Bamboo is a perennial grass that grows rapidly and rivals steel, concrete, and wood in strength. In “Bamboo Contemporary: Green Houses Around the Globe,” author William Richards shows readers the many ingenious ways in which bamboo, one of the most renewable building materials on the planet, can be employed in residential design.
More »Blooming Building Exposition Adds Five Pavilions to UVa
Five temporary pavilions have been constructed at the University of Virginia that uniquely address how design and function can respond to contemporary needs. They’re part of the Biomaterials Building Exposition, curated by Katie MacDonald, AIA, and Kyle Schumann, principals of After Architecture and instructors at the University of Virginia’s School of Architecture. They’re also part of an important global research effort to decarbonize design and construction with the use of rapidly renewable materials, which many experts see as advantageous to reducing embodied carbon and reducing the costs associated with climate positive design.
More »Discarded Spikes Become the Defining Element
I had lunch over the holiday break with Nick Cooper — now leading Hanbury‘s Richmond office — and SMBW’s An Liu. With a modest grant from the Branch Museum of Architecture and Design, An created the piece of experiential art called “Helper.”
More »“Homegrown” Creates Less by Using More of What’s Around
The name of Katie MacDonald and Kyle Schumann’s firm After Architecture suggests architecture’s demise, which is probably an unwelcome prospect for many architects. The name also suggests that architects might collectively be able to choose their fate, for what comes after. For Le Corbusier, the choice was architecture or revolution. For Mies van der Rohe, the choice was between less or more. For Venturi, it was also between less or more (more or less). What comes after architecture, then? A both/and plurality of architecture and whatever it isn’t. Obviously. (Venturi would approve.)
More »Architect + Action = Result
A collection of guidelines and advice
Identify themes and shape narratives for your projects, careers, and building and design projects.
More »Through a Prism, Brightly: Baskervill’s Glass Light Hotel & Gallery
Hotel lobby art — when it’s bad, it can be good (in that bad sort of way). But, when it’s great, it’s transcendent, which should be a goal of any hotel. The Glass Light Hotel and Gallery in Norfolk falls into the latter category, so named for the collection of Doug and Pat Perry, local arts patrons who purchased a 1912 office building that Baskervill transformed into a glass menagerie, now operated by Marriott’s Autograph Collection.
More »SAARC Art: Integration of Art in a Public Building
by Eliel Alfon, AIA | Design Principal, Hughes Group Architects
Throughout history, architecture and art have been an integrated process. They have always been a communication tool for most civilized cultures. In a way, this allowed a building or structure to have deeper meaning beyond its intended function and purpose. Public art is cultural expression. Introduction of art in a public setting not only enriches the quality of the space, but it can reflect the soul of the community.
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