Pat Finn
It is said that great art should provoke fierce responses, both positive and negative. By this crite ria, few architects would have a stronger claim to greatness than Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926), the idiosyncratic Catalan master known widely as “God’s architect.” His best-known work, the still-incomplete cathedral La Sagrada Familia, was described by the modernist architect Louis…
The Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo is known to pull out all the stops to ensure that its projects f it the needs of the surrounding environment. The front page of its official website clearly states the firm’s mission to “combine architecture, interior design, urbanism and landscape to create unforgettable spaces.” Mecanoo has brought this integrative approach…
On Tuesday morning, Bjarke Ingels’ Serpentine Pavilion in London’s Kensington Gardens was officially unveiled to the press, but architecture fans active on social media had already been granted a sneak preview of the building beforehand thanks to snapshots posted on Instagram. Many of these great shots came from visitors and passersby, but a few were…
Last month, Dezeen — working in collaboration with Architizer — sat down with Norman Foster at Foste r + Partners’ London office to discuss his memories of the late Zaha Hadid. What followed was an illuminating conversation about an individual Foster considered to be not only a great architect, but a close friend. “Everybody knows that…
New York City residents have long been aware of the trend toward “skinny” skyscrapers. Buildings lik e Rafael Viñoly’s432 Park Avenue and SHoP’s 111 West 57th Street are noted for their high height-to-footprint ratios and even higher rents. Herzog & de Meuron’s sleek new luxury tower at 56 Leonard Street in TriBeCa certainly fits the skinny…
“It’s ridiculous that we have these hundred-year-old buildings that everyone loves, and none of them ‘should’ be the way they are.”
“I will never forget this day,” the Parisian street artist JR said on Wednesday. “Today I’m going to make the Louvre Pyramid disappear.” The Louvre Pyramid was commissioned in 1984 by the French President François Mitterrand and designed by the legendary architect I.M. Pei. For over 30 years, the Pyramid has served as the main…
Many architects would look back on their K-12 school buildings and shudder. Overcrowded, poorly vent ilated rooms, glazed windows that prevent “distraction” by obscuring healthy sunlight and hallways covered in garish murals dominate the traditional American public school. Luckily it is the people, not the buildings, that make or break one’s school experience. Still, one cannot…
The artist Katie Paterson has teamed up with the architects Zeller & Moye to create a truly imme rsive public artwork that tells the story of our planet’s history through the traces left behind on ancient wood. If you’re a fan or art, natural history or even just the planet Earth itself, you’ve got to check…