Designer Science

The 19th century skyscraper was made possible by the Bessemer Process, the I-Beam, and Otis elevators. The 21st century Barclays Center, which required 12,000 customized computer-fabricated steel panels, was made possible with software originally developed for fighter jet design.

When I was interviewing the leaders of six different advanced materials and fabrication labs, the results of which are the feature article of this month’s Metropolis Magazine, I was constantly reminded how technology from unexpected places re-shapes design. It’s tough to say when and how this will happen next – perhaps it will be intelligent robotics, microscopic crystals, or 3D printing. The article also reveals multiple models for connecting scientific research to everyday practice. Was each lab working closely with manufacturers? Or engaging in highly speculative thought?

I was most intrigued by the Stanford Biodesign Collaboratory, which allows doctors to walk straight from a hospital to a workshop where they can tinker with medical device parts. It’s like putting a pigment factory next to a painter’s workshop; physical proximity to practice stimulates innovation.

Top Image: Cover of Metropolis Magazine, April 2015

Strength in Diversity: MoMA PS1’s Young Architecture Program Finalists

Having read more architecture books than I would care to admit, I can say it’s impossible to give architecture a single, concise definition.

It’s one of the many things that makes the architectural field so enriching and exciting: it can host so many varied perspectives. I was pleased to see that diversity in this year’s five finalists for the MoMA P.S.1 Young Architects’ Program. Started in 1999, the program allows a recently-founded firm (or even an independent architect) to design a structure within MoMA P.S.1’s courtyard in New York City. This year’s five finalists run the gamut: from Andrés Jaque and his socially-conscious architecture to Bittertang’s earthy and environmental designs to Erin Besler’s critique of the architectural giant Peter Eisenman (don’t miss her Wes Anderson-styled thesis video). Read on to get to know each finalist.

Link to the Article

Incidentally, the Buru Buru amphitheater (seen above), designed by Bittertang, will be an earthy cave with grass sprouting along its roof. The theater was recently completed and its soil is still in tubes that will eventually decay and give way to a green landscape.

Top Image: Buru Buru amphitheater (2014) by Bittertang, Image courtesy Bittertang

Chicago’s Fresh Bid For Architectural Prestige

Walking around the Chicago’s downtown is a safari into architectural history: its buildings, large and small, are living specimens, that showcase 100+ years of modern building technologies and theories.

From early skyscrapers with 6th thick brick walls, to Louis Sullivan’s flowing organic ornamentation, to Mies’ steel monuments to 20th century progress, it’s part museum and part metropolis. With such an architectural cachet, it’s surprising Chicago hasn’t matched it with an equally vibrant contemporary architectural scene. With the best schools, museums, and media publications mostly on the East Coast, Chicago has remained a strong — but still second — city. That may change as Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel seek to found a architecture Biennial, a once per two years event of exhibitions, installations, and performances that may bring the city to the architectural forefront. Will Chicago rival Venice’s venerable Bienniale and become the nexus of North American architecture? Or will it fizzle in the face to multitudes of other design festivals? Read on to find out.

Link To The Article

Top Image Courtesy Iwan Baan / Chicago, 2014