After I mentioned attending a screening of the new documentary film, Unfinished Spaces, about the National Art Schools in Havana, [my dinner companion] burst out: “What is it about the Art Schools? Why do foreigners love them so much? There’s nothing Cuban about those buildings. They’re ridiculous architecture for Havana and I always hated them.” — Places Journal

Life Architecturally follows internationally acclaimed husband and wife team, architect Robert McBride and interior designer Debbie Ryan... This intimate documentary observes the pressures of building a multi-story, twin-tower development; revolutionary new schools, one in the shape of an infinity symbol, and the ongoing construction and design of their own family home – which is on the backburner once again due to how busy they are. — vimeo.com

Architect Michael Graves considers the Portland Building one of his top achievements even though the building is still controversial. mdler thinks "this thing is a POS" and elletoman commented "gross". Donna Sink disagreed arguing "I love the Portland building and most important I love that this building happened.

Wang Shu, 49, deftly melds tradition and modernity, often by reusing bricks and tiles from demolished buildings in such bold new designs as a history museum in the Chinese city of Ningbo.

Wang calls his office the "Amateur Architecture Studio," yet that name is far too modest, the jury that selected him said in its citation.

His work "is that of a virtuoso in full command of the instruments of architecture — form, scale, material, space and light," said the jury... — chicagotribune.com

Without access to the grid, the Alonsos added photovoltaics and hydro power and worked to ensure the home wouldn't use much energy. The original position of the stable worked to their favor. The southern exposure allows for the sun to be the main source of heat during the winter.

The Alonsos also added large wooden shutters that slide closed like a second skin, covering the large windows at night to trap in most of the home's daily solar heat gain. — http://faircompanies.com

Modern Tide: Midcentury Architecture on Long Island explores the work of the region’s best postwar architects and designers, including Albert Frey, Wallace Harrison, Herbert Beckhard, Frank Lloyd Wright, Horace Gifford, Edward Durrell Stone, Marcel Breuer, Andrew Geller, Philip Johnson, Charles Gwathmey, Barbara and Julian Neski, and others. The film features interviews with architects and historians, as well as friends, families and clients of these influential designers. — vimeo.com

The whole thing reads more like Rate My Professor than WikiLeaks, which is great, since the general consensus these days is that architecture school is the new English major (not even Diller Scofidio+Renfro recommend going). — Art Info

Daniel Toole is a 26-year-old, Seattle-based architect who has, quite accidentally, found himself immersed in the hidden world of alleys. Recently awarded a travel fellowship by the local American Institute of Architects branch, he headed to Japan and Australia to study this arguably under-appreciated urban form. — theatlanticcities.com

“It had such a low budget. I was criticized for putting the windows in too small, but it got more expensive the more glass I had. I wasn’t the one who put the workers near the windows, limiting the light let in. Most people don’t realize I didn’t design the interior.”

Despite proceeding to design award-winning buildings and products worldwide, Graves holds the Portland Building as one of his greatest achievements. He still enjoys talking about the sculpture that sits in front, Portlandia. — djcoregon.com

For three straight months now, the Architecture Billings Index — a measure from the American Institute of Architects — has shown slight increases in work levels at architectural firms, with the latest figures showing a score in January of 50.9, compared with 51.0 in December.

... the index tends to provide a decent lens into the mood of the real estate world, and an increase may lay the groundwork for new construction projects months down the road. — blogs.wsj.com

Directed by Ai Weiwei (China, 2012). Official Selection International Film Festival Rotterdam 2012.

Ordos 100 is a construction project curated by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei. One hundred architects from 27 countries were chosen to participate and each design a 1000-square-meter villa to be built in a new community in Inner Mongolia. The 100 villas would be designed to fit a master plan designed by Ai Weiwei. — youtube.com

Some aspects of biomimicry have been played around with for a long time for example mimicking the structure of termite mounds. There have been a lot of architects who have toyed with biomimicry, but have been quite dependent on seductive imagery such as spiders' webs, but often the designs haven't been seen through in a particularly thorough way. Sometimes the examples from nature are just used as a departure point for developing original and whacky forms. — Michael Pawlyn, via wired.co.uk

The city was initially prepared to contribute €77 million to the project – but this figure has since gone up by nearly five times to more than €323 million – more than half the expected €600 million total cost. And the original completion date of 2010 has been pushed back to 2014.

The building’s designers had underestimated certain costs – such as an acoustic panelling for the main concert hall which cost five times as much as expected, adding more than €10 million to the bill. — thelocal.de

To create a smarter space, Kennedy constructed a 160-square-foot test home (the smallest legal-sized apartment for California) inside a Berkeley wherehouse. SmartSpace 1.0 is filled with innovations like the SmartBench, an adjustable banquette that converts from a dining table to a guest bed. — youtube.com

A bond forged in storm-ravaged New Orleans between actor Brad Pitt and a local architecture firm is bearing fruit in Kansas City — and may show the path forward to reusing dozens of empty schools.

The long-closed Bancroft School at 4300 Tracy Ave. will be renovated into affordable apartments and a community center with the aid of the Make It Right Foundation founded by Pitt... — kansascity.com