As we were looking around doing some research, we found this lovely house that was designed in the 1950’s. It is a period that is referred to as Mid Century Modern architecture (You get it – in the middle of the 20th century – each century is 100 years so 50 is in the MIDdle […]
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Steppin’ Out with architecture
Just glimpsed these fantastic shoes, designed by a young woman named Esther from Oak Park, Illinois. Fashionable and cool, who could argue that we could all use a pair like this. Kudos to you, Esther!
Pink Mangrove Tree Towers?
In China, a design firm might build the tallest pink buildings in the world. Well, the tallest buildings in the world. And they will be pink. And a kilometer tall. And they look like the roots of Mangrove trees. And they will filter water from a nearby lake, filter air, grow gardens along the vertical […]
Wow that Bauhaus
In Germany, between 1919 and 1933, there was an art school called BAUHAUS. It had a very different approach to art and design, whereby all of the various forms of art: painting and visual arts, design and eventually architecture would all be taught together. It was a very influential school, marking Modernism, and breaking away […]
What is a Munafuda?
Our Japanese friend, Masako, sent us some great photos of a new buddhist temple under construction and she included this photo of wooden planks, inscribed with various Japanese characters. We wondered what these were and found out that they are called Munafuda. As the temple building is being constructed, these wooden pieces will be placed […]
Stamp City
Paper Neighborhood is a great stamping kit that comes in a can. You can build a typical apartment building with 21 stamps of windows, columns and doors in the Italianate style. The set was designed by people named the Cincinnati Society of Rubber Architects. It might be fun to stamp on paper bags and place […]
Lunarchitecture
Ever wonder about traveling to the moon? We think it is interesting that there are companies that are already trying to figure out how to build hotels on the moon. They are preparing for a time when travel is easy, like jumping on an airplane to another city, except you will jump on a shuttle […]
STOP the PLOP!
Blair Kamin has an interesting job. He is an architecture critic. That means that he knows a lot about architecture and then he applies what he knows to give opinions about the built environment which he writes up in books and newspapers, magazines and on the web. So he is NOT an architect, but rather […]
Dare to Build a Dome
Building a geodesic dome is not simple. Ask Bucky Fuller. There is math involved and measurements, there is assembly of the parts and construction. But once you figure it out, it is really a series of circles that intersect to make triangles that fit together snugly to make an efficient and useful space. The geodesic […]
Boy, It’s Cold Out There!
When we think of ice houses and structures, we usually conjure up images of igloos, the half domes with an entrance that we see in cartoons and perhaps a photo of a real one from some old social studies book. In China, there are ice structures at a different level – 600,000 square meters of […]