Architecture Classics: The Latest Architecture and News

Officials have just confirmed that Antonio Gaudi’s iconic Sagrada Família's final stage of construction has commenced, on track to be completed in 2026, 144 years after its establishment. The announcement was made last Wednesday, aligning with the centenary of the architect’s passing. According to the annual report, construction efforts have resumed, finalizing the Evangelists towers in November 2023. Additionally, active construction is ongoing for the Chapel of the Assumption and the tower dedicated to Jesus Christ, which are on track to be completed in 2025 and 2026, respectively. The towering 172.5-meter central spire is included in the project, planned to stand as the tallest edifice in Barcelona, Spain.

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In his latest photographic journey, Paul Clemence explores the architecture of the Aluminaire House in Palm Springs. The Aluminaire House Foundation has bestowed the house exhibit upon the Palm Springs Art Museum, joining its permanent collection. This architectural landmark, designed by Albert Frey and Lawrence Kocher is currently undergoing reconstruction in the south parking lot of the Museum. Hailed as an icon of modernist design, recently recognized by Architectural Record as one of the most significant buildings completed worldwide in the past 125 years.

Sitting on the northern bank of Venice's Grand Canal is a great house whose ornately carved marble facade only hints at its original splendor. The Palazzo Santa Sofia—or the Ca D’Oro (House of Gold), as it is also known—is one of the most notable examples of late Venetian Gothic architecture, which combined the existing threads of Gothic, Moorish, and Byzantine architecture into a unique aesthetic that symbolized the Venetian Republic’s cosmopolitan mercantile empire. Built to serve as the grand residence of wealthy Venetian businessman and politician Marin Contarini, the palazzo has seen a number of owners and renovations over its lifetime before ultimately coming to serve as a museum for medieval painting and sculpture.[1]

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Text description provided by the architects. How might these units accommodating 110 entirely different families be conceived as a community? Riken Yamamoto gave that question a great deal of thought. The result was this arrangement of buildings organized around a central space. It was based on the idea of threshold. The open space in the center of the site cannot be accessed except through the units. The units serve as gates to the central open space.

Text description provided by the architects. Gazebo is my own house in Yokohama. I always wake up around 6:30 in the morning. I feed the goldfish and clean the cat litter box. I make juice with apples, oranges and cabbage. I can see the rooftop of the house across the alley when I feed the goldfish because the goldfish bowl is on the fourth-floor terrace

Text description provided by the architects. The original clients, Mr. and Mrs. Ishii, he was a sculptor and she was a painter. This was to be used as an atelier. They wanted to invite people over from time to time for concerts. They were acquaintances (or should I call them comrades) from the days of student protests. 

Text description provided by the architects. After making a few basic requests, Mr. Yamakawa had very little to say. He wanted a spacious terrace--a place that was like a living room where he could also take his meals and relax the whole day long. The villa would be used mainly as a summer retreat; it would not be used in winter.