Paul Keskeys
As it approaches the 30th anniversary of its founding, Danish firm Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects is showing no signs of slowing up in its exploration of new material applications. The practice recently published work-in-progress images of a major new project in the Netherlands as it approaches completion: the International Criminal Court at the Hague will…
It’s a fact of life for architects and their clients: major projects rarely progress from conception to completion without facing some design complications along the way. In Los Angeles, famous businessman and art collector Eli Broad knows this better than anyone, having experienced some exceedingly turbulent times during the construction of the iconic Disney Concert…
After surviving long, intensive university programs and continuing professional development througho ut their careers, architects understand the importance of education better than anyone. It is no surprise, then, that an international competition to design a major new educational complex in Russia attracted some of the biggest firms in the world, including Dutch studio MVRDV and Japanese…
“Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.” The words of Vincent Van Gogh must have resonated with Hans van Heeswijk of Amsterdam-based firm Hans Van Heeswijk Architects when he sat down to develop ideas for a new addition to the museum dedicated to the world-renowned Dutch…
Behind every great building there lies a story: one of diligence, determination, and creative inspir ation. Telling this story with a visceral flourish can help architects communicate concepts to clients, as well as convincing doubters and inspiring trust in the design process. One of the most powerful ways to do this in recent years has been…
As the partners of most major firms across the globe will tell you, the business of architecture can often be a very slow moving vehicle. During the economic downturn of 2008, the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel was barely visible for many studios. There were few projects on the drawing board, let…
Zaha Hadid Architects is a firm known for its epic fly-through videos used to illustrate its grand p lans with beautifully rendered details. Recently, though, the studio is increasingly using this medium to show its buildings coming to life in the real world. The following “teaser trailer” gives a bird’s-eye view of the site for a…
It is considered by many to be the most important architectural work of the late 20th century. Upon completion in 1997, Frank O. Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao formed the fulcrum of a pivotal moment in architectural history, demonstrating the power of a single building to alter the urban landscape — not just spatially, but…
Ma Yansong is never one to shy away from big ideas. Not long after revealing his firm’s first reside ntial project in the United States — the green-walled 8600 Wilshire in Beverly Hills, Calif. — the Chinese champion of sustainable cities has conceived a new scheme for Los Angeles, scaling up his utopian concepts to a…