{"id":8292,"date":"2017-04-18T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-04-18T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/architizer.wpengine.com\/facades-that-speak\/"},"modified":"2022-07-20T11:43:59","modified_gmt":"2022-07-20T15:43:59","slug":"facades-that-speak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/inspiration\/collections\/facades-that-speak\/","title":{"rendered":"Say It Loud: 7 Fa\u00e7ades Communicating With Text"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you have an outstanding image that tells a compelling architectural story? The 2026 Vision Awards<\/strong><\/a> has a range of categories, from hyperrealistic or artistic renderings to expressive drawings or hybrid digital mediums. Start your entry ><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Architecture is rousing in its ability to express, disrupt and innovate without words. Despite such absence of words, architects have long used form as language, resulting in buildings coded with endless symbols and embedded text. As spectators, we read said abstract form and extract profound and deeply personal narratives about the time, place and context under which buildings may have arisen. That is to say, just like text and words written out on paper, buildings are ongoing representations and abstractions of the world we inhabit.<\/p>\n

In contrast to common practice, the following projects use words as central aesthetic components in their designs. Through fa\u00e7ades that integrate words in themselves, they probe us to think about memory and memorialization, how we understand buildings and the ways through which we inscribe them with meaning. By toying with the sacrality of text, these fa\u00e7ades aim to engage the public and invite human interaction and interpretation. In many cases, these projects use an alternate approach in order to reach out and bridge the often cold divide between public and private space.<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 Manuel Herz Architects<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

\n\t\n\t\n\t

\u00a9 Manuel Herz Architects<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

\n\t\n\t\n\t

\u00a9 Manuel Herz Architects<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

Jewish Community Center Mainz<\/b><\/a> by Manuel Herz Architects<\/a>, Mainz, Germany<\/p>\n

Unusual for a synagogue, the volume of this building is situated parallel to the streets without any kinds of barriers. As a result, the building\u2019s square has become a truly public space that is seamlessly integrated into the urban fabric, thus questioning the position of sacrality. The design for the community center is abstractly drawn based on the Hebrew word for raising or blessing.<\/p>\n

\n\t\n\t\n\t

\u00a9 People\u2019s Architecture Office<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

\n\t\n\t\n\t

\u00a9 People\u2019s Architecture Office<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

\n\t\n\t\n\t

\u00a9 People\u2019s Architecture Office<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

Tubular Baitasi<\/a><\/b> by People\u2019s Architecture Office<\/a>, Beijing, China<\/p>\n

Using HVAC metal ducts as a type of architectural vernacular, this project’s fa\u00e7ade features a building-size sign that spells out \u767d\u5854\u5bfa, meaning \u201cWhite Pagoda Temple.\u201d The design aims to engage the public and ensures visibility from a distance. Additionally, pedestrians may look into the ducts to discover images of a 700-year-old White Pagoda Temple and the People\u2019s Commune Building, an experimental housing complex from the 1950s.<\/p>\n

\n\t\n\t\n\t

\u00a9 CODA<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

\n\t\n\t\n\t

\u00a9 CODA<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

\n\t\n\t\n\t

\u00a9 CODA<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

Party Wall<\/b><\/a> by CODA<\/a>, New York, N.Y., United States<\/p>\n

The winning design in MoMA PS1\u2019s 2013 Young Architects Program, Party Wall creates a porous fa\u00e7ade that provides shade, seating and water at a range of scales. It provokes the question: Does it say something and if so, what does it say? According to CODA it does not say anything in itself. Its text is only revealed when a shadow is cast in relation to the ground and sun.<\/p>\n

\n\t\n\t\n\t

\u00a9 Moriyama Teshima Architects<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

\n\t\n\t\n\t

\u00a9 Moriyama Teshima Architects<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

\n\t\n\t\n\t

\u00a9 Moriyama Teshima Architects<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

Canadian War Museum<\/b><\/a> by Moriyama & Teshima Architects<\/a>, Ottawa, Canada<\/p>\n

Located in the nation\u2019s capital city, the Canadian War Museum features morse code windows, which spell out \u201cLest We Forget\u201d in both French and English. Inspired by the theme of regeneration, the design not only recalls the impact of war on the landscape, but also nature\u2019s profound ability to recover from said devastation.<\/p>\n

\n\t\n\t\n\t

\u00a9 Jan Siefke<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

\n\t\n\t\n\t

\u00a9 die photodesigner<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

\n\t\n\t\n\t

\u00a9 die photodesigner<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

Shanghai Museum of Glass<\/b><\/a> by logon urban.architecture.design<\/a>, Shanghai, China<\/p>\n

Located on a former glass manufacturing site in the Baoshan District of Shanghai, the aim of this urban regeneration project was to preserve existing structures while rediscovering the original character of each building. On the museum\u2019s fa\u00e7ade, multi-language words related to glass glow with LED backlighting, creating a unique visual effect.<\/p>\n

\n\t\n\t\n\t

\u00a9 OOF! architecture<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

\n\t\n\t\n\t

\u00a9 OOF! architecture<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

\n\t\n\t\n\t

\u00a9 OOF! architecture<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

Hello House<\/b><\/a> by OOF! architecture<\/a>, Melbourne, Australia<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most conspicuous message displayed in this collection, the Hello wall was designed in collaboration with artist Rose Nolan. The white brick wall is a large public face that offers those passing by with a cheerful greeting, while giving little away about the world inside.<\/p>\n

\n\t\n\t\n\t

\u00a9 klab architecture<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

\n\t\n\t\n\t

\u00a9 klab architecture<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

Placebo Pharmacy<\/b><\/a> by klab architecture<\/a>, Athens, Greece<\/p>\n

Located in Athens, Placebo Pharmacy is a cylindric structure that seeks to create circular movement and conversation with the urban artery in which it exists. The panels of the fa\u00e7ade are perforated in Braille, which both alludes to the system\u2019s use on pharmaceutical packaging and boosts visibility by allowing the light to find its way into the interior.<\/p>\n

Do you have an outstanding image that tells a compelling architectural story? The 2026 Vision Awards<\/strong><\/a> has a range of categories, from hyperrealistic or artistic renderings to expressive drawings or hybrid digital mediums. Start your entry ><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite such absence of words, architects have long used form as language, resulting in buildings coded with symbols, embedded text and expression.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"architizer_featured_type":"projects","architizer_featured_image":"2027326","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,3],"tags":[15],"architizer_project":[],"architizer_brand":[],"architizer_firm":[],"architizer_product":[],"class_list":["post-8292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-collections","category-inspiration","tag-collection"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSay It Loud: 7 Fa\u00e7ades Communicating With Text - Architizer Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/inspiration\/collections\/facades-that-speak\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Say It Loud: 7 Fa\u00e7ades Communicating With Text - 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