Redshift Ι Dec. 7, 2016 Good architects have always designed with tactile sensations in mind, from the rich wood grain on a bannister, to the thick, shaggy carpet at a daycare center. It’s an effective way to engage all the senses, connecting the eye, hand, and mind in ways that create richer environments. But one architecture […]
Category Archives: Articles
Marion Mahony Griffin, Unbound
Architectural Record Ι Oct. 31, 2016 The historical record left by architect Marion Mahony Griffin has been obscured by time, distance, and the prejudices of her age and profession. To begin with, much of her built work was on the other side of the globe, in Australia. She disdained self-promotion and the public spotlight, rather literally—she […]
Toyo Ito’s Next Architectural Feat: Revitalizing Omishima Island in Japan
Redshift Ι Oct. 25, 2016 Last year, as construction at his National Taichung Theater in Taiwan was winding down, Toyo Ito found himself at a crossroads. A 10-year project in the making, the gargantuan cultural beacon is made of biomorphically curved concrete walls that wind together like a knot of arteries, creating an otherworldly experience for arts patrons. It’s […]
4 Ways JGMA Empowers Modest Clients With Marvelous Architecture
Redshift Ι Oct. 24, 2016 Juan Moreno’s eponymous Chicago architecture firm brings design to neighborhoods and communities that don’t normally see much infrastructural investment, let alone aesthetically exciting architecture. Working largely with Chicago’s Hispanic community, Juan Gabriel Moreno Architects (JGMA) offers more than design to underserved communities. The firm fosters the most important asset in a sustainable future—kids. […]
Social Connector
Metropolis Ι October 2016 As a building type, the high-rise embodies both technical sophistication and something of the architect’s own ego. Yet few architects make their name as creators of consistently good ones; Mies van der Rohe may have been the last. Jeanne Gang, another adoptive Chicagoan, promises to pick up where he left off. For […]
Baghdad Through the Lens of an Iraqi Architect
October 2016 Ι Architect Magazine In a photo of a dusty, rubble-strewn Baghdad street, a group of men hold a rectangular object overhead. It resembles a casket, the unfortunate result of a drone strike, perhaps, or some other byproduct of the second Gulf War. But take a closer look and it becomes clear the photo […]
Build Big: Arch_Tec_Lab Is a Test Bed for Robotic Fabrication in Architecture
Oct. 11 Ι Redshift For more than 50 years, scientists, executives, and even movie producers have promised that robots are the future of everything. These prophecies are revealing themselves to be especially true in the AEC industry. Although when it comes to robotic fabrication in architecture, not everyone is as ahead of the curve as the researchers […]
Cities that Function Like Forests are on the Horizon
Oct. 10, 2016 Ι OZY.com Look, we all want to save the planet, but don’t assume thin-as-paper solar panels blanketing every building will rescue us from fossil fuel oblivion. And don’t think apps that crowdsource microlendingwill lessen global inequality. In fact, don’t expect technology alone to solve any of our most pressing global problems, especially when it comes […]
When Public Housing Goes Private
Curbed Ι Sept. 28, 2016 Seven years ago, Chicago housing developer Peter Holsten invited a drama troupe to perform at a meeting for market-rate buyers and former public housing residents living in one of his mixed-income developments, which had been built to replace the infamous Cabrini-Green public housing project on the city’s Near North Side. Holsten’s […]
How Bison will Take Over Suburban Wasteland
OZY Ι Sept. 29, 2016 Past the suburban fringe of Chicago, 60 miles west of Lake Michigan, the seemingly endless rhythm of curving cul-de-sac neighborhoods and strip malls gives way to vast expanses of green — cropland and wild prairie, divided by knots of rail yards where semitrailers wait to pick up cargo. Angular buildings are […]