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Old Structures...
A Deservedly Unknown Truss There’s a street bridge over the Hudson Line (the former main line of the New York Central Railroad)...
9 months ago
30
9 months ago
There’s a street bridge over the Hudson Line (the former main line of the New York Central Railroad) tracks just south of the Dobbs Ferry Station: For now, ignore the big white pipe at the bottom of the side truss: it’s a utility line, not part of the truss. That leaves us with...
There are two types...
MSG Two MSG quotes: “In animal studies, injecting high doses of MSG into the brains of rats made them...
over a year ago
21
over a year ago
Two MSG quotes: “In animal studies, injecting high doses of MSG into the brains of rats made them fat.” – Wikipedia “Through Pennsylvania Station one entered the city like a god…. One scuttles in now like a rat” [under Madison … Continue reading → The post MSG appeared first on...
Common Edge
The Missing Flower Power in Walkability and Neighborhood Vitality There’s a surprisingly simple alternative to our hard, urban spaces.
6 months ago
The Modern House
A Day Well Spent with Isabella Burley
a year ago
CONTEMPORIST
How Photorealistic Rendering Made A Difference For This Small Home Office Design This article has been brought to you by RenderDave. Hey everyone, RenderDave here to show you how...
10 months ago
44
10 months ago
This article has been brought to you by RenderDave. Hey everyone, RenderDave here to show you how photorealistic rendering made a difference for this small home office design. When architects and interior designers work on a project in programs like Sketchup, Revit, or AutoCAD,...
Archinect - Features
AI Bias and Digital Colonialism; A Conversation with Morehshin Allahyari Whether through her art, writings, or lectures, Morehshin Allahyari's work evokes a range of...
a year ago
5
a year ago
Whether through her art, writings, or lectures, Morehshin Allahyari's work evokes a range of emotions among its audience. There is wonder and intrigue at her reinterpretation of centuries-old Middle Eastern stories, images, and artifacts. There is introspection on our...
CONTEMPORIST
Before & After – A Kitchen And Bathroom Remodel For This 1970s Home SHED Architecture & Design has shared their latest project, the contemporary interior remodel of a...
a year ago
55
a year ago
SHED Architecture & Design has shared their latest project, the contemporary interior remodel of a 1970s home on Seattle’s Mercer Island that was originally designed by William Rutledge. The house met the functional needs of its new owners but did not quite suit their...
Old Structures...
What’s Not Stated This newspaper clipping in one of the New York Public Library’s scrapbooks has no explanation, but...
a month ago
21
a month ago
This newspaper clipping in one of the New York Public Library’s scrapbooks has no explanation, but I’m pretty sure I know what it’s about. The somewhat ominous caption “Park Avenue Tunnel Choked With the Debris” is probably describing the aftermath of the January 1902 crash...
Cartogrammar
Seasonal relief Just a map for fun, made without writing any code, which is a nice change of pace. I finally spent a...
over a year ago
3
over a year ago
Just a map for fun, made without writing any code, which is a nice change of pace. I finally spent a bit of time catching up with the great Daniel Huffman’s excellent tutorial on creating shaded relief maps with Blender. Do try it out if you haven’t; he’s written it up thoroughly...
Old Structures...
How Far Is Far? I was up on a rooftop in the mid-Bronx (Belmont, to be somewhat more exact) last week and saw a...
11 months ago
9
11 months ago
I was up on a rooftop in the mid-Bronx (Belmont, to be somewhat more exact) last week and saw a familiar profile: That’s Billionaire’s Row, on the order of eight and a half miles away. It’s no surpise that you can see a big building from a distance – that’s the essence of all...
The Modern House
A Piers Gough apartment with a secluded balcony and spectacular views of the Thames
a year ago
Contemporist...
The Dining Table Becomes Part Of The Stairs Inside This Eclectic House Mag Arquitectes together with Clara Lleal INTERIORISTA has shared photos of a home they designed in...
a year ago
8
a year ago
Mag Arquitectes together with Clara Lleal INTERIORISTA has shared photos of a home they designed in Catalunya, Spain, that showcases a unique dining area.
CONTEMPORIST
Hidden Lighting Creates A Warm Glow Throughout This Apartment Interior Cuaik | CDS has shared photos of an apartment interior they designed in Ciudad De México, Mexico,...
5 months ago
40
5 months ago
Cuaik | CDS has shared photos of an apartment interior they designed in Ciudad De México, Mexico, that uses hidden lighting to create a warm atmosphere. Working together with Grupo Cuarit, the designers infused the space with bespoke wood carpentry and thoughtful illumination. In...
The Modern House
Furnishing Futures: the charity improving the lives of domestic abuse survivors – one piece of... When a domestic abuse victim is given the keys to their new home, many will find that it comes...
3 weeks ago
14
3 weeks ago
When a domestic abuse victim is given the keys to their new home, many will find that it comes unfurnished, often without even carpets on the floors. It can be the cause of much stress for these women, who have recently fled an abusive home […]
The Modern House
Inside two carbon-negative zero-waste homes in Walthamstow
a year ago
Old Structures...
Scant Evidence A piece of a single sentence in the 1893 Baedeker description of New York sent me down a rabbit...
2 weeks ago
5
2 weeks ago
A piece of a single sentence in the 1893 Baedeker description of New York sent me down a rabbit hole. In a proper library I believe that I’d find a hard answer but playing around on the internet from hime, I’m left with a partial guess. The phrase, under the heading of Theaters...
Old Structures...
Faking It A pet peeve of more than one of us at Old Structures is seeing buildings that are “faking” something...
a month ago
25
a month ago
A pet peeve of more than one of us at Old Structures is seeing buildings that are “faking” something that makes no sense. Examples abound, like weep holes in solid masonry walls. I noticed this building while on the train recently, with the star anchors that one often sees on...
McMansion Hell
ode to a faux grecian urn Howdy everyone, Today’s house, built in 2001, comes to you from, you guessed it, the Chicago...
8 months ago
5
8 months ago
Howdy everyone, Today’s house, built in 2001, comes to you from, you guessed it, the Chicago suburbs. The house is a testimony to traditional craftsmanship and traditional values (having lots of money.) The cost of painting this house greige is approximately the GDP of Slovenia...
Construction Physics
Fusion Power Reading List The challenge with reading about a topic like fusion is balancing the tradeoff between technical...
5 months ago
50
5 months ago
The challenge with reading about a topic like fusion is balancing the tradeoff between technical detail and readability. A book or article should give enough detail to provide some understanding of what’s actually going on, what progress has been made, what the challenges are,...
CONTEMPORIST
A Tube Shaped Treehouse Wrapped In Diamond-Shaped Metal Tiles Artistree, a company that creates treehouses and tiny homes, has shared photos of their design named...
11 months ago
9
11 months ago
Artistree, a company that creates treehouses and tiny homes, has shared photos of their design named “The Spyglass Treehouse”, which provides a unique window into the surrounding environment. Inspired by old-fashioned spyglasses used to magnify what is in the distance, this...
The Modern House
At home with our favourite interiors influencer, Akilah Cohen
3 days ago
Common Edge
Climate Lessons From the Floating Villages of Cambodia Social and cultural values may be as important as hard (and expensive) infrastructure.
a year ago
CONTEMPORIST
A Slide Is A Fun Alternative To The Stairs Inside This Home Indee Design has recently completed a renovation in Montreal, Canada, that transformed a duplex into...
11 months ago
24
11 months ago
Indee Design has recently completed a renovation in Montreal, Canada, that transformed a duplex into a single-family home, and included in the interior, is a slide that travels between floors. Stepping inside the home, there’s a glass-front area with floor-to-ceiling windows that...
McMansion Hell
texas gothic revival Sometimes I just want to get on my hobbyhorse, which for about a year now has been the middle ages...
6 months ago
15
6 months ago
Sometimes I just want to get on my hobbyhorse, which for about a year now has been the middle ages but surely will soon be something else. (Please hyperfixation gods, make it financial literacy.) Anyway, I meandered around the nation (online) in search of another opportunity to...
SOCKS
The Square and the Circle: The Palace of Charles V in Granada (1527) The palace of Charles V in Granada was built starting in 1527 as a summer palace for the emperor....
over a year ago
20
over a year ago
The palace of Charles V in Granada was built starting in 1527 as a summer palace for the emperor. The Renaissance building is located inside the Alhambra, the former Nasrid complex on Sabika hill, a notable example of Islamic architecture.  The structure is built in stone and is...
The Wandering...
Mapping Francis Younghusband in the Gobi Desert, 1887, Part 4: from the Ya-hu oasis to Hami. [Back to Part 3: from the Hun-kua-ling sandhills to the Ya-hu oasis] From Ya-Hu to Hami, we can see...
over a year ago
16
over a year ago
[Back to Part 3: from the Hun-kua-ling sandhills to the Ya-hu oasis] From Ya-Hu to Hami, we can see that Younghusband now has to turn south, as his own map shows. The journey takes from June 23rd to July 4th, or twelve days. His mapmaker places Ula Khutun almost halfway from...
Old Structures...
Not Quite What It Seems First up, from one of those New York Public Library scrapbooks, “Looking down upon a forest of...
4 months ago
29
4 months ago
First up, from one of those New York Public Library scrapbooks, “Looking down upon a forest of skyscrapers: New York City.” It’s listed as having been issued between 1850 and 1945, and my response to that is “oh, come on.” The Park Row and St. Paul buildings, and the intersection...
Coffee with an...
Architect Valentines 2024 It’s that time of year again. The time of year when an architect’s thoughts turn to Love. Well, not...
10 months ago
53
10 months ago
It’s that time of year again. The time of year when an architect’s thoughts turn to Love. Well, not really. We’re working on a deadline right now. But, we promise, as soon as we’re finished with these details, our thoughts will totally turn to love. In the meantime, here are a...
SOCKS
Fragments of an Unknown Civilization: Works by James Lipnickas James Lipnickas is a New Haven-based artist and graphic designer. He creates highly evocative scenes...
over a year ago
23
over a year ago
James Lipnickas is a New Haven-based artist and graphic designer. He creates highly evocative scenes representing small architectural stages in axonometric projection. Suspended stairwells, excavated blocks, and plinths separated, or all combined are located in deserted...
The Modern House
Explore Simon Allford’s ‘family home in the sky’ in our new film series
10 months ago
The Architectural...
Fake Views – The Contrast Between Renderings and Reality A shining sun, playful children, overwhelming greenery and new neighborhoods with a richer wildlife...
11 months ago
8
11 months ago
A shining sun, playful children, overwhelming greenery and new neighborhoods with a richer wildlife than a Zoo. We have all seen them, the vision images that promise an idyll but result in a visual nightmare. Here‘s a few examples. Renderings are a visual representation of a...
CONTEMPORIST
A Daybed Nook Is A Great Place To Read Inside This Cabin Best Practice Architecture has shared photos of a secluded home they designed in Methow Valley,...
3 months ago
41
3 months ago
Best Practice Architecture has shared photos of a secluded home they designed in Methow Valley, Washington. One of the key interior elements is a built-in day bed. The open nook has various functions. There’s the day bed for relaxing, with storage drawers built in underneath. The...
The Modern House
How time-worn textures – and rethought spaces – brought new life to woodland cabin-like home in...
11 months ago
Common Edge
Telling the Essential Stories of Everyday Places A talk with Gabrielle Bendiner-Viana, author of The Cities We Need.
2 weeks ago
99% Invisible
Category 6 [EPISODE] On the campus of Florida International University, in Miami, there’s a place ominously named “The...
6 months ago
54
6 months ago
On the campus of Florida International University, in Miami, there’s a place ominously named “The Extreme Events Institute.” They map the risk of storm surge for the whole Caribbean, and study how the public perceives the threats from natural disasters. They’re also home to the...
The Modern House
A mid-century marvel in Stafford that stands the test of time
a year ago
CONTEMPORIST
A’ Design Awards & Competition – Last Call for Entries This article has been brought to you by A’ Design Award and Competition. A’ Design Award &...
a year ago
22
a year ago
This article has been brought to you by A’ Design Award and Competition. A’ Design Award & Competition is the Worlds’ leading design accolade reaching design enthusiasts around the world, and showcasing 16,000 award winners from 110 different design disciplines. A’ Design...
CONTEMPORIST
A Kitchen Wrapped In Textured Wood Defines The Boundary Of The Workspace Barker Associates Architecture Office has shared photos of their Sackett Street Townhouse, a project...
a year ago
38
a year ago
Barker Associates Architecture Office has shared photos of their Sackett Street Townhouse, a project delivered for clients, recent empty-nesters with their own consulting company, who were looking to refresh their townhouse following the departure of their daughter for college....
The Solarchitecture...
Follow up to circadian rhythm post Let's use the tools that Substack gave us!
over a year ago
Old Structures...
Lucy Moses Award: 486 Liberty Avenue You can read about the building in the awards program: here. The short version: this was a very...
8 months ago
68
8 months ago
You can read about the building in the awards program: here. The short version: this was a very ornate police precinct house constructed in 1892, when Brooklyn was still an inexpedient city, and abandoned for quite some time. Here’s what the interior looked like the first time we...
A Weekly Dose of...
Self-Published Books by BNIM and KPF Over at World-Architects I wrote about two self-published books recently published by BNIM and...
a year ago
54
a year ago
Over at World-Architects I wrote about two self-published books recently published by BNIM and KPF: ALL - The Tom and Ruth Harkin Center by BNIM Design in Detail by Kohn Pedersen Fox The "Found" feature also includes responses to a few questions on why the firms opted to...
Old Structures...
Recognizing Reality A hundred years ago, jaywalking was a made-up offense. In 1926, a study of traffic included the...
a month ago
19
a month ago
A hundred years ago, jaywalking was a made-up offense. In 1926, a study of traffic included the statement “all persons have an equal right in the highway, and that in exercising the right each shall take due care not to injure other users of the way.” Old pictures of even a...
The Modern House
A Day Well Spent with Lisa Jones and Ruby Kean
a year ago
devonzuegel.com
OWD #4: Supersonic planes, levitating trains, & electric automobiles Mobility is central to living in every city. In this episode, we discussed how different communities...
over a year ago
7
over a year ago
Mobility is central to living in every city. In this episode, we discussed how different communities tackle the question of transportation, and how culture shapes how different transport technologies get adopted. RSS · Apple Podcasts · Spotify · Overcast Mobility is central to...
The Modern House
The 'sculptural experience' of designer Ashley Law’s uniquely tactile cottage in Whitechapel
8 months ago
CONTEMPORIST
A Green Exterior Helps This Cabin Blend Into The Forest Scalar Architecture has completed a modern cabin in Connecticut that has a minimal ecological...
a year ago
6
a year ago
Scalar Architecture has completed a modern cabin in Connecticut that has a minimal ecological footprint. Designed as a 1200-square-foot retreat for a family of writers and producers, the cabin is only accessible via foot or light utility vehicle. The cabin is located in a hilly...
The Modern House
Jeremy Lee: the much-loved chef who grew up in a wedge of cheddar If ever there was a corrective to the idea of the dour Scotsman, it could be found in Jeremy Lee....
9 months ago
28
9 months ago
If ever there was a corrective to the idea of the dour Scotsman, it could be found in Jeremy Lee. Glaswegian-born (and now London-based) Jeremy is chef proprietor of Quo Vadis, the historic Soho institution beloved of virtually everyone who’s ever had the privilege of […]
Construction Physics
The Technological Innovations that Produced the Shale Revolution Part One of Hot Rocks: Commercializing Next-Generation Geothermal Energy
a year ago
CONTEMPORIST
Creative Patterned Designs Cover The Facade Of This Brick House Manoj Patel Design Studio has shared photos of a home they’ve completed in Vadodara, India, that...
a year ago
41
a year ago
Manoj Patel Design Studio has shared photos of a home they’ve completed in Vadodara, India, that includes unique brick designs on its facade. Located in the middle of an urban area, the eye-catching facade showcases a brick accent section that has a variety of artistic patterns....
Old Structures...
Perspective Anyone who’d read more than a few of these blog posts knows that sometimes I’ll write about...
5 days ago
12
5 days ago
Anyone who’d read more than a few of these blog posts knows that sometimes I’ll write about something just because it seems cool. Or looks cool. In this case, “cool” is two photos from Carol Highsmith, a professional photographer who was generous enough to donate her archive to...
Common Edge
The Challenge of Creating a Women-Friendly Architecture School in Afghanistan Years of effort have been undone by political strife, while earthquakes have further destroyed...
a year ago
Old Structures...
New And Improved Graphics! Seven years ago [!] I spent some time looking at the Pearl Street overpass portion of the Manhattan...
2 months ago
23
2 months ago
Seven years ago [!] I spent some time looking at the Pearl Street overpass portion of the Manhattan approach of the Brooklyn Bridge. The short version is that it’s an 1880s steel truss reinforced in the mid-1900s with a steel arch below. The long discussion is: here and here and...
99% Invisible
The Price is Wrong [EPISODE] Insurance companies are not climate activists, but they know more about climate risk than just about...
3 months ago
41
3 months ago
Insurance companies are not climate activists, but they know more about climate risk than just about anyone. And as storms get more extreme and unpredictable a lot of insurers are running the numbers on Florida and realizing that the math just isn’t working anymore. For decades,...
CONTEMPORIST
This Building With A Split Roof Makes Space For A Rooftop Park Architecture firm RAD+ar has shared photos of a building they’ve completed in Jakarta, Indonesia,...
6 months ago
38
6 months ago
Architecture firm RAD+ar has shared photos of a building they’ve completed in Jakarta, Indonesia, that has a split roof held together by a skylight. The split design allowed half of the building to have a regular roof, while the other, is dedicated to outdoor space and a garden....
Old Structures...
It Looked Familiar: My Past Haunts Me Marvel Comics gives us a very blocky, stylized view of a skyscraper: It’s still recognizable as the...
11 months ago
9
11 months ago
Marvel Comics gives us a very blocky, stylized view of a skyscraper: It’s still recognizable as the Irving Trust Building at One Wall Street, seen here in one of Irving (no relation) Underhill’s more artistic photos. In 1988, I was helping on facade repairs triggered by the...
Contemporist...
This Library Is Almost Entirely Built Into The Land Around It Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP has recently completed a new library in Kisarazu, Japan, that has been built...
a year ago
CONTEMPORIST
A Cluster Of Shingle-Clad Buildings Create An Island Cottage Experience For These Owners Akb Architects has shared photos of a cottage they designed that comprises a cluster of buildings,...
4 months ago
36
4 months ago
Akb Architects has shared photos of a cottage they designed that comprises a cluster of buildings, each scaled proportionately to the island’s one-acre size. Located three hours north of Toronto, Canada, the cottage includes four pitch-roofed structures, harmoniously clad in...
Old Structures...
Loans I’m not sure why “Is a Library-centric Economy the Answer to Sustainable Living” by Philip Vachon...
2 months ago
25
2 months ago
I’m not sure why “Is a Library-centric Economy the Answer to Sustainable Living” by Philip Vachon surprised me, but it did. The basic argument is that the ideas that govern good libraries – making as many books available to as many readers as possible, fairly and efficiently, and...
Construction Physics
Why do we need infrastructure policy? My title at IFP is "Senior Infrastructure Fellow," which means that in addition to publishing this...
a year ago
10
a year ago
My title at IFP is "Senior Infrastructure Fellow," which means that in addition to publishing this newsletter, I do work related to infrastructure policy. At a high level, that work is figuring out which things we should be building, and how we can make building those things...
The Modern House
A beloved mid-century home built for a lifetime of colour and creation by two architects
7 months ago
The Modern House
The magic of life on the Manygate Lane Estate in Shepperton, Surrey
a year ago
CONTEMPORIST
This Bread-Inspired Facade Was Designed For A Manufacturer Of Bakery Machines Romulo Neto Architects LDA has designed a modern building for a company that produces bakery and...
a year ago
20
a year ago
Romulo Neto Architects LDA has designed a modern building for a company that produces bakery and pastry machines. Inspired by the company’s principal activity of creating machines that produce dough for bread and pastries, the architects designed a facade that’s reminiscent of...
The Modern House
House Style with Gennaro Leone and Tessa Vermeulen in Stoke Newington
a year ago
The Architectural...
Why Ugly Architecture Is Bad for Your Health In a world where we spend the majority of our lives surrounded by buildings, the impact of...
a year ago
7
a year ago
In a world where we spend the majority of our lives surrounded by buildings, the impact of architecture on our well-being often goes unnoticed. But what if I told you that the buildings you encounter every day could be affecting your health, both physically and mentally? This...
devonzuegel.com
Inflation propagates unevenly Inflation hits some parts of the economy harder and faster than others. It's obvious once you say...
over a year ago
8
over a year ago
Inflation hits some parts of the economy harder and faster than others. It's obvious once you say it, and yet the way pundits and academics talk about inflation glosses over this reality. As a result, most people who haven't had direct experience with high inflation have a flawed...
CONTEMPORIST
One Thousand Plants Cover The Exterior Of The ‘Landmark by Lexus’ Pavilion Koichi Takada Architects has sent us photos of ‘Landmark by Lexus’, a showroom/pavilion that was...
a year ago
16
a year ago
Koichi Takada Architects has sent us photos of ‘Landmark by Lexus’, a showroom/pavilion that was presented to guests during the Melbourne Cup Carnival at the Flemington Racecourse in Australia. Drawing inspiration from the Australian landscape, Koichi Takada Architects designed a...
Old Structures...
Somehow, We’re Large-Small When you look past the good-news headline, there’s some interesting discussion in “NYC’s Small...
6 months ago
31
6 months ago
When you look past the good-news headline, there’s some interesting discussion in “NYC’s Small Business Recovery: Patterns of Growth in a Changing Economy”, a report from the city’s Economic Development Corporation. The showy headline is that “Total small businesses in NYC...
Archinect - Features
What To Do If You Hate Your Architecture Job Every architecture worker will, at some point, endure a period of stress or anxiety in the...
6 months ago
40
6 months ago
Every architecture worker will, at some point, endure a period of stress or anxiety in the workplace. Sometimes, these feelings can be fleeting, caused by an exceptionally short project deadline, a difficult client, or even a legal dispute. If you find yourself actively hating...
The Modern House
With the rolling South Downs on its doorstep, the award-winning Black Timber House by HAPA...
8 months ago
Old Structures...
Tracing The Load Path Yet another view of the roof trusses at Moynihan Station, built when it was a mail-handling facility...
4 months ago
32
4 months ago
Yet another view of the roof trusses at Moynihan Station, built when it was a mail-handling facility to allow for a big open floor for sorting machinery. The roof truss is at the upper right; one of the main columns is below it, two side trusses, supporting the edges of the...
Old Structures...
Escheresque I’ll probably talk about this project more in the future, but seeing that it just started, I’m going...
a month ago
11
a month ago
I’ll probably talk about this project more in the future, but seeing that it just started, I’m going to have a movie-style trailer consisting of a single photo: That’s roof framing at the Hopewell Furnace, an early-1800s ironworks in Pennsylvania. (Note that this is a...
99% Invisible
Planet Money: Zombie 2nd Mortgages [EPISODE] Karen MacDonough had paid her mortgage for years, raised her family, and lived a quiet life in her...
3 months ago
34
3 months ago
Karen MacDonough had paid her mortgage for years, raised her family, and lived a quiet life in her Quincy, Massachusetts home—until one day, a group of strangers appeared on her lawn, claiming her house was up for foreclosure. What followed was a surreal discovery of “zombie...
Old Structures...
In The Background The photo from the Bain News Service is titled “Post Office, New York” and the Library of Congress...
8 months ago
31
8 months ago
The photo from the Bain News Service is titled “Post Office, New York” and the Library of Congress dates it as “between ca. 1910 and ca. 1915.” I think we can do better: that’s the Municpal Building in the background under construction. The building took longer than usual to...
Contemporist...
This Prefab Home Was Installed On The Property In Just One Day BIO-architects together with DublDom, have sent us photos of their latest project, DUB, a modular...
a year ago
Common Edge
What’s to Become of the Mess That Is Penn Station? A talk with architecture critic Justin Davidson about the thorny knot of issues involved at New...
a year ago
95
a year ago
A talk with architecture critic Justin Davidson about the thorny knot of issues involved at New York’s most conflicted transportation-entertainment site.
There are two types...
A Short Discussion of Residential Building Heights in New York City NOTE: The following was written for the Tenth Anniversary Edition of Street Design, The Secret To...
a year ago
3
a year ago
NOTE: The following was written for the Tenth Anniversary Edition of Street Design, The Secret To Great Cities and Towns, where it will appear in a shorter version. This version still needs a little editing for its new context. Part … Continue reading → The post A Short...
The Modern House
Suea is the cook and creative playing with her food in Brooklyn, New York
a year ago
Common Edge
Developers Are Dangerously in Control of New York City Urbanist Roberta Brandes Gratz’s remarks on receiving the Preservation Leadership Award.
8 months ago
Archinect - Features
Archinect's 2023 Summer Reading List Summer is here, and whether you're on vacation or preparing for one or looking to lay low at home, a...
a year ago
8
a year ago
Summer is here, and whether you're on vacation or preparing for one or looking to lay low at home, a summer must is a good book. The Archinect team has curated a list of reading essentials to explore.  Below is a collection of books organized into five categories – New Releases,...
Old Structures...
Happy Presidents’ Day The cover of the dinner menu for Washington’s Birthday from the SS Columbia of the Hamburg-Amerika...
10 months ago
26
10 months ago
The cover of the dinner menu for Washington’s Birthday from the SS Columbia of the Hamburg-Amerika Line. That’s a portrati of the Columbia on the right, apparently about to run down a sailboat. Columbia had a weird history, having served as a liner between Germany and the US,...
Old Structures...
Originality Is Not Easy, Part 3 The first two parts of this series looked at patents that involved odd details that were not really...
3 months ago
31
3 months ago
The first two parts of this series looked at patents that involved odd details that were not really part of the metal-frame revolution that was taking place in the 1890s but rather adjacent to it. Neither of those patents reflected actual structure that I’ve ever seen in an old...
99% Invisible
The Art of the Olympics [EPISODE] The 2024 Paris Olympics are currently under way, and we thought we’d play two stories from the 99%...
4 months ago
42
4 months ago
The 2024 Paris Olympics are currently under way, and we thought we’d play two stories from the 99% Invisible archives about the art of the Olympics. Mexico 68 The 1968 Olympics took place in Mexico City, Mexico. It was the first Games ever hosted in a Latin American country. And...
The Solarchitecture...
7 key principles of solar passive design - Part 1. or how to dramatically improve indoor healthy air quality and well-being while reducing...
over a year ago
2
over a year ago
or how to dramatically improve indoor healthy air quality and well-being while reducing energy-consumption for every building we build?
Old Structures...
Social Commentary In A Map Above, David Burr’s 1834 map of New York. I guess 190 years make a bit of a difference. This is, in...
5 months ago
39
5 months ago
Above, David Burr’s 1834 map of New York. I guess 190 years make a bit of a difference. This is, in some ways, more of a map-like graphic than an actual map. The shaded areas are not the only places where there were buildings, but rather the areas that were solidly built up....
Archinect - Features
'Starting a Successful Woman-Owned Business in a Heavily Male-Dominated Industry Is No Joke':... In this episode of our Studio Snapshot series, Archinect connected with Allison Bryan, Founding...
2 months ago
34
2 months ago
In this episode of our Studio Snapshot series, Archinect connected with Allison Bryan, Founding Principal of multi-disciplinary design practice Open Studio Collective, based in Bozeman, Montana, and Ojai, California. Trained in both graphic design and architecture, Bryan talks...
Old Structures...
The Public Realm This is the 1895 firehouse constructed for Engine Company 31 and Battalion 2 of the Fire Department...
4 months ago
18
4 months ago
This is the 1895 firehouse constructed for Engine Company 31 and Battalion 2 of the Fire Department of New York, at Lafayette and White Streets. The fire department facilities were moved elsewhere over 50 years ago, but the building is landmarked and reusable, so it has been...
The Modern House
TV presenter Will Best's space-smart Hackney home for three
6 months ago
Archinect - Features
You, Me, and DALL-E: On the Relationship Between Architecture, Data, and Artificial... Thirty years after the thaw of the last 'AI Winter,' the landscape of artificial intelligence is one...
a year ago
4
a year ago
Thirty years after the thaw of the last 'AI Winter,' the landscape of artificial intelligence is one of a forest in full bloom. On a weekly basis throughout 2023, new tools have been released taking advantage of the latest advances in machine learning algorithms, while existing...
99% Invisible
Fact Checking the Supreme Court [EPISODE] The Orange County courthouse in Santa Ana, California is a large granite and sandstone building from...
6 months ago
50
6 months ago
The Orange County courthouse in Santa Ana, California is a large granite and sandstone building from the early 20th century. There, Jennifer Birch was there doing research for a group called Moms Demand Action. It’s an organization that advocates for gun control and regulation....
The Modern House
A Day in the Life of a Listing: photographer Freya Najade captures Hackney 'letting its hair down' While we are most at home photographing homes, we are sometimes left wondering what the streets...
5 months ago
47
5 months ago
While we are most at home photographing homes, we are sometimes left wondering what the streets surrounding our listings might look like through a different lens. This is why we have asked photographer Freya Najade to take her cameras out in Hackney. Using the area […]
Construction Physics
The Long, Sad History of American Attempts to Build High-Speed Rail, Part I California has received its fair share of criticism for the trajectory of its high-speed rail...
a year ago
5
a year ago
California has received its fair share of criticism for the trajectory of its high-speed rail project. When voters first approved the $10 billion dollar bond issue for the project in 2008, it was projected to be completed by 2020 at a cost of $33 billion. Instead, its costs have
Old Structures...
A Generational Change A view of Park Avenue by Angelo Rizzuto from June 1959m looking south. The big tower on the left is...
8 months ago
24
8 months ago
A view of Park Avenue by Angelo Rizzuto from June 1959m looking south. The big tower on the left is the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, with St. Bart’s in front of it; the ornate tower that seemingly ends the avenue is the New York Central Building, not yet sold by the railroad and...
CONTEMPORIST
A Boldly Colored Pasta Shop Brightens Up The Street In Athens Design firm Studio Materiality has shared photos of Macaroni, a pasta shop they completed that’s...
a year ago
54
a year ago
Design firm Studio Materiality has shared photos of Macaroni, a pasta shop they completed that’s located in the heart of Athens, Greece. The designers drew inspiration from the 1970s, with a boldly colored design, complete with a font from that era to create the logo. The...
There are two types...
Take Back The City On a recent episode of Billions, the New York Attorney General stands on the roof a car in the...
over a year ago
18
over a year ago
On a recent episode of Billions, the New York Attorney General stands on the roof a car in the middle of a New York City street with a bullhorn. Why? Vecause he’s positioned himself near a meeting on the Highline … Continue reading → The post Take Back The City appeared first on...
CONTEMPORIST
The Surrounding Desert Was Blended Into This Modern Home Photography by Stetson Ybarra Multi-disciplinary design studio Daniel Joseph Chenin, Ltd. has shared...
a year ago
76
a year ago
Photography by Stetson Ybarra Multi-disciplinary design studio Daniel Joseph Chenin, Ltd. has shared photos of a modern home they completed on the edge of the Las Vegas Valley that has views of Red Rock Canyon. Photography by Stetson Ybarra Commissioned for a family embracing an...
Common Edge
Away From Old Architecture: What Corbu Really Meant Rethinking the meaning of Le Corbusier’s groundbreaking manifesto.
a year ago
The Modern House
The Classics: Valley Spring by Peter Womersley
a year ago
Old Structures...
Moving Goalposts The image above, of the Grand Union Hotel on the east side of Park Avenue is labelled by the New...
a year ago
5
a year ago
The image above, of the Grand Union Hotel on the east side of Park Avenue is labelled by the New York Public Library as 1868 to 1900, but is likely from the late 1870s, or early 1880s. The hotel is the building on the right with three flags and with S-curved mansard roofs on its...
CONTEMPORIST
Steel, Wood, And Stone Are On Display Inside This Hillside Home Bjella Architecture has sent us photos of a contemporary home they completed in Los Angeles,...
11 months ago
21
11 months ago
Bjella Architecture has sent us photos of a contemporary home they completed in Los Angeles, California, that’s nestled on a hillside overlooking the sprawling city. Due to the home being in an area prone to earthquakes, the structural elements are bigger and bolder. There are...
Archinect - Features
Archinect Celebrates 20 Must-Watch Emerging U.S.-Based Architecture Practices In celebration of July 4th, Archinect recognizes the work of U.S.-based architecture firms by...
a year ago
6
a year ago
In celebration of July 4th, Archinect recognizes the work of U.S.-based architecture firms by bringing attention to a selection of emerging studios establishing themselves as changemakers and design leaders within the industry. From coast to coast, we've explored several...
99% Invisible
A Whale-Oiled Machine [EPISODE] In the 1800s, whaling was a vast and brutal industry–sometimes as deadly for the sailors involved as...
a year ago
27
a year ago
In the 1800s, whaling was a vast and brutal industry–sometimes as deadly for the sailors involved as it was for the whales. And the global epicenter of whaling could be found in New Bedford, MA. All this slaughter wasn’t to feed hungry people with whale meat. It was about all the...
The Modern House
New Wave: seven coastal homes for sale in Kent and Sussex In the middle of the 19th century, well-meaning Victorian doctors would advise their patients to...
a year ago
48
a year ago
In the middle of the 19th century, well-meaning Victorian doctors would advise their patients to take ‘the sea cure’. Dutifully, they would go to the coast – particularly in the south – bathe in the waters and draw in lungfuls of salty air. Smart promenades, […]
The Modern House
The Green Series #2: how to control heat and draught-proof your home Triple glazing and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) systems come as standard in a...
3 weeks ago
16
3 weeks ago
Triple glazing and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) systems come as standard in a Passivhaus home, sealing the interior against the elements and radically reducing your reliance on conventional heating. For the second in our series of Passivhaus hacks, Kate Jacobs...
CONTEMPORIST
A Waterfront A-frame House Renovated With Contemporary Finishes Joe Herrin, Principal at Heliotrope Architects, has shared photos of an A-Frame cabin he completed...
6 months ago
38
6 months ago
Joe Herrin, Principal at Heliotrope Architects, has shared photos of an A-Frame cabin he completed as an idyllic little home on Orcas Island, set within the San Juan Island Archipelago of Washington state. The cabin structure is a modest late-60’s era kit A-frame, built by the...
CONTEMPORIST
Chairs For Sitting On Stairs ARTA Architects has designed the Tai Kwun Chairs for The Hong Kong Jockey Club, allowing a more...
2 weeks ago
20
2 weeks ago
ARTA Architects has designed the Tai Kwun Chairs for The Hong Kong Jockey Club, allowing a more comfortable and modular seating solution for these stairs. The chairs complement the distinctive design languages of the Tai Kwun arts and cultural centre’s ancient and contemporary...
99% Invisible
Christiania [EPISODE] In the year 1623, Christian IV, king of Denmark and Norway, built a long series of moats and...
2 months ago
33
2 months ago
In the year 1623, Christian IV, king of Denmark and Norway, built a long series of moats and ramparts just across from central Copenhagen, on the eastern edge of the city’s harbor, to protect the city from Swedish invasion. In the early 19th century, the Danish government added...
Archinect - Features
Architectural Visualization Was Rather Flat: Then We Invented Perspective Before the invention of architectural perspective, architects and artists faced significant...
2 months ago
28
2 months ago
Before the invention of architectural perspective, architects and artists faced significant challenges in visualizing and communicating architectural space. Without a systematic way to represent depth and spatial relationships, architectural drawings were often symbolic,...
Old Structures...
Some Good News To Start The Year From Ars Technica, “40% of US electricity is now emissions-free” by John Timmer has a pretty...
11 months ago
22
11 months ago
From Ars Technica, “40% of US electricity is now emissions-free” by John Timmer has a pretty self-explanatory headline. The short version: wind and solar have advanced quickly because of decreases in their cost, coal use has dropped, and there’s more storage coming on line to...
Common Edge
The ‘City of Yes’ Will Make a Big Manhattan Mess City council is expected to vote on the controversial proposal soon.
a month ago
Old Structures...
Between Demolition and Redevelopment Angelo Rizzuto, in 1959, was going for the same feeling as Berenice Abbott in her Changing New York...
7 months ago
37
7 months ago
Angelo Rizzuto, in 1959, was going for the same feeling as Berenice Abbott in her Changing New York photos twenty years earlier: contrast the new and the old. In this case we’ve got three eras represented: the mid- to late-1800s in the rowhouses and tenements along Third Avenue,...
Archinect - Features
Exploring Coffee and Architecture With These Ten Mesmerizing Cafes October 1st marks International Coffee Day, and to celebrate, we explore exceptional projects that...
a year ago
10
a year ago
October 1st marks International Coffee Day, and to celebrate, we explore exceptional projects that exemplify the distinctive attributes and meticulous design considerations behind a diverse array of cafes across the globe.
The Architectural...
The 10 Most Common Arguments of Modernists – and Why They Don’t Hold Up After discussing architecture with modernists for years, it is clear that the way modernists argue...
a year ago
6
a year ago
After discussing architecture with modernists for years, it is clear that the way modernists argue is based on a dogmatic worldview. Despite their assumptions rarely being based on empirical studies and scientific investigations, they find it hard to imagine anything other than...
Construction Physics
Which city builds skyscrapers the fastest? Last week we looked at trends in skyscraper construction speed for New York and Chicago, finding...
a year ago
21
a year ago
Last week we looked at trends in skyscraper construction speed for New York and Chicago, finding that New York has gotten significantly slower at building skyscrapers over time. Chicago, on the other hand, has declined in speed less steadily, and currently builds skyscrapers much...
Old Structures...
Double Part of the Construction History Congress last week was a day of tours, and I went on the iron- and...
5 months ago
40
5 months ago
Part of the Construction History Congress last week was a day of tours, and I went on the iron- and steel-truss bridge tour. I’m going to show my pictures every two or three days, spread over the next couple of weeks. First up: the rail bridge at Eglisau: Built 1895-1897 by the...
The Modern House
Charlotte Taylor on the wonders of wood and her sudoku-orientated routine
a year ago
Cartogrammar
Land by latitude and longitude, or, a pile of continents Bill Rankin’s graphs of world population by latitude and longitude popped into mind for no...
over a year ago
4
over a year ago
Bill Rankin’s graphs of world population by latitude and longitude popped into mind for no particular reason the other day, followed by a silly-sounding question: “but, like, what about land area by latitude and longitude?” Silly because, duh, a chart of land area by latitude and...
Contemporist...
A Glass Wall Separates A Bedroom From The Living Spaces In This Apartment MIKOLAJSKAstudio has shared photos of an apartment in Krakow, Poland, that includes a main living...
10 months ago
25
10 months ago
MIKOLAJSKAstudio has shared photos of an apartment in Krakow, Poland, that includes a main living level with a bedroom enclosed behind a glass wall.
Old Structures...
Raking Sunlight Pro tip, as computer manuals said back when (a) everyone was not yet comfortable using a computer...
a year ago
7
a year ago
Pro tip, as computer manuals said back when (a) everyone was not yet comfortable using a computer and (b) computer manuals still existed: environmental conditions can help in building investigation. For example, I like conducting facade inspections on very cold days because you...
Old Structures...
Amusing Until It’s Not This story turns ugly rather quickly. From the New York Public Library scrapbook, The Hippotheatron...
4 months ago
37
4 months ago
This story turns ugly rather quickly. From the New York Public Library scrapbook, The Hippotheatron and New York Cirque: That’s 14th Street between Irving Place and Third Avenue, with an out-chapel of Grace Church next door. As the name suggests, that weird building was a theater...
devonzuegel.com
Creating Passionate Users: Attenuation and the suck threshold Attenuation and the suck threshold How long do your users spend in the "I suck" (or "this product...
over a year ago
10
over a year ago
Attenuation and the suck threshold How long do your users spend in the "I suck" (or "this product sucks") zone? Once they've crossed the suck threshold, how long does it take before they start to feel like they kick ass? Both of those thresholds are key milestones on a users...
McMansion Hell
new jersey “19th century” “eclecticism” It’s always funny to me when new wealth tries to imitate old wealth, but in a very specific way: by...
3 weeks ago
15
3 weeks ago
It’s always funny to me when new wealth tries to imitate old wealth, but in a very specific way: by trying to reproduce old ways of building that are no longer viable via mass produced building materials and contractors who are better than average but still not quite in the...
Common Edge
Why Does America Provide More Space for Storing Cars Than Housing People? Paved Paradise recounts parking’s pivotal history, exposing its environmental, economic, and social...
a year ago
Construction Physics
How Valuable Are Building Methods That Use Fewer Materials? Materials make up a substantial fraction of the costs of new construction. When we previously looked...
10 months ago
16
10 months ago
Materials make up a substantial fraction of the costs of new construction. When we previously looked at a collection of 40 different construction tasks, on average materials made up 62% of the cost of the task. And for an average new house, materials make up roughly 50% of direct...
devonzuegel.com
A libertarian just won Argentina's presidency... what's going on? If you're wondering how the heck a hardline libertarian just won the Argentinian presidential...
a year ago
17
a year ago
If you're wondering how the heck a hardline libertarian just won the Argentinian presidential election, here's some background. First, a key fact is that the government is printing money at an accelerating rate, resulting in 143% annual inflation as of the most recent count. The...
Cartogrammar
Beyond the sea In the northern reaches of Newfoundland, near the town of St. Anthony, is the Fox Point Lighthouse....
over a year ago
4
over a year ago
In the northern reaches of Newfoundland, near the town of St. Anthony, is the Fox Point Lighthouse. I’ve never been there, but I know it has one of the most impressive ocean views in the world. If you face perpendicular to the right bit of rocky coastline there and gaze straight...
The Modern House
‘I go to bed thinking about it’: why Tate Modern director Frances Morris returns to her childhood... Where does our spirit go when we die? Frances Morris has this question figured out: she will return...
a year ago
24
a year ago
Where does our spirit go when we die? Frances Morris has this question figured out: she will return to the home in which she was born, a Georgian house abreast the Meridian Line in Greenwich. Listen to this deeply personal conversation on our podcast, Homing […]
devonzuegel.com
My questions about Próspera, answered I recently visited Próspera, a Honduran startup city. I had a ton of questions and figured others...
over a year ago
5
over a year ago
I recently visited Próspera, a Honduran startup city. I had a ton of questions and figured others might too, so I wrote an FAQ to share what I learned: Próspera FAQ This FAQ is intended as a reference, covering the basic facts and current status of the project. My hope is that...
Benny Kuriakose
Paliam Nalukettu: A Glimpse into a Matrilineal Society In the small town of Chendamangalam in Paravur, Kerala, is the Paliam Nalukettu, which is located...
a year ago
2
a year ago
In the small town of Chendamangalam in Paravur, Kerala, is the Paliam Nalukettu, which is located within the Paliam complex. Benny...
Common Edge
Awesome and Affordable: Making the Case for Great Housing A new project in Los Angeles highlights the challenges—and the opportunities.
10 months ago
Old Structures...
Outlived Its Welcome But Not The Need I’ve been trawling in the HABS index and came across a survey from 1974 of the Bronx portion of the...
7 months ago
35
7 months ago
I’ve been trawling in the HABS index and came across a survey from 1974 of the Bronx portion of the Third Avenue elevated. After the rest of the line (in Manhattan and the very southernmost bit of the Bronx) was closed and demolished in the early 1950s, the portion from 149th...
Old Structures...
Boosterism I don’t have an exact date for this photo, but the Temple Bar Building, the three-turreted...
8 months ago
36
8 months ago
I don’t have an exact date for this photo, but the Temple Bar Building, the three-turreted skyscraper in the center, was constructed 1899 to 1901, so 1900 to 1910 is my guess. (As for how difficult discussing timelines can be, the New York Times article on the building I discuss...
The Modern House
Nice Slice: the best pizza in London
a year ago
Coffee with an...
Design explained using venn diagrams Design is hard. If only the process could be explained using simple venn diagrams. Unfortunately,...
8 months ago
60
8 months ago
Design is hard. If only the process could be explained using simple venn diagrams. Unfortunately, this isn’t that: More Design in charts – HERE, and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE
The Modern House
Carefully composed: the bright reimagining of a Victorian garden apartment
2 months ago
A Weekly Dose of...
My Biennale Haul Two weeks ago I was in Venice for the Biennale, covering the 18th International Architecture...
a year ago
38
a year ago
Two weeks ago I was in Venice for the Biennale, covering the 18th International Architecture Exhibition curated by Lesley Lokko for World-Architects. It was my first trip back to Venice since the 2018 Biennale, which was the 16th edition and was curated by Yvonne Farrell and...
Contemporist...
Large Folding Glass Walls Open This Home To A Courtyard Narch Arquitectes has shared photos of a home they designed in Barcelona, Spain, that has large...
a year ago
49
a year ago
Narch Arquitectes has shared photos of a home they designed in Barcelona, Spain, that has large folding windows that connect the interior to the inner courtyard and garden.
CONTEMPORIST
A Wood-Lined Office That Used To Be A Parking Lot Ujigawa Ohzono Architects has shared photos of a small wood-lined office they designed in Kyoto,...
7 months ago
38
7 months ago
Ujigawa Ohzono Architects has shared photos of a small wood-lined office they designed in Kyoto, Japan, that was once a parking lot. The owner of the land, who had been running a construction company in the local area for a long time, decided to create a place where dialogue can...
The Modern House
Nick Knight on being a skinhead, why he’s hopeful about AI and how well-designed spaces make life... In our new podcast, Homing In, our co-founder Matt Gibberd invites guests to discuss their childhood...
a year ago
59
a year ago
In our new podcast, Homing In, our co-founder Matt Gibberd invites guests to discuss their childhood home, where they live now and their thoughts on future living. (If you missed episode one, with Ruth Rogers, be sure to listen here.) Our guest on this episode […]
Archinect - Features
Design, Computation, and Humans: Exploring the Intersection with Onur Yüce Gün For Onur Yüce Gün, the study of computation is the study of the human condition itself. A mission to...
a year ago
8
a year ago
For Onur Yüce Gün, the study of computation is the study of the human condition itself. A mission to anchor humans at the center of AI and computational design brought Gün on an educational journey from Middle East Technical University in his native Turkey to the MIT Design and...
Common Edge
Warlords in Our Midst Why Elon Musk is worse than science fiction.
4 months ago
SOCKS
The Permanence of Form from Vernacular to Rationalism: Giuseppe Pagano’s “Architettura Rurale... Giuseppe Pagano was a central figure in Italian architecture of the first part of the 20th century....
6 months ago
40
6 months ago
Giuseppe Pagano was a central figure in Italian architecture of the first part of the 20th century. Along with his practice as a rationalist architect and his political engagement, which led him to leave the Fascist Party, join the Resistance, and later be deported to Mauthausen,...
Old Structures...
Obvious In Restrospect The first real commuter rail in New York was the New York and Harlem Railroad, which eventually...
11 months ago
8
11 months ago
The first real commuter rail in New York was the New York and Harlem Railroad, which eventually served, through a combination of horse-drawn street cars and heavy rail, from lower Manhattan to Chatham, New York, not far south of Albany. The portion in Manhattan south of 23rd...
Old Structures...
Small Details In “How London’s Crystal Palace was built so quickly”, Jennifer Ouellette gives a good summary of a...
2 months ago
27
2 months ago
In “How London’s Crystal Palace was built so quickly”, Jennifer Ouellette gives a good summary of a recent paper “Thread form at the Crystal Palace” by John Gardner and Ken Kiss. My even shorter summary: the 1851 Crystal Palace in London was made possible, in part, through the...
Common Edge
Will Mayor Eric Adams’ “City of Yes” Be a City for All? New York’s massive zoning overhaul has passed. What now?
6 days ago
Benny Kuriakose
Importance of Landscape in School Design Landscape plays a major role in the learning experience of a child. A school campus not only...
a year ago
3
a year ago
Landscape plays a major role in the learning experience of a child. A school campus not only comprises of the buildings in a school,...
A Weekly Dose of...
The Architecture of Suspense The Architecture of Suspense: The Built World in the Films of Alfred Hitchcock University of...
over a year ago
18
over a year ago
The Architecture of Suspense: The Built World in the Films of Alfred Hitchcock University of Virginia Press, September 2022 Paperback (also available in hardcover and ebook) | 6-3/4 x 7-3/4 inches | 274 pages | 66 illustrations | English | ISBN: 9780813947679 | $29.50 PUBLISHER'S...
The Modern House
Listing of the Week: a Norfolk beauty that ushers the natural world in
8 months ago
Old Structures...
Old Adventures In Photo-Bombing Someone occasionally notices that most of Manhattan has little open space to create picturesque...
10 months ago
15
10 months ago
Someone occasionally notices that most of Manhattan has little open space to create picturesque vistas. Or to put it another way, it’s difficult to get decent pictures of a lot of buildings here because there’s so much stuff in the way. There’s also stuff in the background, which...
Construction Physics
Is Land-Use Regulation Holding Back Construction Productivity? Ed Glaeser is perhaps the pre-eminent urban economist working today, and I’ve cited his work...
4 months ago
53
4 months ago
Ed Glaeser is perhaps the pre-eminent urban economist working today, and I’ve cited his work repeatedly when looking at land-use restrictions and burdens on new development.
CONTEMPORIST
A Bed That Can Slide To Be Outside Okno Modhomes has shared photos of a small and modern cabin they completed that was designed as a...
6 months ago
39
6 months ago
Okno Modhomes has shared photos of a small and modern cabin they completed that was designed as a space where humans and nature coexist in perfect harmony. Nestled within a lush canopy of existing and newly planted trees in India, the cabin features a mirrored glass exterior that...
The Beauty of...
Clean Lines and Integrated Transport (Florastrasse transport hub, Adliswil, Switzerland) The thing about Switzerland’s affordable, hyper-reliable, hyper-integrated and hyper-ubiquitous...
a year ago
47
a year ago
The thing about Switzerland’s affordable, hyper-reliable, hyper-integrated and hyper-ubiquitous public transport system is that the regard in which its phenomenal operational expertise is held can overshadow the architectural successes it also demonstrates. Even when transport...
Old Structures...
Not What’s Expected I’ve met a lot of people who have not been to New York who think that Central Park is like a London...
3 months ago
30
3 months ago
I’ve met a lot of people who have not been to New York who think that Central Park is like a London square, a block-sized oasis surrounded by buildings. The “surrounded by buildings” part is correct, but the size is a bit off. It’s 1.3 square miles (3.4 square kilometers for...
Old Structures...
Colorful and Accurate The map above, from 1884, shows the planned line of the new Croton Aqueduct from the reservoir on...
12 months ago
6
12 months ago
The map above, from 1884, shows the planned line of the new Croton Aqueduct from the reservoir on the right (to the north) to New York City on the left. The new aqueduct runs on a much straighter line than the old, which required more tunneling, and therefore reflects the more...
CONTEMPORIST
Before & After – Remodeled Kitchen And Bathrooms For A Mid-Century Modern Home M Monroe Design has sent us photos of a contemporary remodel they recently completed for a...
a year ago
7
a year ago
M Monroe Design has sent us photos of a contemporary remodel they recently completed for a mid-century modern home in Newport Beach, California, that includes a new kitchen as well as the main bathroom and a kids’ bathroom. Before – The KitchenThe original kitchen had a tiled...
The Modern House
Mary Portas: the queen of the high street’s inspiring journey from homeless orphan to a London... Our guest on this episode of our podcast, Homing In, is Mary Portas. As a retail consultant and...
a year ago
11
a year ago
Our guest on this episode of our podcast, Homing In, is Mary Portas. As a retail consultant and broadcaster, Mary is best known for presenting TV shows such as Mary Queen of Shops, in which she came to the rescue of the UK’s failing high […]
Old Structures...
Not Extremely Enough The New York Times recently published “An Extremely Detailed Map of New York City Neighborhoods” and...
a year ago
6
a year ago
The New York Times recently published “An Extremely Detailed Map of New York City Neighborhoods” and an accompanying “Extremely Detailed Guide to the Extremely Detailed Map of New York City Neighborhoods.” They are not information about the neighborhoods themselves, but rather...
The Modern House
A slender space-savvy home in Clerkenwell, inspired by the City’s skyscrapers
a year ago
Common Edge
How Madagascar Is Confronting Climate Change The island nation is grappling with unique and formidable environmental challenges.
a year ago
The Architectural...
6 Reasons Why Today’s Architecture Is Unsustainable The so-called sustainable buildings of today often fall short of genuine sustainability. Instead,...
a year ago
6
a year ago
The so-called sustainable buildings of today often fall short of genuine sustainability. Instead, the concept is reduced to mere clichés and greenwashing. In this article, we delve deeper into the underlying factors concealed behind the sometimes eco-friendly exteriors of...
Contemporist...
This Park Design Was Inspired By A Volcano And Its Lava Flow 100 Architects has shared photos of one of their latest projects, a stimulating urban park in a...
a year ago
56
a year ago
100 Architects has shared photos of one of their latest projects, a stimulating urban park in a newly built commercial and residential area in the port city of Ningbo, the second-most populous city in Zhejiang Province, China.
CONTEMPORIST
This Barn-Inspired Home Hides A Playroom With Climbing Wall Under Its Gable Roof Tomas Beranek and Arthur Nuss of Global Architects collaborated with client and builder Bram van de...
a year ago
9
a year ago
Tomas Beranek and Arthur Nuss of Global Architects collaborated with client and builder Bram van de Wal to design and complete a barn-inspired modern home in The Netherlands. The barn house has a natural look and the modern simplicity of timber frame construction. The exterior...
The Modern House
How an unloved Eric Lyons house converted Shaun Betteridge from mid-century novice to modernist...
11 months ago
CONTEMPORIST
A Curved Accent Wall Wraps Around From The Fireplace To The Ceiling Inside This Home MAKHNO Studio has designed a home in Kiev, Ukraine, that includes a contemporary living room with a...
a year ago
17
a year ago
MAKHNO Studio has designed a home in Kiev, Ukraine, that includes a contemporary living room with a large curved statement piece. The living room has a sunken couch that neatly fits into the step-down, and faces the fireplace, while the focal point of the room is a curved section...
Old Structures...
Fun With Telephoto Lenses A lot of times, when I’m discussing an old photo, I’ll talk about where the photographer was...
8 months ago
30
8 months ago
A lot of times, when I’m discussing an old photo, I’ll talk about where the photographer was standing when he or she took the shot. It matters to understand exactly what you’re seeing, and figuring it out is usually not that difficult if you know some of the quirks of Manhattan...
Common Edge
Light, Empathy, and Silence: The Architecture of Marina Tabassum A Q&A with the celebrated Bangladeshi designer.
6 months ago
CONTEMPORIST
A Dark Wood Exterior Complements The Forest Surrounding This Modern Home Design and build company Alloy Homes Incorporated, has sent us photos of a new home they completed...
4 months ago
33
4 months ago
Design and build company Alloy Homes Incorporated, has sent us photos of a new home they completed in Calgary, Alberta, that was artfully designed around its relationship with the mature urban forest across the street Stepping inside, we see a minimalist foyer with a bench and...
Old Structures...
A Stylistic Joke As A Name There’s a large, somewhat ominous, vaguely art deco building in lower Manhattan commonly called the...
2 weeks ago
12
2 weeks ago
There’s a large, somewhat ominous, vaguely art deco building in lower Manhattan commonly called the Tombs. The main portion of it is a courthouse with a lot of court-related office space, the northern wing – see below – is a short-term prison, mostly used to hold people awaiting...
Contemporist...
Western Red Cedar Gives This Home A Warm Feeling Inside And Out Swatt | Miers Architects has sent us photos of their project, the 'Happy Valley Residence' in...
a year ago
Construction Physics
Could ChatGPT become an architect? OpenAI recently released an updated version of their GPT large language model, GPT-4, and have...
a year ago
26
a year ago
OpenAI recently released an updated version of their GPT large language model, GPT-4, and have incorporated it into their ChatGPT chatbot. In case you've been living under a rock, ChatGPT is a chatbot that uses large language models, which use artificial neural networks
Archinect - Features
Upcoming Architecture School Admission Deadlines You Shouldn’t Miss As 2024 winds down, there’s still time to apply to architecture programs! Many schools are accepting...
5 days ago
14
5 days ago
As 2024 winds down, there’s still time to apply to architecture programs! Many schools are accepting undergraduate and graduate applications through January and February 2025 (and some even beyond that).  If you’re planning to start your architecture journey in Fall '25, check...
Old Structures...
A Simple Drawing For A Difficult Structure – Part 4 To catch up, here are links for part 1, part 2, and part 3. The Brooklyn Bridge caissons were much...
a year ago
9
a year ago
To catch up, here are links for part 1, part 2, and part 3. The Brooklyn Bridge caissons were much bigger than the similar pneumatic caissons that had been used earlier. Their timber construction was based on a few ideas, all subject to engineering design or review. First, the...
Old Structures...
It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time Some current news: various books from the nineteenth century are being taken off library shelves...
4 months ago
37
4 months ago
Some current news: various books from the nineteenth century are being taken off library shelves because their covers and/or page edges contain poisonous dyes, as described in “That book is poison: Even more Victorian covers found to contain toxic dyes” by Jennifer Ouellette. The...
The Modern House
Modest living meets modernist design in the Isokon Building in Hampstead
a year ago
Construction Physics
We Need More Research on how CO2 Affects Cognition A growing body of research indicates there are potentially large health benefits to improving indoor...
a year ago
8
a year ago
A growing body of research indicates there are potentially large health benefits to improving indoor air quality. Indoor spaces are often poorly ventilated and expose occupants to high levels of contaminants, such as pathogens, particulates, and other pollutants. Because people...
The Modern House
Inside gallerist Peter Ibsen’s 1950s summer house in Rørvig, rural Denmark
a year ago
Cartogrammar
Cartographic Summit 2016 In the official Cartographic Summit photo above, I’m the robot on the right edge who doesn’t know...
over a year ago
4
over a year ago
In the official Cartographic Summit photo above, I’m the robot on the right edge who doesn’t know how to stand like a normal human. I’ve just returned from this unusual event, which was part traditional conference and part unconference, with people in attendance only by...
The Modern House
Nick Hill’s no frills approach to materials recasts a 1930s house in south-east London as a...
9 months ago
Benny Kuriakose
Photographing the Exterior of a Historic Building: Part II In the 1870s, architectural photographer Albert Levy began capturing old buildings, thus giving rise...
a year ago
2
a year ago
In the 1870s, architectural photographer Albert Levy began capturing old buildings, thus giving rise to a new kind of photography called...
The Modern House
Rosh Mahtani: the Alighieri founder’s inspiring journey from school outcast to acclaimed... Journal readers will know the name Rosh Mahtani – partly because we’ve visited her in the past, but...
a year ago
24
a year ago
Journal readers will know the name Rosh Mahtani – partly because we’ve visited her in the past, but partly because she’s very, very good at what she does. Despite the joy it brings, Rosh started her cult jewellery brand, Alighieri, when she was in an […]
99% Invisible
Side Projects [EPISODE] This week we’re highlighting a couple of series that live inside the 99pi production tent. We’ve got...
4 months ago
41
4 months ago
This week we’re highlighting a couple of series that live inside the 99pi production tent. We’ve got a preview of a new miniseries for you called Not Built for This, created and hosted by Emmett FitzGerald. It’s a show about climate change, but not in the way you might think....
Coffee with an...
Design Paths 2 Design is hard. The path you follow from start to finish is never a straight line. If only there...
9 months ago
17
9 months ago
Design is hard. The path you follow from start to finish is never a straight line. If only there were another handful of clear diagrams to explain the process. This still isn’t that: More Design Paths HERE
The Beauty of...
In Search of Perfection: Plato’s Double Arrow (Rail Symbol 2, Nick Job for Network Rail, 2022) It takes some strange mixture of bravery, confidence, and the thickest of skins to take on the job...
over a year ago
17
over a year ago
It takes some strange mixture of bravery, confidence, and the thickest of skins to take on the job of redesigning a national icon. Once again, the rail industry’s “double arrow”, the symbol that has come completely to mean “railway” in Britain, has been given a facelift. Previous...
Old Structures...
Credit Where Due I was in the meatpacking district last week and noticed this building at 837 Washington Street. It’s...
10 months ago
19
10 months ago
I was in the meatpacking district last week and noticed this building at 837 Washington Street. It’s been around for a while, but I guess I never looked up: the facades of the first two floors are an old building, while the upper floors (and, I assume, the interiors) are new....
CONTEMPORIST
A Laneway House With A Rotated Brick Facade Architecture firm Williamson Williamson has shared photos of a laneway home they completed in...
6 months ago
64
6 months ago
Architecture firm Williamson Williamson has shared photos of a laneway home they completed in Toronto, Canada, that features a distinct rotated brick facade. Usually, laneway houses are small, however, this one is a four-bedroom home, designed for a family of five, providing...
Construction Physics
How Fast Can a City Grow? In the last post, we noted Los Angeles was the fastest-growing city in the US at the end of the 19th...
a year ago
9
a year ago
In the last post, we noted Los Angeles was the fastest-growing city in the US at the end of the 19th century, growing nearly 10% yearly between 1880 and 1930. This made me wonder what the landscape of city growth rates looks like. How fast were other US cities growing at the same...
A Weekly Dose of...
Conceiving the Plan Conceiving the Plan: Nuance and Intimacy in Civic Space Edited by Yael Hameiri Sainsaux Skira,...
over a year ago
17
over a year ago
Conceiving the Plan: Nuance and Intimacy in Civic Space Edited by Yael Hameiri Sainsaux Skira, August 2022 Hardcover | 12-1/4 x 12-1/4 inches | 240 pages | 170 illustrations | English | ISBN: 9788857246543 | $45.00 PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION: In Honor of Diane Lewis...
Old Structures...
A Blast From The Past, In The Past My mental image of hand-drawn, colored engineering renderings is that they were a nineteenth-century...
11 months ago
9
11 months ago
My mental image of hand-drawn, colored engineering renderings is that they were a nineteenth-century phenomenon. These drawings prove me wrong: they’re a 1922 description of the lower-Manhattan tunnel under the Hudson River, then in the early stages of construction. The second...
Old Structures...
Different Views From 1910, stereoscopic views from an upper floor of the Singer Building looking south and north The...
a month ago
18
a month ago
From 1910, stereoscopic views from an upper floor of the Singer Building looking south and north The view south is showing the largest concentration of tall buildings in the world at that time and, given that many of those buildings exceeded the height limit in Chicago, the...
devonzuegel.com
Vacuum tube nostalgia Music enthusiasts will tell you there's nothing quite like "tube sound", the warm, rich sound...
over a year ago
8
over a year ago
Music enthusiasts will tell you there's nothing quite like "tube sound", the warm, rich sound quality that old vacuum tube amplifiers bring to the music played through them. And they'll pay top dollar for it! Once considered obsolete, vintage vacuum tube amps now sell at a...
A Weekly Dose of...
Book Briefs #35 Revisited Last week I cobbled together eight books, some of which publishers had sent me more than a year ago,...
a year ago
54
a year ago
Last week I cobbled together eight books, some of which publishers had sent me more than a year ago, in an effort to write a "Better Late Than Never" installment of "Book Briefs,"  something I had done back in April 2018 with Book Briefs #35. But, sensing I would not be able to...
Contemporist...
A Contemporary Reimagination Of A Classic New York Pizza Parlor Architecture firm MRDK has recently completed North of Brooklyn Pizzeria in Toronto, Canada, that...
a year ago
CONTEMPORIST
This Renovated 90s Home Includes A New Exterior Made Of Alaskan Yellow Cedar Siding Architecture firm Blue Truck Studio, together with interior design firm Mary Valaika Design, has...
10 months ago
14
10 months ago
Architecture firm Blue Truck Studio, together with interior design firm Mary Valaika Design, has sent us photos of a home they renovated in California, that showcases vertical wood siding. The original 90s house had wild geometry, such as octagon-shaped rooms and triangular...
99% Invisible
A River Runs Through Los Angeles [EPISODE] When you hear the word “river,” you probably picture a majestic body of water flowing through a...
5 months ago
49
5 months ago
When you hear the word “river,” you probably picture a majestic body of water flowing through a natural habitat. Well, the LA River looks nothing like that. Most people who see it probably mistake it for a giant storm drain. It’s a deep trapezoidal channel with steep concrete...
Old Structures...
Well Duh Another photo from Berniece Abbott’s “Changing New York” project, this one from 1936 and titled...
11 months ago
13
11 months ago
Another photo from Berniece Abbott’s “Changing New York” project, this one from 1936 and titled “Park Avenue and 39th Street.” As usual, Abbott was contrasting the big buildings in the background with the much older and smaller buildings in the foreground. Four of those big...
The Modern House
Crocadon in Cornwall is a farm and restaurant with organic agriculture, good cooking and great...
a year ago
The Modern House
Shore thing: Six homes close to the Sussex coast Although once a single entity – and one of the kingdoms that made up the Heptarchy of Anglo-Saxon...
5 months ago
41
5 months ago
Although once a single entity – and one of the kingdoms that made up the Heptarchy of Anglo-Saxon Britain – Sussex has been divided into East and West since the late 20th century. With all those years of shared history, it’s no surprise that there’s […]
Archinect - Features
Quilian Riano at Pratt: 'Believing in the Power of an Architectural Education' for the Next... Archinect's Deans List series offers readers an exclusive glimpse into the minds shaping the future...
a year ago
8
a year ago
Archinect's Deans List series offers readers an exclusive glimpse into the minds shaping the future of architectural education. This series not only delves into the unique programming of each school but also uncovers the philosophies and approaches that define their educational...
The Modern House
Jewellery designer Anna Jewsbury on turning a former pub into a treasured family home in Marylebone
a year ago
Old Structures...
What’s In A Name? Apartment houses everywhere often have names seemingly disconnected from their surroundings. I grew...
2 months ago
21
2 months ago
Apartment houses everywhere often have names seemingly disconnected from their surroundings. I grew up in a building that was for no apparent reason called the Westgate, although at least the building immediately to its east was called the Eastgate. (There was no gate between...
Old Structures...
Fireworks The various amusement parks at Coney Island used to have spectacles as well as rides and ordinary...
5 months ago
34
5 months ago
The various amusement parks at Coney Island used to have spectacles as well as rides and ordinary shows. From 1885, a fireworks show at Manhattan beach called The Last Days of Pompeii: Happy Independence Day.
The Modern House
Bright Sparks: five light-filled homes for sale The magic of natural light is not to be underestimated: it can lift our spirits, improve our...
a year ago
5
a year ago
The magic of natural light is not to be underestimated: it can lift our spirits, improve our circadian rhythms, inspire us to learn and make our plants happy. But that’s not all: when it comes to our homes, it can transform a space entirely, elevating […]
Archinect - Features
The US Just Defined a Zero Emissions Building: Is It Enough? For the first time, the US government has issued a definition of a 'zero emission building.' While...
5 months ago
47
5 months ago
For the first time, the US government has issued a definition of a 'zero emission building.' While the effort to define a 'zero emission building' is both timely and commendable given the proliferation of unverified titles such as 'net zero' and 'carbon positive' in the AEC...
CONTEMPORIST
This Alley Between Buildings Was Transformed With A Series Of Arches Photography by Robin Hill Daniel Toole Architecture in collaboration with SB Architects, has...
7 months ago
55
7 months ago
Photography by Robin Hill Daniel Toole Architecture in collaboration with SB Architects, has transformed a nondescript alley in Miami, Florida, with a series of concrete arches. Photography by Heywood Chan This alley was originally surrounded by trash rooms, dumpsters, mechanical...
Old Structures...
It Looked Familiar: Unmistakable The Shadow returns home: R.M.S Olympic at sea: (It is surprisingly difficult to find a good view of...
6 months ago
21
6 months ago
The Shadow returns home: R.M.S Olympic at sea: (It is surprisingly difficult to find a good view of the ship from the rear. The front three-quarter view is the dramatic cutting-through-the-waves view, as well as being somehow less creepy.) Given how similar Olympic was to...
devonzuegel.com
Field notes: Panamá, SEZs, & biotech I just spent a week in Panamá City, and figured I'd share my observations in case they're useful to...
over a year ago
7
over a year ago
I just spent a week in Panamá City, and figured I'd share my observations in case they're useful to anyone else interested in similar questions. The purpose of the trip was to research locations for a gene therapy/stem cell clinic that my friend is planning to start. I also...
Old Structures...
Iconic The Third Avenue elevated, looking north from 23rd Street or so. (The street sign at the lower right...
5 months ago
36
5 months ago
The Third Avenue elevated, looking north from 23rd Street or so. (The street sign at the lower right reads East 24th Street.) My guess is that the photographer was standing at the north end of the northbound platform of the 23rd Street station. Off in the distance, we’ve got the...
Old Structures...
Unhidden From 1900, a photo of the future site of the New York Public Library and the past site of the Croton...
10 months ago
13
10 months ago
From 1900, a photo of the future site of the New York Public Library and the past site of the Croton Distributing Reservoir. The photo is labelled at the NYPL as “The Croton Reservoir ruins, looking north,” which means the photographer was on or near 40th Street and Fifth Avenue...
Archinect - Features
'AI Is a Dangerous Distraction From the Pressing Issues Defining Our Generation'; A... Liam Young was once described by the BBC as “the man designing our future.” In 2023, with open...
a year ago
3
a year ago
Liam Young was once described by the BBC as “the man designing our future.” In 2023, with open letters penned on the risks of extinction posed by artificial intelligence, such a role should be in high demand. Young’s speculations on the future take the form of fictional stories...
SOCKS
Stage Design as a Narrative Device: Norman Bel Geddes’ Stage Set for The Divine Comedy (1921) American stage and industrial designer, director and producer Norman Bel Geddes (1893-1958) worked...
over a year ago
16
over a year ago
American stage and industrial designer, director and producer Norman Bel Geddes (1893-1958) worked on a theatrical staging of Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy to be performed in Madison Square Garden in 1921 on the sexcentenary of Dante’s death. Geddes planned the...
CONTEMPORIST
A Tiny Public Library With A Roof Inspired By A Sheet Of Paper Ninja Stuudio has shared photos of “White Sheet”, a tiny public library and reading pavilion they...
8 months ago
49
8 months ago
Ninja Stuudio has shared photos of “White Sheet”, a tiny public library and reading pavilion they completed in Tallinn, Estonia. The design has been inspired by the image of a literary idea, with the pavilion’s roof hovering as a light sheet of paper in mid-air relying only on...
CONTEMPORIST
The Rugged Materials On This Home Reflect The Desert That Surrounds It Imbue Design has completed a desert home where the owners could put up their feet and relax in the...
a year ago
6
a year ago
Imbue Design has completed a desert home where the owners could put up their feet and relax in the natural desert landscape of Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah. The home was designed in such a way as to disrupt the land as little as possible. With that in mind, the designers...
Old Structures...
An Avatar Of Steel Another short trip: I was in Philadelphia last week, and I walked the not-quite two miles from my...
4 days ago
7
4 days ago
Another short trip: I was in Philadelphia last week, and I walked the not-quite two miles from my meeting to the train station on my way home. I took the two unimpressive pictures below on the way: That’s the rear, Arch Street side, of the Reading Terminal Market, which is, as...
CONTEMPORIST
A Metal Roof Wraps Around This Off-Grid Cabin To Protect It From The Elements Cameron Anderson Architects has shared photos of a small off-grid cabin they designed as part of a...
6 months ago
40
6 months ago
Cameron Anderson Architects has shared photos of a small off-grid cabin they designed as part of a luxury farm stay in Australia. The building is situated on a gently undulating site with its elevated position offering uninterrupted views of the surrounding farmland. A wrapping...
A Weekly Dose of...
A Modernist Reads About Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, the English architect who was born in 1869 and died in 1944, that is....
a year ago
27
a year ago
Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, the English architect who was born in 1869 and died in 1944, that is. Although a famous name, Lutyens was not an architect I had much familiarity with before I received a review copy of the first volume of The Architecture of Sir Edwin Lutyens....
Benny Kuriakose
Courtyard – The Beauty and Functionality Courtyards are an ancient building technique used throughout the ages in Indian houses of all eras....
a year ago
2
a year ago
Courtyards are an ancient building technique used throughout the ages in Indian houses of all eras. With the rise in modernity, the use...
Old Structures...
We Become Accustomed – Part 2 Yesterday I talked about the process of erecting a steel frame at the Astor Building. At some point,...
a year ago
4
a year ago
Yesterday I talked about the process of erecting a steel frame at the Astor Building. At some point, a curtain wall has to be put on that frame or you have a jungle gym rather than a building. Two photos taken two weeks apart (September 2, 1925 above, September 16, 1925 below)...
Construction Physics
How I Write Posts I sometimes get asked what my process is for researching and writing Substack posts. I always enjoy...
10 months ago
49
10 months ago
I sometimes get asked what my process is for researching and writing Substack posts. I always enjoy reading other people’s discussions of their writing process, so I thought it would be worthwhile to explain mine. First, some background. In school I was a competent but...
CONTEMPORIST
This Cat Cafe In New York Was Designed With Whimsy And Playfulness Architect Sonya Lee has shared photos of the new location of Meow Parlour, a cat cafe in New York...
4 months ago
37
4 months ago
Architect Sonya Lee has shared photos of the new location of Meow Parlour, a cat cafe in New York that had outgrown its previous space. The storefront has a 10’ wall of white oak shelves that spell out M E O W, which also function as signage, a playspace for the cats to snuggle...
The Modern House
Skye Gyngell: the chef on how she eats and entertains at home Skye Gyngell is an Australian-born chef who has spent much of her career shaping the British...
a year ago
17
a year ago
Skye Gyngell is an Australian-born chef who has spent much of her career shaping the British culinary scene. Her distinctively pared-back plates first won renown in the early noughties at Petersham Nurseries in Richmond; nowadays she runs her own beautiful restaurant, Spring, at...
Common Edge
What Do You Say to a Naked Architect? An architectural fiction.
a year ago
Old Structures...
A Working Drawing Above, an 1870 drawing by Washington Roebling showing the masonry of the Brooklyn tower of the...
a year ago
8
a year ago
Above, an 1870 drawing by Washington Roebling showing the masonry of the Brooklyn tower of the Brooklyn Bridge. I guess it doesn’t quite qualify as art, although I’d certainly hang it on a wall. The lettering at the top and the 3D-effect frame around the image suggest that this...
The Modern House
Rest, relaxation and refuge at a ryokan-inspired home in Hackney
a year ago
CONTEMPORIST
Before & After – An Old Warehouse Was Turned Into A Contemporary Home Brengues Le Pavec architects have shared photos of a modern warehouse conversion they completed in...
8 months ago
32
8 months ago
Brengues Le Pavec architects have shared photos of a modern warehouse conversion they completed in the south of France, between Montpellier and the sea. The ‘Before’…the run-down warehouse, which was still being used to store products, was dark and filled with shelves. The...
Coffee with an...
Christmas Cards from the Architects 2024 It’s that time again. It is the time of year when the architects turn their attention from their...
a week ago
21
a week ago
It’s that time again. It is the time of year when the architects turn their attention from their Dec. 25th deadline to thoughts of Christmas. Here we are, sitting by the floor-to-ceiling glass storefronts in our offices, staring out at the rolling hills covered with snow,...
CONTEMPORIST
Stone Snakes Around The Curved Exterior Of This Modern Home Adrian James Architects has shared photos of a contemporary home they completed in Oxfordshire,...
a year ago
8
a year ago
Adrian James Architects has shared photos of a contemporary home they completed in Oxfordshire, England, that has a sculptural form which sprouts organically from its hillside setting. The home’s design is inspired by the crinkle-crankle Cotswold stone wall, with ribbons of cast...
CONTEMPORIST
Bi-Fold Windows Connect The Inside And Outside Spaces Of This Home Extension Ben Callery Architects has shared photos of a rear home extension they completed in Victoria,...
a year ago
47
a year ago
Ben Callery Architects has shared photos of a rear home extension they completed in Victoria, Australia, that includes a deck for indoor/outdoor living. The deck has been designed with a shaded area that’s home to built-in seating and a couch. The other end of the deck has...
Contemporist...
The Black Exterior Of This Home Leads To A Pink Kitchen Inside Paul Archer Design has shared photos of a home they completed in Wivenhoe, England, for an artist...
6 months ago
70
6 months ago
Paul Archer Design has shared photos of a home they completed in Wivenhoe, England, for an artist who wanted a light-filled interior with room to work and to entertain.
Contemporist...
This Small Apartment Has A Yoga Wall And A Coffee Bar LITTLEMORE INTERIOR DESIGN has shared photos of a small 380-square-foot (35 sqm) apartment in Hong...
a year ago
51
a year ago
LITTLEMORE INTERIOR DESIGN has shared photos of a small 380-square-foot (35 sqm) apartment in Hong Kong, that includes both a custom yoga wall and a coffee bar.
Archinect - Features
2024 Summer Architecture Programs for Adults and High School Graduates Archinect's 2024 highlight of summer architecture programs continues with Part 2, where we focus on...
9 months ago
24
9 months ago
Archinect's 2024 highlight of summer architecture programs continues with Part 2, where we focus on courses and workshops for adults, high school graduates, and current college students. Take a look below at our curated selection of educational events at academic institutions and...
Old Structures...
The Grenfell Report The “phase 2” report on the Grenfell has recently been published by the official inquiry panel:...
3 months ago
33
3 months ago
The “phase 2” report on the Grenfell has recently been published by the official inquiry panel: here. The New Civil Engineer has a good short summary here: “Grenfell disaster: ‘culmination of decades of failure by government and construction industry’” In one sense there are few...
The Modern House
Five bright things to do and see this July July is here: the sun is shining and the air is hot – and so are our top picks of things to do and...
a year ago
22
a year ago
July is here: the sun is shining and the air is hot – and so are our top picks of things to do and see this month, from an exhibition on an emerging artist exploring light and space to a food and art extravaganza celebrating […]
devonzuegel.com
OWD #1: Tea time in Yemen I'm starting a podcast with my friends, Marie-Agnes and Alain Bertaud, who also happen to be the...
over a year ago
7
over a year ago
I'm starting a podcast with my friends, Marie-Agnes and Alain Bertaud, who also happen to be the most interesting couple I know. Over the course of this first conversation, we traveled all around the globe for a whirlwind tour of the adventurous life they've led together. Audio ·...
devonzuegel.com
Digital vs analog error correction The purpose of this writeup was to summarize something interesting I learned recently, to make sure...
over a year ago
5
over a year ago
The purpose of this writeup was to summarize something interesting I learned recently, to make sure I understood it. I figured others might find it interesting, too. ~ ~ ~ Digital signal processing corrects for errors better than its analog counterpart. This is one of the...
Old Structures...
Winding This 1952 photo by Angelo Rizzuto is titled “Bdwy winding all thru T-Sq.” and it definitely shows...
8 months ago
61
8 months ago
This 1952 photo by Angelo Rizzuto is titled “Bdwy winding all thru T-Sq.” and it definitely shows Broadway and Times Square, although I have some quibbles about “winding.” This view is looking north and a little bit west, probably taken from a window on a high floor of 1450...
The Modern House
Five things to do and see this April The clocks have sprung forward and the spring chicks are chirping: yes, April has arrived. But it’s...
a year ago
87
a year ago
The clocks have sprung forward and the spring chicks are chirping: yes, April has arrived. But it’s not only those longer, lighter evenings luring us out of the house; this month’s brilliant list of cultural and culinary must-dos and -sees is equally tempting – even […]
A Weekly Dose of...
Summer in the City From the middle of March, when a family emergency put this blog on hiatus, until the middle of July,...
a year ago
8
a year ago
From the middle of March, when a family emergency put this blog on hiatus, until the middle of July, when a funeral mass was held for my dad, my life was split almost evenly between my home in New York City and my parent's home in Central Florida. The emergency in March was an...
CONTEMPORIST
This Japanese Restaurant Uses Washi-Inspired Acrylic Panels To Create A Cozy Atmosphere odd design has shared photos of a Japanese restaurant they recently completed in Beijing, China,...
3 months ago
31
3 months ago
odd design has shared photos of a Japanese restaurant they recently completed in Beijing, China, that uses textural materials to create a quiet, relaxing, and cozy atmosphere. The open entrance consists of a light box and two sets of low-wall partitions, allowing the space to be...
Common Edge
The Clever Trick for Living in 350 Square Feet The solution, surprisingly, lies beyond the walls of our home.
4 months ago
Old Structures...
Even A Joke Takes Effort From 1911, Cass Gilbert’s sketches of his father (top) and himself (bottom): From the Woolworth...
8 months ago
33
8 months ago
From 1911, Cass Gilbert’s sketches of his father (top) and himself (bottom): From the Woolworth Building lobby as completed in late 1912, the grotesque* of Gilbert holding a model of his building: Given that the grotesque is wearing glasses bit not a laurel wreath, a sketch much...
A Weekly Dose of...
On Awards When Arata Isozaki died at the end of 2022 at the age of 91, nearly all of the news stories and...
a year ago
19
a year ago
When Arata Isozaki died at the end of 2022 at the age of 91, nearly all of the news stories and obituaries mentioned that he was a Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate, and quite a few also included mention of the Pritzker Prize in the headline. Although the Pritzker has long...
Contemporist...
A' Design Awards & Competition - Call for Entries A’ Design Award & Competition is the Worlds’ leading design accolade reaching design enthusiasts...
10 months ago
9
10 months ago
A’ Design Award & Competition is the Worlds’ leading design accolade reaching design enthusiasts around the world, and showcasing 18,000 award winners from 139 different design disciplines.
Old Structures...
Changes and Not I almost missed this 1938 entry in Berenice Abbott’s “Changing New York” project, because it’s...
9 months ago
30
9 months ago
I almost missed this 1938 entry in Berenice Abbott’s “Changing New York” project, because it’s mislabelled at the New York Public Library web site as “Vista, Thomas Street”. We all make mistakes, and whomever confused Thames and Thomas hid the location of this photo by accident....
The Modern House
One couple on the pleasure of perfectly restoring their mid-century home in Essex
a year ago
CONTEMPORIST
A House That Rises From The Ground Forming A Three-Level Garden Architecture firm AtelierM, has shared photos of a modern home they completed in Pilar, Buenos...
a month ago
19
a month ago
Architecture firm AtelierM, has shared photos of a modern home they completed in Pilar, Buenos Aires, whose design is inspired by the terrain and surrounding area. The house is conceived as a living element in the landscape, with gentle curves and fluid lines that adapt to the...
99% Invisible
Goodnight Nobody [EPISODE] To celebrate the 125th anniversary of the New York Public Library, a list was published of the ten...
a year ago
38
a year ago
To celebrate the 125th anniversary of the New York Public Library, a list was published of the ten books that had been checked out the most in the history of the library — and most of these were children’s books, like The Cat in the Hat and Where the Wild Things Are. Curiously...
CONTEMPORIST
A Small Elevated Cabin Inspired By A Bird’s Nest Architect Jan Tyrpekl, has shared photos of a small elevated cabin that was designed in Hainburg an...
11 months ago
10
11 months ago
Architect Jan Tyrpekl, has shared photos of a small elevated cabin that was designed in Hainburg an der Donau, Austria, for a client who owned a farm and wanted somewhere to relax. Located on the border of a young orchard and mature trees. It has an archetypal house shape, but it...
Contemporist...
This Australian Terrace House Was Modernized For Today's Living Chan Architecture has shared photos of a project they recently completed in Clifton Hill, Australia,...
a year ago
10
a year ago
Chan Architecture has shared photos of a project they recently completed in Clifton Hill, Australia, that included transforming the interior of a terrace house into a modern home.
Construction Physics
Goolsbee and Syverson on Construction Productivity Several people have asked me about a new NBER working paper that takes a look at construction...
a year ago
17
a year ago
Several people have asked me about a new NBER working paper that takes a look at construction productivity (a popular topic around here), “The Strange and Awful Path of Productivity in the US Construction Sector,” by Austan Goolsbee and Chad Syverson. This paper doesn’t bring any...
devonzuegel.com
The Hard Parts of Open Source, by Evan Czaplicki Speaker: Evan Czaplicki Meeting: Strange Loop 2018 - September 2018 Video:...
over a year ago
9
over a year ago
Speaker: Evan Czaplicki Meeting: Strange Loop 2018 - September 2018 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_4EX4dPppA Slides: https://prezi.com/oowcpzsnwp-8/the-hard-parts-of-open-source/?webgl=0 [ References to videos, books, and articles mentioned in this...
The Modern House
How architect Alex Nikjoo lifted a lower-ground floor flat with a lightness of touch
4 months ago
Blog - Guerrilla...
Can You Stay? Can You Stay? examines one discrete variable among many complex and converging issues concerning...
over a year ago
17
over a year ago
Can You Stay? examines one discrete variable among many complex and converging issues concerning housing precarity, focusing on a part of the world with unique geography and social issues. Project Background This map is cut from the cloth of a capstone project I did in 2018 at...
The Modern House
Five uplifting things to do this February Well, we’ve made it through January. Spring is edging ever closer and the evenings are starting to...
a year ago
27
a year ago
Well, we’ve made it through January. Spring is edging ever closer and the evenings are starting to get just that little bit lighter. If February’s Latin meaning – from the verb ‘to cleanse’ – is anything to go by, this is a month for nourishing […]
Old Structures...
A Hidden Surprise, But Not Really The picture above shows the nearly-complete Astor Court Apartments, on Broadway between 89th and...
a year ago
19
a year ago
The picture above shows the nearly-complete Astor Court Apartments, on Broadway between 89th and 90th Street, in 1915. (As a side note, we’ve got some heavy hitters involved: the architect was Charles Platt, the contractor was Marc Eidlitz & Son, and the photographer was Irving...
The Modern House
A fossil-shaped eco home in the rolling countryside of Devon
a year ago
Old Structures...
Clogging Up Traffic Traffic in lower Manhattan is always bad, but is today impassable even for pedestrians. The New York...
a month ago
25
a month ago
Traffic in lower Manhattan is always bad, but is today impassable even for pedestrians. The New York Liberty are getting a ticker-tape parade for their WNBA championship. First, congrats to the Liberty and happy days to their fans. Second, there is something very New York about...
Old Structures...
Fuzzy Structural steel and composite steel deck used with concrete slabs need to be fireproofed. Ducts,...
a month ago
20
a month ago
Structural steel and composite steel deck used with concrete slabs need to be fireproofed. Ducts, pipes, lights, and electrical conduits do not.
Old Structures...
Like Looking Down A Well Trinity Church and its yard are surrounded on all four sides by tall buildings. In 1952, when Angelo...
7 months ago
30
7 months ago
Trinity Church and its yard are surrounded on all four sides by tall buildings. In 1952, when Angelo Rizzuto took this picture looking down from the roof of one of them, they were all of about 1900-1920 vintage. It’s a striking shot, but I’d guess not to everyone’s taste.
The Architectural...
The bigotry of Modernism We know that history tends to repeat itself, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse....
7 months ago
61
7 months ago
We know that history tends to repeat itself, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. Unfortunately, the architecture world, including academics and practitioners, is often unaware that it perpetuates backward and bigoted attitudes, stifling the creativity of architects and...
Blog - Guerrilla...
TRANSitar Lima THE RIGHT TO THE CITY: Who has the right to move freely through the city and who doesn’t? Map of...
a year ago
54
a year ago
THE RIGHT TO THE CITY: Who has the right to move freely through the city and who doesn’t? Map of Lima, Peru About the project TRANSitar Lima is a project that seeks to create a visual record of transphobic violence, based on collective mapping sessions. Trans, transvestites, and...
A Weekly Dose of...
Places in Time III This third and most likely last installment in the inadvertent "Places in Time" series looks closely...
a year ago
29
a year ago
This third and most likely last installment in the inadvertent "Places in Time" series looks closely at three books: the first about Chicago from the Great Depression to the mid-1980s; the second one about the broader American built landscape over roughly the same period of time;...
Archinect - Features
AI, Climate, and Advice for the Next Generation: Watch Our Roundtable with SCI-Arc Program... In November 2024, Archinect brought together four program chairs from the Southern California...
a week ago
17
a week ago
In November 2024, Archinect brought together four program chairs from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) for a wide-ranging roundtable conversation.  The questions up for debate and discussion were among the most pressing facing the architectural...
Old Structures...
It Looked Familiar: Hooded Daredevil strikes a pose: That weird thing he’s kneeling on is part of one of the towers of the...
3 months ago
29
3 months ago
Daredevil strikes a pose: That weird thing he’s kneeling on is part of one of the towers of the Manhattan Bridge. Here’s a nice general shot of the bridge, looking toward Brooklyn, from the HAER survey: And here’s a close up of where the pedestrian walkway on the outboard edge of...
99% Invisible
Mr. Yuk [EPISODE] Some of you may be familiar with a figure called Mr. Yuk, depending on your age and where you grew...
7 months ago
38
7 months ago
Some of you may be familiar with a figure called Mr. Yuk, depending on your age and where you grew up, but for rest of you: Mr. Yuk is a neon green circular sticker with a cartoon face on it. His face is scrunched up with his eyes squeezed tight and his tongue is sticking The...
The Modern House
Le Creuset’s new Azure collection finds a perfect home in Ella Jones’ expressive interior
a year ago
Old Structures...
A Simple Drawing For A Difficult Structure – Part 3 Following up on part 1 and part 2, I want to talk about how the caissons of the Brooklyn Bridge were...
a year ago
9
a year ago
Following up on part 1 and part 2, I want to talk about how the caissons of the Brooklyn Bridge were built, installed, and used. Unlike the 1883 image from part 1 (below), the image above is from 1870, while the work was still going on. I’ve played with the contrast to make the...
The Modern House
Tiny homes: six pocket-sized pads that prove good things come in small packages A stamp-sized floorplan demands hardworking design – and a finite footprint is a license to get...
6 months ago
21
6 months ago
A stamp-sized floorplan demands hardworking design – and a finite footprint is a license to get creative with space saving ideas, ingenious storage solutions and volume-accentuating trickery. Here, we’ve collated a selection of some of our punchiest petite offerings, all...
Contemporist...
A Modern Farmhouse By The Sea In New Zealand New Zealand architecture firm Studio John Irving Architects has shared photos of a modern farmhouse...
a year ago
54
a year ago
New Zealand architecture firm Studio John Irving Architects has shared photos of a modern farmhouse they completed that's been designed like a collection of linked farm outbuildings.
A Weekly Dose of...
From Web to Print Recently I was watching a news program, most likely PBS Newshour or an MSNBC show, and was struck by...
a year ago
21
a year ago
Recently I was watching a news program, most likely PBS Newshour or an MSNBC show, and was struck by one of the talking heads speaking via Skype or Zoom being described as "a writer working on turning her blog into a book." I don't remember her name or even the subject, as the...
There are two types...
DONALD TRUMP & EVIL – A Post-Halloween / Election-Eve Story Almost forty years ago, I owned a small house in the Greenwich “backcountry” just a few miles from...
a month ago
32
a month ago
Almost forty years ago, I owned a small house in the Greenwich “backcountry” just a few miles from the Westchester County Airport. One morning, I was talking on the phone with a friend whom I would see later in the … Continue reading → The post DONALD TRUMP & EVIL – A...
Old Structures...
Big I sometimes wonder how much my interest in steel construction comes from looking at the structure of...
4 months ago
20
4 months ago
I sometimes wonder how much my interest in steel construction comes from looking at the structure of elevated portions of the subway system when I was kid. Under the M train in Glenwood:
devonzuegel.com
Empathy for the Devil I. Loan application Before serving time for mortgage fraud, Toby Groves seemed like the last person...
over a year ago
6
over a year ago
I. Loan application Before serving time for mortgage fraud, Toby Groves seemed like the last person who would get into that kind of trouble. His older brother had been sentenced for the same crime twenty years earlier, and Toby had seen how it destroyed his family. He swore he’d...
Old Structures...
The Big Day and We’re Two-Faced Our new website is up and, as with all such changes, things are not going as smoothly as I might...
a year ago
8
a year ago
Our new website is up and, as with all such changes, things are not going as smoothly as I might have hoped. There’s a minor glitch with the menu on the new website, which I expect will be fixed shortly. More importantly, we wanted to change to the new back-end in such a way that...
Old Structures...
Buildings Are Meant To Be Used With the partial exception of industrial buildings, you can always distinguish buildings constructed...
3 weeks ago
16
3 weeks ago
With the partial exception of industrial buildings, you can always distinguish buildings constructed before the 1950s from their later counterparts by looking for light courts. If your lights are, at best, incandescent bulbs, and your ventilation is mostly or entirely though...
Contemporist...
This Cape Town Home Was Given An Updated Interior And A New Garden Pavilion Interior design firm ARRCC has shared photos of a project they recently completed in Cape Town,...
a year ago
19
a year ago
Interior design firm ARRCC has shared photos of a project they recently completed in Cape Town, South Africa, that included the updating of the interior and the addition of a new garden pavilion.
The Modern House
Tiny homes: six homes that prove good things come in at under 600 square feet
6 months ago
devonzuegel.com
OWD #0: Welcome to Order Without Design I'm starting a new podcast called Order Without Design with the most interesting couple I know:...
over a year ago
8
over a year ago
I'm starting a new podcast called Order Without Design with the most interesting couple I know: Alain & Marie-Agnes Bertaud. This project is an extension of their book, Order Without Design: How Markets Shape Cities. With its focus on economic theory, you might not realize that...
99% Invisible
The Wilderness Tool [EPISODE] Imagine one of those old-timey lumberjack photos. The kind where two men in plaid are working away...
a year ago
28
a year ago
Imagine one of those old-timey lumberjack photos. The kind where two men in plaid are working away at a tree, holding opposite ends of a huge, human-length saw. That is a vintage crosscut saw. Some avid crosscut seekers spend hours mining websites like eBay and Craigslist. But...
There are two types...
“My Open Letter to NYC DOT Commissioner Rodriquez” Dear Commissioner Rodriquez, I’m writing to you because I just signed up for a workshop to improve...
over a year ago
19
over a year ago
Dear Commissioner Rodriquez, I’m writing to you because I just signed up for a workshop to improve Canal Street that your department is running tonight. I met you when you were a Councilman. I know you care deeply about making … Continue reading → The post “My Open Letter to NYC...
CONTEMPORIST
Dramatic Wood Ceilings Are Found Throughout This House Carlos Castanheira of CC&CB Architects has shared photos of a home they designed in Porto, Portugal,...
a year ago
6
a year ago
Carlos Castanheira of CC&CB Architects has shared photos of a home they designed in Porto, Portugal, that uses wood and copper throughout its design. The home’s exterior has a copper-clad roof and matching copper siding, while the exposed timber structure connects with the rest...
Old Structures...
Keep The Scale In Mind Here’s a photo from yesterday of Shaquana getting a good look at a brownstone finial that’s been...
10 months ago
11
10 months ago
Here’s a photo from yesterday of Shaquana getting a good look at a brownstone finial that’s been removed during restoration work. This is a minor decorative element for the church it was removed from. It’s visually important, of course, and we’re not removing it to throw it away,...
Old Structures...
Sort-Of Round This is the 3333rd blog post published on the Old Structures web site. People are attracted to round...
6 months ago
36
6 months ago
This is the 3333rd blog post published on the Old Structures web site. People are attracted to round numbers, and I could just as easily have waited for the 4000th post to say something, but I like the “third of ten-thousand” aspect of the current number. Some housekeeping: some...
Construction Physics
What Would It Take to Recreate Bell Labs? For most of the 20th century, AT&T was almost entirely responsible for building and operating...
5 months ago
50
5 months ago
For most of the 20th century, AT&T was almost entirely responsible for building and operating America’s telephone infrastructure. It manufactured the phones and electrical equipment, laid hundreds of millions of miles of wire across the country, and built and operated the...
CONTEMPORIST
Wood Details Are Found Throughout This Apartment’s Interior Architecture and Design Studio Cuaik CDS has sent us photos of an apartment they have recently...
a year ago
21
a year ago
Architecture and Design Studio Cuaik CDS has sent us photos of an apartment they have recently completed in Madrid, Spain, that includes wood details throughout its interior. In the living room, a wall-mounted TV is disguised as art, while illuminated wooden shelves on either...
CONTEMPORIST
A Kid’s Bedroom With Built-In Reading Nooks Architecture and interiors firm Picnic Design has created a built-in storage unit with nooks for two...
4 weeks ago
21
4 weeks ago
Architecture and interiors firm Picnic Design has created a built-in storage unit with nooks for two kids in their tween years. The request came from two siblings who have been sharing a room since birth and have reached the point where they would like to have their own room....
99% Invisible
The 15 Minute City In February 2023, over two thousand people took to the streets in Oxford, England to protest their...
2 weeks ago
21
2 weeks ago
In February 2023, over two thousand people took to the streets in Oxford, England to protest their local government. They were wearing yellow vests and chanting slogans about the municipality’s new traffic policies. But most notably, many of them were vocally angry about a new...
Archinect - Features
Archinect's 2023 Mental Health Survey Results To create a space that discusses and shares insights on mental health within the industry, Archinect...
a year ago
28
a year ago
To create a space that discusses and shares insights on mental health within the industry, Archinect recently conducted our latest Mental Health survey to better understand how our community has navigated the stressors inherent to the architecture industry. On this October 10th,...
Archinect - Features
Narrative, Media, and AI in Architectural Academia; A Conversation with Natasha... Archinect last spoke with Natasha Sandmeier on the themes of visual media and narrative storytelling...
a year ago
48
a year ago
Archinect last spoke with Natasha Sandmeier on the themes of visual media and narrative storytelling in 2019. Back then, few could have imagined the seismic impact that generative AI would have on such fields. In her leading role at UCLA AUD's Entertainment Studio, Sandmeier sits...
The Modern House
Our guide to Twickenham: architectural splendour and riverside walks in south-west London
11 months ago
Blog - Guerrilla...
Interculturality as Shelter Interculturality as Shelter is a map made of many maps. It examines the ways in which young migrants...
a year ago
8
a year ago
Interculturality as Shelter is a map made of many maps. It examines the ways in which young migrants experience interculturality in the neighborhood where their school is located. It shows their ways of feeling, walking, and making the city. A neighborhood where nobody...
Old Structures...
Partial Success I’ve been trying to decipher this item from a New York Public Library scrapbook: The title on the...
3 months ago
38
3 months ago
I’ve been trying to decipher this item from a New York Public Library scrapbook: The title on the NYPL website is “Grand base ball match for the championship, between the Exclusive and Atlantic Clubs, of Brooklyn…” and the date is given as 1900-1945. (It’s also listed as a...
Common Edge
Building Emissions Are Falling, Now the Real Work Begins There has been a significant drop this year. The path toward net-zero intensifies.
a year ago
Old Structures...
Discussing Immigrants Elsewhere That’s discussion elsewhere about immigrants here, not discussion here about immigrants somewhere...
6 months ago
37
6 months ago
That’s discussion elsewhere about immigrants here, not discussion here about immigrants somewhere else. I’m at the 8th International Congress on Construction History this week, where I hope to learn a lot about past design and construction practice. I have certainly learned much...
Coffee with an...
Notes on being an Architect
a year ago
A Weekly Dose of...
Favorite Books of 2022 For this last post of 2022 I looked back at the dozens of books I reviewed or featured as "Book...
over a year ago
23
over a year ago
For this last post of 2022 I looked back at the dozens of books I reviewed or featured as "Book Briefs" on this blog, and the ones I reviewed on World-Architects. From those books I gathered just over a dozen favorites, grouping them into some common themes that happened to come...
Old Structures...
Very Local Requirements Below, a construction fence of typical New York design. Such fences here have had windows of some...
8 months ago
28
8 months ago
Below, a construction fence of typical New York design. Such fences here have had windows of some kind going back at least to the mid-1900s. Per the current NYC building code, section 3307.7.3, “Viewing panels shall be provided in solid fences erected on or after July 1, 2013, at...
Old Structures...
Look Closely For A Surprise This 1900 map of Manhattan looks, at first glance to be simply another detailed map with building...
9 months ago
19
9 months ago
This 1900 map of Manhattan looks, at first glance to be simply another detailed map with building outlines shown: But there’s a surprise when you zoom in: The buildings are little isometric drawings rather than just outlines. They’re not particularly accurate drawings – I...
Old Structures...
Not Quite Before, Not Quite After A building that was discussed at great length at last week’s Office To Residential Summit was 25...
6 months ago
38
6 months ago
A building that was discussed at great length at last week’s Office To Residential Summit was 25 Water Street. Old Structures has no connection to that project, but it’s a block from our office, so I’ve been watching the progress. Here’s what it looked like last December: It was...
The Beauty of...
Chemical Attraction (Hackney Wick station, London, UK) It is hard to overstate the impact Hackney Wick station makes on a visitor, as well as the...
a year ago
47
a year ago
It is hard to overstate the impact Hackney Wick station makes on a visitor, as well as the unexpectedness of it doing so. Reopened in 2018 after a complete rebuild, it is one of the most photogenic small stations on the British rail network. Yet somehow, it seems to have slipped...
SOCKS
Constructing Knowledge through Geometry: Ramon Llull’s Figures in Ars Magna, 1305 Catalan polymath, Ramon Llull was the first person to conceive a device able to externalise the...
over a year ago
16
over a year ago
Catalan polymath, Ramon Llull was the first person to conceive a device able to externalise the human mind. In his seminal opus, the Ars Magna, Llull conceived a series of figures that could replicate the mental ability to connect information in order to acquire knowledge. Thanks...
Archinect - Features
Are Architectural Workers More Pessimistic About the Economy Than Firm Owners? In our recent analysis of the Archinect Business Survey published last month, we observed a distinct...
4 months ago
39
4 months ago
In our recent analysis of the Archinect Business Survey published last month, we observed a distinct divergence between how firm owners and workers were feeling about the business health of their firm, industry, and the wider U.S. economy. Across the board, our survey suggests...