If there is any word that describes what architectural renders look like nowadays, it would be: impressive. The immense world of rendering has allowed people to engage in virtually-built environments, exploring each space and experiencing what they might hear or feel as they walk by one room to another without being physically present in the project.
The main purpose of a render is to help viewers visualize what the final result of the project will look like. Whether it is for presentation or construction purposes, architects need to translate their visions in a way that helps people who were not involved in the ideation process understand the space and the experiences that come with it. However, not all architects have the proper skills or the time to create such hyper-realistic environments, but with the exceptional quality of visuals being produced nowadays and the rising demand, it has become somewhat mandatory for every project to be presented as a realistic 3D render. So if you are one of those architects who don't have the skills nor time, here are ways you can present your project as an immersive visual experience that translates its identity without resorting to 3D software.
Duravit’s new HygieneFlush flushing technology is the latest in its range of hygiene features to take bathroom cleanliness, as wells as water efficiency, to the next level.
The Architects Registration Board, which is responsible for the licensing and registration of architects in the United Kingdom, has announced that UK architects no longer have an automatic recognition of their qualifications in EU countries following the country’s exit from the Union. This decision signifies that architects who wish to pursue their career in the Union’s 27 countries, are obliged to present compliance certificates and specific documentation to relevant authorities in each country.
Japan plans on transforming the area around Shinagawa station into a global hub, further connecting Tokyo to the international scene of business and innovation. The Connecticut-based architecture firm Pickard Chilton recently completed the masterplan and concept design for the area's redevelopment into the Global Gateway Shinagawa, an innovative urban environment.
The slogan "Stay Home" has been guiding people throughout the past year, making us rediscover our home as a place of refuge, shelter, and protection. Within this new status quo, much has been discussed about the important role played by architecture and interior design in improving both the physical and mental wellbeing of its inhabitants.
From the most complex to the most simple, we have been revisiting various design strategies in search of a sense of comfort and seclusion in our homes. Although we are living in the most technological age of all, we find ourselves drawn to the most fundamental elements, as if returning to our origins.
It sounds like a dream — the ability to design whatever comes to mind without worrying about the execution. It seems too good to be true and perhaps, in some cases, it is. There are simply too many rules - spoken and unspoken - that architecture and design have to obey. However, in some situations, you can take back your design freedom by utilizing smart solutions that already exist but may be little-known. This is especially true for the architecture and design of doors.
Chicago has long been a center of design. The third-most populous city in the United States with one of the world's largest and most diversified economies, the Windy City is a hub for commerce, transportation and culture. Chicago has continuously redefined hospitality architecture long before the pandemic, and the city will once again take stock as it looks to reimagine the future of travel and entertainment.
WXY Studio has partnered with the Downtown Davenport Partnership (DDP) to develop Davenport 30: A Resilient City, a new master plan that aims to provide a sustainable and inclusive city that reconnects its citizens to the surrounding neighborhoods. The award-winning architecture and urban design studio’s proposal focuses on revitalizing the city’s urban fabric and turning it into an innovative hub for businesses, entertainment, and leisure, all while prioritizing the citizens’ health.
SMAR Architecture Studio has won the Urban Confluence competition to envision a new landmark for Silicon Valley. The Breeze of Innovation project is a forest of kinetic rods swaying in the wind creating a mesmerizing visual effect.
February 2021 has been a historical month for Mars exploration. While humans have been exploring the red planet for well over 50 years, first landing on its surface in 1971 and then launching the first successful rover in 1997, this year has seen several firsts, namely the first time that three countries (China, United States, and the UAE) have launched three simultaneous probes.
Real-time rendering is the fastest and easiest way to turn building models into immersive 3D experiences. It empowers the creative process by enabling designers to generate, document, and visualize simultaneously from one model.
It would seem that the ongoing saga of the James R. Thompson Center, Chicago’s beloved but neglected governmental office building-slash-postmodernist mecca, might be reaching its final act.
Yesterday, Brendan Reilly, alderman of the city’s 42nd ward, announced a proposed rezoning ordinance that could kick the sale of the prized 3-acre site (12,140 m2) at 100 West Randolph Street into high-gear. The cash-strapped State of Illinois has been considering/trying to offload the property as early as 2003.
Simple in form but complex in substance, “What is Architecture?” remains an existential question for a lot of architecture students and young professionals. In an attempt to define this ever-changing interrogation and expose the different visions out there, the interview series: WIA – What is architecture? asks four, straightforward, questions to world-leading architectural designers and thinkers. Seeking to uncover their opinion on what architecture is and what it can do, these short videos reveal responses to “What is architecture? What can architecture do? What is your architectural position? and What is your design method?”.
The Second Studio (formerly The Midnight Charette) is an explicit podcast about design, architecture, and the everyday. Hosted by Architects David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, it features different creative professionals in unscripted conversations that allow for thoughtful takes and personal discussions.
A variety of subjects are covered with honesty and humor: some episodes are interviews, while others are tips for fellow designers, reviews of buildings and other projects, or casual explorations of everyday life and design. The Second Studio is also available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube.
This week David and Marina give an introduction to what architecture is, covering how architecture is different from 'buildings'; the key aspects of a work of architecture (and what makes for good architecture); why architecture is necessary, but also unnecessary; the common belief that architecture only pertains to the exterior of buildings, the common focus on styles; whether or not architecture is subjective; and more.
https://www.archdaily.com/959496/the-second-studio-podcast-on-why-architecture-is-necessary-but-also-unnecessaryThe Second Studio Podcast
Talking to the Louisiana Channel, German architect Anna Heringer outlines the way she works and her multi-disciplinary approach to architectural practice. Growing up in a small town at the Austrian-Bavarian border close to Salzburg - Heringer spent a year living and working in Bangladesh at the age of 19, a place that is now home to a majority of her office's projects. Heringer describes herself as a mix of things in addition to being an architect, describing herself as an activist and a development worker - using her creativity to explore ideas in a variety of forms and media.
If someone tried to sell you a virtual building, would you buy it? That’s right- a virtual building. Not something that will ever be built in the physical world, or something you can occupy, but an image you can look at, or a video you could watch. This is exactly what’s being proposed as architecture enters the realm of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) that have taken the world by storm. And in the design profession, which continuously seeks to redefine what it means to be an architect, NFTs have big implications for the future of digitization and commoditization of the unbuilt environment.
Inspired by the colors and textures of the surrounding environment, Pritzker Prize winners RCR Architectes have translated the Algarve's landscape into new residences and facilities at the Palmares Ocean Living & Golf Resort. A total of 37 new signature apartments and luxury villas are currently under construction, with completion due dates expected between summer 2021 and 2022.
Dominique Perrault Architecture, together with Chinese studio Zhubo Design Co, has won the international competition for the new campus of Shenzen's Institute of Design and Innovation. Stretching along a mountain range, the large-scale horizontal structure preserves the views towards the landscape, while creating a strong relationship between the learning spaces and the environment.
Globalization and its pension for both virtual and physical connectivity has led to the linking of the world's economies, territories, and cultures and nowhere is this more evident than in the field of architecture.
The American architect, designer, and futurist Buckminster Fuller once defined the Dymaxion principle as “constructing ever more with ever less weight, time, and ergs per each given level of functional performance.”
Few businesses in the United States are regarded with more fondness than mom-and-pop retailers. There’s an “all’s right with the world” quality about owner-run shops that meet a neighborhood’s everyday needs and, through repeated face-to-face exchanges, help people feel they’re members of a mutually supportive community. And yet for a long time, mom-and-pop stores have been under stress. In the half-century after 1950, cars shifted much of United States’s retailing to unwalkable roadside strips and winnowed the ranks of neighborhood-scale mom-and-pops. In the past two decades, the burgeoning of the internet has intensified the pressure on brick-and-mortar retail, a situation worsened by the pandemic.
Perhaps no modern character from TV or film is more enthralled with architects than George Costanza from Seinfeld. And, let’s be honest here, how many architects chose the profession in order to say those words, “I am an Architect?” Well, what if George was an architect? What kind of architect would he be? In this episode, Stewart breaks down scenes from Seinfeld in order to piece together the kind of architect he really wants to be. Using seven exhibits and a lawyerly argument, he builds his case around this most pressing 'what if' scenario. Exhibits range from George’s overt references, like his claim to have designed the addition to the Guggenheim, to a more psychological assessment of his proclivities for cozy, velvet-lined spaces and concluding with his fascination for pretending in the first place.
Founder of the Berlin-based firm Kéré Architecture, Francis Kéré, has won the 2021 Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Architecture. Presented by the University of Virginia and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello, the award is one of four honors recognizing achievements in architecture, citizen leaderships, global innovation, and law. The Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medals recognize the exemplary contributions of recipients to the endeavors in which Jefferson excelled and held in high regard.
For the 17th international architecture exhibition – la biennale di Venezia 2021, Austria is creating a platform of debate around how we envision the architecture of the future. In fact, the Austrian contribution, entitled “Platform Austria”, curated by Peter Mörtenböck and Helge Mooshammer, seeks to articulate the profound changes established by the development of digital platforms in our built environment.