With the ‘Bedsteeg’ – a wordplay on the traditional Dutch sleeping accommodation ‘bedstede’ – Roegiers is now bringing attention to residual urban space that can be used to improve living conditions for the homeless. ‘It is about certain basic human needs that have to be met for a homeless person to become strong enough – both mentally and physically – to regain independence,’ he told local newspaper Het Parool. — Pop-Up City
As his graduation project for Amsterdam Academy of Architecture, Patrick Roegiers created a simple cardboard house. Wedged between two existing buildings, covered in water-resistant coating and 3 meters high, the structure is meant to provide homeless people with a warm and dry place to sleep... View full entry
Made official yesterday at the beginning of the new year, the US has now withdrawn from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Along with Israel, the two countries first announced that they would be leaving the organization in October of 2017, citing anti-Israel... View full entry
The 1960s, a time when possibilities and technologies in many areas — artistic, political, scientific — seemed broader than ever, remain a seductive decade. Fifty years on from the first moon landing we need to remember that the most striking image from space (and the one that had the most real impact) were not those of the dusty, dead surface of the moon but those of our own planet, glimpsed as something delicate, whole and beautiful. — Financial Times
The future used to look brighter. This may be the feeling gained when looking back at some of the most radical visions from familiar names in architecture. Archigram, Superstudio, Archizoom and Cedric Price each took their shot at a future based on post-war rhetoric, and we continue to marvel at... View full entry
December may be the end of 2018, but that did not slow down the news and updates from the architecture world. December brought some architectural street cred from Congress, some thoughts on death and updates on post-modernism's mid-life crisis. The US Capitol Building↑ Architecture will be... View full entry
Through gorgeous illustrations and a relatable story Norman's Architecture Adventure teaches children how having an imagination is the greatest adventure anyone can have. Nothing holds Norman back, he sees what could be and he creates it. He is unrestricted by age, ethnicity, or preconceptions. — GoArchitect
Now published and available for purchase online, Norman's Architecture Adventure is a fun children's book written & illustrated by Joshua P. Sanabria. By following the steps of a young African American boy that aspires to be an architect just like his mom, the book not only hopes to foster... View full entry
The core issue centers around the idea that creatives will be replaced by super-intelligent robots to design buildings, create art, or design vehicles.
Yet even as AI evolves across other design-related industries, AI could prove to do more good than bad, tackling the mundane so that you can augment your creative process.
— Interesting Engineering
Artificial Intelligence has already changed the nature of industries like manufacturing and cybersecurity. However, where does architecture fit into this mix? A harrowing concern is super intelligent robots may replace the creative practice and take over the design process that architects and... View full entry
For years, suburbia has offered these companies acres of disposable, cheap, anonymous office parks: mostly one- or two-story concrete structures surrounded by loads of surface parking. These sites minimized costs, maximized security and allowed companies to scale up, contract or split into different units quickly — at the same time they promoted sprawl and traffic jams and transformed once-quaint bedroom communities south of San Francisco into phenomenally expensive places to live. — The New York Times
Even though Amazon's search for its new headquarters' locations has ended all the talks and negotiations about the company's potential impact on the cities it will settle in — New York and Crystal City, Virginia—have only begun. In ways, the choice comes as no surprise as tech platforms... View full entry
The Tel Aviv coastline is crowded with a mishmash of skyscrapers, Ottoman-inspired villas, and four-story cubes painted a sunlight-reflecting shade of white. But in a place where stylistic jumble is the standard, one strain stands out as the defining architectural aesthetic and a beloved household name: Bauhaus. — Artsy
Design fans may know to pin Tel Aviv as an architectural destination for its unlikely connection to the Bauhaus movement, which originated in Dessau, Germany, but few know why the style traveled over 2,000 miles during the 1930's. Krieger House | Courtesy the rothschild 71 hotel, Tel-AvivWhen... View full entry
Technology and innovation are an important part of this, but nature is my source of inspiration. That can not be otherwise, because I work for the body. Many people see nature and technology as two very different things, but I see technology as a simplified version of biological processes. — L'Officiel
Haute couture made its debut in 1858 with Charles Frederick Worth's iconic House of Worth. Since then fashion's historical timeline has influenced architects and designers in numerous ways. Fast forward to 2018, this relationship with architects has not faded. Zaha Hadid and Neri Oxman... View full entry
From an underwater residence in the Maldives to a 350-meter-tall “tulip” tower in London, it was projects galore throughout the month of November on Archinect. November was also packed with news and features that are not to be missed, including Herzog & de Meuron celebrating their 40th... View full entry
Heading into their fourth and fifth decades, deep into midlife architectural crises, needing face-lifts, they’re now vulnerable and back again in the public eye, eliciting concern and attracting a second look — and sympathy — even from people who never liked them. But will these loved-hated structures be saved, and should they? — The New York Times
Joseph Giovannini writes about the historic vulnerability buildings entering their fourth or fifth decade encounter and how the public distaste may, potentially, turn into a sudden nostalgia for certain veterans of a not-so-distant architectural era. Citing recent controversial efforts to... View full entry
Architecture, creativity, and community. These are the themes that best summarize Apple retail in 2018. Over the past year, Apple has worked in new ways to expand its global and local reach. The company has challenged the traditional definition of brick-and-mortar stores during an uncertain time for many retailers. — 9to5mac
The multi-billion dollar company made moves this year with its heavy presence of retail stores through out the globe. From their new and newly remodeled stores every flagship highlights elements of accessibility, natural light, and energy efficient initiatives present. This year alone, nine brand... View full entry
New York City's cultural history includes a staggering array of musical talent, but only a handful of musicians get their names on street signs.
In its final meeting of the year, the New York City Council voted 48-0 to honor three music icons in their home boroughs: famed hip hop artists Biggie Smalls/Notorious B.I.G. (a.k.a. Christopher Wallace) and the Wu-Tang Clan, as well as folk singer Woody Guthrie.
— Gothamist
Don't program your GPS to take you to Christopher Wallace Way (Brooklyn), the Wu-Tang Clan District (Staten Island), or Woody Guthrie Way (Coney Island/Brooklyn) just yet—Mayor Bill de Blasio still has to sign off on the approved bill. View full entry
In a big win for architects, the US House of Representatives passed the Senate version of H.R.2353, the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education (CTE) Act on Tuesday. Architects across the country led the charge to pass this bill, highlighting its promise in discussions with their representatives. — AIA
The academic grouping known as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) has long been regarded as the antithesis to the creative fields of art, music, and architecture. But the bill recently passed by the US House of Representatives allows states to use federal money to modernize... View full entry
Two Moscow-based architectural heritage activists have renovated a Soviet avant-garde apartment and are now renting it on Airbnb. In the property listing, Alexander Dudnev and Konstantin Gudkov describe the apartment as a “time machine” to the Stalin era: “Located in a historical constructivist building, carefully restored and fully equipped with authentic and reconstructed furniture, lights and tableware, it will transfer you to 1930s utopia.” — The Art Newspaper
We have done stories about beautifully designed rentals in the past, but given its rarity, this recent listing for an immaculately-preserved Moscow apartment from the 1930's stands on its own. It is likely that many of its patrons will miss plenty of its subtle modernist details, but they will be... View full entry