Architectural students of my generation—the last of the baby boomers, starting college in Europe or in the Americas in the late 1970s—had many good reasons to cherish architectural history. Everyone seemed to agree at the time that the Modernist project was conspicuously failing. Late Modernist monsters were then wreaking havoc on cities and lands around the world, and the most immediate, knee-jerk reaction against what many then saw as an ongoing catastrophe was to try and bring back all that 20th-century high Modernism had kicked out of design culture: history, for a start. I drew my first Doric capital, circa 1979, in a design studio, not in a history class (and my tutor immediately ordered me to scrape it, which I did).
Forensic Architecture has been crowned overall winner of the Beazley Designs of the Year 2018, with their exhibition “Counter Investigations.” The firm has undertaken sterling work in recent years, uncovering miscarriages of justice and international war crimes through architectural analysis of imagery, from official news, satellite footage, and crowdsourced information.
The spatial investigation group, based in Goldsmith University London, is currently nominated for the 2018 Turner Prize. The interdisciplinary group of architects, filmmakers, journalists, lawyers, and scientists have devoted their energy to investigating state and corporate violations worldwide.
Mexico is a country known globally for its traditional and contemporary architectural elements. The construction techniques characteristic of each region and the use of materials according to thermic, economic, or aesthetic needs result in unique spaces.
Bamboo as a constructive or decorative element, coating, facade, or roof has proven its superiority over materials such as plastic and steel.
While it is true that research on this material has advanced significantly in recent years, we know that there is still much to learn. Many architects are seeking knowledge from the past to apply to their current techniques. Below, we've selected a list of 8 Mexican projects that explore the use of bamboo in the hands of architects and artisans.
Inducing a surreal physical experience through minimal maneuvers, buildings with smooth concrete panels and simple geometric volumes instinctively hint at the work of Japanese architect Tadao Ando. At an ongoing exhibition at the Centre Pompidou, photographs of the headquarters of Fabrica, Ando's first European commission in 1992, are showcased. Located near the city of Treviso, the building was an old villa restored to become a thriving creative research center.
Villa Pastega Manera, built on an area of 51,000 square meters, went through a rigorous study of traditional construction techniques and material sampling to commence the redesign. The photographs feature the harmonious integration between the historical structure and seamless renovations.
Architect and photographer Kris Provoost recently captured new photos of Aedas and Andrew Bromberg’s West Kowloon HSR Station in Hong Kong. Provoost lives and works in Shanghai, and his new series of photographs show how visitors are brought into the heart of Hong Kong as the majestic structure overlooks Victoria Harbor. Integrating abundant green space and different viewing platforms, the project creates an urban park in the midst of Hong Kong's city center.
Dutch practice MVRDV has broken ground on Radio Tower & Hotel, a 21,800-square-meter mixed-use high rise located in the Washington Heights area in northern Manhattan. The 22-storey building is MVRDV’s first major project in the United States and combines hotel, retail, and office functions in vibrantly stacked blocks. The project was designed to reflecte the vivacious character of the neighborhood and set a direction for future development.
The RIBA and Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) have joined forces to display six pioneering experiments in social housing from their archives. “A Home for All” features designs “from a tower block that up-ended the terraced street, to a DIY kit that encouraged residents to design their own homes.”
The six projects, all commissioned by public authorities, demonstrate both the crucial role played by the state in providing housing, and the role of the architect in creating high-quality housing through personal philosophy, new ideas, integration of best practice, and lessons from previous mistakes.
Architecture as a profession today struggles with questions of relevance, with core questions surrounding the issue of whether it can create cultural vibrancy and meaning for the diverse world it serves. Within our own design community, we tend to give a lot of sway to an “exclusive tier” of architects who provide leadership and vision. While this leadership is critically important to the profession, it only corresponds to 2% of what gets built. Take it from Frank Gehry, whose 2014 comment still rings in our ears: “98% of everything that is built and designed today is pure sh*t. There is no sense of design, no respect for humanity."
If we embrace the importance and unique value of all things built on a wider range, we need to ask ourselves: how have we served and rewarded our peers responsible for creating this other 98%? Where should we set the bar for the emotional-artistic qualities of mainstream architecture?
The abrasive wire-cutting method can accelerate the production time of conventional formwork by a factor of 126, while reducing the amount of concrete used by up to 70%. Despite these impressive stats, the technology has been developed to preserve and enhance design freedom.
https://www.archdaily.com/905939/aarhus-school-of-architectures-revolutionary-robotic-formwork-method-cuts-concrete-use-by-70-percentNiall Patrick Walsh
Clouds Architecture Office have revealed a new design for a space research lab that floats above a crater in Oita, Japan. Called AVATAR X LAB, the design was made for ANA Holdings Inc. and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The lab aims to be part of ANA's AVATAR Vision, an endeavor to advance and pioneer real-world Avatar technologies, and JAXA's new research and development program J-SPARC. The lab was designed to advance understanding of space exploration and development.
Inverted king post trusses are made of steel bars and cables used to reduce bending, deformation, and a trusses’ height. In other words, they are a collection of continuous beams (steel or wood) and steel cables that are positioned under the beam, supported by an upright king post. Although slender, they are suited for large spans and have small sections.
Dutch practice MVRDV have unveiled RED7, a housing project for Moscow and the firm’s first building in Russia. MVRDV won the competition to design RED7 for client GK Osnova in December 2017, and the project has been accepted by the architectural committee of Moscow. Designed with a Minecraft-like gradient of blocks, the project was inspired by its neighboring context. As a symbolic gateway into the city center, the design will include 289 apartments with external terraces and expansive views of Moscow's skyline.
Architect Magazine has unveiled the 2018 edition of the “Architect 50,” their list of the 50 best architecture firms in the United States. This year saw more entrants than ever before, with 160 completed submissions calculated along three categories: business, sustainability, and design.
Topping the list this year was WRNS Studio, followed by Brooks + Scarpa, and William Rawn Associates. Below, we have republished the full list, along with links to their ArchDaily archive of work. Visit the official website here for more information on the methodology, details, and 2019 submission notes.
https://www.archdaily.com/905884/architect-magazine-selects-the-top-50-architecture-firms-in-the-us-for-2018Niall Patrick Walsh
Economics and technology affect every profession. But since World War II perhaps no profession has experienced more technological change than architecture. These shifts occurred, paradoxically, within a well-established professional model of personal development: The guild structure of learning in the academy, then becoming professional via internship leading to licensure, has been the structure of practice for almost two centuries.
Once upon a time manual drafting with graphite or ink was applied by white males, and a single sheet master was reproduced with typed specifications added, and buildings were constructed.
Pavel Hnilicka Architekti is set to design Prague’s Victory Square, having been announced as winners of an international competition. Led by Pavel Hnilička, Eva Macáková, and Josef Filip, the winning scheme seeks to divert all existing traffic away from the square, transforming the space with a striking central monument.
The scheme sees the removal of tram tracks through the square, which will instead be relocated to the west side and Evropská Street. While traffic will be removed from the square, a new traffic plan will, in fact, accommodate more cars than the existing layout, while the center of the existing roundabout will become a “functioning space for universal use.”
GRAFT has developed a master plan for the Didube Chughureti District in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia. The master plan for the business district attempts to provide its inhabitants with a healthy working environment by balancing scenic landscaping with the necessary amenities.
The overall complex consists of a pair of complimentary towers: the main tower, in particular, will house the head offices for the Georgian Railway Company. Elements of the façade reflect the railway. The facades, themselves, appear to divide in a similar way to a railway junction. At the base of the tower, the descending curve of the façade plateaus, creating a roof for the new open-air museum, which features locomotives from the Georgian Railway Company.
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In the planning and construction of buildings and landscapes, it’s important to recognize the strong correlation between design and construction during the different stages of a project. In fact, these stages can best be viewed as an integrated process where one won’t work without the other.
To fully understand how these stages work together, let’s break it down. Simply put, architecture design is the process of creating the layout of a construction project. It’s usually presented through detailed plans, drawings, and specifications. On the other hand, construction planning is a process of identifying steps and resources required to turn those designs into physical reality.
Amazon has selected New York City and Arlington for it's next headquarters, set to become two of the biggest economic development projects in the United States. Instead of choosing one site, Amazon will spread over $5 billion in construction and investments across the two locations. The tech giant will house at least 25,000 employees in each city, and could receive more than $2 billion in tax incentives. The new announcement ends a 14-month competition among cities across the country.
In an effort to aid the plight of refugees around the world fleeing war and persecution, two young architects in 2016 embarked on a project designed to improve the mental health of refugees in camps. Led by Bonaventura Visconti di Modrone and Leo Bettini Oberkalmsteiner, and supported by the UN International Organization for Migration, “Maidan Tent” allows refugees to benefit from indoor public space – a communal area to counteract the psychological trauma induced by war, persecution, and forced migration.
Two years on, the first tent has been installed at the Ritsona refugee camp in Greece, currently hosting more than 800 refugees. The camp which now hosts the inaugural Maidan Tent was also the subject site where the design team made eight visits to throughout the past two years.
Alain de Botton’s Living Architecture project - a joyful, democratically-minded concept to share quality architecture in the UK - was borne out of personal crisis. The Swiss-born philosopher and author gained fame in both popular and architectural circles following the release of his book, "The Architecture of Happiness."
The book was immediately successful (movie buffs may recall its brief cameo in the 2009 film 500 Days of Summer), but the response unsettled Botton. “...However pleasing it is two write a book about an issue one feels passionately about," he explained to Assemble Papers, "the truth is that - a few exceptions aside - books don’t change anything. I realized that if I cared so much about architecture, writing was a coward’s way out; the real challenge was to build.”
Construction has begun on MAD Architect’s “Courtyard Kindergarten” in Beijing. Located on the site of a traditional siheyuan courtyard dating from 1725, MAD’s proposal sees a new building inserted to protect the surroundings, and reinvigorate the existing buildings into use.
The courtyard will be surrounded by a “dynamic floating roof” offering a “multi-layered urban narrative, where old and new co-exist.” The rooftop element is envisioned as a “place full of magic – a playful escape for the children that is a symbol of freedom and endless imagination.”
One of the most frustrating and time-consuming exercises in using Photoshop is the endless search for high-quality material textures. This demand has led to the creation of many dispersed online libraries, allowing users to download royalty-free, high-resolution textures for almost any material. One such site is Texture Palace, offering an extensive, Flickr-based library with high-quality concrete, timber, steel, and many other textures.
Below, we have collated some of the best textures from Texture Palace, creating an easy go-to resource as you create your next masterpiece. The site is steadily updated with new textures, so be sure to visit the official site here, and their Flickr page here. To access the full range of resolutions for each texture below, simply follow the link in the image caption.
https://www.archdaily.com/900268/a-library-of-100-downloadable-photoshop-texturesNiall Patrick Walsh
Editor's Note: This story was originally published 27 March 2018. It was recently announced that ICON, the construction company leading the project, has successfully raised $9 million in seed funding for the project. A new video of the project is included below.
Tech gets a bad rap for serving developed economies in the interest of money-making. It often takes a few cycles for the technologies that are truly helpful to reach the developing world, hence the unfortunate, slow-draining term called the “trickle effect.”
As part of a collaboration between the Centre Pompidou and the Mao Jihong Arts Foundation, the Cosmopolis #1.5: 'Enlarged Intelligence' exhibition features the developments of NLÉMakoko Floating School. The Minjiang Floating System (MFS IIIx3), the fourth prototype and the third iteration of the prefabricated self-built system for water, investigates methods to counter the challenges posed by urbanization and climate change.
Earlier prototypes of the Makoko Floating School include the Waterfront Atlas (MFS II) launched in Venice, Italy and the Minne Floating School (MFS III) in Bruges, Belgium. The project, initially developed for the water in Lagos, is now usable in all these sites including the Jincheng Lake in Chengdu.
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