Architectural case studies and material exemplars to spark your creativity and inspire your next project.
Amsterdam-based firm UNStudio is used to injecting some architectural theater into cities throughout their home country, with cultural venues for opera and dramatic performances springing up across the Netherlands in the past decade. Following the completion of their angular, orange Theatre Lelystad in 2007 and the rippling, ribbon-like form of the Theatre De Stoep last…
L: Alejandro Aravena, via Dezeen; R: Michael Kimmelman in Syria, via Next City. Chilean Challenge: A lejandro Aravena has been appointed as curator of the 15th International Architecture Biennale in Venice. The Chilean architect’s exhibition will focus on architecture’s role in helping to solve global social issues: “There are several battles that need to be won…
How much time do we spend waiting? Waiting rooms are often a place of uncertainty, anxiety, or, at t he very least, boredom. Whether you’re waiting for a diagnosis at a hospital, an interview at the office of your dream job, or sitting at the gate waiting for your delayed flight to board, waiting is an…
Whether a museum is pursuing an acquisitions policy to expand its collections or simply to bring eme rgency exits up to code, extensions provide a unique opportunity for architects to create meaningful structures that are not secondary. For those who enjoy an afternoon at a museum, these projects show how expansions can offer more than mere…
L: ZHA’s original (unrevised) proposal for the Tokyo Stadium, image via Designboom; The Stirling Pri ze-shortlisted Burntwood School by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, photo by Timothy Soar via the Guardian. Stadium Standstill: Zaha’s testudinate albatross has reportedly been scrapped for good — to the chagrin of seemingly everyone involved. Given the protracted dramasurrounding the British architect’s…
Perhaps more than any other capital city in the world, Beijing is characterized by its mix of histor ic typologies, new buildings, and the seemingly constant crush of construction throughout the city. While it is unfortunate that most of the new projects are as anonymous as their predecessors and neighbors, last month saw the opening of…
While the vast majority of Iowa is devoted to agriculture, you can still find great works of archite cture quietly hidden between the fields and tractors. The state’s architecture is unique, both formally and spatially, but also in terms of the context and communities that these buildings emerge from. At once pragmatic and contemporary, the architecture…
Rita Catinella Orrell was previously products editor at Architectural Record and the founding editor of Snap, a quarterly building products magazine. she launched DesignyThings.com, a curated list of gifts, gadgets, and gear for consumers, in 2011, and Architects-Toybox.com, a resource for architects and designers looking for the latest building products, in 2013. This post originally…
Whether it graces cathedrals or offers panoramic views to the sea, glass has been used throughout hi story to redefine architecture. As glass has shaped architecture, so, too, has it constantly evolved into endless material variations, shapes, and sizes. Fritted glass is one such variety, often a ceramic frit silkscreened on the material, which allows for…