British artist David Shrigley and London mayor Sadiq Khan have launched a series of artist-designed posters for London’s Tube, which declare that the city “will not cut itself off from the rest of the world” (+ slideshow). (more…)
Architect Frank Gehry has been granted permission to build a series of five mixed-use buildings in his home city of Los Angeles. (more…)
A+Awards: next up in our collaboration with Architizer is this energy-efficient wooden home on the outskirts of a small village in the Czech Republic, which was one of the private houses recognised in this year’s A+Awards (+ slideshow). (more…)
From the architect. Power to the People is a 0-energy project composed of seven solar-powered rowhouses. Each flat has its own articulated south-facing roof and the maximum number of solar panels allowed by the municipality.
The building site is flanked by two dead-end streets that are running in an east-west direction, which meant that if the houses were to line the existing streets then half of the flats would have a north facing terrace which is clearly undesirable in a nordic climate.
So we created a small “alley”on the site. The alley is on private property but left open for pedestrian connectivity. it connected the two dead-end streets which not only increased pedestrian activity in the neighborhood but also opened up the property and the neighborhood to the hiking trailheads that are adjacent to the site. This alley allowed the rowhouses to be oriented in a north-south direction which gave all of the flats west-facing terraces with afternoon and evening sun.
For those of us that aren’t based out of a university—and even for many who are—finding research resources that cover the topic you’re interested in can be a challenge. But they can be found, and thanks to the internet your search no longer needs to be limited to nearby libraries. In fact, many world-renowned libraries and magazines are now working to digitize important parts of their collection, while a number of online organizations have sprung up with missions to improve access to information. To help you identify some of the most useful, we’ve put together a list of 18 free websites that offer scholarly articles, publications, photos, videos, and much more.
JSTOR is a must-know, and one that you’ve probably come across before. JSTOR contains digitized back issues of leading academic journals, current issues of journals, books and primary sources. JSTOR’s digital library has a number of excellent architectural publications, and has broad coverage of humanities, sciences, and social sciences.
Well-known for its Case Study House program, Arts & Architecture magazine highlighted the development of single-family dwellings during the Post-war period, with specific focus on the work of Southern California architects like Richard Neutra, Rudolf Schindler, Charles Eames, Frank Lloyd Wright, and John Lautner among others. Published from 1929 until 1967, the website now dedicated to cataloging Arts & Architecture offers digitized versions of selected articles from 1945 onwards, as well as full issues from the magazine’s last 11 years.
Created by North Carolina Modernist Homes (NCMH) and Hanley Wood (parent company of ARCHITECT), Colossus focuses on 20th century architectural publications, and especially on designs from the 60s, 70s and 80s. When complete, the digital archive will provide over 1.3 million pages, becoming the largest online reference for modernist architecture.
The hugely influential Archigram group was active from 1961 to 1974, and their work has now been digitized. Students from the University of Westminster created this platform in collaboration with the remaining members of Archigram or their heirs. The database include digital versions of drawings, collages, paintings, photographs, magazines, articles, slides and multi-media material, and original texts by Archigram where available. Given that most of Archigram’s work remained unbuilt, its digitization provides a poetic structure to the collective output of the architects involved.
In 2014, Getty Publication launched its virtual library, featuring over 250 titles to read for free online. Works published by Getty Publication complement the work of the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Conservation Institute, and the Getty Research Institute. The library’s resources cover architecture, but also art, photography, archaeology, conservation, and the humanities at large. You can also find interesting material on Getty’s education portal.
With over 21 million publications, ISSUU is an engaging publishing platform for magazines, catalogs, and newspapers, and has become a go-to platform for small publishers and individuals who want to make their work available online. The digital media company offers both leading and emerging titles, on subjects of culture, arts, lifestyle, and (most importantly) architecture.
Archnet focuses on the built environment and iconic buildings of the Islamic World, and provides a wide range of documentation: images, drawings, publications, seminar proceedings, articles, monographs and architect’s archives. This research tool is a must-see for people interested in Islamic Art and Architecture.
You may know the Royal Institute of British Architects for their awards and advocacy for the British architecture industry—but did you know RIBA also has its online image library? RIBApix features over 85,000 digital images issued from the British Architectural Library. From iconic buildings, to street scenes and vernacular architecture, the platform gives photographic evidence from different historical periods. The collection is frequently updated with recently built projects, and covers interior design, landscape, topography, planning, construction and the decorative arts. All images can be downloaded in low resolution for free, and can be purchased to illustrate a publication.
In 2014, the British branch of the famous film and production company Pathé released 85,000 videos on their Youtube channel to watch for free in high resolution. The archive contains films produced from 1910 to 1970, and is incredible in terms of scope, covering notable subjects on architecture and design, such as the construction of the Empire State Building, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Johnson Wax Building, Le Corbusier’s Couvent de la Tourrette, and Montreal’s Expo’ 67 and the construction of Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic dome.
The Architectural Association’s online photo library contains 8,000 images that represent the highlights of the school’s broader collection. Slides, negatives and prints of historical and contemporary architecture are available in low resolution for educational purposes, but can also be purchased for commercial use. The AA also offers photographs of its students’ work since the 1880s, as well as a video archive for its lectures, conferences, and symposia.
The Courtauld Institute offers online access to some major primary sources and images of its collection. The online database includes 40,000 photographs, cuttings, architectural drawings, and publications, spanning the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. Although the Courtauld is best-known as an art history institution, its Conway library focuses on architecture and is a valuable resource for researchers and students alike.
Harvard Library’s VIA (Visual Information Access) provides descriptive records, architectural drawings, and photographs. All images are available for educational use only.
New York Public Library’s photographic archive offers over 180,000 high resolution images that are public domain and not subject to copyright restrictions. These images chronicle New York’s street scenes and historical buildings, and include incredible documentation on the design of the Chrysler building, and construction of the Woolworth building. But the library also has panels of photographs from demolished or destroyed buildings across the world, like London’s Crystal Palace demolished in 1936.
On ArchInform, you will find complete biographies of architects, and descriptions of the buildings that shaped their career. Buildings under construction, completed buildings, and unbuilt projects, as well as awards received and publications are all listed on the website. Moreover, ArchInform has a very wide database that gives credit to both famous and less well-known architects.
The Society of Architectural Historians offers an architectural encyclopedia for members only, but their free version includes notable articles on 100 historically-important buildings in each US state.
Run by Ross Wolfe, this blog presents excerpts of primary sources and historical material. Although it is not an archive in the stricter sense, this platform can prove very useful when researching on Modernist Architecture in Germany and Eastern Countries, and on Russian Constructivism.
Run by the Internet Archive—who you may have heard of thanks to “the Wayback Machine” or any number of their other archival missions—this ever-expanding collection of monthly publications and digitized magazine so far features archives of “The Builder,” the UK’s oldest and most comprehensive magazine on the building industry that dates back to the 19th century.
The magazine Canadian Architect has shared digital archives of its publications since 2008. Articles report on architectural practices in Canada, review designs across the country, explore newly built projects, and look at the use of new technology in current practices.
From the architect. COURT is the public space rehabilitation of a public housing unit with more than 8000 dwellings located in the suburbs of the Veracruz port. The unit counts with several open areas, never thought as public spaces, which became residual.
One of those areas had an asphalt court that remained underused for lack of shade and protection from sun, rain and heat. The goal was to create an inhabitable area to reactivate the court and its surroundings.
More than a roof
The lack of urban amenities gave this roof an extended function to its initial use and became a multipurpose portico-style cover. The program, inserted between the columns, includes balconies, playgrounds, reading room, activity rooms, bathrooms and furniture like stands, hammocks and swings that give alternative uses to the structure. We also integrated an outdoor fitness area, a forum and urban furniture that allows round-the-clock use of the space. The incorporation of local vegetation recovers shade as an essential element of public spaces in hot weather.
The result is a structural replicable model that responds to sports-use but also to recreational, educational, religious and contemplative uses. The court becomes a meeting point for neighbors that works as a community center housing multiple activities.
All architects desire recognition of their built work; for their signature design style to be identified, or for the quality of materials and details to outshine those around it. Unfortunately, if every new architectural structure was to insert itself into its context looking to be the star, soon it would become impossible to gauge the civic relevance of the area. Some buildings, such as Daniel Libeskind‘s Jewish Museum, appear dislocated with due cause, but others stand out for the sake of standing out, turning their back on their rich historical setting.
While there can be no singular strategy for contextual integration, Kurt Kohlstedt argues that a consideration of historical context, whether eventually chosen to acquiesce with or deny, will result in richer and more engaging built environment. In his latest essay for 99% Invisible, Kohlstedt unpacks the myriad ways in which a new building can engage with what was there before, highlighting examples which successfully and unsuccessfully take up the challenge. He acknowledges the difficulty of finding the sweet spot, as many designs are unable to navigate the “fine line between contextual and contemporary.”
In his article, Kohlstedt explains that it’s not hard to draw up examples of buildings that are so contemporary they sit disjunctively within their surroundings. Much of Libeskind’s oeuvre, including his Royal Ontario Museum and the Jewish Museum in Berlin, appear foreign against the backdrop of heritage buildings. In both cases, the differentiation of the new building is justified by a program contained within the extension. The shock of their presence contributed to their status as icons, as their innovative form creates a wave of public response. Within their immediate landscape, they are obviously new and are not encroached by a landscape of competing icons.
Kohlstedt goes on about how the new building phenomenon is especially apparent in Paris, where structures such as the Eiffel Tower and I.M. Pei‘s Louvre extension were initially abhorred, but public interest over time has seen them canonized. This could be seen as a version of the “Bilbao Effect,” in reference to Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum catalyzing a wave of interest and tourism to the Spanish city of Bilbao. While architecture can become iconic by the newness of their form and expression, if the same attempts at iconicism are constantly occurring without awareness of their impact or transition then it results in an unconsidered cityscape.
Extremism can be just as damaging when concerning mimicry as it is with exhibitionism. If a building tries too hard to “fit in” it may become nothing more than a crude copy of its surroundings. Kohlstedt asserts that “rote historical mimicry and facadism can be problematic as well for the legibility of a city,” as building in bygone styles begins to create a city of replicas rather than relevant structures.
Fortunately, if there are two ends of the extremism spectrum, between them lie infinite possibilities in terms of successful integration or visibility. Within his essay, Kohlstedt identifies several key projects which manage to navigate their context in ways which enrich rather than detract. All of these projects show an awareness of the historical stratification which occurs when people can discern the oldness or newness value of their surrounds, and form a logical response to the problems at hand.
To read Kurt Kohlstedt’s essay in full, head to the 99% Invisible Website.
The forthcoming M+ museum has opened its first exhibition space in Hong Kong’s new cultural district: a mirror-clad pavilion that cantilevers out of a hillside (+ slideshow). (more…)
