Tips for Using Rainwater in Architectural Projects
The total amount of water on our planet has, theoretically, stayed the same since earth's formation. It's possible that the glass of water you drank earlier contains particles that once ran down the Ganges River, passed through the digestive system of a dinosaur, or even cooled a nuclear reactor. Of course, before it quenched your thirst, this water evaporated and fell as rain millions of times. Water can be polluted or misused, but never created or destroyed. According to a UNESCO study, it is estimated that the Earth contains about 1386 million cubic kilometers of water. However, 97.5% of this amount is saline water and only 2.5% is fresh water. Of this fresh water, most (68.7%) takes the form of permanent ice and snow in Antarctica, the Arctic, and in mountainous regions. Another 29.9% exists as groundwater. Ultimately, only 0.26% of the total amount of fresh water on Earth is available in lakes, reservoirs, and watersheds, where it is easily accessible for the world's economic and vital needs. With the population steadily increasing, especially in urban areas, several countries have already had severe problems with providing the necessary amount of drinking water to their populations.
Florida's Residential Architecture: Understanding the Landscapes of American South
Located in the southern region of the United States, the state of Florida is one of the most populous states and the 22nd largest. The state hosts some of the most populated areas in the country, such as Jacksonville and the Miami Metropolitan Area.
Michigan Lake House / Desai Chia Architecture + Environment Architects
-
Architects: Desai Chia Architecture, Environment Architects
- Area: 4800 ft²
- Year: 2016
-
Manufacturers: C.R. Laurence, Hansgrohe, Grohe, Miele, Acor, +37
Spotlight: I.M. Pei
Chinese-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei (April 26, 1917-May 16, 2019), is arguably the greatest living member of the modernist generation of architects. When he received his Pritzker Prize in 1983, the jury citation stated that he "has given this century some of its most beautiful interior spaces and exterior forms."
Our Readers Decide Who Should Win the Pritzker Prize 2020
Since the winner(s) of the Pritzker Prize 2020 will be announced this Tuesday, March 3, we have asked our readers who should win the most important award in the field of architecture.
Spotlight: Steven Holl
As the founder of Steven Holl Architects, Steven Holl (born December 9, 1947) is recognized as one of the world's leading architects, having received prestigious awards for his contributions to design over the course of nearly forty years in practice, including the prestigious Alvar Aalto Medal in 1998, the AIA Gold Medal in in 2012, and the 2014 Praemium Imperiale. In 1991, Time Magazine named Holl America's Best Architect. He is revered for his ability to harness light to create structures with remarkable sensitivity to their locations, while his written works have been published in many preeminent volumes, sometimes collaborating with world-renowned architectural thinkers such as Juhani Pallasmaa and Alberto Pérez-Gómez.
Spotlight: Zaha Hadid
In her lifetime, Pritzker prize-winning architect, fashion designer and artist Zaha Hadid (31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) became one of the most recognizable faces of our field. Revered and denounced in equal measure for the sensuous curved forms for which she was known, Hadid rose to prominence not solely through parametricism but by designing spaces to occupy geometries in new ways. Despite her tragically early death in March of 2016, the projects now being completed by her office without their original lead designer continue to push boundaries both creative and technological, while the fearless media presence she cultivated in recent decades has cemented her place in society as a woman who needs just one name: Zaha.
Da Wang Jing Mixed-use Development / Andrew Bromberg at Aedas
Archtober 2019: New York City's Architecture and Design Month
The American Institute of Architects New York Chapter and the Center for Architecture have announced new and expanded programs for the ninth annual edition of Archtober, the official New York City Architecture and Design Month. The festival, now in its ninth year, brings together more than 80 partners throughout the city’s five boroughs to celebrate the importance of design and the built environment.
Hunters Point Library / Steven Holl Architects
-
Architects: Steven Holl Architects
- Area: 22000 ft²
- Year: 2019
-
Manufacturers: KEIM
-
Professionals: ICOR Associates, Rolf Jensen & Associates, Silman, Transsolar, ADS Engineers, +3
Pratt Institute, Higgins Hall Insertion / Steven Holl Architects
-
Architects: Steven Holl Architects
- Area: 22500 ft²
- Year: 2005
-
Manufacturers: Bendheim
-
Professionals: Robert Silman Associates, Ove Arup & Partners
Pool Pavilion / GLUCK+
-
Architects: GLUCK+
- Year: 2009
-
Professionals: Lux Populi, IBC Engineering Services Inc.
Lights, Camera, Architecture!: Where Set Design and Architecture Cross Over
What do Kanye West and Frank Gehry have in common?
As a first impression, not much. However, they have both engaged on stages with striking design details: the use of exaggerated scale and dimensions to manipulate visual perception, bulky concrete walls and slabs to emphasize heavyweight and grandiosity, visible scaffolding to create an industrial, unfinished feel... Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
Bringing Work Home: 9 Times Architects Designed for Themselves
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.
Mission Hill Family Estate / Olson Kundig
-
Architects: Olson Kundig
- Area: 120000 ft²
- Year: 2000
Construction Details of Zaha Hadid Architects Projects
Surely every architect has wondered how the fluid but complex forms of the architecture of Zaha Hadid Architects are brought to reality. And it's beautiful to see how an initial conceptual idea –probably drawn as a quick sketch– materializes in precise and detailed planimetric drawings.
We have compiled a series of construction details from 9 projects developed by Zaha Hadid Architects that give insight into her distinct style and approach, showing us that, with a little ingenuity and a lot of expertise, even the most impossible-seeming dreams can be built.