2013 Holiday Gift Guide (the Architect's Version)

Tired of people coming up with lame excuses that they don't know what to get you for Christmas because of your discerning tastes, or maybe you signed up for your office's secret Santa and are stumped or perhaps you just need that perfect bespoke piece for that special architect in your life. Looked no further that architechnophilia's 2013 Holiday Gift Guide (the Architect's Version).

An origami style white choker hand made from paper, glue, metal, lacquer

The Sea Urchin Collection hand crafted by Touch by VLS

A stylish yet practical suede leather pencil roll

Previously sold by Merchant 4, Place for Trace is a smart and nearly obvious solution for designers and architects

Pencil - think with your hands

Some other lists from Architizer, Remodelista & ArchDaily (so sorry this is late)

blog wunderlust: 23rd December 2013

Can we architects working in the Third World afford to consider projects in isolation? [...]the issues are more serious than the design of aesthetically pleasing or even good buildings

Yasmeen Lari

(c)Alka Patel, Courtesy ARTstor Alka Patel Archive

Intense, Graphic Photos ‘Whitewash’ Buildings in Los Angeles | The Best (and Worst) Countries to Be a Female Architect | 10 architects were told to create their fantasy home. This is what happened | Los Angeles Bans Heat-Sucking Roofs | Man Builds Fairy Tale Home for His Family – Total Cost £3,000 | What Architecture Schools Get Wrong | 2013 in Review: Top 10 Architecture Projects | Top 10 Deliciously Modern Gingerbread Houses

last word: Islamic Art Scholar Traces Havana’s Mozarabic Influences

CCTV June 2012

CCTV june 2012 from tomas koolhaas on Vimeo.

On the Boards: Petersen Automotive Museum

The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles has announced a complete exterior transformation and a dynamic redesign of the interior, characterized by long ribbons of stainless steel conceived by architects Kohn Pedersen Fox that will result in an upgrade of the museum to showcase the art, experience, culture and heritage of the automobile.

On the Boards: Baton Rouge Municipal Dock

Designed by New Orleans based practice Trahan Architects, the 64,000 ft² Baton Rouge Municipal Dock lies on an emerging pedestrian thoroughfare that connects Louisiana State University with downtown area and the Mississippi River. At a cost of $20 million, the mixed-use development will allow residents and visitors a host of public facilities under the backdrop of the river.

blog wunderlust: 16th December 2013

architects should reclaim a sense of naivety in design practice

Mark Wigley

[image source]

What Will Be Mandela’s Spatial Legacy? | Should architects design housing that is bespoke, made to measure or off the rack? | Shipping Containers Make for an Unusual Home | 12 Amazingly Creative Examples of Environmental Art | In Photos: The Last Days Of Three Paul Rudolph Houses | America Could End Homelessness in One Year by Doing This | FAT Announces The End of Its Practice | Architect Says FIFA Construction Headed for Trouble

last word: The Bonanza

meeting bar at Castilla Plaza, Madrid

Vídeo Espacio Gourmet from STUDIO LIN DAVIS on Vimeo.
A meeting bar at Castilla Plaza, Madrid designed by architects Losada Garcia (Ramiro Losada and Alberto Garcia).

Interview: Cecil Balmond - Sri Lanka project will be iconic

Interview with Engineer and designer Cecil Balmond [part 3]

blog wunderlust: 9th December 2013

Architecture is exposed to life. If its body is sensitive enough it can assume a quality that bears witness to past life.

Peter Zumthor

Swiss superstars of architecture | Frank Gehry's Grand vision to go before project committee | Lucid Stead: a mirage cabin made of mirrors | 100 Iconic Landmarks reduced to their negative space | Mockery of Kanye West's design ambition is "racist" says African-American activist | A tower that looks like it’s built out of waterfalls | Entire New 13-Story Building Tips Over in Shanghai | The 12 Days of Architecture


last word: The Trinidad Arcade

Interview: Cecil Balmond - ‘non-linear’ approach to design

Interview with Engineer and designer Cecil Balmond [part 2]

blog wunderlust: 2nd December 2013

one prerequisite of architecture is travel. I think that you should travel as much as you financially and possibly can. Essentially architecture is impossible to understand on the web or in books; it is an experience art. You need to go and feel those places, and see how the people there use them. No matter how much description is given to you, you will not understand until you go there.

David Adjaye

The Architect | What to Get an Architect for Christmas (2013) | 5 reasons architects are worth the money when redoing your home | A look at the two designs for the Gold Coast cultural precinct that missed out | Intricate cityscape drawings done from memory by stefan bleekrode | China Tried To Build A City To Replicate Paris ... And Here's What It Looks Like Now | For Architects Only? How Kanye Exposed Architecture’s Bias

last word: Papine Woes Due To Unqualified Decision Makers

Interview: Cecil Balmond - mystery makes science art

Monita Raipaul interviews Sri Lankan born Engineer and Designer Cecil Balmond [part 1]