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It’s that time of year again when a grinches, I mean an architect’s, heart grows 3 sizes and they realize the true meaning of Christmas. Ignoring heat gain coefficients and just using all glass on the new design for Santa’s experimental workshop/atelier anyway. It’s a Christmas miracle, It’s cold, but still a miracle. It’s also that time of year to ... Read More
a year ago

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More from Coffee with an Architect

Christmas Cards from the Architects 2024

It’s that time again. It is the time of year when the architects turn their attention from their Dec. 25th deadline to thoughts of Christmas. Here we are, sitting by the floor-to-ceiling glass storefronts in our offices, staring out at the rolling hills covered with snow, thinking of the innate hierarchy implied in the Santa/Elf relationship, and the pleasing use ... Read More

5 months ago 85 votes
If movies were about Architecture

“Apocalypse Now”: an architect goes grossly over budget. Another architect is sent out to find him and value-engineer the project, in the jungle, during a war. “It’s a wonderful life”: An architect mishandles his finances. Jumps off a bridge. Is saved by his guardian angel / building inspector and shown what the world would be like without his architecture. “The ... Read More

a year ago 83 votes
A simple description

The structural exploration reflects the dichotomy of the diametrically opposed forces creating intrinsic tension within the interstitial forms which have been bifurcated and articulated throughout the design exploration phases resulting from the pedological rigor employed throughout the process and within the contextual visualizations of the urban fabric and the liminal spaces between which have been juxtaposed with while simultaneously creating ... Read More

a year ago 102 votes
Design explained using venn diagrams

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

a year ago 101 votes
Design explained using pie charts again

Design is hard. If only the process could be explained using simple pie charts again. Unfortunately, this still isn’t that: More Design in charts – HERE, and HERE and HERE and HERE

a year ago 100 votes

More in architecture

Inside a Wooded Hideaway Where Every Room Opens to Nature, Even the Sauna

Tucked into a five-acre wooded site just outside Seattle, Washington, the Interurban Residence is a quietly bold family home designed by Heliotrope Architects. Created for a family of four, this home turns its back on urban hustle and instead reaches deep into the forest, embracing sun, air, and natural materials with equal parts elegance and restraint. With interiors crafted by Amy Baker Interior Design and a landscape thoughtfully composed by Land Morphology, Interurban feels not simply placed within the forest, but deeply rooted in it.

6 hours ago 1 votes
Reading List for 05/31/2025

Wind wars, ALARA, power plant water use, grassroots opposition to data centers, and more.

2 days ago 3 votes
At First This Small Apartment Looks Simple, Then You Notice the Loft and Hidden Office

Located in Vila Mariana, one of São Paulo’s most traditional neighborhoods, this small apartment (398 square feet or 37 square meters) is a standout example of how compact living can be redefined through intelligent design. With interior design by RMV Interiores, the renovation focused on vertical space optimization and a contemporary material palette that balances efficiency with refined aesthetics.

3 days ago 3 votes
When There Is No Intelligence in Artificial Intelligence

AI is a tool for design, no more, no less. Humans are the creators.

4 days ago 4 votes
Can We Afford Large-scale Solar PV?

In the US solar energy has steadily risen in how much of our electricity it supplies.

4 days ago 5 votes