Archinect - News

The new world's largest kaleidoscope is a sight to behold

2022-02-03T14:33:00-05:00

The creative landscape of Saudi Arabia got a colorful new addition as STUFISH Entertainment Architects has revealed its design for what the firm says is now the world’s largest kaleidoscope.

The massive 40 x 6 x 3-meter (131 x 19.5 x 10-foot) installation hinges on an intricate series of LED tiles and a combination of seamless and warp-less mirrors that create an expansive, awe-inspiring internal environment. Visitors will be exposed to scenes of the Arabian Peninsula's stunning natural landscape and spotted with digital content that promotes the country’s investment in high-tech development.

Image copyright Stufish courtesy of LEAP

The installation is part of the 2022 LEAP future technologies conference hosted by Saudi Arabia, which concluded today at Riyadh’s Front Expo Centre. STUFISH partner Maciej Woroniecki says it is meant to represent “how a simple and considered design, when supported with a material that can scale as intended, can return an experience that is far larger th...

Exhibit Columbus names Dream the Combine, ecosistema urbano, Future Firm, Olalekan Jeyifous, and Sam Jacob Studio as Miller Prize recipients

2020-08-12T13:38:00-04:00

Exhibit Columbus has announced that the organization's forthcoming 2020-2021 exhibition cycle, curated by Iker Gil and Mimi Zeiger, will focus on the theme of New Middles:From Main Street To Megalopolis, What Is The Future of The Middle City?

In addition to announcing the new theme, the organization has also named the winners of this year's J. Irwin and Xenia Miller Prize winners. The winners are: Dream the Combine of Minneapolis, ecosistema urbano of Miami and Madrid, Future Firm of Chicago, Olalekan Jeyifous of Brooklyn, and Sam Jacob Studio of London.

Previously on Archinect: Archinect Sessions Site Visit: Exhibit Columbus.

Describing the theme of the symposium and exhibition, the former of which will be presented virtually in 2020 with in-person installations taking shape in 2021, the organizers write that "Midwest, mid-sized, or middle American, the notion of “middle" goes beyond geography and does not mean average or neutral. Middle is its own condition, especially in relation ...

FreelandBuck creates a "three-dimensional drawing" installation for the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh

2019-11-13T18:54:00-05:00

A new installation created by architects FreelandBuck will be permanently installed in the Museum Lab of the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.

The installation, titled Overview, is inspired by Renaissance era trompe l'oeil ceilings and features geometries that correspond to those of a historic leaded glass ceiling that was once installed above the room where the "three-dimensional" drawing is currently located.

The installation changes as one moves around it. Image courtesy of Children's Museum of Pittsburgh.

The original ceiling was removed as part of a 1970s-era renovation of the historic former Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny building that now houses the museum. Describing the design, Brennan Buck, partner at FreelandBuck, said, "The intricacy of the original ceiling allowed us to create a dense cloud of lines overhead while clearly evoking the ornamental style of the original building."

Corner detail of the installation. Image courtesy of Children's Museum of ...

An empty Beirut skyscraper now transformed by an artist's colorful installation

2018-06-07T14:51:00-04:00

Lebanese artist Jad El Khoury has long been creating interventions in Beirut’s urban landscape to draw attention to these symbolic sites of warfare [...] Khoury has now taken on the imposing Murr Tower for a two-month installation: ‘The Burj El Murr soars from Beirut’s skyline, filled with scars, constantly provoking the city’s residents, whose past is shadowed by war, and present is spent dealing with those harsh memories.’

Artist Jad El Khoury's temporary installation Burj El Hawa (Tower of Air) inhabits a 34-story skyscraper in Beirut, known as Murr Tower or the Beirut Trader Center. Using brightly colored curtains found in a typical Beirut home, Khoury transforms this empty building which was used as a snipers hideout in the Lebanese Civil War in 1975.

View of the blinds © Jad El Khoury

A towering presence in the city, the skyscraper now projects the artist's message of hope and vitality to the community rather than one of war and unresolved conflict.

View of Burj El Murr overlooking Beirut © Jad El Khoury

Khoury's installation Burj El Hawa will remain in the skyscraper until July 2018.

Earth's first 3D printed office created in 17 days for half the labor cost

2016-05-25T12:36:00-04:00

A very large 3D printer measuring 20 x 120 x 40 ft (6 x 36 x 12 m) did most of the work, printing the building by extruding a cement mixture layer by layer, in a similar method by which WinSun's 3D-printed homes were made (WinSun is involved in this project too). There were also some additional smaller mobile 3D-printers used too, however. It took 17 days to print the basic building, but it then required finishing both internally and externally.

How many people does it take to 3D print an office? Well, according to Arabian Business, "The labour involved in the printing process included one staff to monitor the function of the printer, in addition to a group of seven people to install the building components on site as well as a team of 10 electricians and specialists to take care of the mechanical and electrical engineering." Also: the building was completed in 17 days, and saved 50% on labor costs when compared to traditional built projects of a similar size.

Located in Dubai's Emirates Towers complex, the 250 square meter office was installed on its site in two days.

For more on innovations in large-scale 3D printing:

Photos from the "Bigger Than a Breadbox" opening reception

2015-06-18T18:36:00-04:00

What is the role of installation in architecture? More importantly, how does a curator arrange an installation that is primarily concerned with the effects of installation? “Bigger Than a Breadbox," which held its public opening reception on June 17th, is partly the brainchild of BSA space, Archinect, and curators Aaron Willette and Rob Trumbour of Khôra LLC, who considered precisely how to arrange the space to best explore this concept. We asked curator Aaron Willette about his process and the inherent challenges in creating an installation about installation.

“Working with architects is like herding cats,” Willette joked, before describing the fundamental aim of the installation, which was to incorporate the general public, not only physically, but intellectually. Instead of creating a highly abstracted terrain, first-time curator Willette strove to make the exhibit as accessible to passerby as it would be to gallery veterans.

Willette worked on precisely how to mount the exhibitio...