The world's most visited architecture platform

Work seamlessly with CAD and Lumion 3D rendering software for immediate model visualizations

+ 18

+ 17

+ 18

+ 18

+ 12

+ 25

+ 22

Videos

What is the danger of making something pretty? Well, when it comes to homes it can be complicated. Curb appeal seems like an innocent concept, but architects have been quoted calling it “empty signifiers of good design” or even eerie or creepy. Curb appeal privileges superficial visual composition over deeper, more spatial considerations. Further, the overregulation of visual propriety easily strays into practices that are exclusionary and oppressive. This video takes a close look at the history, evolution, and consequences of curb appeal from an architect’s perspective using examples from popular culture, art, film, and architecture. Unexpected origins and peculiar turns through picturesque gardens, mirrors for viewing the landscape, and exhibitions like Venturi Scott Brown’s ‘Signs of Life’ serve as waypoints in our journey for understanding people’s views of what houses should look like.

+ 29

Local Collective has designed a seating made of clay for the London Festival of Architecture and Network Rail. Unveiled at London Bridge Station, the urban furniture is a result of a “competition organized by the LFA and Network Rail to create public installations that celebrate London’s shared spaces and connect people with playful encounters”.

+ 11

+ 36

The new "Spiral" skyscraper by Bjarke Ingels Group has topped out at Hudson Yards in New York City. Rising 66 stories, the project towers over 1,000 feet tall with a series of stepped, landscaped terraces that wrap the building. With over 2.8 million square feet of office space and ground floor retail once complete, the tower will feature open floor plans with views across the Financial District and the surrounding cityscape.

The panel of judges overseeing the design contest for Parque Observatorio Cerro Calán in Santiago (Chile) publicized their final decision on January 28, naming Chilean firm Jadue-Livingstone as the winner out of the five finalists.

Organized by the Las Condes Municipality in collaboration with the University of Chile and the Cerros Isla Foundation, the contest aimed to find the best architectural and landscape design for an upcoming park in Santiago, Chile: the Parque Observatorio Cerro Calán, a 45 hectare space to be built around the already existing Observatorio Astronómico Nacional.

+ 8

If you've been debating whether to submit your work to the 2021 A’ Design Award Competition, now is the time! This is your last chance to enter your design, because the final call for entries ends February 28th, 2021. The international A' Design Awards give designers an opportunity to showcase their work to a global audience, whether you're a designer, architect, or an innovator from any other design field. Among other design competitions and awards, the A' Design Award stands out for its exceptional scale with over 100 design categories.

+ 19

This article was originally published on Common Edge as "When It Comes to Climate Change, Traditional Practice Is Broken."

Sustainable design in the United States is for many a sort of Rorschach test. The construction industry is either making steady progress toward the ultimate goal of a carbon-free building sector, or it’s moving entirely too slowly, missing key targets as the ecological clock keeps ticking. The perplexing truth to all of this is: both are ostensibly true. In recent decades the industry has become significantly more energy efficient. We’ve added building stock but flattened the energy curve. The cost of renewables continues to drop. But way more is required, much more quickly. At the same time, huge hurdles remain. Without a renewable grid and stringent energy codes, it’s hard to see how we can fully decarbonize the building sector in even 20 years, let alone at the timeline suggested by increasingly worried climate scientists. It’s the classic good news/bad news scenario (or vice-versa, depending on your mood).

+ 21