In order to avoid participation in architecture and urban design becoming merely a politically required token of democratic involvement - a kind of fake participation that does not actually engage the participants in any meaningful way - architects, planners, and designers need to commit themselves and relinquish control, as Jeremy Till claims in an interview with us entitled "Distributing Power".
(Bernd Upmeyer, Editor-in-Chief, October 2015)
— http://www.monu-magazine.com/news.htm
In order to avoid participation in architecture and urban design becoming merely a politically required token of democratic involvement - a kind of fake participation that does not actually engage the participants in any meaningful way - architects, planners, and designers need to commit... View full entry
The question to be addressed by confronting these different types of ‘enclaves’, is of the role of architect and the scarce influence of the architectural practice to affect the social realm. The intangible architectures that emerge from these urban ecologies create a wider system; an archipelago of enclaves can be found from one place to another, from one epoch to the next one — dpr-barcelona
A big picture on "enclaves and archipelagos as built environment and social realities cities need to ultimately adopt and use these systems in their developmental urban design projects. "This is a tale of two cities. One, designed and dreamt by the architect. The other, the result of regional... View full entry
The Stevens Institute of Technology of Hoboken, New Jersey won the 2015 Solar Decathlon with their storm-resilient SURE HOUSE this past weekend. One of the crowd favorites in this year's competition, the SURE HOUSE scored the highest in seven out of the 10 contests, which put the team in the lead... View full entry
The same is happening in other UK cities, which have decided that signal junctions are better for traffic flow and safer for cyclists. [...]
After a century of resistance, US cities are finally learning to love the roundabout – the Bronx just got its first – believing them to be safer and better for traffic flow. [...]
“Traffic lights are so fascist and dictatorial, telling you when to stop and go,” says Beresford. “Roundabouts are quintessentially English and democratic in their etiquette.”
— theguardian.com
More from Archinect on street design:Humanizing street design with 'shared space'More roads won't ease traffic, but charging drivers more at peak hours will4,114 Stoplights in Los Angeles and the Intricate Network that Keeps Traffic MovingFrom California to Texas, car culture is losing its monopoly View full entry
The sun beat down onto the asphalt grounds of the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California, where a village of 14 solar-powered houses popped up for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon. Multi-disciplinary teams of college students worldwide dedicate two years to designing 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
Cities are everywhere. Billions of us live in them, and many of us think we could do a better job than the planners. But for the past 26 years dating back to the original SimCity, we've mostly been proving that idea false. [...]
And now, here, I'm going to take you on a whirlwind tour through the history of the city-building genre—from its antecedents to the hot new thing.
— arstechnica.com
Related on Archinect:The issue of homelessness in SimCityHow video game engines may influence the future of architecture (and everything else)Three guiding principles for a fine fake metropolis View full entry
Instead of belching oppressive fumes over Moscow's recently pedestrianized Red October District, the iconic smokestacks of the century-old GES2 power station will be transformed into conduits for ventilation as part of the Renzo Piano Building Workshop's sustainable redesign of the facility into... View full entry
On the artificial IJburg island east of Amsterdam, the local Tennisclub IJburg now has an ultra modern clubhouse known as The Couch, designed by MVRDV and Studio Bouwkunde. Construction began later than originally announced last April and the building recently opened its doors to the public... View full entry
On November 17th, Santiago Calatrava, whose designs have inspired awe both for breaking aesthetic and financial boundaries, will be awarded The European Prize for Architecture at the World Trade Center in New York City. Calling Santiago Calatrava a "visionary theorist, philosopher and utopian... View full entry
boring environments can generate stress, impulsivity, lowered levels of positive affect, and risky behaviour. [...]
based on well-understood principles of neuroplasticity and on what is known of the effects of deprivation and enrichment in other more extreme settings ... there is every reason to believe that these sterile, homogeneous environments are exerting a measurable effect on our behaviour [...]
Given this, the prudent design of city streets and buildings is a matter of public health.
— aeon.co
More on the intersection of urban design and mental health:How urban designers can better address mental health in their work, according to a new think tankMindy Thompson Fullilove is a psychiatrist for citiesPreventing disease and upholding public health through architectureIt's official: trees... View full entry
Time is running out to get your ticket to the 2015 Core77 Conference, DESIGNING HERE/NOW, taking place this October 22nd - 24th in Downtown Los Angeles. It's a full day of exploring the spaces between design disciplines where today's most impactful work is taking place. You don't want to miss... View full entry
A sausage as tall as you are. A skin cell the size of a dinner plate. The universe, in a glittery fan. These are a few of the props used by Andrés Jaque, founding architect of the Office for Political Innovation, in his "Superpowers of Ten" performance – a play staged on the ground floor of the... View full entry
Ikea is to Airbnb what oxpeckers are to rhinos and Donald Trump is to Fox News: a symbiotic partner. [...]
It may seem perverse to stump for standardization when Airbnb is known for its diversity, with lodgings in not just chateaus and cute bungalows, but also tree houses and shoe houses. [...]
But dig a little deeper and you’ll find the cool lingua franca of Ikea permeating Airbnb’s 1.5 million listings like fat marbling rib-eye steak.
— travelandleisure.com
Airbnb and Ikea have previously collaborated on a contest in Tempe, Australia, for shoppers (guests?) to spend the night in showrooms for $10. But the partnership that this piece's author is proposing seems to directly align Airbnb's practices with exactly what its opponents criticize most –... View full entry
Lasermaze is an architectural installation formed from three miles of UV wool and over 3000 hand tied knots, suspended from an industrial structure of steel scaffolding and chains. Created for the 2015 Detroit Design Festival, Lasermaze is currently located along the Dequindre Cut, a former... View full entry
