Archinect - News

New Fairy Tale Architecture in Places Journal

2016-12-22T16:46:00-05:00

How many architects, young and old, have been inspired by a hero or heroine who must imagine new realms and new spaces — new ways of being in this strange world? This project presents a line of flight into architecture as a fantastic, literary realm of becoming.

This week, our series on Fairy Tale Architecture returns with four new designs by Snøhetta, Ultramoderne, Smiljan Radić, and Bernheimer Architecture. Each one explores the relationship between the domestic structures of fairy tales and the imaginative realm of architecture. But don’t expect a light escape into fantasy. These fantastical worlds draw their power from engagement with the real.

Tiddalik the Frog, designed by Snøhetta

Flatland, designed by Ultramoderne

Gripho, designed by Smiljan Radić

The Seven Ravens, designed by Bernheimer Architecture

First Office + Ultramoderne among MoMA's 2016 Young Architects Program finalists

2015-12-02T15:30:00-05:00

Joining an eye-popping list of previous entrants and winners, the five finalists for the 2016 PS1/MoMA Young Architects Program (YAP) have been announced, and they are:

• Ultramoderne (the Providence, Rhode Island-based firm whose 2015 Chicago Architecture Biennial Lakefront Kiosk winning wood pavilion you may remember),

• Cobalt Office (based in Houston, Texas)

• First Office (L.A.-based authors of Nine Essays in the Graham Foundation's published series Treatise),

• Escobedo + Solis (hailing from Mexico City, Mexico)

• and Frida Escobedo (from Anzures, México)

As with YAP's previous 15 editions, the finalists submit proposals for a temporary summer installation to the program that must meet certain requirements. In the past, these requirements have included designs that provide water, seating, shade, as well as meeting environmental and sustainable guidelines. The winner will be announced likely in early 2016.

Team Ultramoderne's "Chicago Horizon" wins Chicago Lakefront Kiosk competition

2015-08-05T14:38:00-04:00

From mathematical sponges to nature-inspired havens, a sleek spacious canopy by Team Ultramoderne was selected as the overall winning Chicago Lakefront Kiosk design, as revealed by the Chicago Architecture Biennial today. Launched in late 2014, the global competition invited architects to propose kiosk designs inspired by the Windy City and its Lake Michigan waterfront.

The winning proposal — in addition to three commissioned kiosks designed by architects in collaboration with students from local Chicago architecture schools — will be installed at the Biennial starting this October. So far, the plan is that the winning kiosk will stand as a permanent lakefront installation even after the exhibition gates close in January 2016.

Team Ultramoderne, a three-person team comprising of architects Yasmin Vobis and Aaron Forrest of Ultramoderne in collaboration with structural engineer Brett Schneide, scored the top BP Prize (sponsored by oil/gas company BP) with their proposal "Chicago Horizo...