Month: October 2023

American architect and tireless advocate for gender equality Beverly Willis passed away on October 1, 2023, at the age of 95, as reported by The New York Times. Throughout her career, she was dedicated to breaking down barriers for women in a traditionally male-dominated profession. She ran an accomplished studio in San Francisco, having completed over 800 projects across the US, and established a Foundation for recognizing and promoting women in architecture. Across various programs and scales, her designs have gained national recognition for their humanistic concern for the occupant and for adapting historic buildings to modern purposes, a practice now known as adaptive reuse.

OPEN Architects has just revealed the architectural designs for two separate cultural projects situated along the coastline of Yantai, China. One of them is “The Space Crystals,” a futuristic digital museum and experiential hub resembling an otherworldly entity that has mysteriously descended upon a seaside mark. Meanwhile, “Sea Square” is square-shaped, providing a library and community service facility, levitating above a restored sea dock. The two structures engage in a spatial and temporal conversation, one reaching towards the sky and the other facing the sea, bridging the present, the past, and the future.

Living in a tropical country means cherishing outdoor experiences, whether feeling the gentle breeze, connecting with nature, or basking in the sunlight. We have grown up with a cultural tradition of playing in our yards, gathering with family and friends on balconies, enjoying barbecues, or simply admiring the beautiful landscape. Numerous Brazilian residences integrate wooden decks for these purposes. They are versatile spaces that fulfill various functions.

The atmospheric sadness of a typical office ‘kitchen’ – and by kitchen I mean an old kettle, two rusty spoons (both missing) and three flimsy chairs around a one-person table – can be the root of much employee unrest. But when the alternatives mean either walking through the city smog or hunching over a desk with a Tupperware sandwich, dropping crumbs on the keyboard, there isn’t much choice.

ATELIER XI has been selected for ArchDaily’s 2023 New Practices and is one of the few firms still rooted in traditional architectural design. Founded in 2017, ATELIER XI began their practice in Shenzhen, one of the fastest-growing and urbanizing cities in China. Their work represents the current state of a generation of architects, with major projects in small-scale urban architecture, exhibition design, interior design, renovation, and rural architecture. While they may not become urban landmarks, they can still influence the lifestyle of the community through small-scale design.

In the world of interior design, light serves as an essential medium, but light can also create immersive public spaces. While James Turrell, Olafur Eliasson, and Dan Flavin are celebrated for their transformative mastery of color, reflections, and luminous contrasts, it’s crucial to note that the realm of light art isn’t exclusively male-dominated. In response to the underrepresentation of female light artists, a refreshing and enlightening perspective emerges from the British lighting designers Sharon Stammers and Martin Lupton of Light Collective.