Archinect - News

Seoul housing development builds traditional hanok designs for a slower lifestyle

2018-09-04T13:36:00-04:00

Eunpyeong Hanok Village was selling locals hanok, the traditional Korean tile-roofed residences that have, after hundreds of years, increasingly been destroyed and replaced by towering steel structures; indeed, not since the 1930s have hanok been constructed in significant numbers. The decline of vernacular architecture in the face of global urbanization is, of course, hardly new, though traditional Korean hanok are a particularly stark contrast to modern city living.

A new housing development, Eunpyeong, in northern Seoul is solely dedicated to constructing traditional Korean hanok houses. The design adheres to certain guidelines on proportion and design, with a low center of gravity, a courtyard, and an orientation towards nature.

The hanok's popularity comes from a need to connect to Korean identity and a desire to slow down from a past-paced economy. The minimalist design confronts the occupant with the amount of stuff they own and orients them to reconsider a new, slower way of life.

The “infrastructural excess” of data centers and cloud-computing colonization

2018-05-22T14:20:00-04:00

With the cloud being increasingly lifestyled and infrastructured into a range of everyday social and economic practices and processes, data centres continue to grow in size. Far from a massive database in the sky, it is the planet’s surface and our everyday lives that are gradually being colonised by the cloud.

This piece by Alexander Taylor, a social anthropologist at the University of Cambridge, looks back on the evolution of data center infrastructure, which continues to grow larger as our everyday lives become increasingly influenced by cloud computing.

How the infinity pool became a social media status symbol

2018-03-26T19:02:00-04:00

To Skip Phillips, consumer-driven demand has moved the infinity pool away from its original design premise of blending with the landscape. It doesn’t have to be a vertical drop, like that at Marina Bay Sands. “The impetus for this came from the buying public,” and, he adds, “an uneducated pool industry.” To understand how the infinity pool became a status symbol, it’s important to realize that “wellness” is a luxury commodity.

This Outline piece by Daisy Alioto dives into the origins of the vanishing edge infinity pool, which now — thanks to a lot of help from social media — has evolved into a trendy symbol of luxury.

MUJI enters the hospitality market with two new hotels in China

2018-01-10T14:18:00-05:00

The first images of MUJI Hotel Shenzhen have been released, and they show that it has been built to reflect the ethos of the brand that is best-known for its minimalist homeware products. [...] The company says the hotels have been designed to reflect “an anti-gorgeous, anti-cheap” concept. Its goal is to offer great sleep at the right price, provide a space supporting both body and mind while away from home, and connect travellers to local people and places.

Bedroom inside the MUJI HOTEL in Shenzhen.

After experimenting with houses for (strictly) dogs and (mostly) humans, Japanese lifestyle design retailer MUJI is now also entering the hospitality sector with two new branded hotels to open in Shenzhen on January 18 and in Beijing on March 20.

Bathroom inside the MUJI HOTEL in Shenzhen.

To separate itself from the incumbent competition in a crowded market, MUJI describes its hotel concept having neither "exorbitantly priced and superfluent services nor dreary guest rooms resulting from the extreme reduction of quality"; a reflection of the company's design philosophy of "not too much, not too little."

Inside the MUJI HOTEL in Shenzhen.

To round off the experience, guests will find a MUJI Diner in the same building as well as a MUJI store to purchase all the fine products they just surrounded themselves with.

The first hotel outside of China is scheduled to open in spring of 2019 in Tokyo's Ginza district.

Images via hotel.muji.com.

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Win the Sumo Air inflatable lounger!

2016-08-26T12:13:00-04:00

From beach trips to music festivals to picnics, have easy access to comfort with the new Sumo Air Lounger. Thanks to our friends at Sumo Lounge, Archinect is giving away four Sumo Air loungers to our readers!

Read on for more and how to enter the giveaway.

Best known for their beanbag chairs, the Sumo Air lounger is light, portable, and doesn't require extra assembly equipment. Unfold the lounger, inflate it with air, and quickly seal it. (It's perfect to inflate in windy places like the beach, otherwise you might need some agility and a strong-enough breeze to do this part). Then sink into the Sumo Air, and relax.

Photos: Sumo Air.

Available in a variety of colors, the Sumo Air is made of top-quality waterproof 300 Grade Ripstop Nylon and comes in a carrying bag. Plus, it's equipped with a phone/tablet/magazine holder, a bottle/cup holder, bottle opener, and a tent peg to ground the lounger for firmness.

Archinect is giving away the Sumo Air in Black, Red, and Sky Blue.

TO ENTER THE GIVE...

Live in Muji's Window House for two years, for free

2016-08-11T17:54:00-04:00

Still dreaming about living in one of Muji's pre-fab houses? That wish can come true for one lucky person, and maybe their family or friends. The lifestyle brand is currently accepting applications for a two-year residency in a new test model of Muji's Window House in Kamakura—rent-free and fully furnished.

Unlike the Vertical House that was designed to squeeze into Tokyo's tight spaces, the Window House can enjoy more wiggle room in areas with less urban density. The seaside town of Kamakura has a population of approximately 174,000, while Tokyo boasts about 13.6 million.

Photos via Spoon & Tamago.

As its name states, the two-story Window House has windows on all four sides that are strategically positioned to allow for optimal airflow and natural light. Although Muji will cover the expenses, the winning applicant — whether it's a single person, a group of friends, or a family — will have to provide feedback about their experience to staff in an ongoing monitoring process. On top of t...

Deborah Berke about her childhood, RISD, and the desire for simplicity

2016-03-01T15:13:00-05:00

Though I'd lived minimally my whole life, I have a husband and a grown daughter, and they do have stuff. We make dinner and have dinner parties and entertain a lot. But what's stayed the same is that the spaces are really spare. We pay attention to the art that's on the wall and the books that are in the room, something I picked up from my parents. How we're in a room alone and how we're in a room with friends and family both matter. In a way, I want the rooms to be perfect containers for life.

More about Deborah Berke in the Archinect news:

Is architecture shifting from a profession to a lifestyle choice?

2016-02-17T13:42:00-05:00

“Practicing” architecture is moving from a profession that focuses on building buildings as its highest calling, to a lifestyle that appreciates the beauty of architectural design, real or fantastic. This shift has two underlying realities. Just like the musician who lives his art, or the athlete who loves her sport, there are people that love architectural design, deeply, but fewer architects are needed to create buildings in this generation.

"The lack of need is based on less construction activity (a normal cycle, but now longer than any living architect has experienced) and the fact that technology has pre-empted the body count necessary per building design."

For more on the current status of the profession, check out these articles:

How architects are redesigning schools that encourage kids to eat healthier

2015-08-20T18:38:00-04:00

"The design of a school itself might matter as much as something like a gym class. 'The environments in which we live affect not just our behaviors, but our lifelong attitudes about things like healthy eating and active lifestyles...It's also clear that it's so much better to help prevent children from becoming obese than to try to help adults lose weight.'

Get a glimpse of these hacked IKEA kitchens by BIG, Henning Larsen, and NORM Architects

2015-08-11T14:15:00-04:00

Here comes another product collaboration between famous architects and affordable-brand giants. Pretty soon, consumers worldwide can add a hint of BIG, Henning Larsen Architects, or NORM Architects into their everyday kitchen space. Danish furniture brand Reform, whose concept focuses on hacking IKEA kitchen-cabinet fronts with their own customized designs, collaborated with the big-name architects in envisioning the new collection of kitchen cabinets. The kitchens will make their public debut at the northmodern trade show on August 13-15 and will be on sale starting September 1 (promotional video below).

The cabinets already have the on-trend sleekness and minimalism down, but stamping on the names of famous architecture firms ups the chic factor effortlessly. The cabinets by the one and only Bjarke Ingels Group — who is no stranger to designing home products — are available in white and oak or stainless steel, with a composite table top and composite wash. The cabinets come with ha...

TV shows are great indicators of urban trends, thanks to market research and popular influence

2014-06-17T13:49:00-04:00

Popular shows also are important predictors of the future of the built environment, thanks to Hollywood’s extensive consumer research and the instant feedback to current shows, and so TV tends to reflect how we live today and, more importantly, what we aspire to tomorrow. [...] We selected the most popular of six eras that captured best how we aspired to live “as seen on TV” based on time period and the development pattern that was being represented.