Inspiration

“We’re not here to build for other architects, we’re here to build for all of humankind.” – Bjarke I ngels of BIG, A+Awards Firm of the Year 2014 The wait is officially over. The world’s premier awards program for architecture is back — and for 2016, it promises to be bigger than ever. Why enter? Because…

Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron know only too well how challenging it can be conceiving high-r ise designs in low-rise cities. They faced a protracted battle to get their pyramidal tower in Paris accepted by locals and the planning authority in the French capital. However, last week they successfully realized a project of similar proportions…

Under most circumstances, you’ll find yourself waiting to fill your prescription in the basement of some big-name drugstore. Longing for natural light, you may find yourself wondering why. Perhaps for security purposes? Maybe natural light taints whatever is being dispensed? Whatever the reason, it remains an unsolved mystery. One of the ways architects have fashioned…

Architects and design aficionados frequently get embroiled in heated debates over the value of rende rings when evaluating unbuilt projects, and rightly so — cleverly lit, artificially textured images can be misleading all too often. That’s why this Instagram photo — posted by New York-based developers JDS — constitutes the most satisfying preview of a building…

Kicking off today, London’s 100% Design promises as always to be a feast for the eyes. If you’re in town for the show, but have a very limited window of time, consider checking these finds — as well as London Design Festival installations — off your list. BUILDING PRODUCTS Alusid ALUSID, Stand EB769100% Design marks…

Blending the influences of Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Meier an d Partners Architects could be considered the ultimate conduit of 20th-century modernism in contemporary practice. The American firm’s distinctive aesthetic is immediately recognizable and stands as a present-day ode to those modern masters in contrast with a plethora of…

Architecture and faith are intimately intertwined. Countless religious structures have been erected the world over, buildings designed to venerate our deepest values and beliefs. Carefully studied by architects and occupied by the masses, these powerful monuments stand as symbols within their communities and surrounding contexts. Ranging from synagogues and mosques to cathedrals and cemeteries, religious…

Winning an international competition is a fantastic achievement for any architect, but it brings no guarantee of a smooth transition from concept to completion. Just ask Zaha Hadid, whose victory in the Tokyo Olympic Stadium competition has only led to trouble for her firm. David Chipperfield Architects has experienced similar travails with its design for…

“Funnily enough, I think Sir John Soane might have liked the Digital Age,” says Robert Stern, Founde r and Senior Partner of Robert A.M. Stern Architects, referring to the neoclassicist architect as perhaps the “first modern architect,” one who had both “a firm grasp of history, especially of Classical Rome” and “a sense of his own…