More than a thousand meters above sea level on the slopes of the Alborz mountain range in Gilan, northern Iran, a remarkable village dating back to 1006 AD bustles with life. The unique ochre-brown structures of Masuleh follow the slope of the mountain that the village nestles on—or rather, grows from—giving the village its most unusual quality: the roofs of many of the houses connect directly to, or even form a part of, the street serving the houses above.
Contrary to how Hollywood movies portray the quintessential architect—creative, sensitive, and virtually flawless—architects are a diverse bunch of fallible people. This stems from the fact that the study and practice of architecture are wrought with several “perils.” Architecture school is a beast, if not the profession at large, and it essentially reinvents the psyche of its students by simultaneously breaking them down and building them up—say hello to unresolved issues!
While this process produces bright intellectuals with a deep understanding of architecture’s place in society, it can also end up shaping architects into pretentious snobs. Young architects invariably graduate with a distinct outlook on life. Pair that with a largely thankless job and architects soon discover that they can only relate to other architects. Rare friends who bravely stand by an architect through thick and thin deserve a strong pat on the back because architects, despite their innumerable charms, exhibit several incredibly annoying traits. The following is a compilation of eight complaints that non-architect friends and partners have against their architect counterparts:
Buffalo and Erie County Public Library of Buffalo, New York, has recently opened a new exhibit at their Central Library titled Building Buffalo: Buildings From Books, Books From Buildings. The exhibit will feature a large selection of rare, illustrated architectural books from the Library’s collection dating from the fifteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. The bonus for those who are geographically distant from Buffalo is that, as part of the exhibit, the Library has also made dozens of historical architecture books available online, completely digitized and free to the public.
New York-based firm Laguarda.Low are set to transform the Bao’an district in Shenzhen, China with a 128-acre large-scale waterfront masterplan. Located 13 miles west of Shenzhen city center, and less than an hour’s drive from Hong Kong, OCT Bao’an will encompass dynamic spaces for business, retail, and entertainment. Designed in collaboration with landscape firm SWA, the Laguarda.Low scheme integrates nature, recreation, and culture in a new urban setting, a vision which was awarded first place in an international competition.
Aedas has been selected as the winners of a competition to design a new luxury resort located on Hengqin Island in Zhuhai, China. Inspired by the lush natural scenery of the island and by the traditional Lingnan architectural style, the resort promises to offer “a haven of comfort and relaxation amidst the bustling city life.”
_(1).jpg?1506588062 "© <a href='http://www.panoramio.com/photo/106899133'>Panoramio user alireza javaheri</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en'>CC BY 3.0</a>")
-全景.jpg?1497876021 "© K. M. Lee")
