Architettura

Rapid economic growth in Poland has seen a concomitant boom in bold architectural activity. Witamy (as the locals say)!

The work of Polish office KWK Promes is on the move thanks to its super-kinetic architectural elements.

Taking the pulse on new health clinics demonstrates a further move toward designing facilities that holistically support patients’ wellbeing.

Staying active isn’t always easy, but a little motivation can go a long way. Architecturally expressive, multi-programme sports centres are helping users score some vital health goals.

For its La Fontaine multisports complex in Antony, France, Montreuil-based architects archi5 were determined to deliver a concept that championed a range of sports activities and athletic ambitions.

Design-led kindergartens aren't just places for storing kids. They're cleverly conceived spaces that support development through play and interaction.

'Don't move. Improve!' So goes the saying. And why not? What with increasing property prices and a greater need to think sustainably. Never was the home extension on such fertile ground.

The game-changing phenomenon that was the Bauhaus is still very much present in our built and material environment. Amid the centenary celebrations, we take an objective look at its significance.

100 years since the founding of the Bauhaus. 5 contemporary projects that channel its spirit.

Far from the madding crowds and blanketed in nature, the bedrooms of these recently built, secluded retreats are the stuff dreams are made of.

In-air travel might have lost some of its lustre, but newly designed airport lounges are changing the course with ultra-modern and luxurious settings that invite travellers to unwind or keep working in total comfort.

Whether it’s extra elbow room or a place to rub shoulders you’re looking for, new architect-designed public spaces give city dwellers a chance to choose their own adventure.

With their bold and expressive forms, textured facades, and sustainable-design features, new office blocks around the globe are showing that they mean business – now and in the future.

Not sleeping on the demands of today’s travellers, the latest hotel projects offer guests more experiential stays without skimping on amenities.

As cleverly adapted spaces, lofts projects provide toothy creative fodder for architects and aspirational living for their users.

A shift in the classic classroom dynamic has occurred and architects have taken note, designing schools that are ready to respond to the future with a mind toward sustainability and more room for creativity.

The rise of Airbnb may have been a blessing in disguise for some architects as hotels must now compete even harder for their guests. The need for outstanding design and a strong sense of place means a new, more characterful and more interesting breed

Award-winning Polish architectural office Medusagroup is on a roll. From large-scale commercial builds through to more intimate, poetic projects, their work never shys from bold formal expression and sensitive material consideration.

Look East! A burgeoning market and ever-increasing connectivity has provided fertile ground for architecture and design in Poland, with little sign of a slow-down.

Shigeru Ban is considered the master of paper craftsmanship, and his ability to combine architecture and origami is one of the signatures of his internationally recognised buildings.

A healthy mind in a healthy body, goes the old aphorism. Add to that: in a healthy building. Successful clinics and medical centres prescribe architecture as part of the treatment.

If you want a stable career, become a dentist. People will always have teeth. And if you want a reliable flow of work as an architect, you could do worse than to design dental practices. Here's a short international survey of five rather toothy new

The museum has traditionally enjoyed a privileged, almost sacrosanct status in the cultural landscape. When it comes to the design of a new one, the stakes are high – with its architecture as much on show as its contents.

Architect Tadao Ando's Chichu Art Museum is a masterful exercise in the juxtaposition of shapes, light and darkness.

The mixed-use arts complex Wuxi Vanke summarises architect Kengo Kuma's prolific work, which often translates cultural traditions through the manipulation of new materials.

Amidst fluctuations in today’s religious landscape, architects are designing sacred spaces that remain open to their surroundings, communities and the present age.

Road congestion, airport check-in and security issues, centre-to-centre journeys – just some of the factors informing rail's burgeoning number of passengers. Architects are responding to this with spectacular grands projects that signal train

Founder of multi-disciplinary studio Inside Outside Petra Blaisse discusses how, as a landscape designer, she addresses existing situations and structures – revealing a deep respect for change, chance and circumstance.

Successful landscape architecture is more than just a case of unexpected surfaces and a bit of greening. It can provide valuable ground for real place-making.

(Article available in German only) Im zweiten Teil des Berichtes über die junge Architekturszene in São Paulo lernen Sie zwei weitere kollaborative Architekturbüros kennen, die nicht nur ihr eigenes Stadtbild auf sehr spezifische Weise prägen.

OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen adopt a highly Modernist approach, attempting to blur the line between outdoor and indoor living with Solo House.

With a limited selection of high-quality materials, Glenn Sestig is able to evoke visions of old-school grandeur and elegance but to call him a minimalist would be too easy.

(Article available in German only) Alle sprechen vom Himmel über Brasília. Der sei einfach unvergleichlich – so weit, so hoch, so blau!

One of the leading architects of the 20th century, Renaat Braem combined a passion for expressive, fluid decoration with constructivist architecture at his private home and studio in Antwerp.

Get a bird's-eye view of Zurich's latest urban development – droned-filmed from the air!

Welche Türen werden der Kunst im architektonischen Kontext eröffnet?  Ein Gespräch mit Tobias Rehberger. Von Karin Frei Rappenecker

The Wuppertal firm of sooii creates perfect 3-D visualisations for architecture, interiors and products. Thanks to the latest technical features there are no longer any perceptible differences to conventional photographs.

Der Schweizer Biennale-Beitrag „Incidental Space“ von Christian Kerez zeigt eine frappante Nähe zu Kunst. Karin Frei Rappenecker stellt dem Schweizer Architekten Fragen in Bezug auf das Verhältnis von Kunst und Architektur.

Christian Wassmann’s New York studio is something of a cabinet of curiosities. On one wall hang site models oriented in the direction of true north. Other models fill various corners and surfaces throughout the SoHo loft. Sketches, renderings and

Das Ausloten der Grenzen zwischen Kunst und Architektur geschieht meist über Kunst als „hard ware“. Die sinnliche Erfahrung von Kunst beschränkt sich aber nicht auf einen physisch präsenten Ausdruck eines künstlerischen Arbeitsprozesses.

(German only) Kunst im öffentlichen Raum mag die Wahrnehmung eines Orts verändern. Idealerweise bei jeder Begegnung mit dem Werk. Was passiert aber wenn die Kunst nicht mehr da ist?

(German only) Wenn Künstler die Wirklichkeit abbilden und damit den Alltag reflektieren, verschwimmen die Grenzen zwischen verschiedenen Welten. Und es öffnen sich neue Türen.

That most intangible, yet fundamental, of architectural elements – light – takes centre-stage across a number of recent beacon projects internationally.

(German only) Der Künstler Erik Steinbrecher und PARK Architekten aus Zürich erschaffen Projekte, in denen die Grenzen zwischen Kunst und Architektur zerfliessen – ein Gewinn in jeder Hinsicht.

With ArchitekTOUR Heinze has created a new format for the networking of architects and manufacturers. Since 2010 this has been enhancing purely trade fair events with selected talks and presentations. This year's congress will be taking place at

(German only) Viele Künstler, die im öffentlichen Raum oder im architektonischen Kontext arbeiten, kommen aus der Architektur – und umgekehrt nehmen Künstler gerne Einfluss auf Architektur oder bauen sie gleich selbst. Ein Blick auf die

Forster Profilesysteme AG, headquartered in the Swiss town of Arbon, still occupies the site where it was founded over 140 years ago.The original coppersmith shop of F.J. Forster has long since developed, however, into an innovative company with

“As architects, we use our creativity to serve society—to make our communities better places to live. Through our profession and our life’s work, each of us has shaped and re-shaped the ever-changing narrative that is America in both humble and

The five-yearly international big-top fair that is Expo is currently drawing vast crowds to its 2015 Milan edition. Given its sustainability theme, just how sustainable are its temporary architectural offerings?

Its roots may lie in transient structures, but contemporary textile architecture, with all its creative, functional and ecological possibilities, is definitely here to stay.

Together with Alper Atac, Peter Eisenman was awarded the realisation of one of Istanbul’s most important public projects currently in development – the Yenikapi Transfer Point and Archaeological Park. This large-scale endeavour is meant to reread

Ever since 1827, when Nicéphore Niépce made the first permanent photograph - a record of the view of the rooftops outside his studio window - architecture and photography have enjoyed an intimate relationship. Constructing Worlds, a major new

A house in Tokyo balances year-round thermal comfort with issues of privacy (Text by Stephen Crafti)

The need to minimise energy consumption affects many aspects of architecture, and designs that employ traditional or cutting-edge shading devices and ventilation methods are at the forefront of reducing our reliance on air conditioning. Architonic

Among the numerous signs that one's status as a grandee of architecture has been secured is having a big survey exhibition at Paris's Pompidou Centre. Architonic uses the current Bernard Tschumi retrospective as an opportunity to reflect on the Swiss

In this first installment of our new series featuring the work of renowned architectural photographer DEIDI VON SCHAEWEN, we take a look at a unique exhibition of Colombian architect and bamboo-master Simon Vélez's work, currently installed in the

The highly utilitarian nature of urban lighting hasn’t stopped designers and manufacturers from adding value to projects that illuminate our cities through forward-facing design and technology. Architonic sheds some light…

The forthcoming exhibition MOBILIA, at the Atomium in Brussels, that runs from February 12 until June 15 2014, focuses on the talent of architects whose work, since the late nineteenth century, has evolved beyond the design of buildings, to the

Since establishing his design studio in 1969, Tadao Andō has surprised with raw concrete constructions and clean geometric forms, that have become symbols of his success. The Japanese architect has left his mark on the global landscape, from the

“Sustainability” is a deflated term that includes everything and nothing. Its repeated use, almost ad nauseam, does not seem to have served it well. What is left behind is an empty shell, which is difficult to take seriously.

Creative light-shaping by architects and interior architects, married with ingenious, technologically driven lighting solutions, are changing the way we experience, interact with and use light in work, contract and other spaces. It's a new dawn.

Beyond their utilitarian function, windows and doors set up an emotional expectation on the part of visitors as to what they'll encounter within a building, while, at the same time, negotiating the relation that users inside have with the exterior

Icon of the Brussels skyline, sculptural or architectural curiosity, the Atomium is increasingly regarded as not just a symbolic landmark and tourist attraction, but also as a cultural centre in the north of Brussels. Interview with Arnaud Bozzini,

The mountain chalet has always been closely linked with the dream of a simple, rustic home in pristine natural surroundings. However, a number of projects throughout the world show that a holiday home in the mountains does not necessarily need to

By Tomi Summanen, Alvar Aalto Museum & Natacha Drabbe, Iconic Houses

The conundrum for the luxury industries? How do you incite thousands of buyers to enter a store every day while maintaining a feeling of exclusivity? The trend is for Mega Maisons, an invention by Carbondale architects. Text by Laurence Picot.

Despite globalisation, which standardises everything in its path, there are still some obvious cultural shocks that stand out: in Asia or Oceania, the intrinsic connection with materials prevails in architecture. Furthermore, the forces of nature and

Contemporary architects internationally are breathing new life into the old tradition of using ceramic elements on exteriors. The result are striking facades that marry expressive ornament with sustainability.

3D-printed architecture might seem like the stuff of the future, but a number of architects are experimenting to try to turn tomorrow's fantasy builds into today's innovative projects. Architonic investigates.

There's a long tradition of architectural photography presenting viewers with depopulated spaces – interior and exterior landscapes, devoid of the very users for which they have been designed. Celebrated Dutch photographer IWAN BAAN's unparalleled

As ever-taller skyscrapers increasingly dominate the urban landscape, London-based architecture and design journalist Dominic Lutyens asks how designers can push the boundaries of interiors ever further upwards.

Un collage di storie e realtà urbane da tutto il mondo: la risposta di BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, Topotek1 e Superflex al quartiere più multiculturale di Copenhagen

‘Are Swiss architects unable to create interesting buildings?’, asked Felix E Müller, editor-in-chief of Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag, in a recent article. ‘Unfortunately, all new buildings look the same.’ With this provocative statement,

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,