The architecture and design blog

Photos: Paul Warchol.

When architects design for themselves it is an opportunity to bring out that depth of vision or capricious twist that clients seldom go for. The inspirations that in this case provided the raw material for Stamberg Aferiat are all Modernist classics, that I will save to the end before revealing. Can you guess them? Read more

Photos: Bercy Chen Studio.

This project began as a modest renovation to a 1970s home, but soon turned into a holistic re-conceiving of the entire site, a lifestyle, and a vision of living with nature rather than living by consuming it. But sitting there like a giant stone on which the edifice is raised, is the idea that a building, particularly a home, should be a sacred place, at one with its surroundings. Read more

Images: Brooks Scarpa Architects.

When getting married in a church or temple of some kind, the solemnity and gravity of the occasion is perhaps rendered in the notion of standing before God or a God, depending on your beliefs. But where spaces are not dedicated to a single, or any faith, and religious symbols are absent, how does the architect spatially anchor the weight of the ritual?

Brooks Scarpa Architectshave proposed this scheme that focuses its attention on the perceived constancy of the Pole or North star, whose light if it could be seen, would illuminate the alter through a high-level aperture.

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Images: BIG.

Novawest have commissioned BIG to design this 420ft tall observation tower in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. The tower is intended to provide an iconic architecture for the city.

The structure is designed as a concrete core with an open air spiral at the top. In form, the building resembles a metaphorical pin, according to the architects, and will help put the city on the map.

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Photos: Bill Timmerman and Mark Boisclair.

One of the wonderful things about old Western films is the amazing scenery of places like Monument Valley. The natural geological features in Arizona known as desert slots, are narrow passes through red sandstone rock formations. They open and narrow according to the resilience of the rock to the eroding forces that created them. The massive side walls sometimes overhang compressing the narrow space further, whilst sudden openings reveal a seemingly infinite sky. This natural modulation of space has inspired the firm Richärd + Bauer in its design for the Arabian library in Scottsdale, Arizona. Read more