Halloween. A day plagued by ghost, ghouls, and goblins. Historically, on All Hallows' Evening, many believed that spirits could return to the earthly world. On this frightful occasion, we’re highlighting phantoms from the beyond that have entered the architectural realm. Below, 13 hellish projects and their supernatural counterparts. Scroll down if you dare.
The use of light and shadow in architecture can have several nuances. The traditional Japanese culture stands out for working with spaces of dim light, kind of dull. On the other hand, modern architecture and minimalism work along with illuminating spaces through the use of white spaces and reflection of light as a recurring resource.
Even so, black, dark spaces and minimalism also converse in the same language that provides new possibilities for lighting design and use of new materials. We now present you a selection of the best contemporary interior spaces that use black as the protagonist element, generating introspective but dramatic environments at the same time.
One of the immediate impressions that I formed of the Beijing-based architect and Tsinghua University Professor Li Xiaodong (b. 1963) is his reassuring self-confidence. Following our interview, Professor Li asked me a question of his own - would I like to teach at his school? “I never taught in my life,” I replied. He quickly countered, “I know. You can teach. Yes or no?” If I have learned anything about life, it is that when opportunities come you should grab them first and think later. "If he is so confident in me, why shouldn’t I trust him?” I reasoned.
Constructing places of worship has always been an intricate practice, managing to detach the human, and release the boundary between body, mind, and spirit. Holy presence has been crucial in designing and constructing sacred places, which is why almost all religious building possessed similar characteristics: grandiosity, monolithic material, natural elements, and a plan that compliments an individual’s circulation through the space. Contemporary religious structures, however, found a way to adapt to the evolution of architecture. Unlike the Gothic or Baroque periods, modern-day architecture does not have a dominant identity. It is, in fact, a combination of postmodernism, futurism, minimalism, and everything in between. Architects have found a way to transform these exclusive, religion-devoted places into structures of spirituality, manifestation, and fascination.
Here is a selection of contemporary religious buildings that prove once again that architects are breaking all boundaries of creativity.
