Facebook Fan Page: Top 10 websites of architecture offices
A great part of our day is spent browsing architects websites looking for new works to share with our readers, and we have noticed that some are very good, while others were such a pain to navigate… So we decided to go and ask our community about this.
Last week, we asked our Facebook Fans for the best architecture office website they knew. We checked them out and decided the top 10, with no particular order. We looked for the best ones in terms of looks, navigation (is is easy to navigate? Is it fast? Can you go back without reloading the menu? Can you link directly to a specific project?), presentation quality, does it look up to date?, projects (can you sort them by location? by year?).
Also, you will notice that no flash website made the list. That’s because we think flash websites have some dificulties. For example, you can’t link a specific project and Google can´t index most of the contents. So we decided to create a ‘honorable mention’ list with all the flash websites we thought deserve it.
Remember to keep participating through our Facebook Fan Page! The complete list, after the break.
Top 10 Architecture Office Websites
REX / New York, USA:
Studio Under Manufacture / Oakland, USA:
Tamizo / Łódź, Poland:
Herreros Arquitectos / Madrid, Spain:
OSKA Architects / Seattle, USA:
Steven Holl Architects / New York, USA:
Claus en Kaan Architecten / Amsterdam, Netherlands:
C. F. Møller Architects / Århus, Denmark:
UNStudio / Amsterdam, Netherlands:
Stephen Alton / New York, USA:
Flash websites Honorable Mention
DCPP Arquitectos / Mexico D.F., Mexico:
Delugan Meissl Associated Architects / Vienna, Austria:
KONIOR STUDIO / Katowice, Poland:
JDS Architects / Copenhagen, Denmark:
Diller Scofidio + Renfro / New York, USA:
BIG / Copenhagen, Denmark:
Snøhetta / Oslo, Norway
do check out the website of kenzo tange…
i think it beats all hands down.
http://www.ktaweb.com/works/en_index.html
That is a cool website, however I personally hate that the projects can only be seen through pop-ups.
I hope you are joking, cause that site got NO usability. And the design isn´t top notch. Looks like something that got made 6-7 years ago.
nope…
oma website is missing out here…. who the hell’s the jury?
LOL delugan-meissl is the worst website I ever seen
JDS is a headache to navigate
We picked them because you can categorize the projects in several ways, and they are displayed with big photos. Also, they do use a blog to post news from the office.
If that’s your criteria then I don’t see how http://www.morphopedia.com didn’t qualify.
Wow, I think that could cause a seizure.
Mir, Kenzo’s page sucks. Why do you have to click on the bubbles to see the project list? And if you mouse off they disappear? On top of that the projects are pop-ups. Yeah, great page….
Most of these sites are sadly+poorly thought out, making me wonder about their building plans.
Consider Holl’s: First he risks a major contrast issue with the GIANT navigation (resembling what, one of his compositions?) on top of photographs. Then the whole menu structure gets abandoned when you’re inside a project. Bonus for vertical scrolling, but where in the project list are you?
OSKA – wrong use of scroll content inside tiny box, tiny images. Don’t worry, we’re all not on Asus EeePC’s
SAA – I feel like I’m going to break those tiny thumbnails with a mouse click. I can barely target them, what is this Counter Strike?
H – menu redundancy, top and bottom, otherwise pretty good
Deluganmeissl – Did you really have to change the cursor?
Tamizo – Great fast content, but where are you in the hierarchy when you click inside a project?
Studio – the menu actually shifts when you change “pages” – so 90′s, and the big image doesn’t go away with a click.
Diller – Flippy cards are cool but SO SLOW AND BLURRY, and mouse movement for scrolling suffers turrets syndrome. Plus your page makes no attempt at preloading the next heavy project.
Konior – Please, how do I get to the content?
BIG – Really cool click-through slide show, but 2 pop ups?
Claus – Pop up for a tiny ass image with a tiny ass next arrow?
JDS – did someone spill some skittles on an Atari?
Snohetta – Why are you forcing me to choose location when the thumbnails are right there!? Maddening… Oh, tree view (whatever the hell that is) makes it work, but I really can’t wait for your 750k high rez images on the West Coast, mmmk?
______________
The best site on here is REX because
a) you know where you are
b) you can quickly look at the work
The only usability fault with REX is the atypical horizontal scrolling and on top of that no scroll bars.
And a nod to UN for good layout and smart use of colors.
snohetta
http://www.snoarc.no/
FOA
http://www.f-o-a.net/
Not to be negative, but you should also do the top 10 worst websites… it might be helpful… we can learn what works and what doesn’t…
that would take months to judge if not years
check this one: officego.com beautiful website.
The novelty of flash is kinda over now viceroy -…. very rarely are they programmed with any sort of user efficiency/friendliness in mind. This site you mention is a classic example.
Their analytics (if they even check them) must be unreadable.
Can you imagine if Arch Daily had annoying music, tiny images, long load times, and stupid beeping buttons all over the place’?
None of us would come back.
Has anyone seen the modern-zen.com website? From a user friendliness point of view, you don’t even have to click your mouse to see a comprehensive list of all the commercial and residential work we do. Scroll left or right, and you can see all of our projects. Click on any one image, and the relevant project page loads up. I can’t think of any other way to make this more user friendly.
Agreed, modern-zen website is very nice. User friendly and innovative projects. I prefer the yellow to the green of the other mentioned website.
Modern Zen Architects projects have some really cutting edge designs. I like the villa designs in Thailand…in Samui Thailand and Patutami.
Modern Zen Architects Thailand is are a very reputable firm. I I have used them to redesign my house in Phuket Thailand and the new design concept is fabulous!!! Thank you Modern Zen Architects. I will recommend you to my family in Abu Dhabi and Qatar. They need a new modern designed villa.
I want to thanks you to Modern Zen Architects Thailand.
They have contribute to our small community already with
designs and support. Thank you Modern Zen Architect
Thailand. You have big heart.
I find some people very sad. Hard times are had by many.
I lose many family members in tsunmai and I still happy. You say you lose a little money. You scream out to people poverty
when you don’t know what is poverty. You are sad people with
no life. Steamboat fatty has no life and no friends so he
try to make every body else sad too. We just sad for you
but not for ourselfs.
Nataya says : “We just sad for you
but not for ourselfs.”
So it would appear that, as we all knew anyway, these positive postings are indeed postings by the staff at Modern Zen.
Whoops. Yet another blunder. Keep it going!
Oh – and whilst we’re at it, please keep blogging here, employees of Modern Zen. All it is doing is drawing even more attention to our cause. Watch those google rankings shoot up! Many thanks.
When I refer to ourselfs I refer to Thai people. I read you blog and you angry with Thai people too…Why you so angry?
Why do you hate so much? We very sad for you and hope you not crazy for much longer.
I want to thank Modern Zen Architecture for wonderful
design again.
Very nice designs
We are strong community and Modern Zen Architects Thailand is viry helpful and good to us in our community. Thank you
Modern Zen Architects for your contributions. These people
that write bad things
are viry scary and have nothing in there lifes but to write
angry things and to make fun of people they no know. That is
why they have such hard time in life because they are bad. In
the end I hope they find peace. We all here in Thailand hope
you evil spirit people in Europe are not crazy for much more time.
You are welcome Bubba. Modern Zen Architects Thailand thank
you for promotion of there designs. People read your blog
and true think you have crazy problems. Just follow the
http://www.modern-zen.com website and you will see all new projects.
In just 7 months we have clients and we grow quick. Modern
Zen Architects in Thailand say thank you.
It is a real copy of the original site of Diseño Earle!!!! By the way, I am one of the unpaid people…
I want to thank Modern Zen Architects Thailand for designing my husband and I a stunning house. We are so happy. It’s modern
yet rustic and fulfills all our requests. Modern Zen
Architects we’re so easy to speak with and they really
understand are needs.
Hey somchai,
Cool website! Can you help us out with ours?I’ll give you a
call.
Modern-Zens website reminds me of California Pizza Kitchen. http://www.cpk.com/ and their projects arent much better. stop blogging about your own firm
i like the Herzog and de Meuron website the best ;)
me too..
also SANAA is my favourite…
zumthor has an amazing one as well. the use of next generation flash really pops.
What about Gehry´s site?
;)
hahaha….that’s a good one!!
yes, mine wins :) luv Rex
my answer to this is http://www.muellertruniger.ch
:)
the best website is http://www.urbanrecycle.com.br/
for me the bet is http://www.urbanreccyle.com.br brazil baby!!!
how about a non-flash category? These menus would be cool in a video game or DVD menu, but it is incredibly difficult to find a specific project on some of these sites. once you get past the “wow” factor, there isn’t much substance to these sites. For me, the best here is Herreros Arquitectos
Dan, all the sites in the top ten are non-flash. That’s why there’s a specific honorable mention section for the flash ones.
I would not go for any flashy webpages only if necessary will be good.
-I feel comfortable as user to click like in UNstudio website rather than scroll the mouse horizontally like in REX or in Herreros Arquitectos.
-The idea of having bold text next to the images always makes user to understand the project better.
Unfortunately, architects don’t make the best website designers or critics. A lot of these websites are really poorly designed. Tiny navigation buttons, small images of important content, illegible text, inconsistent typography, lack of hierarchy… there are so many problems with so many of the top 10.
Out of this list, the best one is absolutely Snohetta http://www.snoarc.no/ with beautiful full screen images and an intuitive interface. Flashy, shmashy, it’s the best one here. Congrats for the honorable mention.
Hi Folks:
This is really a very interesting discussion.
I took the time and looked at most of the sites above. Can someone do the same and also take a look at http://www.modern-zen.com please? This site really had User friendliness in mind (you can see all projects by a simple mouse drag–you don’t even have to make one mouse click!). Speed, user interface, SEO, all were taken into consideration. But, someone else please comment. Would be interested to get useful feedback from a technical and client point of view.
Thanks in advance.
I think the http://www.modern-zen.com website is fabulous. The images and designs are phenomenal. Very easy to navigate.
You are very sad. I work for Modern Zen and very happy. You
people sound crazy. I hope for you you are happy one day. Why
are you so aggressive to our SEO man. We do nothing to you?
To me how you are show you evil person. Thank you for saying
it is surprising that we already have so many projects and so
many satisfied customers!! You help us!!!!! It is true, that
such a young company do so well. Have you seen the new
projects on http://www.modern-zen.com I think you crazy people
help us!!!
Yes all people should read your blog because it very angry and sad. You say bad things about people you no know and you want bad things to pass to people you no kno. You want bad business for Modern Zen which show you want to harm people that work here. We are no rich like you westerner. You say you have problem with money, but you no real see poor. You no know life here. To have good job and to think some people try to make bad for that. We no understand. Thank you for warning but we are happy and we have job and you try to make bad for people in Thailand. To me that is evil and sad. We hope you no sad for much long.
http://www.ja-ja.dk/ this one is excellent as well
Please check this: http://www.gonzalezhaase.com
http://WWW.JEANNOUVEL.COM
http://www.marciokogan.com.br/ is one of the most enjoyable websites to browse.
Kohn Pedersen Fox has a great website also.
http://kpf.com/main.asp
Morphosis/Morphopedia is a clear a number one for architects website. I can’t believe you left that out!!!
and SHoP
morphosis has a good site
http://www.ecker-architekten.de
simple, fast, and informative.
missing an English translation, however.
My vote goes to http://www.a-cero.com not listed here but apart from great architecture – the site is so cool.
As a new company we developed our own site to be less stereotypical and scary, more welcoming to your average man in the street http://www.blueraydesignbuild.com As a new company constructive feedback is really welcome!
great list! thanks guys
@David Basulto…..”We picked them because you can categorize the projects in several ways, and they are displayed with big photos”
personally I think Resolution 4 Architecture, http://www.re4a.com is one of the best sites around as far are catagorizing work and “filtering” out projects and the create your own pdf is killer!
O.S.A. | Ochs Schmidhuber Architekten
http://www.ochs-schmidhuber.de/
Facebook Fan Page: Top 10 websites of architecture offices-ArchDaily http://icio.us/gtvcwr
simple. :)
ups..
HMOZ.net
Nice collection of F.B apps, I would like to see some fun apps also in the collection.
Facebook is getting more effective social networking website in terms of marketing through fanpages. Because of its varieties of branding and marketing and many popular agencies are also getting involved in it to promote their brands and services online. Great collection.
The REX is great. Simple but compelling layout and the project images and text have a good balance. Heres another way to address the management of project photos (see projects page): This is the site of Dublin Architect Studio Negri Done in Joomla
Hello! kadeedk interesting kadeedk site!
Top 10 websites of #architecture offices (per Facebook) http://bit.ly/7IuDF
Top 10 websites of architecture offices , likes this! I still vote for BIG's http://bit.ly/b9CAV1
RT @_abimantra_: Top 10 websites of architecture offices , likes this! I still vote for BIG's http://bit.ly/b9CAV1
For something completely different
Look into this:
http://www.broadwayarchitects.com
I am not happy to see that website.Why Face book not include other website.please any one tell about my question. i know many people i that but i can’t
I think Renzo Piano site is great!
http://rpbw.r.ui-pro.com/
But I vote for mine!
http://www.tiniacosarquitectos.com
@ChristianBielke http://bit.ly/GGKW9
Reading: "Facebook Fan Page: Top 10 websites of architecture offices | ArchDaily"( http://twitthis.com/bdmzsg )
REX is one of the top 10 architect's web sites: http://www.archdaily.com/34684/facebook-fan-page-top-10-websites-of-architecture-offices/
RT @REX_ARCH: REX is one of the top 10 architect's web sites: http://www.archdaily.com/34684/facebook-fan-page-top-10-websites-of-archit …
RT @iam_ddo: @iamgmo a mexican here: http://bit.ly/b9CAV1 vientos pablito
All 10 sites are very nice.. especially that stevenholl site looks good compare to others ..
Interesting that you think Diller Scofidio + Renfro is a “Top 10″ choice. I think it’s one of the worst architectural sites in the world. Apparently Fast Company agrees, as they singled out the DS+R site in a recent article titled, “Why Can’t the World’s Best Architects Build Better Web Sites?” (link below)
http://www.fastcompany.com/1594118/why-cant-the-worlds-best-architects-build-a-better-web-site
arch daily rocks fo sho
http://www.big.dk i think is perfect
http://www.fourfoursixsix.com
Fourfoursix is great ! I like the way projects are presented.
What about some indexhibit ?
As told in the article, it’s well suited for presenting arch. work, no ?
example : http://www.snap-architecture.com
Big companies use professional developers for their website, indexhibit gives the opportunity to anyone willing to present gently his work IMO.
Looks like you love white space.
This one’s heavy on the black space – I personally like the personality the firm put in. It’s so NYC:
http://www.kushnerstudios.com/
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2:36 AM Oct 7th
Reading: "Facebook Fan Page: Top 10 websites of architecture offices | ArchDaily"( http://twitthis.com/bdmzsg )
6:48 AM Nov 17th
Top 10 websites of architecture offices 貌似北美的比较多。http://www.archdaily.com/34684/facebook-fan-page-top-10-websites-of-architecture-offices/
8:50 PM Dec 6th
interesting stuff on web design for architects. http://www.archdaily.com/34684/facebook-fan-page-top-10-websites-of-architecture-offices/
6:10 PM Dec 28th
Top 10 websites of architecture offices http://t.co/W531ve6 via @archdaily @itslpegetiitright
2:48 AM Jul 12th
http://www.archdaily.com/34684/facebook-fan-page-top-10-websites-of-architecture-offices/
2:53 AM Jul 12th
http://www.archdaily.com/34684/facebook-fan-page-top-10-websites-of-architecture-offices/
5:27 AM Jul 12th
http://www.archdaily.com/34684/facebook-fan-page-top-10-websites-of-architecture-offices/
6:17 AM Jul 12th
http://www.archdaily.com/34684/facebook-fan-page-top-10-websites-of-architecture-offices/
9:54 AM Jul 12th
http://www.archdaily.com/34684/facebook-fan-page-top-10-websites-of-architecture-offices/
12:02 PM Jul 12th
http://www.archdaily.com/34684/facebook-fan-page-top-10-websites-of-architecture-offices/
4:07 AM Aug 17th
@CarlesSantillan @bulos aquí una buena referencia http://t.co/Fm9gt1M
5:47 PM Aug 17th
Top 10 websites of architecture offices | ArchDaily http://t.co/FOtxmrq via @archdaily
8:30 PM Dec 14th
Facebook Fan Page: Top 10 websites of architecture offices http://t.co/AnEEaBul