Built 3,400+ yrs ago, the mud brick rooms and artifacts reveal much about daily life of the time through discovered tools, scarabs and colored pottery (containing hieroglyphic inscriptions). More information here.
Salk Institute - Louis Kahn (La Jolla, CA) 1960
This is one of those places that is bigger conceptually than I had ever imagined (having only looked at photos and having read about it for years). First of all, it’s important to note that Jonas Salk is the person that developed the vaccine for polio in 1954. It’s believed Polio had killed over 500,000+ people worldwide (over a 50 year period) and left tens of millions with debilitating paralysis or physical deformities.
The institute is situated on the edge of the Pacific Ocean and in a grand gesture both frames the wide optimistic sky above and opens it’s arms to the teaming-with-life sea below. Kahn somehow captured the weight of Salk’s accomplishment and gracefully honored it with these mirrored stacks that house tiny wooden monk-like cells for devoted academics, encouraging them to reach high. A channel of water runs along the center uniting a public space for researchers to congregate and share ideas (there are even slate boards at the base of each stack for chalked ideas to freely be displayed, discussed and debated) with clear pools (of metaphorical knowledge) that tier at the West end and return the water back to the start of the fountain.
It’s a sacred place that remarkably blends the spiritual and scientific. It felt more like a cathedral than any cathedral I’ve visited. If you ever get the chance…go experience it.
Garden Studio (London)
Strong and appropriate material palette on this tiny backyard studio, especially like the terrazzo clad exterior and polished concrete floor and patio. Looks like it could exist in the American West nicely. More by Sonn Studio here.
Tea Room - by Natura Futura Arquitectura (Ecuador)
Maggie's Centre - Heatherwick Studio (Leeds)
This building and landscaping was designed for people and loved ones coping with cancer. The optimism from the abundance of life in and around this space seems like a win win. More here.
Nice Stair Detail
Quarantine Cabin (Barcelona)
Rough around the edges with a nice window or two peppered-in can make all the difference. See more here. This also has a nice horror flick title.
Warehouse to Home - Lisbon Portugal
Beautiful and thoughtful transformation by António Costa Lima Arquitectos. Check out more images here and click on EN once you get there if you’d like to read more about it…unless you speak Italian.
Earthly Pond Service Cntr of Int'l Horticultural Exposition (CHINA) HHD FUN - Architects
I find the stitching, weaving and layering of this immense project oddly hopeful. Feels like cars are not the priority. Also, love what a mouthful the name is. More about this earthwork here.
Treehouses
Several years ago, I was talking with a carpenter at a party about treehouses. He shared that when he was a teen, he and his friends built one about 60ft high - this made his dad slightly uncomfortable so he supplied the kids with a bunch of netting to secure below as a precaution. The kids set it up about 15ft from the base of the tree and spent the summer jumping into it….from the treehouse.
Barn Transformed to Art Studio
Great second life for this structure. See more here.
Architects Rebuilt Jojutla, Mexico After Devastating Earthquake 2017
Interesting NYTimes article about the efforts, both well-meaning and misplaced, by the design world and the government to remake a town after catastrophic loss.
Local Activity Center / Marlena Wolnik MWArchitekci (Poland)
It’s good to see how many different uses there are for these relatively small public structures and the connective “hardscape”. See more here.
Tiny Cabins - Croxatto & Opazo Architects (Chile)
These little stacked boxes on a coastal hillside encourage soaking up the ocean views and the natural light. More here.
Weekend House by New How (Prague)
I like the scale of this project and its potential low maintenance material choices. Holds about 10 people, has rough-ins for wind/solar and sounds like the long term plan is for this place to house a family year round. More here.
Peking Man Cave Shelter (THAD)
The roof structure’s elegant form recalls the ancient terrain of the area, mimicking the hillside that once protected the dwellers of this now historic site. More info. here.
Peking Man Cave is the site of a group of Homo Erectus fossils (from approx. 750,000 yrs. ago), discovered in 1929–37 during excavations at Zhoukoudian near Beijing, China.
Toolbox House - YYAA Yoshihiro Yamamoto Architects Atelier (Osaka, Japan)
Love how tiny and organized this project is - it’s under 1000sf and has 3bdrms, bath, office, kitchen/dining and motorcycle storage. More information and photos here.
Side Note: This is the day I got my 1st Moderna vaccine.
3 things
I like how the wood decking is spaced by every other spindle
The scaled shingles create a playful texture
The entire in-between-space is cover by a glass skylight
Villa Korup (Denmark)
I like how everything on this project seems to be in a state of weathering. See more on Jan Henrik Jansen Arkitekter.
two-fer
Ship stairs and shelving. Simple and fun.
