Tyson's Blog – August 2010 Archive (22)

This is a very fun design by Drost + van Veen Architecten. The Day Care Centre de Kleine Kikker mixes traditional building types with a material quality that is something that would be seen through the eyes of a child. In architecture it is important to remember that each design can and should embody all phases and facets of life. Having said that, these ideas need not be separate. The playful can be…

#8 - The Catcher in the Rye

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This house was designed by Humberto Hermeto Arquitetura. This architecture takes advantage of the beautiful Brazilian countryside and existing site topography. The house is also impressive because of the continuous concrete roof that spreads across the length of the structure. While I think this house was beautifully designed, it does seem more like a museum than a home. That's not…

This is a great little house. I don't really have anything profound to say about this architecture, it's just a good house. I think, though, that this is a good time to point out the obvious. That is to say, you don't have to do something earth-shattering to be a good architect. It doesn't take a limitless budget or a sympathetic owner, it just takes time, effort and will. Don't worry about what…

Artreehouse by Della Valle Bernheimer is a wonderful example of how architecture can arise from observations of nature and existing urbanism. The design for this house in Connecticut was derived from both local typologies of architecture and the rich wooded areas budding up against the water. The home provides canopies that both protect one from the elements while offering a new way to…

A co-finalist in a competition for the BLC Headquarters in Beirut. This building is pure enjoyment. It's a play on scale. Think of any type of toy building block you played with as a child and imagine you could do the same thing in real life. Too often the constraints of society prohibit such architectural playfulness, but this competition by Nadim Karam & Atelier Hapsitus really shows how…

#9 - Ender's Game

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An interesting house designed by Eastern Design Office that resides on an elevated topographical surface. This architecture takes advantage of scenic views provided by its elevated plane. The horizon seems to extend indefinitely and offers a visual connection to the urban landscape below.…

In the countryside of Portugal you'll find a unique house built between two large boulders on a hill. I'm not sure who designed it. It probably wasn't a "licensed architect", whatever that means. I imagine that it was the product of an ordinary person or family that saw these two stones and realized an opportunity. It makes me wonder what our buildings would be like if they didn't have to be next to other buildings. I…

The value of a home isn't so much in how it looks, but how it functions and what it offers you. This house by Seoul based BCHO Architects is, I believe, a wonderful example of how a home can almost make you forget that it's there. If we think about the home as the medium instead of the message, you begin to unlock the true value of architecture. It becomes less about itself and more about awakening the…

Sometimes it's not really about the architecture. Don't get me wrong, I like this project and I definitely suggest you check out other work by Ron Arad, the designer, but the design itself isn't as interesting to me as how he chose to represent it. I've always had this attraction to the silver screen typology in holywood. It didn't have the realism…

It's not often that you see such a "heavy" building these days. le Corbusier and Louis Kahn were masters at wielding the heavy materials into poetic formal geometries, but architecture now trends toward the less imposing rendition of the minimalism given to us by the modernist movement. When I was in school I often wanted to design buildings like this, but it was never as easy as I thought it would be. While there are many…

A memorial is a daunting task for any architect. This Holocaust Memorial by Zerafa Architecture Studio attempts to create a tribute to one of the most universally impactful tragedies in recorded history. The horrors of the Holocaust, along with the accompanying strife of World War II has had an unquestionable effect on the global community. This architecture portrays the void imposed by such a tragic event, and how that…

I think that the hipped roof has probably stunted the advancement of architecture in the last hundred years more than any other single architectural trait. In part, that's why this project got my attention. This project was a competition submittal for a Children's Center by Olgga Architectes a couple of years back, and I thought it was interesting how they took a typical idea of how a building should…

I don't think there' exists a more challenging pursuit than to learn how to be a good designer. One of the frustrations that I had starting out in the profession was that it didn't seem that anyone could talk about architecture directly, my professors and mentors always had to use some kind of metaphor to explain the design process. I remember many late nights in…

This is the 10th pavilion to be designed in the gallery's 40 year history. This temporary structure was designed by Jean Nouvel and is the architects first completed project in the UK. The temporary structure is composed of lightweight materials. The red motif is a stark contrast to its beautiful surrounding landscape. This design is more about the space the building creates in the landscape than the architecture itself. Despite its bold…

This is an impressive design by MJZ Architecture. This work takes a premise that is traumatic and life-changing and transforms it into an elegant and dramatic experience. The Miami Pier Museum of Latin American Immigrants has, beyond its massive formal drama, the effect of focusing ones attention to where the immigrants came from, which causes reflection on a long and arduous journey. This is not only a…