For the sake of argument, let's say that Bashar al-Assad is on the phone. He wants her to build him a prison in Damascus. "Well, I wouldn't mind building in Syria," she shrugs. "I'm an Arab and if it helps people, if it's an opera house or a parliament building, something for the masses, I would do it. But if someone asks me to build a prison, I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't build a prison, irrespective of where it is, even if it was very luxurious." — the guardian
She won't build a prison? How many buildings have been designed, and constructed where the intent is one thing, and the ultimate use has been for something quite nefarious? I don't care who she builds for, ultimately she has to live with those decisions, but she can't be this naive, and expect... View full entry
Archtober–New York City's Architecture and Design Month–is fast approaching. The anticipated festival from Oct. 1-31, 2013 continues to grow with an amazing variety of exhibitions, conferences, films, tours, and other activities to celebrate the importance of architecture and design... View full entry
The TREE|HUB is a timber tree house built 3 meters off the ground in a backyard in Peckham, London. Werk Studio—a collaborative team of design students from Goldsmiths-University of London—initiated the non-profit project for the London Design Festival as a pavilion for hosting a conversation series with featured designers until Sept. 22. — bustler.net
Jason Scroggin, of Lexington, KY-based Design Office Takebayashi Scroggin (D.O.T.S.), has shared with us the project The PLAY LOUNGE—the result of a fabrication course Scroggin taught last Spring at The University of Kentucky College of Design, School of Architecture. The resulting objects... View full entry
After an evening aboard the USS North Carolina, the Raleigh architect took home AIA NC’s highest honor as well as four awards for his firm’s completed projects. September 19, 2013 (Raleigh, NC) -- After what turned out to be a very big night for his small, Raleigh-based firm... View full entry
Simply put, the AIA Viewfinder by Studio H:T Architecture in Downtown Denver is like an amped-up version of the viewfinders used in photography, film, or just for fun. A co-winner of the AIA Viewfinder Colorado Competition last year, the Studio H:T AIA Viewfinder is a 9-foot-tall "lens" that... View full entry
The winners of the 5th annual UK and International Restaurant and Bar Design Awards were announced during the London awards ceremony on Sept. 12. Every year, the competition receives entries from the best architects, designers and hospitality operators in the UK and worldwide. The judges also usually consist of several influential figures including designers, creative and hotel directors, editors, and food critics. — bustler.net
Overall Winners: Best Bar: Atrium Champagne Bar (London) by Foster + Partners Best Restaurant: Höst (Denmark) by NORM Architects View full entry
Well-designed places can promote health, and design professionals can create them. Health depends... on wholesome places, not just for individuals, but across entire communities, and health professionals can recognize and support them.
Accordingly, two worlds need to come together: the world of design, in which architects, planners and their colleagues create places; and the world of health, in which doctors, public-health officials and their colleagues fight injury, illness and disability.
— seattletimes.com
Howard Frumkin, dean of University of Washington’s School of Public Health, and Daniel Friedman, Ph.D., architect and former dean of the UW College of Built Environments, discuss the importance of architects and health specialists working together to create healthier spaces. View full entry
For the past few months, we've been following the progression of the Van Alen Institute's Ground/Work competition for their new street-level space—from its launch to the announcement of the finalists [...].
While we wait for the winner of the competition to be announced this Thursday, we are happy to give a more thorough look into the proposal from the Of Possible Architectures team, one of the three Ground/Work finalists. More specifically, we're going to take a look at the Van Alen Table.
— bustler.net
Previously: Ground/Work finalist teams reveal their designs for Van Alen Institute’s new street-level space UPDATE: Collective–LOK Wins Van Alen Institute’s Ground/Work Competition View full entry
FIGMENT, ENYA, and SEAoNY announced the five finalists for this year's City of Dreams Pavilion Competition. [...]
The winning project will be constructed on Governors Island in New York City for the Summer 2014 season.
— bustler.net
The finalists are: ArtCloud by IKAR Dreamcatcher by ManifoldArchitectureStudio Governor’s Cup by CDR Studio with Sustainable Engineering Services MÖBI water tower pavilion by STUDIO V Architecture with FTL Design Engineering Studio and Plaxall Urban Accordion by afoam View full entry
The Architecture & Design Film Festival the largest U.S. film festival devoted to the subject, is returning for its fifth year at Tribeca Cinemas in New York City for five days from Oct. 16-20. This year's schedule is packed with premieres, panel discussions, Q+A sessions, book signings, and... View full entry
”Recently we have witnessed the mounting of very large development projects in European and American cities. There is a striking physical similarity among the schemes and also a convergence embodied in private-sector involvement and market orientation.” — Failed Architecture
European urbanist Lea Olsson and Jan Loerakker gets to the bottom of recent urban development ventures in Europe and set up a pattern repeated in many other places in the World. "This essay doesn’t try to blame the public-private model for certain urban failures, but rather tries... View full entry
Archtober–New York City's Architecture and Design Month–is fast approaching. The anticipated festival from Oct. 1-31, 2013 continues to grow with an amazing variety of exhibitions, conferences, films, tours, and other activities to celebrate the importance of architecture and design... View full entry
Shaw Contract Group announced on Sept. 6 the Global Winners for their "Design Is..." Award competition. For the past eight years, the "Design Is..." Award honors the architecture and design firms whose projects best exhibit beautiful yet impactful design through innovative solutions and functions. — bustler.net
The owner of Hill House is Scott Croyle, senior vice president of design at HTC. At two bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths and a study, the home is just large enough to share with his wife and son. Its modest scale allowed Bernstein to emphasize quality materials over quantity of space.
"It's almost a negative value in that (tech) community," said Bernstein of over-the-top homes. "There's a real emphasis on not seeking a mansion right away."
— sfgate.com
