In-depth case studies on amazing architecture and the building-products that helped make it a reality.
In their endeavors to create a perfectly serene setting for the practice of Buddhism, the Japanese h ave long been renowned for their beautifully restrained designs, in both the built environment and their carefully manicured natural landscapes. In Tokyo, Asakusa’s Sensoji Temple is one of the most visited in the country, while in Kyoto, the bamboo…
If there is one thing architectural writers pride themselves on more than anything else, it is the a rt of categorization. They revel in the distillation of a studio’s burgeoning portfolio down to the telltale signs of modernism, postmodernism, deconstructivism, or high-tech: few contemporary practices can free themselves from the shackles of these broadly defined and…
When a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the heart of Nepal on April 25th this year, the country’s peo ple and their built environment suffered immeasurable damage. The tragedy spanned from the city streets of Kathmandu to the snow-covered slopes of Everest: more than 9,000 people lost their lives, and many more were left bereaved, injured, and homeless.…
More than perhaps any other city in Canada, Toronto has called upon the stars of the architectural w orld to solidify its status as a center of cultural and artistic significance in North America. Ever since Will Alsop’s outlandish OCAD Sharp Center for Design was completed just over a decade ago, the big names have been…
A short while ago, we published an in-depth feature on designs for the dead covering every typology from Thomas Willson’s towering, pyramidal mausoleum to Katrina Spade’s highly organic alternative. It appears that architects have come a long way since Willson’s outlandish monument to mortality; just as Spade illustrated that a contemporary approach to the handling…
Neat stacks of freshly pressed paper. Glittering sugar cubes. A sculptor’s pristine plaster casts. W hatever metaphor you might bestow upon the brilliant white forms of Kichi Architectural Design, there is no denying their meticulous, minimalist appeal. This young firm has adopted an aesthetic very much in keeping with the modernist ideals of many of contemporary…
Jaemin Yoon, Director of JMY Architects, sees his firm’s work as reclaiming something that his count ry lacked the opportunity to create for itself. “In the history of modern architecture, Koreans never had the chance to modernize ourselves because of the Japanese occupation and civil war,” he says. Modern Korean cities, he feels, reflect this loss…
Ceramics have long been the ultimate symbol of fragility and delicate beauty. If you hear of a space being stormed through “like a bull in a China shop,” mental images of carnage and destruction are summoned — these beautifully brittle objects are treasured by many, but are certainly not known for their resilience under pressure.…
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.