The Turning Torso

Iconic. Inspirational. Extreme engineering.

Useful link:

https://calatrava.com/projects/turning-torso-malmoe

Studio Gang

Start with what's there. Get to know Jeanne Gang.

Useful link: https://studiogang.com

The Living Bridges Of India

Visit the indigenous groups in north-east India. As well as being regenerative form of architecture, living root bridges grow stronger with time, self-repairing and become more robust as they age. When it rains heavily, small cement bridges wash away and steel bridges tend to rust, but living root bridges withstand the rains. Root bridges are much durable than modern alternatives, and they cost absolutely nothing. Kerala (the state where I live) should learn from the indigenous groups in north-east India. These bridges are brilliant examples of not just sustainable development, which minimizes the damage and degradation of natural systems, but of regenerative development.

Useful links:

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20211117-how-indias-living-bridges-could-transform-architecture

https://rootbridge.in

Trash Lab Concept Store

Arthur Huang is the co-founder and CEO of Miniwiz---a company that takes different types of waste and transforms them into over 1200 materials that can be used for construction, interiors and consumer products. Take a look.

Useful link: http://www.miniwiz.com

Woody35

Take a look at Woody35, a pilot cabin by Norwegian architect Marianne Borge, who set out to prefabricate a cabin concept with a small footprint. 

Useful link: https://www.woody35.no

Niliaitta

Studio Puisto's black-painted Niliaitta perches on a single column. These houses have a beautiful openness towards nature and it blends well. 

Useful link: https://studiopuisto.fi

Thinking Huts

Designed by Studio Mortazavi, an architecture firm based in San Francisco and Lisbon, the school is a project of the nonprofit Thinking Huts, which aims to increase global access to education through 3D printing. This first iteration will be built later this year on the campus of a university in Fianarantsoa, Madagascar. With an exterior pattern based on Malagasy textiles and 3D printed using material from the local area, the building is both an example of advanced building technologies and reflection of vernacular building styles. Take a look.

Useful links: https://www.thinkinghuts.org I https://studiomortazavi.com

The 2021 Pritzker Prize

The Pritzker 2021 prize in architecture has been awarded to Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal, two French designers who have embraced a vow to never demolish. The focus on adaptive reuse, finding creative ways to reconfigure materials and avoid waste is a rare skill.

Useful links: https://www.pritzkerprize.com I https://www.lacatonvassal.com

Arcosanti

Arcosanti, located in the high desert of Arizona, is an experimental town designed to integrate architecture with ecology. Must visit.

Useful link: https://www.arcosanti.org

View

Take a look at View, a smart-glass startup.

Useful link: https://view.com

Hawkins\Brown Tiger Way

Designed by the UK-based architecture firm Hawkins\Brown, the project is a bold combination of building types that aren't normally co-located: an 89-unit upper income apartment complex + a noisy elementary school. I really liked it. I hope it works well.

Useful link: https://www.hawkinsbrown.com/projects/tiger-way

Radical Architecture Of The Future

A must read for design lovers. Get to know Beatrice Galilee.

 Useful link: https://beatricegalilee.com

World Memorial To The Pandemic

A new monument to remember the victims of COVID-19.

Useful link:
https://www.gomezplatero.com/en/proyecto/memorial-pandemic

Remembering The Designers, Architects, And Creative Thinkers

These are just a few of the brilliant minds we lost.

Useful link: https://www.fastcompany.com/90587238/remembering-the-designers-architects-and-creative-thinkers-who-died-of-covid-19

David Adjaye's Rule-breaking Style

Architecture is like the art world. It needs another artist to anoint an artist. Artists don't emerge on their own. Architecture is the same. It requires patronage and accumulated luck. 

Useful links:

https://robbreport.com/lifestyle/news/architect-sir-david-adjaye-profile-1234576245

https://www.adjaye.com

Yinka Ilori’s Colorful World

Architecture and design should be for everyone. Get to know Yinka IIori.

Useful link:
https://yinkailori.com

The Tokyo Toilet Project

Take a look at Shigeru Ban's counterintuitive design. The transparent public toilets turn opaque when in use.

Useful link:
http://www.shigerubanarchitects.com/works

Photorealistic Portraits Of Roman Emperors

Get to know Daniel Voshart, who uses machine learning and editing software to create likenesses of 54 ancient leaders.

Useful link:
https://voshart.com

Atelier Masomi

Get to know Mariam Kamara, a fine architect from Niger.

Useful links:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/10/t-magazine/mariam-kamara-architect-design
http://www.ateliermasomi.com

How Do You Build A City For A Pandemic?

Redesign functional spaces. We need a refined pandemic architecture in the face of globalised health threats.

Useful links:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200424-how-do-you-build-a-city-for-a-pandemic
https://www.archisearch.gr/architecture/open-call-pandemic-architecture-international-ideas-competition