At its best, architecture can be a dream come true: the physical manifestation of the creative architect’s most exquisite design fantasies. Nowhere is this kind of creative liberty more pervasive than in architecture school—with few practical concerns for cost, policy, or even structural integrity, architecture students are free to execute the purest and most complex proposals their imaginations will allow. And indeed, as their representation and spatial skills progress, students gain the ability to realize more advanced interventions over time. In the real world, though…not so much.
Centuries of civilizations built on structures designed by architects and yet, their voice is lost among the countless stories of rulers and armies and sometimes wondrous monsters.
The Leewardists are rewriting the contemporary history of our civilization through the voice of this elusive being, The Architect.
For more of The Architect Comic Series follow them on Facebook, Instagram or visit their website.
A new collection of five minute-long On Design stories—developed by the team behind Section D, Monocle 24’s 24’s weekly review of design, architecture and craft—profile a person, survey a place, or unpack an idea that’s changing or shaping design and architecture today. We’ve selected fourteen of our favorites from the ongoing series, examining issues as wide as Postmodernism and the architectural competition, to five-minute profiles of Alvaro Siza, Josef Hoffman, Kengo Kuma and Superstudio.
You can see a curated collection of Monocle 24’s architecture-related podcasts on ArchDaily, here.
What is Postmodern architecture?
In this debut episode, James Taylor-Foster introduces us to the meaning and importance of Postmodernism in architecture.
Alexei Korolyov explains the life, work and continuing relevance of Josef Hoffmann – a Czech-born designer and architect whose influence on Viennese design can still be felt today.
Once a powerhouse of trade and commerce, Buffalo’s architectural importance well outweighs its renown. Josh Fehnert takes us on a tour of the rust-belt city that’s finally regaining its shine.
Fiona Wilson takes us through the life and work of Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, who through his buildings and writings has reinterpreted traditional Japanese architecture for the 21st Century. We explore the career of the man charged with the construction of the hotly contested Olympic Stadium for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
What did the German architect say to the Turkish one?
This episode dives into the long-standing (if at times strained) relationship between Germany and Turkey. We see how some Turkish homes still bear the mark of visiting German guest workers and learn what this says about the two countries today.
Many of the world’s most important buildings are the result of architecture competitions. But those same events are often politically fraught – and critics say they’re a waste architects’ time and energy. So is the competition really the best mechanism for commissioning building designs?
Most architects influence their discipline by completing iconic projects but others, such as Superstudio, make their mark despite leaving no building behind. We meet the 1960s avant-garde Italian collective that made architectural history working with utopias and not bricks.
We explore the life and career of Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza. During six decades of work Siza’s style has come to encompass the optimism of the post-Salazar years and speaks volumes about Portugal’s soft-power pull today.
If Madrileños needed any further reminder of the political stalemate paralysing their country, a beautifully designed but conspicuously incomplete construction project next to the Royal Palace stands out as a searing symbol of the impasse.
What can Singapore learn from the Golden Mile Complex?
The shabby brutalism of Singapore’s Golden Mile Complex and adjoining Golden Mile Tower doesn’t fit with the city’s squeaky-clean, glass-and-steel vernacular. We ask how the pair have survived in a place that’s famously unsentimental about demolishing the old to make way for the new.
The Serbian capital’s street-level design is a cacophony of clashing elements but one man is waging war against this discord, vowing to bring aesthetic harmony to the city. Will he succeed?
After Bulgaria’s first elections were held in 1990, the free market rushed in to fill the economic vacuum left by the fall of communism. On one side there arose a new class of oligarchs and on the other, against a backdrop of economic failure, the notorious organised crime sector of 1990s Bulgaria. These newly moneyed people, many of whom were involved or connected to the construction industry, needed somewhere to live, work and play. The havoc of building that followed threw up a chaotic architectural vernacular that some call “mafia baroque”.
Most visitors to the Galapagos Islands point their cameras towards the exotic animals and away from the local people. They direct their full attention to the natural landscape, as if to intentionally deny the existence of the urban space of the city, since the presence of any form of architecture would seem in logical conflict with the islands’ identity as a protected wildlife reserve.
The architecture of the Galapagos is both a conceptual and physical contradiction. Like a Piranesian joke, the San Cristobal typology of the proto-ruin falls somewhere on a spectrum between construction and dismantlement. With their “permanently unfinished” construction state seemingly in flux, it is unclear whether many of these buildings display a common optimism for vertical expansion or are instead symptoms of a process of urban decay.
The unique shapes of these pseudo-informal constructions are the product of a tax loophole found in many South American and even Southern European countries that allows residents and landlords to defer property taxes on buildings in the process of construction. (Another contributing factor to this practice is their residents’ existence in a liminal state of poverty.) The result is a strange, unintentional aesthetic of the purposefully incomplete that has a tendency to dominate many lower income neighborhoods. An especially large concentration of these building types can be found in the capital of the Galapagos, San Cristobal.
In leaving open the possibility of future construction, these semi-shelters invite the casual observer to imagine divergent possibilities for the completed construction that reflect an imagined future direction for the Galapagos Islands as a whole. Will the roofs of these homes become the penthouses of the wealthy Ecuadorians seeking a vacation home on the islands, high rise hotel towers to house the increasing flood of international tourists, or aviaries for accommodating the world-famous Galapagos finches, so as to integrate these birds into the matrix of human development?
Mapping the urban area of Puerto Baquerzio Moreno allows us to quantify the percentage of inhabitants that are actively taking advantage of this tax loophole. 1,800 buildings can be counted in Puerto Baquerzio Moreno from satellite photos. 1,253 buildings were surveyed from the ground in total: of those 960 appear to be mostly completed, 207 appear to be in a state of incomplete habitation, and 86 are apparently currently in construction. From that data, 76.5% are “completed,” 16.5% are “incomplete,” and 7% are “under construction.”
The somewhat larger and more developed Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz suggests one possible path in which Puerto Baquerzio Moreno may develop. The survey of site statistics shows 2,925 buildings in the main city: of those 2,633 appear to be mostly completed, 233 appear to be in a state of incomplete habitation, and 59 are apparently currently in construction. From that data, 90% are “completed,” 8% are “incomplete,” and 2% are “under construction.”
Joseph Kennedy is a Fulbright grantee conducting research and teaching at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design. He graduated with a B. Arch from Cornell University in 2015.
Crystal Clear is a single family residence located in Olympic Valley, Lake Tahoe, California, USA. Completed in 2016, it was designed by Aspen Leaf Interiors. Photos courtesy of Aspen Leaf Interiors
Thinking of continuing your studies but don’t want to start a master’s or a doctorate just yet? Around the world, short-term courses taken remotely are increasingly popular alternatives, and platforms such as edX, created by Harvard and MIT Universities make it even easier to dive deeper into the most diverse topics.
Of course, for long-term and undergraduate courses, the face-to-face experience cannot be replaced by online classes. However, being able to follow lessons and participate in discussions with people from around the world online is definitely an important advantage offered by the internet.
We have compiled a few courses in areas ranging from video game design to bio-cellular engineering, and from the history of Japanese architecture to courses in architectural imagination. See our list below:
From the architect. Dwell in productive landscapes
Made to maximize new landscape experiences, Retreat in Finca Aguy was prefab-born in a factory near Montevideo and transported 200km to its final destination in Pueblo Edén on the edge of an olive field. Perfect combination of industry and landscape: new kinds of landscapes deserve new ways of dwelling.
To build in far away territories from the surroundings in which we usually live is a great challenge. Remoteness not as a limit but as a possibility, as a value, as a generator of fields and conditions. Remote landscapes confronts us with the awareness of immenseness. It puts us in our role in reality.
In landscapes of high natural value, it is fundamental to respect their original condition and so it is essential a reversibility condition. Prefabrication allows us to work with industrialized materials that enable high-precision processes. Thus amortizing the impact of construction on the ground, minimizing waste, staff in situ and displacement: a perfect combination of nature and industry.
Floor Plan
Eppur si muove!
Houses do not move. They are made of heavy materials, put together with mortar, concrete must be used. These prejudices are hard to break, as the immobility of constructions.
On the other hand, Prefab Houses are produced in a controlled environment and carefully made. They are born in a factory and taken to its final destination. Houses do not move, however…
Loft in Berlin is a residential project designed by Santiago Brotons Design. It is located in Berlin, Germany. Loft in Berlin by Santiago Brotons Design: “The penthouse is located in a picturesque little street, just close by Ku-Damm in Berlin. The total surface is 320m2 (3,445ft2), including 3 terraces with amazing views over Berlin. Since penthouses of this kind are very rare in Berlin, we decided to emphasise these features..
From the architect. A dense forest opens to a dune valley. Sunlight casts shadows of branches and leaves against tree trunks. In the distance, a golfer walks through the empty surreal landscape. This unique environment – trees, light and dunes – influences the design of “villa Meijendel” in such a way as if it has sculpted the house.
This in concrete constructed house is literally built into the dunes. The entrance is on the midlevel, where an office and two bedrooms are situated. The next level opens to a huge living room and kitchen. On ground level are a wellness room and the master bedroom. Encapsulated in the dune is a garage and technical room. The concrete construction of the villa establishes the vigorous character of the house.
All materials are unpolished: concrete, steal, wood, burned wood and anodised aluminium. They refer to the unspoiled landscape. The burned wood at the exterior, and the wood used for the ceiling of the main space is Douglas-Fir, a specific wood type growing in coastal areas. In the flat sawn pieces used for the interior of the house, the wood exhibits wild grain patterns. The burning procedure, influenced by Japanese tradition, conserves the wood in a particular way. The blackened façade seems to change by the light. Sometimes the house is almost invisible against the dark edge of the forest, sometimes it sparkles in the sunlight because of the glittering charred wood as such forming a background for the play of shadows of tree trunks and branches. The villa hides and reveals itself in the landscape.
Regulations stipulated that only a small and compact volume was allowed to be built on this relatively narrow parcel, on the edge of nature reserve Meijendel. Therefore, the house is half buried in a high dune, with the effect that every side of the house can be experienced in a different way. This is enhanced by the contrast between open and closed facades. The height difference of the dune and the various split levels inside the house create interesting spatial and visual relations from interior spaces towards the environing dune landscape. Each opening in the house has been shaped, sized and positioned in a certain way, related to the functions associated to each space and its relationship with trees, light and dune. From the living room, located at the top floor, there is a breath-taking view over the dune valley in front of the house, but through a low window the forest at the back is visible as well. In addition, roof windows provide special light effects. The bathroom is half-sunken into the ground and has a window along the slope of the dune, generating a view from eyelevel on sand and grass. The master bedroom is situated next to the garden. A set-back and an alternation of burned wood and openings in de façade create a buffer zone providing shelter. Through the opening between the dark trunks, the pool and dense forest are visible.
Through an intensive dialogue between the architect and client, a tailor-made design of the house was made. Sustainability and materiality were prevalent. The house is energy-neutral, because of the use of solar panels, heat pumps and the monolith concrete structure. Every detail, such as door handle or stairs, is precisely thought through and designed. Villa Meijendel is a fascinating artefact, a sort of wooden forest hut fully integrated in the landscape and with a strong connection between the interior spaces and immediate surroundings. Trees, light and dunes have sculpted this remarkable house.
Undermountain is a private home located in Sheffield, Massachusetts, USA. Completed in 2016, it was designed by O’Neill Rose Architects. Photos by: Michael Moran
Master Builder: Thöni Hoch- und Tiefbau GmbH & Co KG
Carpentry: Nesensohn Holzbau
Electrical Work: Elektro Hartmann
Tinsmith Work: Entner-Dach GmbH & Co.KG
Wondow Construction: Hartmann Fensterbau GmbH
Plumbing: Markus Stolz GmbH & Co KG
Courtesy of marte.marte architects
Sturdy, earthy, yet subtly sophisticated, the “Griss Equine Veterinary Practice” is located where the village of Rankweil (A) meets the wide Rhine Valley. On the horizon, the rugged peaks of the Alpstein massif pierce the sky.
Courtesy of marte.marte architects
Floor Plans
Courtesy of marte.marte architects
The clear-lined building, made of rough reinforced concrete and untreated wood, is home to animals as well as humans. An apartment for the veterinarian is combined under one roof with the equine practice – including an in-house pharmacy, treatment rooms, lab and stables – in such a functional way that the private and public areas are able to coexist without any problem: In short, a finely tuned interaction between work and life, a place of bustle and wellness, both functional and comfy.
Courtesy of marte.marte architects
To arrange all these different rooms on just one floor with a surface of 27 x 19 meters and still build it as one unit, the pavilion principle was applied. A base plate, a reinforced concrete floor of the same size and four solid vertical concrete wall plates – turned towards each other in an exciting composition – make up the supporting structure of the building. The partly recessed façade is made of prefabricated wood frame elements (spruce). The continuous surface is interrupted rhythmically by ceiling-high windows. A sheltered passage and a barn-like space separate the working area from the accommodation wing. The clean and direct form is continued in the interior.
Courtesy of marte.marte architects
The clients and their horses enter the practice, which is set back from the street, from the north side. The big open sliding door, which is part of the façade, reveals the centre of the equine practice: the examining room. All the practice’s other rooms are grouped around this central point. Directly behind it is the operating room and anesthesia box, which are lined with black rubber mats. The in-house pharmacy, laboratory and office area, which is also accessible from outside, is located in the east wing of the building. All of the flooring, built-in furniture and single wall coverings in this area are made of silver fir. The warm and soft effect of this wood is an appealing contrast to the hard and rather cool concrete. The outdoor boxes, three in number, face west – towards wide meadows and fields, the round pen and the small trotting track. The above-average ceiling height of almost four meters keeps the animals safe even when they rear up and lends an almost sacred charm to this “place of healing”.
Courtesy of marte.marte architects
The apartment faces southwest away from the access road. Big ceiling-high glass sliding doors in the living room offer a wonderful view of the natural landscape. The flooring and wall coverings, made out of silver fir, create a warm and safe environment. The glass elements and concrete wall plates are set well back from the edge of the roof, creating a covered veranda. The dominant base plate and concrete floor draw a clear boundary between inside and outside. Despite this, or perhaps just because of it, the sparsely furnished living room – which is rather small compared to the high ceiling – exudes transitory qualities: It brings the garden into the house and conversely extends the living space into the open air.
Sig Nordal 