Archinect - News

Switzerland releases postal stamp honoring concrete architecture

2023-09-01T11:13:00-04:00

Switzerland's postal service Swiss Post has released a new concrete-inspired stamp. The ‘Art in Architecture’ stamp is the third edition of a series launched by the postal service in 2020, which seeks to “reflect Swiss Post’s commitment to art.”

The stamp follows the previous two editions in incorporating their subject’s material in the stamp itself. Made using cement pigments, the latest stamp holds an ultra-matte finish to give the depicted concrete wall a “tactile dimension.”

Image credit: Swiss Post

“This is a material that plays an important role in the history of architecture,” Swiss Post explains. “Concrete helped art, previously seen by most people as decorative, to attain its independence as an art form. As a stamp design, the symbolic concrete wall represents an artistic pillar that characterizes Swiss Post buildings throughout Switzerland.”

The wider project derives from an initiative that began in Switzerland after the Second World War which said that one percent of publi...

Canada Post unveils new stamp to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Habitat 67

2017-05-11T13:13:00-04:00

Habitat 67—the iconic housing complex designed by Moshe Safdie for Expo 67—turned 50 this year. To commemorate the occasion, we sat down and talked with Safdie about the experience and how it influenced his career. Meanwhile, the Canada Post celebrated the anniversary by unveiling a new commemorative stamp featuring the building. Safdie himself presented it during a ceremony at the building.

Check out our interview with Safdie here.

Iraq honors Zaha Hadid with commemorative stamp — which features rejected Tokyo stadium design

2016-06-20T17:45:00-04:00

The Iraqi postal service has issued new postage stamps honoring two of the country's beloved architects: Zaha Hadid, who died in March, and Mohamed Makiya, who died last year at the age of 101. Hadid and Makiya both changed the perception of architecture in the Arab world and introduced some of the aesthetics of Arabic-inspired architecture in projects around the world.

A small selection of Archinect news posts covering ZHA's winning/not winning Tokyo Olympic Stadium bid:

H/T Curbed

Postage Stamp Architecture

2011-05-11T11:23:00-04:00

I know I have been on a Dutch rag as of late, but where else can you buy postage stamps that honor not just architects, but architecture, and not just timeworn monuments, but experimental work that has not even been built? As a kicker, the stamps are designed so that, if you hold them up to a Web cam, they turn into 3D models floating in front of your screen.

USPS to offer Eames in 2008

2008-01-10T10:30:00-05:00

A collection of Eames stamps will be among the new stamps that the USPS will be offering this year. Gallery

In recognition of their groundbreaking contributions to architecture, furniture design, manufacturing and photographic arts, designers Charles and Ray Eames will be honored next summer with a pane of 16 stamps designed by Derry Noyes of Washington, DC. If you’ve ever sat in a stackable molded chair, you’ve experienced their creativity. Perhaps best known for their furniture, the Eameses were husband and wife as well as design partners. Their extraordinary body of creative work — which reflected the nation’s youthful and inventive outlook after World War II — also included architecture, films and exhibits. Without abandoning tradition, Charles and Ray Eames used new materials and technology to create high-quality products that addressed everyday problems and made modern design available to the American public.

Stamp Honours Architecture

2007-05-15T23:45:00-04:00

Canada Post is commemorating the centennial of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) by issuing a series of postage stamps featuring four noted Canadian architects...

The four masterworks chosen to grace these stamps are signature pieces by architects who have received the RAIC gold medal as well as the Order of Canada: Douglas Cardinal, St. Mary’s Church (1969); Arthur Erickson, University of Lethbridge (1971); Raymond Moriyama, Ontario Science Centre (1969); and Moshe Safdie, National Gallery of Canada (1988).

“When people enter a wonderful museum, soaring cathedral or awe-inspiring art gallery, I wonder how many of them ever stop to think about the architect who designed it,” said John Lee, general manager, enterprise solutions, at Canada Post.

“In Canada, we have a wealth of amazing buildings, some of which are so spectacular that they’re truly works of art.”

Stamp designer Ivan Novotny, realizing the importance of paying tribute to the artists behind the art, conc...

The Stamp of Approval

2005-05-19T13:48:00-04:00

Some of the most spectacular Master Works of Modern Architecture from around the country have been immortalized today on U.S. postage stamps. The U.S. Postal Service commemorates them with these glossy thumbnail pics for your envelope beautification. Read