Archinect - News

Take a look inside Kengo Kuma's newly-opened Hans Christian Andersen Museum

2022-04-14T15:34:00-04:00

One of Denmark’s most highly publicized cultural projects has now officially begun its public operation after being previously inaugurated in a soft opening last June.

Set amongst a massive new public park that opened earlier in the fall, Kengo Kuma and Associates’ design for the new H.C.Andersen Hus museum in Odense is a “fantasy world” of interconnected circular forms which give shape to the museum’s more than 60,000 square feet of education centers and subterranean exhibition space.

Photo: Rasmus Hjortshøj - COAST

Visitors can experience the physical dualities endemic in the architecture and inspired by classic Andersen tales like The Tinderbox and The Little Mermaid. After entering through an extension of the writer’s adjacent birth home, they begin their journey on the timber-clad upper level and descend into an unraveling underground labyrinth containing a “unique artistic experience” designed by Event Communications dotted with evocative commissi...

Child Studio designs an imaginary summer hideaway fantasy for our stay-at-home reality

2020-05-08T18:47:00-04:00

London-based Child Studio, led by Che Huang and Alexy Kos, has designed a contemplative oases in an imaginary project spurred by our current "lockdown world." The conceptual project explores ideas of wellness, escapism, and connection with nature through a series of curated images showing key moments within the imagined architecture.

Named "Casa Plenaire," the cottage-style environment's name Plenaire means "in the open air," a term meant to address the quarantined nature of much of the world during the coronavirus pandemic. The space has plenty of windows, providing seamless connectivity to the outdoor landscape.

Inside, one notices the sculptural structure and the organically defined zones of the lounge, terrace, bedroom, and circular pool. "The project was an opportunity for us to explore new ideas and test new concepts for the post-lockdown world. The seaside location is a collage of memories, dreams, and visual references, for the period when travel has become unattainable," s...

The architectural styles of Game of Thrones, Studio Ghibli and other popular fantasy

2018-08-28T15:17:00-04:00

Creating a fantasy world involves more than just magic and mysticism; it requires the creation of a built environment to host these stories, folktales, legends, and fables. While CGI and special effects help to make this look as realistic as the newest technology allows, the architectural creations of these worlds are no less impressive, and no less crucial in creating a world of wonder.

Angie's List, the online business directory, has created a tribute to some of fantasy's most popular offerings with pen-and-paper illustrations depicting the different architecture styles of 6 imaginary universes. From the crooked charms of Diagon Alley to Studio Ghibli's floating castles, take a look at some of the most iconic locations without a real-world address.

Game of Thrones:

Harry Potter:

Marvel Cinematic Universe:

Studio Ghibli:

Star Wars:

Skyrim:

Mark Foster Gage wants to propose this Game of Thrones-like skyscraper for NYC

2015-12-15T14:06:00-05:00

No, these images aren't for an upcoming Lego kit design or a fantasy-genre video game, although they might as well be. They're Mark Foster Gage's concept for a 102-story ornamental skyscraper nicknamed "The Khaleesi", proposed for 41 West 57th Street in NYC's Billionaire's Row.

Interestingly enough, the luxury residential tower has garnered enthusiasm that's as amusing as its Gargoyle statue-like exterior, which has been described as "regal", "visionary", and "futuristic". According to a press release from the architect, Robert A.M. Stern commented with a "WOW" in a recent email to Gage. (Interpret that as you wish.)

An undisclosed developer commissioned Gage to design the tower to envision the possibilities of ultra-luxury designs for the site. Built with a concrete frame, the 1,492-foot structure is "draped in a façade of limestone-tinted Taktl concrete panels with hydroformed sheet-bronze details and brass-tinted alloy structural extrusion enclosures," Gage writes on his website. T...

Ruined bridges of Italy reconceived as vertical cities of the future

2014-04-28T18:43:00-04:00

Designed to be an autonomous community, the top of the bridge would serve as a pedestrian walkway with a section cordoned off for cars. Below, self-sustaining residences, shops, and leisure centers would be built into the bridges' support structures. The concept imagines residents living comfortably in the neighborhoods created within the upside-down towers, all while enjoying the view of the Calabrian countryside.

Is that a luge in Times Square?

2014-02-06T16:34:00-05:00

Former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s vision of new sporting venues across the boroughs fizzled, and New York lost its bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics. But what if the city had tried to get the Winter Olympics instead? It would probably take more hubris than even this city can muster, but the exercise provides some telling measures of scale.

Monument Valley, a video game about impossible architecture

2014-01-07T17:32:00-05:00

For a few years I’ve thought about how one might design a game where the architecture was the central character. I’m particularly fond of temples, palaces, mosques, monasteries and other buildings which combine exquisite artistry with a potential for exploration and mystery. The main problem was how to make an interactive experience out of this.

AVATAR to Come to Life at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

2013-10-18T13:59:00-04:00

Our combined team has taken huge steps forward in “imagineering” Pandora as a real place for our guests to see, hear and touch. At the first-ever D23 Expo in Japan, we shared an early glimpse of the plans for AVATAR at Disney’s Animal Kingdom park and I wanted to share some of these breathtaking images and a short preview of what’s to come with all of you.

SCHUMACHER SLAMS BRITISH ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION (and the US)

2013-05-30T14:49:00-04:00

Irony, allegory and dystopia − Patrik Schumacher sees no future for the type of hopelessly unrealistic education lauded by the British architectural establishment

I sympathize with PS on this one. That is why I added "(and the US)" on the title. Yes the drawings might be beautiful to some, but even then...

Also, one responder to the article, The Funambulist threads on...

Skyscraper with trees trend: The architectural drawing fad is fantasy.

2013-03-08T18:57:00-05:00

Want to make a skyscraper look trendy and sustainable? Put a tree on it. Or better yet, dozens. Many high-concept skyscraper proposals are festooned with trees. On the rooftop, on terraces, in nooks and crannies, on absurdly large balconies. Basically anywhere horizontal and high off the ground.

From Matterhorn to molehill: a scaled-back fake Berlin mountain to be built

2011-04-19T14:52:26-04:00

The city has given the thumbs up to a design by Dutch architect Eelco Hooftman for a mountain in the park to be used by Alpine climbing enthusiasts. At 60 meters (around 197 feet), it may not be a Matterhorn, but it still has the potential to beat any of the capital city's existing puny climbing walls.

Remember the giant synthetic mountain, known as the Berg, that made the rounds a few years back? That one. It's not happening. Until then, Germany will just have to make do with a tiny, insignificant version on the 60-acre Tempelhof Airport site.