August 18, 2010
From Arch Daily comes these photos of a home for the Modern Stone-Age family. “What do you think of this crazy stone house tucked into the Fafe Mountains in Portugal? Constructed between two giant stones and linked with a concrete mix, the house is rumored to be inspired by the popular American Flintstones cartoon. Although quite unusual, the prehistoric-looking residence does feature some traditional components such as windows, a front door, and even a shingled roof. As you might expect, the house’s design attracts thousands of tourists each year.”
January 11, 2010
Washington Technology Magnet Middle School in St. Paul has been transformed from an early 20th century brick schoolhouse to an open and tech-savvy teaching environment. That’s the conclusion of Architectural Record’s Chris Hudson in discussing the redesign by Cuningham Group Architecture, in the magazine’s New Schools of the 21st Century case studies.
Additions dating to the 1930s had jumbled the campus into “a rabbit warren of half-stories and narrow stairs. The only corridor connecting the east and west sides of the building, for example, was choked at one end by a 6-foot-wide stair,” writes Hudson.
So Cuningham Group replaced the center of the building with a three-story, skylit technology gallery that dramatically clarifies and eases circulation and gives the school the cutting-edge identity it sought. “The need for smaller and larger spaces different from that of classrooms isn’t going to go away as programs change,” says Cuningham Group project manager Margaret Parsons, AIA. “It’s the use or the function that may change.”
October 27, 2009
Los Angeles International Airport is devoting tens of millions of dollars to improve its international terminal. So why hasn’t the self-proclaimed “Greenest City in the U.S.” come up with a more sustainable design? John Quiter, Chairman of Cuningham Group Architecture, reports his recent experience in a recent blog post for Good magazine: “Something was wrong here. Just six or so feet above that dropped ceiling, the brilliant skies of Los Angeles glowed with the 10,000 foot-candle power of the sun. None of that light found its way through the ceiling and into the remodeled gate area. At noon every light fixture was turned on. The well-detailed space looked good, but can it be called good design? Is it even acceptable design?”
New York Times Columnist Thomas L. Friedman recently observed that “landing at Kennedy Airport from Hong Kong [is] like going from the Jetsons to the Flintstones.” Quiter’s post has similar implications for LAX.
June 24, 2009
Dwell magazine has its own line of pre-fabricated homes. However, starting at over $442,000 (not counting land!) they don’t quite achieve the goal of bringing sophisticated Modern design to the masses. But in 1955 one could buy a home designed by A. Quincy Jones (now considered an iconic Modernist) in Fullerton, California starting at $13,000, with a down payment of $1,250. Those days are captured in a Fullerton Museum Center show including beautiful works by famed photographer Julius Schulman (now 98 years old). “Forever Fullerton: Julius Schulman” rediscovers the 286 homes sometimes called Read More
April 24, 2009
Where is it? Might be hidden in Culver City, atop the Baldwin Hills. And now there’s a 50-acre state park, 500 feet up, with vistas from Downtown to the Pacific Ocean, AND a new visitors center. The architecturally innovative project contains exhibitions on local ecology and history, offers event spaces and conference rooms, and native-species landscaping. The Architect’s Newspaper blog calls the facility “a curved, canopied, exposed concrete, steel, and (floor to ceiling) glass structure that hugs the site, affords incredible visibility, and seems to grow out of its undulating earthscape.” (Designed by Safdie Rabines Architects.) Unless you know where you’re driving, the entrance is hard to find: along that Read More
January 22, 2009
Real estate market woes getting you down? If times require some serious scaling-down, Swiss company The Wall AG may have the solution. Introducing the Universal World House made of…………paper.
Originally developed as a temporary home to provide shelter in global disaster areas and refugee camps, these homes consist of cellulose from recycled paper and cardboard specially soaked in resin. Its special honeycomb shaped walls secure structural stability (it’s even earthquake-proof for particularly hard-hit Californians) and ensure insulation. Read More
December 12, 2008
You may know him as the architect whose Ground Zero plans shattered to a halt, but Daniel Libeskind is picking up the pieces with plans for his first New York building – One Madison Avenue. Standing 54 stories, One Madison Avenue could end-up Manhattan’s tallest residential building once completed. Read More
December 8, 2008
The new U.S. Capitol Visitor Center opened last week after six years of construction. The underground visitor center, which cost $621 million to construct, includes exhibitions, orientation theaters, and a restaurant to entertain visitors waiting to begin their Capitol tours – and allows them to wait inside.
“Over the years, as interest in the Capitol has increased, people have been standing outside in the extreme heat, cold, and humidity waiting to get into this building,” said Stephen Ayers, acting architect of the Capitol. Read More
December 1, 2008
While Americans were giving thanks last week, Mumbai, India suffered a terrorist attack that exposed ill-prepared emergency-response teams. (As reported in the Wall Street Journal, India’s Army commandos were armed with hand guns and scooter helmets, while terrorists had machine guns and grenade launchers.)
As Mumbai vies to become a world financial center, such security issues may deter tenants from pioneering green buildings such as the Cybertecture Egg (designed by Chinese firm, James Law Cybertecture International). Merging geometric sophistication with green technology, the Cybertecture Egg will Read More
November 24, 2008
Architects are playing an increasing role in the luxury goods industry. For the last decade, sports carmaker Ferrari has enlisted international figures such as Jean Nouvel, Renzo Piano and Marco Visconti to redesign structures key to the company’s automotive works and innovation. According to Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, Ferrari’s president, starchitects were brought in to accomplish three goals: to revitalize its organization, to eliminate the division of employees and to maintain, not lose, the spirit of Ferrari. Read More
