Next Progressives: Ultramoderne

April 2016 Ι Architect Magazine  Architecture “is supposed to be bold and it’s supposed to be large,” says Aaron Forrest, AIA, one-half of the Providence, R.I., duo Ultramoderne. “It’s meant to be a statement of some kind.” This perspective, from architecture’s vanguard in the post-recessionary year of 2016, may be controversial at a time when many… Continue reading Next Progressives: Ultramoderne

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A Lot You Got to Holler EP 4: Architecture is Hilarious

EP 4: Architecture is Hilarious  Architecture requires massive amounts of money, time, and effort to come together. It’s serious business. Most of the time. But here in Chicago there are a handful of designers that work humor into their architecture whenever they can, as a way to satirize the practice of architecture and the cultures… Continue reading A Lot You Got to Holler EP 4: Architecture is Hilarious

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The hidden history of African modernism

April 4, 2016 Ι Doggerel  Between 1957 and 1966, almost two-thirds of all African nations declared independence from their colonial rulers, ready to cast off nearly a century of imperial hierarchy by forging new social structures and self-determined economies. And they did so with modern architecture. Modern design for a modern continent For postcolonial African leaders,… Continue reading The hidden history of African modernism

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Skylar Tibbits’ MIT Self-Assembly Lab Programs Architectural Materials to Come Alive

Line/Shape/Space Ι March 28, 2016  It’s not hard to translate a brick-and-mortar building into pure data. Today’s monitoring and software tools can measure energy usage and efficiency electron-by-electron, track circulation patterns, and anticipate how weather changes will affect indoor climate. It’s a software revolution that’s led to a hardware revolution: dynamic building systems that can react… Continue reading Skylar Tibbits’ MIT Self-Assembly Lab Programs Architectural Materials to Come Alive

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Wetland Restoration: A New Driver for Development in China?

Metropolis Magazine Ι March 14, 2016  In China, when it’s time to build a new city—and it’s always time to build a new city in China—there’s usually a clear loser to be pitied: the landscape that gets leveled and paved over. At the moment, the Chinese government is trying to direct the greatest urban migration in… Continue reading Wetland Restoration: A New Driver for Development in China?

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Preserve that Hashtag: Media and the Preservation of Postmodern Architecture

Chicago Architect Ι March-April 2016  Just two years after Bertrand Goldberg’s 1975 Prentice Women’s Hospital completed its dance with a wrecking ball, his Marina City Towers are cruising towards landmark status. Preservation cries have arisen around Edo Belli’s 1975 expansion to Cueno Hospital. Meanwhile, Stanley Tigerman’s, FAIA, Pensacola Place is getting a crisp renovation from Brininstool… Continue reading Preserve that Hashtag: Media and the Preservation of Postmodern Architecture

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A Lot You Got to Holler EP 3: Immodest Proposals for the Chicago Lakefront

EP 3: Immodest Proposals for the Chicago Lakefront  Chicago’s most valuable natural asset is its lakefront, forever free, public, and protected by law. This lakefront is so valuable, argues the architects at Port Urbanism, that we need more of it to pay off the city’s massive debts. Or (if you ask the designers at UrbanLab)… Continue reading A Lot You Got to Holler EP 3: Immodest Proposals for the Chicago Lakefront

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Self-Assembling Structures: What If Buildings Were Made by Swarming Robotic Creatures?

Line/Shape/Space Ι March 2, 2016  Imagine robotic architectural-fabrication components that can wiggle, crawl, and amble together into architectural space, more or less unbidden. The London-based Spyropoulos Design Lab at the Architectural Association’s Design Research Laboratory (AADRL) is working to make that a reality. At first, it sounds like a cold and impersonal way to create architecture:… Continue reading Self-Assembling Structures: What If Buildings Were Made by Swarming Robotic Creatures?

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When Frank Lloyd Wright Was on the Outside Looking In, He at Least Had Company

Metropolis Magazine Ι Feb. 11, 2016 One hundred years ago it was much harder to expand the traditional boundaries of architecture than it is today. The reasons for this are easily identified; it’s now infinitely easier to move people and information across the globe. For an example of the long and laborious process it once took to… Continue reading When Frank Lloyd Wright Was on the Outside Looking In, He at Least Had Company

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