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...
CONTEMPORIST
A Cantilever At One End Allows This Home To Project Over The Land
Leah Martin, partner and founder of Allied8 Architects in Seattle, Washington, has shared photos of...
5 months ago
Leah Martin, partner and founder of Allied8 Architects in Seattle, Washington, has shared photos of a modern Orcas Island home she designed for herself and her family. This small home, which cantilevers at one end, sits on the top of a ridge and is anchored to the bedrock in six...
Contemporist...
This Modern Mountain Home Was Designed With Distinctly Separate Wings
CLB Architects has sent us photos of a mountain retreat they designed in a densely forested area of...
a year ago
CLB Architects has sent us photos of a mountain retreat they designed in a densely forested area of Big Sky, Montana.
Contemporist...
Western Red Cedar Gives This Home A Warm Feeling Inside And Out
Swatt | Miers Architects has sent us photos of their project, the 'Happy Valley Residence' in...
a year ago
Swatt | Miers Architects has sent us photos of their project, the 'Happy Valley Residence' in Lafayette, California.
99% Invisible
The Country of the Blind [EPISODE]
We meet Andrew Leland as he’s suspended in the liminal state of the soon-to-be blind: he’s midway...
a year ago
We meet Andrew Leland as he’s suspended in the liminal state of the soon-to-be blind: he’s midway through his life with retinitis pigmentosa, a condition that ushers those who live with it from sightedness to blindness over years, even decades. He grew up with full vision, but...
The Modern House
Akram Khan: the poignant story of a man who found his voice through dance
Matt Gibberd’s guest on this week’s podcast is the dancer and choreographer Akram Khan. Having...
11 months ago
Matt Gibberd’s guest on this week’s podcast is the dancer and choreographer Akram Khan. Having danced since he was very small, Akram, who was born in London to Bangladeshi parents, is one of the most acclaimed names in contemporary dance working today, known for his […]
Old Structures...
Regular, Fast, Very Fast
Are you really an engineer if you don’t laugh out loud at this xkcd strip?
4 months ago
Are you really an engineer if you don’t laugh out loud at this xkcd strip?
Old Structures...
The Power of Drawing
Another Cass Gilbert sketch, “Looking west from corner 5th ave + 42nd St”, from June 1917. Based on...
9 months ago
Another Cass Gilbert sketch, “Looking west from corner 5th ave + 42nd St”, from June 1917. Based on the angle, he was standing on the northwestern corner of the intersection. The generally most interesting building nearby is the New York Public Library; the dark scribbles on the...
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...
The Modern House
How Cobbie Yates and Joseph Hyland maximised space in their compact Deptford apartment
a year ago
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...
The Modern House
A Californian-inspired 1970s home hidden under the trees in Kent
a year ago
The Beauty of...
Cover Story (Workington Bus Station, Workington, Cumbria, UK)
Sometimes you seek out transport architecture, at others transport architecture is thrust upon you,...
over a year ago
Sometimes you seek out transport architecture, at others transport architecture is thrust upon you, just as it was when I accidentally ended up in Workington a couple of months ago. With poor weather forecast on one of the days of a trip to the Lake District, I spent the day...
CONTEMPORIST
A Tiny Public Library With A Roof Inspired By A Sheet Of Paper
Ninja Stuudio has shared photos of “White Sheet”, a tiny public library and reading pavilion they...
8 months ago
Ninja Stuudio has shared photos of “White Sheet”, a tiny public library and reading pavilion they completed in Tallinn, Estonia. The design has been inspired by the image of a literary idea, with the pavilion’s roof hovering as a light sheet of paper in mid-air relying only on...
Common Edge
From Venice to Detroit: Laboratories of the Future, Reconsidered
Optimism and action trump didactic scolding every time.
a year ago
Optimism and action trump didactic scolding every time.
CONTEMPORIST
A Green And White Tiled Design Was Created For This Vegan Cafe
Renesa Architecture Design Interiors Studio has shared photos of a vegan cafe they have recently...
10 months ago
Renesa Architecture Design Interiors Studio has shared photos of a vegan cafe they have recently completed that has an eye-catching tiled facade and interior. The V-Spot Café, located in Chandigarh, India, has a common design aesthetic throughout, from the facade to the interior....
The Modern House
A Modern Way to Live: our co-founder Matt Gibberd on space
Since The Modern House launched in 2005, we’ve come to realise that beautifully designed homes share...
11 months ago
Since The Modern House launched in 2005, we’ve come to realise that beautifully designed homes share the same timeless principles: space, light, materials, nature and decoration. These five tenets are not only the subject of our co-founder Matt Gibberd’s book, A Modern Way to...
Old Structures...
A Survivor
From a New York Public Library scrapbook, “Small apartment buildings”, dated 1915: The address is...
2 months ago
From a New York Public Library scrapbook, “Small apartment buildings”, dated 1915: The address is given as 1763-1769 Townsend Avenue, in the Bronx, which is good because it’s not like I could ever have identified this just from the photo. The site is less isolated than the photo...
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...
Archinect - Features
Where Are All The Affordable Housing Startups?
Despite the general consensus that the United States is in need of more affordable housing, funding...
6 months ago
Despite the general consensus that the United States is in need of more affordable housing, funding to startups focused on affordable housing and more efficient construction technologies is lower in 2024 than in recent years. In the meantime, a series of high-profile...
Blog - Guerrilla...
Blocking Sediment Migration
Blocking Sediment Migration from Colorado River Basin to Gulf of California
I didn’t intend to map...
over a year ago
Blocking Sediment Migration from Colorado River Basin to Gulf of California
I didn’t intend to map human migration for the Atlas in a Day project. My plans for a map of the migration of sediment in rivers raised some eyebrows at home, mostly wondering how the subject would fit in...
CONTEMPORIST
A Large Double Height Ceiling Allows The Social Areas Of This Home To Open Completely To The Outside
Padovani Arquitetos has sent us photos of a project they designed in Campinas, Brazil, that takes...
a year ago
Padovani Arquitetos has sent us photos of a project they designed in Campinas, Brazil, that takes advantage of the topography to create a modern home with a horizontal design and lower garage. The home has been designed in such a way that the interior is hidden from the street....
CONTEMPORIST
The New Addition On This Home Includes A Pass-Through Window To The Kitchen
Building firm Demardi, together with design firm Mesh Design & Projects, have recently completed the...
a year ago
Building firm Demardi, together with design firm Mesh Design & Projects, have recently completed the renovation and new rear extension of a home in Thornbury, Australia, for a young family. The original facade of the home was restored, weatherboards were replaced, and new...
The Modern House
From Bath bakery and restaurant to Bruton mill: the evolution of Landrace in Somerset
a year ago
Common Edge
Are For-Profit Developments Consistent With the Values of a Public University?
These public-private partnerships may not dovetail with the schools’ values or mission.
a year ago
These public-private partnerships may not dovetail with the schools’ values or mission.
Old Structures...
Not Much Of A Mystery
There floors of apartments over two floors of commercial space: If you’ve spent enough time in...
5 months ago
There floors of apartments over two floors of commercial space: If you’ve spent enough time in Manhattan, the immediate thought is that this was a house with a stoop, and the extension to the front lot line is an alteration that removed the stoop and raised the basement to street...
Old Structures...
A Rabbit Hole I Did Not See Coming
As a structural engineer, I do not examine old boilers, but I do see them quite often. The older...
a month ago
As a structural engineer, I do not examine old boilers, but I do see them quite often. The older ones tend to be abandoned in place because (a) they are huge and heavy, and will have to be cut into many small pieces to be removed form the cellars and sidewalk vaults where they...
A Weekly Dose of...
On the Future of Cities
The recent publication of two books prompted me to ponder the future of cities and do a write-up of...
a year ago
The recent publication of two books prompted me to ponder the future of cities and do a write-up of them together:
Implementing Urban Design: Green, Civic, and Community Strategies by Jonathan Barnett, published by Routledge, June 2023 (Amazon / Bookshop)
Renewing the Dream: The...
Old Structures...
Gotcha!
There are times I feel sorry for the people who run the huge online archives that we use for...
a year ago
There are times I feel sorry for the people who run the huge online archives that we use for research. They have to deal with thousands (or tens of thousands, or more) resources – usually individual files in multiple formats – on hundreds or thousands of topics. And if they make...
99% Invisible
The Panopticon Effect [EPISODE]
In the Netherlands, about an hour and a half south of Amsterdam, there’s a city called Breda. Like...
a year ago
In the Netherlands, about an hour and a half south of Amsterdam, there’s a city called Breda. Like many Dutch towns, it has cozy narrow streets, canals and plenty of bicycles. But there’s one historic building – right in the middle of town that really stands out from the rest....
Old Structures...
An Engineer For Dinner
The picture above is the front page of the menu and program from a dinner held in 1941, when...
11 months ago
The picture above is the front page of the menu and program from a dinner held in 1941, when “…engineers and patriots are needed!” I wrote about John Ericsson five years ago, and I still walk by his statue in Battery Park almost every day. I feel like the menu picture – which...
Old Structures...
Against Expectations
Last Friday, I was walking through a neighborhood with quite a few of these handsome bow-fronted...
4 months ago
Last Friday, I was walking through a neighborhood with quite a few of these handsome bow-fronted rowhouses. It was not in upper Manhattan, the south Bronx, Brooklyn, or Hoboken, as you might expect. It was in Queens. More specifically near the Ridgewood/Glendale border, a...
Old Structures...
Reuse, Not Really Adaptive
From an elevated subway station in Queens: two generations of roof. Or, if you prefer, a palimpsest...
4 months ago
From an elevated subway station in Queens: two generations of roof. Or, if you prefer, a palimpsest in steel. The roof over the rather wide platform is supported by two lines of columns. That’s a column in the lower left, with the curves of the lower flange of the built-up main...
Archinect - Features
Echoes and Requiems: Reflecting on the Legacy of Woodbury University School of Architecture...
In the summer of 2006, I received a call from my friend and colleague Catherine Herbst, who had...
6 months ago
In the summer of 2006, I received a call from my friend and colleague Catherine Herbst, who had recently become the head of Woodbury University School of Architecture in San Diego (WUSD) following the departure of the previous chair, Geraldine Forbes, to New Mexico. During our...
Archinect - Features
'AI Is a Dangerous Distraction From the Pressing Issues Defining Our Generation'; A...
Liam Young was once described by the BBC as “the man designing our future.” In 2023, with open...
a year ago
Liam Young was once described by the BBC as “the man designing our future.” In 2023, with open letters penned on the risks of extinction posed by artificial intelligence, such a role should be in high demand.
Young’s speculations on the future take the form of fictional stories...
CONTEMPORIST
Operable Screens Cover The Exterior Of This Hawaiian Home
Architecture firm OLSON KUNDIG has shared photos of a home they completed in Hanalei, Hawaii, that...
a year ago
Architecture firm OLSON KUNDIG has shared photos of a home they completed in Hanalei, Hawaii, that blurs the lines between indoor and outdoor living with the inclusion of a series of operable shutter screens that wrap most of the building facade. The custom shutter system,...
Common Edge
Does Spirituality Have a Role in Educating Architects?
What might appear to some as an “off-limits” realm might actually be at its heart.
a year ago
What might appear to some as an “off-limits” realm might actually be at its heart.
99% Invisible
Orange Alternative [EPISODE]
In the months following the invasion of Ukraine, cryptic anti-war graffiti began popping up across...
a year ago
In the months following the invasion of Ukraine, cryptic anti-war graffiti began popping up across Russia. People started writing out the phrase “no war” using asterisks instead of the various letters in order to disguise the meaning of the message. Then back in September, a...
devonzuegel.com
Property values should be normalized by acre
In the US, it's common for local governments to focus on tax revenue produced by a property, without...
5 months ago
In the US, it's common for local governments to focus on tax revenue produced by a property, without considering the costs it adds to the city's budget. This is like measuring how far a car can drive without considering how much gas it uses to get there.
Different properties...
CONTEMPORIST
Tropical Living: This Modern Home Embraces The Steep Terrain Of The Costa Rican Jungle
SARCO Architects has shared photos of a home they completed in Costa Rica, designed to focus on...
6 months ago
SARCO Architects has shared photos of a home they completed in Costa Rica, designed to focus on transparency, blurring the boundaries between indoor and outdoor spaces. The steep terrain posed the biggest challenge of the design, and as a result, the home was broken up into...
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...
Old Structures...
Mystery Work
From 1908, a stereograph of the construction of the tower of the Singer Building: The title is...
a month ago
From 1908, a stereograph of the construction of the tower of the Singer Building: The title is accurate – “Four hundred ft. above the street – iron worker on the Singer Tower, New York, U.S.A.” but it doesn’t tell us what we’re actually looking at. For example, the steel we’re...
Old Structures...
Travelog: Listed
When I’m traveling and therefore don’t know anything about most of the structures around, I simply...
9 months ago
When I’m traveling and therefore don’t know anything about most of the structures around, I simply take pictures and hope that I’ll be able to identify them later. Sometimes it’s quite easy. I came across this little Victorian masterpiece last week and it turns out it’s listed,...
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...
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...
Benny Kuriakose
Athangudi Palace : The Chettinad Architecture Marvel
The Nattukottai Chettiars were traders since the time of the Chola Empire in the 12th century and...
a year ago
The Nattukottai Chettiars were traders since the time of the Chola Empire in the 12th century and were the trading and banking group in...
devonzuegel.com
Misreading Milei: The American press can only see Argentina through US-colored glasses
It's been frustrating to see the US coverage of Milei, Argentina's new president. They are deeply...
a year ago
It's been frustrating to see the US coverage of Milei, Argentina's new president. They are deeply misunderstanding (or misrepresenting?) what's going on. It seems the American press can only understand Argentine politics through the lens of the US, when really it's just a totally...
Old Structures...
Less Than The Original
Construction on LEGO Notre Dame has moved ahead but will pause while I’m out of town. We’ve got the...
6 months ago
Construction on LEGO Notre Dame has moved ahead but will pause while I’m out of town. We’ve got the apse built up to the vault level and the beginning of the crossing: I’ve been playing around to see if I can do a fly-through style photo, to give a sense of what the building...
The Modern House
Beautiful, useful and sustainably flexible: the hand-crafted, customised and highly experimental...
9 months ago
The Modern House
Plate in the Sun: London’s best restaurants for alfresco dining
a year ago
Old Structures...
Credit Where Due
I was in the meatpacking district last week and noticed this building at 837 Washington Street. It’s...
10 months ago
I was in the meatpacking district last week and noticed this building at 837 Washington Street. It’s been around for a while, but I guess I never looked up: the facades of the first two floors are an old building, while the upper floors (and, I assume, the interiors) are new....
Blog - Guerrilla...
Vermont's Great Retreat
To begin the process of creating this map, I asked questions. Devoured books. Consumed articles....
over a year ago
To begin the process of creating this map, I asked questions. Devoured books. Consumed articles. Talked to historians and librarians. And read maps. Lots of maps. As I did, I wondered if there was something in the landscape, the communities, the culture that made Vermont...
The Modern House
Kevin McCloud: the Grand Designs presenter takes us behind the scenes of his own life
Anyone who’s ever dreamed of building their own home has probably watched an episode of Grand...
a year ago
Anyone who’s ever dreamed of building their own home has probably watched an episode of Grand Designs. In fact, quite a few people have – the programme has been on our screens since 1999, during which time Kevin McCloud has cemented his reputation as a […]
The Modern House
Good as New: the best contemporary homes for sale
Historically speaking, period houses are seen as the ones with personality – and while we won’t...
a year ago
Historically speaking, period houses are seen as the ones with personality – and while we won’t argue with the fact they’ve got charisma (who doesn’t love pleasing Victorian details or grand Georgian proportions?), we will also make a strong case for those created in recent […]
devonzuegel.com
What are startup cities for?
While the startup cities industry is still small, it is already quite heterogeneous. Each project...
over a year ago
While the startup cities industry is still small, it is already quite heterogeneous. Each project has its own distinct set of goals, motivations, and scope. However, this diversity isn’t fully captured by the vocabulary we use right now.
To help myself create a mental map of the...
Contemporist...
A New Building In Shanghai Inspired By A Forest Of Trees
Koichi Takada Architects has designed a retail building in Shanghai, China, that's described as an...
10 months ago
Koichi Takada Architects has designed a retail building in Shanghai, China, that's described as an 'architectural forest' of 32 trees.
99% Invisible
You Ain’t Nothin But a Postmark [EPISODE]
Over a decade after Elvis Presley’s death, the king of rock & roll took over headlines once again as...
a year ago
Over a decade after Elvis Presley’s death, the king of rock & roll took over headlines once again as Americans weighed in on which portrait of Elvis would be forever immortalized on a 29 cent US postage stamp. It was put to a popular vote: should the stamp feature an image of...
Old Structures...
Travelog: Far From Home
Traveling to another country usually gets you views of a built environment that is in some respects...
9 months ago
Traveling to another country usually gets you views of a built environment that is in some respects fundamentally different than the one you’re used to. London is, for a New Yorker, the worst place in the UK to get that feeling because of the many similarities between the two...
The Wandering...
Mapping Francis Younghusband in the Gobi Desert, 1887, Part 3: Hun-kua-ling sandhills to Ya-hu oasis
[Go back to Part 2: From the Galpin Gobi to the Hun-kua-ling sandhills.] From here to the Ya-hu...
over a year ago
[Go back to Part 2: From the Galpin Gobi to the Hun-kua-ling sandhills.] From here to the Ya-hu oasis (which Younghusband reaches on June 23rd) the route is obscure, and we find old maps less useful. We have to rely more upon comparing his route description with images of the...
Old Structures...
Adelaide House, Part 4 – The Context
Part 1, General: here. Part 2, Structure: here. Part 3, Facades: here. Skyscrapers only make sense...
8 months ago
Part 1, General: here. Part 2, Structure: here. Part 3, Facades: here. Skyscrapers only make sense as an urban phenomenon. (Keep in mind that a lot of inner-ring US suburbs are at urban density.) Putting aside the obvious economic argument that land is cheap in rural areas so...
Common Edge
In Marseille’s Cours Julien, Street Art Creates Dynamic Context
Submitting to this area’s urban rhythm reveals the power of public art to define a place.
a month ago
Submitting to this area’s urban rhythm reveals the power of public art to define a place.
Old Structures...
Happy Presidents’ Day
The cover of the dinner menu for Washington’s Birthday from the SS Columbia of the Hamburg-Amerika...
10 months ago
The cover of the dinner menu for Washington’s Birthday from the SS Columbia of the Hamburg-Amerika Line. That’s a portrati of the Columbia on the right, apparently about to run down a sailboat. Columbia had a weird history, having served as a liner between Germany and the US,...
The Modern House
How this International Style-inspired house in Surrey makes a bigger splash
a year ago
The Modern House
The house that art built: Paul Huxley and Susie Allen invite us into their west London home and...
2 days ago
A Weekly Dose of...
Self-Published Books by BNIM and KPF
Over at World-Architects I wrote about two self-published books recently published by BNIM and...
a year ago
Over at World-Architects I wrote about two self-published books recently published by BNIM and KPF:
ALL - The Tom and Ruth Harkin Center by BNIM
Design in Detail by Kohn Pedersen Fox
The "Found" feature also includes responses to a few questions on why the firms opted to...
Common Edge
Notre Dame Cathedral and the Rebirth of Artisanship
The miraculous rebuild was enabled by the century-old French system of trade guilds and education.
5 days ago
The miraculous rebuild was enabled by the century-old French system of trade guilds and education.
Old Structures...
Not So Picturesque
From 1849, “New York from the steeple of St. Paul’s Church, looking east, south and west.” In other...
9 months ago
From 1849, “New York from the steeple of St. Paul’s Church, looking east, south and west.” In other words, looking into the heart of the downtown commercial district from its northern edge. My first thought in looking at this picture was that in 1849, before industrial technology...
CONTEMPORIST
A House That Blends Into The Color Palette Of The Surrounding Desert
Design and development office Industry of All Nations has recently completed ‘The Landing House’, a...
a year ago
Design and development office Industry of All Nations has recently completed ‘The Landing House’, a new modern home that’s integrated into the rugged natural landscape of the Mojave Desert, With a backdrop of California’s Joshua Tree National Park, the home has been designed as a...
Old Structures...
Amazing Detail
I recently put up a map put up an 1884 planning map for the expansion of the Croton water system...
11 months ago
I recently put up a map put up an 1884 planning map for the expansion of the Croton water system north of New York. It turns out that was just an appetizer. Today’s map, from 1899, has much more detail and is amazing proof of what could be done with hand drafting: no GIS...
Old Structures...
Twelve Years Undemolished
This photo from 1954 was taken from the top level of the Queensboro Plaza Station, looking west to...
4 months ago
This photo from 1954 was taken from the top level of the Queensboro Plaza Station, looking west to Manhattan. That’s the Queensboro Bridge on the right. If you take the 7 train to Flushing, as I used to, the odds are not bad that you’ll change trains at this station, as it’s...
99% Invisible
The Lost Subways of North America [EPISODE]
If you’ve spent any amount of time driving through any major American city, you know what it’s like...
7 months ago
If you’ve spent any amount of time driving through any major American city, you know what it’s like to be stuck in bumper to bumper traffic. But if you’re from Los Angeles – the land of freeways, traffic and smog – you know this struggle especially well. But Jake Berman, the...
Common Edge
What Would Jane Jacobs Do? Toward a New Model for Houses of Worship
Cities need to prepare for a wave of declining churches.
a year ago
Cities need to prepare for a wave of declining churches.
devonzuegel.com
Urban sprawl is a tragedy of the commons
We tend to choose larger homes than we want our neighbors to choose. The result: sprawling...
over a year ago
We tend to choose larger homes than we want our neighbors to choose. The result: sprawling development that doesn't match what people actually want from their communities.
People aim to maximize access and space when deciding where to live.
All things equal, most people like...
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...
Old Structures...
A Less Obvious Canyon
A few months ago I wrote about the appearance of streets lined with old, pre-zoning skyscrapers. I...
7 months ago
A few months ago I wrote about the appearance of streets lined with old, pre-zoning skyscrapers. I mentioned my two favorite examples: Thames Street between Broadway and Trinity Place, and Pine Street between Broadway and Nassau Street. I skipped the obvious example, Broadway, as...
CONTEMPORIST
Before & After – An Old Warehouse Was Turned Into A Contemporary Home
Brengues Le Pavec architects have shared photos of a modern warehouse conversion they completed in...
8 months ago
Brengues Le Pavec architects have shared photos of a modern warehouse conversion they completed in the south of France, between Montpellier and the sea. The ‘Before’…the run-down warehouse, which was still being used to store products, was dark and filled with shelves. The...
Old Structures...
The Grenfell Report
The “phase 2” report on the Grenfell has recently been published by the official inquiry panel:...
3 months ago
The “phase 2” report on the Grenfell has recently been published by the official inquiry panel: here. The New Civil Engineer has a good short summary here: “Grenfell disaster: ‘culmination of decades of failure by government and construction industry’” In one sense there are few...
99% Invisible
The Power Broker #03: David Sims [EPISODE]
This is the third official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power...
9 months ago
This is the third official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. Blank Check podcast co-host and The Atlantic movie critic David Sims is our book club guest. On today’s show, Elliott Kalan, Roman Mars, and David...
The Modern House
A hotel with staying power overlooking the Atlantic in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland
a year ago
99% Invisible
The 2024 Olympics Spectacular [EPISODE]
From TV commercials and branded soda cans to Emily in Paris spon-con, the Olympics are once again...
5 months ago
From TV commercials and branded soda cans to Emily in Paris spon-con, the Olympics are once again everywhere. In the Olympic spirit, we’re bringing you four stories about the games in all their international, theatrical glory. In the first story, Christopher Johnson introduces...
Old Structures...
Someone Else’s Entertainment
Not everything you find on a rooftop is of much interest.
yesterday
Not everything you find on a rooftop is of much interest.
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...
A Weekly Dose of...
Book Briefs #35 Revisited
Last week I cobbled together eight books, some of which publishers had sent me more than a year ago,...
a year ago
Last week I cobbled together eight books, some of which publishers had sent me more than a year ago, in an effort to write a "Better Late Than Never" installment of "Book Briefs," something I had done back in April 2018 with Book Briefs #35. But, sensing I would not be able to...
Contemporist...
A Muted Palette Unifies The Interior Of This Remodeled Mid-Century Modern Home
Gast Architects has sent us photos of a remodel they completed for an Eichler home in the San...
a year ago
Gast Architects has sent us photos of a remodel they completed for an Eichler home in the San Francisco Bay Area, that hadn’t been updated since it was built in 1955.
The Modern House
How time-worn textures – and rethought spaces – brought new life to woodland cabin-like home in...
11 months ago
Archinect - Features
'AI Could Be Seen as a Culture of Death in Its Darkest Sense'; A Conversation with Genevieve...
Genevieve Goffman does not create art about artificial intelligence; at least, not yet. The New...
a year ago
Genevieve Goffman does not create art about artificial intelligence; at least, not yet. The New York-based artist has instead grounded her acclaimed work in fantasy and narrative world-building, often through the medium of evocative and ornate 3D printed sculptures derived from...
Archinect - Features
Are Architectural Workers More Pessimistic About the Economy Than Firm Owners?
In our recent analysis of the Archinect Business Survey published last month, we observed a distinct...
4 months ago
In our recent analysis of the Archinect Business Survey published last month, we observed a distinct divergence between how firm owners and workers were feeling about the business health of their firm, industry, and the wider U.S. economy. Across the board, our survey suggests...
A Weekly Dose of...
Favorite Books of 2022
For this last post of 2022 I looked back at the dozens of books I reviewed or featured as "Book...
over a year ago
For this last post of 2022 I looked back at the dozens of books I reviewed or featured as "Book Briefs" on this blog, and the ones I reviewed on World-Architects. From those books I gathered just over a dozen favorites, grouping them into some common themes that happened to come...
Old Structures...
An APT Webinar
I’m giving a webinar on February 27 for the Association for Preservation Technology on our analysis...
10 months ago
I’m giving a webinar on February 27 for the Association for Preservation Technology on our analysis of a somewhat weird building with concrete and masonry structure, and the implications for investigation and analysis of buildings with old concrete structure. More information...
devonzuegel.com
My questions about Próspera, answered
I recently visited Próspera, a Honduran startup city. I had a ton of questions and figured others...
over a year ago
I recently visited Próspera, a Honduran startup city. I had a ton of questions and figured others might too, so I wrote an FAQ to share what I learned:
Próspera FAQ
This FAQ is intended as a reference, covering the basic facts and current status of the project. My hope is that...
Contemporist...
A Contemporary Reimagination Of A Classic New York Pizza Parlor
Architecture firm MRDK has recently completed North of Brooklyn Pizzeria in Toronto, Canada, that...
a year ago
Architecture firm MRDK has recently completed North of Brooklyn Pizzeria in Toronto, Canada, that balances nostalgia and modernity.
99% Invisible
The Known Unknown [EPISODE]
How to honor unidentified remains has always been one of the great conundrums of war. The Romans...
a year ago
How to honor unidentified remains has always been one of the great conundrums of war. The Romans were fond of honoring them with an empty sarcophagus. After the Civil War, the Union buried 2,111 soldiers in a mass grave in Arlington that they purposely built in the middle of...
The Modern House
Why deli and wine bar Lulu’s is winning the hearts of locals in Herne Hill
a year ago
Benny Kuriakose
Importance of Landscape in School Design
Landscape plays a major role in the learning experience of a child. A school campus not only...
a year ago
Landscape plays a major role in the learning experience of a child. A school campus not only comprises of the buildings in a school,...
CONTEMPORIST
Undulating Balconies And A Mint Green Tiled Exterior Give This New Building A Unique Look
Architecture firms Sadar+Vuga, Arhipro, and Studio Kristof have collaborated to create an...
3 months ago
Architecture firms Sadar+Vuga, Arhipro, and Studio Kristof have collaborated to create an eye-catching residential building in Ljubljana, Slovenia, with undulating balconies. The building, which houses apartments, is situated at the edge of a triangularly shaped site and is...
CONTEMPORIST
A Brightly Coloured Shelving Unit Helps To Define Areas In This Renovated Apartment
Architecture and design office Dia Uno has shared photos of a refurbished apartment they completed...
6 months ago
Architecture and design office Dia Uno has shared photos of a refurbished apartment they completed in a 1960s suburban neighborhood of Madrid, Spain. One of the key features of the renovated apartment is the inclusion of a metal shelving unit that’s been painted in a bright...
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...
Old Structures...
Visible To The Naked Eye
Here’s the side wall of a building constructed about twenty-five years ago: I used this building not...
3 months ago
Here’s the side wall of a building constructed about twenty-five years ago: I used this building not because its construction was particularly bad – it is not – but because the glazed brick veneer on this side wall does a nice job of catching the raking sunlight. The brick color...
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...
devonzuegel.com
Edge Esmeralda: A recap of June's popup village
This summer, I co-organized a month-long 1,300-person "popup village" in Healdsburg, CA called Edge...
3 months ago
This summer, I co-organized a month-long 1,300-person "popup village" in Healdsburg, CA called Edge Esmeralda. This gathering was incredibly fun and rewarding, and it was also a huge accelerant to the creation of the permanent village we are building, Esmeralda.
Edge Esmeralda...
CONTEMPORIST
This Bedroom With A Partial Glass Floor Looks Down To The Living Room Below
Fenda Arquitetura has shared photos of their project, a modern one-bedroom apartment in Sao Paulo,...
a year ago
Fenda Arquitetura has shared photos of their project, a modern one-bedroom apartment in Sao Paulo, Brazil, that features a partial glass floor in the bedroom. The apartment has been designed with the living space on the lower floor, while the bedroom is located upstairs. One...
CONTEMPORIST
A Modern Addition Is Perched Above This Home In Texas
Architect Nicole Blair has shared photos of a modern addition that was built above an existing...
6 months ago
Architect Nicole Blair has shared photos of a modern addition that was built above an existing bungalow in Austin, Texas. Owners Dylan and Annie, a landscape designer and a hairstylist, wanted to keep their backyard intact, and not move during construction nor disrupt the mature...
CONTEMPORIST
A Rock Inspired Exterior Was Designed For This Skincare Boutique
Architecture firm LMTLS has shared photos of SKIN1004, a new skincare boutique in Seoul, South...
10 months ago
Architecture firm LMTLS has shared photos of SKIN1004, a new skincare boutique in Seoul, South Korea, that has a rock-inspired facade. As the first offline flagship store in Myeongdong, the location embraces the concept of “untouched nature”, with rich brown and beige tones...
Old Structures...
A Metaphor
Looking at the Brooklyn Bridge from the waterfront on the Brooklyn side: Each of the four main...
4 months ago
Looking at the Brooklyn Bridge from the waterfront on the Brooklyn side: Each of the four main cables is attached to one of the four deck-stiffening trusses below by the vertical suspender cables. The towers are separately attached to the trusses by the diagonal brace cables in...
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...
The Modern House
Five things to do and see this September
September might spell the end of summer but, as this edition of The TMH Edit proves, there are...
a year ago
September might spell the end of summer but, as this edition of The TMH Edit proves, there are plenty of happenings to keep spirits high – even if the days are slowly getting shorter. Read on for our top tips for the month ahead, including […]
The Modern House
Discover the Secret Garden House | A Modern Eco Home Hidden Behind a 300-Year-Old Wall
a month ago
Common Edge
Architects Must Address the Issue of Toxic Building Materials
Ending the cycle of pollution within our buildings benefits worker health, community health, and...
a year ago
Ending the cycle of pollution within our buildings benefits worker health, community health, and planetary health.
CONTEMPORIST
A New Home Inspired By The Verticality Of Neighboring Victorian Houses
NEO Architecture Inc. has shared photos of a contemporary home they completed in Ontario, Canada,...
10 months ago
NEO Architecture Inc. has shared photos of a contemporary home they completed in Ontario, Canada, whose design was inspired by the verticality of neighboring Victorian homes. The extruded gable form is a tribute to the architectural motifs of the past while blending it with...
Common Edge
To Address Climate Change, Architects Must Tackle Decarbonization
Focusing only on energy performance is insufficient to the mounting crisis.
a year ago
Focusing only on energy performance is insufficient to the mounting crisis.
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.
There are two types...
My Comments at the Midtown South Social Equity and Music Festival
Fifty-one years ago, the Pennsylvania Railroad tragically tore down Pennsylvania Station. Not only...
3 months ago
Fifty-one years ago, the Pennsylvania Railroad tragically tore down Pennsylvania Station. Not only is it the best building ever torn down in New York, but in the combined Penn Station and Madison Square Garden, we got the worst building in … Continue reading →
The post My...
The Modern House
Six things not to miss this March
The daffodils and crocuses are popping up through the grass, the long-awaited transition of coat to...
a year ago
The daffodils and crocuses are popping up through the grass, the long-awaited transition of coat to jacket is nigh (we hope) and we’re all swooning over that extra hour of light: yes, spring is here. This March, we’re welcoming in the brighter days with six […]
Old Structures...
Baseball in New York 5
This is the last of the collection of little-known ballfields, following Brooklyn, Manhattan, and...
2 months ago
This is the last of the collection of little-known ballfields, following Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens, and the little-known teams who played in those fields. It’s very difficult to find information about the only Bronx important ball field in the Bronx. While it’s sometimes...
SOCKS
The Square and the Circle: The Palace of Charles V in Granada (1527)
The palace of Charles V in Granada was built starting in 1527 as a summer palace for the emperor....
over a year ago
The palace of Charles V in Granada was built starting in 1527 as a summer palace for the emperor. The Renaissance building is located inside the Alhambra, the former Nasrid complex on Sabika hill, a notable example of Islamic architecture. The structure is built in stone and is...
Old Structures...
Reality Is Better Looking
Above, another hotel appointment card, this time from the Gilsey House. The hotel was completed in...
a year ago
Above, another hotel appointment card, this time from the Gilsey House. The hotel was completed in 1871, with that incredible cast-iron facade constructed by Daniel Badger. It’s still there, over 150 years later, now apartments. The engraving on the card really doesn’t do the...
Old Structures...
Unhidden
From 1900, a photo of the future site of the New York Public Library and the past site of the Croton...
10 months ago
From 1900, a photo of the future site of the New York Public Library and the past site of the Croton Distributing Reservoir. The photo is labelled at the NYPL as “The Croton Reservoir ruins, looking north,” which means the photographer was on or near 40th Street and Fifth Avenue...
Old Structures...
Waste Not, Something Something
I was passing through Tribeca last week and came across this little building. Very, very little....
9 months ago
I was passing through Tribeca last week and came across this little building. Very, very little. Three stories tall, maybe 40 feet wide, and about four feet deep on the left and maybe a luxurious ten or fifteen feet deep on the right. You know you’re in a city where real estate...
The Modern House
How two lifelong friends built a space-savvy home to share on an awkward site in Homerton
a year ago
Contemporist...
Rough And Rugged Materials Are Combined With Modern Forms On This Home
Arno Schuurs and Paulien van Noort of design-build firm GetAway Projects BV, has shared photos of a...
10 months ago
Arno Schuurs and Paulien van Noort of design-build firm GetAway Projects BV, has shared photos of a new home they designed in Gorssel, The Netherlands.
CONTEMPORIST
A Pier Foundation Allowed This Home To Be Built On A Steeply Sloped Property
LTD Architectural Design Studio has shared photos of a modern home they designed in Auckland, New...
a year ago
LTD Architectural Design Studio has shared photos of a modern home they designed in Auckland, New Zealand, that’s located on a steep site. This very steep site provided a challenge for the architects in terms of creating a suitable living platform. They wanted to minimize piling...
Old Structures...
New Year’s 1909
According to Puck, a trip to New York is the safety valve that keeps Brother Straightlace, leading...
11 months ago
According to Puck, a trip to New York is the safety valve that keeps Brother Straightlace, leading the simple life, from blowing up. Opinions vary.
Contemporist...
A Home Designed To Walk Up And Around The Green Roof
AtelierM has sent us photos of a contemporary home they completed in Capilla del Senor, Argentina,...
2 months ago
AtelierM has sent us photos of a contemporary home they completed in Capilla del Senor, Argentina, whose design was inspired by geometry and its surroundings.
CONTEMPORIST
This House Has A Thin Floating Roof That Extends Out 15 Feet
Specht Architects has designed a new home in Mansfield, Massachusetts, for a retired couple that...
a year ago
Specht Architects has designed a new home in Mansfield, Massachusetts, for a retired couple that wanted to simplify and downsize their lives. The new house embraces a minimalist, modern, aesthetic, and at the same time displays the priceless art, antiques, and found objects the...
Common Edge
The ‘Social Landscapes’ of Lee Friedlander
For six decades, the photographer’s ability to offer a complex narrative about America in a single...
8 months ago
For six decades, the photographer’s ability to offer a complex narrative about America in a single image was always unique.
The Modern House
Lessons in Lateral Living: five singular single-storey dwellings
Once the perceived preserve of the retiree, there is more to low-level living than meets the eye. A...
8 months ago
Once the perceived preserve of the retiree, there is more to low-level living than meets the eye. A well-conceived, single-storey dwelling can accommodate all ages and – unlike loftier homes – has the potential to offer wraparound indoor-outdoor living. Here, we have gathered...
Old Structures...
For The Encouragement Of Thrift
When you spend as much time looking at buildings as I do, it takes something out of the ordinary to...
a year ago
When you spend as much time looking at buildings as I do, it takes something out of the ordinary to stand out. In this case, I was on Sutphin Boulevard in Queens, on its northernmost leg. That’s the part of Sutphin that most people who have heard of it know: between its northern...
Cartogrammar
Seasonal relief
Just a map for fun, made without writing any code, which is a nice change of pace. I finally spent a...
over a year ago
Just a map for fun, made without writing any code, which is a nice change of pace. I finally spent a bit of time catching up with the great Daniel Huffman’s excellent tutorial on creating shaded relief maps with Blender. Do try it out if you haven’t; he’s written it up thoroughly...
CONTEMPORIST
Wood Panels Create Hiding Places For Laundry Baskets Inside This Home
Australian-based Studio Minosa has shared photos of a kitchen and laundry renovation they completed...
2 months ago
Australian-based Studio Minosa has shared photos of a kitchen and laundry renovation they completed for a home in Sydney, that includes hidden storage elements. In the laundry, wood paneling covers the lower section of the walls and hides a collection of laundry baskets from...
Coffee with an...
Christmas Cards from the Architects 2024
It’s that time again. It is the time of year when the architects turn their attention from their...
a week ago
It’s that time again. It is the time of year when the architects turn their attention from their Dec. 25th deadline to thoughts of Christmas. Here we are, sitting by the floor-to-ceiling glass storefronts in our offices, staring out at the rolling hills covered with snow,...
Common Edge
Architects Must Resist the AI “Revolution”
No technological advance can match the power, memory, and creativity of the human brain.
a year ago
No technological advance can match the power, memory, and creativity of the human brain.
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...
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...
Old Structures...
Boarding
Sometimes the degree to which the past was simultaneously similar to the present and different...
8 months ago
Sometimes the degree to which the past was simultaneously similar to the present and different catches me by suprise. I was in the far west Village a few days ago and this building caught my eye. It’s a nice 1890s semi-industrial building turned into apartments There’s a sign...
CONTEMPORIST
Ombré Wallpaper Was A Creative Design Choice For This Bedroom
Svetlana Tryaskina of ESTEE DESIGN has shared photos of a contemporary home renovation that she...
a year ago
Svetlana Tryaskina of ESTEE DESIGN has shared photos of a contemporary home renovation that she completed for a busy family of five. One of the design elements that caught our attention, was the room that includes colorful accent walls in the form of ombre wallpaper. The ombre...
The Modern House
Samuel Ross gives us a first look at his renovated family home in Northamptonshire
a year ago
Common Edge
What Makes a City Resilient?
A talk with Sam Carter, a founding principal at the Resilient Cities Catalyst.
3 months ago
A talk with Sam Carter, a founding principal at the Resilient Cities Catalyst.
CONTEMPORIST
A Dark Wood Exterior Complements The Forest Surrounding This Modern Home
Design and build company Alloy Homes Incorporated, has sent us photos of a new home they completed...
4 months ago
Design and build company Alloy Homes Incorporated, has sent us photos of a new home they completed in Calgary, Alberta, that was artfully designed around its relationship with the mature urban forest across the street Stepping inside, we see a minimalist foyer with a bench and...
Old Structures...
Evolved To Fit The Conditions
If you’ve always known something, it can be difficult to see how weird it is. New Yorkers walk...
7 months ago
If you’ve always known something, it can be difficult to see how weird it is. New Yorkers walk through construction sites all the time, intentionally so on the part of the builders and with the blessing of the Department of Buildings. It looks something like this: Like so many of...
Old Structures...
Subtle Design and Not
Two buildings on a single block, separated by about 110 years and a huge difference in design...
2 weeks ago
Two buildings on a single block, separated by about 110 years and a huge difference in design philosophy… First up, how do you turn the corner from a busy avenue to a quiet side street? The one-story red-brick building on the far left is a modern replacement for an old commercial...
Benny Kuriakose
Activity Spaces and Play Areas in a School
Activity spaces in schools can encourage students to learn from the outdoor environment. Sports...
a year ago
Activity spaces in schools can encourage students to learn from the outdoor environment. Sports activities such as athletics, volleyball,...
Common Edge
Letter From Ljubljana, Slovenia: The Human-Centered Urbanism of Jože Plečnik
The architect created interventions small and large, all informed by his love of walking the city’s...
a year ago
The architect created interventions small and large, all informed by his love of walking the city’s streets.
CONTEMPORIST
Before & After – A Remodeled 1950s Ranch Home
Photography by Studio Robert Jamieson (before photos), August Haeuser (exterior), Sam Orberter...
a year ago
Photography by Studio Robert Jamieson (before photos), August Haeuser (exterior), Sam Orberter (kitchen) Studio Robert Jamieson has shared photos of a 1950s ranch home remodel they completed in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. When the owners purchased this home outside of...
Old Structures...
A Metaphor
When I was maybe ten years old, visiting the observation deck of the Empire State Building, I heard...
7 months ago
When I was maybe ten years old, visiting the observation deck of the Empire State Building, I heard someone describe the view as being like the buildings were a beard and Central Park a shaved strip. In 1952, there were far fewer high-rises on the Upper East and Upper West Sides,...
CONTEMPORIST
A Modern Addition For An 1830s Brick Farm House
Hollaway Studio has shared photos of a modern home addition they have completed for a former...
a year ago
Hollaway Studio has shared photos of a modern home addition they have completed for a former farmhouse in Kent, England, that dates back to the 1830s. The original home comprises of formal brick walls, a slate roof, white sash windows with views across the landscape, an original...
The Solarchitecture...
Circadian rhythm and solar home design
If our body is not tuned to our circadian rhythm, we can hardly be in flow with Life.
over a year ago
If our body is not tuned to our circadian rhythm, we can hardly be in flow with Life.
Cartogrammar
Hachures and sketchy relief maps
I’ve never been a terrain representation expert, but occasionally I get briefly super interested in...
over a year ago
I’ve never been a terrain representation expert, but occasionally I get briefly super interested in some DIY technique for relief mapping, not using typical GIS tools or rendering software. Tom Patterson’s old (but still applicable) Photoshop tutorials were my introduction to the...
The Modern House
The feel-good studio of Office S&M in Dalston, east London
a year ago
Common Edge
The Missing Flower Power in Walkability and Neighborhood Vitality
There’s a surprisingly simple alternative to our hard, urban spaces.
6 months ago
There’s a surprisingly simple alternative to our hard, urban spaces.
CONTEMPORIST
A Colossal Curved Glass Window Shows Off The Biggest LULULEMON Flagship Store In The World
AIM ARCHITECTURE has shared photos of the LULULEMON Flagship Store they designed in Shanghai, China,...
6 months ago
AIM ARCHITECTURE has shared photos of the LULULEMON Flagship Store they designed in Shanghai, China, that uses curved glass to create an eye-catching retail destination. The facade with its curved glass window, allows people on the street to witness the movement of activity...
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...
devonzuegel.com
Inflation propagates unevenly
Inflation hits some parts of the economy harder and faster than others. It's obvious once you say...
over a year ago
Inflation hits some parts of the economy harder and faster than others. It's obvious once you say it, and yet the way pundits and academics talk about inflation glosses over this reality. As a result, most people who haven't had direct experience with high inflation have a flawed...
The Modern House
The Green Series #3: how to make your home airtight
Passivhaus buildings are designed to be almost completely airtight, with no unsealed gaps in the...
3 weeks ago
Passivhaus buildings are designed to be almost completely airtight, with no unsealed gaps in the exterior of the building. While a typical home might struggle to achieve that, there are ways to reduce unwanted draughts and heat loss. Continuing our series of Passivhaus hacks,...
The Modern House
Far-Flung: Four remote homes (and one hotel) scattered across the Scottish Isles
With gargantuan views across machair-robed mountains and legend-laden lochs, the wild and windswept...
7 months ago
With gargantuan views across machair-robed mountains and legend-laden lochs, the wild and windswept Scottish coast offers up a different kind of island dwelling. These far-flung homes (and one beach-front lodging) offer a sense of considered and quiet retreat amid what is an...
Construction Physics
What Happened to the US Machine Tool Industry?
Machine tools – machines that cut or form metal – are the heart of industrial civilization....
11 months ago
Machine tools – machines that cut or form metal – are the heart of industrial civilization. Sometimes called “mother machines” (because they’re machines that make other machines), machine tools are required to make almost everything. Nearly every manufactured good is made using...
Old Structures...
It Looked Familiar: But Unfamiliar
The Black Widow thinks deep thoughts while standing on a rooftop: To be clear about what we’re...
2 months ago
The Black Widow thinks deep thoughts while standing on a rooftop: To be clear about what we’re seeing, A is the Empire State Building, B is the Chrysler Building, C is Silver Towers at Lafayette Place and Bleecker Street, and D is the Widow: So we’re looking north from SoHo. The...
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...
The Solarchitecture...
The Solar Manifesto - Part 1.
for even after the deepest night, the sun always rises.
over a year ago
for even after the deepest night, the sun always rises.
CONTEMPORIST
Stairs With Built-In Planters Lead To The Back Garden At This Home
Lior Brosh of Brosh Architects has shared photos of a recently completed renovation project in...
a year ago
Lior Brosh of Brosh Architects has shared photos of a recently completed renovation project in Greater London, England, that included new outdoor stairs with built-in planters. The client contacted the architects to renovate the lower ground floor of the house due to severe damp...
The Modern House
Jewellery designer Anna Jewsbury on turning a former pub into a treasured family home in Marylebone
a year ago
devonzuegel.com
Field notes: Miami
Update 5-Dec-2021: Read the updated version of these notes here.
These field notes are a bit...
over a year ago
Update 5-Dec-2021: Read the updated version of these notes here.
These field notes are a bit different from previous cities I've explored, because unlike those, Miami is my home! So this post partially serves as a life update—I moved to Miami Beach from California a few months...
The Modern House
Modest living meets modernist design in the Isokon Building in Hampstead
a year ago
The Modern House
Why a nomadic design dealer is finally putting down roots at this family home in east London
a year ago
Contemporist...
The Sculptural Exterior Of This House Was Inspired By The Folds Of A Ribbon
Studio Ardete has shared photos of a home they have designed in Mohali, India, that has a distinctly...
a year ago
Studio Ardete has shared photos of a home they have designed in Mohali, India, that has a distinctly different sculptural facade.
Construction Physics
How did solar power get cheap part II
(note: all quotes are from Nemet’s How Solar Energy Became Cheap unless otherwise noted.) Welcome to...
a year ago
(note: all quotes are from Nemet’s How Solar Energy Became Cheap unless otherwise noted.) Welcome to Part II of “How did Solar Power Get Cheap?” To recap Part I, the modern solar photovoltaic (PV) cell was invented at Bell Labs in 1954. Early markets were almost entirely...
Old Structures...
A Primer Worth Reading
For people who don’t work on facades in New York, “Here’s why NYC sidewalks are (still) covered with...
3 months ago
For people who don’t work on facades in New York, “Here’s why NYC sidewalks are (still) covered with 400 miles of scaffolding” by David Brand is worth a look. It’s a good introduction to the tangled issues around sidewalk sheds. A very short summary: the response, for decades, to...
The Modern House
Pure 1970s glamour at an iconic modernist house, from sunken sofas to an indoor pool
a year ago
Archinect - Features
2024 Summer Architecture Programs for Adults and High School Graduates
Archinect's 2024 highlight of summer architecture programs continues with Part 2, where we focus on...
9 months ago
Archinect's 2024 highlight of summer architecture programs continues with Part 2, where we focus on courses and workshops for adults, high school graduates, and current college students.
Take a look below at our curated selection of educational events at academic institutions and...
Old Structures...
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...
99% Invisible
Maximum Temperature [EPISODE]
The impacts of climate disasters are often measured in terms of property damage. But in places like...
3 months ago
The impacts of climate disasters are often measured in terms of property damage. But in places like Phoenix, Arizona, and in hot places all over the world, climate change is wreaking a very different kind of havoc – on living things. In the final episode of Not Built for This, we...
The Solarchitecture...
Case study #1: The Solar Saltbox house
A passive house for cold climates.
over a year ago
A passive house for cold climates.
A Weekly Dose of...
Ando and Le Corbusier
Ando and Le Corbusier is a two-volume project that shows how the works of two pioneers of modern...
over a year ago
Ando and Le Corbusier is a two-volume project that shows how the works of two pioneers of modern architecture – Le Corbusier and Tadao Ando – connect human experience to the basic givens of existence: interactions among human beings and personal encounters with nature, including...
Old Structures...
Providing Constructibility
You never know what you’ll find in the subway. Above, one of the columns on the Brooklyn-bound...
a year ago
You never know what you’ll find in the subway. Above, one of the columns on the Brooklyn-bound platform of the R train at Whitehall Street, supporting the station roof, some twenty feet of soil, and the street above. The station opened in 1918 as part of the Dual Contracts...
Old Structures...
It Looked Familiar: Wha?
From a 25-years-old Avengers story: a man sees some news on televsion: The Verrazano Narrows Bridge,...
2 months ago
From a 25-years-old Avengers story: a man sees some news on televsion: The Verrazano Narrows Bridge, huh? It sure looks like something else…
CONTEMPORIST
A New Extension Adds A Home Office And Bedroom To This Miami Bungalow
Upstairs Studio Architecture has shared photos of a 900 sqft addition in South Miami, Florida, for...
4 months ago
Upstairs Studio Architecture has shared photos of a 900 sqft addition in South Miami, Florida, for owners who were looking for a little extra room in their traditional home, that was open to the outdoors, and allowed for a private primary bedroom and studio apart from the main...
The Modern House
Our guide to Kentish Town: Technicolour townhouses, natural wine and nature in north London
a year ago
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...
An Original Or An Imitation Of An Imitation
The Leonard Street facade of 249 Church Street: For this discussion, ignore the stone ground-floor...
6 months ago
The Leonard Street facade of 249 Church Street: For this discussion, ignore the stone ground-floor storefront, which was a 1920s alteration of this 1867 loft building, probably replacing cast iron columns and lintels. The rest of the facade is, per the Landmarks designation...
Old Structures...
Pro Tip, As They Say
A slightly-redacted photo from a Brooklyn site visit, showing a diagram on the wall in a maintenance...
a month ago
A slightly-redacted photo from a Brooklyn site visit, showing a diagram on the wall in a maintenance room: No one I spoke to had floor plans of any kind for the building. I knew it had a steel frame but not where the interior columns were. And then, during a site visit, a handy...
CONTEMPORIST
This Japanese Restaurant Uses Washi-Inspired Acrylic Panels To Create A Cozy Atmosphere
odd design has shared photos of a Japanese restaurant they recently completed in Beijing, China,...
3 months ago
odd design has shared photos of a Japanese restaurant they recently completed in Beijing, China, that uses textural materials to create a quiet, relaxing, and cozy atmosphere. The open entrance consists of a light box and two sets of low-wall partitions, allowing the space to be...
The Modern House
Glenn Adamson: the curator on why a New York ‘love shack’ stole his heart
As a curator, perhaps there’s no space that better encapsulates Glenn Adamson than his own...
a year ago
As a curator, perhaps there’s no space that better encapsulates Glenn Adamson than his own rainbow-hued house, which looks more like something you’d find in Wonderland than Upstate New York. And, as our podcast host, Matt Gibberd, discovered when he met Glenn for this episode […]
Common Edge
Art & Architecture Writers Demand Fair Pay
Wages for free-lance journalists, covering the built environment, have been stagnant or in decline...
a year ago
Wages for free-lance journalists, covering the built environment, have been stagnant or in decline for years.
The Modern House
Crocadon in Cornwall is a farm and restaurant with organic agriculture, good cooking and great...
a year ago
CONTEMPORIST
A Playroom Inside This Hotel Was Designed With A Desert Theme
Sarit Shani Hay Design Studio has shared photos of a modern playroom they designed for a boutique...
a year ago
Sarit Shani Hay Design Studio has shared photos of a modern playroom they designed for a boutique hotel in Israel. Inspired by the unique topography of the desert landscape, the ‘Grow with Six Senses’ playroom emulates the natural features of the surrounding scenery, transforming...
The Architectural...
Four Versions: This Is How Penn Station, NY, Might Look if Rebuilt
You may have heard about ReThinkNYC, a movement and not-for-profit corporation dedicated to...
6 months ago
You may have heard about ReThinkNYC, a movement and not-for-profit corporation dedicated to rebuilding the original Pennsylvania Station in New York through ReThinkPennStationNYC. Collaborating with classical architect Richard Cameron, they have developed three new variations on...
The Beauty of...
R.I.P. W.C. (1930s Southern Railway toilets, Havant station, Hampshire, UK)
So farewell then, Havant station’s 1930s railway toilets. It is doubtful whether many passengers...
a year ago
So farewell then, Havant station’s 1930s railway toilets. It is doubtful whether many passengers will mourn their loss, but they are another piece of railway heritage that has slipped beyond grasp. If you care about the story of our railways, expressed through their built...
Old Structures...
The Story Can Be Oversimplified
The title of this blog post is true of a lot of narrative history. Simple stories are more effective...
11 months ago
The title of this blog post is true of a lot of narrative history. Simple stories are more effective on an emotional level, and are easier to tell. So we often tell them. For example, Wikipedia (my go-to source for oversimplified explanations) states that the 1916 New York zoning...
99% Invisible
The Ripple Effect [EPISODE]
In disasters where a lot of people lose their homes, the impacts are not confined to a single city...
4 months ago
In disasters where a lot of people lose their homes, the impacts are not confined to a single city or town. They ripple outward, cascading into the surrounding area, as the survivors are forced to go looking for new places to live. This is the story of what happened after the...
The Modern House
Coast and countryside at a contemporary home in Suffolk
a year ago
Old Structures...
Well Duh
Another photo from Berniece Abbott’s “Changing New York” project, this one from 1936 and titled...
11 months ago
Another photo from Berniece Abbott’s “Changing New York” project, this one from 1936 and titled “Park Avenue and 39th Street.” As usual, Abbott was contrasting the big buildings in the background with the much older and smaller buildings in the foreground. Four of those big...
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...
A Weekly Dose of...
The Latest from MoMA: Emerging Ecologies
Like many people with a lot of books, I keep track of my library with an app/website, tagging books...
a year ago
Like many people with a lot of books, I keep track of my library with an app/website, tagging books with keywords to better filter and find them. The tags I use move from general terms like "architecture" (the most) and "fiction" (the least) to specific terms that reflect a high...
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 […]
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....
CONTEMPORIST
Cascading Plants Cover This Home In Vietnam
X11 Design Studio has shared photos of a home they completed in Quang Ninh, Vietnam, that includes a...
a year ago
X11 Design Studio has shared photos of a home they completed in Quang Ninh, Vietnam, that includes a facade of cascading plants. The home has been designed for a three-generation family, who wanted optimal functionality and a connection between nature and people. To integrate...
Archinect - Features
Meet NYIT School of Architecture & Design's New Faculty Members
The School of Architecture and Design at New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), with campuses in...
a month ago
The School of Architecture and Design at New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), with campuses in New York City and Old Westbury, Long Island, delivers a technology-driven, design-focused education across its Architecture, Interior Design, and Digital Art & Design programs.
As...
CONTEMPORIST
This Modern Home Was Designed Around A Split-Trunk Oak Tree
A Parallel Architecture has shared photos of a modern home they completed in Austin, Texas, that’s...
3 weeks ago
A Parallel Architecture has shared photos of a modern home they completed in Austin, Texas, that’s designed around a split-trunk live oak, which has stood guard over the center of the tight lot for decades. The home’s exterior features concrete, wood, and large windows, with some...
The Modern House
Kitchen tips and kimchi pancakes with Jesse Jenkins, founder of Another Day in Paradise
a year ago
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...
Old Structures...
An IStructE Talk
I’m giving an in-person and online talk on March 7 for the UK Institution of Structural Engineers on...
10 months ago
I’m giving an in-person and online talk on March 7 for the UK Institution of Structural Engineers on the connections between the development of fire-resistant construction technology, New York social history, and the origins of skyscrapers. More information here: New York’s...
CONTEMPORIST
Before And After – A Respectful Remodel For A Mid-Century Modern Home
Interior design firm Wise Design, together with General Contractor and Architect Owen Gabbert...
a year ago
Interior design firm Wise Design, together with General Contractor and Architect Owen Gabbert (formerly Clarkbuilt), has transformed a dated 1954 mid-century modern home in Portland, Oregon. Before – The ExteriorThe original home has a brown exterior with original windows and...
Common Edge
Sharon Egretta Sutton on the Democratic Power of “Place-Based Activism”
A talk with the self-proclaimed activist scholar.
11 months ago
A talk with the self-proclaimed activist scholar.
Old Structures...
Notre Dame, Again
In April 2019, it was not clear what would happen. Given the importance of the cathedral to the city...
a week ago
In April 2019, it was not clear what would happen. Given the importance of the cathedral to the city of Paris, the nation of France, and the cultural heritage of Europe, it was clear that it would be rebuilt after the fire, but in what form and on what schedule were open...
The Modern House
Old meets new at a masterfully renovated 400-year-old farmhouse in the South Downs
a year ago
CONTEMPORIST
A Tree House That Feels Like It’s Floating Inside The Forest
INTEGRA STUDIO ARQUITETURA has shared photos of a modern Tree House project they completed for the...
a year ago
INTEGRA STUDIO ARQUITETURA has shared photos of a modern Tree House project they completed for the NaCarapina accommodation complex, that’s located in Brazil. The Tree House which has the feeling of ‘floating inside the forest’, is fully integrated with the imposing Araucaria...
Common Edge
Is Santa Clara—the Heart of Silicon Valley—Soulless and Banal By Intent?
The city combines great wealth and utter placelessness.
a year ago
The city combines great wealth and utter placelessness.
Blog - Guerrilla...
Sunken Cities
Foundation
Contributing an original map to GC’s newest Shelter: An Atlas was very appealing to me...
over a year ago
Foundation
Contributing an original map to GC’s newest Shelter: An Atlas was very appealing to me for a couple of reasons: One, as an independent map illustrator, it would give my work wide exposure. Two, it would put me in good company with other talented mapmakers. Suggestions...
Contemporist...
Art Deco Was Reinterpreted Into This Futuristic Gelato Parlor
Multidisciplinary design studio Masquespacio has shared photos of Amiko Gelato, a new retail...
5 months ago
Multidisciplinary design studio Masquespacio has shared photos of Amiko Gelato, a new retail destination in Barcelona that blends futuristic design with art deco elements.
Construction Physics
Why Can't the U.S. Build Ships?
This post is cross-posted at Noahpinion.
3 months ago
This post is cross-posted at Noahpinion.
Common Edge
Money and the Conundrum of Architects Who Don’t Build
The identity is a little different than the actual grind.
a year ago
The identity is a little different than the actual grind.
The Solarchitecture...
Solarchitect's book recommendations I.
“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” - Cicero
over a year ago
“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” - Cicero
CONTEMPORIST
Two Shingle Covered Cottages Connected By A Living Room And Kitchen In Between
Bates Masi + Architects has designed a house in Montauk, New York, that’s built on land that was...
a year ago
Bates Masi + Architects has designed a house in Montauk, New York, that’s built on land that was once home to early settlers in the 17th century. Remnants of horse stables, barns, and workers’ cottages scatter the landscape, however, one such cottage, a late addition built in the...
Old Structures...
Skyscraperiness
As I’ve said many times, in many venues, there really isn’t an objective description of...
8 months ago
As I’ve said many times, in many venues, there really isn’t an objective description of “skyscraper.” That said, nearly everyone’s subjective definition contains a version of the idea that a skyscraper is tall for its context. Here’s an Irving Underhill photo centered on the...
CONTEMPORIST
A Single Sloping Roof Covers This Home That Hovers Above The Land
Weber Arquitectos has sent us photos of their recently completed project, a tiny house in Valle de...
a year ago
Weber Arquitectos has sent us photos of their recently completed project, a tiny house in Valle de Bravo, Mexico, that rises from the ground on a platform supported by a metal structure. The house, which measures 1291 square feet (120m2), has exterior walls made from heat-treated...
Common Edge
Architecture Always Reflects the Values of Its Current Culture
What we build is who we are.
a year ago
What we build is who we are.
Benny Kuriakose
General Points on Photographing Historic Buildings - Part IV
The photographic recording should be done for posterity. Photographing a historic building must aim...
a year ago
The photographic recording should be done for posterity. Photographing a historic building must aim to convey information about it. It...
SOCKS
Michelangelo Caetani’s Six Topographic Maps of the Divine Comedy
As a follow up to the latest post on Norman Bel Geddes’s stage set design for Dante Alighieri’s...
over a year ago
As a follow up to the latest post on Norman Bel Geddes’s stage set design for Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, here we feature the six maps drawn by Michelangelo Caetani in a book titled La materia della Divina Commedia di Dante Alighieri dichiarata in VI tavole, Roma (1855). A...
The Modern House
The masterful resculpting of an urban cottage in Cambridge
3 months ago
The Wandering...
Mapping “Buffalo Days and Nights” by Peter Erasmus
The Maps for Books collection has a new page: Peter Erasmus’s Buffalo Days and Nights. In 1920,...
over a year ago
The Maps for Books collection has a new page: Peter Erasmus’s Buffalo Days and Nights. In 1920, Henry Thompson, an Alberta newspaperman, began interviewing 87-year-old Peter Erasmus, who lived near him in the area of Whitefish Lake, Alberta. Erasmus, who had been born in 1833 in...
Old Structures...
Tracing The Load Path
Yet another view of the roof trusses at Moynihan Station, built when it was a mail-handling facility...
4 months ago
Yet another view of the roof trusses at Moynihan Station, built when it was a mail-handling facility to allow for a big open floor for sorting machinery. The roof truss is at the upper right; one of the main columns is below it, two side trusses, supporting the edges of the...
Archinect - Features
Creativity Won’t Protect Architects from Automation — But Labor Unions Might
The proliferation of generative AI tools such as Midjourney and ChatGPT has undermined long-held...
9 months ago
The proliferation of generative AI tools such as Midjourney and ChatGPT has undermined long-held assumptions that artificial intelligence would not threaten creative disciplines. In an effort to balance the opportunities and limits of artificial intelligence in the architecture...
Common Edge
The Enduring Legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright
Why we still care, almost seven decades after his death.
3 months ago
Why we still care, almost seven decades after his death.
Old Structures...
Bragging Combined With Public Service
I highly recommend the soon-to-be-released book The Elements of Construction: N. Clifford Ricker,...
a month ago
I highly recommend the soon-to-be-released book The Elements of Construction: N. Clifford Ricker, Architecture, and the University of Illinois and not just because I wrote on chapter of it. Marci Uihlein, the editor, an architect and engineer, and a professor of architecture at...
Common Edge
Our Cities Aren’t Dead Yet!
Forget the “doom loops,” there are plenty of indicators that urban centers are recovering.
a year ago
Forget the “doom loops,” there are plenty of indicators that urban centers are recovering.
CONTEMPORIST
Crafting Connection: A Contemporary Addition to a Historic Bungalow
Carter Williamson Architects has shared photos of a new home extension that they designed for an...
7 months ago
Carter Williamson Architects has shared photos of a new home extension that they designed for an Australian house in a heritage conservation area. The designers’ brief asked for an open, warm home in which a family could truly gather, one that respected the home’s history while...
99% Invisible
Mini-Stories: Volume 17 [EPISODE]
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. It’s mini-stories season! Gather the kids around the fire...
a year ago
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. It’s mini-stories season! Gather the kids around the fire because We have a year-end mix of short stories about a rogue architect, spooky kitchens, a hundred year old music streaming service, and the crazy way the French tried to make...
The Modern House
Hot Stuff: the extraordinary story of the Cobdown sauna
9 months ago
CONTEMPORIST
A House Built Into The Ground And Covered In Flowers
Photography by Architectuurfotograaf – Rob van Esch Architecture firm WillemsenU has shared photos...
8 months ago
Photography by Architectuurfotograaf – Rob van Esch Architecture firm WillemsenU has shared photos of a home they completed in a meadow in The Netherlands, that has been built into the ground. The home is tucked away in the landscape, surrounded by flowers and trees, and hidden...
The Modern House
Getting the most out of the least in a peaceful, strokable flat in north London
5 months ago
The Modern House
Four flawless apartments provide surprising sanctuary in Peckham Rye
6 months ago
Old Structures...
Probably Not What The Artist Intended
75 Broad Street, diagonally across the street from our office, was built in 1928 and almost...
3 months ago
75 Broad Street, diagonally across the street from our office, was built in 1928 and almost immediately bought by the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation for use as the company headquarters. Like a lot of New York Telephone buildings of that era, the interior was a...
Archinect - Features
How the Business of Architecture and Construction Fared in May 2024: Introducing Archinect's...
Welcome to the first of Archinect's new monthly series, 'State of AEC.' At the end of each month, we...
6 months ago
Welcome to the first of Archinect's new monthly 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 approach the midway point of...
Archinect - Features
Narrative, Media, and AI in Architectural Academia; A Conversation with Natasha...
Archinect last spoke with Natasha Sandmeier on the themes of visual media and narrative storytelling...
a year ago
Archinect last spoke with Natasha Sandmeier on the themes of visual media and narrative storytelling in 2019. Back then, few could have imagined the seismic impact that generative AI would have on such fields. In her leading role at UCLA AUD's Entertainment Studio, Sandmeier sits...
Common Edge
Will Mayor Eric Adams’ “City of Yes” Be a City for All?
New York’s massive zoning overhaul has passed. What now?
6 days ago
New York’s massive zoning overhaul has passed. What now?
The Modern House
Our guide to North Norfolk: spectacular wildlife, unspoiled beaches and stargazing
a year ago
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 Modern Landscape Was Designed For This Californian Backyard
SUBU Design Architecture has shared photos of a landscape design they completed for a home in...
a year ago
SUBU Design Architecture has shared photos of a landscape design they completed for a home in California. The client asked the designers to create a kitchen garden and an outdoor gathering space for her large family to celebrate birthdays and holidays. One area of the yard was...
McMansion Hell
In my latest column for The Nation, I take on the specter of AI and the idea that it is coming...
No, AI Is Not “Disrupting” Architecture
In my latest column for The Nation, I take on the specter of...
a year ago
No, AI Is Not “Disrupting” Architecture
In my latest column for The Nation, I take on the specter of AI and the idea that it is coming for architects’ jobs.
devonzuegel.com
Argentina On Two Steaks A Day (Idle Words)
04.13.2006
Argentina On Two Steaks A Day
The classic beginner's mistake in Argentina is...
over a year ago
04.13.2006
Argentina On Two Steaks A Day
The classic beginner's mistake in Argentina is to neglect the first steak of the day. You will be tempted to just peck at it or even skip it altogether, rationalizing that you need to save yourself for the much larger steak...
Contemporist...
A Small Cabin-Like Structure That Can Be Compressed When Not In Use
Architects Juan Ruiz and Amelia Tapia have shared some photos of their latest design, a small...
a year ago
Architects Juan Ruiz and Amelia Tapia have shared some photos of their latest design, a small cabin-like room that expands when needed.
Coffee with an...
Architect Valentines 2024
It’s that time of year again. The time of year when an architect’s thoughts turn to Love. Well, not...
10 months ago
It’s that time of year again. The time of year when an architect’s thoughts turn to Love. Well, not really. We’re working on a deadline right now. But, we promise, as soon as we’re finished with these details, our thoughts will totally turn to love. In the meantime, here are a...
A Weekly Dose of...
Three Lessons from Three Monographs
Writing a blog devoted to architecture books means featuring monographs — lots of monographs. Not...
a year ago
Writing a blog devoted to architecture books means featuring monographs — lots of monographs. Not exclusively, of course; but before this blog transitioned to its current weekly format, one of the thematic days of the week was appropriately devoted to monographs: Monograph...
Archinect - Features
LEED? BREEAM? WELL? Six Major Green Building Labels Explained
When embarking on a mission to deliver a building to a high environmental and ecological standard,...
4 months ago
When embarking on a mission to deliver a building to a high environmental and ecological standard, architects are presented with a range of accreditation systems to both guide the design process and reward the results.
While some systems, such as LEED and BREEAM, emphasize...
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...
99% Invisible
The Power Broker #9: Majora Carter [EPISODE]
This is the ninth official episode of our ongoing series breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize...
3 months ago
This is the ninth 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 Majora Carter, an urban revitalization strategist and real estate developer from...
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...
Common Edge
20 Life Lessons in Architecture (and Beyond)
Some suggestions on living a life in design with meaning and purpose.
3 months ago
Some suggestions on living a life in design with meaning and purpose.
Archinect - Features
The Longevity & Legacy of the 'Vanilla Architect': How a Monoculture Yields Cycles of...
This Op-Ed explores how unconscious bias of mentors, tokenism, and resultant patterns of system...
4 months ago
This Op-Ed explores how unconscious bias of mentors, tokenism, and resultant patterns of system justification reinforce a status quo that marginalizes women and people of color. These complex and long-lived dynamics are unpacked through personal anecdotes, historical analysis,...
Old Structures...
A Generational Change
A view of Park Avenue by Angelo Rizzuto from June 1959m looking south. The big tower on the left is...
8 months ago
A view of Park Avenue by Angelo Rizzuto from June 1959m looking south. The big tower on the left is the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, with St. Bart’s in front of it; the ornate tower that seemingly ends the avenue is the New York Central Building, not yet sold by the railroad and...
CONTEMPORIST
A 1970s Four Bedroom Home Renovated For A Couple That Loves To Entertain
Architecture firm Side Angle Side, has shared photos of a 1970s ranch home they renovated in Austin,...
2 months ago
Architecture firm Side Angle Side, has shared photos of a 1970s ranch home they renovated in Austin, Texas, for their clients that wanted a home for entertaining. The transformation involved converting a four-bedroom floor plan into a spacious, open, one bedroom home. A long...
Old Structures...
So Very Random
Hidden among the vast holdings of the New York Public Library is a set of 52 images of playing cards...
a year ago
Hidden among the vast holdings of the New York Public Library is a set of 52 images of playing cards donated by William Barclay Parsons, arguably most famous for being the chief engineer of the Interborough Rapid Transit system, New York’s oldest subway. Each card has an...
Old Structures...
Shrinkage
I took this photo last summer while eating dinner in a brew-pub in Utica, New York. I’m looking up...
11 months ago
I took this photo last summer while eating dinner in a brew-pub in Utica, New York. I’m looking up at the second-floor framing from below, in an old industrial building near the train tracks (the former main line of the New York Central Railroad). The building structure consists...
Archinect - Features
Architectural Visualization Was Rather Flat: Then We Invented Perspective
Before the invention of architectural perspective, architects and artists faced significant...
2 months ago
Before the invention of architectural perspective, architects and artists faced significant challenges in visualizing and communicating architectural space. Without a systematic way to represent depth and spatial relationships, architectural drawings were often symbolic,...
Archinect - Features
USC Students Try a ‘Bottom-Up’ Approach To Sustainable Housing Delivery in the School of...
Our latest Archinect Studio Pin-Ups takes a look at three studios at Archinect Partner School USC...
2 days ago
Our latest Archinect Studio Pin-Ups takes a look at three studios at Archinect Partner School USC School of Architecture, offered as part of their one-year Master of Advanced Architectural Research Studies (M.AARS) postgraduate program.
Led by instructors Julia Sulzer and Sascha...
Old Structures...
Pareidolia
He’s a happy little gas-powered guy.
5 months ago
He’s a happy little gas-powered guy.
Archinect - Features
3D Printing, Artificial Intelligence, and Space Habitats: A Conversation with ICON’s Melodie...
As a ‘Space Architect’ working on the design and delivery of 3D printed habitats on the Moon and...
9 months ago
As a ‘Space Architect’ working on the design and delivery of 3D printed habitats on the Moon and Mars, Melodie Yashar is aware that, even in space, 3D printing does not exist in a vacuum. Like any construction methodology, it requires a confluence of design intent, delivery...
Common Edge
A Model for a Healthier, Adaptive Approach to Community Development
The Smiling Gecko project in Cambodia addresses a more complex and systemic view of community life.
11 months ago
The Smiling Gecko project in Cambodia addresses a more complex and systemic view of community life.
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...
CONTEMPORIST
A Curving Bridge Leads To The Entertainment Areas Of This Modern Home
Openideas Architects has shared photos of a modern project in Ahmedabad, India, that includes two...
12 months ago
Openideas Architects has shared photos of a modern project in Ahmedabad, India, that includes two homes for multi-generational living, with a curving bridge walkway that connects to outdoor entertaining areas. The bridge, which includes hidden lighting, travels above water...
McMansion Hell
Howdy everyone! Some exciting news: I’m doing a stint at The Nation this month writing...
Liberating Our Homes From the Real Estate–Industrial Complex
Howdy everyone! Some exciting news: I’m...
a year ago
Liberating Our Homes From the Real Estate–Industrial Complex
Howdy everyone! Some exciting news: I’m doing a stint at The Nation this month writing biweekly design columns. In this first one, I’ve done my best to expand on an earlier McMansion Hell post in order to answer the...
CONTEMPORIST
A Metal Roof Wraps Around This Off-Grid Cabin To Protect It From The Elements
Cameron Anderson Architects has shared photos of a small off-grid cabin they designed as part of a...
6 months ago
Cameron Anderson Architects has shared photos of a small off-grid cabin they designed as part of a luxury farm stay in Australia. The building is situated on a gently undulating site with its elevated position offering uninterrupted views of the surrounding farmland. A wrapping...
The Modern House
Le Creuset’s new Azure collection finds a perfect home in Ella Jones’ expressive interior
a year ago
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...
Old Structures...
Keep The Scale In Mind
Here’s a photo from yesterday of Shaquana getting a good look at a brownstone finial that’s been...
10 months ago
Here’s a photo from yesterday of Shaquana getting a good look at a brownstone finial that’s been removed during restoration work. This is a minor decorative element for the church it was removed from. It’s visually important, of course, and we’re not removing it to throw it away,...
CONTEMPORIST
6,000 Pieces Of Discarded Whiskey Barrels Were Used In The Design Of This Bar
Roomoo Design Studio has shared photos of their latest project, the Laizhou Bar in Shanghai, China,...
a year ago
Roomoo Design Studio has shared photos of their latest project, the Laizhou Bar in Shanghai, China, which features recycled whiskey barrels throughout its design. The designers used around 6,000 pieces of discarded wooden barrels dismantled from the whiskey barrels of a...
The Modern House
Good Fortune: the best Chinese restaurants in London
a year ago
Contemporist...
The Dining Table Becomes Part Of The Stairs Inside This Eclectic House
Mag Arquitectes together with Clara Lleal INTERIORISTA has shared photos of a home they designed in...
a year ago
Mag Arquitectes together with Clara Lleal INTERIORISTA has shared photos of a home they designed in Catalunya, Spain, that showcases a unique dining area.
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...
Old Structures...
Two Anachronisms
I avoid the use of the word “holdout” in discussing older buildings now surrounded by newer ones. It...
2 months ago
I avoid the use of the word “holdout” in discussing older buildings now surrounded by newer ones. It implies a drama that may never have existed. In this case, the west block-front of Trinity Place between Edgar and Rector Streets provides a nice contrast of building ages. From...
Old Structures...
Now The Good Side
A few years ago, I wrote a fairly snarky and negative piece on the Park Avenue Hotel. The building...
10 months ago
A few years ago, I wrote a fairly snarky and negative piece on the Park Avenue Hotel. The building is physically of interest to me because it was a rare example of a residential building with cast-iron facades and a good example of the common approach (in the mid-nineteenth...
Old Structures...
Straight and Curved
I first started reading architectural theory and criticism when I was still an engineering undergrad...
6 months ago
I first started reading architectural theory and criticism when I was still an engineering undergrad student. It gave me a perspective on buildings that was notably different than that I was learning in my design and analysis classes, but because I was an outsider it took me a...
Old Structures...
Dry-Goods Palace
This is a newspaper ad circa 1883, advertising that the store Wechsler & Abraham had moved about two...
3 months ago
This is a newspaper ad circa 1883, advertising that the store Wechsler & Abraham had moved about two blocks down Fulton Street to a new building that was something like five times the size of its old home. That name doesn’t mean much today, but in 1893, a change in ownership...
The Modern House
How Emile Jones built a functional and fluid home in a 1950s block in Peckham
a year ago
Old Structures...
Solving A Non-Existent Problem
This drawing by William Barclay Parsons, from 1887, is quite something. It shows a 12-span viaduct...
11 months ago
This drawing by William Barclay Parsons, from 1887, is quite something. It shows a 12-span viaduct with two bridges to carry a street from the top of a hill gradually down to the lower grade over a mile to the north. This is the same northern portion of Manhattan of which I said...
Old Structures...
Changes and Not
I almost missed this 1938 entry in Berenice Abbott’s “Changing New York” project, because it’s...
9 months ago
I almost missed this 1938 entry in Berenice Abbott’s “Changing New York” project, because it’s mislabelled at the New York Public Library web site as “Vista, Thomas Street”. We all make mistakes, and whomever confused Thames and Thomas hid the location of this photo by accident....
99% Invisible
The Double Kick [EPISODE]
Watch a skate video today, and you’ll notice how similarly shaped the boards are. It’s called the...
11 months ago
Watch a skate video today, and you’ll notice how similarly shaped the boards are. It’s called the “popsicle” design, because the deck is narrow in the middle and rounded off at both ends, like a popsicle stick. This may seem stupid simple, but that basic, clean popsicle shape is...
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...
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...
A Weekly Dose of...
This Blog in 2023
One year ago, in the first post of 2022, I shifted this blog from (almost) daily posts about...
a year ago
One year ago, in the first post of 2022, I shifted this blog from (almost) daily posts about architecture books to just once a week, changing the name of the blog to reflect that. In the fifth of five bullet points reasoning why that was happening, I wrote: "I'm planning on...
devonzuegel.com
Urban sprawl is a tragedy of the commons
We tend to choose larger homes than we want our neighbors to choose. The result: sprawling...
over a year ago
We tend to choose larger homes than we want our neighbors to choose. The result: sprawling development that doesn't match what people actually want from their communities.
People aim to maximize access and space when deciding where to live.
All things equal, most people like...
Archinect - Features
Let's Talk About Architectural Licensure
Welcome to Archinect In-Depth: Licensure. Over the coming weeks, Archinect will explore the journey...
7 months ago
Welcome to Archinect In-Depth: Licensure. Over the coming weeks, Archinect will explore the journey undertaken by those in the United States seeking to practice as a licensed architect, including reflections on the history of licensure, comparisons to other countries, the cost...
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:
99% Invisible
The Power Broker #11: Brennan Lee Mulligan
This is the eleventh official episode of our ongoing series breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize...
a month ago
This is the eleventh 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 Mars and Elliott Kalan sit down with Brennan Lee Mulligan, a comedian and host with Dropout TV, where he’s...
Old Structures...
An Obvious Issue
“The Battle for the Streets of New York” by Dodai Stewart and illustrated by Leon Edler, in Monday’s...
7 months ago
“The Battle for the Streets of New York” by Dodai Stewart and illustrated by Leon Edler, in Monday’s New York Times, is a reasonable discussion of congestion on Manhattan’s streets. Not just car congestion – delivery truck, bus, bicycle, and pedestrian congestion are discussed as...
Common Edge
Letter from Tennessee: License for Civility in Uncivil Times
Not all civil portent is writ as large. It sometimes comes in small places, hidden in plain sight.
a year ago
Not all civil portent is writ as large. It sometimes comes in small places, hidden in plain sight.
Old Structures...
Complicated History, Nice Backdrop
From February 1946, a view of the East River waterfront in Brooklyn, with lower Manhattan in the...
4 months ago
From February 1946, a view of the East River waterfront in Brooklyn, with lower Manhattan in the background. It was a cold month: note the ice in the river past the train storage to the right of pier 15. This is the old pier 15, which was close to the foot of Montague Street. It...
Old Structures...
Born In The Bronx
The central dome of the US Capitol on May 9, 1861: There was a certain symbolism to its incomplete...
6 months ago
The central dome of the US Capitol on May 9, 1861: There was a certain symbolism to its incomplete state given that the Civil War had begun the previous month, but that was a coincidence. The replacement of the original wooden dome had been planned for some time. The old dome was...
Old Structures...
Three Boxes, One Optional
I’m going to talk briefly about theater design, but I don’t mean the topics that people think of...
a year ago
I’m going to talk briefly about theater design, but I don’t mean the topics that people think of when you say that. I’m not going to talk about acoustics, or sight-lines, or architectural design of the auditorium. I want to talk about the physical requirements for a modern...
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...
Common Edge
Ugly Buildings Are Not Simply a Matter of Aesthetics
Bad architecture must come from some underlying ethos.
a year ago
Bad architecture must come from some underlying ethos.
The Modern House
The big blue: a striking sculptural staircase forms the focus of this converted coach house in...
2 months ago
Construction Physics
Building Apollo
A review of Angle of Attack: Harrison Storms and the Race to the Moon
a year ago
A review of Angle of Attack: Harrison Storms and the Race to the Moon
Common Edge
Technology’s Siren Song
How to lure an architect onto the rocks.
2 months ago
How to lure an architect onto the rocks.
99% Invisible
Mini-Stories: Volume 19
It’s that time again—mini-stories are back! Get ready for a whirlwind tour of short, surprising, and...
5 days ago
It’s that time again—mini-stories are back! Get ready for a whirlwind tour of short, surprising, and fascinating tales. This week we have punny highway signs, a PAC funded by exercise, the explosive history behind the Nobel Prize, and some long toes. Let’s get into it! Slow Down,...
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
How Abby Lee, founder of Mambow, is modernising Malaysian cuisine
a year ago
Old Structures...
Recognizing Reality
A hundred years ago, jaywalking was a made-up offense. In 1926, a study of traffic included the...
a month ago
A hundred years ago, jaywalking was a made-up offense. In 1926, a study of traffic included the statement “all persons have an equal right in the highway, and that in exercising the right each shall take due care not to injure other users of the way.” Old pictures of even a...
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...
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.
CONTEMPORIST
These A-Frame Cabins Were Built To Create An Eco-Hotel In Italy
Atelier LAVIT has sent us images of their latest project LILELO / Little Leisure Lodge, which is an...
a year ago
Atelier LAVIT has sent us images of their latest project LILELO / Little Leisure Lodge, which is an eco-hotel made up of four independent cabins. Three of the cabins are dedicated to housing suites, with the fourth cabin acting as a common area with a generous outdoor space and a...
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