Archinect - News

Suchi Reddy on the bridge between neuroaesthetics and experience

2022-03-21T12:14:00-04:00

I think of architecture as embodied art. It's about holistically experiencing our world through all of our senses, and so architecture is the perfect matrix for considering neuroaesthetics. The same parts of your brain that teach you to think about the future are the same ones that are manipulated by your experience of space. The better your space is, the better you are going to be.

The outsized impact architectural forms have on the human psyche is still a growing field of research and has been behind Suchi Reddy’s recent installations at the Salone del Mobile and Smithsonian Institution as well as her ethereal design for the first Google storefront in New York City.

The Reddymade founder also spoke about her upcoming Canadian project entitled Becoming, and why the personal experiences behind her creative process have led to similar forms of heartfelt architectonic expression.

“The work is inspired by the liminal experience of an immigrant. Tectonically expressed as an arch form, it represents both a gateway and a process of transformation. Inspired by the multi-national demographics of Surrey, I felt it was important to propose an artwork that celebrates the process of becoming oneself, expressing the transmutation of people through cultures and lands as an el...

The "tectonic bravery" of NBBJ's Nanjing Eco-Tech Exhibition Centre

2017-05-18T14:11:00-04:00

Symbolizing mountain ranges in architecture has the potential for a dramatic, iconic payoff, especially when the materials used to do so play an integral role in the interior experience of the building (think: the fabric peaks of the Denver International Airport, which allude to the Rocky Mountains and Native American settlements while providing ample natural light). NBBJ's Nanjing Eco-Tech Exhibition Centre manages not only to reference the Zhong and Stone Mountains with its eight-peaked, light cannon rooftop, but also represent the economic ascension of Nanjing itself.

Each peak drives light through the four principal floors of the structure, weaving instances of what the architects describe as "tectonic bravery" throughout. This bravery becomes the signature characteristic of the structure. While the Exhibition Centre lists a typical compliment of sustainable 21st century amenities (roof garden, integrated water retention and distribution, natural ventilation, responsive facades,...

How fault creep is (very slowly) tearing one California town apart

2015-04-17T17:45:00-04:00

South of San Francisco, a whole town is being deformed by plate tectonics. [...] This is Hollister, California, a town being broken in two slowly, relentlessly, and in real time by an effect known as “fault creep.” A surreal tide of deformation has appeared throughout the city. As if its grid of streets and single-family homes was actually built on an ice floe, the entire west half of Hollister is moving north along the Calaveras Fault, leaving its eastern streets behind.

Wooden textiles & low-poly landscapes

2015-02-17T14:57:00-05:00

[...] "wooden textiles" by designer Elisa Strozyk are a beautiful and surprisingly simple rethinking of the idea of a textile—and they have some interesting implications for terrain modeling and even gaming [...] Strozyk writes that she wanted to find "a new tactile experience" for wood, which she achieved by producing wooden tiles that "are then attached to a textile base. Depending on the geometry and size of the tiles each design shows a different behavior regarding flexibility and mobility."