Practice: Materials

If there is one thing that technology has given back to architects, it’s time.

Mike Welton writes about architecture, art and design for national and international publications. H is work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Dwell, Metropolis, Architectural Record and The Huffington Post. Welton is also the architecture critic for the News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the editor of ARCHITECTSANDARTISANS.COM, where this…

When it came to outfitting a 50-foot-long pedestrian bridge at the University of Michigan, the archi tects didn’t have to look far for inspiration. Projecting school spirit, a giant LED wall on the side of an adjacent building led to the aesthetically pleasing and highly practical, open-weave metal mesh pattern for the walkway’s infill. The pedestrian…

It’s hard to believe that developing splints — and producing them in the thousands for the U.S. Navy during World War II — would eventually lead to the creation of one of the most iconic midcentury-modern furniture pieces: the Eames molded plywood chair. But, this is a true story. That exploratory nature, along with a…

It seems only logical for a brand like Sony — one of the earliest companies to marry consumer electr onics with handsome aesthetics — to contemplate the gap between high-tech home entertainment and tasteful interior design. That was the driving force behind the brand’s young division Life Space UX, which has introduced a small, albeit significant,…

Wall coverings for commercial design hold high priority in specification not only for achieving desi red aesthetics, but also for providing durability and technical performance over the long term. Today, a new category of surfacing material has emerged as a viable contender to take the look and function of walls further: porcelain tile panels. Also called…

The alternative-energy and science industries are abuzz with some recent news regarding Tesla’s Elon Musk — but it has nothing to do with electric cars or space travel. Rather, the inventor-entrepreneur is getting into the solar-roofing business. It doesn’t seem so farfetched given that he’s already tapped solar energy in introducing Powerwall, Tesla’s home battery…

From striking oversized geodesic luminaires to modern furniture with a whimsical twist, Tom Dixon’s creations have been a fixture on the American design scene yet didn’t have much of a home base in the U.S. to show its wares in person. (New Yorkers in particular had to wait until their city’s ICFF trade fair to…

“Harder, better, faster, stronger” could be the saying of design-build. This form of pro ject delivery allows a property owner to contract with one entity to design and construct a building. Proponents say there are many advantages to the method. Design-build is best known for achieving greater efficiency — and ensuring cost savings — over traditional…