, the project's associate-in-charge, told the press that its realization "stimulated us to further explore how the collection can be applied beyond the typical."

Photography by Frans Parthesius, courtesy OMA

OMA says of the arrangement: "PRINCIPLES Square is the manifestation of the potential of the collection. The installation takes advantage of ...

10 examples of color in architecture we liked this week

2023-12-09T08:00:00-05:00

In case you haven't checked out Archinect's Pinterest boards in a while, we have compiled ten recently pinned images from outstanding projects on various Archinect Firm and People profiles.

Today's top images (in no particular order) are from the board Color.

Tip: Use the handy FOLLOW feature to easily keep up-to-date with all your favorite Archinect profiles.

↑ BBT Hilltop in Sharq, Kuwait, by TAEP/AAP; Photo: Fernando Guerra | FG+SG

↑ Briarcliff Residence in Franklin, MI, by Iannuzzi Studio; Interiors: Elizabeth Fields Design; Photo: Rafael Gamo

↑ The Axolotl in Los Angeles, CA, by Yu2e, Inc.

↑ Wientalterrassen Residential Quarter in Vienna, Austria, by ARGE KDG / Architekt Christoph Lechner & Partner ZT GmbH and Berger+Parkkinen Architects ZT Ltd.; Photo: Daniel Hawelka | ARGE KDG

↑ Blue Cube in Tehran, Iran, by Darkefaza Design Studio; Photo: Mohammad Hossein Hamzehlouei

↑ Troquer Offices in Mexico City, Mexico, by ASHO MX; Photo: Aldo Gracia

↑ Dream Glow Pavilion in Shenzhen, C...

Harvard GSD details its new visual identity

2023-08-25T13:01:00-04:00

The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) this week announced a new visual identity created in order to help galvanize its institutional and pedagogical aims, claiming it needed an "updated language of forms to communicate the school’s mission and values."

The rebranding effort comes in response to Dean Sarah M. Whiting’s previous call for the GSD community to establish a dialogue with the general public in a way that can embody the "critical design thinking" at the core of its educational program.

The new logo offers a further demarcation from the standard university crest-based designs used by Harvard’s other schools and undergraduate residential houses, embracing the 'Flying H' design invented by alum Nigel Smith into the GSD's graphics system to mark the turn of the 21st century.

Image courtesy Harvard GSD

The expressionistic form of John Andrews’ distinct Gund Hall building is a further source of inspiration for the new GSD Gothic typeface, which was the brainchild of the sc...

Researchers develop user-friendly interface for creating complex material designs

2023-08-07T09:00:00-04:00

Researchers from MIT and the Institute of Science and Technology Austria have developed a computational technique that makes it easier for a user to quickly design a metamaterial cell from any of those smaller building blocks, and then evaluate the resulting metamaterial’s properties.

The method, similar to a CAD system, allows users to quickly model complex metamaterials and artificial structures with complex geometries that determine their mechanical properties and explore other potential shapes. It is challenging for engineers to know what material will yield the desired results due to the infinite amount of arrangements possible. As a result, only a fraction of usable metamaterials are explored.

Procedural Metamaterials: A Unified Procedural Graph for Metamaterial Design via Liane Makatura (Youtube). Project authors: Authors: Liane Makatura*, Bohan Wang*, Yi-Lu Chen, Bolei Deng, Chris Wojtan, Bernd Bickel, and Wojciech Matusik

The researchers from MIT and the Institute of Science and Technology Austria found that metamaterials can be represented as a graph structure that can be altered by applying various parameters until a suitable design is reached. Throughout the process, designers can preview their structure at any point. Going forward, the researchers...

Japanese designer showcases Flatiron Building-shaped speaker

2023-04-14T12:12:00-04:00

Japanese fashion designer Takahiro Miyashita, through his eponymous label TAKAHIROMIYASHITATheSoloist., has unveiled a Hi-Fi speaker in the form of New York City’s Flatiron Building.

The piece stands 43 inches tall and depicts the iconic structure like a sculpture in the process of being carved from a block of cement. The speaker’s material is a high-performance grade polycarbonate composite resin. It features seven speaker units, with an output of 2,000W and a wide frequency range of 20Hz to 25KHz.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by HYPEBEAST (@hypebeast)

The speaker is available for pre-order now, set to be available in early September. It is going for a price of approximately $6,768. More details can be found on the company’s website.

What’s in a word? Nicholas de Monchaux considers the need to redefine how we think of ‘design’

2023-02-23T14:54:00-05:00

Though there was indeed a key shift in the meaning of “design” between 1300 and 1500, it had less to do with language and more with a fundamental shift in the making of things themselves. The relationship between drawing and design did not give rise to a word—or even expand its meaning. Rather, it diminished the word as it had previously been used, and in a way that may now be important to reverse.

What’s the difference between modern and historic conceptions of the industry’s most misused word? MIT Head of Architecture Nicholas de Monchaux says it was the “literal mechanization of production that firmly separated the work of designing from making — with profound consequences for the definition of design, as a word and as a structure of our society.”

Indeed, the advent of consumer economies has seen the word taken on a less-creative meaning “inextricable from a corollary diminishing of the planet’s finite resources,” according to his thinking. The ability to delineate in the now highly-technicized design process is the inevitable victim, remedied only, he says, by a further broadening to include “the resources and decisions on which a designed world depends.”

“We must reshape not just objects but also the culture and institutions that create them,” he concludes, jumping back two millennia. “Not incidentally, such work recaptures dē-signo in its original sense: Not just the sea...

A look back at Charles & Ray Eames' lesser-known designs in honor of their symmetry in life and death

2022-08-22T18:31:00-04:00

Yesterday's date, August 21st, occupies a unique place in architectural and design history as the day when Charles and Ray Eames both passed away, separated by a decade (1978 and 1988), respectively.

The shared life and work of the iconic power couple has since become the subject of numerous books, catalogs, museum retrospectives, and an excellent 2011 documentary (to name only a few), and enjoys an outsized place in the rich lineage of other husband-and-wife architectural partnerships continued today by the work of SO – IL, TWBTA, Höweler + Yoon, DS+R, and many others.

From the possible influence on early hip-hop carried on later by Ice Cube and Michael Ford, to Ray’s rediscovered RIBA Gold Medal speech, the studio’s legacy as ongoing source of inspiration, and the tranquility of watching perhaps their most famous design being assembled by hand, Archinect has explored the output of their relationship from a number of different angles over the years. All are exemplary of the many me...

Researchers develop colorful solar panels to allow for more attractive design options

2022-08-17T15:00:00-04:00

Researchers from the American Chemical Society have developed solar panels that can take on a range of colors without sacrificing their efficiency, improving their attractiveness and, thus, their marketability.

As the popularity of solar panels has grown, their application isn’t solely reserved for rooftops anymore but building façades and other more visible parts of buildings. Their standard black hue, however, limits how visually appealing buildings can be, with some architects describing solar panels as ugly and difficult to integrate into projects.

Solar panels take their dark color to absorb as much light as possible. However, other attempts to add color to them have produced less power, higher costs, and an undesirable iridescence.

The team of researchers, including Tao Ma, Ruzhu Wang, and colleagues, aimed to develop a way to color solar panels using a structural material that...

Design Miami’s first Parisian edition canceled due to 'security problems'

2022-08-01T19:31:00-04:00

Authorities in Paris have put the kibosh on Design Miami’s first Parisian edition after police there cited a lack of security at its planned site, the historic Place de la Concorde.

The concern led to the July 29th denial of permit issuance by the city’s new police chief Laurent Nunez, who extended his predecessor Didier Lallement’s decision from a month prior on the grounds that the area would present “security problems.” As reported in Le Monde, a source familiar with the case feels the real culprit is a fear of France’s Gilets Jaunes, or Yellow Vest protesters, who previously sparred with police in the same location in a series of public demonstrations that turned violent near the end of 2018.

As a result, the fair’s organizers announced they will be forced to cancel the October event, stating that “the timeline has proved too short to proceed this Autumn.” Organizers also confirmed each exhibitor will be given a full refund and that they are working to find an alternative locati...

Lee Bey reminds us an architecture critic can appear in many forms, even one of a famed film critic

2021-04-05T15:41:00-04:00

What defines an architecture critic? These past few months, the discourse surrounding what an architecture critic is, who they have been, and why this role needs to be re-evaluated has circulated across several publications and architecture circles. While several critics come to mind, both past and present, who exemplify the very best of what this role presents for the industry, there are a few individuals outside of the profession that architecture criticism might have needed.

WBEZ Chicago published Lee Bey's piece "Roger Ebert: An architecture critic, too" back in 2013. Throughout the article, Bey recounts his past conversations and memories with the famed film critic. Ebert's consistency and dedication to the "craft of criticism" were admired by many. Even during his final years, when illness befell him and eventually leading to his passing in 2013, Bey reminds us of Ebert's writing and architecture involvement. "He sounded the alarm against civic inattention, mercantile forces o...

10 examples of color in architecture for your Friday inspiration

2020-11-13T15:10:00-05:00

In case you haven't checked out Archinect's Pinterest boards in a while, we have compiled ten recently pinned images from outstanding projects on various Archinect Firm and People profiles.

Today's top images (in no particular order) are from the board Color.

Tip: use the handy FOLLOW feature to easily keep up-to-date with all your favorite Archinect profiles!

↑ Immersive Space Series: Arches by Office of Things

↑ Parking Johan Cruijff ArenA Renovation in Amsterdam, The Netherlands by XML Architecture Research Urbanism in collaboration with Alfons Hooikaas (Creative Director) and Studiostaak (Wayfinding); Photo: Ossip van Duivenbode

↑ Winnett House in Santa Monica, CA by Kevin Daly Architects; Photo: Bruce Damonte

↑ Clinton Hill Brownstone in Brooklyn, NY by MKCA // Michael K Chen Architecture

↑ Granny Pad in Seattle, WA by Best Practice Architecture; Photo: Ed Sozinho

↑ Meadow Estate in San Francisco, CA by Andrew Mann Architecture; Interior Design: Niche Interiors; Photo: Paul D...

Cocoon-shaped lamp made from plastic bags wins Pratt Institute School of Design 2020 Material Lab Prize

2020-08-26T20:00:00-04:00

The inaugural Material Lab Prize is an initiative that aims to foster the study of materials and material reuse. A $1k grant is given to the student that best exemplifies innovative ways to reuse and redesign waste. According to Pratt, "the prize seeks to celebrate and exhibit student work that re-envisions the design process and considers waste streams as a springboard for new design thinking."

"Cocoon" by Sophia Yimeng Sun. Image courtesy of Pratt Institute's Material Lab

This year's grand prize winner was awarded to Sophia Yimeng Sun (MID ’21) and her project "Cocoon." Sun used HDPE plastic bags to create pleated lampshades. She shares with Material Lab that the project, "reuses waste plastic bags, and provokes minds to contemplate how we deal with waste. I named this project COCOON, not only because it visually compliments a cocoon, but also the project is an homage to 'rebirth.'"

(L) "Homeware Using N...

Yinka Ilori on design and design inclusivity

2020-06-17T17:58:00-04:00

Walking into Yinka Ilori’s west London studio from the drab suburban business park outside is to enter an oasis. Floor-to-ceiling shelving is lined with the brightly coloured, upcycled chairs, painted or upholstered in West African fabrics, that made Ilori’s name when he first left college. [...] “My work is very much about inclusivity and how people enjoy design,” says the 33-year-old.

Emerging British-Nigerian designer Yinka Ilori in conversation with The Guardian's Observer Design magazine.

Asked about his growing courage to also take on architectural-scale projects, such as his collaboration with architects Pricegore on the 2019 Dulwich Pavilion The Colour Palace, Ilori responds: "Architecture and design should be for everyone, not just one group. Sometimes it’s not as inclusive as it should be."

Happy Street, London by Yinka Illori. Photo: Luke O'Donovan.

COVID-19 should lead to lasting design code improvements of public bathrooms, experts say

2020-05-05T14:31:00-04:00

Public health experts, designers and architects say the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed fundamental flaws in the design of public toilets that risk spreading a second wave of coronavirus, and possibly even new pandemics. [...] Some of the suggested innovations include a greater uptake of sensor taps, fully self-cleaning cubicles, designing exits that don’t require human contact, and having bathroom attendants.

The Guardian laying out suggestions from health experts on how to improve hygiene standards in public restrooms, not only in light of the current pandemic but in preparation of the next one.

"We’ve almost got this little opportunity from the pandemic where people are going to listen and going to change," one respondent explained in the article. "What we do now to fix public bathrooms, people will actually follow."

10 new bedroom spaces for your Friday inspiration

2020-05-01T07:00:00-04:00

In case you haven't checked out Archinect's Pinterest boards in a while, we have compiled ten recently pinned images from outstanding projects on various Archinect Firm and People profiles.

Tip: use the handy FOLLOW feature to easily keep up-to-date with all your favorite Archinect profiles.

Today's top images (in no particular order) are from the board Bedroom Spaces.

↑ Lookout House in Truckee, CA by Faulkner Architects; Photo: Joe Fletcher

↑ Banyan Tree Anji in Baishuiwan Village, China by gad; Soft Furnishing Design: YANG & Associates Group; Photo: Xiao En

↑ Clinton Hill Residence in Brooklyn, NY by Arnold Studio; Photo: Nico Schinco

↑ Mandeville Canyon Residence in Los Angeles, CA by Marmol Radziner; Photo: Roger Davies

↑ Watermill in the Hamptons, NY by General Assembly

↑ Oootopia (Anchor) in Hong Kong by GROUNDWORK Architects + Associates Ltd.; Photo: Fiona Bao/GROUNDWORK

↑ Spring Road Residence in Ross, CA by Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects; Photo: Matthew Millman

↑ Qua...

Architecture students from the Royal Danish Academy create a "Guide Book Of DIY Chairs"

2020-04-27T21:38:00-04:00

“We decided to treat the situation as an opportunity to reflect, unite and create together with a group of young talented architecture students, who were all crawling the walls due to lock-down and home isolation.” A-A Collective

At a time where the world is closing down and consumerism is on hold, A-A Collective completes a digital based workshop for 80 architecture students at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation - Institute of Architecture, Urbanism and Landscape.

Chair by Helene Engehagen

Students and teachers in home isolation around Europe, from a total of 5 different countries, completed the virtual workshop in one week. Students could only build with household work tools and materials available from their local builders merchant.

Chair by Elen Finstad

Due to current restrictions the workshop draws inspiration from the principles of Enzo Mari’s classical Autoprogettazione collection. The students were challenged not only to design a chair, but also to do a manual of their design, allowing other people to “copy” it.

The guidebook, containing a total of 63 different chair designs, can be downloaded for free here.

Architecture and Japanese anime shine in the release of a new book by Les Jardins des Pilotes

2020-04-27T09:26:00-04:00

Futuristic megacities and out-of-this-world cityscapes created for Japanese animated films have influenced video games, films, as well as architects and designers. Similar to the work of Syd Mead and his highly influential artwork, Japanese anime has developed a special relationship with how fictional built environments can look and feel. From beautifully hand-drawn sketches, storyboards, and paintings, anime artists and creators have expanded the worlds of Japan's "ultramodern animated films."

AKIRA - Final production background. Image courtesy of Anime Architecture/Les Jardins des Pilotes

The non-profit organization, Les Jardins des Pilotes, has dedicated their time gathering and showcasing the influential worlds of these fictional spaces in their latest book Anime Architecture. Author and curator Stefan Riekeles showcases the work of famous Japanese artists and their iconic cityscapes found in animated films like Akira, Ghost in the Shell, and Metropolis, 2001, to name a few.

Metr...

10 new furniture designs for your Friday inspiration

2020-03-13T07:00:00-04:00

In case you haven't checked out Archinect's Pinterest boards in a while, we have compiled ten recently pinned images from outstanding projects on various Archinect Firm and People profiles.

(Tip: use the handy FOLLOW feature to easily keep up-to-date with all your favorite Archinect profiles!)

Today's top images (in no particular order) are from the board Furniture.

↑ Asanoha by destilat Design Studio GmbH for Grüne Erde

↑ RigUp Office in Austin, TX by MF Architecture; Millwork: Dovetail; Custom Furniture: KKDW; Photo: Hua Liu, Rachel Deng, Charles Davis Smith

↑ Olivera Chaise Longue by Roberto Guzman for KGBL

↑ Coffeebar in Menlo Park, CA by Walker Warner Architects; Interior Design & live-edge walnut communal table: NICOLEHOLLIS

↑ Hi/Lo House Closet Vanity by Hufft

↑ Sant Antoni Lofts in Barcelona, Spain by ROMAN IZQUIERDO BOULDSTRIDGE; Photo: Adrià Goula

↑ Paper Store in New Delhi, India by Architecture Discipline; Photo: Jeetin Sharma

↑ Saint-Laurent Apartment in Montreal, Cana...

Marlon Blackwell Architects sues over poached casino design in Pine Bluff, Arkansas

2019-12-31T14:12:00-05:00

The Arkansas-based architect is undergoing a court case regarding his work and designs for the Saracen Resort Casino in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Blackwell filed a suit against HBG Design, Saracen Development and John Berrey, chairman of the Quapaw tribe’s business committee.

A distinguished architect who recently won the AIA's highest honor for his work earlier this month claims that his designs were "stolen." According to a recent report from the Arkansas Times the lawsuit explains, "the agreement wasn’t honored and Blackwell’s copyrighted designs were “stolen” for use on the project and Blackwell wasn’t paid. The suit says further that HBG had “poisoned” the Blackwell firm’s relationship with the Quapaw tribe and Blackwell had been removed from the project."

Max Brantley, of the Arkansas Times, was able to receive a prepared statement from John Berrey, chairman of the Quapaw tribe's business committee.

"We think that Mr. Blackwell is a very talented boutique architect. But function...

Australian-based studio Madelein Blanchfield Architects designs a disappearing outhouse

2019-12-10T13:20:00-05:00

When thinking of an outhouse, the initial images that come to mind may not be as intriguing or luxe as the outhouse designed by Australian-based studio Madelein Blanchfield Architects. Don't be fooled by their disappearing outhouse structure that blends seamlessly with the lush landscapes of Kangaroo Valley, however, as there is more to it than meets the eye.

According to the studio, the intention of the bathroom's design was to keep it separate from the main cabin and "mimic the experience of camping" during overnight stays. The mirrored cube structure is slightly lifted above the ground, and the one-way mirrors are transparent from the inside.

Seattle's F5 Tower is a case study for improving employee satisfaction

2019-11-14T18:00:00-05:00

Tall buildings do more than just help shape skylines. The architects who design these buildings, for example, often strive to create the most "alluring" structures using sometimes mind-boggling structural feats. The corporations and developers who commission these towers, on the other hand, seek the expertise of architects and their teams of engineers and construction experts to create office buildings that can help establish physical representations of their businesses within the built environment.

And what about the employees, the actual users of these towers?

When the Seattle-based technology company F5 Networks relocated their headquarters to what was formerly called "The Mark tower," their goal became to create a new space that places these users at the center of the design. Kurt Schlosser of Geek Wire reports that F5 executives wanted to find ways to improve their employees' commutes and work experiences, for one.

F5 Tower interior stairwell connecting 28 floors of office spa...

10 fresh examples of color in architecture

2019-10-25T04:00:00-04:00

In case you haven't checked out Archinect's Pinterest boards in a while, we have compiled ten recently pinned images from outstanding projects on various Archinect Firm and People profiles.

(Tip: use the handy FOLLOW feature to easily keep up-to-date with all your favorite Archinect profiles!)

Today's top images (in no particular order) are from the board Color.

↑ Hotel Indigo in Memphis, TN by brg3s Architects

↑ Hall Wines in Saint Helena, CA by NICOLEHOLLIS; Photo: Mark Adams

↑ &pizza Wall Street in New York, NY by Heath Design Group; Photo: Maciek Glac

↑ The Stealth Building in New York, NY by WORKac; Photo: Bruce Damonte

↑ Dental Clinic in Madrid, Spain by LANDÍNEZ+REY architects [eL2Gaa]; Photo: Gustavo González Bellón

↑ L Residence in Omaha, NE by Actual Architecture Co.

↑ Lumenpulse in Longueuil, Canada by Lemay; Photo: Stéphane Brügger

↑ Heze Courtyard No.1 Sales Office in Heze, China by aoe

↑ Ranniye Ptashki (Early Birds) in Perm, Russia by ALLARTSDESIGN | Saranin Artemy

C...

Decoys & Depictions: Images of the Digital Symposium at Washington University in St. Louis

2019-10-18T13:58:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis an Archinect School Partner

In architecture today, nothing is what it seems. Familiar outputs in the form of drawings, models, and photographs are now produced through sophisticated digital tools and techniques. And though these products of electronic imaging may seem like replicas of their predecessors, they are in fact something entirely new.

So argues Constance Vale, assistant professor of architecture in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. From October 24-26, Vale will convene Decoys & Depictions: Images of the Digital, a symposium exploring how digital images are constructed; the implications for how architects and artists operate; and the potential effects within social and political realms.

Current Interests (Matthew Au & Mira Henry), “Hedge” (2018). Featured in the Des Lee Gallery exhibition.

“Decoys are objects ...