Inspiration

Even the slightest of modifications to conventional building geometries have the potential to create more dynamic dimensions to architecture.

For many design observers the name Pininfarinais synonymous with automobiles. In 1930, Battista “Pin in” Farina founded Carrozzeria Pinin Farina in Turin, Italy, precisely to build one-off and small-batch vehicles for a tight circle of wealthy young people. The new company exhibited Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Isotta Fraschini and Fiat cars at the Paris Motor Show shortly…

The contemporary residential architecture of Japan is innovative, especially in experimentations wit h shapes, sizes and geometries. In sifting through new residential projects, we commonly find that Japanese architects seem to be drawn to creating new orthogonal volumes that are easily eye-catching yet understatedly beautiful. However, despite the burgeoning of such structural new design ideas, these…

“Architecture starts when you carefully put two bricks together. There it begins.” Mies van der Rohe may well have been talking about masonry made from clay, but for many, the origins of their love affair with architecture can be traced back to the satisfying sound of two LEGO bricks clicking together. You’d be hard-pressed to…

Designing a facility for international border control can be a tricky proposition amounting to an ar chitectural tightrope walk. The imperative for almost every border crossing is to communicate contradictory messages of welcoming and surveillance, at once making desired border-crossers feel at ease while trying to make potentially threatening border-crossers feel watched and intimidated. In meeting…

The subconscious associations of color is something that building occupants pick up on, whether they realize it or not, and as evidenced below, orange is no exception.

After a 2008 voter-approved bond, the team at Opsis Architecture was tasked with updating Portland C ommunity College’s Rock Creek Campus. In line with a city known for green initiatives and smart growth, the bond stipulated that the 1970s buildings be updated and expanded while also reducing sprawl and becoming more efficient. Cascade Architectural worked closely…

After stealing the show at Architizer’s 2016 A+Awards gala last week, the iconic white bricks of the LEGO Architecture Studio set were in the spotlight again in New York on Saturday — this time inspiring a new generation of designers at the flagship LEGO store opposite the iconic Flatiron Building. Students from Manhattan’s Urban Assembly…

Expo 2020 in Dubai is still four years away, but it’s already shaping up to be an architecture enthu siast’s buffet. Architizer has previously covered pavilion designs from OMA,BIG and Grimshaw, but now Santiago Calatrava has joined the party with his own remarkable proposal, which was recently approved for construction by the event’s organizers. Calatrava’s building…