Matt Shaw
From the woods of Finland to the American Midwest, Saarinen Houses, a new book from Princeton Archit ectural Press, traces Eliel and Eero’s journey across the Atlantic over the course of 200+ pages (and as many beautiful photographs). The common theme is house-as-gesamtkunstwerk, designed from the coordinated furniture to the harmonious relationships with the landscape. The…
Why should we save the original Taco Bell? Because it is a seminal moment in the history of American architecture. There are nearly 6,000 Taco Bell restaurants in the U.S., and they all descended from that original Downey, Calif., location. Anyone who grew up in the 80s or 90s remembers those mission-style buildings, and we…
ISIS (aka ISIL, The Islamic State) is a force to be reckoned with, a rebel group that has their sigh ts set on altering the geopolitical landscape forever. They’re just as likely to provoke the US or Russia, but they are probably more of an immediate threat to their neighbors in the region, mostly the countries…
The MTA might annoy you with their fare hikes, constant track work, and lack of a reliable schedule. But when it comes to graphic design, they usually come through — most famously, of course, in Massimo Vignelli’s comprehensive design of the system’s signage, which turned it into a standardized Helvetica design dreamscape back in the…
While you were busy holding the tip of the Golden Gate Bridge up with your fingers so your friend co uld snap a picture of you, many San Franciscans were crossing that iconic orange span to get to and from work. This 1.7-mile commute is one of the most scenic, but also can be a harrowing…
Africa’s tallest tower is not what you might expect. Ponte Tower in Johannesburg is a hulking concrete cylinder that is about as scary as a building can be. Its round courtyard is some 54 stories tall, and tops out at over 560 feet. This tube to the sky is something out of a science fiction…
Winners have been selected for Bee Breeders architecture competition to design a temporary pavilion for the education of tolerance — social, political and religious — in Moscow’s Red Square. The site fronts the Kremlin and other major Russian landmarks, was the seat of the 20th century Soviet government. Military parades and other demonstrations in the…
Leave it to the Brits to come up with something so funny and true that it ends up being a little ter rifying. Austerity is an update of Monopoly, but instead of robber barons and railroads, there are global financiers and the Shard. It is a fitting parody of the classic Parker Bros board game that…
After my hour-long commute with luggage via the L and A subway lines, I find myself on the AirTrain shuttle, making sure I don’t miss my stop. I know once I find it, I will have a nice little jaunt via elevated tram across a highway junction and a couple of odd access roads. Up…