Bold and unforgiving, the Brutalist landmarks and modernist housing estates which sprang up across Europe in the wake of the Second World War still dominate cities in the former Eastern bloc. [...]
The Calvert Journal talked to designers and creatives across the New East who are now reclaiming socialist-era Brutalism as a driving force behind their work, changing mindsets, updating old designs for the modern age and making their own statements on gentrification, nostalgia and innovation.
— The Calvert Journal
The Brutalism-inspired design products by (mostly Eastern) European creatives Calvert Journal talked to range from stylish Russian flower vases to nostalgic Slovak pre-fab panelák furniture, German post-war housing cuckoo clocks, a Modernist Belgrade Map, and Polish miniature tower block... View full entry
If you happen to be in Rhinebeck, NY later this month, stop by a new exhibition dedicated to two hand-knotted rugs designed by Steven Holl. The event will illuminate how the 'Ex of IN' and the 'Morton Feldman' carpets were inspired by architecture and display models, studies, watercolors... View full entry
Follow the intricate supply chains of architecture and you’ll find not just product manufacturers but also environmental polluters. Keep going and you’ll find as well the elusive networks of political influence that are underwritten by the billion-dollar construction industry. — Places Journal
In "What You Don't See," Brent Sturlaugson examines the supply chains of architecture to make the case that designers must expand their frameworks of action and responsibility for thinking about sustainability. Unraveling the networks of materials, energy, power, and money that must be... View full entry
Vienna-based architecture firm querkraft had the winning proposal for the Austrian Pavilion for Expo 2020 in Dubai, in response to the Expo's overall "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future" theme. Designed as a grid of cones that entices visitors to explore, querkraft's proposal... View full entry
Princeton University has tapped Sir David Adjaye to build the school's new art museum. Done in collaboration with local firm Cooper Robertson, it will replace the current museum with a “dramatically enlarged space for the exhibition and study of the museum’s encyclopedic collections, special... View full entry
With flawless blue skies and the latest landmarks of cutting edge design, postcards from across the Soviet Union were miniature propaganda posters for the success of the communist system.
Showcasing brutalist hotels, futurist TV towers, and bold concrete tower blocks, each image is a snapshot of the transformative decades between 1960 and 1990: from the endless optimism of Khrushchev's Thaw, to the closing years of the Cold War.
— calvertjournal.com
These Soviet Union postcards have been collected as part of a book project, Brutal Bloc Postcards, featuring some of the most iconic brutalist landmarks within the Eastern Bloc. Many of these structures are now abandoned, derelict, or completely gone. Take a look at this unique glimpse into the... View full entry
The buildings aren’t the work of celebrated modernist architects such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe or Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. They bear no resemblance to the towering glass and steel monuments to postwar rationalism that you see downtown. They house doctors’ offices and dry cleaners, furniture stores and accounting firms. Some are vacant, their prim hedges and topiary gone to seed. — chicagomag.com
Architectural photographer and critic Lee Bey discovered a group of quirky modernist buildings on a section of Chicago's Peterson Ave. Overlooked and unkempt, these low-rise gems draw from Southern California's modernist vernacular prompting an unexpected, sunny and 60's nostalgia on... View full entry
Rios Clementi Hale Studios had the winning concept to redevelop Jones Plaza in the heart of Houston’s Theatre District. As part of the 2015 Theater District Master Plan, the new design aims to revive the 1.5-acre plaza into a vibrant multi-functional public square for locals and visitors to... View full entry
The Boston Society of Architects/AIA (BSA/AIA) has just announced the 2018 BSA Honor and Awards winners. Recipients will be recognized at the BSA Design Awards Gala taking place this coming January of 2019. Check out this year's winners and some of their accomplishments below:BSA Award of... View full entry
Architecture, after all, dictates behavior: Public or private, indoor or outdoor, extravagant or humble, old or new, fake or real — these are a few of the obvious binaries by which we assess the spaces we inhabit. They are also the edges against which most architects hone their signature styles. [...] Tanijiri and Yoshida have instead devoted themselves to the liminal place where these elements break down; their designs [...] unite concepts that seem opposed. — The New York Times
Office in Imabari, Ehime, Japan, 2013, Suppose Design Office. Image via suppose.jp.The NYT Style Magazine showcases the fascinating work of Japanese architects Suppose Design Office and their ongoing minimalist exploration of fluidity, porosity, and (in)completeness. "No matter how closely the... View full entry
Elon Musk has revealed Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa as the potential first passenger to be launched to the moon by Musk's private aerospace company, SpaceX. Ranked the 18th richest person in Japan, Mr. Maezawa is the founder of the online fashion retail website Zozotown. He is also known... View full entry
Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Fall 2018 With a new school year upon us, it's time for Archinect's latest Get Lectured, an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back regularly to keep track of any... View full entry
This post is brought to you by designjunction designjunction presents a stellar talks program taking place at the iconic Bargehouse, Oxo Tower Wharf this London Design Festival. 50 world-class speakers will take to the stage between Thursday 20 - Friday 21 September. Moving away from... View full entry
The culture of fear and intimidation on construction sites has led to basic safety precautions being overlooked. Nashville is currently the most dangerous city in the south for construction workers, according to a report released in May 2017 by the Partnership for Working Families, Workers Defense Project and the University of Illinois at Chicago professor Nik Theodore, titled Build a Better South: Construction Working Conditions in the US South. — The Guardian
The Build a Better South: Construction Working Conditions in the US South study examined construction industry labor conditions across six key cities in the southern United States: Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Houston, Miami, and Nashville. "Among workers who had been injured during the past year... View full entry
By collapsing the roles of architect, developer and interior designer, they make spaces with an unparalleled intimacy and a highly refined sense of place. “When we choose a project, it’s not just a project,” says Chan Eayrs. “It’s where we choose to spend two to three years of our life, every day, touching and feeling it, living it.” — The New York Times
The New York Times profiles British architect couple Zoe Chan Eayrs and Merlin Eayrs, whose highly dedicated design process — in which they live in whatever project they are currently renovating through completion — has resulted in a refreshing portfolio of unique living spaces that “feel as... View full entry
