Architecture shapes our environment. But studying architecture shapes how we see, understand and interpret the world. A building, a neighborhood, a city — each is the result of particular priorities, circumstances and choices.It’s a startling realization, especially for young people, but also... View full entry
Tomas Koolhaas is a filmmaker in Los Angeles, whose most recent project, a documentary about his father Rem, recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival. REM follows its titular architect around the world, visiting his projects and investigating their human impact. Aware of his special... View full entry
This week, plunge yourself into the art world with opening shows, private views and controversial subjects all on offer in London. Works on display throughout the exhibitions seek to challenge the viewer, and in the case of Guerrilla Girls, bring about big, tangible change through... View full entry
A recreation of Palmyra’s Arch of Triumph was unveiled in New York on Monday, almost a year after Islamic State militants destroyed the original structure.
The 1,800-year-old Roman arch was blown up by the extremist group last October, but a team of archeologists at Oxford University’s Institute for Digital archeology (IDA) set about recreating it, in an act of resistance to Isis’s rampant acts of cultural destruction in Iraq and Syria.
— the Guardian
The recreation, which is two-thirds the size of the original, was constructed with 3D printing technology using Egyptian marble. Historically, the arch marked the entrance to the Temple of Baal, which was later converted into a church and then a mosque.The recreated arch was displayed last spring... View full entry
“Village” may not seem like the right term for a cluster of tenement-style walkups that can house more than 100,000 people. Chengzhongcun hang onto the name partly because of the familiarity evoked by the traditions and small-scale businesses that thrive among their migrant populations, and partly because when modern Shenzhen began growing, these places really were just villages in the middle of the city. — foreignpolicy.com
Related stories in the Archinect news:A tragic tale of live-and-let-die development on Shanghai's Street of Eternal HappinessAi Weiwei calls modern Chinese architecture 'fatalistic'Take a look at the rapid urbanization of China's Pearl River Delta View full entry
Back in May, Foster + Partners unveiled their design for the Droneport, a modular shell-like structure that is constructed with local labor from earthen bricks and thin compressed tiles to create loading areas for food and medical-aid bearing transport drones. A version of the Droneport was built... View full entry
Virginia Raggi, who was elected in June and has faced a tumultuous start to her tenure, said in a highly anticipated press conference that it would be irresponsible to move forward with the bid, given the debts that it would accrue and the burdens it would place on Roman taxpayers. [...]
The 38-year-old lawyer said the city was still paying debts it had accrued for the Games in 1960, and would not stand for more “cathedrals in the desert” – abandoned stadiums – that the city could ill afford.
— theguardian.com
Take the Olympics, please!Wilkinson Eyre, designers of Rio's biggest Olympic stadium, reflect on the Games' architectural legacyHow are London's Olympic grounds being used 4 years later?Boston backs out of 2024 Olympics bidJapanese slam highly unpopular Tokyo Olympic Stadium design with hilarious... View full entry
I was completely moved by the corona motif. It seemed like a way to start to tell a story that moves from one continent, where people were taken, along with their cultures, and used as labor, then contributed towards making another country and new cultures. That history then continues in the decorative patterning of those panels. — New York Times
Adjaye. View full entry
The Chicago Architecture Biennial and Mayor Rahm Emmanel announced the curators of the second iteration of the Biennial: the Los Angeles-based firm Johnston Marklee. The studio, which comprises Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee, will be assisted by Todd Palmer of the National Public Housing Museum, who... View full entry
Are you looking for just the right home for you, your corpulent husband, spoiled son, and abused nephew of mysterious provenance? Just can’t find the right-sized cupboard-under-the-stairs? Now you’re in luck: the 3-bedroom detached house used as the set of Harry Potter’s childhood home has... View full entry
It's been a tumultuous year for Cooper Union: after revoking and then reconsidering its free tuition policy for students last year, the institution saw numerous prominent trustees resign. Now, Cooper Union has appointed executive director of the William Penn Foundation Laura Sparks as its first... View full entry
Almost every kitchen counter in the United States is 36 inches tall. And 25 inches deep. Eighteen inches above the counters are the cabinets, which are 16 inches deep.
Where do these sizes and dimensions come from? Have they always been so exact?
— Atlas Obscura
"In 1938 Hitler’s chief architect Albert Speer hired Neufert to, as Speer put it, “oversee the standardization of building parts, and the rationalization to building methods.” He got to lead his own team of designers and technicians. They were called The Neufert Department.He created the... View full entry
Almost every kitchen counter in the United States is 36 inches tall. And 25 inches deep. Eighteen inches above the counters are the cabinets, which are 16 inches deep.
Where do these sizes and dimensions come from? Have they always been so exact?
— Atlas Obscura
"In 1938 Hitler’s chief architect Albert Speer hired Neufert to, as Speer put it, “oversee the standardization of building parts, and the rationalization to building methods.” He got to lead his own team of designers and technicians. They were called The Neufert Department.He created the... View full entry
After more than four years of wrangling over Frank Gehry's proposal for the Eisenhower memorial, the Eisenhower family has removed its objections to a modified version of the initial design. Although information about specific design changes and compromises was scant, according to Reuters the... View full entry
The Architectural League of New York is getting ready to kick off another eventful Beaux Arts Ball 2016: Tabula Rasa, taking place on September 30 at the new nARCHITECTS-designed A/D/O space in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Co-chaired by Calvin Tsao and Zack McKown, this year's Tabula Rasa theme is all... View full entry