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
Mag Arquitectes together with Clara Lleal INTERIORISTA has shared photos of a home they designed in Catalunya, Spain, that showcases a unique dining area.
The Modern House
A family home in Hackney, lovingly tended inside and out
a year ago
Old Structures...
Before Iron
The photo above, from the NYPL digital archive, shows South William Street (AKA a block from our...
a year ago
The photo above, from the NYPL digital archive, shows South William Street (AKA a block from our office) in the mid-1860s. We’re looking at, from left to right 9, 11, 13, 15, and 17 South William. Here’s a roughly similar view in 2014 (not current because there is now scaffolding...
The Modern House
Le Creuset’s new Azure collection finds a perfect home in Ella Jones’ expressive interior
a year ago
Old Structures...
Big
I sometimes wonder how much my interest in steel construction comes from looking at the structure of...
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:
Old Structures...
Travelog: A Building Type
Speaking only for myself, it’s easy to mentally categorize subways (i.e., electric mass transit,...
9 months ago
Speaking only for myself, it’s easy to mentally categorize subways (i.e., electric mass transit, mostly underground) as something different than railroads. Different lengths of routes, different spacing of stations, different rolling stock, and so on. The differences are often...
Construction Physics
How did solar power get cheap? Part I
Solar photovoltaics (PV) have become one of the cheapest sources of electricity. Lazard’s estimate...
a year ago
Solar photovoltaics (PV) have become one of the cheapest sources of electricity. Lazard’s estimate of unsubsidized levelized cost of energy (LCOE)
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
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...
Archinect - Features
Uncovering the Untold Histories of American Campus Expansions with Boghosian Fellow Leen...
Archinect's Fellow Fellows series showcases individuals who are currently in, or have recently...
a year ago
Archinect's Fellow Fellows series showcases individuals who are currently in, or have recently finished, an architecture fellowship. During our conversations, we discuss their architectural journey, areas of research, and their overall experience as academic fellows.
For our...
Construction Physics
Welding and the Automation Frontier
The big question about Artificial Intelligence, other than whether it will destroy human...
a year ago
The big question about Artificial Intelligence, other than whether it will destroy human civilization, is the effect it will have on employment. Large language models already seem poised to automate large fractions of the work in certain industries, and the technology is only...
Old Structures...
A Sometimes Disagreeable Foreign Land, Part 1
My off-hand comment yesterday about a Baedeker guide made me think that I should look to see what a...
2 weeks ago
My off-hand comment yesterday about a Baedeker guide made me think that I should look to see what a nineteenth-century European guidebook had to say about New York and I was not disappointed. The guidebooks put out by the Baedecker company since the 1830s are famous for their...
The Modern House
Philippe Malouin: the experimental designer on creating with integrity – and the art of upcycling
Philippe Malouin, it’s said, doesn’t read design magazines. That might surprise you. But it also...
8 months ago
Philippe Malouin, it’s said, doesn’t read design magazines. That might surprise you. But it also might be what keeps the Canadian’s own conceptions – form-driven, material-focused, out-the-box – feeling so fresh. In many ways, it makes sense. If the ideas of others were...
Old Structures...
Misleading Words
In 1941, Robert Moses demolished the New York Aquarium, located in Castle Clinton in Battery Park,...
7 months ago
In 1941, Robert Moses demolished the New York Aquarium, located in Castle Clinton in Battery Park, in a fit of pique over losing his fight to build a bridge from the Battery to Brooklyn. (That project became the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel.) The aquarium was a three-story building on...
CONTEMPORIST
Before + After – An Apartment Transformed With A New Interior
FCstudio has shared photos of an apartment renovation they completed in Sao Paulo, Brazil, that...
3 months ago
FCstudio has shared photos of an apartment renovation they completed in Sao Paulo, Brazil, that transformed the space into a contemporary and open interior. The design plan included removing walls and creating integrated spaces, like in the living room, which was once a smaller...
99% Invisible
Nuts and Bolts [EPISODE]
In her new book Nuts and Bolts Seven Small Inventions That Changed the World (in a Big Way),...
a year ago
In her new book Nuts and Bolts Seven Small Inventions That Changed the World (in a Big Way), structural engineer Roma Agrawal identifies and examines the seven of most basic building blocks of engineering that have shaped the modern world: the nail, the wheel, the spring, the...
The Modern House
Mark Lebon, the man inside the house that makes people smile
8 months ago
CONTEMPORIST
The Woody Palette Of The Exterior Is Brought Through To The Inside Of This Home In New Zealand
First Light Studio has shared photos of a new home they designed that’s nestled into the Port Hills...
a year ago
First Light Studio has shared photos of a new home they designed that’s nestled into the Port Hills in Governors Bay, New Zealand. The design brief for the house was to create a small home that was well crafted out of nice materials, which resulted in a gable form with a wood...
Construction Physics
The Long, Sad History of American Attempts to Build High-Speed Rail, Part II
Last week, we looked at the early history of high-speed rail in the US. Though the US attempted to...
a year ago
Last week, we looked at the early history of high-speed rail in the US. Though the US attempted to build its own high-speed rail routes soon after they debuted in Japan in 1964, these efforts were unsuccessful, outside of the popular-but-troubled Metroliner
Archinect - Features
Sound and Place: Archinect's Summer Music Playlist to Keep You Moving
“The interference patterns of visual, sonic, and kinetic waveform transmissions that flooded the...
a year ago
“The interference patterns of visual, sonic, and kinetic waveform transmissions that flooded the dance floor and enveloped me were deeply transformative. Along the perimeter, bass-bins sent out shock waves that rattled your ribcage and tweeter horns above them fired a percussive...
Coffee with an...
GENERAL NOTES:
*feel free to add these to your construction documents
a year ago
*feel free to add these to your construction documents
The Modern House
Designer and creative director Walé Adeyemi MBE on the London locations that have shaped his life,...
a month ago
CONTEMPORIST
Before & After – A Dark Retail Space Transformed Into A Bright Skincare Center
ISENSE DESIGN has shared photos of a recently completed retail design for Beauty Technology Skincare...
a year ago
ISENSE DESIGN has shared photos of a recently completed retail design for Beauty Technology Skincare Center in Beijing, China. The designers transformed a dark store with a red facade and awning, into a bright and open retail design with a green facade and large windows. Seizing...
CONTEMPORIST
A Home Office Hides Behind A Sliding Wall In This House
Blue Truck Studio collaborated with a new homeowner with DIY construction experience, to renovate a...
a year ago
Blue Truck Studio collaborated with a new homeowner with DIY construction experience, to renovate a home for the owner’s family. The interior, contemporary yet comfortable in its design, includes a living room that has a large empty wall. However, this wall isn’t stationary but...
CONTEMPORIST
Curved Green Roofs Cover This Creekside Cabin
MAP Architecture has shared photos of a contemporary cabin they completed in Suffolk, England,...
a year ago
MAP Architecture has shared photos of a contemporary cabin they completed in Suffolk, England, that’s located adjacent to the creek and reedbeds within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The ‘Creek Cabin’, with early...
Contemporist...
This Home's Addition Is Designed To Feel Like You've Stepped Into The Garden
BENT Architecture has shared photos of a project they designed in Victoria, Australia, that included...
a year ago
BENT Architecture has shared photos of a project they designed in Victoria, Australia, that included the design of a rear extension that answers the statement, "Imagine if your home could feel like living in a garden pavilion".
Archinect - Features
Architect: Whose Title Is It Anyway?
When is an architect not an ‘architect?’ In the fourth part of Archinect In-Depth: Licensure, we...
6 months ago
When is an architect not an ‘architect?’ In the fourth part of Archinect In-Depth: Licensure, we explore the proliferation of the title 'architect' in cases beyond the built environment, most notably in the technology sector through terms such as 'software architect' or 'IT...
SOCKS
Matmata: Underground Dwellings for an Extreme Climate
The ancient Berber village of Matmata in South Tunisia, located between the Eastern coast and the...
a year ago
The ancient Berber village of Matmata in South Tunisia, located between the Eastern coast and the desert, is characterised by settlements of dwellings dug into the clay-gypsum layers of the ground. The dating of the first inhabitations is uncertain. In these dwellings, vaulted...
Old Structures...
An Incredibly Bad Idea
I could have sworn that I wrote about this before, but I’m not finding it in the blog archive. Maybe...
12 months ago
I could have sworn that I wrote about this before, but I’m not finding it in the blog archive. Maybe I’m just remembering the bad aftertaste this whole idea gives me. Hey, why not destroy New York’s harbor – the reason that a city was built here in the first place – to create...
CONTEMPORIST
A Large Green Roof Covers This Riverside Home
Architect Pawel Naduk of 77STUDIO in Warsaw, Poland, has designed a modern house with a green roof...
a year ago
Architect Pawel Naduk of 77STUDIO in Warsaw, Poland, has designed a modern house with a green roof that’s located on the bank of the Vistula River. The home has been designed to subtly integrate into the natural shape of the land and allows for a usable green roof. A sloped ramp...
The Modern House
Quiet yet quirky – the family home of architect Will Burges serves as both inspiration and sanctuary
5 months ago
Construction Physics
How the Car Came to LA
Since at least the 1960s, urbanists have bemoaned the car-centric nature of US transportation. In...
a year ago
Since at least the 1960s, urbanists have bemoaned the car-centric nature of US transportation. In her 1961 “The Death and Life of Great American Cities," Jane Jacobs notes that “everyone who values cities is disturbed by automobiles”: Traffic arteries, along with parking lots,...
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
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...
McMansion Hell
every small city has that one dictator chic house
I don’t know why, but every city, no matter how big, has some insanely stacked dictator-looking...
a year ago
I don’t know why, but every city, no matter how big, has some insanely stacked dictator-looking McMansion somewhere outside the city limits. If you sort your Zillow results as Price: High - Low, this house will pop up first. It costs something like $5,000,000. It is 10,000 square...
99% Invisible
Cautionary Tales of the Sydney Opera House [EPISODE]
The Sydney Opera House is one of the most iconic and distinctive buildings in the world — but it...
a year ago
The Sydney Opera House is one of the most iconic and distinctive buildings in the world — but it took a relative newcomer and architectural outsider to dream up. The making of this future world heritage landmark is a tale for the ages — a cautionary tale, for which we turn to Tim...
The Beauty of...
The Inbetweeners (Ebbsfleet International and Stratford International, UK)
Well then. At the end of the last article I promised to write about the stations on HS2 phase 1...
6 months ago
Well then. At the end of the last article I promised to write about the stations on HS2 phase 1 assuming that I hadn’t been too enraged by the political fallout from hopefully soon-to-be-ex-prime minister Rishi Sunak’s cancellation of phase 2 of HS2. Reader, I have been enraged....
Old Structures...
It Looked Familiar: Courthouses Galore
Foley Square, northeast of City Hall Park, has a collection of very large courthouses. Here’s Matt...
3 months ago
Foley Square, northeast of City Hall Park, has a collection of very large courthouses. Here’s Matt Murdoch, otherwise known as Daredevil, on the steps of a courthouse having just finished a case: Here’s a view looking north with the New York State Supreme Court and its large...
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
Social and cultural values may be as important as hard (and expensive) infrastructure.
Archinect - Features
The Pandemic Is History, but for Architects, Its Impact on Office Design Remains
Our recent analysis of the Archinect Business Survey highlighted concerns among architects that...
4 months ago
Our recent analysis of the Archinect Business Survey highlighted concerns among architects that their business health has been impacted by the ongoing adoption of remote and hybrid working patterns across the U.S. in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. We explore in more detail...
The Modern House
Samuel Ross gives us a first look at his renovated family home in Northamptonshire
a year ago
Old Structures...
It Looked Familiar: Boom
One of the problems with electing Wilson Fisk, AKA Kingpin, as mayor of New York, is that he has a...
5 months ago
One of the problems with electing Wilson Fisk, AKA Kingpin, as mayor of New York, is that he has a lot of enemies who will try to kill him by, say, blowing him up in his sleep. This is a preservation problem because the mayor’s residence is Gracie Mansion, a 1799 wood-frame...
Archinect - Features
Organizing and Reforming Architectural Education: A Conversation With Tessa Forde
In recent years, the word 'organizing' has taken on a heightened power in architectural discourse,...
a month ago
In recent years, the word 'organizing' has taken on a heightened power in architectural discourse, most notably through grassroots efforts by architectural workers across the United States to organize for better workplace conditions.
For Tessa Forde, organizing centers on a vast...
devonzuegel.com
IVF egg retrieval notes
I’ve now done two egg retrieval cycles. Given that I had a zillion questions before I started, I...
8 months ago
I’ve now done two egg retrieval cycles. Given that I had a zillion questions before I started, I thought I’d share my notes for others who might have similar questions.
Things I would’ve loved to know beforehand
Overall the process was way easier and less intense than I...
Common Edge
What Los Angeles Transit Could Learn From Charlotte
On accidentally discovering the Queen City’s wonderful light rail system.
a year ago
On accidentally discovering the Queen City’s wonderful light rail system.
The Architectural...
Can We Afford More Modernist Buildings?
A common myth suggests that the unattractiveness of new buildings over the last century is due to...
a year ago
A common myth suggests that the unattractiveness of new buildings over the last century is due to rational or economic reasons, implying that building beautifully is too costly. In this article, I’ll debunk this idea and uncover the real reason behind the prevalence of...
The Modern House
The Modern House guide to Christmas gifts that give back
The festive sprint comes with ample occasions for gift giving, from Secret Santa to stocking...
2 weeks ago
The festive sprint comes with ample occasions for gift giving, from Secret Santa to stocking fillers. Where to start? This year, we’ve decided to focus on gifting with an altruistic inclination and present an edit of design-led festive finds that support the work of charities […]
Archinect - Features
The Fed Just Cut Interest Rates. What Does It Mean for Architects?
In September 2024, the U.S. Federal Reserve cut the target range of interest rates for the first...
2 months ago
In September 2024, the U.S. Federal Reserve cut the target range of interest rates for the first time in four years. The move was long anticipated by AEC commentators, who hoped that the lower cost of borrowing would begin to pull the sector out of a two-year stagnation in...
Old Structures...
Previous Work
A minor point, but it never hurts to look at the details. The photo above shows repair work on a...
a year ago
A minor point, but it never hurts to look at the details. The photo above shows repair work on a 1920s steel-frame building. The black-painted iron is the top landing, at the roof level, of a fire-escape; there used to be (and will be again, soon) a parapet on either side of it,...
Archinect - Features
Delivering Projects on Time Is a Challenge. Here’s How Architects Do It
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “plans are nothing; planning is everything.” This...
2 months ago
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “plans are nothing; planning is everything.” This sentiment rings true in architecture, where architects are required to establish project timelines potentially spanning several years for schemes potentially costing millions of...
The Beauty of...
Riding the Steel Breeze (Port Talbot Parkway, Neath Port Talbot, UK)
Some stations are born parkways, some achieve parkway status, while yet others have parkway status...
a year ago
Some stations are born parkways, some achieve parkway status, while yet others have parkway status thrust upon them. Such is the explanation for an arrival at Port Talbot Parkway being such a strange experience. As passengers step out of their trains they find themselves...
CONTEMPORIST
A Fireplace Divides This Long Living Room Creating A Separate Home Office Area
Toronto-based interior design firm Level Studio has shared photos of a living room that they...
a year ago
Toronto-based interior design firm Level Studio has shared photos of a living room that they transformed to include a dedicated area for a home office. The long and narrow design of the living room enabled them to divide the space into two separate defined areas, the living room,...
There are two types...
My Muck Rack
MUCK RACK automatically creates lists of articles written by individuals (like me). To this I’ve...
a year ago
MUCK RACK automatically creates lists of articles written by individuals (like me). To this I’ve added some articles about me, and reviews of books I’ve written. My Muck Rack
The post My Muck Rack appeared first on There are two types of architecture—good architecture, and the...
Old Structures...
Split Personality
Live, from Montreal, the Cathedrale Marie Reine du Monde et Saint Jacques: Putting aside the...
a month ago
Live, from Montreal, the Cathedrale Marie Reine du Monde et Saint Jacques: Putting aside the building’s architectural merit – and there is a great deal – I find this kind of church interesting structurally. We have at least three very different types of structure here. There’s...
devonzuegel.com
Podcasts & conferences I've spoken at
I haven't done a great job of tracking these, so this list is non-comprehensive:
Urbanism and the...
over a year ago
I haven't done a great job of tracking these, so this list is non-comprehensive:
Urbanism and the Future of Cities (Jan 2023) – Narratives podcast
Inflation, Argentina, and Crypto (Oct 2022) – EconTalk podcast
Devon Zuegel on Startup Cities (June 2022)
Devon Zuegel, creator...
Old Structures...
Compression
This may be the most difficult to place shot by Angelo Rizzuto, from October 1958. The Library of...
7 months ago
This may be the most difficult to place shot by Angelo Rizzuto, from October 1958. The Library of Congress title “Aerial view of unidentified street with multiple traffic lanes in each direction, high-rise buildings line both sides of the street” doesn’t help. The clue that got...
Archinect - Features
Architecture's Interest Rate Prayers Answered: Archinect’s State of AEC August 2024
Welcome to the third installment of Archinect's new series, State of AEC. At the end of each month,...
3 months ago
Welcome to the third installment of Archinect's new series, State of AEC. At the end of each month, we will guide you through the latest analyses, indexes, and trends on how the architecture and construction industries are performing economically.
In our previous edition of the...
devonzuegel.com
OWD #3: Disney World & other underworlds
Every place has some dirty secrets, even Disney World. We all have to get rid of waste somehow! In...
over a year ago
Every place has some dirty secrets, even Disney World. We all have to get rid of waste somehow! In this episode, the Bertauds and I discuss methods of sanitation and waste management from around the world, and how these hidden systems shape our cities.
RSS · Apple Podcasts ·...
The Modern House
A contemporary flint house on the Kent coast, with lateral living spaces and an outdoor bath
a year ago
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
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...
Contemporist...
This Home Has A Living Room That Extends Over The Swimming Pool Below
Daniel Marshall Architect (DMA) has shared photos of a new home they designed in New Zealand, that...
a year ago
Daniel Marshall Architect (DMA) has shared photos of a new home they designed in New Zealand, that includes a cantilevered living room.
Old Structures...
Before and After Electricity
A while back, I put up a photo of the Bowery as seen in 1894, with the Third Avenue elevated tracks...
10 months ago
A while back, I put up a photo of the Bowery as seen in 1894, with the Third Avenue elevated tracks above. Here’s the picture: Here’s a 1909 postcard of a similar view: The third, express track wasn’t added to the el until 1917 and the Bowery is a wide street, so the tracks have...
Old Structures...
It Looked Familiar: Yup
Sometimes, this game is not much of a challenge. Above, the Midtown North precinct house, as seen in...
a year ago
Sometimes, this game is not much of a challenge. Above, the Midtown North precinct house, as seen in Daredevil. Below, the Midtown North precinct house, as seen in Apple Look Around.
99% Invisible
Chick Tracts [EPISODE]
Since Chick Publications started in the mid 1960s, it has sold more than one billion tracts. There...
a year ago
Since Chick Publications started in the mid 1960s, it has sold more than one billion tracts. There are two hundred and seventy different Chick Tracts, with titles like “The Death Cookie,” “Kidnapped!,” “Mean Momma,” “The Sissy?,” and “Satan Comes To Salem.” Many of these are...
99% Invisible
Devil in the Details [EPISODE]
In 1994, an independent producer made a short, earnest video featuring an eccentric cast of...
a year ago
In 1994, an independent producer made a short, earnest video featuring an eccentric cast of characters who were focused on a very specific paranoia. The tape was made to look like a TV news special. It opens with a cheap, Jerry Springer-era computer graphic of a gold pentagram...
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
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...
Archinect - Features
Just Finished Architecture School? Here's Some Advice
As the 2023/2024 academic year draws to a close, architecture graduates across the United States are...
6 months ago
As the 2023/2024 academic year draws to a close, architecture graduates across the United States are preparing for the next stage in their design career, be it through employment, further education, journeys into adjacent fields, and beyond. If you are one of the many graduates...
Old Structures...
It Looked Familiar: Newsy
A dying world from a horror comic called “Epitaphs from the Abyss”: What’s that on the right? The...
3 weeks ago
A dying world from a horror comic called “Epitaphs from the Abyss”: What’s that on the right? The New York Times Building as seen from Times Square (from the north) in 1908:
CONTEMPORIST
Metal Cladding Wraps Around The Large Gable Roof Of This House
BLA Design Group has shared photos of their latest project, a unique modern home that marries the...
a year ago
BLA Design Group has shared photos of their latest project, a unique modern home that marries the West and the East, linking a Chinese-Canadian family’s present lifestyle to their past memories. Located in Vancouver, Canada, the home has a prominent gable form that floats atop...
The Modern House
Living in a boxy, brown-brick terrace – enhanced by Danish design sensibilities
3 months ago
CONTEMPORIST
A Multi-Functional Brass Clad Pod Is A Unique Feature In This Small Apartment
tsai Design has sent us photos of a micro-apartment they renovated in St. Kilda, Australia, that...
5 months ago
tsai Design has sent us photos of a micro-apartment they renovated in St. Kilda, Australia, that measures in at just 269 square feet (25m2), and features a unique and unexpected brass design element. Named ‘St Kilda Micro Sanctuary’, the small apartment has been designed for a...
99% Invisible
Long Strange Tape [EPISODE]
The Cassette tape was great in so many ways, but let’s be honest, they never really sounded great....
a year ago
The Cassette tape was great in so many ways, but let’s be honest, they never really sounded great. But because the cassette was so much cheaper and easier to use and portable, a lot of people didn’t care so much about the audio quality. They just wanted to be able to use...
devonzuegel.com
Podcasts & conferences I've spoken at
I haven't done a great job of tracking these, so this list is non-comprehensive:
Urbanism and the...
over a year ago
I haven't done a great job of tracking these, so this list is non-comprehensive:
Urbanism and the Future of Cities (Jan 2023) – Narratives podcast
Inflation, Argentina, and Crypto (Oct 2022) – EconTalk podcast
Devon Zuegel on Startup Cities (June 2022)
Devon Zuegel, creator...
The Modern House
MRTN Architects’ garden studios in Melbourne are a place to work – or not to work
8 months ago
Old Structures...
Small Trusses
For the last nine years, the high point, for me, of the annual APTI conference has been the student...
a month ago
For the last nine years, the high point, for me, of the annual APTI conference has been the student competition run by the Preservation Engineering Technical Committee. This year, In Montreal, was no exception. This year, I had no role in the competition, which frees me to say...
Archinect - Features
Autonomous Algorithmic Architects: Wicked Problems of Machine Learning in Architecture
How should the architectural profession consider and respond to futures made possible by advances in...
a year ago
How should the architectural profession consider and respond to futures made possible by advances in artificial intelligence? Can we propose a willful, designed route that acknowledges the inevitability of intelligent machines intersecting with every dimension of design and...
Archinect - Features
How to Understand Architecture Business Conditions Using the AIA's Architecture Billings...
Since 1995, the American Institute of Architects has conducted a monthly index detailing trends in...
7 months ago
Since 1995, the American Institute of Architects has conducted a monthly index detailing trends in billings by architecture firms in the United States. Over time, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) has become a valuable metric for charting the economic health of the...
Contemporist...
Giant 'Woven' Fabric Graces The Window Of This Flagship Store
Architecture firm LAAB has shared photos the Cozey flagship retail store they designed in Toronto,...
a month ago
Architecture firm LAAB has shared photos the Cozey flagship retail store they designed in Toronto, Canada, that includes an eye-catching window showcase.
Old Structures...
Look, Ma! No Hands!
There is absolutely nothing unique about a masonry flat arch serving as a window head, but it’s...
8 months ago
There is absolutely nothing unique about a masonry flat arch serving as a window head, but it’s relatively rare on steel-frame buildings like this 1920s apartment house on the Upper East Side. There are two tip-offs that it’s a real arch and not just a cleverly-hidden lintel:...
Old Structures...
A Thomas Nast Holiday – 3 of 3
In my opinion, this is genius.
12 months ago
In my opinion, this is genius.
The Modern House
How to better the design of your bathroom for a brighter future
a year ago
Common Edge
Why Mass Transit in America Disappeared
A talk with the author of The Great American Transit Disaster: A Century of Austerity, Auto-Centric...
a year ago
A talk with the author of The Great American Transit Disaster: A Century of Austerity, Auto-Centric Planning, and White Flight.
The Modern House
Scene Stealers: seven rural homes with spectacular surroundings
We’ve all found ourselves daydreaming of life in the country – growing your own fruit and veg, wild...
a year ago
We’ve all found ourselves daydreaming of life in the country – growing your own fruit and veg, wild swimming, enjoying a glass of red by a cosy log fire… But if that’s never been quite enough to inspire you to take the plunge, the homes […]
devonzuegel.com
Buenos Aires recommendations
I wrote a Buenos Aires guide with recommendations and tips for a group of friends I was traveling...
over a year ago
I wrote a Buenos Aires guide with recommendations and tips for a group of friends I was traveling with in December 2021, and I figured it might be useful to other people too. I adore Buenos Aires and spend about a month each year there, so I'm always thrilled to hear when friends...
CONTEMPORIST
Patterned Brickwork Is Featured On The Exterior Of The Ace Hotel In Toronto
Photography by Scott Norseworthy Shim-Sutcliffe Architects has sent us photos of the Ace Hotel in...
a year ago
Photography by Scott Norseworthy Shim-Sutcliffe Architects has sent us photos of the Ace Hotel in Toronto, Canada, which has a red brick facade that draws guests in with a wood-lined opening. Working closely with the creative agency Atelier Ace, the architects of the hotel...
Old Structures...
It Looked Familiar: Fancy Digs
Hawkeye chases some bad guys in New York: Looking north up Central Park West from a bit below 71st...
3 months ago
Hawkeye chases some bad guys in New York: Looking north up Central Park West from a bit below 71st Street: The relatively-low brown building two blocks up is the Dakota Apartments, but the drawing in the comic isn’t accurate enough to recognize it. The building at the first...
The Modern House
The Classics: Valley Spring by Peter Womersley
a year ago
The Modern House
Roksanda Ilinčić: the fashion designer’s colourful journey through Belgrade, Britain and Brazil
Roksanda Ilinčić has achieved that most select marker of success: a mononym. Since 2005, her name...
11 months ago
Roksanda Ilinčić has achieved that most select marker of success: a mononym. Since 2005, her name has been indelibly associated with her ethereal dress designs – by turns fluid, fantastical, functional and feminine – which have won her fans in some seriously high places, from […]
The Modern House
Cath Kidston: the floral-obsessed entrepreneur on why life isn’t always a bed of roses
Cath Kidston needs little introduction. Her eponymous brand was something of a zeitgeist, becoming...
10 months ago
Cath Kidston needs little introduction. Her eponymous brand was something of a zeitgeist, becoming entirely synonymous with a certain strand of the shabby-chic look that so gripped the late 1990s and early 2000s. But there was life before the company – Cath worked first for […]
Archinect - Features
An Industry Pins Its Hopes on Interest Rate Cuts: Archinect’s State of AEC July 2024
Welcome to the second installment of Archinect's new series, State of AEC. At the end of each month,...
4 months ago
Welcome to the second installment of Archinect's new series, State of AEC. At the end of each month, we will guide you through the latest analyses, indexes, and trends on how the architecture and construction industries are performing economically.
As we reflect back on June and...
Common Edge
Worshiping the Old Isn’t Historic Preservation
To keep buildings alive and relevant, some flexibility is required.
a month ago
To keep buildings alive and relevant, some flexibility is required.
Old Structures...
A Sense Of The Past
The thing about spending a week discussing the caissons of the Brooklyn Bridge is that it all feels...
a year ago
The thing about spending a week discussing the caissons of the Brooklyn Bridge is that it all feels almost like fiction. The caissons have been buried in the sand at the bottom of the East River for more than 150 years. I know they are there because I know how to read historical...
99% Invisible
The Power Broker #04: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez [EPISODE]
This is the fourth official episode of our ongoing series breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize...
8 months ago
This is the fourth official episode of our ongoing series breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. This week, Roman and Elliott also sit down with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the U.S. representative for New York’s 14th...
CONTEMPORIST
A Concrete Ceiling Floats Above This Round Hotel Bar
Portuguese architecture office Openbook has designed the Ritz Pool Bar as part of an overall project...
5 months ago
Portuguese architecture office Openbook has designed the Ritz Pool Bar as part of an overall project to renovate the terrace and galleries of the Ritz Four Seasons Hotel Lisbon. The bar has an organic design and total openness to the terrace, with walls of glass allowing the...
CONTEMPORIST
A Home Office Was Hidden Behind A Wall That Folds Open
BENT Architecture has sent us photos of a renovation and extension they completed for a house in...
11 months ago
BENT Architecture has sent us photos of a renovation and extension they completed for a house in Hawthorn, Australia. One design detail that caught our attention is the home office hidden in plain sight in the dining room behind a wood accent wall. The floor-to-ceiling wood...
CONTEMPORIST
The Color And Material Palette Of This New Home Allows It To Blend Into The Desert Setting
Multidisciplinary creative studio mxtad has designed a home in Mexico, with a natural and earthy...
a year ago
Multidisciplinary creative studio mxtad has designed a home in Mexico, with a natural and earthy color palette that complements its surroundings. The home, designed for an architect and graphic designer, was built on a site with an irregular shape, however, from the street, it...
CONTEMPORIST
Custom Bunk Beds Were Designed For This Jungle-Themed Kid’s Bedroom
Interior design firm Britt White Studio has shared photos of a jungle-themed kid’s bedroom they...
a year ago
Interior design firm Britt White Studio has shared photos of a jungle-themed kid’s bedroom they designed as part of an overall penthouse project. The room was designed for two brothers, aged 7 and 9, who worked directly with the designers for the creation of their shared room,...
CONTEMPORIST
The Reinterpretation Of A Gabled Roof Is On Display At This New House
Architecture firm Studio KUNZ has shared photos of a home they completed in a small town in the...
9 months ago
Architecture firm Studio KUNZ has shared photos of a home they completed in a small town in the south of Brazil. The home sits on a high plateau, surrounded by an idyllic landscape formed by araucaria trees, which was key for a young couple who have a close relationship with life...
Coffee with an...
Design explained with Bar Charts
Design is hard. If only the process could be explained using simple bar charts. Right. This isn’t...
9 months ago
Design is hard. If only the process could be explained using simple bar charts. Right. This isn’t that: More Design in charts – HERE, and HERE
The Modern House
A duo’s dramatic warehouse conversion hidden in west London
a year ago
99% Invisible
Roman, Elliott, and Robert Caro: Live in Conversation
For 50 years, The Power Broker has remained a landmark biography, transforming how people see former...
a month ago
For 50 years, The Power Broker has remained a landmark biography, transforming how people see former New York City Parks Commissioner Robert Moses. If you’ve been listening to 99% Invisible’sPower Broker Breakdown, you’re familiar with the story. The 99% Invisible Breakdown: The...
Contemporist...
An Elevated Room Surrounded By Trees In The Jungle
Mestizo Estudio Arquitectura has shared photos of a room they designed and built in the jungle in...
2 months ago
Mestizo Estudio Arquitectura has shared photos of a room they designed and built in the jungle in Ecuador, that features a sleeping area and bathroom.
Old Structures...
It Looked Familiar: Oldey-Timey
From a 1944 newspaper comic strip called Miss Fury – the title character is about two-thirds...
5 months ago
From a 1944 newspaper comic strip called Miss Fury – the title character is about two-thirds Catwoman and one-third Batman – a taxi trip through Manhattan, past Washington Square, and to a Greenwich Village rowhouse: The car speeding through below the arch is not a mistake:...
Common Edge
The Making of Ponchartrain Park in New Orleans
How a pair of wealthy outsiders, Edith and Edgar Stern, helped inspire the first neighborhood...
9 months ago
How a pair of wealthy outsiders, Edith and Edgar Stern, helped inspire the first neighborhood development exclusively available to Black middle-class families.
Old Structures...
Adelaide House, Part 1 – Overall
When I was in London a few weeks ago, David Kelly and Chris Tucker of Fortis Facades were kind...
8 months ago
When I was in London a few weeks ago, David Kelly and Chris Tucker of Fortis Facades were kind enough to give me a thorough tour of Adelaide House, a 1925 landmark building currently in renovation. They’re working on the facade, but the tour included both the facade and the...
Common Edge
Leslie Lokko’s 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale: New Stories to Tell
Although the event is lacking in actual architecture, it does introduce urgent and important new...
a year ago
Although the event is lacking in actual architecture, it does introduce urgent and important new narratives.
The Modern House
Surman Weston’s light-led creation of a family home in south London
9 months ago
The Modern House
Textile designer Pauline Caulfield’s art-filled home and studio in Primrose Hill
a year ago
99% Invisible
Cooking with Gas [EPISODE]
Back in January, Bloomberg News published a story quoting an obscure government official named...
a year ago
Back in January, Bloomberg News published a story quoting an obscure government official named Richard Trumka Jr. He works with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which regulates stuff like furniture and electronics and household appliances. Basically, the agency is supposed...
Old Structures...
Advertising Art
From 1922, preserved in a scrapbook at the New York Public Library, a romantic view of the Bankers...
2 months ago
From 1922, preserved in a scrapbook at the New York Public Library, a romantic view of the Bankers Trust Building at Wall and Nassau Streets. (The angle is a little funny – see below.) I cropped the image – at the lower right there was a little extension: This could be a...
A Weekly Dose of...
A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books is on Substack
I'm breaking my blogging silence to do two things:
Alert readers to the fact I am still writing...
2 months ago
I'm breaking my blogging silence to do two things:
Alert readers to the fact I am still writing reviews of architecture books under the title A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books, but over at Substack, not Blogger.
Put a new post at the top of this blog so I don't have to look...
Benny Kuriakose
The Kerala Mosques That Have Been Restored To Their Past Glory
The remaining structures are a testament to the rich cultural and historical heritage of a society....
a year ago
The remaining structures are a testament to the rich cultural and historical heritage of a society. They include architectural styles,...
Old Structures...
We Become Accustomed – Part 1
I want to spend a few days talking about a building that is not very exciting, because it...
a year ago
I want to spend a few days talking about a building that is not very exciting, because it illustrates an important phenomenon about change. When I talk about change in this blog, I most often mean technological change in the built environment, as new forms of construction...
Old Structures...
Minor Errors
From a New York Public Library scrapbook, an 1880 view of Union Square. The title on the web page...
2 months ago
From a New York Public Library scrapbook, an 1880 view of Union Square. The title on the web page says “South side Union Square B’way” except that this is definitely (see below) the north side of the Square, AKA East 17th Street. Is the first word written in pencil “South”? If I...
Common Edge
On the Value of Miniatures and Scale Models
Thinking small can help us answer the challenges of our time.
4 days ago
Thinking small can help us answer the challenges of our time.
99% Invisible
Cue the Sun! [EPISODE]
Back in 2003, Emily Nussbaum developed a covert guilty pleasure: she started watching the streaming...
2 months ago
Back in 2003, Emily Nussbaum developed a covert guilty pleasure: she started watching the streaming 24-hour feeds of the first season of Big Brother in the U.S. Big Brother is a reality television show that debuted in the US in the year 2000. If you’ve never seen it, the show is...
Old Structures...
Sketches by a Master
This sketch sheet by Cass Gilbert, dated February 3, 1912, is titled “Institutional structures by...
11 months ago
This sketch sheet by Cass Gilbert, dated February 3, 1912, is titled “Institutional structures by Gilbert” in the Library of Congress, although it has both public and commercial buildings. Gilbert’s description at the bottom is better: “These buildings are now in the office in...
There are two types...
Location, Location, Location: Affordable Housing and Urban Form in Manhattan
NOTE: The following was written for the Tenth Anniversary Edition of Street Design, The Secret To...
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 Location,...
Archinect - Features
Freelancing and Architecture: A Complicated Relationship
For many salaried workers, freelancing and contracting may once have been a scary proposition,...
7 months ago
For many salaried workers, freelancing and contracting may once have been a scary proposition, little more than placeholder labels as one moved between secure, salaried positions. However, the past decade has seen a notable increase in skilled workers and professionals becoming...
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
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...
The Modern House
How an architect couple transformed an old shop in Walthamstow into a restful wooden home
a year ago
The Modern House
With the rolling South Downs on its doorstep, the award-winning Black Timber House by HAPA...
8 months ago
Old Structures...
Obvious, Expensive, and Worth Doing
A lot of different trends combined to create the decline of the Bronx between 1950 and 2000, and one...
a month ago
A lot of different trends combined to create the decline of the Bronx between 1950 and 2000, and one of them is firmly within the realm of the built environment: the construction of highways. Any road entering New York City from the north has to pass through the Bronx, and...
The Modern House
A Californian-inspired 1970s home hidden under the trees in Kent
a year ago
Old Structures...
180 Years
I found myself in Greenport NY for a project and was pleasantly surprised by the presence of the old...
4 months ago
I found myself in Greenport NY for a project and was pleasantly surprised by the presence of the old train station there. It’s not the current station, which is a bare concrete platform off to the right of the picture, and it’s not the original station, but that’s okay. As you...
Old Structures...
It’s Not Blue
That’s a drawing from 1837 of the new Customs House – now Federal Hall – being constructed at the...
a year ago
That’s a drawing from 1837 of the new Customs House – now Federal Hall – being constructed at the northeast corner of Wall and Nassau Streets. John Frazee is listed as the architect and superintendent, which is not quite accurate: he was working from an architectural design by...
devonzuegel.com
Book notes: Against the Grain, by James C. Scott
Here are some notes and quotes that particularly stood out to me from each chapter of Against the...
over a year ago
Here are some notes and quotes that particularly stood out to me from each chapter of Against the Grain. This isn't a summary of the book. It's mostly for my future self to refer back to (and thus probably missing a lot for someone who hasn't read it), but the tidbits are so...
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
MIKOLAJSKAstudio has shared photos of an apartment in Krakow, Poland, that includes a main living level with a bedroom enclosed behind a glass wall.
Common Edge
Designing for Disaster in an Increasingly Dangerous World
What does it take to protect homes against tornados, hurricanes, flooding, fire, and erosion?
6 months ago
What does it take to protect homes against tornados, hurricanes, flooding, fire, and erosion?
McMansion Hell
Hi everyone: I’ve written a long deep-dive on the present state of the McMansion, from...
The McMansion as Harbinger of the American Apocalypse
Hi everyone: I’ve written a long deep-dive on...
a year ago
The McMansion as Harbinger of the American Apocalypse
Hi everyone: I’ve written a long deep-dive on the present state of the McMansion, from farmhouse chic to imminent environmental collapse. If you’ve been seeing an inordinate number of big ugly houses pop up in your...
Old Structures...
Travelog: Advertising Claims
It’s truly embarassing how much time I spent looking at this old ad painted on a building in Bath...
9 months ago
It’s truly embarassing how much time I spent looking at this old ad painted on a building in Bath and wondering what “richestin cream” was. As a slight consolation, note the drain branch directly left of the word “richest”: if you’re putting interior plumbing drains on the...
The Modern House
Rest, relaxation and refuge at a ryokan-inspired home in Hackney
a year ago
Common Edge
Jay-Z’s Unseemly Takeover of Brooklyn’s Central Library
Crowds love “The Book of HOV,” but the library has ceded public space for a self-produced tribute...
a year ago
Crowds love “The Book of HOV,” but the library has ceded public space for a self-produced tribute from his company, Roc Nation.
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
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.
Common Edge
On Winning—and Not Winning—Design Competitions
It’s the Competition Conundrum: You Can’t Lose If You Don’t Play.
a year ago
It’s the Competition Conundrum: You Can’t Lose If You Don’t Play.
Old Structures...
Iconic
The Third Avenue elevated, looking north from 23rd Street or so. (The street sign at the lower right...
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...
Archinect - Features
Being Laid off Is Tough; So Is Waiting To Be
Findings from our recent Archinect Business Survey suggest that many architecture employees do not...
3 months ago
Findings from our recent Archinect Business Survey suggest that many architecture employees do not feel secure in their current roles. For those facing the looming prospect of layoffs in the coming weeks or months, the emotional strain can be as taxing as that experienced by...
Common Edge
It’s Time to Blur the Boundaries Between Town and Gown
University campus planning should look outward to the surrounding city.
6 months ago
University campus planning should look outward to the surrounding city.
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
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 […]
Contemporist...
Reclaimed Weathered Wood Siding Covers This Home Inspired By Farm Buildings
Architecture and building company BIRDSEYE has shared photos of a home they completed in Sagaponack,...
a year ago
Architecture and building company BIRDSEYE has shared photos of a home they completed in Sagaponack, New York, that features an exterior clad in reclaimed weathered wood siding.
Old Structures...
Skyscrapers at the IStructE
A reminder: On Thursday I’ll be talking about the technological origins of skyscrapers and the New...
9 months ago
A reminder: On Thursday I’ll be talking about the technological origins of skyscrapers and the New York contribution to that history, at the Institution of Structural Engineers. If you’re in London – as most of you are not – come in person; otherwise, the talk will be available...
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
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...
Another Moment of Transition
This a nice postcard of the north end of Union Square, using a hand-color photograph from 1910 as...
9 months ago
This a nice postcard of the north end of Union Square, using a hand-color photograph from 1910 as its basis. The centerpiece is the Metropolitan Life tower at Madison Square, seven blocks to the north of the foreground buildings on East 17th Street. Those buildings include the...
Common Edge
Making the Case for Sustainable Housing: It’s Time for a New Argument
How to undo the tension between affordability and sustainability.
a year ago
How to undo the tension between affordability and sustainability.
Archinect - Features
10 Tips for Overcoming and Preventing Burnout in Architecture
If you’re experiencing burnout in your architecture role, you’re likely not alone. In 2023,...
4 months ago
If you’re experiencing burnout in your architecture role, you’re likely not alone. In 2023, Archinect’s Mental Health Survey found burnout to be a common theme among those who told us they were experiencing stress at work. Our community has also raised the issue among themselves,...
The Modern House
House Music: pianist Simeon Walker performs at Domus – a modernist masterpiece, currently for sale
2 months ago
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
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...
The Architectural...
Architect Releases Academic Dissertation That Questions Architects’ Taste
Many architects look down upon residential areas built with the small town as a model, with new...
8 months ago
Many architects look down upon residential areas built with the small town as a model, with new houses made in a traditional style. But this is exactly what the average person appreciates. “Why do many architects dislike the very thing that residents often enjoy?” asks architect...
CONTEMPORIST
Before + After – A Garage Transformed Into A Pool House
Nathan Fell Architecture has shared photos of a garage they transformed into a pool house with...
9 months ago
Nathan Fell Architecture has shared photos of a garage they transformed into a pool house with plenty of space for entertaining. Here’s what the pool house looked like before… The design of the pool house was conceived as an addition to the garage that more appropriately capped...
SOCKS
Carlos Morago. Across the Ordinary Interior
Contemporary Spanish painter Carlos Morago depicts realistic interior scenes that are mostly reduced...
a year ago
Contemporary Spanish painter Carlos Morago depicts realistic interior scenes that are mostly reduced to the bare minimum: light floors and walls and sporadical furniture. Empty corridors and rooms are framed through opened doors and walls while opening on uneventful exteriors...
CONTEMPORIST
Wood Screens Wrap Around This Home To Create Shade And Privacy
Koichi Takada Architects has completed a new home in Sydney, Australia, whose design was inspired by...
a year ago
Koichi Takada Architects has completed a new home in Sydney, Australia, whose design was inspired by palm fronds, specifically the way the leaves provide dappled light and shelter to the fruit its tree bears. Applying the same principles, the home was cocooned with symmetrical...
The Architectural...
The bigotry of Modernism
We know that history tends to repeat itself, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse....
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...
Archinect - Features
Archinect's 2024 Mental Health Survey Results: 11 Key Takeaways
On October 10th, we marked World Mental Health Day by launching Archinect's 2024 Mental Health...
a month ago
On October 10th, we marked World Mental Health Day by launching Archinect's 2024 Mental Health Survey. Over 120 people participated, sharing their experiences of the past year, where mental health issues are arising from, and what steps they are taking to improve their own mental...
Old Structures...
Up, Down, and Up, Like Its Surroundings
I took these pictures on Mercer Street yesterday, of an oddly formal little building. Whatever...
10 months ago
I took these pictures on Mercer Street yesterday, of an oddly formal little building. Whatever “Firemen’s Hall” meant, I had never heard of it. The name and original use are linked and sort of obvious: when the building was constructed in 1855, New York’s fire-fighting needs were...
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
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
Introducing our Hackney team
8 months ago
The Modern House
A look inside Issue No.6 of our magazine
The new issue of our print magazine has just landed in our shop – and it’s filled with stories that...
a year ago
The new issue of our print magazine has just landed in our shop – and it’s filled with stories that look at the journeys we go on with our homes, from the emotional paths they take us on, to the very real process of renovating […]
The Modern House
Inside the light-filled rural hideaway of legendary artists Langlands & Bell
6 months ago
The Modern House
Skye’s the limit at this home in a serene settlement in the Scottish Highlands
a year ago
Contemporist...
A’ Design Awards And Competition – The Winners
A’ Design Award & Competition is the Worlds’ leading design accolade reaching design enthusiasts in...
a year ago
A’ Design Award & Competition is the Worlds’ leading design accolade reaching design enthusiasts in over 114 countries.
A Weekly Dose of...
Favorite Books of 2023
For the fifteenth and last time on this blog, I'm highlighting my favorite books of the year,...
a year ago
For the fifteenth and last time on this blog, I'm highlighting my favorite books of the year, selected from the many books I reviewed or featured as "Book Briefs" on this blog, and the few titles that I reviewed at World-Architects. From the 86 books I featured in 2023, 15 (or...
The Modern House
How a love of Japan and the 1970s shaped Sherrill Smith’s Hackney home
a year ago
The Beauty of...
A Fearsome Beauty (Cambridge North station, Cambridgeshire, UK)
When engineering and design company Atkins presented the city of Cambridge with a sparkling gift, it...
over a year ago
When engineering and design company Atkins presented the city of Cambridge with a sparkling gift, it must have felt rather pleased. It had simultaneously provided a brand new station and answered the question of how to ensure that same station embodied the character of the local...
Blog - Guerrilla...
Atlas in a Day Challenge: A Global, Real-time Collaboration
On Saturday, October 5, 2019, more than 50 guerrilla cartographers gathered, in person and online,...
over a year ago
On Saturday, October 5, 2019, more than 50 guerrilla cartographers gathered, in person and online, to collaborate in producing an atlas in a single day on the theme of migration. While researching and designing an entire atlas on a complex theme in the span of 24 hours is indeed...
A Weekly Dose of...
American Modern Home
American Modern Home: Jacobsen Architecture + Interiors
by Simon Jacobsen
Rizzoli, October...
over a year ago
American Modern Home: Jacobsen Architecture + Interiors
by Simon Jacobsen
Rizzoli, October 2022
Hardcover | 11 x 11 inches | 224 pages | English | ISBN: 9780847872053 | $75
PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION:
Hugh Newell Jacobsen, the legendary architect and late co-founder with his son,...
Common Edge
Michael Van Valkenburgh on the Making of Brooklyn Bridge Park
The noted landscape architect talks about one of the great 21st century urban parks.
5 months ago
The noted landscape architect talks about one of the great 21st century urban parks.
CONTEMPORIST
A Stepped Brick Extension Makes Space For A Soft Warm Blush Kitchen
Architecture and interior design firm Bradley Van Der Straeten, has shared photos of a home in...
8 months ago
Architecture and interior design firm Bradley Van Der Straeten, has shared photos of a home in England that received a new stepped brick extension with views of the garden. When the front door is open, you can see all the way through to the rear garden. A stepped form took shape...
Common Edge
To Fund Housing, New York State Should Reinstate the Stock Transfer Tax
Doing so would raise $14 billion annually for the city.
a month ago
Doing so would raise $14 billion annually for the city.
CONTEMPORIST
Reflecting Ponds And Concrete Lily Pads Help Create Tranquility At This Modern Home
Kor Architects have shared photos of a home they completed in Indian Wells, California, for their...
6 months ago
Kor Architects have shared photos of a home they completed in Indian Wells, California, for their clients who desired a contemporary residence with a thoughtfully designed entrance that seamlessly integrates indoor and outdoor areas. Upon arrival at the home, there’s a carefully...
Construction Physics
The Birth of the Grid
The day must come when electricity will be for everyone, as the waters of the rivers and the wind of...
a year ago
The day must come when electricity will be for everyone, as the waters of the rivers and the wind of heaven. It should not merely be supplied, but lavished, that men may use it at their will, as the air they breathe. - Emile Zola, “Travail”, 1901
Old Structures...
Close By
From Angelo Rizzuto, a view of the Brooklyn Bridge from June 1954. It was not taken from Woolworth,...
6 months ago
From Angelo Rizzuto, a view of the Brooklyn Bridge from June 1954. It was not taken from Woolworth, as the angle is slightly wrong. The bridge was in a transition period, with one major renovation just completed and another about to start. Between 1950 and 1954, the bridge...
Common Edge
Why Cities Must Embrace Getting Smaller
Urban researcher Alan Mallach on the global phenomenon of shrinking—and “thinning”—cities and...
a year ago
Urban researcher Alan Mallach on the global phenomenon of shrinking—and “thinning”—cities and countries.
The Modern House
At home with our favourite interiors influencer, Akilah Cohen
3 days ago
99% Invisible
Roman Mars Describes Athens GA As It Is [EPISODE]
This is the third and final episode in a three-part series of Roman Mars recording on-location...
8 months ago
This is the third and final episode in a three-part series of Roman Mars recording on-location guides to the design features and interesting spots in cities he loves. Roman moved to Athens, Georgia, to pursue a PhD in plant genetics, but dropped out and got into the local music...
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
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...
99% Invisible
The Infernal Machine [EPISODE]
For most of history there was only one way to blow things up. You could pack a bunch of gunpowder in...
2 months ago
For most of history there was only one way to blow things up. You could pack a bunch of gunpowder in one place and set it on fire. But then in the 1800s one scientist named Alfred Nobel dedicated himself to taming the incredibly volatile substance that was nitroglycerine. After...
McMansion Hell
the motel room, or: on datedness
I.
Often I find myself nostalgic for things that haven’t disappeared yet. This feeling is enhanced...
6 months ago
I.
Often I find myself nostalgic for things that haven’t disappeared yet. This feeling is enhanced by the strange conviction that once I stop looking at these things, I will never see them again, that I am living in the last moment of looking. This is sense is strongest for me in...
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
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...
Archinect - Features
Beaux-Arts to Bauhaus: How Two Schools Shaped Architectural Visualization
Architecture schools have long held a significant role in shaping the field of architectural...
a month ago
Architecture schools have long held a significant role in shaping the field of architectural visualization. Through fostering particular artistic philosophies, drawing techniques, and design ideologies, such institutions shape not only the architects themselves but also the way...
99% Invisible
Breaking Down The Power Broker [EPISODE]
In 1974, two very significant things happened, if you are a fan of 99% invisible. Number one is that...
a year ago
In 1974, two very significant things happened, if you are a fan of 99% invisible. Number one is that 99pi host Roman Mars was born. And number two, The Power Broker by Robert Caro was published. Roman learned about the power broker when he first started to cover cities and...
Old Structures...
Imitation
There’s a phenomenon that I think of as “life imitiates art imitates life imitates art…ad...
10 months ago
There’s a phenomenon that I think of as “life imitiates art imitates life imitates art…ad infinitium”. A work of art – a drawing, a painting, a movie – is base don reality and augments, making it look better than it does in real life, and then people change what they’re doing to...
Common Edge
How the Global Business Class Has Transformed the Home
They’re bringing the aesthetics and lifestyle expectations of the hospitality industry into their...
2 months ago
They’re bringing the aesthetics and lifestyle expectations of the hospitality industry into their domiciles.
Old Structures...
Specialization
From 2018, a photo by Carol Highsmith taken from the Empire State Building and showing the variety...
6 months ago
From 2018, a photo by Carol Highsmith taken from the Empire State Building and showing the variety of buildings on the east side of midtown south. I think most people will agree that this is a very New Yorky view of New York. The discussion at the “Office To Residential Summit”...
The Modern House
How an artist and architect converted a war bunker on the wild Isle of Wight coast
a year ago
CONTEMPORIST
Wood Lines The Length Of The Gable Vaulted Ceiling In This Home
Architecture firm The Ranch Mine, has designed a new home in Flagstaff, Arizona, that’s inspired by...
a year ago
Architecture firm The Ranch Mine, has designed a new home in Flagstaff, Arizona, that’s inspired by the landscape of the surrounding San Francisco Volcanic Field. The surrounding landscape is reflected in the decision to choose a black exterior for the home, while the interiors...
McMansion Hell
mojo dojo casa house
Howdy folks! Sorry for the delay, I was, uhhhh covering the Tour de France. Anyway, I’m back in...
a year ago
Howdy folks! Sorry for the delay, I was, uhhhh covering the Tour de France. Anyway, I’m back in Chicago which means this blog has returned to the Chicago suburbs. I’m sure you’ve all seen Barbie at this point so this 2019 not-so-dream house will come as a pleasant (?)...
The Modern House
Hot on the heels of modernity: how our heritage buildings are catching up with us
This summer, Sphinx Hill in Oxfordshire became Britain’s youngest listed building. Built in the late...
4 months ago
This summer, Sphinx Hill in Oxfordshire became Britain’s youngest listed building. Built in the late 90s, the listing was was the result of a successful application by the Twentieth Century Society. Its chairman Hugh Pearman suggests that it stands as a youthful reminder of where...
Old Structures...
It Looked Familiar: Anachronistic
The Falcon and Black Widow above the streets of Manhattan…he’s flying and she’s doing gymnastics in...
a month ago
The Falcon and Black Widow above the streets of Manhattan…he’s flying and she’s doing gymnastics in mid-air, I guess: The location is instantly recognizable: the building on the far left with the single dormer is the Washington Life Insurance Building at 141 Broadway, the...
Old Structures...
Differences Real and Metaphorical
There’s a nice piece in the Times about the Long Path, a very long hiking trail through New Jersey...
3 months ago
There’s a nice piece in the Times about the Long Path, a very long hiking trail through New Jersey and New York running roughly parallel to the Hudson River: “Walking From Manhattan to the Catskills on the ‘Long Path’.” As it happens, I’ve walked a small piece of the path, from...
Old Structures...
Close To Home
From Angelo Rizzuto in 1950, “Broad Street.” It doesn’t instantly look familiar because we’re all...
7 months ago
From Angelo Rizzuto in 1950, “Broad Street.” It doesn’t instantly look familiar because we’re all used to seeing the north end of Broad Street, where the Stock Exchange and Federal Hall are, or views looking up the street to the north. This is the sound end of Broad, as it runs...
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
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
Cork Was Used As The Exterior Siding On This Home Extension
Mitchell + Corti Architects has designed a new rear ground floor extension for a home in England,...
a year ago
Mitchell + Corti Architects has designed a new rear ground floor extension for a home in England, that’s clad in cork. The architect mentions, “We chose to clad the extension in something a little different a dark patterned cork, in order to use a sustainable material and test...
Common Edge
Rice University Builds an Opera Theater
It’s time to appreciate one of Allan Greenberg’s best works of architecture.
a year ago
It’s time to appreciate one of Allan Greenberg’s best works of architecture.
Common Edge
In Praise of a Great Mentor: Working With Geoffrey Bawa
Life-long lessons from the father of Tropical Modernism.
a year ago
Life-long lessons from the father of Tropical Modernism.
CONTEMPORIST
This Little Laneway House In Toronto Has An Upstairs Bedroom Overlooking The Street
Creative Union Network Inc. has designed a small laneway house in Toronto, Canada, that was...
a year ago
Creative Union Network Inc. has designed a small laneway house in Toronto, Canada, that was originally built as a garage. The building occupied a prominent location on the corner of the lane and main street. The original structure, although rundown, was a well-loved structure...
The Modern House
Nigel Slater: the food writer opens the door to his fascinating home life
At the (surprising) age of “almost 70”, Nigel Slater is “off-the-scale happy.” As our co-founder...
a month ago
At the (surprising) age of “almost 70”, Nigel Slater is “off-the-scale happy.” As our co-founder Matt Gibberd discovers in our latest Homing In podcast, his late Georgian house in north London plays no small part in that contentment. Over the course of their conversation, the […]
devonzuegel.com
OWD #2: Vanished in Guadalajara
Alain and Marie-Agnes raised three children while living their nomadic lifestyle. So in this...
over a year ago
Alain and Marie-Agnes raised three children while living their nomadic lifestyle. So in this episode, we dug into how their role as parents shaped how they experience cities. Join us as we roam Bangkok, Guadalajara, Sana'a, Paris, Port-au-Prince, NYC and beyond!
RSS · Apple...
The Modern House
Architect Sophie Hicks on life in her hidden concrete haven in Kensington
a year ago
The Beauty of...
A Sense of Place (White Hart Lane Station, London, UK)
You will remember that my knowledge of football can be transcribed onto the reverse of a postage...
over a year ago
You will remember that my knowledge of football can be transcribed onto the reverse of a postage stamp, possibly with room left over, and that what knowledge I do possess is thanks to my other half’s family being Portsmouth FC supporters; an emotional rollercoaster, it has to be...
Blog - Guerrilla...
Migration Away From Flooded Land in Seattle
How did you decide on your map subject for the Migration atlas?
Deciding what to map was the...
over a year ago
How did you decide on your map subject for the Migration atlas?
Deciding what to map was the hardest part of the Atlas in a Day experience. The first night, we developed a number of interesting concepts but nothing felt quite right. Were data available? What interesting story...
Construction Physics
Weekend roundup - Icon, Diamond Age, Cuby, Gropyus
Since there’s more interesting things happening in construction than I can cover in a weekly post...
a year ago
Since there’s more interesting things happening in construction than I can cover in a weekly post (especially if I’m spending posts writing about things that happened 800 years ago), I’m experimenting with occasionally sending out a brief roundup of interesting links related to...
Old Structures...
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
A few comments about today’s holiday. First, if you’re so inclined, the city Parks Department has...
11 months ago
A few comments about today’s holiday. First, if you’re so inclined, the city Parks Department has opportunities for public service: here. Otherwise, memorials and celebrations: here. Some of the permanent memorials to King in New York: here. Some of his relationship to New York...
Common Edge
Zoning, Preservation, Climate Change: Connecting the Dots
What can the law teach architecture, and vice-versa? Sara Bronin, head of the U.S. Advisory Council...
a year ago
What can the law teach architecture, and vice-versa? Sara Bronin, head of the U.S. Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, knows.
Common Edge
O.J. and L.A.
What the iconic car chase revealed about Southern California’s landscape.
7 months ago
What the iconic car chase revealed about Southern California’s landscape.
CONTEMPORIST
An Apartment Designed With Cats In Mind
AODA Interior Design Co. has shared photos of an apartment interior in Taiwan they recently...
2 months ago
AODA Interior Design Co. has shared photos of an apartment interior in Taiwan they recently completed, that includes a variety of design elements specifically for the home owners cats. The clients are a couple with four cats and two medium-to-large dogs. Previously, they lived in...
Construction Physics
The dream of deregulation - the grid part III
For most of the industry’s history, electric power in the US had largely been provided by vertically...
a year ago
For most of the industry’s history, electric power in the US had largely been provided by vertically integrated utility companies that handled every part of the electricity supply: generating it, transmitting it, distributing it to customers, and managing the overall system....
Old Structures...
It Looked Familiar – But No More
Above, the entrance to a nightclub in the comic book “Powers.” Below, courtesy of Except that, as of...
11 months ago
Above, the entrance to a nightclub in the comic book “Powers.” Below, courtesy of Except that, as of this past summer, the Hotel Pennsylvania is gone. It was arguably the last of the grand railroad hotels left in New York, and it was no longer a grand railroad hotel since that...
Old Structures...
Not Quite Changing
First, “Facade, 317 Broadway” from Berenice Abbott’s “Changing New York Project”, taken in 1936....
10 months ago
First, “Facade, 317 Broadway” from Berenice Abbott’s “Changing New York Project”, taken in 1936. Second, a street view photo of 319 Broadway, today. 317 Broadway is at the southwest corner of Thomas Street and Broadway; 319 at the northwest corner. So unless this building moved...
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
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...
devonzuegel.com
Part 2: Cluster development preserves California’s landscape
A new city has been proposed in California, and I’ve never been more captivated by a vision for the...
10 months ago
A new city has been proposed in California, and I’ve never been more captivated by a vision for the future of my home state in my lifetime. This post is part of a series I’m writing about this bold proposal.
One of the most essential parts of California Forever’s proposal to...
The Modern House
Architect Anaïs Bléhaut of Daab Design on restoring the balance of a Battersea terraced house
a year ago
Common Edge
Letter From Asheville: The Aftermath of Helene
The road to recovery will be long.
a month ago
The road to recovery will be long.
Contemporist...
This Elevated Cabin Looks Like A Birdhouse
i29 architects together with NAMO Architecture has shared photos of a new elevated cabin they...
10 months ago
i29 architects together with NAMO Architecture has shared photos of a new elevated cabin they designed in De Hode Veluwe National Park in The Netherlands.
Contemporist...
A Re-Imagined Side Extension With A Slatted Wood Design
YARD Architects has shared photos of a side extension they re-imagined for a home in Greater London,...
a year ago
YARD Architects has shared photos of a side extension they re-imagined for a home in Greater London, England, that creates an open and bright dining area and kitchen.
The Modern House
Picture erfect: an ingenious creative sanctuary in the leafy heart of London Fields
a week ago
devonzuegel.com
No Kings: How Do You Make Good Decisions Efficiently in a Flat Organization?
At Doist we believe that open and sincere communication improves our decision-making process. That’s...
over a year ago
At Doist we believe that open and sincere communication improves our decision-making process. That’s why we’ve built a culture that encourages feedback at all levels of decision-making: from purely technical solutions to team and product management. We built our team...
Common Edge
Encounters With Damian: Columbia University’s Homeless Neighbor
Near and around campus, the juxtaposition between privilege and poverty is glaring.
a year ago
Near and around campus, the juxtaposition between privilege and poverty is glaring.
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
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...
devonzuegel.com
The silence is deafening
Imagine you're at a dinner party, and you're getting into a heated argument. As you start yelling,...
over a year ago
Imagine you're at a dinner party, and you're getting into a heated argument. As you start yelling, the other people quickly hush their voices and start glaring at you. None of the onlookers have to take further action—it's clear from their facial expressions that you're being a...
A Weekly Dose of...
Visualizing the World, Visualizing Change
In 1939, Otto Neurath's Modern Man in the Making was released by Alfred A. Knopf. Neurath was...
a year ago
In 1939, Otto Neurath's Modern Man in the Making was released by Alfred A. Knopf. Neurath was director of the International Foundation of Visual Information and used the Isotype (International System of Typographic Picture Education) system to "teach through the eye." A recent...
99% Invisible
Trail Mix [EPISODE]
A good trail is one that is easy to follow and well maintained. Each trail is designed, constructed...
a year ago
A good trail is one that is easy to follow and well maintained. Each trail is designed, constructed and maintained to meet specific standards. These standards relate to the recreational experience the trail is intended to provide. But trails are something many of us take for...
Old Structures...
New York Without Height
Today’s pictures all date from 1860, when the tallest building in New York was the spire of Trinity...
10 months ago
Today’s pictures all date from 1860, when the tallest building in New York was the spire of Trinity Church. I can’t readily tell you what the second-tallest building was, as people weren’t really thinking about tall buildings that way yet. It was probably another church spire....
Old Structures...
Shorter
From the New York Public Library scrapbooks, two pictures of St. George’s Episcopal Church at the...
2 months ago
From the New York Public Library scrapbooks, two pictures of St. George’s Episcopal Church at the corner of 16th Street and Rutherford Place, on the west side of Stuyvesant Square: Something seems different…can’t quite put my finger on it… The spires were removed in 1889, 33...
CONTEMPORIST
Yellow Granite Is On Display Throughout This Contemporary Home In Sardinia
Photography ©Marco Cappelletti Architecture firm Alvisi Kirimoto has shared photos of a villa they...
9 months ago
Photography ©Marco Cappelletti Architecture firm Alvisi Kirimoto has shared photos of a villa they completed in Porto Rotondo, Sardinia, that showcases local granite throughout its design. Drone photography ©Mattia Caprara and Flavio Pescatori San Giacomo yellow granite winds...
Construction Physics
The Technological Innovations that Produced the Shale Revolution
Part One of Hot Rocks: Commercializing Next-Generation Geothermal Energy
a year ago
Part One of Hot Rocks: Commercializing Next-Generation Geothermal Energy
The Modern House
A flexible family home with flair in Clapton
a year ago
Common Edge
What Do You Say to a Naked Architect?
An architectural fiction.
a year ago
An architectural fiction.
Old Structures...
Another Tool
Our inspections tend to be very close up – one of my first, in 1988, had me lying on the floor in an...
a year ago
Our inspections tend to be very close up – one of my first, in 1988, had me lying on the floor in an abandoned building with my arm, up to the shoulder, inside a hole in the wall, trying to get the sense of a beam-to-column connection by touch – but sometimes long-distance tools...
Old Structures...
We Become Accustomed – Part 3
Having discussed the steel framing and the basic curtain wall of an incredibly-average 1926 office...
a year ago
Having discussed the steel framing and the basic curtain wall of an incredibly-average 1926 office building, I want to take a look at the end of the work. The picture above shows the building, just about on completion: a middle-of-the-road, mid-sized office building, with its...
99% Invisible
Trail Mix: Track Two [EPISODE]
Welcome to our second episode of short stories all about what may be the original designed object:...
a year ago
Welcome to our second episode of short stories all about what may be the original designed object: the trail. If you haven’t heard the first episode yet you should totally go back and listen. It’s a lot of fun. Trail Mix We’re going to kick this second episode once again starting...
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
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...
The Modern House
An architect's dream: four architect-owned homes for sale
A busman’s holiday? A total breakdown of the work-life balance? It would be fair to assume that an...
2 months ago
A busman’s holiday? A total breakdown of the work-life balance? It would be fair to assume that an architect would find bringing their work home – in the most literal of senses – a bit of a drag. But as this collection of architect-owned homes […]
devonzuegel.com
Tutorial: Telegram → Logseq quick notes
I've long wanted a notes app with an optional chat style interface for append-only notes. The idea...
over a year ago
I've long wanted a notes app with an optional chat style interface for append-only notes. The idea is that I'll use the simpler append-only interface while on the go, and then use full-featured interface to review, edit, and organize those notes when I'm back at my computer.
I...
The Modern House
A beloved mid-century home built for a lifetime of colour and creation by two architects
7 months ago
A Weekly Dose of...
Learning from the 2023 Book Fair
This year's New York International Antiquarian Book Fair is my third, following the 2022 book...
a year ago
This year's New York International Antiquarian Book Fair is my third, following the 2022 book fair and, just days before lockdown, the 2020 book fair. Three hardly makes me an expert, even in my specialization of architecture books, but it does help with gauging the value given...
The Modern House
Jewellery designer Anna Jewsbury on turning a former pub into a treasured family home in Marylebone
a year ago
Old Structures...
A Story With A Happy Ending
There’s a moral at the end of this story – a story which has nothing to do with engineering,...
10 months ago
There’s a moral at the end of this story – a story which has nothing to do with engineering, architecture, construction, or NYC history – that has something to do with engineering, architecture, and construction, and maybe NYC history as well. I like mechanical keyboards, with a...
CONTEMPORIST
272 Wood Slats Were Used To Create A Sculptural Element Inside This New Coffee Bar
Design firm jones | haydu has shared photos of The Caffé by Mr. Espresso, a new coffee bar in...
8 months ago
Design firm jones | haydu has shared photos of The Caffé by Mr. Espresso, a new coffee bar in Oakland, California, that features curved birch slats. The design of the cafe is heavily inspired by Italian culture, using minimalism and contrast, with the designers explaining, “The...
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
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...
The Modern House
It’s all love at Matthew Scott and Charlie Carr’s new restaurant, Papi
a year ago
The Modern House
Our guide to Twickenham: architectural splendour and riverside walks in south-west London
11 months ago
99% Invisible
Whomst Among Us Let The Dogs Out (Again) [EPISODE]
All kinds of songs get stuck in your head. Famous pop tunes from when you were a kid, album cuts...
a year ago
All kinds of songs get stuck in your head. Famous pop tunes from when you were a kid, album cuts you’ve listened to over and over again. And then there’s a category of memorable songs—the ones that we all just kind of know. Songs that somehow, without anyone’s permission, sneak...
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
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
Handmade Elongated Bricks Cover The Exterior Of This Home
Photography ©Paolo Abate MoDusArchitects has sent us photos of a modern home they recently completed...
a year ago
Photography ©Paolo Abate MoDusArchitects has sent us photos of a modern home they recently completed in South Tyrol, Italy, that’s faced in handmade bricks. Photography ©Gustav Willeit The home, located in a small town and surrounded by vineyards, appears as a single-family...
Common Edge
“Boston Is A Red City”
Construction rooted in local materials is what has provided cities with distinctive identities—and...
a year ago
Construction rooted in local materials is what has provided cities with distinctive identities—and colors.
Old Structures...
Messy
First I apologize for the reflections and glare artifacts in the picture: trying to get a decent...
a week ago
First I apologize for the reflections and glare artifacts in the picture: trying to get a decent photo through a clean and polished storefront window on a sunny day is a frustrating endeavor. But at least that gives a second meaning to the post title. Second – but really first –...
A Weekly Dose of...
Adjaye: Works 2007-2015
Adjaye: Works 2007-2015: Houses, Pavilions, Installations, Buildings
Edited by Peter Allison
Thames...
over a year ago
Adjaye: Works 2007-2015: Houses, Pavilions, Installations, Buildings
Edited by Peter Allison
Thames & Hudson, October 2022
Hardcover | 10-1/2 x 10-1/2 inches | 300 pages | 500 illustrations | English | ISBN: 9780500343807 | $90
PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION:
Following Adjaye: Works...
SOCKS
Database, Network, Interface : The Architecture of Information. An exhibition at Archizoom (EPFL),...
We are pleased to announce that we are curating an exhibition that will open in September at the...
over a year ago
We are pleased to announce that we are curating an exhibition that will open in September at the Archizoom Gallery (EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland. In an age characterised by the increasing dematerialisation of cultural production and transmission, Database, Network, Interface...
The Modern House
From Bath bakery and restaurant to Bruton mill: the evolution of Landrace in Somerset
a year ago
A Weekly Dose of...
For the Love of (Architecture) Books
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, so I put together a list some things I love ❤️ about architecture books...
a year ago
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, so I put together a list some things I love ❤️ about architecture books — and just as many things I don't love 💔 about them: 20 pairs in 4 categories. I can't be alone in having these opinions and I might be a bit harsh in my criticisms, but if I...
Construction Physics
How to Build a 50,000 Ton Forging Press
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, a revolution took place in American military aircraft design.
4 months ago
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, a revolution took place in American military aircraft design.
99% Invisible
It’s Howdy Doody Time! [EPISODE]
If your parents or grandparents grew up in the United States in the 1950s, there’s a decent chance...
7 months ago
If your parents or grandparents grew up in the United States in the 1950s, there’s a decent chance that they know the theme song to The Howdy Doody Show. The Howdy Doody Show is one of those pieces of 1950s ephemera that has come to symbolize mid-century American childhood. For...
Old Structures...
Cartesian
I’ve written before about the Washington Bridge over the Harlem River – not to be confused with the...
3 months ago
I’ve written before about the Washington Bridge over the Harlem River – not to be confused with the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson River about a mile away – with good reason. There’s an argument to be made that this small (for NYC) bridge is the most beautiful in the...
Common Edge
Wonder and Awe in a James Turrell Skyspace
The artist’s latest work, in Manhattan, is both an engineering and a visual marvel that moves the...
a month ago
The artist’s latest work, in Manhattan, is both an engineering and a visual marvel that moves the spirit.
Old Structures...
Baseball in New York 2
Yesterday’s list of teams was fun to out together, but this is ultimately a blog about the built...
2 months ago
Yesterday’s list of teams was fun to out together, but this is ultimately a blog about the built environment, so let’s discuss what’s really important: the fields and stadiums where the various teams played. Today: some of the fields in Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Atlantics, played...
Archinect - Features
How Do We Teach AI? In Florida, One Architecture School Offers a Precedent
As our recent Archinect In-Depth: Artificial Intelligence series demonstrated, AI will inevitably...
5 months ago
As our recent Archinect In-Depth: Artificial Intelligence series demonstrated, AI will inevitably play a sizeable role in the future of the architectural profession. For architecture schools tasked with equipping students for the future of practice, the advent of AI poses...
CONTEMPORIST
Black Accents Are Ever Present Throughout This Apartment
Koshulynskyy & Mayer studio has sent us photos of an apartment interior they completed that includes...
6 months ago
Koshulynskyy & Mayer studio has sent us photos of an apartment interior they completed that includes matte black accents throughout its design. The apartment, designed for a family, includes a living room with a dark accent wall, and a large couch in front of a suspended cabinet...
The Modern House
Akwasi Brenya-Mensa on the future of Pan-African cuisine at Tatale in Southwark
a year ago
Old Structures...
You Are There
Early on in the movie Bull Durham, a character going to a baseball game walks from the dark...
2 months ago
Early on in the movie Bull Durham, a character going to a baseball game walks from the dark underside of the stadium – where the stairs, bathrooms, and food concessions are – through one of the tunnels to the seats. The camera follows and, if you’ve ever been to stadium, the...
McMansion Hell
2007-core nostalgia extravaganza
Quick PSA: someone on Facebook is apparently impersonating me using an account called “McMansion...
3 months ago
Quick PSA: someone on Facebook is apparently impersonating me using an account called “McMansion Hell 2.0” – If you see it, please report! Thanks!
Howdy folks! I hope if you were born between 1995 and 2001 you’re ready for some indelible pre-recession vibes because I think this...
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
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,...
Construction Physics
The blast furnace - 800 years of technology improvement
The modern world uses shocking amounts of steel - in the US, we make roughly 575 pounds of steel per...
a year ago
The modern world uses shocking amounts of steel - in the US, we make roughly 575 pounds of steel per person per year. At the peak of US steelmaking in the late 1960s, it was closer to 1500 pounds per person, which is roughly how much China makes now.
SOCKS
Poetics of the Greenhouse: Works by Bernard Moninot
Bernard Moninot is a French multimedia artist. Over the 1970s and the 1980s, he produced a series of...
over a year ago
Bernard Moninot is a French multimedia artist. Over the 1970s and the 1980s, he produced a series of drawings, (inks, crayons and acrylics) of greenhouses based on various modes of representation, from axonometric projections, to outside central perspective or interiors views....
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
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...
Contemporist...
A' Design Awards & Competition - Call for Entries
A’ Design Award & Competition is the Worlds’ leading design accolade reaching design enthusiasts...
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.
McMansion Hell
New on Patreon: New Jersey Bonus Post (5 additional, “wonderful” rooms!“
new jersey bonus post: 5 additional, wonderful rooms | McMansionHell
New on Patreon: New Jersey...
3 weeks ago
new jersey bonus post: 5 additional, wonderful rooms | McMansionHell
New on Patreon: New Jersey Bonus Post (5 additional, “wonderful” rooms!“
Old Structures...
Visible Success, Invisibly
A before and after photo of a recently completed facade stabilization and renovation project in the...
4 months ago
A before and after photo of a recently completed facade stabilization and renovation project in the West Village. The rowhouse was constructed in 1846, is now in a landmarked district, and has an operating restaurant on the first floor and in the basement. If you look closely at...
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
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...
The Modern House
How an untouched site in the New Forest beckoned a sustainable new-build adventure
6 months ago
Common Edge
The Clever Trick for Living in 350 Square Feet
The solution, surprisingly, lies beyond the walls of our home.
4 months ago
The solution, surprisingly, lies beyond the walls of our home.
99% Invisible
Towers of Silence [EPISODE]
Situated right in downtown Mumbai, India is an area of about 55 acres of dense, overgrown forest. In...
8 months ago
Situated right in downtown Mumbai, India is an area of about 55 acres of dense, overgrown forest. In one of the most populous cities in the world, this is a place where peacocks roam freely — a space out of time. This forest is protected by a religious community. It has survived...
devonzuegel.com
Independence for whom?
I recently spent a day at Sea Ranch, a strange and beautiful place. Sea Ranch is a planned community...
over a year ago
I recently spent a day at Sea Ranch, a strange and beautiful place. Sea Ranch is a planned community with a distinctive architectural style: simple timber-frame structures clad in wooden siding, and gardens all planted with native flora. The Sea Ranch Design Committee enforces...
Old Structures...
Exposed During Demolition
I had not seen a close-up of the demolition of the Wanamaker Store at Broadway and 9th Street until...
7 months ago
I had not seen a close-up of the demolition of the Wanamaker Store at Broadway and 9th Street until I stumbled across this one, taken in September 1956 by Angelo Rizutto. This shows the partially-intact second floor, marked on the facade by a water-table, and the last remnants of...
CONTEMPORIST
A’ Design Awards & Competition – Early Call for Entries
This article has been brought to you by A’ Design Award and Competition. A’ Design Award &...
6 months ago
This article has been brought to you by A’ Design Award and Competition. A’ Design Award & Competition is the world’s leading design accolade reaching design enthusiasts around the world, and showcasing more than 1600 winners in over 150 different design disciplines. Hone Shelf...
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
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....
Old Structures...
Discussing Immigrants Elsewhere
That’s discussion elsewhere about immigrants here, not discussion here about immigrants somewhere...
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...
Construction Physics
How the Gas Turbine Conquered the Electric Power Industry
A prophecy expressed frequently in engineering circles at the present day is that turbines actuated...
a year ago
A prophecy expressed frequently in engineering circles at the present day is that turbines actuated by hot gases, other than steam, will eventually come to the front as prime movers. — A Scientific Investigation Into the Possibilities of Gas-Turbines,
devonzuegel.com
Remote work will break the US monopoly on global talent
Remote work is creating a new economic niche, and countries that put in the work to fill it will...
over a year ago
Remote work is creating a new economic niche, and countries that put in the work to fill it will finally be able to compete with the US to attract talent. This is the once-in-a-generation opportunity for small, stable countries to grow, diversify, and up-skill their...
Old Structures...
A Very Specific Moment
I wrote before about the destruction of St. John’s Park, but I had not seen the photo below. The...
10 months ago
I wrote before about the destruction of St. John’s Park, but I had not seen the photo below. The photo shows St. John’s Chapel, an out-chapel of Trinity Church, which was constructed in 1807 and which eventually gave the park its name. This was originally an almost suburban...
99% Invisible
The Little Levee That Could [EPISODE]
Most of the stories in this series have been about places that are ill-prepared for the extreme...
3 months ago
Most of the stories in this series have been about places that are ill-prepared for the extreme weather that is coming their way. But this story is about a place that managed to get the kind of infrastructure that will actually help it survive climate change. How after more than...
CONTEMPORIST
A Curvy Concrete Cube With Cut Outs For Windows Is The Form Of This New Home
Cadence Architects has sent us photos of a new modern home they completed in Krishnagiri, India,...
3 months ago
Cadence Architects has sent us photos of a new modern home they completed in Krishnagiri, India, that features a cube design with cut-outs. The K-Home, located in a busy residential neighborhood, has strategically scooped-out segments that create dynamic openings that frame the...
The Modern House
How a love of Japan and the 1970s shaped Sherrill Smith’s Hackney home
a year ago
CONTEMPORIST
Weathered Steel Covers The Exterior Of This Modern Home In Texas
Photography by Casey Dunn Miró Rivera Architects has shared photos of a home they completed in...
6 months ago
Photography by Casey Dunn Miró Rivera Architects has shared photos of a home they completed in Austin, Texas, which overlooks a sweeping lawn shaded by towering native pecan and bald cypress trees. Photography by Casey Dunn The house is comprised of two wings flanking a central...
Old Structures...
If You’re Interested
Sometimes a topic is so obvious that it’s easily missed. The conference I am currently at is the...
5 months ago
Sometimes a topic is so obvious that it’s easily missed. The conference I am currently at is the triennial International Construction History Congress. It’s a good place to learn about topics in how the built environment got built from many different nations, different times, and...
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
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...
Understanding The Underbelly
Hardcore bridge geeks will immediately recognize this photo. Everyone else, and hardcore bridge...
7 months ago
Hardcore bridge geeks will immediately recognize this photo. Everyone else, and hardcore bridge geeks with a sense of modesty, will ask “what is it?” It’s the underside of the deck of the Brooklyn Bridge, on the side span between the Manhattan tower and anchorage. Starting with...
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
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
Our guide to retrofitting: how to future-proof your older home
a year ago
Common Edge
Declaration of Independence From Sprawl
Toward the New Urban Place and away from the Industrial Development Complex.
7 months ago
Toward the New Urban Place and away from the Industrial Development Complex.
Archinect - Features
The Brutalist Is a Cinematic Reflection of Brutalism
Brutalist architecture is raw, powerful, emotional, and unapologetically honest. It rejects...
yesterday
Brutalist architecture is raw, powerful, emotional, and unapologetically honest. It rejects ornamentation and architectural devices designed to make its inhabitants feel comfortable, instead creating a visceral, primal experience. Brutalism is a feeling—a bold statement that...
CONTEMPORIST
A Round Window Is Nestled Into A Stone Wall On The Front Of This Home
OON ARCHITECTURE has designed a modern home in Benavidez, Argentina, that features a stone, wood,...
a year ago
OON ARCHITECTURE has designed a modern home in Benavidez, Argentina, that features a stone, wood, and concrete facade, that also includes a round window. The round window is recessed into the stone wall and is an eye-catching design element that can be seen as one walks along the...
Old Structures...
Elsewhere in the Archipelago
After more than 30 years, it will soon be possible for the public to again visit Hart Island, at...
a year ago
After more than 30 years, it will soon be possible for the public to again visit Hart Island, at least on some days and as part of guided tours. Given the nature of the island – it’s been the potter’s field for New York City for over 150 years – it’s a slightly weird place to go,...
CONTEMPORIST
Hempcrete Walls Are On Display Inside This Home’s New Extension
Architecture studio Cairn, has shared photos of a house renovation and extension they completed for...
3 months ago
Architecture studio Cairn, has shared photos of a house renovation and extension they completed for a home in London, England, that uses a new low-carbon concrete. The ‘House made by many hands’ is the first building structure in the UK to specify a low-carbon limestone calcined...
Construction Physics
How to Build 300,000 Airplanes in Five Years
It’s no secret that the Allies won World War II on the back of the U.S.’s enormous industrial...
7 months ago
It’s no secret that the Allies won World War II on the back of the U.S.’s enormous industrial output. Even before the U.S. entered the war, the Americans provided hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of equipment to the Allies, and between 1938 and 1943 U.S. manufacturing...
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
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...
Old Structures...
A Specific Location
“Pretty” is almost certainly the wrong word for this 1902 postcard view of lower Manhattan. It...
11 months ago
“Pretty” is almost certainly the wrong word for this 1902 postcard view of lower Manhattan. It shows, accurately, a jumbled mess with smoke everywhere. But is it real? Is this a photograph that was hand-painted to create the color, or is it a rendering by a very active artist? I...
CONTEMPORIST
A Plaid-Inspired Wood Kitchen Is A Unique Design Feature Inside This Office
BHDM Design has recently completed a workplace in New York for private equity consulting firm...
a year ago
BHDM Design has recently completed a workplace in New York for private equity consulting firm Accordion, whose interior was inspired by motifs of menswear fabrics. An interesting design element in the workplace is the kitchen, which includes a unique plaid design. The plaid...
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
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...
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
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
James Lohan: the co-founder of Mr & Mrs Smith on how his first experience of home shaped an...
James Lohan’s entrepreneurial spirit first came to light in the school dinner queue when he saw the...
7 months ago
James Lohan’s entrepreneurial spirit first came to light in the school dinner queue when he saw the potential for turning a profit on a stack of cheese toasties. A series of successful business ventures followed suit, but it was in 2003 that James and his […]
Old Structures...
Bucolia
First up, some very tame woods, with a picnic bench: About a mile away, a peaceful – if rainy and...
10 months ago
First up, some very tame woods, with a picnic bench: About a mile away, a peaceful – if rainy and foggy – stretch of water, as seen from a causeway: This is, against most people’s expectations, the Bronx. More specifically, it’s Pelham Bay Park, and Eastchester Bay, where the...
Archinect - Features
New Dog, New Tricks: Reflections on Construction, Robotics, and Artificial Intelligence
What is the current relationship between humans, robotics, and construction? What is its future? To...
a year ago
What is the current relationship between humans, robotics, and construction? What is its future? To explore these questions in depth, Archinect speaks with both Boston Dynamics and the Applied Research + Development group at Foster + Partners for their experiences and...
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