But the building has proven controversial for other reasons. The 50-storey portal may be the tallest picture frame in the world, but its architect wants to add another title to the stats: for him, it is the biggest stolen building of all time.
“They took my project, changed the design and built it without me,” says Fernando Donis, the Mexican architect whose frame proposal won an international competition in 2008 for a “tall emblem structure to promote the new face of Dubai”.
— The Guardian
The controversial Dubai Frame opened to the public yesterday, finally offering tourists a 360-degree view of the city. While construction only began in 2013, the new 150 meter landmark has been a decade in the making, blighted by controversy surrounding its stolen design. Beginning with a... View full entry
While 2017 saw developer Related Midwest remain tight-lipped on its plans for the site of the defunct 2,000-foot-tall Chicago Spire project, a rendering showing a pair of very tall skyscrapers rising at 400 N. Lake Shore Drive recently reignited speculation regarding the site’s future redevelopment. The rather slender image surfaced online, credited to Britain’s Zaha Hadid Architects. — chicago.curbed.com
Another rendering for the vacant Chicago Spire site recently surfaced online. The image was confirmed as a proposal from Zaha Hadid Architects; however, the developer Related Midwest will not be pursuing the design. While the project will not be built, the organic towers are certainly a... View full entry
Soon after the news, an Indian architect posted an image of [Foster's] design juxtaposed next to a stainless-steel idli maker—the kind used to steam idlis for breakfast in countless households across southern India—on an architecture-focused Facebook group. While some made fun of the resemblance—”How on earth will they cook in this?”—others praised the design for not being derivative of colonial-era architecture. — Quartz
Foster + Partners was invited to design the state assembly building in Amaravati, the new capital of the Indian state Andhra Pradesh. Since it was released, Foster's proposed design has drawn mixed reactions from the public. Some people compared the building's spiked design to an idli maker... View full entry
A new study put out by Chaos Group reveals how recent trends are affecting the architecture industry and offers insight into some of the potential changes we can expect for 2018. Based on feedback from 5,769 industry professionals, the study found, overall, the biggest change in architecture in... View full entry
The recently opened Apple store in Chicago has been praised by one of the city’s papers as an “elegantly understated… boon to the city’s riverfront,” but perhaps that perception will change after the discovery of a significant design flaw.The structure’s ultra-thin carbon fiber roof was fashioned in the shape of a MacBook Pro but does not have any gutters to catch water, so melting snow has begun to turn into icicles and sliding snow that can harm pedestrians below. — Fortune
Outside Apple's recent Chicago store signs read: "CAUTION Watch For Falling Snow and Ice" as noted by blogger Matt Maldre. The new design by Foster and Partners was intended as a “town square” experience for the community, and to serve as a flagship design for all future Apple stores... View full entry
In case you haven't checked out Archinect's Pinterest boards in a while, we have compiled ten recently pinned images from outstanding projects on various Archinect Firm and People profiles. (Tip: use the handy FOLLOW feature to easily keep up-to-date with all your favorite Archinect profiles!)... View full entry
The savvy emphasis on escape and disconnectedness and repose has resonated among the millennials Getaway aims to reach. In each of its markets, outside New York, Boston and Washington, Getaway’s houses are booked solid on weekends, and in early 2017, the company, founded by two Harvard graduates, raised $15 million in venture capital funding, which suggests that a tiny house campground may soon be coming to a forest near you. — The Washington Post
Getaway positions its retreats just outside major cities where individuals are encouraged to recharge and reconnect in nature. Tapping into the tiny house phenomena that rapidly gained popularity among millennials after the 2008 housing crisis, Getaway houses can be rented at just over $160 a... View full entry
At the 2016 Venice Architectural Biennale, Ban and Choi presented a scale model of a 13-kilometer (about eight-mile), garden-lined bamboo walkway meandering between North and South Korea, elevated to protect visitors from ubiquitous DMZ landmines. Along its length would be towers for viewing nature and, every kilometer, open-air “Jung Ja” meditation pavilions designed by different architects and artists, including several reserved for North Koreans. — Los Angeles Times
With support from Shigeru Ban and others, artist Jae-Eun Choi envisioned a garden-lined bridge called "Dreaming of Earth" that would meander through the Korean Demilitarized Zone, which has ironically grown into one of Asia's most significant wildlife sanctuaries. The initial proposal, which Choi... View full entry
A rare find on the housing market: The Olfelt House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright can now be yours for $1.3 million. Located in St. Louis Park, Minnesota this rare find includes 3 beds and 2 baths set on 3.77 acres of private, grassy meadows. The house features a vaulted great room, walls of... View full entry
![bhome System in Asturias, Spain by [baragaño] Architects. Photo: Mariela Apollonio.](https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/aa/aa9acmf4ei1xenn6.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=514 "bhome System in Asturias, Spain by [baragaño] Architects. Photo: Mariela Apollonio.")
It took less than four months to build this modern prefab home in a factory, and only five hours to assemble it on-site. The minimalist modern abode is set in Valdés, a small town in Asturias, northwest of Madrid. Studio [baragaño] designed the Montaña House as a stylistic mix between a traditional home and the granaries found throughout the area. — inhabitat
The house, designed by Studio [baragaño], was constructed in less than four months in a factory in Madrid then transported to Valdes, where a local artisan embellished the structure with a slate roof. This space was designed using traditional residential architecture as inspiration and boasts... View full entry
Pritzker Prize winning Norman Foster is the latest starchitect to work on a storied wine estate and his client is honoring him in a very special way. Château Margaux, one of Bordeaux’s oldest and most highly-regarded wineries, broke tradition and released a sleek, new bottle design featuring the British architect’s modern building etched in silver. The redesign for the 2015 Grand Vin is the first in Château Margaux’s 500-year history [...]. — Quartzy
If you happen to be a wine-loving fan of Lord Foster's œuvre and are considering to add a bottle of Château Margaux 2015 to your collection, be prepared to (currently) shell out around $1,400 a pop. Château Margaux's modern 2015 addition by Foster + Partners. Photo: Nigel Young.Photo: Nigel... View full entry
Throughout 2017, many of architecture's most prestigious accolades went to a diverse group of architects who have long dedicated their work to inclusivity, interdisciplinary collaboration, and sustainability — all important qualities that are increasingly moving to the forefront of architectural... View full entry
Sallam noted that the average stay in a refugee camp is 17 years, and many displaced people live in makeshift dwellings such as airplane hangars. They may have shelter, but it’s not “shelter with dignity,”
Design elements [of the Hex House] include 12-foot ceilings, which give the impression of roominess within the cozy space. Designed to function “off the grid,” [it] also has solar panels, and it’s raised slightly to protect against flooding and to provide some passive cooling, Sallam said.
— Finance & Commerce
The Minneapolis-based Architects for Society, a small non-profit group of mid-career architects from around the world, designed the Hex House to find better solutions for providing deployable emergency shelter for people displaced by natural or manmade disasters. The 500-square-foot Hex House is... View full entry
When it comes to large-scale residential buildings, a complex set of economic, urban, and regulatory systems sometimes seem to have left little room for architectural exploration. Architects often struggle to find a point of entry for inserting their creative perspective in a way that would... View full entry
To many longtime residents, the cookie-cutter constructions stripped Venice of its distinctive architectural character, turning parts of the neighborhood into uniform eyesores.
“Over the last year or two specifically, we’re seeing more chances being taken and more unique developments going up,” Lackey said. “This wave of architecture is great for Venice, which has always been a hub of individuality.”
— Los Angeles Times
Boring boxy developments have taken over Venice, California in the last 15 years, but in this LA Times piece, some architects think it's time for the coastal town to return to its eclectic architectural roots...currently in the form of multimillion-dollar luxury homes. View full entry
