 |
SMART GEOMETRY UPDATE
The nature of architecture and the performance of materials are deeply linked. The nature of material is the nature of the stuff that surrounds us, and architecture is concerned with the arrangement of this "stuff."
As computational power increases, architects are able to consider larger and larger data sets. One way to focus those computing resources is to consider increasingly small building components. Published 2012.0808
 |
 |
10 HILLS PLACE
10 Hills Place was just another nondescript retail and office compound on the narrow offshoots of Oxford Street in Central London.
Wrapped in a sleek, sculptural, and amazing new skin, the complex new transformation by Amanda Levete Architects (ALA) has created a larger, more comfortable, and better-performing building, from the actual built fabric of that preexisting jumble. Published 2010.0915
 |
 |
10 WEYMOUTH STREET, LONDON
In central London, a renovation by Make Architects gives a radical new aesthetic and improved energy efficiency to an unremarkable 1960s apartment building.
The basic project outline for 10 Weymouth Street might not seem glamorous — upgrading a concrete-framed postwar housing block, with an addition overlooking the mews — but in the hands of Make, the results are golden. Published 2010.0707
 |
 |
HOUSING ON RUE DES VIGNOLES
Eden Bio can be difficult to find. One might think it would be hard to conceal almost 100 new public housing units in this part of Paris's 20th arrondissement, but local architect Édouard François has managed to do so, inserting rows of low-rise apartments, duplexes, and small houses into the middle of a city block while presenting a minimal, modest face to the street on three sides. Published 2010.0317
 |
 |
COLLEGE IN COPENHAGEN
From the outside, Ørestad College in Copenhagen, Denmark, is a simple five-story cuboid. But the conventional exterior form conceals a radical open-plan interior.
Designed by Danish architects 3XN, the experimental secondary school seems to embody all kinds of things that a school typically isn't. Published 2009.0930
 |
 |
MAGIC BLUE BOX
A giant blue cuboid has sprung up in Copenhagen, Denmark. This striking scaffolding box wrapped in translucent blue fabric is the new Copenhagen Concert Hall.
During the day, the building's blue skin largely conceals the faceted forms within, with peeled-back areas on the sides of the steel-framed box showing that the outside wrapping is more than just an imposing blue billboard. From the right angle, visitors can see vague outlines of the building forms beneath the translucent textile. Published 2009.0722
 |
 |
MULTI-ELEPHANT HOUSING BY FOSTER
The Copenhagen Zoo's new Elephant House by Foster + Partners emerges gently from the surrounding park grounds, its two leaf-patterned glass domes topping walls of pink-hued concrete. At once playful and serious, transparent and solid, this modern menagerie provides both high-quality living conditions for the animals inside and an exciting and interactive visitor experience. Published 2009.0401
 |
 |
TOKYO SWATCH BY SHIGERU BAN
The new Swatch flagship store in Tokyo's Ginza district immediately stands out from the surrounding high-end fashion boutiques on this densely packed street. There is no doorway, no visible sign, and no glass storefront. Instead, a towering four-story void in the streetscape seems to signify a civic-scale entry. Published 2009.0218
 |
 |
OSLO OPERA
The new Oslo Opera House is a monumental architectural statement for Norway, providing a glamorous new home for the National Opera and Ballet and a striking public plaza overlooking the Oslofjord.
Instantly shedding opera's snooty, high-art image, the new building by Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta slopes down from the roof to the water's edge. The gleaming-white marble threshold between land and water welcomes hundreds of people on a sunny day. Published 2008.1008
 |
 |
YOUNG VIC RENEWAL
The redesigned Young Vic Theatre by London architects Haworth Tompkins is more than just the extension and renovation of a local theater in Lambeth, South London. It is a radical, minimally designed new facility that celebrates the history of the place and highlights the ambitions of the local arts community. Published 2008.0709
 |
Terri Peters page: