Archinect - Features
How Do We Teach AI? In Florida, One Architecture School Offers a Precedent
As our recent Archinect In-Depth: Artificial Intelligence series demonstrated, AI will inevitably...
5 months ago
As our recent Archinect In-Depth: Artificial Intelligence series demonstrated, AI will inevitably play a sizeable role in the future of the architectural profession. For architecture schools tasked with equipping students for the future of practice, the advent of AI poses...
devonzuegel.com
The new city in California
A new city has been proposed in California, and the plan is going to a vote in Solano County’s...
10 months ago
A new city has been proposed in California, and the plan is going to a vote in Solano County’s November election. The proposed location is in Solano County, about halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento, and the group behind the proposal is named California Forever.
As a...
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...
CONTEMPORIST
A New Home Overhanging The Water’s Edge In Alaska
Architecture firm Prentiss + Balance + Wickline has shared photos of a home they completed in...
2 months ago
Architecture firm Prentiss + Balance + Wickline has shared photos of a home they completed in Alaska, that overlooks inlet waters and is balanced on the edge of a rock wall. The home’s geometry is defined by two tall shed roof structures with a connector between them. Along the...
Contemporist...
A New Bunkhouse Provides Additional Accommodation For A Family's Cabin On An Island
SHED Architecture & Design has shared photos of a two-story bunkhouse on Guemes Island in Washington...
10 months ago
SHED Architecture & Design has shared photos of a two-story bunkhouse on Guemes Island in Washington State, that provides additional sleeping accommodations for a family's cabin.
The Modern House
A Californian-inspired 1970s home hidden under the trees in Kent
a year ago
Common Edge
Randy Fertel on the Power and Peril of Creative Improvisation
A lively talk with the author about his new book, Winging It.
8 months ago
A lively talk with the author about his new book, Winging It.
The Modern House
A hotel with staying power overlooking the Atlantic in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland
a year ago
Contemporist...
This New House Was Designed To Fit Into A Protected Historic Neighborhood
Architecture firm FLOWER, together with interior design studio Saltwolf, has completed a new home in...
8 months ago
Architecture firm FLOWER, together with interior design studio Saltwolf, has completed a new home in Boulder, Colorado, whose design was inspired by the nearby historic houses in the neighborhood.
Old Structures...
Also From The Train, Again
I was going through some old photos and found this, and was gong to use it for a blog post until I...
2 months ago
I was going through some old photos and found this, and was gong to use it for a blog post until I looked and realized that I already had. So here it is again: That’s the West Shore railroad, as seen from the Hudson line (AKA the New York Central main line), and from across […]
Old Structures...
Raking Sunlight
Pro tip, as computer manuals said back when (a) everyone was not yet comfortable using a computer...
a year ago
Pro tip, as computer manuals said back when (a) everyone was not yet comfortable using a computer and (b) computer manuals still existed: environmental conditions can help in building investigation. For example, I like conducting facade inspections on very cold days because you...
CONTEMPORIST
A Unique Window Shape Helps Frame The View From Inside This Cabin
Architecture firm Rever & Drage has shared photos of a contemporary cabin they designed that...
10 months ago
Architecture firm Rever & Drage has shared photos of a contemporary cabin they designed that includes a uniquely shaped window to perfectly frame the view of the sunset. Located in Nordmarka, Norway, the cabin contains the most necessary features, but not much more, making it...
Old Structures...
Not Famous Is Good
Theater fires were among the worst building-related events of the nineteenth and early-twentieth...
4 months ago
Theater fires were among the worst building-related events of the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries in the US. The Iroquois Theater fire in Chicago killed over 600 people; closer to home, the Brooklyn Theater fire killed about 280. I serious do not recommend reading about...
Old Structures...
Smooth
Still in Montreal, the roof of a now enclosed, formerly (I think) open areaway in front of a high...
a month ago
Still in Montreal, the roof of a now enclosed, formerly (I think) open areaway in front of a high rise: In case that’s difficult to make out, it’s a glass slab roof supported on laminated glass beams. The hand belongs to Will Teron, who was standing on the same stair landing I...
Contemporist...
The Ultimate Gift Guide With Over 50 Ideas For Interior Designers, Architects, And Design Lovers
Finding a gift for an interior designer, architect, or design lover can sometimes be a difficult...
a year ago
Finding a gift for an interior designer, architect, or design lover can sometimes be a difficult task, so we’ve put together a collection of more than 50 gift ideas to make your life easier.
Common Edge
Near Ground Zero, Joshua Ramus Fails His Audition for Starchitect Status
The Perelman Performing Arts Center is a pricey bauble, but its over mechanized interiors suggest...
a year ago
The Perelman Performing Arts Center is a pricey bauble, but its over mechanized interiors suggest the building’s hype is unwarranted.
CONTEMPORIST
A Home In The Trees With A Living Room Suspended Over The Forest Floor
DeForest Architects has sent us images of a home they completed in Burien, Washington, that has a...
a year ago
DeForest Architects has sent us images of a home they completed in Burien, Washington, that has a living room suspended above the forest floor. The home sits on a one-acre wooded parcel at the top of a bluff overlooking Puget Sound, with the clients wanting a tranquil and...
Blog - Guerrilla...
Pools and Populations in the SF Bay Area
For many people, swimming in a pool on a hot July day with kids splashing and lifeguards hollering...
a month ago
For many people, swimming in a pool on a hot July day with kids splashing and lifeguards hollering is the quintessential summer experience. Not only do pools provide a place for people to recreate and cool off in the summer heat, but access to pools is essential to making basic...
CONTEMPORIST
Wood Covers The Interior And Exterior Of This Modern Canadian Cottage
Akb Architects has designed a modern cottage in Canada that’s clad in rough-sawn cedar boards and...
a year ago
Akb Architects has designed a modern cottage in Canada that’s clad in rough-sawn cedar boards and western red cedar shakes. The residence is hidden among trees with carefully sited openings providing views of a freshwater lake. Each volume is nested above and within the existing...
Archinect - Features
An Industry Pins Its Hopes on Interest Rate Cuts: Archinect’s State of AEC July 2024
Welcome to the second installment of Archinect's new series, State of AEC. At the end of each month,...
4 months ago
Welcome to the second installment of Archinect's new series, State of AEC. At the end of each month, we will guide you through the latest analyses, indexes, and trends on how the architecture and construction industries are performing economically.
As we reflect back on June and...
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 […]
Old Structures...
Three Dimentionality
I was in Minneapolis a few months ago and took some pictures of the Lumber Exchange, one of the...
9 months ago
I was in Minneapolis a few months ago and took some pictures of the Lumber Exchange, one of the first tall buildings constructed there. Here’s an overall view of the original wing (the building is L shaped, with the wings constructed at different times): It’s not deserted – the...
devonzuegel.com
Podcasts & conferences I've spoken at
I haven't done a great job of tracking these, so this list is non-comprehensive:
Urbanism and the...
over a year ago
I haven't done a great job of tracking these, so this list is non-comprehensive:
Urbanism and the Future of Cities (Jan 2023) – Narratives podcast
Inflation, Argentina, and Crypto (Oct 2022) – EconTalk podcast
Devon Zuegel on Startup Cities (June 2022)
Devon Zuegel, creator...
Contemporist...
An Undulating Wood Ceiling Inspired By Ocean Waves And Nearby Mountains
ARRCC has shared photos of a remodel they recently completed for a home in Cape Town, South Africa,...
a month ago
ARRCC has shared photos of a remodel they recently completed for a home in Cape Town, South Africa, that retained the original footprint, and received a contemporary update with a new undulating cast in-place concrete roof lined with wood on the inside.
Construction Physics
How to Build a $20 Billion Semiconductor Fab
For the last several decades, one avenue of technological progress has towered over nearly...
7 months ago
For the last several decades, one avenue of technological progress has towered over nearly everything else: semiconductors. Semiconductors are materials that can have their conductivity varied by many orders of magnitude, which makes it possible to selectively block and allow the...
CONTEMPORIST
This Modern Home Is Suspended Over A Creek
Fougeron Architecture has shared photos of a home they remodeled that’s suspended between two...
4 months ago
Fougeron Architecture has shared photos of a home they remodeled that’s suspended between two California hills, and spans a creek, and boasts a waterfall in the backyard. The goal of the project was to reconnect this structure into the environment while best utilizing the...
devonzuegel.com
Part 4: Success is tied to benefiting existing Solano residents
A new city has been proposed in California, and I’ve never been more captivated by a vision for the...
9 months ago
A new city has been proposed in California, and I’ve never been more captivated by a vision for the future of my home state in my lifetime. This post is part of a series I’m writing about this bold proposal.
California Forever’s proposal includes 10 Voter Guarantees that go far...
Old Structures...
The Same But Different
This is an 1884 photograph of Broadway looking north from just south of Houston Street. Broadway...
11 months ago
This is an 1884 photograph of Broadway looking north from just south of Houston Street. Broadway runs straight from here until the bend at 10th Street where Grace Church is, and the church is just barely visible at the end of the street. Unlike most photos of Manhattan from the...
CONTEMPORIST
A Kid’s Bedroom With Built-In Reading Nooks
Architecture and interiors firm Picnic Design has created a built-in storage unit with nooks for two...
4 weeks ago
Architecture and interiors firm Picnic Design has created a built-in storage unit with nooks for two kids in their tween years. The request came from two siblings who have been sharing a room since birth and have reached the point where they would like to have their own room....
99% Invisible
The Power Broker #07: Sec. Pete Buttigieg [EPISODE]
This is the seventh official episode of our ongoing series breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize...
5 months ago
This is the seventh 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 sit down with Pete Buttigieg, the US Secretary of Transportation. One of his major...
Old Structures...
A Modern and Maybe Over Building Type
“Death of the Department Store” by Rosemary Hill is a short review of an exhibition at the Musée des...
2 months ago
“Death of the Department Store” by Rosemary Hill is a short review of an exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. As best as I can tell, having not seen the exhibit, it is not so much about the state of department stores today as it is about their entire history from...
Old Structures...
Fun With Framing
From a recent trip to Staten Island, a view looking north across the harbor to Manhattan and...
a month ago
From a recent trip to Staten Island, a view looking north across the harbor to Manhattan and Brooklyn: New York looks, unfortunately, much like a chain-link fence. The catenaries that we see are some nearby power lines, not far-off suspension bridges. Cropping helps but not...
devonzuegel.com
Contemplating calendars
My friends say that my calendaring practice is atypical (and mock me incessantly for it). They're...
over a year ago
My friends say that my calendaring practice is atypical (and mock me incessantly for it). They're not wrong, but I'll contend that most people underutilize this ubiquitous tool. A calendar is not just a reminder device for keeping track of external events. Used right, a calendar...
Common Edge
How Architects Deal With Demolished Designs
Buildings don’t belong to architects, but to the culture that created them.
a year ago
Buildings don’t belong to architects, but to the culture that created them.
Common Edge
Telling the Essential Stories of Everyday Places
A talk with Gabrielle Bendiner-Viana, author of The Cities We Need.
2 weeks ago
A talk with Gabrielle Bendiner-Viana, author of The Cities We Need.
A Weekly Dose of...
2023 in Architecture Books, So Far
Life, they say, throws you curve balls, and that's just what happened last month, when a family...
a year ago
Life, they say, throws you curve balls, and that's just what happened last month, when a family emergency had me put this blog on hiatus. This post, appearing on a Friday instead of its regular Monday, does not mean regular weekly posts will resume, as I'll be dealing with said...
Old Structures...
Why People Cared
This is remarkable, in a way: in a city full of apartment houses, the New York Sun newspaper felt...
4 months ago
This is remarkable, in a way: in a city full of apartment houses, the New York Sun newspaper felt that a complex of mid-rise buildings in Queens was worthy of note: I can think of two reasons off the top of my head, one related to housing and the other related to general...
The Modern House
Love at First Sight: homes with spectacular views for sale
Is there anything quite like waking up to a breathtaking view? We’re particularly partial to...
a year ago
Is there anything quite like waking up to a breathtaking view? We’re particularly partial to panoramas of rolling fields, big blue waves and slick cityscapes – all of which appear in this story. From a flat in St Leonards overlooking the sea to a Limehouse […]
Archinect - Features
You, Me, and DALL-E: On the Relationship Between Architecture, Data, and Artificial...
Thirty years after the thaw of the last 'AI Winter,' the landscape of artificial intelligence is one...
a year ago
Thirty years after the thaw of the last 'AI Winter,' the landscape of artificial intelligence is one of a forest in full bloom. On a weekly basis throughout 2023, new tools have been released taking advantage of the latest advances in machine learning algorithms, while existing...
The Modern House
Quiet yet quirky – the family home of architect Will Burges serves as both inspiration and sanctuary
5 months ago
Old Structures...
It Looked Familiar: Artistic
From a stand-alone comic about the Penguin, a museum in Gotham City: From the Look Around feature in...
7 months ago
From a stand-alone comic about the Penguin, a museum in Gotham City: From the Look Around feature in Apple Maps, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Fifth Avenue facade: From 1900, when the main facade of the center block was complete, but the wings not yet constructed: The rough...
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...
Construction Physics
Could ChatGPT become an architect?
OpenAI recently released an updated version of their GPT large language model, GPT-4, and have...
a year ago
OpenAI recently released an updated version of their GPT large language model, GPT-4, and have incorporated it into their ChatGPT chatbot. In case you've been living under a rock, ChatGPT is a chatbot that uses large language models, which use artificial neural networks
Common Edge
Harvard Design Magazine #50: ChatGPT to the Rescue
An alumnus of the GSD takes a treacherous trek through the dense and glossy 50th anniversary issue.
a year ago
An alumnus of the GSD takes a treacherous trek through the dense and glossy 50th anniversary issue.
The Modern House
How a love of Japan and the 1970s shaped Sherrill Smith’s Hackney home
a year ago
Common Edge
Climate Lessons From the Floating Villages of Cambodia
Social and cultural values may be as important as hard (and expensive) infrastructure.
a year ago
Social and cultural values may be as important as hard (and expensive) infrastructure.
Contemporist...
This Home Has A Living Room That Extends Over The Swimming Pool Below
Daniel Marshall Architect (DMA) has shared photos of a new home they designed in New Zealand, that...
a year ago
Daniel Marshall Architect (DMA) has shared photos of a new home they designed in New Zealand, that includes a cantilevered living room.
Old Structures...
Almost Unrecognizeable
Most of the 1950s Angelo Rizzuto photos I’ve been discussing recently can be quickly located even if...
7 months ago
Most of the 1950s Angelo Rizzuto photos I’ve been discussing recently can be quickly located even if their descriptions don’t say were they were taken. The 1957 picture above threw me. We’re looking towards midtown – the Empire State Building makes that obvious – but from what...
Old Structures...
Double
Part of the Construction History Congress last week was a day of tours, and I went on the iron- and...
5 months ago
Part of the Construction History Congress last week was a day of tours, and I went on the iron- and steel-truss bridge tour. I’m going to show my pictures every two or three days, spread over the next couple of weeks. First up: the rail bridge at Eglisau: Built 1895-1897 by the...
Old Structures...
The Black Tower
For all you Lord of the Rings fans, remember: Brooklyn is not Mordor. No matter what similarities...
8 months ago
For all you Lord of the Rings fans, remember: Brooklyn is not Mordor. No matter what similarities may exist.
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...
Archinect - Features
Archinect Celebrates 20 Must-Watch Emerging U.S.-Based Architecture Practices
In celebration of July 4th, Archinect recognizes the work of U.S.-based architecture firms by...
a year ago
In celebration of July 4th, Archinect recognizes the work of U.S.-based architecture firms by bringing attention to a selection of emerging studios establishing themselves as changemakers and design leaders within the industry.
From coast to coast, we've explored several...
The Modern House
Planned to Perfection: six meticulously designed modernist flats
Looking for the chance to live inside a piece of architectural history? Here are six London flats...
a year ago
Looking for the chance to live inside a piece of architectural history? Here are six London flats for sale within buildings that exemplify the best of British modernism, from the Barbican to Trellick Tower. The brains behind these sprawling estates and soaring blocks followed new...
SOCKS
Botany as an Artistic Practice: Anna Atkins’ Blueprints
Anna Atkins (1799-1871) was a British botanist and photographer. She was in direct contact with...
over a year ago
Anna Atkins (1799-1871) was a British botanist and photographer. She was in direct contact with William Henry Fox Talbot, (the inventor of calotype, an early photographic technique), and with Sir John Frederick William Herschel, (the inventor of the cyanotype, a technique that...
Old Structures...
Wider
I’ve talked about some of the weirdness of Park Avenue before, but there’s a basic problem with the...
3 months ago
I’ve talked about some of the weirdness of Park Avenue before, but there’s a basic problem with the street’s name: there’s no park. There are planted medians, but they’re not accessible to foot traffic and narrow enough that even if you could get out onto them, you’d be...
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...
Conceiving the Plan
Conceiving the Plan: Nuance and Intimacy in Civic Space
Edited by Yael Hameiri Sainsaux
Skira,...
over a year ago
Conceiving the Plan: Nuance and Intimacy in Civic Space
Edited by Yael Hameiri Sainsaux
Skira, August 2022
Hardcover | 12-1/4 x 12-1/4 inches | 240 pages | 170 illustrations | English | ISBN: 9788857246543 | $45.00
PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION:
In Honor of Diane Lewis...
Old Structures...
It Looked Familiar: Iconic
There are all sorts of tricks – visual shorthand – for saying “you’re in New York” in movies, TV,...
3 months ago
There are all sorts of tricks – visual shorthand – for saying “you’re in New York” in movies, TV, and photos. One of them is to include some roof-top water tanks. Comics, too: The purpose of the tanks is very simple. They store water pumped up form the municipal main, and water...
The Modern House
Harriet Verney on her camp interiors and life within a converted Bible factory in Dalston
a year ago
Construction Physics
How Washington DC Got Its Metro
There have been two main periods of subway (or “metro”) building in the US. The first was during the...
a year ago
There have been two main periods of subway (or “metro”) building in the US. The first was during the late 19th century and early 20th century, when Boston, New York, and Philadelphia all built subway systems
The Modern House
Jeremy Lee: the much-loved chef who grew up in a wedge of cheddar
If ever there was a corrective to the idea of the dour Scotsman, it could be found in Jeremy Lee....
9 months ago
If ever there was a corrective to the idea of the dour Scotsman, it could be found in Jeremy Lee. Glaswegian-born (and now London-based) Jeremy is chef proprietor of Quo Vadis, the historic Soho institution beloved of virtually everyone who’s ever had the privilege of […]
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...
Archinect - Features
Archinect Celebrates Canada Day by Highlighting 15 Architecture Firms That Are Defining the...
July 1, also known as Canada Day, is a time when Canadians come together to commemorate the union of...
a year ago
July 1, also known as Canada Day, is a time when Canadians come together to commemorate the union of what were once three separate colonies — New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Canada (contemporary Ontario and Quebec).
Canada isn't just one of the largest countries in the world, but...
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...
The Modern House
Mark Bonskek and Sabba Khan’s playful Maryland home is a masterclass in materiality
a year ago
The Modern House
A mix of materials results in fun, family-friendly flexibility in a Hove warehouse conversion
9 months ago
CONTEMPORIST
Contemporary Japanese Design Blends Seamlessly With Tropical Modernism In This New Home
Architecture firm Alexis Dornier Makings has shared photos of a private residence in Berawa, Bali,...
5 months ago
Architecture firm Alexis Dornier Makings has shared photos of a private residence in Berawa, Bali, that they completed which seamlessly blends contemporary Japanese design with tropical modernism. The centerpiece of ‘The Free Bird Project’ is a living room positioned above the...
Old Structures...
It Looked Familiar: Like A Movie Set
First, a panel from “The Bat-Man – First Knight,” an alternate telling of the Batman story, set in...
9 months ago
First, a panel from “The Bat-Man – First Knight,” an alternate telling of the Batman story, set in 1939: Second, a photo of Staple Street in lower Manhattan, from Unsplash: Note that the comic-book artist has flipped the image left-right – visible at the asymmetry in the bridge....
Old Structures...
The Slab
Every sizable city has one or more locally-specific building types, based on the culture and...
5 months ago
Every sizable city has one or more locally-specific building types, based on the culture and economics of real estate there. Some of the causes are rational, like the size of rowhouses being related to the wealth of a neighborhood; some are not, like the high stoops used in New...
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...
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.
Old Structures...
A Different Configuration
I almost didn’t recognize this photograph, even though I’ve been involved with the building since...
6 months ago
I almost didn’t recognize this photograph, even though I’ve been involved with the building since 2011. The New York Public Library digital archive has this labelled as the “Onderdonk Mill, Roslyn” and if they hadn’t mentioned the town name I wold have gone right by it. We’ve...
The Modern House
Crocadon in Cornwall is a farm and restaurant with organic agriculture, good cooking and great...
a year ago
SOCKS
Claude Bragdon: Drawings of the Fourth Dimension (1913-1915)
American architect Claude Fayette Bragdon (1866-1946) was also an artist, writer and stage designer....
over a year ago
American architect Claude Fayette Bragdon (1866-1946) was also an artist, writer and stage designer. He was based in Rochester, NY where he built his masterpiece, the New York Central Railroad Station in 1909. His design work and philosophy were influenced mainly by theosophy, a...
The Modern House
From Bath bakery and restaurant to Bruton mill: the evolution of Landrace in Somerset
a year ago
Old Structures...
Perspective
Anyone who’d read more than a few of these blog posts knows that sometimes I’ll write about...
5 days ago
Anyone who’d read more than a few of these blog posts knows that sometimes I’ll write about something just because it seems cool. Or looks cool. In this case, “cool” is two photos from Carol Highsmith, a professional photographer who was generous enough to donate her archive to...
Contemporist...
A' Design Awards & Competition - Early Call for Entries
A’ Design Award & Competition is the world’s leading design accolade reaching design enthusiasts...
a year ago
A’ Design Award & Competition is the world’s leading design accolade reaching design enthusiasts around the world, and showcasing 1844 winners in 139 different design disciplines.
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.
devonzuegel.com
Chautauqua: an idea embedded in a place
I want to tell you about the place I spent summers growing up. It's called Chautauqua Institution,...
over a year ago
I want to tell you about the place I spent summers growing up. It's called Chautauqua Institution, and it's one of the most special places in the world — and not just because I spent my childhood there. Chautauqua is special because it is an idea embedded in a place.
The place...
Construction Physics
Is Land-Use Regulation Holding Back Construction Productivity?
Ed Glaeser is perhaps the pre-eminent urban economist working today, and I’ve cited his work...
4 months ago
Ed Glaeser is perhaps the pre-eminent urban economist working today, and I’ve cited his work repeatedly when looking at land-use restrictions and burdens on new development.
99% Invisible
Christiania [EPISODE]
In the year 1623, Christian IV, king of Denmark and Norway, built a long series of moats and...
2 months ago
In the year 1623, Christian IV, king of Denmark and Norway, built a long series of moats and ramparts just across from central Copenhagen, on the eastern edge of the city’s harbor, to protect the city from Swedish invasion. In the early 19th century, the Danish government added...
devonzuegel.com
Empathy for the Devil
I. Loan application
Before serving time for mortgage fraud, Toby Groves seemed like the last person...
over a year ago
I. Loan application
Before serving time for mortgage fraud, Toby Groves seemed like the last person who would get into that kind of trouble. His older brother had been sentenced for the same crime twenty years earlier, and Toby had seen how it destroyed his family. He swore he’d...
Old Structures...
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...
Common Edge
Who Is Using Who? The Architect-Patron Fame Game
The co-mingling of famous client and famous designer has a long history.
a year ago
The co-mingling of famous client and famous designer has a long history.
CONTEMPORIST
A New Extension And A Garden Studio For This Heritage-Listed Home
Paul Archer Design has sent us photos of a rear addition they completed for a Grade II Listed Town...
a year ago
Paul Archer Design has sent us photos of a rear addition they completed for a Grade II Listed Town House in Greater London, England. Not only did they design the addition, but they also created a small garden studio that provides a workspace for the musician owner. A large...
The Modern House
Nice Slice: the best pizza in London
a year ago
CONTEMPORIST
The Black Exterior Of This Home In The Forest Covers A White Minimalist Interior
Matière Première Architecture has completed a new home in Stanstead, Quebec, Canada, that has a...
a year ago
Matière Première Architecture has completed a new home in Stanstead, Quebec, Canada, that has a striking black exterior surrounded by the forest. The house’s design emphasizes its connection with a nearby stream by incorporating strategic window placements and a layout that...
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...
A Weekly Dose of...
From Slow House to Blue Dream
Blue Dream is a house designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro for Julia "Julie" Reyes Taubman and her...
a year ago
Blue Dream is a house designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro for Julia "Julie" Reyes Taubman and her husband Robert "Bobby" Taubman. The house, located in East Hampton, on the South Fork of Long Island, was completed in 2017, nearly 30 years after the architects were commissioned...
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 […]
CONTEMPORIST
Natural Stone Provides A Base For This Modern Home
Bourgeois / Lechasseur architectes has recently completed a new home in Mauricie, a region of...
a year ago
Bourgeois / Lechasseur architectes has recently completed a new home in Mauricie, a region of Canada’s Québec province between Montréal and Québec City. The home’s design is inspired by the region’s industrial heritage and the natural elements that surround it. The unusually...
Common Edge
Let’s Stop Using the Terms ‘Traditional’ and ‘Modern’
By now, the terms are arbitrary and confusing.
a year ago
By now, the terms are arbitrary and confusing.
Common Edge
The Art and Angst of Architecture in Southern California
An excerpt from An Urban Odyssey: A Critic’s Search for the Soul of Cities and Self.
3 weeks ago
An excerpt from An Urban Odyssey: A Critic’s Search for the Soul of Cities and Self.
Blog - Guerrilla...
Migration Away From Flooded Land in Seattle
How did you decide on your map subject for the Migration atlas?
Deciding what to map was the...
over a year ago
How did you decide on your map subject for the Migration atlas?
Deciding what to map was the hardest part of the Atlas in a Day experience. The first night, we developed a number of interesting concepts but nothing felt quite right. Were data available? What interesting story...
Common Edge
What L.A. 2028 Can Learn From the Paris Olympics
Sprawling Los Angeles is vastly different from the French capital, but it can still find ways to...
3 months ago
Sprawling Los Angeles is vastly different from the French capital, but it can still find ways to take a cue from the City of Lights’ embrace of the local.
Old Structures...
What’s Not Stated
This newspaper clipping in one of the New York Public Library’s scrapbooks has no explanation, but...
a month ago
This newspaper clipping in one of the New York Public Library’s scrapbooks has no explanation, but I’m pretty sure I know what it’s about. The somewhat ominous caption “Park Avenue Tunnel Choked With the Debris” is probably describing the aftermath of the January 1902 crash...
The Modern House
The Green Series #1: an insiders' guide to insulation
The first instalment of our mini Green Series is all about insulation. Insulation is a key feature...
a month ago
The first instalment of our mini Green Series is all about insulation. Insulation is a key feature of passivhaus design as it reduces the amount of heat lost through the building fabric to a very low level, reducing the heat requirement of the building. Kate Jacobs […]
Old Structures...
New York Without Height
Today’s pictures all date from 1860, when the tallest building in New York was the spire of Trinity...
10 months ago
Today’s pictures all date from 1860, when the tallest building in New York was the spire of Trinity Church. I can’t readily tell you what the second-tallest building was, as people weren’t really thinking about tall buildings that way yet. It was probably another church spire....
Old Structures...
The Skull Beneath The Feathers
I like birds to begin with; this hummingbird sculpture in Montreal seems designed specifically for a...
4 weeks ago
I like birds to begin with; this hummingbird sculpture in Montreal seems designed specifically for a structural engineer who likes birds.
CONTEMPORIST
A Sheltered Space Beneath The Sloping Roof Of This Home Makes Space For A Hot Tub
Batay-Csorba Architects has designed a home in Toronto, Canada, that takes advantage of the small...
a year ago
Batay-Csorba Architects has designed a home in Toronto, Canada, that takes advantage of the small 65’x20’ pie-shaped corner lot, and includes a sheltered outdoor balcony. The sloping roof partially covers the balcony, with an opening above the Japanese soaking tub. The home’s...
Old Structures...
Housekeeping
The two-site business is done. Oldstructures.nyc now redirects to Oldstructyres.com, so everyone is...
a year ago
The two-site business is done. Oldstructures.nyc now redirects to Oldstructyres.com, so everyone is seeing the same, new website. We’re still working some kinks out. If you have an email or WordPress subscription to the website, I think you’ll have to update it. Or maybe not, who...
The Modern House
Furnishing Futures: the charity improving the lives of domestic abuse survivors – one piece of...
When a domestic abuse victim is given the keys to their new home, many will find that it comes...
3 weeks ago
When a domestic abuse victim is given the keys to their new home, many will find that it comes unfurnished, often without even carpets on the floors. It can be the cause of much stress for these women, who have recently fled an abusive home […]
SOCKS
“I called them Ghosts”. Visual Poems and Sequences by George Wylesol
George Wylesol is a Baltimore-based artist who primarily produces illustrations and comic-like...
8 months ago
George Wylesol is a Baltimore-based artist who primarily produces illustrations and comic-like sequences of drawings, often accompanied by written text in the form of short poems. His works blend mundane objects and settings with surreal plots and visual associations, resulting...
There are two types...
DONALD TRUMP & EVIL – A Post-Halloween / Election-Eve Story
Almost forty years ago, I owned a small house in the Greenwich “backcountry” just a few miles from...
a month ago
Almost forty years ago, I owned a small house in the Greenwich “backcountry” just a few miles from the Westchester County Airport. One morning, I was talking on the phone with a friend whom I would see later in the … Continue reading →
The post DONALD TRUMP & EVIL – A...
The Modern House
A Day Well Spent with Isabella Burley
a year ago
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...
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 Architectural...
Fake Views – The Contrast Between Renderings and Reality
A shining sun, playful children, overwhelming greenery and new neighborhoods with a richer wildlife...
11 months ago
A shining sun, playful children, overwhelming greenery and new neighborhoods with a richer wildlife than a Zoo. We have all seen them, the vision images that promise an idyll but result in a visual nightmare. Here‘s a few examples. Renderings are a visual representation of a...
Old Structures...
Minor Errors
From a New York Public Library scrapbook, an 1880 view of Union Square. The title on the web page...
2 months ago
From a New York Public Library scrapbook, an 1880 view of Union Square. The title on the web page says “South side Union Square B’way” except that this is definitely (see below) the north side of the Square, AKA East 17th Street. Is the first word written in pencil “South”? If I...
The Architectural...
VR Study Shows People Prefer Traditional Architecture Over Modernist Designs
Traditional architecture has been found to contribute more to people’s well-being than modernist...
a year ago
Traditional architecture has been found to contribute more to people’s well-being than modernist glass and steel buildings, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) in Oslo. Using virtual reality (VR) technology, the team...
Old Structures...
Cartesian
I’ve written before about the Washington Bridge over the Harlem River – not to be confused with the...
3 months ago
I’ve written before about the Washington Bridge over the Harlem River – not to be confused with the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson River about a mile away – with good reason. There’s an argument to be made that this small (for NYC) bridge is the most beautiful in the...
Common Edge
NYC’s ‘City of Yes’ Proposal Is a Free Pass for Big Real Estate
It won’t create affordable housing, but instead lead to continued gentrification and displacement.
3 months ago
It won’t create affordable housing, but instead lead to continued gentrification and displacement.
Old Structures...
In The Background
The photo from the Bain News Service is titled “Post Office, New York” and the Library of Congress...
8 months ago
The photo from the Bain News Service is titled “Post Office, New York” and the Library of Congress dates it as “between ca. 1910 and ca. 1915.” I think we can do better: that’s the Municpal Building in the background under construction. The building took longer than usual to...
The Modern House
Rich Pickings: four homes for sale in Kent
Fruit may be Kent’s greatest export, but as regular explorers of our listings will know, there are...
a year ago
Fruit may be Kent’s greatest export, but as regular explorers of our listings will know, there are other sweet surprises to be found here – albeit of a more architectural streak. And while there’s plenty of history to be found in this corner of the […]
The Modern House
Cover Stories: five new architecture, art and design books for your shelf
Inspiration may come in many forms but it’s flighty and hard to find. That said, one place you can...
9 months ago
Inspiration may come in many forms but it’s flighty and hard to find. That said, one place you can be quite sure to pin it down it is on a bookshelf. And while those at TMH HQ are already groaning, we can’t resist the allure […]
Old Structures...
Yesterday and Today
There’s nothing that creates disorientation quite like having a single day that combes changing time...
9 months ago
There’s nothing that creates disorientation quite like having a single day that combes changing time zones by five hours with Dayight Savings. It’s nice to be back home, though. A small reminder that Daylight Savings was introdcued in the US in 1918 for less than a year and...
SOCKS
Madeleine de Boullogne and Louise-Magdeleine Hortemels, Abbey of Port-Royal-des-Champs: Paintings...
Madeleine de Boullogne, (1646-1710), was a baroque artist born and raised in a family of painters....
over a year ago
Madeleine de Boullogne, (1646-1710), was a baroque artist born and raised in a family of painters. Extremely pious, she remained unmarried and lived a semi-monastic life entirely dedicated to working and teaching. Among the most important commissions, she produced a set of four...
Common Edge
Rice University Builds an Opera Theater
It’s time to appreciate one of Allan Greenberg’s best works of architecture.
a year ago
It’s time to appreciate one of Allan Greenberg’s best works of architecture.
CONTEMPORIST
A Modern L-Shaped Home Surrounded By A Pine Tree Forest
Design build firm MAFCOhouse, has shared photos of a contemporary home they completed in Haliburton,...
a year ago
Design build firm MAFCOhouse, has shared photos of a contemporary home they completed in Haliburton, Ontario, for a family that wanted a place in cottage country with a cozy vibe. Working with the family, MAFCOhouse searched hard and found a four-acre lot with southern and...
Old Structures...
Time Is Relative
From 1949, “Manhattan from a Hudson River ferry.” The piers in the foreground are where the Battery...
5 months ago
From 1949, “Manhattan from a Hudson River ferry.” The piers in the foreground are where the Battery Park City landfill would be made circa 1970. From the left, the peaks are the New York Telephone building at 140 West Street, the Woolworth Building, 225 Broadway, AT&T at 195...
Old Structures...
Even A Joke Takes Effort
From 1911, Cass Gilbert’s sketches of his father (top) and himself (bottom): From the Woolworth...
8 months ago
From 1911, Cass Gilbert’s sketches of his father (top) and himself (bottom): From the Woolworth Building lobby as completed in late 1912, the grotesque* of Gilbert holding a model of his building: Given that the grotesque is wearing glasses bit not a laurel wreath, a sketch much...
Common Edge
Making the Economic Case for Biophilic Design
Green building pioneer Bill Browning on why designing with nature is good business.
a year ago
Green building pioneer Bill Browning on why designing with nature is good business.
The Modern House
Zen and the art of mindset maintenance in a former warehouse in east London
a year ago
Old Structures...
Some Peculiarities
This map was sponsored by the “Committee of ‘92” and created by Rand McNally as a guide to the city...
8 months ago
This map was sponsored by the “Committee of ‘92” and created by Rand McNally as a guide to the city for attendees of the Eleventh International Christian Endeavor Convention in 1892. About 40 percent of the index on the right is transportation related – railroads and ship lines –...
CONTEMPORIST
Handmade Turquoise Tiles Line The Entrance To This Spanish Restaurant
Photography by Adria Goula EL EQUIPO CREATIVO has designed Txalupa Gastroleku, a restaurant in San...
9 months ago
Photography by Adria Goula EL EQUIPO CREATIVO has designed Txalupa Gastroleku, a restaurant in San Sebastian, Spain, that draws inspiration from the nearby old port and the small and colorful fishing boats. Photography by Txalupa Gastroleku Stepping inside, you’re immediately...
CONTEMPORIST
The Woody Palette Of The Exterior Is Brought Through To The Inside Of This Home In New Zealand
First Light Studio has shared photos of a new home they designed that’s nestled into the Port Hills...
a year ago
First Light Studio has shared photos of a new home they designed that’s nestled into the Port Hills in Governors Bay, New Zealand. The design brief for the house was to create a small home that was well crafted out of nice materials, which resulted in a gable form with a wood...
Old Structures...
If You’re Interested
Sometimes a topic is so obvious that it’s easily missed. The conference I am currently at is the...
5 months ago
Sometimes a topic is so obvious that it’s easily missed. The conference I am currently at is the triennial International Construction History Congress. It’s a good place to learn about topics in how the built environment got built from many different nations, different times, and...
Old Structures...
Travelog: Advertising Claims
It’s truly embarassing how much time I spent looking at this old ad painted on a building in Bath...
9 months ago
It’s truly embarassing how much time I spent looking at this old ad painted on a building in Bath and wondering what “richestin cream” was. As a slight consolation, note the drain branch directly left of the word “richest”: if you’re putting interior plumbing drains on the...
Old Structures...
We Become Accustomed – Part 2
Yesterday I talked about the process of erecting a steel frame at the Astor Building. At some point,...
a year ago
Yesterday I talked about the process of erecting a steel frame at the Astor Building. At some point, a curtain wall has to be put on that frame or you have a jungle gym rather than a building. Two photos taken two weeks apart (September 2, 1925 above, September 16, 1925 below)...
CONTEMPORIST
Ceramic Forms Surrounding The Windows Of This New Building Give It A Unique Character
Photography © Sebastian van Damme De Zwarte Hond and Loer Architecten have shared photos of a...
a year ago
Photography © Sebastian van Damme De Zwarte Hond and Loer Architecten have shared photos of a building they recently completed in Groningen, Netherlands, that combines modern design with ceramic elements. Photography © Marcel Ijzerman The architects worked together with ceramic...
The Modern House
From Liverpool terrace to Barbican penthouse: editor Tony Chambers on success from humble beginnings...
Tony Chambers, best known for being the longest-serving editor-in-chief of Wallpaper*, is the latest...
a year ago
Tony Chambers, best known for being the longest-serving editor-in-chief of Wallpaper*, is the latest guest to feature on our podcast, Homing In. Having worked at the design magazine for more than 15 years, Tony has spent a great deal of time reporting on some of […]
Old Structures...
Old Adventures In Photo-Bombing
Someone occasionally notices that most of Manhattan has little open space to create picturesque...
10 months ago
Someone occasionally notices that most of Manhattan has little open space to create picturesque vistas. Or to put it another way, it’s difficult to get decent pictures of a lot of buildings here because there’s so much stuff in the way. There’s also stuff in the background, which...
Archinect - Features
Being Laid off Is Tough; So Is Waiting To Be
Findings from our recent Archinect Business Survey suggest that many architecture employees do not...
3 months ago
Findings from our recent Archinect Business Survey suggest that many architecture employees do not feel secure in their current roles. For those facing the looming prospect of layoffs in the coming weeks or months, the emotional strain can be as taxing as that experienced by...
Old Structures...
How Far Is Far?
I was up on a rooftop in the mid-Bronx (Belmont, to be somewhat more exact) last week and saw a...
11 months ago
I was up on a rooftop in the mid-Bronx (Belmont, to be somewhat more exact) last week and saw a familiar profile: That’s Billionaire’s Row, on the order of eight and a half miles away. It’s no surpise that you can see a big building from a distance – that’s the essence of all...
devonzuegel.com
A Big Little Idea Called Legibility
July 26, 2010 By Venkatesh Rao
James C. Scott’s fascinating and seminal book, Seeing Like a...
over a year ago
July 26, 2010 By Venkatesh Rao
James C. Scott’s fascinating and seminal book, Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed, examines how, across dozens of domains, ranging from agriculture and forestry, to urban planning and...
devonzuegel.com
Part 1: The story so far of California Forever
A new city has been proposed in California, and I’ve never been more captivated by a vision for the...
10 months ago
A new city has been proposed in California, and I’ve never been more captivated by a vision for the future of my home state in my lifetime. This post is part of a series I’m writing about this bold proposal.
California Forever was founded by Jan Sramek in 2017 as a way to create...
Old Structures...
That Looks Old
I was on my way to a site in Greenwich Village and came across this group at 12th Street and Hudson...
10 months ago
I was on my way to a site in Greenwich Village and came across this group at 12th Street and Hudson Street: This is in the Greenwich Village Historic District, so I knew I could find a capsule history of the buildings with minimal effort, but I took a look at the usual fire maps....
CONTEMPORIST
Chairs For Sitting On Stairs
ARTA Architects has designed the Tai Kwun Chairs for The Hong Kong Jockey Club, allowing a more...
2 weeks ago
ARTA Architects has designed the Tai Kwun Chairs for The Hong Kong Jockey Club, allowing a more comfortable and modular seating solution for these stairs. The chairs complement the distinctive design languages of the Tai Kwun arts and cultural centre’s ancient and contemporary...
Old Structures...
Structural Logic In An Older Form
From an 1880s building in Tribeca: the double beam supporting the front facade (sidewalk vault on...
4 months ago
From an 1880s building in Tribeca: the double beam supporting the front facade (sidewalk vault on the left, cellar on the right) where it meets the side wall at a pier. That’s a granite block directly below the beams, which can be a little hard to tell because of the paint on all...
Archinect - Features
At Tyler’s Urban Workshop, Architecture Students Build With, and For, Underserved...
On November 8th, the Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University will host the...
a month ago
On November 8th, the Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University will host the Urban Workshop Symposium, the latest iteration of the Urban Workshop's engagements in community-based design and education. The event brings to the fore questions, conversations, and...
The Beauty of...
Riding the Steel Breeze (Port Talbot Parkway, Neath Port Talbot, UK)
Some stations are born parkways, some achieve parkway status, while yet others have parkway status...
a year ago
Some stations are born parkways, some achieve parkway status, while yet others have parkway status thrust upon them. Such is the explanation for an arrival at Port Talbot Parkway being such a strange experience. As passengers step out of their trains they find themselves...
Archinect - Features
10 Ghost Towns With Unique Architecture
Cities are like living bodies, each one animated by the pulse of human life. People give a city...
a month ago
Cities are like living bodies, each one animated by the pulse of human life. People give a city purpose, identity, and movement. When a city is abandoned, its soul departs, leaving behind only the silent architecture, a skeletal remnant of what once was.
While such environments...
Old Structures...
Probably Not Realistic
The “Vue de la Nouvelle Yorck” is listed at the New York Public Libarry as being probably from 1775....
a year ago
The “Vue de la Nouvelle Yorck” is listed at the New York Public Libarry as being probably from 1775. It’s definitely from that era, just based on the ships, which are far more accurately drawn than the buildings are. A lot of these illustrations appear to have been made by...
Old Structures...
Got Very Big, Very Fast
Yesterday, I mentioned two department stores in New York, the 1846 A. T. Stewart Store at Broadway...
2 months ago
Yesterday, I mentioned two department stores in New York, the 1846 A. T. Stewart Store at Broadway and Chambers Street that was the first real department store in the US, and the 1896 Siegel-Cooper Store at Sixth Avenue and 18th Street that was for a time the largest store in the...
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...
devonzuegel.com
On [there being more than] liberty
Recently, Ayaz Matin sent me an email asking the following question:
When I was looking at your...
over a year ago
Recently, Ayaz Matin sent me an email asking the following question:
When I was looking at your website I came across these words:
Individual liberty is the single most important value that society should uphold.
I’m more utilitarian and communitarian now.
I still believe we...
Contemporist...
A Rejuvenated 1980s Home Updated With Scandinavian Influences
SMPL Design Studio has shared photos of an updated home they completed in Niagara On The Lake,...
8 months ago
SMPL Design Studio has shared photos of an updated home they completed in Niagara On The Lake, Canada, that's located on a landscaped corner lot.
The Modern House
Jacqueline Rabun: the jewellery designer on leaving home aged 17 to chart her own course through...
It was 1989 when a 17-year-old Jacqueline Rabun left home in California to seek her fortune in...
a year ago
It was 1989 when a 17-year-old Jacqueline Rabun left home in California to seek her fortune in London. It didn’t take long: the following year, she’d opened a jewellery studio (having taught herself how to make) and had debuted her first collection of sculptural pieces. […]
The Modern House
Mary Portas: the queen of the high street’s inspiring journey from homeless orphan to a London...
Our guest on this episode of our podcast, Homing In, is Mary Portas. As a retail consultant and...
a year ago
Our guest on this episode of our podcast, Homing In, is Mary Portas. As a retail consultant and broadcaster, Mary is best known for presenting TV shows such as Mary Queen of Shops, in which she came to the rescue of the UK’s failing high […]
The Modern House
Contrast is king at this Camberwell townhouse
a year ago
Old Structures...
The More Things Stay The Same
Above, an article from the Real Estate Record and Guide of October 15, 1910. It speaks for itself to...
a year ago
Above, an article from the Real Estate Record and Guide of October 15, 1910. It speaks for itself to some degree, and, based on the general topic, could have been written pretty much any decade from the 1880s to today. The good news (paragraph three): the case was apparently...
Construction Physics
How California Turned Against Growth
Even before it became a state, people migrated to California in search of a better life: for jobs,...
4 months ago
Even before it became a state, people migrated to California in search of a better life: for jobs, the chance to become rich and famous, or simply the comfortable climate and beautiful landscape.
Archinect - Features
AI Bias and Digital Colonialism; A Conversation with Morehshin Allahyari
Whether through her art, writings, or lectures, Morehshin Allahyari's work evokes a range of...
a year ago
Whether through her art, writings, or lectures, Morehshin Allahyari's work evokes a range of emotions among its audience. There is wonder and intrigue at her reinterpretation of centuries-old Middle Eastern stories, images, and artifacts. There is introspection on our...
Old Structures...
Begging The Question
The title refers to one of the classic logistical fallacies, where an argument is made that assumes...
6 months ago
The title refers to one of the classic logistical fallacies, where an argument is made that assumes its conclusion. The specific instance of this fallacy that often bothers me concerns code updates and existing buildings. Every time a code – for example, the New York City...
CONTEMPORIST
Red-Pigmented Concrete Screens Surround This New Home In Cape Town
Architecture firm SAOTA, together with interior design firm ARRCC, has recently completed a modern...
a year ago
Architecture firm SAOTA, together with interior design firm ARRCC, has recently completed a modern house in Cape Town, South Africa. The home was designed by Philip Olmesdahl, principal of SAOTA, for himself and his family, with him sharing, “When architects design their own...
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.
Common Edge
What Does Midcentury Modern Even Mean These Days?
When a style becomes historical, its meaning becomes slippery.
a year ago
When a style becomes historical, its meaning becomes slippery.
99% Invisible
Blood in the Machine [EPISODE]
Brian Merchant is a tech reporter, and he’d been covering the industry for years when he started to...
a year ago
Brian Merchant is a tech reporter, and he’d been covering the industry for years when he started to notice a term that kept coming up. Especially when he wrote a story that was critical of tech, he’d be accused of being a “Luddite.” Like most people, Brian knew at least vaguely...
The Modern House
How the realities of self-building in the Outer Hebrides produced a new home distinctly reflective...
11 months ago
Common Edge
MoMA’s Woefully Incomplete Look at Architecture’s Environmental Arc
A new exhibition is at best a limited glimpse at a critical movement.
a year ago
A new exhibition is at best a limited glimpse at a critical movement.
The Modern House
A flexible family home with flair in Clapton
a year ago
Construction Physics
A Cycle of Misery: The Business of Building Commercial Aircraft
"There are no historic precedents or current parallels for the magnitude of financial exposure...
10 months ago
"There are no historic precedents or current parallels for the magnitude of financial exposure risked by an American airframe company" – George Ball, managing director at Lehman Brothers, 1982 "You can't win, you can't break even, and you can't quit" – Jean Pierson, former CEO of...
Contemporist...
Exterior Lighting Illuminates The Landscaping Around This Modern House In Los Angeles
Paul McClean Of McClean Design has completed a new home in Los Angeles, California, whose design is...
a year ago
Paul McClean Of McClean Design has completed a new home in Los Angeles, California, whose design is showcased with the inclusion of exterior lighting.
Old Structures...
Not Quite Changing
First, “Facade, 317 Broadway” from Berenice Abbott’s “Changing New York Project”, taken in 1936....
10 months ago
First, “Facade, 317 Broadway” from Berenice Abbott’s “Changing New York Project”, taken in 1936. Second, a street view photo of 319 Broadway, today. 317 Broadway is at the southwest corner of Thomas Street and Broadway; 319 at the northwest corner. So unless this building moved...
Contemporist...
A Warehouse-Inspired Home With A Spanish Twist
Multi-disciplinary design firm mcmahon and nerlich has shared photos of a warehouse-inspired...
a month ago
Multi-disciplinary design firm mcmahon and nerlich has shared photos of a warehouse-inspired townhouse with a Spanish twist inside.
Construction Physics
How to Build a 50,000 Ton Forging Press
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, a revolution took place in American military aircraft design.
4 months ago
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, a revolution took place in American military aircraft design.
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.
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...
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...
Archinect - Features
When Form Follows Meanings: AI’s Semantic Turn in Architecture
In the wake of artificial intelligence’s recently popularized presence in the architectural field...
a year ago
In the wake of artificial intelligence’s recently popularized presence in the architectural field and beyond, many are pondering what changes may be on the horizon in the discipline, if any. For Stanislas Chaillou, AI’s dissemination in architecture may refocus the profession’s...
Construction Physics
The Grid, Part IV: The Hard and Soft Paths of Energy Strategy
Today, the electrical grid has over 500,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines and 5 million...
a year ago
Today, the electrical grid has over 500,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines and 5 million miles of lower voltage distribution lines, which supply power from nearly 6,000 large power plants. Together, this system supplies more than 4 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity...
The Modern House
Our guide to Camden Town and Primrose Hill: from panoramic views to a community ceramics space
a year ago
The Modern House
How a love of Japan and the 1970s shaped Sherrill Smith’s Hackney home
a year ago
Old Structures...
Close By
From Angelo Rizzuto, a view of the Brooklyn Bridge from June 1954. It was not taken from Woolworth,...
6 months ago
From Angelo Rizzuto, a view of the Brooklyn Bridge from June 1954. It was not taken from Woolworth, as the angle is slightly wrong. The bridge was in a transition period, with one major renovation just completed and another about to start. Between 1950 and 1954, the bridge...
The Modern House
Jonny Gent: music, martinis and mayhem from the founder of Sessions Arts Club
The line between art and food is a fine one. Both are sensory, emotive and experiential; both are...
10 months ago
The line between art and food is a fine one. Both are sensory, emotive and experiential; both are fundamentally creative endeavours. But for Jonny Gent, painter and founder of Sessions Arts Club and Boath House, two new stars in the British hospitality firmament, the line […]
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...
CONTEMPORIST
Curved Green Roofs Cover This Creekside Cabin
MAP Architecture has shared photos of a contemporary cabin they completed in Suffolk, England,...
a year ago
MAP Architecture has shared photos of a contemporary cabin they completed in Suffolk, England, that’s located adjacent to the creek and reedbeds within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The ‘Creek Cabin’, with early...
Construction Physics
The grid part II - the golden age of the power industry
Welcome to Part II of our history of the electric power industry. For Part I, see here. By 1930, the...
a year ago
Welcome to Part II of our history of the electric power industry. For Part I, see here. By 1930, the US was using 114 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, generated by more than 4000 power plants. Most electricity was generated by coal (56%) and hydroelectric (34%)...
Construction Physics
The Birth of the Grid
The day must come when electricity will be for everyone, as the waters of the rivers and the wind of...
a year ago
The day must come when electricity will be for everyone, as the waters of the rivers and the wind of heaven. It should not merely be supplied, but lavished, that men may use it at their will, as the air they breathe. - Emile Zola, “Travail”, 1901
McMansion Hell
Bonus McMansion Hell: Ye Olde Barrington
In which I am in my castle era.
a year ago
In which I am in my castle era.
Common Edge
Why So Many Banal Boxes? Because Architecture Reflects the Ethos of Its Time
The 5-over-1 is a perfect embodiment of our increasingly selfish and self-isolated existence.
6 months ago
The 5-over-1 is a perfect embodiment of our increasingly selfish and self-isolated existence.
Old Structures...
The Main Attraction Hasn’t Changed
From one of the New York Public Library’s scrapbooks, a view north from Park Avenue and 41st Street...
a month ago
From one of the New York Public Library’s scrapbooks, a view north from Park Avenue and 41st Street in 1920: The focal point of such a view is, of course, Grand Central Terminal. The big vacant lot, protected only by an easily-hopped fence, was the former site of the 1860s Grand...
Contemporist...
This Small Apartment Has A Yoga Wall And A Coffee Bar
LITTLEMORE INTERIOR DESIGN has shared photos of a small 380-square-foot (35 sqm) apartment in Hong...
a year ago
LITTLEMORE INTERIOR DESIGN has shared photos of a small 380-square-foot (35 sqm) apartment in Hong Kong, that includes both a custom yoga wall and a coffee bar.
The Modern House
Five things to do and see this April
The clocks have sprung forward and the spring chicks are chirping: yes, April has arrived. But it’s...
a year ago
The clocks have sprung forward and the spring chicks are chirping: yes, April has arrived. But it’s not only those longer, lighter evenings luring us out of the house; this month’s brilliant list of cultural and culinary must-dos and -sees is equally tempting – even […]
The Modern House
Scene Stealers: seven rural homes with spectacular surroundings
We’ve all found ourselves daydreaming of life in the country – growing your own fruit and veg, wild...
a year ago
We’ve all found ourselves daydreaming of life in the country – growing your own fruit and veg, wild swimming, enjoying a glass of red by a cosy log fire… But if that’s never been quite enough to inspire you to take the plunge, the homes […]
Common Edge
AI, Architecture, and the Uncanny Valley
Technology can design, but it can’t understand the “why” of buildings—yet.
3 months ago
Technology can design, but it can’t understand the “why” of buildings—yet.
The Modern House
Hannah Carter Owers on selling the family home in two days in pursuit of the perfect 1970s retrofit...
11 months ago
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,...
Coffee with an...
Remember your training
At times, a client may request a curve. Stay calm. Remember your training. Calmly explain that that...
9 months ago
At times, a client may request a curve. Stay calm. Remember your training. Calmly explain that that would conflict with the design vocabulary. Remind the client that rectilinear forms are a sign of strength, firmness, commodity, and yes, delight. Stay strong. At times, the client...
Old Structures...
Lucy Moses Award: 486 Liberty Avenue
You can read about the building in the awards program: here. The short version: this was a very...
8 months ago
You can read about the building in the awards program: here. The short version: this was a very ornate police precinct house constructed in 1892, when Brooklyn was still an inexpedient city, and abandoned for quite some time. Here’s what the interior looked like the first time we...
The Modern House
How boutique hotels and the Balearic Islands came to inspire this craft-led Hackney home
a year ago
The Solarchitecture...
7 key principles of solar passive design - Part 1.
or how to dramatically improve indoor healthy air quality and well-being while reducing...
over a year ago
or how to dramatically improve indoor healthy air quality and well-being while reducing energy-consumption for every building we build?
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...
Common Edge
How to Be a Better Architect Than Me
My recent talk to high school seniors.
a year ago
My recent talk to high school seniors.
Old Structures...
It Looked Familiar: Nostalgia
A piece of a 1987 Daredevil comic, with some thugs attacking pieple on the subway. The route map (on...
11 months ago
A piece of a 1987 Daredevil comic, with some thugs attacking pieple on the subway. The route map (on the left, abive the man in a blue jacket, blue pants, and badly-outdated boots) is clearly the Vignelli Map, in use from 1972 to 1979. The cars with the big central cicular fans...
Old Structures...
Sideways
One of our stranger projects… The pictures below show a sidewalk vault in Manhattan. The vault...
a month ago
One of our stranger projects… The pictures below show a sidewalk vault in Manhattan. The vault extends from the sidewalk (its roof) down two floors or about 25 feet, and was built around 1895. Since reinforced-concrete was still in its infancy then, it was not used for foundation...
devonzuegel.com
Podcasts & conferences I've spoken at
I haven't done a great job of tracking these, so this list is non-comprehensive:
Urbanism and the...
over a year ago
I haven't done a great job of tracking these, so this list is non-comprehensive:
Urbanism and the Future of Cities (Jan 2023) – Narratives podcast
Inflation, Argentina, and Crypto (Oct 2022) – EconTalk podcast
Devon Zuegel on Startup Cities (June 2022)
Devon Zuegel, creator...
CONTEMPORIST
Before & After – A Dark Retail Space Transformed Into A Bright Skincare Center
ISENSE DESIGN has shared photos of a recently completed retail design for Beauty Technology Skincare...
a year ago
ISENSE DESIGN has shared photos of a recently completed retail design for Beauty Technology Skincare Center in Beijing, China. The designers transformed a dark store with a red facade and awning, into a bright and open retail design with a green facade and large windows. Seizing...
A Weekly Dose of...
Book Briefs #49
The most recent numbered installment of "Book Briefs," the series of occasional posts featuring...
a year ago
The most recent numbered installment of "Book Briefs," the series of occasional posts featuring short first-hand descriptions of some of the numerous books that publishers send to me for consideration on this blog, was #48, back in December. I wasn't planning on continuing the...
Construction Physics
Book Review: Healthy Buildings
Healthy Buildings, written by John Macomber and Joseph Allen is, as the title suggests, a book about...
a year ago
Healthy Buildings, written by John Macomber and Joseph Allen is, as the title suggests, a book about how buildings affect health. Allen is a former environmental consultant, professor of public health, and director of Harvard’s “Healthy Buildings” program. Macomber is a lecturer...
Blog - Guerrilla...
How Guerrilla Cartography’s Atlases Promote Diverse Perspectives
Guerrilla Cartography aims to promote the understanding that there are many views of the world, that...
a year ago
Guerrilla Cartography aims to promote the understanding that there are many views of the world, that how we understand space and place can vary, and that we should think critically about the maps and the graphics we make and consume. Our organization has designed processes for...
CONTEMPORIST
A Home Renovation Where The Walls Were Removed So The Interior Connects With the Exterior
Paul Archer Design has shared photos of a home they renovated in London, that included opening up...
a year ago
Paul Archer Design has shared photos of a home they renovated in London, that included opening up the walls to connect the interior spaces with the garden. The designers removed the whole ground floor, including the external walls to the rear, the stairs, most of the interior,...
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...
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...
“Pre”
Residential construction in New York can be broken into groups in a number of ways, but the most...
7 months ago
Residential construction in New York can be broken into groups in a number of ways, but the most straightforward is not known to the general public, and that’s by era of regulation. For just under a hundred years, multiple dwellings – AKA apartment houses – have been governed by...
Old Structures...
Examples Illustrated
I was at the annual SEAoNY conference yesterday – 9½ hours devoted to building codes – and it was,...
10 months ago
I was at the annual SEAoNY conference yesterday – 9½ hours devoted to building codes – and it was, as expected, informative and interesting. Obviously, that’s not what I’m going to write about here. The conference was at Convene (a place where you can rent space for conferences)...
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...
The Modern House
Cabin Fever: the transformation of a damp, dark apartment into a rich, atmospheric hideaway
2 months ago
The Beauty of...
Clean Lines and Integrated Transport (Florastrasse transport hub, Adliswil, Switzerland)
The thing about Switzerland’s affordable, hyper-reliable, hyper-integrated and hyper-ubiquitous...
a year ago
The thing about Switzerland’s affordable, hyper-reliable, hyper-integrated and hyper-ubiquitous public transport system is that the regard in which its phenomenal operational expertise is held can overshadow the architectural successes it also demonstrates. Even when transport...
Old Structures...
Previous Work
A minor point, but it never hurts to look at the details. The photo above shows repair work on a...
a year ago
A minor point, but it never hurts to look at the details. The photo above shows repair work on a 1920s steel-frame building. The black-painted iron is the top landing, at the roof level, of a fire-escape; there used to be (and will be again, soon) a parapet on either side of it,...
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...
Common Edge
NCARB’s Michael Armstrong on Pathways to Architectural Practice
“If we are really serious in promoting inclusion and opportunities to practice, we need to take a...
2 months ago
“If we are really serious in promoting inclusion and opportunities to practice, we need to take a fresh look at everything.”
CONTEMPORIST
A Green Roof Covers The Pool House At This New Home
Robert Young Architects has shared photos of a home they designed in Hither Hills, a rolling...
a year ago
Robert Young Architects has shared photos of a home they designed in Hither Hills, a rolling topography of dunes between Montauk and Amagansett, New York, for a family that wanted a year-round retreat. Located on a steep site, the home features multiple levels, a swimming pool,...
The Architectural...
The bigotry of Modernism
We know that history tends to repeat itself, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse....
7 months ago
We know that history tends to repeat itself, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. Unfortunately, the architecture world, including academics and practitioners, is often unaware that it perpetuates backward and bigoted attitudes, stifling the creativity of architects and...
McMansion Hell
texas gothic revival
Sometimes I just want to get on my hobbyhorse, which for about a year now has been the middle ages...
6 months ago
Sometimes I just want to get on my hobbyhorse, which for about a year now has been the middle ages but surely will soon be something else. (Please hyperfixation gods, make it financial literacy.) Anyway, I meandered around the nation (online) in search of another opportunity to...
Common Edge
How FEMA’s New “Resilience Zone” Program Works
“The goal is to ensure that the most at-risk...communities have the support, resources, and...
a year ago
“The goal is to ensure that the most at-risk...communities have the support, resources, and opportunities they need.”
The Modern House
Time-honoured materials and 21st-century sensibilities meet in a bothy on Mull
9 months ago
Old Structures...
Modern Perception
First, the Carson, Pirie, Scott Store in Chicago, as it appeared in the past: In my opinion – and...
6 months ago
First, the Carson, Pirie, Scott Store in Chicago, as it appeared in the past: In my opinion – and many other people’s opinions – it’s one of Louis Sullian’s most amazing designs. Here’s a close-up of the corner entrance as it appears today (actually yesterday, after I finished my...
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.
Blog - Guerrilla...
TRANSitar Lima
THE RIGHT TO THE CITY: Who has the right to move freely through the city and who doesn’t?
Map of...
a year ago
THE RIGHT TO THE CITY: Who has the right to move freely through the city and who doesn’t?
Map of Lima, Peru
About the project
TRANSitar Lima is a project that seeks to create a visual record of transphobic violence, based on collective mapping sessions. Trans, transvestites, and...
Contemporist...
Top 20 A' Design Award Winners From Past Years
A’ Design Award & Competition is the Worlds’ leading design accolade reaching design enthusiasts...
4 months ago
A’ Design Award & Competition is the Worlds’ leading design accolade reaching design enthusiasts around the world, and showcasing winners from 114 countries in 151 different design disciplines.More than 70,000 project submissions are carefully evaluated by an internationally and...
devonzuegel.com
Topographic theory of flaking
Natan Gesher sent me the following email after reading my post about why flaking is so widespread in...
over a year ago
Natan Gesher sent me the following email after reading my post about why flaking is so widespread in San Francisco, and I thought you all might find it interesting too:
I saw your blog posts about flaking and wanted to share something I've observed from moving around a bit (four...
CONTEMPORIST
A House Extension With A Curved Window Makes Room For A New Kitchen At This Home In London
Architecture and ideas studio CAN, has shared photos of a recently completed home extension they...
a month ago
Architecture and ideas studio CAN, has shared photos of a recently completed home extension they completed for a terrace house in Stoke Newington, London. With an emphasis on natural materials and a unique approach to design, this renovation turns the once disconnected ground...
Old Structures...
Half Of A Grand Commercial Palace
380 Broadway has architecture above its station. It was built in 1860 with retail space at the base...
7 months ago
380 Broadway has architecture above its station. It was built in 1860 with retail space at the base and loft space above, but it’s got that grand marble-veneer facade on the upper floors and some very nice cast iron by Daniel Badger at the first floor. It’s fortunes have followed...
Archinect - Features
How Computing Transformed Architectural Visualization
Over the past seven decades, the invention and evolution of computing technology have had a profound...
a week ago
Over the past seven decades, the invention and evolution of computing technology have had a profound and transformative impact on the field of architectural visualization. From early computer-aided design (CAD) software to today's photorealistic 3D rendering, virtual reality, and...
Blog - Guerrilla...
Can You Stay?
Can You Stay? examines one discrete variable among many complex and converging issues concerning...
over a year ago
Can You Stay? examines one discrete variable among many complex and converging issues concerning housing precarity, focusing on a part of the world with unique geography and social issues.
Project Background
This map is cut from the cloth of a capstone project I did in 2018 at...
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....
Archinect - Features
How To Reduce the Stress of an Architecture Job Search
At some point in their careers, most, if not all, individuals in the architecture profession find...
5 months ago
At some point in their careers, most, if not all, individuals in the architecture profession find themselves looking for new employment. This can include graduates looking for their first job out of architecture school, experienced designers and architects moving from one firm to...
Construction Physics
How to Build 300,000 Airplanes in Five Years
It’s no secret that the Allies won World War II on the back of the U.S.’s enormous industrial...
7 months ago
It’s no secret that the Allies won World War II on the back of the U.S.’s enormous industrial output. Even before the U.S. entered the war, the Americans provided hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of equipment to the Allies, and between 1938 and 1943 U.S. manufacturing...
The Modern House
How Abby Lee, founder of Mambow, is modernising Malaysian cuisine
a year ago
99% Invisible
Trail Mix: Track Two [EPISODE]
Welcome to our second episode of short stories all about what may be the original designed object:...
a year ago
Welcome to our second episode of short stories all about what may be the original designed object: the trail. If you haven’t heard the first episode yet you should totally go back and listen. It’s a lot of fun. Trail Mix We’re going to kick this second episode once again starting...
Old Structures...
I Have A Theory
Walking along East 52nd Street, I passed a partially built house for sale that’s a bit narrow. More...
a year ago
Walking along East 52nd Street, I passed a partially built house for sale that’s a bit narrow. More precisely, the lot is ten feet wide. It’s possible to have a realistic layout for a house that narrow, although obviously there will not be any grand interior spaces. The question...
The Modern House
A Modern Way to Live: our co-founder Matt Gibberd on light
With January out the way, we’re moving on from our theme of ‘space’ to one of ’light’. As such, for...
10 months ago
With January out the way, we’re moving on from our theme of ‘space’ to one of ’light’. As such, for the whole of February, you can expect our usual offering of inspiring stories, only now they’ll be unified in their exploration of the importance of […]
Common Edge
Encounters With Damian: Columbia University’s Homeless Neighbor
Near and around campus, the juxtaposition between privilege and poverty is glaring.
a year ago
Near and around campus, the juxtaposition between privilege and poverty is glaring.
Construction Physics
Welding and the Automation Frontier
The big question about Artificial Intelligence, other than whether it will destroy human...
a year ago
The big question about Artificial Intelligence, other than whether it will destroy human civilization, is the effect it will have on employment. Large language models already seem poised to automate large fractions of the work in certain industries, and the technology is only...
The Modern House
Desert modernism meets London stock brick in the strikingly staggered Aperture House
5 months ago
The Architectural...
Architects call for a crisis meeting after politicians demand more traditional architecture
After enduring decades of failed modernism, the residents and politicians of Sweden’s second-largest...
7 months ago
After enduring decades of failed modernism, the residents and politicians of Sweden’s second-largest city, Gothenburg, want to see more new traditional architecture. This has led architects and officials to call for a crisis meeting. During the 1960s and 1970s, Gothenburg...
The Modern House
Surman Weston’s light-led creation of a family home in south London
9 months ago
Construction Physics
Why Levittown Didn't Revolutionize Homebuilding
For decades, people have tried to bring mass production methods to housing: to build houses the way...
5 months ago
For decades, people have tried to bring mass production methods to housing: to build houses the way we build cars. While no one has succeeded, arguably the man that came closest to becoming “the Henry Ford of homebuilding” was William Levitt, with his company Levitt and Sons....
CONTEMPORIST
A Monochrome Interior Design For This Home In Singapore
Studio Metanoia has shared photos of a modern home interior they recently completed in Singapore,...
a year ago
Studio Metanoia has shared photos of a modern home interior they recently completed in Singapore, that has a very strong monochromatic aesthetic. The interior strikes a balance of light and dark, which is evident throughout, like in the living room, where a white couch with a...
Common Edge
When Is Architectural Symbolism Hypocrisy?
Like or loathe it, symbolism over substance has a long tradition.
7 months ago
Like or loathe it, symbolism over substance has a long tradition.
Old Structures...
It Looked Familiar: Edward Hopper
From the comic “Powers”, Christian Walker sits by himself in a diner: Hopper’s 1942 painting...
3 weeks ago
From the comic “Powers”, Christian Walker sits by himself in a diner: Hopper’s 1942 painting “Nighthawks”: I’m a fan of Hopper, but this is his most famous work, so it’s not like it was all that difficult to place the reference. In his words, it’s a simplified version of reality...
devonzuegel.com
Book notes: Against the Grain, by James C. Scott
Here are some notes and quotes that particularly stood out to me from each chapter of Against the...
over a year ago
Here are some notes and quotes that particularly stood out to me from each chapter of Against the Grain. This isn't a summary of the book. It's mostly for my future self to refer back to (and thus probably missing a lot for someone who hasn't read it), but the tidbits are so...
99% Invisible
For Amusement Only (Free Replay) [EPISODE]
Everyone has tried it at some point. The authorities started turning a blind eye years ago, but it...
a year ago
Everyone has tried it at some point. The authorities started turning a blind eye years ago, but it wasn’t officially legalized until the summer of 2014. Finally, after more than 80 years of illegitimacy, the City of Oakland has legalized…pinball machines. Today, we travel back to...
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...
Delaying The Obvious Solution
The idea behind Columbus Circle was a good one. The corner of a large park (Central Park, in this...
6 months ago
The idea behind Columbus Circle was a good one. The corner of a large park (Central Park, in this case) is a good place to have a monumental space. The only problem was reality: the southwest corner of Central Park is the intersection of Central Park West (AKA Eight Avenue),...
Old Structures...
We Become Accustomed – Part 1
I want to spend a few days talking about a building that is not very exciting, because it...
a year ago
I want to spend a few days talking about a building that is not very exciting, because it illustrates an important phenomenon about change. When I talk about change in this blog, I most often mean technological change in the built environment, as new forms of construction...
The Modern House
Five joyful things to do this June
And just like that, it’s June: summer is here and – come rain or shine – our disposition will be...
a year ago
And just like that, it’s June: summer is here and – come rain or shine – our disposition will be thoroughly sunny, thanks to all the delightful things in our diaries. From an exhibition making a splash (and getting us in the mood for sun-soaked […]
Old Structures...
For The Common Folk
The return of a heat wave has me writing about the beach. (Not going to the beach, which sounds...
5 months ago
The return of a heat wave has me writing about the beach. (Not going to the beach, which sounds unbearably hot right now, but thinking and writing about it.) So, here’s the Brighton Beach Bathing Pavilion in 1879, one year after it opened: The three big hotels nearby, including...
The Modern House
Roksanda Ilinčić: the fashion designer’s colourful journey through Belgrade, Britain and Brazil
Roksanda Ilinčić has achieved that most select marker of success: a mononym. Since 2005, her name...
11 months ago
Roksanda Ilinčić has achieved that most select marker of success: a mononym. Since 2005, her name has been indelibly associated with her ethereal dress designs – by turns fluid, fantastical, functional and feminine – which have won her fans in some seriously high places, from […]
Contemporist...
A Lot Of Plants Have Been Integrated Into The Design Of This Home In Singapore
Wallflower Architecture + Design has sent us photos of a home they recently completed in Singapore,...
11 months ago
Wallflower Architecture + Design has sent us photos of a home they recently completed in Singapore, that features an exterior covered in plants.
Old Structures...
It Looked Familiar: A Perfect Match
Some gangsters in a car, running from The Shadow: A circa 1920 view of the Broad Street roman-temple...
6 months ago
Some gangsters in a car, running from The Shadow: A circa 1920 view of the Broad Street roman-temple facade of the New York Stock Exchange, with the Wilks Building immediately to its right and Federal Hall, with George Washington standing out front, on the far right. I don’t know...
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...
Construction Physics
Supersonic air travel recommended reading
Aviation has a huge number of enthusiasts, which is why essentially every aircraft model ever...
9 months ago
Aviation has a huge number of enthusiasts, which is why essentially every aircraft model ever produced has a book written about it. Supersonic aircraft are no exception. There’s a large number of books written about the Concorde, the Tu-144, and the American SST project. Many of...
Common Edge
Peter Calthorpe Has a Plan for More Housing in California
Through a state-mandated use of form-based codes and a focus on “grand boulevards” of underutilized...
a year ago
Through a state-mandated use of form-based codes and a focus on “grand boulevards” of underutilized commercial strips, the number of potential units expands by orders of magnitude.
devonzuegel.com
Cities reading list
Many people have reached out asking what books have been most impactful in shaping my views on...
over a year ago
Many people have reached out asking what books have been most impactful in shaping my views on cities. I've written and rewritten answers enough times that I figured it's most efficient if I just write it up one time here and share the link. 🙂
~
Order Without Design by Alain...
Old Structures...
Travelog: Cleveland Bridge
While I was in England last week, I briefly visited the city of Bath. There’s a lot to look at...
9 months ago
While I was in England last week, I briefly visited the city of Bath. There’s a lot to look at there, but let me start with the Cleveland Bridge over the River Avon. The top view is a little boring except for the non-structural toll houses, little Greek temples over the walkways,...
Construction Physics
Airport Reading List
The major sources I found helpful for learning about airports and their construction are listed...
9 months ago
The major sources I found helpful for learning about airports and their construction are listed below. As usual, these are listed roughly in order of how useful I found them. And because “useful” isn’t the same as “actually interesting to read” I’ve marked the books that are...
Common Edge
Havana’s Evolving Public-Private Landscape
Can Cuba’s creative class become agents for political change?
10 months ago
Can Cuba’s creative class become agents for political change?
Archinect - Features
A Guide to Salary Transparency Laws Across the United States
At present, there is no federal pay transparency law in the United States. However, as Archinect...
9 months ago
At present, there is no federal pay transparency law in the United States. However, as Archinect frequently reports on, several states and cities across the United States have enacted their own requirements for employers seeking to hire or promote within their...
99% Invisible
The Siren of Scrap Metal [EPISODE]
Amid the noisy bustle of Mexico City, there is one iconic sound echoing on repeat in the background....
a year ago
Amid the noisy bustle of Mexico City, there is one iconic sound echoing on repeat in the background. A recording that blares from trucks looking to buy old household items and appliances, either to fix and resell or to sell for scrap. The crews inside these trucks are essentially...
Old Structures...
Just Because I Like It
A view of 99 Prince Street: It’s a little hard to believe it today, but this was built simply an...
a month ago
A view of 99 Prince Street: It’s a little hard to believe it today, but this was built simply an ordinary commercial building with retail and office space. It was completed in 1888 by architect William Schickel working for “J. J. Astor.” That was either John Jacob Astor III near...
Common Edge
The Sphere in Las Vegas: A Placeless Object in a Placeless City
The latest Sin City spectacle is just that—spectacle. Pure, crystalline spectacle.
11 months ago
The latest Sin City spectacle is just that—spectacle. Pure, crystalline spectacle.
CONTEMPORIST
A Home Office Was Hidden Behind A Wall That Folds Open
BENT Architecture has sent us photos of a renovation and extension they completed for a house in...
11 months ago
BENT Architecture has sent us photos of a renovation and extension they completed for a house in Hawthorn, Australia. One design detail that caught our attention is the home office hidden in plain sight in the dining room behind a wood accent wall. The floor-to-ceiling wood...
The Modern House
Curators Gonzalo Herrero Delicado and Mathilde Friis on life in their brutalist flat in Bethnal...
a year ago
The Modern House
Furniture designer James Stickley’s cleverly zoned live/work loft in east London
a year ago
Cartogrammar
Ohio is still a piano
In a hundred years, no one will remember our work. Strike that, make it about five years. Digital,...
over a year ago
In a hundred years, no one will remember our work. Strike that, make it about five years. Digital, web-based work can break or disappear in an instant. I’ve certainly done some things which are now gone forever. Anyway, one broken thing was the crazy Ohio piano map I made nearly...
The Modern House
Carefully composed: the bright reimagining of a Victorian garden apartment
2 months ago
Coffee with an...
Buildings are important
People are born in themGrow up in them Fall in love in them Get married in them Raise kids in them...
a year ago
People are born in themGrow up in them Fall in love in them Get married in them Raise kids in them Grow old in them Die in them Buildings are important. People decide big things here Decide on small things too Draw conclusions inside Make plans Change plans Change our minds Make...
devonzuegel.com
Greater Los Angeles
I got back from Los Angeles last night and my head is still spinning. I’d move there again in a...
over a year ago
I got back from Los Angeles last night and my head is still spinning. I’d move there again in a heartbeat.
There are three great cities in the United States: there’s Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York – in that order.
I love Boston; I even love Denver; I like Miami; I think...
devonzuegel.com
The unconference toolbox
by Jason Benn & Devon Zuegel
So, you’ve been invited to an unconference! Maybe you’re not entirely...
a year ago
by Jason Benn & Devon Zuegel
So, you’ve been invited to an unconference! Maybe you’re not entirely sure what that means (did the organizers misspell "conference"?), or maybe you’ve been to dozens of these before and you’re looking for some ideas for how to run an awesome...
Construction Physics
Will Stone Replace Steel and Concrete?
A recent viral tweet by Micah Springut, founder of stone-carving startup Monumental Labs, argued...
7 months ago
A recent viral tweet by Micah Springut, founder of stone-carving startup Monumental Labs, argued that it will be cheaper to build buildings with stone than with steel or concrete within the next 10 years. Stone has of course been used for thousands of years as a construction...
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...
Contemporist...
This Wood Watchtower Is Also A Home For Bats
NEXT Architects has shared photos of Watchtower Einderheide, a lookout in The Netherlands, that also...
2 months ago
NEXT Architects has shared photos of Watchtower Einderheide, a lookout in The Netherlands, that also doubles as a shelter for bats.
Old Structures...
The Uniform of the Chief Engineer
From the UK, 1879, a picture of what the well-dressed chief naval engineer should wear. Perosnally,...
11 months ago
From the UK, 1879, a picture of what the well-dressed chief naval engineer should wear. Perosnally, I’m not very good at keeping clothing this good-looking for more than about ten minutes after I put it on, but I wouldn’t mind the sword. Below, the 1879 launch of HMS Agamemnon,...
Common Edge
Jane Jacobs Would Reject NYC’s Proposed “City of Yes”
YIMBYS get a lot wrong about the legendary citizen planner.
5 months ago
YIMBYS get a lot wrong about the legendary citizen planner.
Old Structures...
It Looked Familiar: Under
One of the most formal elements in Central Park is the Bethesda Fountain and Terrace, just south of...
2 months ago
One of the most formal elements in Central Park is the Bethesda Fountain and Terrace, just south of The Lake. The terrace overlooks the fountain from the elevation of the 72nd Street crosstown drive, and has three sets of stairs leading down; the undercroft of the terrace is a...
Coffee with an...
Design explained using venn diagrams
Design is hard. If only the process could be explained using simple venn diagrams. Unfortunately,...
8 months ago
Design is hard. If only the process could be explained using simple venn diagrams. Unfortunately, this isn’t that: More Design in charts – HERE, and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE
Old Structures...
Travelog: A Building Type
Speaking only for myself, it’s easy to mentally categorize subways (i.e., electric mass transit,...
9 months ago
Speaking only for myself, it’s easy to mentally categorize subways (i.e., electric mass transit, mostly underground) as something different than railroads. Different lengths of routes, different spacing of stations, different rolling stock, and so on. The differences are often...
Coffee with an...
Design explained with pie charts
Design is hard. If only the process could be explained using simple pie charts. Unfortunately, this...
9 months ago
Design is hard. If only the process could be explained using simple pie charts. Unfortunately, this isn’t that: More Design in charts – HERE, and HERE and HERE
CONTEMPORIST
Lighting Highlights The Alternating Curvilinear Balconies Of This New Apartment Building
Omniview Design has completed the Golf Apartments, a high-end residential development adjacent to a...
a year ago
Omniview Design has completed the Golf Apartments, a high-end residential development adjacent to a famous golf course in Glyfada, Greece. Key to the design of the building are the curvilinear balconies that alternate directions creating a lively facade. In the evening, lighting...
CONTEMPORIST
This Small Home Has Glass Walls And A Glass Ceiling
Arno Schuurs and Paulien van Noort of design-build firm GetAway Projects BV, have shared photos of a...
a year ago
Arno Schuurs and Paulien van Noort of design-build firm GetAway Projects BV, have shared photos of a tiny house in The Netherlands that they completed that’s almost entirely made out of glass to fully enjoy the surrounding forest. The allowed footprint of the new build was 21...
Construction Physics
Goolsbee and Syverson on Construction Productivity
Several people have asked me about a new NBER working paper that takes a look at construction...
a year ago
Several people have asked me about a new NBER working paper that takes a look at construction productivity (a popular topic around here), “The Strange and Awful Path of Productivity in the US Construction Sector,” by Austan Goolsbee and Chad Syverson. This paper doesn’t bring any...
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...
McMansion Hell
here are some things i like
Often people say to me, “Kate, you’re an architecture critic! You must have an impeccably designed...
a year ago
Often people say to me, “Kate, you’re an architecture critic! You must have an impeccably designed home full of wonderful design.” Haha, NO! However, I do think it’s entirely possible to collect design and live an aesthetically satisfying life on, like, a normal salary. Last...
The Modern House
Sumayya Vally: the South African architect on how growing up in a township defined her sense of...
Sumayya Vally is a South African architect whose star is in the ascendant. At the age of 30, she...
8 months ago
Sumayya Vally is a South African architect whose star is in the ascendant. At the age of 30, she became the youngest architect to receive the prestigious annual summer pavilion commission at the Serpentine Gallery in London. A slew of accolades and honoraries followed and […]
Common Edge
Warlords in Our Midst
Why Elon Musk is worse than science fiction.
4 months ago
Why Elon Musk is worse than science fiction.
The Modern House
Our Guide to Oxford: neighbourhood restaurants and riverside walks in the city of dreaming spires
7 months ago
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...
McMansion Hell
mojo dojo casa house
Howdy folks! Sorry for the delay, I was, uhhhh covering the Tour de France. Anyway, I’m back in...
a year ago
Howdy folks! Sorry for the delay, I was, uhhhh covering the Tour de France. Anyway, I’m back in Chicago which means this blog has returned to the Chicago suburbs. I’m sure you’ve all seen Barbie at this point so this 2019 not-so-dream house will come as a pleasant (?)...
The 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...
99% Invisible
The Big Dig [EPISODE]
Over its more than 40 year journey from conception to completion, Boston’s Big Dig massive...
a year ago
Over its more than 40 year journey from conception to completion, Boston’s Big Dig massive infrastructure project, which rerouted the central highway in the heart of the city, encountered every hurdle imaginable: ruthless politics, engineering challenges, secretive contractors,...
A Weekly Dose of...
Favorite Books of 2023
For the fifteenth and last time on this blog, I'm highlighting my favorite books of the year,...
a year ago
For the fifteenth and last time on this blog, I'm highlighting my favorite books of the year, selected from the many books I reviewed or featured as "Book Briefs" on this blog, and the few titles that I reviewed at World-Architects. From the 86 books I featured in 2023, 15 (or...
Construction Physics
How much safer has construction gotten?
When talking about (the lack of) construction productivity growth, or the fact that we used to build...
a year ago
When talking about (the lack of) construction productivity growth, or the fact that we used to build things much faster than we do today, commentators frequently mention the safety of the construction workers. On this view, construction speed/efficiency and worker risk are a...
The Wandering...
The Mathematics of the Pattern on the Sala de la Barca Ceiling
(This is the math geek part about the Sala de la Barca ceiling. For instructions on constructing the...
8 months ago
(This is the math geek part about the Sala de la Barca ceiling. For instructions on constructing the pattern with compass and straightedge, go over to Part 1.) In the process of figuring out how to draw this pattern, I ran into a lot of questions, and had to do more than a little...
99% Invisible
The Memory Palace…Book!
Back in 2008, Nate DiMeo started a podcast called The Memory Palace. Each episode of the show...
a month ago
Back in 2008, Nate DiMeo started a podcast called The Memory Palace. Each episode of the show wrapped a little known piece of history inside one of Nate’s poetic essays. His stories have a remarkable way of combining facts with insight to call to mind forgotten moments from the...
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...
devonzuegel.com
OSS lazy-loads governance
A special characteristic of open source software (OSS) is that you don't need institutional support...
over a year ago
A special characteristic of open source software (OSS) is that you don't need institutional support to get started. It's interesting to compare this to physical infrastructure, like dams or railroads. Before you can begin those projects, you need upfront capital, permits,...
The Solarchitecture...
Follow up to circadian rhythm post
Let's use the tools that Substack gave us!
over a year ago
Let's use the tools that Substack gave us!
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.
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