Pat Finn
The spotlight is usually a functional affair: a tool to draw attention to a specific object. However , nothing says this form of illumination must be subordinate to the object it illuminates: With its elegant, conical shape, the spotlight can easily be considered an aesthetic object in its own right. This idea has inspired architect Sou…
Some have railed against MVRDV’s plans to build a massive, 180-step staircase in front of Rotterdam’ s Central Station, but here at Architizer we find the project uplifting. The temporary installation, which is named simply The Stairs, will allow pedestrians to access the rooftop of the historic Groot Handelsgebouw Building. The rooftop, which is currently home…
Washington, DC’s sports and entertainment district is about to get a makeover. OMA, working with the management company EventsDC, recently revealed two conceptual masterplans for RFK Stadium’s 190-acre campus, which also includes the storied DC Armory. The new proposals would add usable green space along the Anacostia riverfront, an area that is currently obstructed by…
Yesterday, Daniel Libeskind unveiled plans for the Kurdistan Museum, a cultural center that will cel ebrate the history of the Kurdish people. The 150,000-square-foot museum is to be built in Erbil, Iraq, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. Kurdistan is a loosely defined geographical area in the heart of the Middle East that includes the self-governing region…
Earthquakes? No longer a problem for Japanese fabric manufacturer Komatsu Seiren, whose showroom fac ility in Nomi, Japan, has been fitted with a carbon-fiber curtain designed by the architect Kengo Kuma. This innovative reinforcement provides added stability to the building, protecting it from damage wrought by earthquakes. “The fiber rod is said to be seven times…
Le Corbusier may have described houses as “machines for living in,” but most people take a less func tionalist attitude toward the buildings in their lives. Walking around a familiar city, architectural landmarks seem more like old friends than machines. It’s no coincidence that children’s drawings of houses often resemble faces: a door for a mouth…
For over 35 years, Chip Clark worked as the chief photographer of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. Talk about an enviable position! In this role, he documented everything in the museum’s vast collection, of which only a portion is accessible to the public. He was also sent on expeditions to caves…
With Easter having passed quite recently, the idea of resurrection is perhaps on many people’s minds . Nowhere is this more true than Puglia, Italy, where one can now visit a “resurrected” early Christian basilica made of wire mesh that serves as an ethereal reminder of the area’s rich architectural history. The creator of this apparitional…
Flood prevention is a perennial concern for architects, and one that is becoming more relevant each year, as climate change continues to cause sea levels to rise and storms to rage with increasing frequency and intensity. As architects across the globe rack their brains for solutions to this dire problem, few have come up with…