'Innovation' and 'design thinking' could possibly be two of the most extensively-used phrases both online and offline during the past decade. To respond to the global need of "changing the status quo", established companies, start-ups, and even universities have used this framework to generate novel ways of solving problems and create new products, taking into account their desirability, feasibility, and viability. And with that, a new archetype was conceived: the design thinker, someone who has the creative toolkit to generate something disruptive. So what is the meaning behind design thinking and what is its relationship with architecture?
If Nature had been comfortable, mankind would never have invented architecture. - Oscar Wilde
Architecture is human. Despite their exquisite beauty, burrows, hives, nests and anthills are creations of instinct. Design by humans considers options, means and methods of creation, solving problems of desire, beyond functional accommodations.
How many times have you heard the old claim that “Email is dead”? Surely, more than once. To the surprise of many, and despite the rise of new messaging tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams during the pandemic, Email remains by far the most widely used communication tool in many businesses. Every day, more than 300 billion emails are sent and received globally, and employees spend an average of 5 hours checking their online correspondence. This trend is only expected to rise in the upcoming years, especially within project and client-based industries – like architecture, engineering and construction – that heavily rely on this means of communication.
However, its consolidated use doesn’t always equal efficiency, particularly in companies that don’t set up the necessary internal processes to file emails in a central space. With the silent threat of poor mail management, many architecture firms and other businesses must face unnecessary risks, time and productivity costs, and increased stress among workers.
Textile forms of habitation are far from new; in fact, humans have been using fabric to create shelter for thousands of years, becoming an archetypal form of building. Today, contemporary architecture has rediscovered the principle of the tent and taken its development further, implementing new technologies to generate more advanced and durable fabrics which allow larger areas to be spanned. Becoming a highly specialized sector within the construction industry, multiple textile forms have become common in a wide range of architectural applications – not just for temporary structures, but also for permanent buildings. Apart from their use in facades, these can be utilized in interiors to create highly functional spaces with unique sensory experiences.
In this two-part episode of Design and the City - a podcast on how to make cities more livable – reSITE covers the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale, exploring the question of “How will we live together". Part-one looks into the works of the U.S, Nordic, and Luxembourg Pavilion curators, focusing on their use of timber construction as an answer to the exhibition's theme. Part-two features curator Hashim Sarkis and Greg Lindsay, along with the British and Austrian pavilion curators, as they explore the topic of accessibility.
MVRDV ‘s latest project designed for government-owned power company Taipower is “a tool for energy production”, communicating Taiwan’s goal of transitioning to green energy. The morphology of the project and its architectural image are entirely data-driven, the expression of the most efficient way of generating solar energy on the site. An operations facility comprising offices, a maintenance workshop, storage spaces, and a public gallery, the project is defined as a “built manifesto”, projecting the company’s aspirations for achieving a “carbon-free future”.
Yesporciento is an architecture and research studio founded by Sebastián Castro, architect and skateboarder. From Chile, his interests lie around strategies to maximise and strengthen the public and collective space through the Skateboarding phenomenon. Next, Castro presents his most recent analysis focused on observing, registering and presenting some cultural manifestations related to the recovery and occupancy of disused urban spaces, defining three case studies within the urban area of Santiago.
Adaptive reuse is the sustainable face of architecture. This visionary process of architectural alchemy allows cities to thrive and remain relevant, without forgetting their past.
Delft Hotel Interiors. Image via Frame Magazine used under terms of "fair use"
In recent years, there’s been a significant amount of clamor around the habits and impacts of the millennial generation. Headlines often read “Millennials Responsible for the Decline of Cereal”, “Millenials Are Why We No Longer Use Napkins”, and “Are Millennials Killing the Housing Market?” After being burdened with the blame of the death of almost anything, the millennial workforce has now moved away from the spotlight to make room for the next generation, “Gen Z”, which many believe are going to make significant societal disruptions- especially in the architectural and design workforce.
Videos
Set Stills. The Tragedy of Macbeth. Image via Stefan Dechant
Stefan Dechant is a production designer with over 25 years of experience in the industry working alongside reputable filmmakers like James Cameron (Avatar), Tim Burton (Alice in Wonderland), and Sam Mendes (Jarhead). Recently, Stefan served as the production designer for the upcoming Apple TV+ film 'The Tragedy of Macbeth' directed by Joel Coen. Why did this interest us immediately? Because he had the task of creating 35 Black & White, Abstract Sets.
In the following interview with Stefan, he tells us all about the inspiration behind the aesthetic, his working process between sketches and digital, and finally the stage of building all of this. Read more below.
The European Commission and the Mies van der Rohe Foundation have announced the 40 shortlisted works that will compete for the 2022 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award. The shortlist featured projects built across 18 different European countries, with Spain, Austria, and France topping the list with 5 entries each. The winners will be announced in April 2022 and the Award ceremony will take place in May 2022.
The 60th edition of Salone del Mobile.Milano has been postponed and will now take place from the 7th till the 12th of June 2022. The decision was taken by the Board of Federlegno Arredo Eventi, in agreement with Fiera Milano, who voted to postpone the event from April 2022 to June 2022.
As the new year kicks off, we're taking a look ahead to the projects we're most looking forward to in 2022. With a mix of cultural and commercial programs, the designs are located across five continents, with many under construction for multiple years. Designed across a wide range of scales, they represent a mix of interconnected landscapes, museums, and new skyscrapers.
Old Jaffa House 4 by Pitsou Kedem Architects. Image Courtesy of German Design Awards 2022
The German Design Awards have been presented by the German Design Council for the tenth time. The internationally renowned prizes are awarded to companies whose pioneering products and projects stand out in the categories of “Excellent Product Design”, “Excellent Communications Design” and “Excellent Architecture”. In addition to the “Winner” and “Special Mention” awards, the jury gave out a total of 81 “Gold” awards – the highest distinction of the German Design Awards.
Volksentscheid Berlin Autofrei (People’s Decision for Auto-Free Berlin), has proposed a plan to limit cars within Berlin's Ringbahn, a long circle route around the inner city, making it the world's largest car-free area once approved. The citizen-initiative is aimed mostly at banning the use of private cars in central Berlin, with the exception of emergency vehicles, garbage trucks, taxis, delivery vehicles, and residents with limited mobility, who would all be given special access permits.
The first phase in the development of Heatherick Studio's 1,000 Trees project in Shanghai was recently inaugurated, showcasing the finished mountain-like structure. The design gives prominence to the structural columns, each topped by a large planter featuring a tree, which becomes the project's main feature. Balancing the requirements for a dense development with the search for a human scale, Heatherick Studio chose to approach the project as "a visual extension" of the neighbouring park, proposing a new topography defined by its integrated greenery.
We are starting to say goodbye to the year and after a review of all the contents developed, we find ourselves with a wide range of architectural advice that involves both interior and exterior spaces. Addressing issues from the domestic sphere to more technical and decisive questions, these are intended to serve as a guide and/or suggestions, rescuing those necessary considerations to take into account when planning our spaces, regardless of the use or the future they contemplate.
Across the globe, museums function as cultural landmarks – spaces of significance that quite often become defining symbols of a city’s architectural landscape. Historical examples such as the Museum de Fundatie in the Netherlands and The Louvre Museum in France continue to attract millions of visitors, with contemporary architectural interventions to them redefining their spatial contribution to their local context.
From planning to construction, architecture is more than designing buildings. With many multidisciplinary actors involved and the continuous flow of images, plans, and files, any project is also about managing large amounts of information. Because architects usually have tight deadlines – having to complete a certain number of buildings in a specific time frame – data must be managed productively and efficiently. However, as construction projects and delivery methods continue to increase in complexity, managing information has become more difficult than ever. And with the COVID-19 pandemic added to the mix, architecture firms now have a remote workforce which impacts how and where employees access information. Therefore, in order to ensure effective project delivery, the challenge lies in successfully managing project information.
The dawn of the Anthropocene has thrown the idea of adaptive reuse into the limelight: effectively the pinnacle of urban regeneration and revitalization. It utilizes the presence of existing buildings with historic and cultural value and re-purposes them to be functional. Essentially a form of architectural salvage; a sustainable and viable means of rebuilding.
Recent events such as the pandemic has highlighted inequalities in our cityscape, the inadequate segments in a state of disuse and disrepair. Adaptive reuse can replenish these areas and create new cultural hotspots, encouraging activity and creating vibrant and healthy mixed-use environments.
Below is a diverse selection of cultural hotspots using Adaptive Reuse
Video games and virtual worlds are jam-packed with imaginative environments to explore, time periods to peruse, and invented architectural styles to thumb through within every reality we choose to engross ourselves into. With recent advancements in technology, greater than ever are we witnessing the latest PC and console generations harboring the ability to produce life-like settings for players to roam around, get lost, and explore all the nuances the seemingly authentic reality holds.
Videos
Catie Newell by Alibi Studio. Image Courtesy of Stewart Hicks
Buildings are like bodies with organs. When this is the case, with a little extra effort, buildings can be dismantled instead of demolishing them. Dismantling involves carefully removing salvageable components, storing them, and finding them new homes. While this solution is not always possible, it can be part of a sustainable effort that — in addition to keeping material out of landfills — preserves the history and memory embedded within unique materials and fragments. It also honors the human labor invested in our environment. This video explores the reuse of building materials and what it means to be surrounded by fragments with history. It also profiles institutions dedicated to the dismantling and dissemination of building materials, as well as artistic practices that reconfigure our existing built environment including Noah Purifoy and Catie Newell of Alibi Studio.
Ricardo Bofill, the Spanish architect founder of Taller de Arquitectura (RBTA), designer of the iconic Walden 7 and more than 1,000 projects in forty countries, has passed away at 82 in Barcelona on Friday, January 14, as officially announced by his own firm through a statement.
With its quantifiable objectives and measurable performance, sustainability often passes as a technological challenge. Its primary language is that of data, equipment, and engineered systems, most often translated into a hyper-technologized layer hidden within a design upholding pre-existing aesthetic norms. As architecture is the image of society at one moment in time, how does the focus on sustainability translate into architectural language, further legitimatizing the efforts to establish an equitable relationship with the environment? Architecture serves as an expression of attitudes, and since sustainability has become a fundamental value, it is worth looking at whether or not it has produced an aesthetic transformation.
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.jpg?1642168917 "La Muralla Roja / Ricardo Bofill. Image Courtesy of Ricardo Bofill")
.jpg?1642169030 "The Factory . Image Courtesy of Ricardo Bofill")
