Author: Yiling Shen | ArchDaily

How Will Future Generations Respond to Modern-Day Memorial Architecture?

Yiling Shen — Wed, 01 Jan 2020 07:35:00 +0000

Graveyards full of names that have long been forgotten, plaques etched with portraits that you ignore on your morning jog, monuments with friezes that depict the triumphs of war—all these are examples of memorial architecture, which once held intense emotional meaning for certain individuals or groups of people, but have now gradually become tourist attractions or anachronistic sites within a changed landscape.

Bringing Work Home: 9 Times Architects Designed for Themselves

Yiling Shen — Sun, 20 Jan 2019 13:00:00 +0000

Architects are often bound by the will of their client, reluctantly sacrificing and compromising design choices in order to suit their needs. But what happens when architects become their own clients? When architects design for themselves, they have the potential to test their ideas freely, explore without creative restriction, and create spaces which wholly define who they are, how they design, and what they stand for. From iconic architect houses like the Gehry Residence in Santa Monica to private houses that double as a public-entry museum, here are 9 fascinating examples of how architects design when they only have themselves to answer to.

Anne Lacaton Interview: Always Add, Never Withdraw

Yiling Shen — Sun, 02 Sep 2018 14:00:00 +0000

In this video from the Louisiana Museum, Anne Lacaton from the award-winning practice Lacaton & Vassal describes the importance of building upon existing conditions to create new architecture. She shares the firm's approach to architecture, which is to "never withdraw, always add" and their focus on generosity of space, care of the users, and utilization of existing natural resources to create a more affordable architecture.

Andres Gallardo Captures Copenhagen's Surreal and Colorful Geometric Forms

Yiling Shen — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 12:00:00 +0000

Andres Gallardo's ongoing Urban Geometry series captures unique forms, colors, and shadows of modern architecture of various cities. The project is a personal one for Gallardo, as it has been a long-term photo series that has accompanied him throughout his journey in becoming a professional photographer, displaying his development and evolution as he captures the architectural beauty of cities such as Beijing, Helsinki, Seoul, and Copenhagen.

Architecture and Homelessness: What Approaches Have We Seen?

Yiling Shen — Wed, 15 Aug 2018 09:30:00 +0000

In the last global survey undertaken by the United Nations in 2005, there were an estimated 100 million people who were homeless around the world and 1.6 billion who lived without adequate housing. This number has escalated in recent years; unaffordable housing has become a global norm, making it increasingly difficult for the disadvantaged to seek out permanent, or even temporary shelter.

Superspace Re-Imagines Prague’s Victory Square as a Social Center

Yiling Shen — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 06:00:00 +0000

Istanbul-based studio Superspace has proposed a design for Prague’s Victory Square that transforms the dead zone in the middle of Prague into a space flourishing with nature and social activities. The simple but effective solution inverts traffic and pedestrian access to create a green urban center, where markets, art festivals and even wintertime ice-skating can take place. Tall, local evergreen trees would be planted in the horseshoe shape surrounding the inner ring, creating an iconic visual impact while shielding the community space from the noise of the busy traffic area beyond.

Shortlist Announced for RIBA’s 2018 Stephen Lawrence Prize

Yiling Shen — Mon, 06 Aug 2018 06:00:00 +0000

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the 2018 shortlist for the Stephen Lawrence Prize, an architecture award set up in memory of a young aspiring architect who was tragically murdered in 1993. Supported and founded by the Marco Goldschmied Foundation, the bursary has been increased this year from £5,000 to £25,000 to mark the 25th year since Stephen’s death. The prize is intended to encourage fresh architectural talent and reward the best examples of projects that have a construction budget of less than £1 million.

Repair: Australian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2018

Yiling Shen — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 14:00:00 +0000

As part of our 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale coverage, we present the completed Australian Pavilion. To read the initial proposal, refer to our previously published post, "Australian Pavilion at 2018 Venice Biennale to Explore Architecture's Relation to Endangered Plants."

Space 4 Architecture's Proposed Bookstore in Chengdu, China Embodies Floating Water Lilies

Yiling Shen — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 08:00:00 +0000

Space 4 Architecture's (S4A) proposal for a bookstore in Chengdu, China reflects the poetic beauty of floating lilies on water. The architects describe the project as a “permeable cultural container” that allows and encourages visitor interaction with the surrounding landscape. The design consists of a series of indoor and outdoor spaces that weave together a gentle intervention that mirrors and enhances the natural scenery it sits within.

Paradigma Ariadne's Design for House With a Hundred Rooms Stretches into Visual Infinity

Yiling Shen — Mon, 30 Jul 2018 06:00:00 +0000

Hungarian architects Paradigma Ariadné push the concepts of progression and growth to a literal spatial extreme in their proposal for a new sport complex for the MTK Football Academy. Drawing inspiration from the diagram of traditional European peasant houses, the design stretches into a kind of visual infinity, stacking all the rooms in the building along a single horizontal axis.

This Photographer Captures the Rainbow Architecture of Istanbul

Yiling Shen — Sat, 28 Jul 2018 08:00:00 +0000

When we think of Istanbul, opulent mosques and bustling bazaars often come to mind. Architect and photographer Yener Torur focuses on a different side of the city, targeting lesser-known neighborhoods to capture stunning images of a hidden, rainbow-colored Turkey.

6 Modern Building Types That Will Soon Disappear Forever

Yiling Shen — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 08:30:00 +0000

Architecture is often seen as something which provides a place-marker in history, reflecting the zeitgeist of an era. But how do we design architecture in a world that is changing faster than ever before, where entire types of buildings disappear seemingly in a flash? Here, we round up six types of buildings that came into existence in modern times and are fading as fast as they appeared. Mostly banal and previously ubiquitous, the nostalgia associated with the disappearance of these buildings taps into something emotional, rather than intellectual admiration.

50 Planning Terms & Concepts All Architects Should Know

Yiling Shen — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 09:30:00 +0000

As architects, we often use a niche set of words that are sometimes unnecessarily complex and confusing to our non-architect friends. In 2015 we compiled a list of these, ranging from “typology” to “Blobitecture.” Here we’ve rounded up 50 urban planning terms that might be a bit less familiar but just as important to know.

"Mind-Building": The Finnish Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Biennale

Yiling Shen — Mon, 25 Jun 2018 04:00:00 +0000

As part of our 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale coverage, we present the completed Finnish Pavilion. To read the initial proposal, refer to our previously published post, "Finnish Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Biennale to Examine the Future of Libraries."

Water and Wellbeing: Projects that Explore the Potential of Public Baths and Pools

Yiling Shen — Wed, 20 Jun 2018 06:00:00 +0000

There is something about water that continually captures our imagination. Tranquil, dramatic, or ever-changing, the architecture of public baths and swimming pools can enhance the inherent qualities of water. Bathhouses were traditionally meeting-spaces where social differences bled away into skin and steam. Even in contemporary architectural projects, spaces for swimming and bathing often feel like a separate world, therapeutic and intimate.

Atelier Deshaus' Shanghai Modern Art Museum Through the Lens of Kris Provoost

Yiling Shen — Sat, 16 Jun 2018 16:00:00 +0000

Architect Kris Provoost, who lives and works in Shanghai, has captured Atelier Deshaus' new Shanghai Modern Art Museum through a series of photographs, displaying both the details of the building as well as its context on the Shanghai riverfront. The Shanghai Modern Art Museum is an adaptive re-use project on the old Laobaidu coal bunker, its industrial exterior kept and re-interpreted into a contemporary architectural project. Provoost captured the beautiful detailing of the project, as well as how it transforms during the cherry blossom season.

Sharjah Architecture Triennial to Open as First Major Platform on Middle Eastern Architecture

Yiling Shen — Sat, 09 Jun 2018 12:00:00 +0000

The Sharjah Architecture Triennial will open in November 2019 as "the first major platform for dialogue on architecture and urbanism in the Middle East, North Africa, East Africa and South Asia." Curator Adrian Lahoud has announced the theme of the Triennial as the Rights of Future Generations, aiming to fundamentally challenge traditional ideas about architecture and introduce new ways of thinking that veer from current Western-centric discourse.

The World's First Pavilion-Scale Structure Built Using Augmented Reality

Yiling Shen — Fri, 08 Jun 2018 08:00:00 +0000

Fologram has recently built the world’s first pavilion-scale steel structure using the HoloLens, displaying the possibilities of integrating standard CAD workflow with augmented reality. By displaying the generative design model through holographic instructions rather than traditional 2D drawings, it explores the potential of revolutionizing the bridge between design and construction.