La Défense

La Défense, the Dutch social security & welfare service in Almere, the Netherlands by architect Ben van Berkel

Filmed by Willard Jansen
Music is by Alex Cortiz, Schmooz, from the album Make Believe.

Kent Larson: Brilliant designs to fit more people in every city

How can we fit more people into cities without overcrowding? Kent Larson shows off folding cars, quick-change apartments and other innovations that could make the city of the future work a lot like a small village of the past. Kent Larson designs new technologies that solve the biggest questions facing our cities.

House of the Week 153: M11 House

Photos by: Hiroyuki Oki

The M11 house was designed by a21 studio and is located in the suburbs of the Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam. The 3-storey house has a number of small shaded green-courtyards, creating peaceful spaces that block out the noise of the city. The interiors bathed in a natural palette of wood and stone open to the courtyards giving the spaces light and airiness.

via

For more works by a21 Studio

New Work ::: Stedelijk Museum Addition

(c)John Lewis Marshall

The new 9,000m² addition to the historic Stedelijk Museum, affectionately referred to as the Bath Tub presents 90,000 objects dating from the seventies of the nineteenth century to the present. Designed by Benthem Crouwel Architects and Arup, the historic Stedelijk Museum houses the permanent collection whilst the addition features permanent collections for industrial design, graphic design and applied art as well as offerings for temporary exhibitions.

FCAA Biennale

2012 FCAA Biennale 

blog wunderlust: 24th September 2012

The purpose of architecture is to build meaning, so get close to the meaning and build

Aldo van Eyck

Phillip Johnson's Turning Point, Cleveland, OH (c) architechnophilia

The Incredible True Adventures of the Architectress in America | How architects brand themselves with their bikes | Queens Theatre | Architects are the last people who should shape our cities | Olympic Structures – The Architect’s Perspective | 25 most beautiful public libraries in the world | Le Corbusier by Willy Rizzo | 5 Best Cities For Design and Modern Architecture | [exhibition] Inhabited Architecture | The top 10 architecture mistakes of the 21st century

last word: Why is the web so important for architects?

Freeland

A unique approach to urban planning and design by the Netherlands based practice MVDRV

Bjarke Ingels: High Riser

Bjarke Ingels: High Riser on Nowness.com.

The Danish Architect Provokes BIG Questions During the Venice Biennale Architectura 2012, comparing the role of the architect to that of a midwife.

House of the Week - retrospective

This is the third retrospective of the House of Week category. You can find the first covering numbers 1-49, and the second covering numbers 50-100. There are some obvious exceptions (which shows I can't count very well) but I intend to fill them... I promise. Enjoy

151: Itiquira House Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
150: Sunset Vale, Singapore
149: West Edge House, Réunion Island, Indian Ocean
148: Catch the View House, Bumi Serpong Damai, Indonesia
147: Hijuan House, Kuala Lumpur
146: Bonaire House, Bonaire
145: Manhattan Beach House, Manhattan Beach
144: Prospect, La Jolla, California
143: Mop House, Al-Nuzha,Kuwait
142: Corallo House, Santa Rosalia, Guatemala
141: Lakeshore View House, Sentosa Cove, Singapore
140: Two Hulls House, Port Mouton, Nova Scotia, Canada
139: House in Mallorca, Mallorca
138: Mt Martha House, Australia
137: Diamond Residence, San Francisco
136: Palms Residence, Venice, California
135: Cliff House, Gig Harbour, Washington
134: Villa Shoestring, Gibbs Beach, Barbados
133: Cove Way, Sentosa Island, Singapore
132: Casa Paredes Tres Ocho, Tlajomulco de Zúñiga, Mexico
131: El Secreto, Mexico
130: Solid & Voids, Filothei, Athens
129: Travertine Dream House, Serangoon, Singapore
128: 25th Street Residence, Santa Monica, California
127: Stacked House,
126: Summer House in Menorca, Spain
125: Villa Grand Cayman, Grand Cayman
124: Brown Residence, Scottsdale, Arizona
123: Laurel Residence, Houston, Texas
122: Casa HG, Zapopan, Mexico
121: K3 House, Sydney, Australia
120: Useche Residence, São Paulo, Brazil
119: Containers of Hope, San Jose, Costa Rica
118: Small House, Dry Creek Valley, California
117: Palácio da Alvorada, Brasilia, Brazil
116: Goulding Summerhouse, Enniskerry, Ireland
115: House on Kona, Hawaii
114: Suncrest Residence, San Juan Island, US/Canadian border
113: Casa em Guarujá, Sao Paulo, Brazil
112: Wall House, Auroville, India
111: Villa in Szentendre, Szentendre, Hungary
110: Arthur Casa, São Paulo, Brazil
109: Waikopua, New Zealand
108: Dorsey Residence, Bainbridge Island, Washington
107: Ponce House, Buenos Aires, Argentina
106: Villa Darvishabad, Caspian Sea
105: Matryoshka, Maryland
104: Villa K, Tagadert Berber, Marrakesh
103: Villa K, Nagano, Japan
102: Forest Guard's House, Varberg, Sweden
101: Wood Box House, West Java, Indonesia

We are still seeking suggestions for the next 50 especially from cities & countries not listed and works considered relevant to the tropics.

On the Boards: Digicel Showroom

A competition entry for a showroom for telecommunications giant Digicel in Port au Prince, Haiti designed by Gianni Botsford Architects. The design was intended to be a physical and digital extension of the public space in front of it. The elevation of the showroom aims to reflect both the cultural, the climatic, technological aspirations of the city.

On the Boards: The Yards

The Yards, is a new 42 acre redevelopment along the Anacostia River, in Washington, DC. The project is aiming for LEED gold certification under the Neighborhood Development pilot programme and will when complete feature nearly 2 million ft² of office space, 400,000 ft² of retail and cultural spaces, and nearly 3000 new homes, and waterfront park and amenities.

more photos and information

House of the Week 152: Beach Walk House

photographs © Jimi Billingsley & Daniel Levin

The over 4500 ft² Beach Walk House on Fire Island, New York was designed by SPG architects. The residence is composed of three intersecting rectilinear volumes and is simply coded to create a dynamic composition. The middle floating volume is wrapped in shiplapped timber and houses the 5 bedrooms. The dominant volume, located on the top floor is finished in anodized metal and features the kitchen with access to a viewing deck.

9 Reasons to Get a Degree in Architecture

Deciding which major to choose in college can be tough. If you've stumbled upon this blog, and you're interested in architecture, here are a few reasons you might want to get a degree in it:

1. The job market for architects will recover. People will always need places to live and work. The real estate market and construction industry are slowly getting better, and they will continue to get better.
   
2. You'll never be bored as an architect. Architects are constantly challenged to be innovative and resourceful. They're always asked to be creative and thoughtful. The job of an architect is almost always stimulating.
   
3. It's easy to be passionate about what you do as an architect. As an architect, you'll get to do what you love every day. You'll get to create things. If you're a creative person, you'll find architecture to be immensely rewarding.
   
4. Architecture pays well, after you have a few years of experience. You may have to fight tooth and nail to find a job after college, if the job market's still tough when you graduate. However, so will most graduates. Once you do find a job, it will pay enough for you to cover your bills, in most cases. Entry-level architects make around $40,000 a year. If you stick with it, though, for several years, you will probably end up making around $70,000 a year, which is the average median salary for experienced architects, according to Life of an Architect.
   
5. You'll be making a difference in people's lives. What you do will directly affect people and enrich their lives. You'll be helping to create the buildings people need to thrive.
   
6. You'll be well-rounded. Architects are some of the most well-rounded professionals on the planet. Their careers demand them to be well-versed in art, design, engineering, art history, sociology, and technology. If you want to be a jack of all trades and a master of architecture, you'll love your job.
   
7. You'll have diverse career options. Architects can work in a number of different fields and perform a number of different roles. You'll get to pick whether or not you want to get involved with commercial, industrial, or landscape architecture. Additionally, you have the option of working in urban planning, historical preservation, and facility management. The sky is the limit in terms of what you can do in all of these fields!
   
8. People will think highly of you. Being an architect is prestigious. Much like doctors, lawyers, and engineers, architects are respected in our society.
   
9. If it's your dream, you should follow it. If you're good at architecture, you'd probably be good at engineering or computer programming too. Some people might tell you that those fields are more practical and lucrative, especially due to the current economic difficulties. However, ultimately, you should do what you love. The world needs more architects who love what they do.

Kristie Lewis is a guest blogger, freelancer, and lover of architecture. She currently spends the bulk of her time writing for www.constructionmanagementdegree.org and enjoys giving advice to prospective construction management and architecture students. Please contact Kristie at Kristie.lewis81@gmail.com if you have any comments or questions.

blog wunderlust: 17th September 2012

The architect should not limit the sphere of his work with narrow frames and servile imitations, but, where necessary, should overcome obstacles by means of his powerful fantasy and bravely move forward. Those who think that the architect’s activity should embrace only current realistic requirements are thinking incorrectly and falsely.

Yakov Chernikhov

(c) Shawn Clover

Sketch a facade entries | Karrie Jacobs on Boxism | What Architects Do Doesn’t Count Unless It Gets Built | Composite Photographs Blend Scenes from the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Present Day | 15 Amazing Examples Of Architecture Photography | Towns are cities too and urbanism isn't just about centre cities | Eero Saarinen: Furniture For Everyman | The Bachelor vs.the Bachelorette Pad | sketching Venice


last word: Latin America - A New Generation of Women Architects

Coast Modern

Filmmakers Michael Bernard and Gavin Froome will take us on a journey from Los Angeles to Vancouver; from 1922 up to the present exploring modernist architecture on the West Coast.

Adolfo Ibañez University

> Adolfo Ibañez University | Viña del Mar from pablo casals-aguirre on Vimeo.

A short film [in Spanish] directed & filmed by Pablo Casals-Aguirre on the Adolfo Ibañez University, Chile designed by architect José Cruz Ovalle.

New Work ::: Convent de Sant Francesc

Photographer: Jordi Surroca

Architect David Closes renovated an 18th century stone church of Sant Francesc convent in Santpedor, Spain. The project was aimed to convert the church into an auditorium and a multifunctional cultural facility. The intervention aimed to renovate the old church without removing the stains of deterioration and demise, so partially collapsed roofs and walls are elegantly transformed into windows and skylights. The result maintains the spatial values and historical scars of the old church whilst layering it with a contemporary language.

blog wunderlust: 10th September 2012

I dislike architects because their crimes last longer than their own own lives. They die and leave us with this.

Esperanza Aguirre, President of Madrid

Why Historic Buildings Are Greener Than LEED-Certified New Ones | HIGH RISE: A bold Danish architect charms his way to the top | Unbuilt Buildings: 5 Architectural Dreams That Never Came True | President of Madrid Puts Foot In Mouth, Offends Architects Everywhere | When architects tell stories | The Joseph Eichler Story | Is the future behind us? An interview with Kenneth Frampton and Juhani Pallasmaa | 10 Forgotten Lessons of Mid-Century Modern Design |



last word: University of the West Indies to develop smart building prototype

Modern Tide: Midcentury Architecture on Long Island

Modern Tide: Midcentury Architecture on Long Island explores the postwar architecture by such architects including Albert Frey, Wallace Harrison, Herbert Beckhard, Edward Durrell Stone, Marcel Breuer, Philip Johnson among many others.

McLeod House: demolished

The 140 years old McLeod House in Port of Spain, Trinidad was in the blink of an eye bulldozed. The house suffered structural damage a number of years ago and the entry had begun to deteriorate. The owners did not have the financial resources to restore the structure.

On the Boards: the Pinnacle of Knowledge

Images: Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects

The environmentally-friendly building for the Yale-NUS College in Singapore designed by architects Pelli Clarke Pelli. The programme for the 1,000 student complex includes student housing, classrooms and lecture theatres, supported by a library and multimedia hub set on a slope as a reference to the pinnacle of knowledge.

On the Boards: Sculptural Bridge

(c) EGA

The new pedestrian and bycicle bridge in Stockhomsporten, Sweden designed by Erik Giudice Architects anticipates to connect landscape, city, and infrustructure through its design. The overall finish of the bridge will be dynamic varying from perspective, location and speed of the viewer.

House of the Week 151: Itiquira House

images (c) Mca Estudio

The renovation to the Itiquira house in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was designed by architect Gisele Taranto with Maneco Quinderé (lighting) and Gilberto Elkins (landscape). The 16,000 ft^s house consists of two blocks the first containing the family residence with the separate block for the garage, a home theatre and staff quarters. The house is lavishly landscaped with open spaces and patios to breath in the outdoors.

blog wunderlust: 3rd September 2012

In any evolutionary process even in the arts, the search for novelty becomes corrupting

Kenneth Boulding

(c) Josh Terr

Frank Gehry Is Designing Facebook’s New Office Building and That’s Sad | Warriors Select Snøhetta And AECOM As Architecture Team To Build New Sport & Entertainment Complex On SF Waterfront | Live/Work in Brazil: A High Style Solution | projects that transform highways into urban oases | Not ornate enough? | Architecture and the Lost Art of Drawing | inside Corbusier’s La Tourette | Empire State of Pen | distressed cities conference

last word: A revolutionary idea - Carlos Acosta is leading a plan to turn an abandoned arts school in Havana into an international dance centre