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Editor's Choice

Architecture by Robots, For Humanity

Architecture is quickly adopting the popular technology of robots. Although it is slightly hard to define what “robot” really means, for architecture, it tends to refer to anything from robot arms to CNC mills to 3D printers. Basically, they are programmable, mechanical, and automated instruments that assist in processes of digital fabrication.

So, what might robots mean for architecture? A more precise architecture which could contribute to a more sustainable building life cycle? More innovative design derived from algorithmic processes? A more efficient prefabrication process that could reduce the time and cost of construction?

Probably a mix of all three. But more importantly, what might robots mean for humans? Robotic replacement for the construction worker? Loss of local craftsmanship and construction knowledge? Maybe. But I might reformulate the question. Asking what robots mean for humans implies passivity.  

What I ask, then, is what can robots do for humans?

Arup Documentary: Traces of Peter Rice

Peter Rice has been described as both one of the best engineers and architects of the twentieth century. Unhappy with the role that engineers play in designing buildings, Rice dedicated his life to championing brave innovation and poetry through structure in a way that helped bridge the gap between engineering and architecture. His desire to work in tandem with architects, towards a shared vision, made him one of the most in-demand engineers of the twentieth century.

Report Suggests Demolishing Unsustainable Mid-Century Skyscrapers in New York

Mayor Bloomberg's controversial plans to rezone midtown New York, allowing for bigger and bolder skyscrapers, has found an unlikely ally in the form of environmentalists.

Re-zoning midtown would ultimately lead to the demolition of the corporate steel and glass skyscrapers, which preservationists argue are emblematic of the cutting edge modernism that swept 1950's America. However, landlords contest that - for the most part - they are poorly built copycats of seminal landmarks such as the Seagram and Lever buildings and are not particularly significant or suited for modern needs.

More information after the break..

Zappos to Build Intentionally Inconvenient Office in Las Vegas

Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh has recently invested $350 million dollars of his own money into downtown Las Vegas, where the new Zappos' headquarters will soon call its home. Working in the vein of companies like Google and Apple, Hsieh and the head developer of the new campus, Zach Ware, have worked together on making a workspace environment in which creativity - and, consequently, inconvenience - is built into the design itself:

"'Our goal is not to create an office space that you take photos of and you say 'Wow, that's beautiful,'' says Ware. 'We're incredibly function-oriented.' Zappos' core focus is on company culture and the relationships between employees. To enhance that, as odd as it sounds, parts of the office are deliberately inconvenient."

Read Max Nisen's article on Zappos' "inconvenient," new headquarters after the break... 

In Conversation With: Will Alsop

In Conversation With: Will Alsop - Featured Image
© Antonio Olmos

Architecture begins with ideas—and, for Will Alsop, sometimes with a painting. This interview is the first in a series of conversations with internationally prominent architects conducted by Sanam Samanian and Alex Bozikovic. The British iconoclast gives an overview of his creative process: why he's bored by the details of building; why we shouldn't think of architecture as a “profession"; and why we should think of architecture as a way to make life more joyous.

Read the captivating interview with Will Alsop, after the break...

Readers! Do employers put a lot of weight on what university you attended or on your portfolio?

Readers! Do employers put a lot of weight on what university you attended or on your portfolio? - Featured Image
ArchDaily Facebook Poll

A few weeks back, we at ArchDaily conducted a poll on Facebook to get a feel for what our readers think about their architectural educations. The question we asked: "Do employers put a lot of weight on what university you attended, or is it mostly about your portfolio?" had some promising results. There is a lot of cynisicm ciruclating in the professional world about what a degree from a particular university means. There are circles were some universities or some degrees are valued over others. Really though, we hope that it comes down to what each candidate can bring to a potential employer.

Follow us after the break for more.

A Glimpse of Hope for Johannesburg's Forgotten Ponte Tower

The Ponte Tower is a residential high-rise in Johannesburg, South Africa with a unique history and now a promising future. It was designed by architect Manfred Hermer in the 1970's to be one of the most desirable places to live in the city, with an iconic, hollowed out interior, three-story apartments and rooftop jacuzzis. Over time, however, the building fell into disrepair and instead of serving as an icon of extreme wealth and prosperity, it became an icon of poverty and indifference. In still racially-divided South Africa, this was marked by the moving out of whites and the moving in of a primarily black population as property values plummeted. It has been associated with high levels of crime, a lack of sanitariness and even suicides, thanks to the building's hollow core.

Through the Lens: Art Deco's debt to Agatha Christie

Through the Lens: Art Deco's debt to Agatha Christie - Image 2 of 4
Screenshot from "Evil Under the Sun." Image Courtesy of Carnival films, LWT & Picture Partnership Productions

This article comes courtesy of Charlotte Neilson, the author of the fascinating design blog Casting Architecture. Her column, Through the Lens, will look at architecture and production design in TV and film.

The categorisation of period architecture generally remains firmly in the realm of the professional or amateur enthusiast - let’s face it, you can go through life without knowing the difference between a Corinthian and Ionic column without too much inconvenience. Oddly, however, most people are able to name a few of the main features of Art Deco architecture fairly easily - the curved corners, stylised forms, the use of bakelite and chrome, the transport motifs.

It’s interesting that this period is so much more familiar to us, considering it spanned quite a short timeframe compared to other architectural styles; the Arts and Crafts and Art Noveau movements, for example, which both occurred in a similar time frame to Art Deco, are much less known to the wider community.

It’s possible of course that Art Deco is just more omnipresent because of its universal appeal, or its uniqueness, but I think most of the credit should go to Monsieur Hercule Poirot.

Learn more about Agatha Christie’s contribution to Art Deco, after the break...

Video: Vito Acconci, Is Architecture Art?

Following on from their previous 'videopolemic' tribute to Lebbeus Woods, 32BNY has released their second video featuring artist and designer Vito Acconci's response to the question, "Is architecture art?". Having straddled both architecture and art throughout his carrer, Acconci is cleary comfortable in discussing their relationship, as he talks passionately about the importance of putting people at the center of both. "Because architecture is used... it can possibly be misused, and once it is misused, I think, the user goes one step further...than the architect".

More about Acconci after the break...

VIDEO: Skyhouse / David Hotson Architect

Skyhouse is a house in the sky, a residential penthouse located at the summit of one of the earliest surviving skyscrapers in New York City and situated within the incomparable vertical cityscape of Lower Manhattan. The project involved the construction of a set of unique living spaces inside a decorative penthouse structure which had never before been used as a residence... The spaces of this residence and the vistas channeled through it ascend and descend through all four levels of the penthouse structure and into the three-dimensional cityscape surrounding it in every direction.

Where Did All the Patrons Go?

At the close of the 19th century, the funding of architecture was enriched by a new paradigm: that of the wealthy patron and philanthropist, who financed buildings through a sense of moral and social duty. This resulted in a number of grand public buildings, spanning cultural, educational and political institutions: the Museum of Modern Art, Carnegie Music Hall, a huge number of Carnegie Libraries and even the UN Headquarters would not have been possible without the generosity of these men.

Where are gifts like these today? Are there modern versions of people like Carnegie and Rockefeller? In the 21st century, an age of encroaching corporatism and “the one percent”, it might be easy to believe that this form of construction funding is dead. This interpretation, however, does not reflect the reality at all. In fact, the recent history of the 'wealthy patron of architecture' is more interesting than you might think, and is rooted in the lessons learned from the pioneers of the past century.

Discover more about the fate of the architecture patron after the break.

Infographic: The History of the Pritzker Prize (1979-2013)

Infographic: The History of the Pritzker Prize (1979-2013) - Featured Image

Aerotropolis: The Key to a Prosperous, 21st Century City?

Aerotropolis: The Key to a Prosperous, 21st Century City? - Infrastructure
Courtesy of Evolve Media & Dr. John Kasarda

"The rapid expansion of airport-linked commercial facilities is making today's air gateways anchors of 21st century metropolitan development where distant travelers and locals alike can conduct business, exchange knowledge, shop, eat, sleep, and be entertained without going more than 15 minutes from the airport. This functional and spatial evolution is transforming many city airports into airport cities." - Dr. John Kasarda

Major international airports have developed over time into key nodes in global production and enterprise systems through speed, agility and connectivity. These transportation hubs are able to dramatically stimulate local economies by attracting a wide range of aviation-related businesses to their peripheries and resulting in what John Kasarda, a US academic who studies and advises governments on city planning issues, has dubbed the "Aerotropolis." The Aerotropolis, like any other traditional city, consists of a central core with rings of development permeating outwards; unlike a traditional city, however, the city's core is an airport and all neighboring development supports and is supported in turn by the airport industry. Several airports around the globe have organically evolved into these airport-dependent communities, generating huge economic profits and creating thousands of jobs, but what Kasarda is arguing for is a more organized and purposeful approach to the development of these Aerotropolises - what he believes to be the future model of a successful city.

Read on for more on the Aerotropolis vision.

Predictions from the Past: New York 2012 and LA 2013

Predictions from the Past: New York 2012 and LA 2013 - Featured Image
New York in 1962, Mayor Robert Wagner's Predictions; and LA's predictions from 1988 for 2013

Throughout history, people have spent a great deal of time pondering what the future holds. Scientific discovery, technological innovation - along with rebellious androids, zombies, flying cars, hover crafts, visiting aliens - have been consistently used as stereotypes that emerge in predictions for our imagined future. And while Hollywood was busy exploring dystopian scenarios of this near-future, architects were composing utopian images of an optimistic vision for cities. Architects have built careers upon predicting what cities can potentially become - developing forms, functions, plans and visions of possibilities in the social, political, economic and cultural realms through architecture. In 1962, Mayor Robert Wagner of NYC predicted a culturally diverse, economically viable, global city for New York in 2012. In 1988, Los Angeles Times Magazine gave its 25-year forecast for Los Angeles in 2013, predicting what a life for a family would be like, filled with robots, electric cars, smart houses and an abundance of video-conferencing. Find out how their predictions fared after the break.

Christo Unveils Inflatable, Light-Infused Installation in Germany

Christo Unveils Inflatable, Light-Infused Installation in Germany - Featured Image
© Wolfgang Volz, 2013 Christo

The internationally - and often controversial - acclaimed artist Christo has unveiled the “largest indoor sculpture ever made”. Prepared to debut in a public exhibition starting March 16, the inflated “Big Air Package” has been designed to occupy a 117-meter-tall former gas tank known as Gasometer Oberhausen in Germany. The 90-meter-high, 50-meter-wide sculpture is made from 20,350 square meters of semitransparent polyester fabric and 4,500 meters of rope, with a total weight of 5.3 tons and a volume of 177,000 cubic meters.

The seemingly endless, inflatable installation was conceived in 2010 and is Christo’s first major work after the passing of his wife and artistic partner Jeanne-Claude in 2009.

More on Christo’s “Big Air Package” after the break...

Video: A documentary on Toyo Ito's Sendai Mediatheque

One of Toyo Ito's most iconic building is undoubtedly the Sendai Mediatheque. The latest Pritzker laureate completed the building in 2001, a cultural media center allowing complete visibility and transparency to the surrounding community.

French director Richard Copans made this documentary on the Sendai Mediatheque that you can't miss. You can watch part II and III after the break. And don't forget to check our complete coverage on the 2013 Pritzker Prize winner.

Photography: Toyo Ito by Iwan Baan

"Whoever reviews Ito’s works notices not only a variety of functional programs, but also a spectrum of architectural languages." -- From the 2013 Pritzker Jury's Citation

Toyo Ito has just been announced the winner of the 2013 Pritzker Prize. To commemorate this master architect, we’ve reached out to Iwan Baan, architecture’s premier photographer, and assembled a retrospective of some of Ito’s greatest works (all photographed, of course, by Baan) - including the Za Koenji Public Theatre, Toyo Ito’s Museum of Architecture, Silver Hut - TIMA, Ken Iwata Mother and Child Museum, Yaoko Kawagoe Museum, Suites Avenue Hotel, Huge Wineglass Project, Mikimoto 2, Tama Art University Library & White O. See them all, after the break...

The Life and Work of Toyo Ito, 2013 Pritzker Laureate

The Life and Work of Toyo Ito, 2013 Pritzker Laureate  - Featured Image
© Yoshiaki Tsutsui

Until his third year of high school, Toyo Ito’s passion was not architecture, but baseball.

Fortunately for us all (and almost assuredly for the Pritzker laureate himself), he soon switched career paths.

Born in Seoul in 1941, Ito moved to Japan at the tender age of two. From the age of 12 (when his father died) to the time he went to University, Ito was part of the family business: making miso (bean paste). However, upon attending The University of Tokyo from 1965-1969, architecture became his life work. 

Read more on the life and work of Toyo Ito, the 2013 Pritzker Laureate, after the break...

The Life and Work of Toyo Ito, 2013 Pritzker Laureate  - Image 1 of 4The Life and Work of Toyo Ito, 2013 Pritzker Laureate  - Image 2 of 4The Life and Work of Toyo Ito, 2013 Pritzker Laureate  - Image 3 of 4The Life and Work of Toyo Ito, 2013 Pritzker Laureate  - Image 4 of 4The Life and Work of Toyo Ito, 2013 Pritzker Laureate  - More Images+ 3

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