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Federico Babina Architect: The Latest Architecture and News

ARCHIDIRECTOR: A Fantastical City Inspired by Famous Directors by Federico Babina

"Directors are like the architects of cinema," says Federico Babina, an Italian architect known for his imaginative architecture-inspired illustrations. In his latest, Babina envisions a fictional city of 27 houses inspired by film's most celebrated directors, including George Lucas, Charles Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Wim Wenders and many others.

"The architecture is like a scene from a movie where the story is the life, the script is dictated by the use of the building and where the actors are the residents. A labyrinth where all - characters, director, audience –are lost and found in the intensity of their emotions," Babina adds. 

Tour through the entire city, after the break. 

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ARCHIDESIGN: Design Histories By Federico Babina

With his latest series of illustrations, Federico Babina offers us "a journey into the universe of design" through 28 illustrations which use a composition of frames to tell stories around iconic designs. "I like to think of the objects that inhabit our homes as a silent audience, but active in our lives," explains Babina. "The objects themselves tell stories, not inanimate things but things that soak up the life that surrounds them."

Through the combination of so-called "timeless" designs with clear references to the times and styles that produced them, Babina tells the history of these iconic objects that we may take for granted today (with the occasional saucy human story thrown in for good measure).

See the entire set of ARCHIDESIGN illustrations after the break - and if you missed them, make sure to check out Federico Babina's previous illustration sets and his website.

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ARCHIZOO: Illustrated Architectural "Animals" from Federico Babina

An architectural “Paraidolia,” Federico Babina has uncaged the ARCHIZOO. Recalling images from his childhood, Babina has imagined a creative series of zoo animals rendered in familiar architectural forms.

“When I was a child I wanted to be an architect and now that I'm an architect I would like sometimes go back to my childhood,” says Babina. “Our mind is capable of collecting, record and store millions of images. One thing that always interests me is the association that we can do between these images.”

View the ARCHIZOO, after the break. 

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ARCHINOWHERE: A Parallel Archi-Universe Illustrated by Federico Babina

Federico Babina has released ARCHINOWHERE, a “series of illustrations that represent a parallel universe where past, present and future intertwine” to present a fantastical collection of “realistic yet unreal” architectural visions. The playful graphic, as Babina describes, “maintains a balance between illustrated architecture and an architectonical illustration” to relay imagined stories built on a foundation of contemporary ideals.

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ARCHISHAPE: "Architecture Shapes in Minimalist Clothing"

Working in reverse, Italian architect Federico Babina’s latest set of illustrations deconstructs the stylistic forms of 25 famous architects into a series of abstract compositions that embody the essence of each architect's style. This “process,” as Babina says, aims to reveal the “ideal connection between architecture itself as a form of representation and the representation used in its design.”

“The architecture is a set of shapes that draw volumes and voids which sequence generates functions and meanings. These illustrations are one of the possible ways to watch, observe and describe architecture… In these pictures you can read architectural references or simply let your mind get lost between the lines and colors for more imaginative interpretations.”

View all 25 illustrations, after the break.

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Win a Postcard Set of Federico Babina's Archibet, the Illustrated Alphabet of Architects

UPDATE: Congratulations to winners Robert, Angelo, Nathaniel, Enasaveva, and Avi! We will be contacting you via email. 

When Italian architect Federico Babina released his Archibet set this past year, it was an instant hit; no surprise, considering Babina’s illustrations depict the styles of 26 famous architects, from Alvar Aalto to Zaha Hadid, in a clever way unlike anything else. Now, thanks to Babina and publisher Laurence King, five of our readers can win their very own Archibet set.

Official rules: Check out Babina’s complete Archibet set (here) and let us know your favorite “letter” in the comment section below. Five winners will be chosen at random from entries received between Monday, January 12th and Sunday, January 18th 11:59 EST. Anyone in the world is welcome to participate. One entry per person. ArchDaily will enforce verification and remove duplicated ones before choosing the winner.

Bonus: ArchDaily readers can purchase a copy of Archibet by Federico Babina at a discount of 30% when ordering from www.laurenceking.com. Enter the code ARCHIBET30 at the checkout.

Good luck! 

ARCHIQUOTE: 13 Billboards Advertising Architecture’s Most Influential Concepts

Federico Babina is at it again, this time creating a series of 13 Las Vegas-inspired billboards that advertise architectural concepts of the profession’s most prolific contributors. The idea behind ARCHIQUOTE, as Babina describes, was to put words into manifest examples of architectural concepts and aesthetics from Mies van der Rohe to Rem Koolhaas.

“The words can be considered as architecture,” says Babina. “Simple concepts with deep meanings and complex thoughts explained with simplicity…Billboards that evoke a Las vegas of architecture where the phrases guide us to understand a little more the idea hidden behind the work done with volumes and space… In these 13 illustrations are mixed, intersect and integrate aphorisms and shapes in a communicative game.”

The complete series, after the break.

ARCHIST: Illustrations of Famous Art Reimagined as Architecture

Federico Babina has unveiled yet another playful collection of architecturally inspired illustrations: Derived from the "symbiotic relationship and implicit partnership" between art and architecture, Archist reinterprets the expressive language and aesthetic of prominent artists as built form.

“Art and architecture are disciplines that speak and lightly touch each other, the definition and function of the architecture are changing constantly with the development of contemporary art,” described Babina. “I took pleasure imagining architecture steeped of art, designed and constructed through the interpretation of an artist’s language.”

Just imagine, what if Dalí designed a house or Miró a museum? See what Babina envisioned, after the break...

Archibet: An Illustrated Alphabet of Architecture

Barcelona-based architect and graphic artist Federico Babina is at it again, this time creating an imaginary “Archibet City” guided by the language of architecture. From Alvar Aalto’s Riolo Parish Church to Zaha Hadid's Library and Learning Centre in Vienna, the collection reimagines 26 famous works of architecture into a set of letters that, as Babina describes, expresses the “heterogeneity of forms and styles” that make up our profession. Each letter is drawn according to the interpretation of an architect’s style, forming part of the cityscape that Babina refers to as “Archibet”.

See the whole set, after the break...

ARCHIPIX: 8-Bit Architects (Part Two)

Barcelona-based architect Federico Babina has released the second edition of ARCHIPIX (Less is pixel), revealing a series of 8-bit portraits of modern architecture’s most legendary masters and works. The idea behind the project is to capture the essence and personality of each subject through the simplicity of the pixel. This serves, Babina describes, as “a metaphor of architecture, where every little detail is a key component of the whole mosaic.”

ARCHIPIX: 8-Bit Architects

Complicating is easy, simplifying is difficult. To simplify you have to remove, and to remove you have to know what to take away. The idea of this project, called ARCHIPIX (Less is Pixel) by Federico Babina Architect, is to represent the complexity of the forms and personalities through the simplicity of the pixel. Masters of modern architecture, paired with a building that represents their essence, often become desktop icons. A digital "pointillism" where the mouse replaces the brush. The pixel reappears and emphasizes the importance of the single dot, seen as something essential that in combination with other points form a more complex picture. A metaphor of architecture where every little detail is a key component of the whole mosaic.