Inspiration: Stories

The Szczecin Philharmonic proves that, despite limited budgets, sculpting spaces with simple volumet ric gestures and a smart use of materials can produce stunning results.

Although the traditional white box endures as the ideal space for exhibiting and viewing art, we als o expect museums to offer an aesthetic experience in and of themselves. The challenge, then, is to strike a balance between the form and the content, and it is Japan’s current crop of top architects who have mastered this…

As diverse as its portfolio may be, Archinauten brings an aptitude for integrating light and the out door experience to a structure’s interior space. The common theme across all of the Austrian firm’s projects is that each one converses fluently with its natural surroundings. Founded in Linz in 2000 by Wolfgang Mulbacher and Andreas Dworschak, the…

From the exquisite friezes of the Parthenon to the elegant Caryatids of Erechtheion, the soft patina and appealing luster of marble has long been synonymous with the architecture of Greece. It is a material we associate with ancient civilizations utilized for its stability, longevity, and aesthetic quality throughout the centuries. Now, Athens-based studio Omniview has…

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…

Launched last year by the New Museum, NEW INC is the first incubator of its kind, a space at the int ersection of art, design, and technology. Last week saw the opening of its inaugural “End of Year Showcase,” on view at Red Bull Studios through July 30th. “Snowblind (Life After Architecture)” is one of several…

“Architecture is the biggest unwritten document of history.” Daniel Libeskind’s recent musings on th e emotional impact of the built environment will likely resonate in one corner of South America more than anywhere else. The Cultural Center Córdoba rose in the heart of Argentina last year, emerging from the ground as if tectonic plates had shifted,…

Architecture is an inherently visual design medium, yet the form and layout of our built environment is immeasurably more significant to those of us who cannot see. Earlier this year, we looked at the design of spaces that zone in on specific senses, such as the extraordinary, pitch-black void of James Turrell and Tadao Ando’s…

What should drive the form of a Manhattan residential tower? Should it be program, as Bjarke Ingels argues in his trailer for the recently unveiled 2 World Trade Center? Or perhaps it could be contextual constraints like those that have made SHoP’s pencil-thin high-rise the most slender Midtown tower yet? Or perhaps it should simply…