Zaha Hadid Architects Completes China’s Newest Cultural Center
The futuristic complex is located in Changsha, the capital of Hunan province. Changsha is in the midst of a massive overhaul—a $130 billion stimulus plan targeting infrastructure improvements went into effect in 2012—in which the new center plays a large role.
Studio Precht Designs A Fingerprint-Shaped Park For Physical Distancing
Austria-based studio Precht — previously known as Penda — has unveiled the design for a lush green park envisioned for physical distancing and short-term solitude. Dubbed Parc de la Distance, the open air space has been shaped in the form of a fingerprint, evoking human touch.
The Most Fascinating Riot You’ve Never Heard Of
A mob of thousands attempted to storm a theater over a performance of Macbeth, the National Guard had to be called up, 31 people were killed and more than 100 wounded all over the personal jealousies of two vain and insecure actors. This is the story of the Astor Place Opera House Riot of May 10, 1849.
‘Stairway House’ Offers Connected Living For Three Generations
Japanese-based firm Nendo has completed a novel three-story two-family home in Tokyo. With three generations of the same family sharing the space, the living quarters for the older couple is situated on the 1st floor, while the 2nd and 3rd levels house the younger couple and their child.
Zaha Hadid Architects’ Giant Starfish-Shaped Airport Opens In Beijing
Zaha Hadid Architects has completed Beijing Daxing International Airport, a five-pronged building that is one of the largest passenger terminals in the world. Designed by the late Zaha Hadid and current studio principal Patrik Schumacher, the 700,000-square-metre airport to serve Beijing has been designed to be as compact as possible.
What Makes A Masterpiece?
What do we mean when we call an artwork a masterpiece? Who gets to decide what becomes one? Who makes them? And is it still a constructive label to dole out when we talk about art? What Makes a Masterpiece?
How America’s Biggest Theater Chains Are Exploiting Their Janitors
The major chains — AMC, Regal Entertainment and Cinemark — no longer rely on teenage ushers to keep the floors from getting sticky. Instead, they have turned to a vast immigrant workforce, often hired through layers of subcontractors. That arrangement makes it almost impossible for janitors to make a living wage.
Coroflot Mobile Work Unit, Where Mobility And Creative Talent Come Together
Coroflot, a website dedicated to connecting designers with creative professional opportunities, is excited to introduce the Mobile Work Unit (MWU). The concept for the trailer-office grew from a desire to create a space solution that referenced both the mobility and creative talent of the Coroflot community.
A Rare Look At The Photography Of Andy Warhol
While photography was central to Warhol’s artistic practice for 30 years, often as source material for his famous screen prints, his purely photographic works — in particular, his stitched gelatin prints of a single image printed multiple times and sewn together — only saw the light of day once while he was alive.
This Cape Porpoise Fish House Is An Icon. But Of What, Exactly?
It is a natural-shingled, colonial-shed–like structure suspended on stilts over — and perfectly reflected in — the glassy waters of a low-tide Porpoise Cove. A Maine fishing village grapples with beauty, community, and authenticity in the Instagram era.
The Fraught Business Of Removing And Selling Street Art Murals
Sales of street art murals in general are divisive. Artists often object to the transformation of a work they created for public enjoyment into an art object to be bought and sold. Banksy mural sales in particular attract protest.
Herzog & De Meuron Unveils Switzerland’s First Motorway Chapel
Herzog & de Meuron has completed the design for Switzerland’s first motorway chapel. A concept well known in neighboring Germany, the motorway chapel is a modern-day interpretation of the medieval wayside chapel. The contemplative space offers travellers a place of rest, respite, silence and prayer.
‘Enough’, Animated Film About Moments Of Lost Self-Control
Anna Mantzaris’ animated film ‘Enough’ captures instantly relatable moments of emotional exasperation that offer a glimpse into the anarchy of our inner desires. The Swedish filmmaker set her film in a joyless world where every mundane routine feels like an oppressive act.
Precht’s The Farmhouse Concept Combines Modular Homes With Vertical Farms
Architecture studio Precht has developed a concept for modular housing where residents produce their own food in vertical farms. Precht developed The Farmhouse as a way to reconnect people in cities with agriculture and help them live in a more sustainable way.
Using Artificial Intelligence To Create Art
Artist Refik Anadol doesn’t work with paintbrushes or clay. Instead, he uses large collections of data and machine learning algorithms to create mesmerizing and dynamic installations.
House In Takatsuki By Tato Architects Has 16 Different Floor Levels
A series of triangular and rectangular platforms create numerous floor levels inside this house in Osaka, Japan. Designed by Tato Architects, House in Takatsuki is a three-storey building containing 16 different floor levels.
The Brilliant Avant-Garde Movie Posters Of The Soviet Union
These extraordinary avant-garde movie posters are from the pre-Stalin days of the Soviet Union before Soviet Realism took a hold on graphic design. The period of artistic freedom in the Communist Soviet Union was relatively brief but some of these posters are amongst the greatest ever created.
When Artists, Engineers, And Pepsico Collaborated, Then Clashed At The 1970 World’s Fair
A year and a half in the making, the Pepsi Pavilion drew eager crowds and elicited effusive reviews. Just a month after the opening, the partnership with Experiments in Art and Technology—E.A.T.—collapsed amidst a flurry of recriminating letters and legal threats.
How Japan Could Reinvent The Hotel
Smart use of space and a centuries-old hospitality industry have made Japan’s hotels pop. A new crop of lodging luring millennials might help define Japan’s post-Olympics, Airbnb era. Boutique, offbeat lifestyle hotels might just be the key to attracting a new kind of traveller – and retaining a competitive edge.
‘Vertical Bath’ By James Barber Houses Three-Story Sauna In Norwegian Alps
A three-story sauna is housed within this timber tower by architect James Barber, imagined somewhere in the Norwegian Alps. the boxy timber structure is envisioned as a ‘vertical bath’ that comprises three volumes containing a shower, sauna and a cold water pool.
How To Redesign Cities To Fight Loneliness
What do cities have to do with loneliness? “The way we build and organize our cities can help or hinder social connection,” reads a Grattan Institute report. It’s not that the built environment “causes” interaction, but it can certainly either enable or constrain potential interaction.