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Celebrating the work and perseverance of architecture students and academic fellows in 2021

2021-12-29T18:34:00-05:00

Pursuing an architecture education is no easy feat, and with the events that took place in 2020 and 2021, there were plenty of obstacles that could dampen the goals of students around the world. Nevertheless, architecture schools learned as much as they could in 2020 to help students and faculty adapt and persevere.

While 2021 proved to be another year filled with challenges for the architecture industry, architectural academia also experienced its fair share of events. From the announcement of architecture deans leaving to new academic leaders emerging, we must not forget the students and architecture fellows who continued to work hard and keep going.

This year, remote learning, virtual studio crits, and graduations were also met with some in-person learning through hybrid teaching approaches. However, despite the continued obstacles, undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. students across the globe continued to learn, explore, and propel the future of architecture and design forward....

From the border wall to the Pritzker Prize: the architectural controversies that defined 2016

2016-12-01T12:04:00-05:00

As the year comes to a close, we're taking the opportunity to reflect on its defining moments. 2016 has been, for many of us, a pretty tough year—and the architecture community hasn't been immune to its trials and tribulations. Here's a round-up of some of the biggest controversies, debacles, and fiascos of the year.

The Boorish Border Wall Competition

Long before Donald Trump went from long-shot presidential candidate to President-elect, a controversial competition was launched to design the border wall that remains one his major campaign promises. Initiated by the mysterious Third Mind Foundation, the competition provoked immediate and intense backlash because of its asserted “neutrality” in regards to a proposal considered by many to represent the heights of xenophobia.

The Great Tokyo Olympic Stadium Debacle

This debacle actually began in 2015, but it continued well into 2016. Zaha Hadid Architects won a competition to design the National Stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and proc...

27 weird and compelling architectural evolutions of 2014

2014-12-30T11:30:00-05:00

Technofuturism:

Aftershock #4: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Neuroscientific Architecture Research: Bringing the brain into evidence-based design, one EEG-measured dérive at a time. Reporting from the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture's conference in San Diego, California.

Working out of the Box: Francis Tsai: Tsai was diagnosed with ALS far before the ice bucket challenge, and despite his total-body atrophy, is able to continue drawing as a videogames and comics artist using a special camera that tracks his eye movements and translates them into digital drawing commands.

Martha Stewart in the age of drone photography: Through war, Amazon deliveries and Dronestagram, Martha unilaterally loves her drone.

Neural Cartography: Mapping the Brain's Response to DUMBO in Brooklyn: One of the jet-setters investing in neuroscientific research for architecture and urbanism, the Van Alen Institute teams up with Columbia's GSAPP to create mental maps of DUMBO.

Protesting:

Screen/Prin...