If yesterday’s terraces were just little rectangular slabs tacked onto the sides of buildings — on which a tenant might cower, or perhaps more likely, rarely step foot — today’s are becoming increasingly generous and welcoming.
Some developers and architects are ushering in a new age of terrace design in a bid to provide more interesting outdoor space, capitalize on views and add greenery. In the process, they’re adding drama to the buildings themselves.
— NY Times
Via 57 West terraces (pictured above) are inset to the building by BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group). The firm names them “cockpits” due to their shelter against wind and noise. 305 East 44th Street terrace floor rendering. Image: Moso Studio.Terraces of 1,400-square-feet will be located between... View full entry
A plan to build a platform in a tropical lagoon caught heat from locals, and a campaign stoked by opposition politician Valentina Cross swept away their proposals for an inaugural colony. In February, the Tahitian government stated publicly that an agreement with the Seasteading Institute in 2017 was now outdated and non-binding. [...]
That leaves the Institute, and their movement, once again at sea, shopping for a new host nation willing to take on a partnership.
— CityLab
In her article for CityLab, writer Hettie O'Brien looks into the Seasteading Institute's promise of a libertarian offshore utopia in Polynesia and the challenges the movement has been facing recently. View full entry
These 7 iconic buildings have been reconstructed in different architectural styles, such as The Louvre in Brutalist style pictured above. The effect is jarring to say the least... Buckingham Palace in Bauhaus style: Falling Water House in Classical style: Museu de Arte Contemporânea de... View full entry
Farrell and McNamara’s theme is “Freespace”, which they say describes “a generosity of spirit and a sense of humanity at the core of architecture’s agenda”. It can also mean the “free and additional spatial gifts” that architecture can offer and “its ability to address the unspoken wishes of strangers”. They have invited a selection of like-minded architects to demonstrate these qualities with three-dimensional installations of “scale and quality”. — The Guardian
Rowan Moore, architecture critic of the Observer, finds admiring words in his Guardian piece for Grafton Architects principals Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara, who are wearing the curator hats this year at architecture's biggest biennial spectacle: "McNamara and Farrell are neither celebrities... View full entry
Kanye West has made a confusing return to Twitter this month. During his recent spree, the rapper has doubled down on his support of Donald Trump, praised the right-wing commentator Candace Owens, and—in a move that would seem to be at odds with the first two—referred to Parkland shooting... View full entry
Google provides open access to 3D digital archives of historic sites around the globe, which have been recorded by CyArk for preservation purposes. CyArk, a non profit organization founded in 2003, has been working to digitally record, archive, and share immersive sites with people online. Through... View full entry
The fantasy world of Oscar-winning animator Hayao Miyazaki will come to life as a theme park, set to open in central Japan in 2022, the regional government said Wednesday.
Miyazaki is the cofounder of Studio Ghibli, the nation’s premier animation studio, and is renowned internationally for works including “Princess Mononoke” and “Spirited Away.”
Studio Ghibli has released a basic concept for the vast park, which will be built by 2022 near Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture.
— The Japan Times
Plans for a Studio Ghibli theme park have been floating for some time, but they appear to become more concrete now with the announcement by local officials in Japan's Aichi Prefecture and the release of (very conceptual) illustrations of the park depicting structures that resemble buildings from... View full entry
NEW YORK’S MUSEUM of Modern Art is under siege. Well, a virtual siege, at least. A group of renegade artists has co-opted the brightly-lit Jackson Pollock gallery on the museum’s fifth floor, turning it into their personal augmented reality playground. [...] those that have downloaded the MoMAR Gallery app on their smartphones, the impressionist's iconic paintings are merely markers—points of reference telling the app where to display the guerilla artists’ works. — Wired
MoMAR's augmented reality app and the unauthorized accompanying group show Hello, we're from the internet explore the intersection of private physical space and the public digital realm. "MoMAR is an unauthorized gallery concept aimed at democratizing physical exhibition spaces, museums, and the... View full entry
The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, which opens Thursday on a six-acre site overlooking the Alabama State Capitol, is dedicated to the victims of American white supremacy. And it demands a reckoning with one of the nation’s least recognized atrocities: the lynching of thousands of black people in a decades-long campaign of racist terror. — The New York Times
In a week that began with Confederate Memorial Day in Alabama, a new chapter of American history has begun today with the official opening of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, a place so central to the crimes and injustice of white supremacy in the South. The memorial... View full entry
This post is brought to you by ABB LEAF Awards. The LEAF Awards is an annual awards ceremony founded in 2001 that brings together leading architects, designers, developers and suppliers from around the world. It recognizes innovative architectural design projects and celebrates excellence in... View full entry
SPF:architects (SPF:a) has just released new renderings for Rumblefish, a 400-foot pedestrian bridge spanning across the LA River and connecting Elysian Valley (Frogtown) to Taylor Yard, a 42-acre industrial parcel and former rail yard site at the center of the city’s river revitalization... View full entry
The destruction of Syria’s heritage over the past eight years is the subject of a significant show due to open at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) in Doha later this year. The exhibition, entitled Syria Matters (opens 23 November), aims to explore the country’s centuries-old “extraordinary cultural heritage” against the backdrop of the raging conflict that has seen the destruction of six Unesco world heritage sites under President Bashar al-Assad. — The Art Newspaper
Mobile architecture has been around for centuries, yet it's as popular as ever today. Looking for some design inspiration? “Mobitecture: Architecture on the Move” is a fun little reference book that spotlights a vast collection of architectural designs that roll, inflate, pop up, slide, and... View full entry
The latest Cross-Talk focused on Criticism. Anthony Morey kicked things off "Does criticism today have a role in architecture at all? At least, does the version of criticism that exists today have a role? ...There is no real criticism in architecture today; it has vacated its own integrity for the... View full entry
Construction is now underway for the 2018 Serpentine Pavilion, which is scheduled to open in June in time for summer outdoor festivities at the Serpentine Galleries in London. Mexican architect Frida Escobedo — who was commissioned to design the 2018 pavilion in February — is... View full entry
