Architettura

In spite of the rise of e-commerce, the physical point of sale is still with us. That said, the traditional store is having to up its game in terms of the experience and brand relevance it offers consumers – not only to compete with online shopping

We'd like to talk to you about a delicate matter. The toilet. The WC. The lavatory. However you choose to refer to it, we all require regular access to this most prosaic of environments. Which is why it's refreshing to see a number of recent public

From huge temporary stadia to tiny transitory event spaces, pop-up architecture fulfils many roles and comes in many guises. In some cases the very latest technologies are used to engineer complex structures, while in others a readymade approach

From a global view of history of design, the Czech design scene still remains at the edge of historical periods and styles. Despite that fact, some great Czech designers have found themselves in an international context in the past.

When architects such as Jean Prouvé and Charles Eames began experimenting with buildings made using off-the-shelf components following the second World War, little did they know that technology would one day allow buildings to be created from kits

At a former industrial site in the West of Zurich, young people show the potential of an open floor plan, how to build sustainably using recycled materials, how to be resource conscious, and demonstrate that food from Aldi – a discounter – can

Among and around the buildings that will house hockey players and hurdlers, cyclists and swimmers throughout the duration of this summer’s Olympic Games in London are public spaces that strive to meet the exacting Olympic standards of excellence

Every city evolves differently, according to fluctuations in population and wealth, changes in industry and other social and economic factors. As old buildings are replaced, or new ones constructed, spaces between these buildings appear or alter;

Few aspects of product development have seen more innovation in the past decade than lighting design. Legislation and consumer demand have hastened the evolution of energy efficient solutions and programmable software now enables infinitely

At the end of the 19th century, HG Wells imagined a future in which industry had been completely located underground, whilst above ground all was green and leafy.Instead, something very different has happened to the building of structures beneath our

Even if it has become an everyday experience to take a flight in an aeroplane people continue to be fascinated by the act of overcoming gravity. The attraction of aircraft, airports and their infrastructure is accordingly great.

The development of writing in ancient Egypt also gave rise to the first libraries as places of storage for these witnesses to a new, revolutionary cultural technology. Using the following examples as a basis Architonic here highlights the range and

Perforated walls, panels and screens have been used for centuries as a way to control the level of light entering a building or to offer privacy to the occupants. The functions of perforations have remained largely the same, but the materials and

Brick is one of the most ancient and familiar building materials known to man, and its strength, character and flexibility of use continue to attract architects working on innovative contemporary buildings. Architonic examines some key projects that

There was a time when context was everything in construction. Local materials were transformed by the ambition and skill of the builder into a functional, stylistically appropriate structure. In the face of an, at times seemingly inexorable, movement

The principles of geodesic construction were developed by the pioneering American architect and engineer R Buckminster Fuller in the middle of the last century as part of his efforts to use science and technology to address universal issues. His

Shuffling off this mortal coil is something we all, sadly, have to do. There's no opting out. But while mortality might be a great leveller, a number of architects have shown recently how designing environments that process death – be it in

Ireland is in a reflective mood these days. With the island nation on the edge of Europe facing up to the reality of a severely damaged economy and a decimated construction industry, nostalgia is doing what it's wont to do.

In the world of design, China's rapid-manufacturing prowess and the oil-fuelled 'tabula rasa' urban developments of countries such as the UAE and Kazakhstan have given cause for thought in a typically Western-dominated field. But what of the

'Emerging', 'the ones to watch' and 'the stars of tomorrow' are just some of the labels that have been applied of late to young London-based architectural practice Carmody Groarke. Founded just four years ago, the studio has more than proved its

Google sucht zur Abwechslung einmal selbst: Nach mehr Usern, denn im Gegensatz zu Googles Vorherrschaft in anderen Ländern ist der Marktanteil in Russland bei ca. 20 % stagniert. .Die russische Suchmaschine Yandex hingegen hat einen Marktanteil von

One of today's most outstanding architects has been selected as the guest of honour at this year's "Interieur" trade fair in Kortrijk (Belgium). Junya Ishigami, a pupil of Kazuyo Sejima, is the founder of junya.ishigami+associates, lecturer at the

There's faded grandeur. And then there's Detroit. Once the fourth-largest city in the US, its spectacular economic and social decline is writ large in the disintegration of its architectural fabric. With its former manufacturing industries decimated

An intelligent approach to repurposing disused viaducts is providing a number of cities with new public spaces that delight users with fresh and intriguing perspectives of familiar urban landscapes. Architonic examines how such projects, in turning

Architonic reviews '1:1 – Architects Build Small Spaces', the latest exhibition at London's Victoria & Albert Museum

Once so disenfranchised that they didn't even appear on maps of the city, Caracas's favelas are, thanks to projects such as the technically and politically remarkable MetroCable transport system in San Agustín, acquiring a social legitimacy. Here,

With the 2012 Olympics coming round that last bend and into view, this year's geographic-route-fixated London Festival of Architecture decided on 'The Welcoming City' as its theme. But just how welcome was that as an idea.

Between 1960 and 1970, so in just ten years, the American architect Richard Neutra (*1892 in Vienna, †1970 in Wuppertal) had eight villas constructed in Europe; four in Switzerland (one of which was the only one to be built without a flat roof),

If architecture is the accumulation of centuries of knowledge, then what of its existence in an era of perpetual and instantaneous updates that the Internet and social networking brings? For a technology-driven industry, it seems slow to embrace the

If you're familiar with the Wombles, then you probably encountered underground architecture at any early age. .It's unlikely that the following projects were inspired by the Wombles, but that doesn't mean they're any less successful in terms of

Die Stadt mit ihrem Reichtum an narrativen und mythischen Bildwelten hat über eine lange Zeit hinweg einen besonderen Topos in der modernen Vorstellungswelt belegt. Ein neues Buch von Franziska Bollerey, herausgegeben in deutscher und englischer

The 'Sarasota School of Architecture' was coined as an historical term by architect Gene Leedy in the 1980s to describe the unique mid-century, European-Modernism-meets-Florida architecture of the city. Here, we examine how the physical legacy of

No form of architecture is perhaps as loaded with rhetoric as the expo pavilion. With hundreds of countries currently jostling at the Expo 2010 in Shanghai to attract visitors into their little piece of home, Architonic takes a look at what's at

Architonic talks to Miami-based artists Roberto Behar and Rosario Marquardt about the relation between art and architecture, and how public space has become more contested than ever.

When photographer Greg Girard decided to visit the notorious, citadel-like 'Walled City' slum in Hong Kong's Kowloon, where the daily lives of 35,000 people played out, he was told he may not come back alive. Luckily for him, he did. And, luckily for

The panorama window allows you to the bring the beauty of nature into your home, while keeping extremes of weather firmly outside. The systems presented here by Architonic turn the architectural visions of the Modern Movement into a reality.

Wir leben in einer Zeit, in der Sakral-Architektur zum emotionalen Thema geworden ist. (Man denke an die jüngst getroffene Entscheidung der Schweiz, den Bau von Minaretten zu verbieten.) David Stephensons Buch mit beeindruckenden Fotografien von

Architonic hat für Sie einen Blick in die neue Werkmonografie des norwegischen Architekturbüros 'Snøhetta' geworfen und entdeckte dabei, was sich unter einer Schneekuppe so alles befinden kann.

Der Beginn der modernen Architektur in Deutschland. Mit einem Verzeichnis zu Messels Werken

Über die Idee des Verborgenen, Rätselhaften, Schwierigen in der Geschichte der Architektur

Life threatening conditions, abode of trolls and witches:.The Alpine inhabitants of the Middle Ages avoided the mighty peaks and icy heights of the high Alpine regions. Nowadays they are accessible for tourism.

Adolf Loos’ Haus am Michaelerplatz in Wien und seine legendären polemischen Essays wie “Ornament und Verbrechen” (1908) oder “Ins Leere gesprochen” (1921) sind Standard in jeder Architekturlehre.

His photo tours have taken him to abandoned factories, clinics, hotels and ghost towns in Switzerland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the continental US, Hawaii and the Ukraine.

The retail industry is going through a difficult time and has been complaining about stagnation in its customer base. The big shopping malls are competing with each other to attract shoppers.

Interaction with sensory user interfaces – computers, automats, mobile phones – has become part of our everyday life.

Architecture tends to use media facades more and more as a stylistic feature. What used to be applied to facades after construction more in the way of a blemish is now part of the planning process.

"Als Nonplusultra urbaner Behausung galt da schon eine renovierte Jugendstilwohnung – am Ende des 20. Jahrhunderts.” Mit diesem Stossseufzer leiten die beiden Autoren ein Buch ein,

Finesse of detail, shadows and light, mystery and beauty, coupled with a precision of gesture in production. The fragments of stone filigree adorning gothic cathedrals and Moor palaces have marked the history of architecture.

Gardens in Venice? In view of the fact that Venice immediately evokes associations with lagoons, canals, palazzi and small, densely built-up areas of land surrounded by water, this sounds like something of a contradiction.

In areas of urban underprivilege and unrest, libraries can improve the quality of life. Based on the urban development model of Chicago, a library park has now sprung up in Medellín, the second-biggest city in Columbia.

Technology, nature and tradition are all reflected in the sculpture 'Memory', which will be on display at this year's South African art festival 'AfrikaBurn'.

Founded in 2009 by the School of Arts, Culture and Environment at the University of Edinburgh the Journal Architecture & provides a platform for innovative ideas in design and research practices.

Herning Museum of Contemporary Art will open to the public on September 9, 2009 uniting three distinct cultural institutions: the Herning Center of the Arts, the MidWest Ensemble and the Socle du Monde.

The Design Museum London pays tribute to the astonishing architect

Best Tall Building 2009 in the Asia and Australia category by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat

Hier liegt ein großformatig-schweres Buch vor mit einem etwas reisserischen Titel, doch der Blick in die porträtierten Häuser besänftigt sofort.

The proposal for the Macedonia Fight Museum by the Swedish architects Joakim Kaminsky and Fredrik Kjellgren consists of a chronological walk through Macedonian history, covered in the soft light filtrated by Macedonian marble.

Aaron Bondaroff and Al Moran's O.H.W.O.W. invades Athens and presents the 'Greasy Spoon pop-up shop' designed by Rafael de Cardenas of Architecture at Large.

For 155 Cumberland Quadrangle Architects Limited deservedly won the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s (RAIC) Award of Excellence for Innovation in Architecture.

The winner of the architectural competition to design the new Sedus office building in Dogern, Germany, has been announced: the Munich-based architect’s office Allmann Sattler Wappner.

The book can be read as a kind of continuation of the title, in that it is a monologue by the artist Katharina Grosse about building a house and about her own house, a highly personal description of thoughts and perceptions.

Architectural and competitive practices across Europe: challenged and topically presented by wonderland

Sein Leben erzählt in Briefen, Plänen, Dokumenten (His life in letters, plans, documents)

Eine Villa von Martin Elsaesser für Philipp F. Reemtsma .(A villa by Martin Elsaesser for Philipp F. Reemtsma)

We have not experienced a crisis of this magnitude since 'Black Friday' in 1929, when the stock market crash rocked the world economy. However, times of recession do not necessarily mean stagnation. In the field of public investment they instead

“We have to think big”, said President Sarkozy on 30 April 2009 at the opening of the exhibition at the Palais de Chaillot, where ten of thirty-seven future models for the re-design of Paris are on display.

The big car manufacturers have recently discovered an effective marketing instrument in a new kind of corporate architecture: large museums and car collection centres built right next to the production plant, where the customer can experienced an

Architonic Series 'Investment Stimulus for Public Projects', Article 1

Whereas on previous occasions Milan always proved to be a festival of temporary architecture, this year we had to look hard for innovative concepts.

The Center was designed by the Californian firm of architects Morphosis and named after its generous sponsor Charles H. Cahill, who helped finance a large share of the 50 million dollar building.

Even the most spectacular trade fair stand disappears again as fast as it was set up and remains only an ephemeral memory. However this two-volume photographic record, the result of a cooperation between publishers Frame and Gestalten Verlag.

The program: a house. Our concept: universal need for shelter. Solution: a void.

Drawing inspiration from the form of a sand dune, the pavilion is a reference to this symbolic feature of the desert landscape shared by each of the seven emirates.

Granted aesthetic planning permission in Amsterdam North, The Matchbox is a blend of artistic, creative and commercial spaces tailored to suit this artistic quarter.

Even though for 50 years it has been one of the world's leading trade fairs for the building industry, at first glance all the things which nowadays lie behind the three letters ISH are not immediately obvious.

Science fiction – the world after its destruction in the year 2347. This could be a rough description of the first impression created by the photo-montages of the Canadian artist Dave Trautrimas.

From being known only to insiders Herzog & de Meuron have become megastars, and their awards include the 2001 Pritzker Preis and the 2007 Praemium Imperiale. Volume 4 of their complete work has now been published and covers the years 1997 to

The controversial Tsunami Museum in Aceh will come to represent a fitting place for reflection but at its opening last week a row over the 700 families still to be re-housed overshadowed the event.

Scandinavia's largest public library will be realized on the waterfront of Aarhus in western Denmark

Starting with the concept of 'individual design for living', what forms, themes and tendencies determine the parameters for today's housing design?

It looks like open space, but behind movable walls, this tiny apartment holds surprises.

"It should be possible not just to hear the music but also to see it." - Ben van Berkel

Die Bauwerke und Kunstdenkmäler von Berlin (Berlin's architectural works and artistic monuments)

At the end of the Eighties Jürgen Große began to document street art in Berlin with his camera. This new large-format illustrated volume contains a selection from twenty years of intensive field research.

The Berlin material supplier for architects and designers opens a creative store in Moritzplatz, Kreuzberg

The latest volume in the prestigious 'Edition Detail' is, as the title suggests, devoted to materials for the interior.

At this year's imm cologne Degenhardt presented 'Landed', the prototype of a prefabricated house, in cooperation with Richard Lampert.

Pop!Tech is a yearly conference held in Camden, Maine. Andrew Zolli will tell you, though, that it’s really a community of innovators whose ongoing dialogue just happens to culminate in the annual retreat.

Europe remains the theme. Kem Koolhaas has recently presented a complex master plan for a European energy park in the North Sea.

The new RELAXX Sport Centre ar Bratislava enters the rush locality, harmonizes and directs the noise and chaos. This house is like a sculpture symbolizing the beauty of restlessness and the poetics of velocity.

In the form of a script Kristina Raderschad has put together a collection of annotated illustrations which deal with those aspects of our homes which do not normally form the highlights of books and magazines on home furnishing.

Viewing platforms promise a very special kind of experience. However, in spite of the breathtaking views they provide, these spectacularly constructed platforms themselves are often not noticed.

Exhibition at the Deutsche Guggenheim / Berlin until 1.2.2009

In order to create centres along the way where the pilgrims can rest and pray the municipalities involved have commissioned eleven artists and architects to develop architectural solutions for this out-of-the-ordinary context.

Let's be honest, which of us has read the 'De architectura libri decem' ("Ten books about architecture") by Vitruvius, or even part of the work? Even though searching Google for 'Vitruvius' will produce no less than a staggering 3.6 million hits.

If not entirely forgotten, so far the oeuvre of the Lausanne architect Jean Tschumi has at least been known for the most part only to insiders. This is no accident, in that post-war modernism has suffered from the popularity of classical modernism

This newly completed sports and leisure complex has a distinctive, sculptural quality, further enhanced by the building’s essential transparency.

B9 Architects design sustainable multi-family project with ArchiCAD

Stuart Kestenbaum is director of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts

Fresh Water Thanks to «No Man’s Land» for the Dead Sea Region

Industrially prefabricated and modular dwellings have long since established themselves, in the USA, in particular.

There are now a number of companies on the market which specialise in the development of micro wind turbines that enable individual power generation.

In 2015 the world's first carbon neutral city will be ready for occupation near Abu Dhabi. The main role here will be played by pedestrians.

The new land port of entry in Calais, Maine, is designed by Robert Siegel Architects

THOMAS SMALL is an accomplished cook, so it’s important for him to try new and exotic ingredients every now and then. When it came to the construction of his eco-friendly house, that’s exactly what his architects gave him.

In many countries there is a long tradition of living on the water, and even today many people feel the desire to live close to it. For them the solution is a houseboat or floating home, a boat which is anchored in a specific berth and is their

Students from the University of Utah planning for and with families who live below the poverty line

Katrin Greiling currently lives and works as a designer in Dubai, where she constantly tours the city with her camera, recording in her photographs everyday life in this unique cosmopolitan metropolis within the Arab world. A world of contradictions.

The film derives its humorous scenes more from the impact which results when two worlds collide with each other.

Cordula Rau has collected the answers to this question given by 100 architects and designers, acquiring in the process an impressive collection of signatures.

For the future hotel showcase room -part of the Inhaus2 research project- the Fraunhofer IAO (Institute for Work Organisation) approached LAVA to become a project partner responsible for the design and realisation.

CENTQUATRE is a place of artistic creation and production. Open to all forms of art, this 39,000 m² (419, 792 sq. feet) space is an original architectural whole in which art meets the public head-on.

When in 1981 Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager hit on the idea of converting a New York flophouse into a luxury hotel, the world was still a very different place.

At the moment the bathing ship in the East harbour of Berlin, one of Berlin's most attractive open-air pools, is being made ready for the winter.

R. Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion Dwellings and Other Domestic Adventures

In the series "Conversations with ." published by the Princeton Architectural Press, which also includes conversations with Le Corbusier, Louis Khan and Rem Koolhaas, the latest addition is "Conversations with Mies van der Rohe".

The history of the shopping mall as we know it today began in the Nineteen Fifties. In Los Angeles Victor Gruen, an architect who had emigrated to the US from Austria, felt the lack of the traditional European city centre with its pedestrian

Like most LAVA projects the Schumacher Tower represents a form of architecture which integrates complex construction technology and novel digital design methods.

The Joubert Park Project is an attempt at artistic intervention in the most difficult district in Johannesburg.

UNStudio builds at Meiji dori, a boulevard well known for luxury brand flagship stores