Curated lists of the best new building-products, materials and design solutions to inspire your next project.
Sparked by the research and fabrication of Charles and Ray Eames, plywood has transformed from a she eting material into a regular element in sophisticated design furniture. A demand for cheap, mass-produced objects such as splints launched the Eames’ work into plywood and industrial design. After the Second World War, Charles and Ray Eames commercialized the…
Architecture stands as an inherent act of creation. Materials, forms, and spaces are combined to rea lize the visions of those who design and construct the built environment. There remains a constant tension, especially within cities, between the desire to create anew and the need to respect or repurpose the historic. As Paul Ricoeur once said,…
Chile’s spectacular natural landscape is matched only by its remarkable residential architecture. Co mbining rough wooden materials with sharp, elegant lines, Chilean architecture has developed a unique aesthetic. As influential urban architect Alejandro Aravena told the LA Times earlier this year, “it’s a local interpretation of modernism. It’s rougher. But it’s also quite poetic.” Chile’s architectural…
It is not common to see black buildings because they can’t thrive in just any kind of weather. Becau se the color black easily absorbs sunlight, in geographical locations with not a lot of shade and a lot of direct light, the building will absorb and trap heat inside. This is not a sustainable practice since…
Both versatile and pragmatic, sheet metal is quickly becoming a popular choice for modern projects. While it’s currently used in numerous capacities, including as airplane wings and car bodies, architects have begun specifying sheet metal for roofs, walls, and complex façade designs. Manufactured through industrial processes, the metal undergoes many different forming techniques: rolling, bending,…
From delicate stone screens to solid envelopes, these buildings emerge from their surroundings as or dered, hierarchical volumes.
In 1896 Austrian architect and urban planner Otto Wagner published Modern Architecture in response t o his distaste for the 19th-century custom of employing old historical styles. The textbook reflects his ideas about the role of the architect in using new materials and forms to reflect the needs of a society that was changing during the…
In the most wide-sweepingly simple conclusion, it is generally accepted that modern architecture is credited to German-born architect, Mies van der Rohe. Known for his openly contrary and deliberately provocative instinct, he discovered the 20th century’s most formative, revolutionary building type (“skin-and-bones” glass and steel architecture) and prognosticator: proclaiming the slogan for modern architecture “less…
Dating as far back as ancient times, the burial of the dead, tomb constructions, and other after-lif e rituals were cornerstones of history and culture as well as architecture and engineering. However, throughout history, cremation was not the most popular way to send off the dead — many religions looked down upon the method and some…