Christy Hale wrote a book about architecture for kids that we admire greatly – titled [amazon_link id=”1600606512″ target=”_blank” ]Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building, here[/amazon_link] – with illustrations showing kids actively playing with different materials to build structures. On the opposite page of those illustrations there are fine illustrations showing real buildings in the world […]
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Grampa and Granny Eames by Eames
This book [amazon_link id=”0847839443″ target=”_blank” ] An Eames Primer: Revised Edition[/amazon_link] was written about designers Ray and Charles Eames by their grandson, Eames Demetrios. It is an excellent introduction to the work of this dynamic duo. Charles and Ray designed all sorts of great things: films, toys, museums and a whole lot of chairs, some […]
Youtube? No the IITtube
At the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, a building sits underneath a giant tube, through which the Chicago “L” train travels. We are not talking Youtube, but an actual structure in the shape of a tube, atop a building, with a speeding train going through it. (Although there is this good Youtube video about […]
Want to Color Some Houses?
We thought this little coloring page was simple and fun. Print out a few copies and color them using 2, 3, 4 or 10 colors. Different colors can make the same pattern appear so different. When you are done, wrap some gifts and reuse the paper! Download the houses drawing. Thank you to the folks […]
Don’t Throw Stones
People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, or so we hear. And it makes sense. But maybe more importantly, they should not walk around naked. That is, unless your glass house is built in a forest, where other people are not around. Then you can feel like you live purely in nature with the greenery, […]
Silk Screened Walls Make Me Dizzy. Ain’t it Great?
Artist Dominique Pétrin likes to install insanely colored and patterned silkscreens boldly on to architectural spaces. She explained that her main influences are “the Muppet Show, Liberace, Catholic churches where I grew up and Dario Argento’s movies.” These influences have turned her into a kind of sorcerer of color and shapes, dropping patterns that are […]
Factory to Fantastic School
We read this story about a new middle school and high school in Baltimore, the Baltimore Design School (BDS). The architecture firm, Ziger Snead Architects, transfigured an old and crusty factory building into a gorgeous and sparkling school that would inspire even the most bored student into a creative genius. Taking a worn out, abandoned, […]
Birds have Good Taste
We love this idea of what a birdhouse really looks like inside. A beverage company created this video that makes us wonder if every bird has such good taste. We are also pondering the idea of other bird houses. Have you ever seen a bald eagle’s nest? They are incredible and HUGE. We are city […]
AHA! for Zaha Hadid
A series of buildings of circles that are piled on top of each other and all rounded structures and curves and white and swirly – that is what the Galaxy Soho building in Beijing is all about. Architect Zaha Hadid, one of the most famous living architects – is probably the most famous female architect. […]
Taller by a Needle
Since 1974, Chicago was the home of the “Tallest Building in America.” The Sears Tower, (named that because it was paid for by the Sears Company – not because Sears employees worked in all 100 floors) was crowned the tallest building at 442 meters tall. By the way, the Sears Tower is now called the […]