With the holiday season now officially upon us, the annual gift shopping panic has quickly picked up steam — and knowing how notoriously hard architects and designers are to shop for, doesn't make things any easier.One of our favorite gift ideas 'tis season are the adorable architectural toddler... View full entry
Many of us who have ridden inside an elevator since its invention 160 years ago are accustomed to hearing its ominous hums and creaks, as well as stories of malfunctioning elevators that cause people to be stuck inside for hours. So, the idea of hopping into a cable-free elevator in a mid to... View full entry
"The tradition I’m coming from is not pleasure. It’s a certain shamanistic excess" — NYT
Ted Loos explores the work of sculptor Thomas Houseago, whose architectural installation 'Moun Room' is currently showing until January 17th 2015, at Hauser & Wirth New York. 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... View full entry
The work presented for the Lucas Museum has precedent. It's not just out of the blue; it is something that has been in the air for many years. [...]
I would hope that the people of Chicago take the proper time to review the Lucas Museum. I also hope that they will give the client and the architects sufficient time to develop the project — to work with the city and the public to evolve the design.
Please do not dismiss it because it doesn't look like something you've never seen before.
— chicagotribune.com
Previously: Lucas museum faces lawsuit from Friends of the Parks; How the Lucas Museum Design Will Change Chicago's Lakefront - Rendering Reveals; and George Lucas announces MAD and Studio Gang as architects for his Museum of Narrative Art in Chicago View full entry
When it comes to a high-energy drink giant like Red Bull, most would probably expect their corporate offices to reflect the sporty, frat bro-friendly culture that the brand overwhelmingly attracts. Not a single hint of that can be seen in the company's newly designed office in New York by... View full entry
The architect today is no ‘fountainhead.’ It is rather sad to watch today’s ‘starchitects’, designing their weird-looking signature buildings. These seem now always to be either museums or condos for billionaires. The brand-name architect just build useless luxury housing for the 1% and their trinkets. The actual design of the world is now in the hands of other people. — Public Seminar Commons
McKenzie Wark pens a rather a wake up call of a book review on Easterling's new book Extrastatecraft: The Power of Infrastructure Space in which Easterling offers a set of subsidiary metaphors for contemporary infrastructure design: multipliers, switches, and topologies."The multipliers... View full entry
Dubbed “Dementia Village” by CNN, Hogewey is a cutting-edge elderly-care facility—roughly the size of 10 football fields—where residents are given the chance to live seemingly normal lives. With only 152 inhabitants, it’s run like a more benevolent version of The Truman Show [...]
Last year, CNN reported that residents at Hogewey require fewer medications, eat better, live longer, and appear more joyful than those in standard elderly-care facilities.
— citylab.com
Adapting to an unprecedented aging population means adjusting elder-care expectations and forms. So-called "Silver" architecture aims to address this growing population, but what about an urbanism of the elderly? Knowing that active social bonds can actually have long-term health benefits, why... View full entry
To capture more energy from the sun, one company is putting solar panels where they've never gone before: in the street.
This week, the Dutch company SolaRoad officially opened the world's first solar roadway in a suburb outside of Amsterdam. The 230-foot (70 meters) stretch of energy-absorbing concrete and glass will be used as a bicycle path for commuters, according to the company.
— Live Science
From skyscrapers and bridges to residential and heritage projects, the annual Structural Awards recognize the best in structural engineering excellence and the significant role that structural engineers worldwide serve. Out of this year's shortlist, 12 projects were awarded at the award ceremony in London. Winning the Supreme Award for Structural Engineering Excellence went to The Glass Lantern at the Apple Store in Istanbul. — bustler.net
Here's a few more of this year's winners: Above: Supreme Award for Structural Engineering Excellence and Award for Commercial or Retail Structures: The Glass Lantern at the Apple StoreLocation: Istanbul, TurkeyStructural designer: Eckersley O’Callaghan Award for Highway or Railway Bridge... View full entry
How did we come to live in an insular tribal sphere where unwritten rules and rigid moralities — about whom to like and dislike, what is permissible to say and what must remain unsaid — are strictly enforced via social media and online disapproval, much of it anonymous? When did this band of gypsies and relentless radicals get so conservative? — vulture
Could this be translated to architecture? Sure thing... I think architecture has a built in conservatism to begin with. Just look what the architects are pooling for.., fighting territories for things those really don't matter, blaming each other for handrail details and teaching values of the... View full entry
After being approached over two years ago about the idea, Barry Diller initiated a design competition, ultimately selecting British architect Thomas Heatherwick of Heatherwick Studio, famous for designing the Olympic caldron for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Landscape architect Mathews Nielsen will also lend his hand. Some critics of the idea are not happy about the secretive planning and how private funds will be used to construct a public park. — 6sqft
Billionaire media mogul, and largest private donor to the High Line, Barry Diller has pledged $130 million of the $170 million total to build a floating park and performance venue known as Pier 55 off 14th Street in the Meatpacking District. The 2.7-acre park will be located 186 feet off land, and... 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... View full entry
Vinn Patararin combines the craftsmanship, experience, and interests of multi-disciplinary designers Vinn Chokkhatiwat and Patararin Pongprast. Training separately at prestigious architecture and design schools in Thailand and France followed by working with different Parisian haute couturiers... View full entry
Q. You’re an established industrial designer. Why the focus now on building design?
A. I’ve always taken a great interest in real estate; in fact, if I had more capital, I’d probably be developing a lot more projects myself. There’s also money to be made in real estate — much more than one can as a designer. [...]
Q. But you’re not a licensed architect.
A. I am doing 11 buildings in the world, but I don’t have a stamp as an architect and I wasn’t educated as an architect.
— nytimes.com
