Archinect - News

All those new museums? Now, the facts…

2014-11-13T15:07:00-05:00

In 2010, the Fondazione di Venezia—a well-endowed and entrepreneurial foundation with its historic roots in Italy’s regional banking system—launched an architectural competition for a cluster of buildings in the centre of Mestre, one of the mainland urban areas of Venice. [...] The three accompanying essays, by Marco De Michelis, Aaron Betsky and M9 architect Matthias Sauerbruch, are less granular. They provide an overview of and perspectives on the museum-building boom [...].

Architecture’s New Age

2014-11-07T13:56:00-05:00

IS THE NEW ARCHITECTURAL century still stuck in the end of the last one? Yes, but not for long. Asked to take stock of their discipline, architects largely agree that one era is winding down and another is beginning. [...] “The time of the grand sculptural building is over,” says Mr. Sauerbruch, looking back on what he calls architecture’s “Mannerist period,” symbolized by figures such as Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid.

An architect speaks out for cities in colour

2011-09-26T20:31:00-04:00

Our first commissions were conversions and residential renovations with no budget. We were looking at how to convert an 1890s Victorian terrace house into something that suits a more modern spirit. Many of these spaces were tiny. But if you coat a wall in a certain colour, the visual experience of the space suddenly changes. You can use the effect of colour... to make spaces that look generous, but are actually quite restricted.