Quebec tent designer Maurice Monette thinks he has the solution to Haiti's housing crisis in his prototype home of foam and aluminum dubbed The Human — vancouversun.com
"I want something that will work in the culture of my country," he said. "I don't like foreigners bringing ideas that are not right for my country." Haitians who viewed the house loved it. Boulos calls his development "The Dignity Project" — bringing jobs and proper homes to his people, as... View full entry
Remember your mama always telling you not to skateboard inside the house? Well, think again, mom: Francois Perrin of LA-based Air Architecture has shared with us some pretty impressive photos of his latest production, PAS House, a full-scale, 753.5-square foot prototype for a house he is... View full entry
JG Ballard's rather drab semi-detached home in Shepperton is inextricably linked with the life of one of post-war fiction's greatest talents. Many of the country's best writers, often Ballard's disciples, visited the author during the 49 years that he lived in this sleepy suburb, where he crafted the dystopian thrillers Crash and Cocaine Nights. — independent.co.uk
And then there’s something about the building’s appearance that seems to unsettle people. Just when things got back on track after the fire, a Chinese critic published an article saying that the building’s contorted form, which frames an enormous void at its center, was modeled on a pornographic image of a naked woman on her hands and knees. The piece ignited a storm of negative press, forcing Mr. Koolhaas to issue a denial. — nytimes.com
Scott Erdy, designer of the new library, says open, flexible space — the furniture is movable and the walls act as one giant whiteboard — allows student and staff "knowledge transfer," a concept reinforced by Danuta Nitecki, dean of Drexel's libraries. "We don't just house books, we house learning," she says. — time.com
I am pleased to announce the completion of interior finish work on the New Norris House project! Check out a few of these amazing shots taken by Ken McCown, chair of our Landscape Architecture Program in the College of Architecture and Design. — University of Tennessee (Samuel)
Lian Chikako Chang thinks that "It's worth it for the image of the jumping Ai Weiwei alone!" and must really mean it since she posted twice. However, jcr considers the image from the zine's front "cover is the epitome of bad taste. You are disgusting."
We're excited to announce the release of the first issue in the Archinect Zine! This is a collaboration between Archinect and our friend Christian Chaudhari's publishing initiative Friction House and features "The most absurd bits of Chinese culture, art news and dissident activism directly... View full entry
OMA has won the competition to design the new Parc des Expositions (PEX) in the innovation zone of Toulouse, in southern France. PEX is conceived as a new gateway to the city and will host exhibitions, conferences, and concerts. — bustler.net
The eccentric California creator of a Mojave Desert compound of whimsical buildings known as Phonehenge West was jailed Friday for failing to obey an order to tear down the illegal structures. — Slate
The city of Sacramento has launched a new campaign to keep the public in the fight for a new arena. The city is asking its neighbors to become citizen architects. Now you don’t really have to be an architect to sign up. In fact, if you’re a Kings fan and you want a new, downtown arena then you’re probably just who the city is looking for. — fox40.com
Prora was designed to accommodate 20,000 people in one go. Hitler was convinced Germany lost World War I because its population lost its nerve. His idea was to create cheap package holidays to wed the nation to Nazism and to shape happy, strong, well-rested new generations capable of winning the next war. — Der Spiegel
Germany's newest youth hostel offers access to one of the best beaches the Baltic has to offer. Sunseekers are flocking to the place, which is booked out for the summer season and is already receiving bookings for summer 2012. The hostel stands just meters away from one of the best beaches the... View full entry
We loved the futuristic lobby, which is decked in purple neon and stainless steel, and has a robot that stores luggage. It feels more like the inside of a video game than another overstuffed hotel entrance. — businessinsider.com
Archinect's Building of the Week series is brought to you by our friends at OpenBuildings.com, the web's most comprehensive directory of buildings. As I set on writing about the City of Culture of Galicia, I was baffled by the amount of papers, articles and comments on the subject and their... View full entry
But the real show is outside, where the garage includes a number of large-scale public-art installations, including pieces by Anne Marie Karlsen (along 2nd Street) and L.A. firm Ball-Nogues Studio (along 4th Street). The Ball-Nogues piece, called “Cradle,” features hundreds of stainless-steel spheres suspended from one of the garage’s exterior walls. The design is open-ended enough to suggest both sea foam and a Newton’s Cradle... — latimesblogs.latimes.com
Renzo Piano recently unveiled plans for a new waterfront cultural center and urban park in Athens that includes a massive opera house and a library that is directly connected to the park by a sloping green roof. The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center will also incorporate several sustainable technologies with the hope of attaining LEED Platinum certification. — Inhabitat