PRACTICE: The Latest Architecture and News

PRACTICE is a Seoul-based studio founded in 2020 by designers Sisan Lee and Sehou Ahn, and one of ArchDaily's 2024 Best New Practices. With backgrounds in architecture and interior design, they explore a wide range of creative fields, from spatial and exhibition design to custom furniture, art objects, and material experimentation, and had been highlighted last year due to their fast design approach which "matches the fast-evolving iterations at the world's bustling hub of fashion and design". The studio brings a unique depth to each project by creating custom-designed elements, furniture, and objects that reflect their diverse creative capacities. Pieces within their projects are crafted from a deep understanding of its purpose and materiality, demonstrating the studio's commitment to thoughtful, integrity-driven design.

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This article was originally published on Common Edge.

The vast majority of practitioners I've known over the years seek well-trained graduates who are ready on Day One to be productive employees. But that's not all an architectural education needs to deliver. Michael Monti—who for the past 20 years has served as executive director of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), which represents 5,000 architecture faculty teaching more than 30,000 students—stresses that architectural education needs to rest on strong foundation of shared values and ethics in order for graduates to make meaningful contributions to what he describes as a "civilized life," promoting the dignity, freedom, health, and well-being of the people who interact with architecture every day.

Videos

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 of FAME Architecture & Design discuss whether or not architects are optimists. Many claim to be, but are they? The two cover in what ways architects are optimists, when architects are pessimists, how to be an optimist and how it impacts one’s work, being a realist, and more.

Videos

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 of FAME Architecture & Design are joined by architecture critic of The New York Times, Michael Kimmelman, to discuss his background; the role of a critic; New York City; the evolution of the profession; the housing crisis; social housing; the value of architecture; and more!

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), in collaboration with The Jencks Foundation at The Cosmic House, has announced that Dogma is the 2023 recipient of the Charles Jencks Award. Previously awarded to Zaha Hadid, Níall McLaughlin, Herzog & de Meuron, and OMA, the award celebrates other forms of thinking and production that can drive architecture beyond design. This year’s recipient, Dogma, is a Brussels-based architecture practice focusing on the interplay between architecture and urban environments.

Spacon & X is a Copenhagen-based design and architecture studio that works to create spatial identity across different mediums. Their cross-disciplinary work boasts a fusion between traditionally separated fields, contributing to a holistic physical brand experience. Chosen by ArchDaily as part of our 2023 New Practices, the studio works with an explorative approach to architecture, design, event planning, and production.

The studio is run by three partners who each come from different backgrounds: Architecture, Fashion Design, and Scenographic Design. In an interview with Nikoline Dyrup Carlsen, Svend Jacob Pedersen, and Malene Hvidt, ArchDaily delves into their practice, exploring their distinct skill sets and their collaborative and exploratory work ethic. The interview also goes beyond the practice, discussing their unique methodology and commercial business development strategy. Housing 25 employees with various backgrounds, the studio includes architects, carpenters, building constructors, and craft makers and is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of design and architecture.

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While attending the 2023 UIA World Congress of Architecture in Copenhagen, ArchDaily had the chance to discuss with Yasmeen Lari, Pakistan’s first female architect and the winner of the 2023 RIBA Royal Gold Medal for Architecture. Yasmeen Lari gained international recognition for her heritage conservation and humanitarian activism efforts, demonstrating the possibilities of practicing architecture within disadvantaged communities. Her innovative and socially conscious approach, a concept known as ‘barefoot social architecture,’ has had a significant impact both in her home country and internationally. By designing for resilient communities, her work also aligns with the intentions behind the UIA World Congress of Architects and the ways in which architecture can contribute to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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This article was originally published on Common Edge.

It has been about 200 years since the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris created an academic discipline—and thus the profession—of architecture. The central role of the architect as the defining agent of creation transcended the Master Builder, a role that defined those who designed buildings not as experts or celebrities but as stewards of building traditions.

“Can you help me design my residential tower? It's 30 stories and located in Brooklyn, New York.” ChatGPT’s response may be surprising. Given that the bot has no architectural experience, and is certainly not a licensed architect, it was quick to rattle off a list of considerations for my building. Zoning codes, floor plan functionality, building codes, materiality, structural design, amenity spaces, and sustainable measures were just a few of the topics ChatGPT shared information about.

Zaha Hadid Architects has announced the creation of its Employee Benefit Trust and the transition to employee ownership. Established by Zaha Hadid in 1980, the practice with studios in London and Beijing now comprises over 500 professionals taking forward the legacy of the renowned architect. The organizational shift will ensure that profits are reinvested back into the business, into facilities and equipment, benefiting the entire staff while allowing the practice to prioritize visionary architectural endeavours.

With December and January nearly behind us, many of us will have been producing reports. There is an increasing number of tools for reporting PR value sold to companies as ways to justify their worth. There is no doubt that it’s useful to regularly take stock of past and upcoming initiatives and producing a report can even be pleasurable when adding to a sense of accomplishment and direction. The bad thing is that this heavily-report-reliant culture leads to management style PR that focuses more on how something will look on paper as stats, graphs, and pics, than what is actually accomplished.

For instance, The Architecture Foundation in London is highlighting growing Biennale fatigue in its forthcoming “Bored of Biennales” event in March. One can well imagine how all-too-often such events are best experienced not in situ, but instead, through carefully-edited reports or via media coverage as suggested by the Foundation.