Want to brush up on some architectural history or need an entertaining coffee-table book? "Discovering Architecture: How the World's Greatest Buildings Were Designed and Built" released today by Universe Publishing could be just what you need--and we're giving away three copies to three... View full entry
On the Portal of Paradise on the western façade of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan are sculptures of the end of modern New York. The Brooklyn Bridge is breaking in two, a bus plummeting from it into the water while waves rise up over the toppling skyline. People run in a panic below the Stock Exchange, and next to them a scorpion, snake, and other signs of pestilence swarm a skeleton. — hyperallergic.com
"Erratic" is an installation piece by Swedish architects Norell/Rodhe that shows a lot of personality. Daniel Norell and Einar Rodhe recently completed the project, which was featured in Helsinki Design Week this past September.
Made from a thick custom-made sack restricted at hundreds of points, the massive 3 x 3 x 3 meter piece illustrates the tension between meticulous design and temperamental materials.
— bustler.net
Watch a four-part interactive documentary about the fascinating past, present and future of high-rise living in cities around the world. — nytimes.com
A Short History of the Highrise is an interactive documentary; a collaboration between the National Film Board of Canada and the NY Times. MUD, CONCRETE, GLASS and HOME: Director’s Statement Great Cities, throughout history, have been defined by their “Great Buildings&rdquo... View full entry
I’m going to tell you exactly how I made this map. I hope that people with little or no experience making maps will be able to use this as a guide to getting started on a map of their own hometown. And I also hope expert mapmakers will chime in to tell us how we can improve our maps. — wired.com
In the latest edition of the Working out of the Box feature, Archinect talked with architect-turned-public-design-instigator Bryan Boyer. Will Galloway commented "very good article and very interesting career path. Very inspiring, Bryan". Meanwhile the newest edition of the Student Works... View full entry
My bewilderment quickly yields to a growing sense of dread. How is it that even in the heart of Silicon Valley it’s completely acceptable for smart technology to be buggy, erratic, or totally dysfunctional? ... We are weaving these technologies into our homes, our communities, even our very bodies — but even experts have become disturbingly complacent about their shortcomings. The rest of us rarely question them at all. — Places Journal
Electric car sharing in Paris, dynamic road pricing in Singapore, nationwide smart meters in the UK. “The technology industry is asking us to rebuild the world around its vision of efficient, safe, convenient living,” writes Anthony M. Townsend in an excerpt on Places from his... View full entry
It’s the perfect time to talk to the DJ about structures: in a week in which Moby has released new album Innocents, he is currently in the middle of a residency at LA’s 1920s Fonda Theater, a venue featured on his Los Angeles architecture blog. London-based artist Simpson has imbued today's pictures with a sense of each corresponding track, adding a mysterious figure to add scale and a narrative. — nowness.com
For our soon-to-be new pals Kayne, Brad and any other super-famous, ridiculously wealthy, mega-stars looking to become architects out there, here is BUILD’s Famous Person’s 5-Step Guide to Becoming an Architect:
1. Your new wardrobe budget is $175.
2. Your personability is too personal.
3. Dumb-down your life experiences.
4. You’re still too young.
5. Less bling, more books
— blog.buildllc.com
Becoming an architect is the new luxury product, but are celebrities ready to downgrade their lives? View full entry
The Planning Commission in Cupertino, where Apple has its current headquarters, endorsed the project this week. It now goes to the City Council, which is expected to vote on it on Oct. 15. — sfgate.com
As news spreads that Apple's new Cupertino headquarters moves closer to approval, Foster + Partners pushes forward with recruiting architects for the high-profile California project. See their current job openings here. View full entry
The BRIC House and UrbanGlass complex by LEESER Architecture opened its doors to the public on the morning of Oct. 2 in Downtown Brooklyn. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz were present to perform the ribboncutting at Brooklyn's newest creative space... View full entry
Rather than get trapped in the false dichotomy between ‘academia’ and ‘practice’ − where one is where ‘thinking’ happens and the other is about ‘buildings’ − we thought instead about ‘design’ and ‘research’ as activities that both students and practitioners would engage in throughout their careers. The question was how can you make a bridge to unite these two groups around those twin pursuits? — The Architectural Review
Will Hunter, the Deputy Editor of The Architectural Review, developed the London School of Architecture out of the "Alternative Routes for Architecture" think-tank, active in 2012. While much of the school is still being designed, Hunter will serve as Director and is seeking program accreditation... View full entry
It’s been 17 years since the federal government last experienced a shutdown. As federal agencies begin the process of shutting their doors and furloughing non-essential personnel, there are lots of questions about how it will affect all Americans, especially those who work with (and for) the federal government. If your projects receive federal funding, will they have to stop? If you are a federal contractor, what should you be doing? — aia.org
AIA President Mickey Jacob, FAIA, today issued the following statement on the partial federal government shutdown that began early this morning. “The AIA is a non-partisan professional association; we work with members of both political parties. And like most Americans, AIA members are... View full entry
Balancing Meier’s familiar white metal panels with a rich, iron spot brick, the architects were careful to break down the massing of the contemporary buildings, not exceeding a height of 60 feet in front, in keeping with the Newark Living Downtown Plan. — Architectural Record
Florida State University College of Education's Fengfeng Ke, an assistant professor in the Educational Psychology and Learning Systems department, is creating a computer game called Earthquake Rebuild that encourages creativity in design and uses architecture to teach geometry and other math skills. Ke and her team of fellow educators have been awarded a $549,937 National Science Foundation grant to support the creation of this game-based learning platform. — news.fsu.edu
