The Sphere opens in Las Vegas. What does it mean for architecture?

An early episode of SpongeBob SquarePants contained a particularly moving scene. Upon seeing Patrick Star approached by the dangerous Man Ray, a villain who had kidnapped Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, our hero calls out, “Not so fast, archvillain. We still have the Orb of Confusion!” The Orb of Confusion was a simple blue glass

Ways to reduce emissions in the manufacturing of building materials

Greenhouse gas emissions fuel global warming. How can we accurately reduce them? Measurements are a good place to start, and we currently track them across three distinct scopes: (1) direct emissions; (2) indirect, owned emissions; and (3) all other indirect emissions, upstream and downstream. It’s often not an expertise that companies possess internally, so a

Unpacking what it means to design safe shade

AGENCY Architecture is located in El Paso, Texas, and our work has focused largely on ideas that shape our border-adjacent desert context, with a particular sensitivity to social issues, ecological instability, and resource depletion. Current work is looking at the Chihuahuan Desert—a unique and uniquely challenged binational territory that crosses the U.S.-Mexico border. Here, climate

Olivier Campagne turns his expert eye to Midjourney

Olivier Campagne operates a digital-image studio in Paris. Educated as an architect, he has spent decades making renderings. Recently, he began creating AI images using Midjourney and posting them on a dedicated Instagram account, @oliver_country. The images advance the architectural imagination he’s been exploring in commissions from European architects like Bruther, Baukunst, and Arrhov Frick.

At MAK in Vienna, /imagine resuscitates an early-internet optimism

/imagine: A Journey into The New Virtual MAK Exhibition Hall Vienna Continue reading on The Architect’s Newspaper The post At MAK in Vienna, <em>/imagine</em> resuscitates an early-internet optimism appeared first on The Architect’s Newspaper.

Peter Cook’s recent show explores what lies beyond modernity

In Issue 8 of their published manifestos, Archigram noted that over time they had become increasingly concerned with matters relating to the human experience: “comfort, facility, satisfaction, enquiry, and above all the effect of all kinds of phenomena upon each other.” Upon entering Peter Cook’s recent show at the Richard Saltoun Gallery, this fascination with

Morpholio has updated its Trace app to pair with RoomPlan

Gone are the days when architects needed to rely on tape measures, or even laser scanning devices, to take measurements of a space and create a digital 3D model. A leapfrog came in June 2022 when Apple unveiled RoomPlan, an expansion to its ARKit 2.0 augmented reality feature for iPhones and iPads that uses the

TECH+ made its return to L.A. with a dive into technological forecasting

This past June, TECH+ returned to Los Angeles in-person for the first time since early 2020. The world has changed significantly since 2020, yet nonetheless, AEC technologies continue to evolve, becoming more established in the practices of firms big and small and offering new solutions to age-old problems. Continue reading on The Architect’s Newspaper The

Refik Anadol lights up MSG’s Las Vegas sphere with collages

Earlier this summer a new entertainment venue slash billboard opened on the Las Vegas Strip dubbed the Exosphere.  The Populous-designed piece is the “largest LED screen on earth.” Since it opened, Exosphere has projected an unnervingly realistic, blinking eyeball; basketball-themed graphics; and a fireworks show across its surface. Continue reading on The Architect’s Newspaper The

Firms develop ceramic prototypes for at Boston Valley Terra Cotta workshop

Since 2016, Boston Valley Terra Cotta has partnered with the University of Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning and Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Architecture to host the annual Architectural Ceramics Assemblies Workshop (ACAW). During the weeklong event, eight teams, composed of paired design and engineering firms, collaborate to create facade prototypes using architectural terra-cotta. Continue

Duravit AG to design “world’s first climate-neutral” ceramic production facility

Duravit AG, a German design bathroom manufacturer, announced plans to build the “world’s first climate-neutral ceramic production facility” in the Canadian province of Québec. The company described the enterprise as a “quantum leap towards a sustainable future” in a press release.  Continue reading on The Architect’s Newspaper The post Duravit AG has plans to design

Worldcoin’s designer orbs will scan your eyes for cryptocurrency

You can now visit the World Trade Center and have your eyes scanned by a polished orb designed by former Apple product designer and Jony Ive–hire Thomas Meyerhoffer, which will prove that you are not a robot and provide you with cryptocurrency. Meyerhoffer’s basketball-sized orb was designed for the Sam Altman and Alex Blania–led Worldcoin

Elon Musk rolls out X and might’ve forgotten to file his building permits

Elon Musk is still busy. Since he began his takeover of Twitter (now X Corp.) last year, Musk has shown little satisfaction for how the deal went down, the alleged presence of bots, going rounds in Delaware’s Chancery Court, and now, its branding.  Continue reading on The Architect’s Newspaper The post Elon Musk rolls out

ICON and BIG complete their first 3D-printed model home in Georgetown, Texas

3D printing company ICON opened its first model home for the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)–designed single family development as part of Wolf Ranch in Georgetown, Texas this past weekend. Located north of Austin, the development, built by Lennar, has a layout familiar to suburbanites across the U.S. The catch is that all 100 homes are 3D-printed

KAGAMI fuses dimensional art with classical music

Look for a red cube. Do you see it?  Continue reading on The Architect’s Newspaper The post <em>KAGAMI</em>, on view at The Shed, fuses dimensional art with classical music appeared first on The Architect’s Newspaper.

TECH+ will host a one-day conference in Los Angeles on June 28

For the first time in the event’s seven-year history, TECH+, presented by AN and aec+tech, will come to Los Angeles. Featuring the latest in AEC technology, the conference includes a full-day symposium and an exhibition of cutting-edge technology products. The event will be held at the LINE LA and will be co-chaired by Niknaz Aftahi, founder

A mass timber tower underwent a shake test to investigate its seismic resiliency

On May 9, dozens gathered to watch as a ten-story tower in northeast San Diego juddered and swayed under the forces of back-to-back simulated earthquakes. The building, an experimental mockup of a mass timber tall building, was built atop the Large High Performance Outdoor Shake Table at UC San Diego. The so-called table to which

Shape to Fabrication offered a sense of what’s next for architectural software

Shape to Fabrication Simply Rhino University of Westminster April 26–27 Continue reading on The Architect’s Newspaper The post <em>Shape to Fabrication</em> offered attendees a sense of what’s next for architectural software—and a glimpse of Rhino 8 appeared first on The Architect’s Newspaper.

Safdie Architects and Neoscape unveil digital model of Habitat 67

Moshe Safdie’s Habitat 67, a project the architect designed for his master’s thesis at McGill University that was later spun into the 1967 world’s fair in Montreal, has been fully realized as a digital model through software from Unreal Engine and Reality Capture. Creative agency Neoscape was approached by Epic Games—the developer behind the game

Architects imagine collective rebuilding of Detroit through a design-build workshop

There are nearly 7,000 structures undergoing a shared process of repair in the city of Detroit. This number reflects the amount of previously abandoned houses people have purchased from the Detroit Land Bank Authority (DLBA) and are currently renovating into livable homes under the guidelines of the DLBA’s compliance program. Within this milieu of construction,

Super Nintendo World is a visual feast of worldbuilding, nostalgia, and gamification

Like a lab rat who can’t shake his cocaine addiction, I mercilessly bashed my Power-Up Wristband™ against a golden question mark block to hear that familiar Mario coin sound. Joined by photographer Iwan Baan, who looked on in curious but loving horror, I bathed in the dopamine fountain of nostalgic immersion. Super Nintendo World™ at

At Pioneer Works, Medusa shimmers to (virtual) life

Medusa Pioneer Works 159 Pioneer Street Brooklyn, New York Through April 16 High in the rafters of Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, a digital display too kinetic and dynamic to exist in the real world swims through space. As Medusa ebbs and flows, seafoam-green square slats shoot from the 40-foot-tall ceiling all the way to ground

Geo Week 2023 dishes latest in digital documentation

Conferences appear to be back to nearly full swing based on attendance numbers and foot traffic at Geo Week 2023, held last February 11–13 at the Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver. Billing itself as “the Intersection of Geospatial and the Built World,” Geo Week 2023 saw its attendance rise 44 percent over last year,

A case of mistaken identity leads artist to commission conceptual bank designs

In March 2015, Jamie Diamond, a photo-based artist, received an email from one Richard “Dick” Stanley. Mistaking Diamond for Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co., Stanley stated that he had been a Chase customer in Columbus, Ohio, since 1996, but had recently moved to Albuquerque, where he had to bank long-distance. He

Never Alone explores five decades of video game history at MoMA

Never Alone Museum of Modern Art New York Through July 16 As the world around us becomes more and more integrated with technology, it’s easy to overlook how much our interfaces, and the programs we use, have evolved. From Windows and Mac icons to the ubiquitous power symbol, the design language of interactivity has become

Installation demonstrates the promise of a new degree at Penn

A new degree program at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design is already beginning to bear fruit in the world. Deep Relief, a large-scale sculptural wall installation, was recently completed by students in the school’s Master of Science in Design: Robotic and Autonomous Systems (MSD-RAS) program. It is installed in the atrium