Redshift Ι Jan. 17, 2017 It’s the holy grail for any biomimicry design futurist: buildings and structures that use generative geometry to assemble and repair themselves, grow, and evolve all on their own. Buildings that grow like trees, assembling their matter through something like genomic instructions encoded in the material itself. To get there, architecture alone… Continue reading Haresh Lalvani on Biomimicry and Architecture That Designs Itself
Category: Articles
Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art Renovation Will Cater to a Wider Public
Architectural Record Ι March 1, 2017 A renovation of Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) is intended to reintroduce the museum to a wider public, just when the project’s designers, the Los Angeles firm of Johnston Marklee, will be reintroducing themselves as artistic curators of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, set to open a few months after… Continue reading Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art Renovation Will Cater to a Wider Public
Underneath, Overlooked
Landscape Architecture Magazine Ι February 2017 In 2002, the Design Trust for Public Space published Reclaiming the High Line, a critical voice of support that helped jump-start the growing momentum to preserve that rusting hulk of a rail bed in Lower Manhattan. Now a city- and pedestrian-scaled outdoor art walk and landscape, the High Line is likely the most influential… Continue reading Underneath, Overlooked
Redesigning Lathrop
Architect Magazine Ι January 2017 The Julia C. Lathrop Homes, built in 1938, are one of the oldest Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) projects in the city. Inspired equally by Ebeneezer Howard’s English Garden Cities and company towns like Pullman on Chicago’s far South Side, Lathrop was designed by a cadre of architects punching below their weight… Continue reading Redesigning Lathrop
Tall, Green, and Global: 10 of the Most Innovative Architecture Projects of 2016
The year 2016 was a watershed moment for broad-based populist backlashes, from Brexit to Trump, “xenophobia” to “post-truth.” But looking back, this year’s architecture seems more and more like the sober run-up to these volcanic changes. From this perspective, Redshift’s year-end list of the most innovative architecture documents a different ethos. The concerns demonstrated here (housing inequality, the future of… Continue reading Tall, Green, and Global: 10 of the Most Innovative Architecture Projects of 2016
Why This Teaching Hospital Only Has Fake Patients
CityLab Ι Dec. 9, 2016 University hospitals are often premier institutions for medical training. But a new school on the West Side of Chicago is promising advances in health-care education without students ever collecting a vial of blood or scrubbing in for surgery. It’s a community college, and its array of courses are supported by a… Continue reading Why This Teaching Hospital Only Has Fake Patients
Architecture for Autism Could Be a Breakthrough for Kids With ASD
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… Continue reading Architecture for Autism Could Be a Breakthrough for Kids With ASD
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… Continue reading Marion Mahony Griffin, Unbound
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… Continue reading Toyo Ito’s Next Architectural Feat: Revitalizing Omishima Island in Japan
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.… Continue reading 4 Ways JGMA Empowers Modest Clients With Marvelous Architecture