The opulence of Venice's 16th-century Palazzo Franchetti is as memorable as the designs of a particular Zaha Hadid. A can't-be-missed retrospective honoring the late architect's four-decade career opened to the public today, just in time for the hoards of visitors venturing out to the nearby... View full entry
Without a doubt, there will be plenty to see in and around the Venice Biennale. Planning on attending and not so sure where to start? For the next few months, Bustler will share our recommendations of national exhibition pavilions and related events that you shouldn't miss. Have a look at our first list that you can use as a starting point for your visit(s). Happy Biennale-ing! — Bustler
Don't miss out on an exhibition featuring Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, a nearby Zaha Hadid retrospective, and the national pavilions from Great Britain, the Republic of Korea, The Philippines, and more.You can also keep track of Archinect's ongoing Venice Biennale coverage... View full entry
May 26, 2016Aravena’s Biennale for architecture to give a damn might imply a specific kind of project, but, after one day on the ground, it is clear that there is no one way for it to respond. For one thing, there is a truly incomprehensible quantity of material to cover. The volume alone speaks... View full entry
May 25, 2016:At La Biennale Architettura di Venezia, architecture packages itself for a global forum. It is a distinct occasion through which the world’s constructs and place-makings converge in a single microcosm. Against the backdrop of a sinking city, designers and works tapped to represent... View full entry
Swiss architect Simon Kretz is the lucky protégé who will get to work with David Chipperfield in a year-long architecture mentorship from the 2016-17 Rolex Arts Initiative. The prestigious philanthropic program allows rising young artists worldwide to team up with globally esteemed professionals... View full entry
...Given all the harm we know air pollution can cause, does cycling actually help, or could it hurt? After all, I’m not breathing in the foul fumes of a truck when I’m sitting inside an air-conditioned train. I’m certainly not breathing them in deeply, as I would while huffing and puffing on my cycle.
Air pollution kills more than 5 million people every year, yet there has been no analysis of the costs versus benefits of city cycling. Until now.
— Quartz
Long story short: keep biking. Researchers found that, in almost every city around the world, the health benefits of biking "far exceed" the damage than can be caused by breathing in dirty air. Even in the worst polluted cities in the world, you have to ride at least 60 minutes a... View full entry
20 over 80: Conversations with Legends of Architecture and Design is the antidote to those breathless, over-hyped lists you’ve seen, trying to predict which baby-faced youngster will be the next big thing in their creative practice. A compilation of unique interviews with such greats as Milton... View full entry
the artist says we should not “sentimentalise or romanticise” the crisis, which has seen more than 2,000 children die on their way to Europe. [...]
Ai first visited Lesbos on Christmas Day last year, and has since dedicated most of his life to helping refugees there, even moving his studio to the island. [...]
“The goal is to make everyone conscious of the struggle of refugees. We need to protect humanity. The fight is endless. If we don’t fight, our children have to fight,” he says.
— theartnewspaper.com
Related on Archinect:Ai Weiwei documents life in Greek refugee camp on social mediaUN Refugee Agency Commissions 10k Ikea-designed Better SheltersCurator of MoMA's “Insecurities: Tracing Displacement and Shelter" on palliative refugee architectureWhat Does the Syrian Refugee Crisis Mean to... View full entry
The coveted 2016 Wheelwright Prize went to Anna Puigjaner, cofounder of Barcelona-based MAIO Studios...[who] won for her proposal “Kitchenless City: Architectural Systems for Social Welfare”. Using shared domestic spaces as a starting point, Puigjaner will spend the next two years studying various collective housing models in China, Korea, India, Russia, Sweden, and Brazil aiming to find new design solutions that address persistent housing dilemmas worldwide. — Bustler
Anna Puigjaner, MAIO Studios cofounder.MAIO Studio, Barcelona, 2011-12. Photo credit: José Hevia.Floating Columns, Chicago Architecture Biennial, 2015. Photo credit: David Schalliol.The jury cited Puigjaner's proposal for its relevancy to the ongoing housing issues occurring throughout the... View full entry
In the latest attempt from a big city to move away from car hegemony, Barcelona has ambitious plans. Currently faced with excessive pollution and noise levels, the city has come up with a new mobility plan to reduce traffic by 21%. And it comes with something extra: freeing up nearly 60% of streets currently used by cars to turn them into so-called “citizen spaces”. — The Guardian
"The plan is based around the idea of superilles (superblocks) – mini neighbourhoods around which traffic will flow, and in which spaces will be repurposed to “fill our city with life”, as its tagline says."A precedent for Barcelona's superblocks was actually... View full entry
Rem Koolhaas said Zaha Hadid Architects could survive the death of its founder if it feeds on her architectural DNA. [...]
“I think there is a model these days where fashion houses survive by working on the DNA of their founders,” he said.
“It is a model that is becoming more and more current and it could work in architecture too, I think.”
— building.co.uk
Related on Archinect:Impromptu Zaha Hadid retrospective planned for Venice BiennaleZHA after Zaha: Patrik Schumacher on Zaha and what's next for the firm, on Archinect Sessions #61Zaha Hadid Architects to continue under Patrik Schumacher's leadershipZaha Hadid Dies at Age 65 View full entry
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) joined officials of Shanghai Tower in unveiling the commemorative signboard designating Shanghai Tower the tallest building in China and the second-tallest building in the world. With a height of 632 meters, Shanghai Tower is only the third “megatall” building of 600 meters or higher in the world. — ctbuh.org
A tall plaque for a tall building: attendees of the ceremony included (from left to right) CTBUH China Office Board Member Junjie Zhang, President, ECADI, China Tall Building Awards Jury; Jiaming Cao, President, Architectural Society of Shanghai, China Tall Building Awards Jury; CTBUH China Office... View full entry
Today's podcast guests are NBBJ Managing Partner Steve McConnell and John SanGiovanni, co-founder of Visual Vocal, a new company bringing virtual and augmented reality systems to the architecture industry. As an investor in Visual Vocal, NBBJ plans to foster the company in all of its design... View full entry
If architecture is the ultimate fourth dimensional experience, then “Architectural Guide China” by Evan Chakroff, Addison Godel and Jacqueline Gargus is a remarkable fourth dimensional tour guide. It encapsulates not only the physical attributes and detailed locations of architecture in China... View full entry