To escape the relentless horizontality of my home country, I spent much of my teenage summers in the Swiss Alps. In corduroy hiking shorts, I traversed gravel paths—schist, gneiss, limestone—wandering for weeks at a time. During moments of pause, I’d recharge on Toblerone and water, hurling rocks down ravines. The crisp crack of their abrupt stop would echo, blooming into chaotic symphonies that ricocheted across canyon walls before dissolving into stillness. Concrete—a slurry of gravel, [..]

To escape the relentless horizontality of my home country, I spent much of my teenage summers in the Swiss Alps. In corduroy hiking shorts, I traversed gravel paths—schist, gneiss, limestone—wandering for weeks at a time. During moments of pause, I’d recharge on Toblerone and water, hurling [..]

To escape the relentless horizontality of my home country, I spent much of my teenage summers in the Swiss Alps. In corduroy hiking shorts, I traversed gravel paths—schist, gneiss, [..]

Imagine a space for deep work. Not just an ordinary workspace, with a desk and chair and, most likely, some type of recording instrument. No, we desire something more profound. A fresh moniker for an age-old concept, “deep work” comes with its own predicaments. The notion evokes monastic imagery, a Benedictine life. Ora et labora. It demands discipline to embark on long stints of undistracted mind work. During deep work, the brain is functioning at its fullest capacity and is wholeheartedly [..]

Imagine a space for deep work. Not just an ordinary workspace, with a desk and chair and, most likely, some type of recording instrument. No, we desire something more profound. A fresh moniker for an age-old concept, “deep work” comes with its own predicaments. The notion evokes monastic [..]

Imagine a space for deep work. Not just an ordinary workspace, with a desk and chair and, most likely, some type of recording instrument. No, we desire something more profound. A fresh moniker for [..]

Almost immediately, the pandemic threw our most cherished spatial habits into question. Six feet became the standard from which human cohabitation took its cues, while stay-at-home orders forced us into potentially antisocial behaviors. It seemed as though the crisis would spell the collapse of the civic realm until racial justice protests in late May and June put the lie to this idea. Shaking us out of our urban perches, these mobilizations offered a timely reminder of the importance of streets and [..]

Almost immediately, the pandemic threw our most cherished spatial habits into question. Six feet became the standard from which human cohabitation took its cues, while stay-at-home orders forced us into potentially antisocial behaviors. It seemed as though the crisis would spell the collapse of the [..]

Almost immediately, the pandemic threw our most cherished spatial habits into question. Six feet became the standard from which human cohabitation took its cues, while stay-at-home orders forced us [..]

Who better to room with than the son of Venus and Bacchus? Beyond being a little man with gigantic genitals, Priapus was the god of gardens and fertility. Statues of him have been found in private villas and in the houses of Pompeii and ancient Rome. As such this demigod is considered the forefather of the ornamental hermit or garden gnome, a somewhat peculiar phenomenon that became a craze in eighteenth-century England. A serious country estate would be nothing without a romantic garden, complete [..]

Who better to room with than the son of Venus and Bacchus? Beyond being a little man with gigantic genitals, Priapus was the god of gardens and fertility. Statues of him have been found in private villas and in the houses of Pompeii and ancient Rome. As such this demigod is considered the [..]

Who better to room with than the son of Venus and Bacchus? Beyond being a little man with gigantic genitals, Priapus was the god of gardens and fertility. Statues of him have been found in private [..]

In a brief moment of anxiety, not uncommon in our current role of "Promising Architects," a condition that allows for the quick re-calibration of one's own position before the "show is on," I felt we should consider "broadening our appeal." How can our firm, SO–IL, become more attractive to more clients now that we need to "capitalize on our potential"? I was thinking about our "marketability," and impressed by the ease with which my peers incorporate Greeniness into their practice. I pondered [..]

In a brief moment of anxiety, not uncommon in our current role of "Promising Architects," a condition that allows for the quick re-calibration of one's own position before the "show is on," I felt we should consider "broadening our appeal." How can our firm, SO–IL, become more attractive to [..]

In a brief moment of anxiety, not uncommon in our current role of "Promising Architects," a condition that allows for the quick re-calibration of one's own position before the "show is on," I felt we [..]

Once again, halfway through writing an Op-Ed, a catastrophic flood punishes the earth. The Fukushima tsunami washed over Abstainability, a text I wrote for domusweb in 2011. Now Sandy has purged some of my thoughts on adaptive reuse.  Originally intent on writing about how we, in the pursuit of a "timely" architecture, contemplate sites saturated with extant “stuff”—mostly parts that once aggregated to a near whole—I had drifted towards pondering world heritage, Metabolism and other [..]

Once again, halfway through writing an Op-Ed, a catastrophic flood punishes the earth. The Fukushima tsunami washed over Abstainability, a text I wrote for domusweb in 2011. Now Sandy has purged some of my thoughts on adaptive reuse.  Originally intent on writing about how we, in the pursuit [..]

Once again, halfway through writing an Op-Ed, a catastrophic flood punishes the earth. The Fukushima tsunami washed over Abstainability, a text I wrote for domusweb in 2011. Now Sandy has purged [..]

The design of interiors has come to embody a line of egocentric thoughts. It purports to put our biological body—and possibly even our soul and individualistic existence—at its center. Womb-like sensations arise, promising warmth, safety, and other prenatal comforts. How do we swaddle or cushion the self sufficiently for it to survive our savage reality? Interiority as a pure and peaceful haven for the spirit … a mindset that seems increasingly coveted, even as we roam in public. We create [..]

The design of interiors has come to embody a line of egocentric thoughts. It purports to put our biological body—and possibly even our soul and individualistic existence—at its center. Womb-like sensations arise, promising warmth, safety, and other prenatal comforts. How do we swaddle or [..]

The design of interiors has come to embody a line of egocentric thoughts. It purports to put our biological body—and possibly even our soul and individualistic existence—at its center. Womb-like [..]

The office is no more. We work anywhere, anytime. We don’t even think we are working, we don’t really have professions any longer—just different things we do, sometimes alone, sometimes with others we are connected to, through a myriad of mutating platforms and dynamic structures. We meet, tweet and charette in, lounges, clubs, incubators, shared work spaces, hotdesks, café cars, coffee shops, dropdown benches, skype booths, concentration rooms and hotel lobbies. The flexibility and freedom [..]

The office is no more. We work anywhere, anytime. We don’t even think we are working, we don’t really have professions any longer—just different things we do, sometimes alone, sometimes with others we are connected to, through a myriad of mutating platforms and dynamic structures. We meet, [..]

The office is no more. We work anywhere, anytime. We don’t even think we are working, we don’t really have professions any longer—just different things we do, sometimes alone, sometimes with [..]

Our train cuts through a desaturated dawn. Hazy, fleeting images of a carefully constructed landscape flash by in various shades of gray. The track runs perfectly parallel to an unswerving canal. Perpendicular to this connective corridor, endless rows of similar trees rhythmically emerge out of the thick of the mist. More and more signs of a meticulous modern world appear under the sun’s slowly rise. The free newspaper offered at the station declares that people living here are the happiest in the [..]

Our train cuts through a desaturated dawn. Hazy, fleeting images of a carefully constructed landscape flash by in various shades of gray. The track runs perfectly parallel to an unswerving canal. Perpendicular to this connective corridor, endless rows of similar trees rhythmically emerge out of the [..]

Our train cuts through a desaturated dawn. Hazy, fleeting images of a carefully constructed landscape flash by in various shades of gray. The track runs perfectly parallel to an unswerving canal. [..]

Now that we have entered a phase of involuntary fasting, any anxiety that the architect is destined to turn into the marginalized hunger artist of our time, soon to be replaced by an omnivorous beast—be it a construction consortium, plan-buro or engineering mammoth—seems foolish. Never have the dominant systems been so frail. Through the downpour of hubrical debris, an abundance of opportunities emerges. As we free ourselves from the fascination with the stable, the monumental and the explicit, [..]

Now that we have entered a phase of involuntary fasting, any anxiety that the architect is destined to turn into the marginalized hunger artist of our time, soon to be replaced by an omnivorous beast—be it a construction consortium, plan-buro or engineering mammoth—seems foolish. Never have [..]

Now that we have entered a phase of involuntary fasting, any anxiety that the architect is destined to turn into the marginalized hunger artist of our time, soon to be replaced by an omnivorous [..]

A recent interest has developed in the phenomenology of diagrams in mathematics, cognitive science, and architectural theory. Traditionally, the diagram is used as a rational tool for analysis and design in these fields, as an abstract representation of a more complex system. The architecture of Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA disregards this absoluteness and shows how subjective utilization of the diagram, as a carrier of graphic qualities, can be stunningly beautiful and Superflat.2 The [..]

A recent interest has developed in the phenomenology of diagrams in mathematics, cognitive science, and architectural theory. Traditionally, the diagram is used as a rational tool for analysis and design in these fields, as an abstract representation of a more complex system. The architecture of [..]

A recent interest has developed in the phenomenology of diagrams in mathematics, cognitive science, and architectural theory. Traditionally, the diagram is used as a rational tool for analysis and [..]

Be it well documented examples as Detroit and the eastern part of Germany, or lesser known cases elsewhere, vast regions in the world are being left abandoned as a result of globalization, natural disasters and demographic trends. This is not a new phenomenon; however it is accelerating to a pace where it starts to affect the way we should imagine our cities and buildings. Architects love the metropolitan condition, this smoldering melting pot of global cultures. Statistics confirming that within [..]

Be it well documented examples as Detroit and the eastern part of Germany, or lesser known cases elsewhere, vast regions in the world are being left abandoned as a result of globalization, natural disasters and demographic trends. This is not a new phenomenon; however it is accelerating to a pace [..]

Be it well documented examples as Detroit and the eastern part of Germany, or lesser known cases elsewhere, vast regions in the world are being left abandoned as a result of globalization, natural [..]

As the Narita Express, the train between airport and city, dips under the Sumidagawa River on its journey toward Tokyo Station, it passes a monstrous looking structure; a colossal spaceship on massive piers, festooned with a demonic oculus and lined with pulsing red lights: The Edo-Tokyo Museum. An encounter with this building reminds the awed visitor that Tokyo once was the birthplace of the future. Last year the museum’s architect, Kiyonori Kikutake, marked his 80th birthday by opening up [..]

As the Narita Express, the train between airport and city, dips under the Sumidagawa River on its journey toward Tokyo Station, it passes a monstrous looking structure; a colossal spaceship on massive piers, festooned with a demonic oculus and lined with pulsing red lights: The Edo-Tokyo Museum. An [..]

As the Narita Express, the train between airport and city, dips under the Sumidagawa River on its journey toward Tokyo Station, it passes a monstrous looking structure; a colossal spaceship on [..]

The New Museum of Contemporary Art opened its new building in downtown Manhattan to the public in early December. The roughly 6000m2, eight-story structure of loosely stacked boxes provides the institution a perfect platform for the advancement of new ideas, in a time and place where they are most needed. The New Museum was born out of a defiant spirit. Marcia Tucker, a strong minded curator, started it in 1977 after being fired at the Whitney Museum in New York, over a show deemed too provocative. [..]

The New Museum of Contemporary Art opened its new building in downtown Manhattan to the public in early December. The roughly 6000m2, eight-story structure of loosely stacked boxes provides the institution a perfect platform for the advancement of new ideas, in a time and place where they are most [..]

The New Museum of Contemporary Art opened its new building in downtown Manhattan to the public in early December. The roughly 6000m2, eight-story structure of loosely stacked boxes provides the [..]