Category: Architecture

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Preserving Maghreb Architecture: The Montada Project

The project Montada seeks the preservation and revitalization of traditional architecture… in the Maghreb by involving local communities, especially children. Toward that goal, it is developing online games that allow children from 6 to 11 years old to discover the basic principles of a traditional architecture while developing their creativity.

…A new game acts as a virtual workshop that allows children to explore geometric elements and ornaments in the homes of Sale and Marrakech, in Morocco. After finishing, children can print out their results as postcards.

Via Archnet News.

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Wright Guide for Mobile Devices

The new Wright Guide, developed by Azara Apps and adapted from William Allin Storrer’s The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, offers descriptions and a photograph of each of the built works by Frank Lloyd Wright. Building descriptions link to other nearby architecture as well as to directions from the user’s current location. Buildings may be searched through the index or by browsing location or date. Users can even keep track of which buildings they’ve visited in the application.

The app is $9.99 and compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad with iOS 3.0 or later. It is available from the iTunes store.

Via Deep Focus.

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Humanities Day 2010

Join your colleagues on Saturday, October 23rd for a day of discussions, lectures, tours, screenings, and exhibitions in celebration of the 32nd annual Humanities Day at the University of Chicago. All programs are free and open to the public. The Department of Art History’s Katherine Taylor will be giving her lecture Robie House, 100 Years New during session three at Breasted Hall, at 3:30pm on Saturday. See the online program for full schedule details and additional information, and go here to register.

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Architectural Models and More, Printed in 3-D

The New York Times recently published an article about 3-D printing technology and its impact on several industries, including design and architecture.  3-D printing technology may eventually advance from the creation of architectural models to the construction of actual buildings:

A California start-up is even working on building houses. Its printer, which would fit on a tractor-trailer, would use patterns delivered by computer, squirt out layers of special concrete and build entire walls that could be connected to form the basis of a house.

For a demonstration of the kinds of products manufactured with this technology see the video included in the NYT story.

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Aga Khan Award for Architecture

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture was established in 1977 to enhance the understanding and appreciation of Islamic culture as expressed through architecture. The 19 nominees for the 11th cycle have been announced. The nominees, which include a textile factory in Turkey, a school built on a bridge in China and a wetlands project in Saudi Arabia, will be competing for the prestigious award. Visit the Award’s website for more information about the 19 nominees. You can also download high resolution images of each nominated building.

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Couch Cushion Architecture

After finals are complete, you might consider taking a break and some inspiration from these couch cushion architects (critiqued by authors of the BUILDblog).

A brilliant synergy between the weighted foundation and the light tensile structure, this project impressed us with its attenuation of structure and bright interior spaces. The courtyard and formal entry are also well thought-out and provide a clear means of way-finding. Grade A+


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QuickTime Virtual Reality: The Sistine Chapel

Now you can (virtually) tour the Sistine Chapel via your computer screen, thanks to a project from Villanova University of Pennsylvania. Created in consultation with the Vatican, this QuickTime Virtual Reality (QTVR) tour of the Sistine Chapel facilitates study of the frescoes and architecture in a new way.

“Villanova students and faculty from the University’s communication and computing science departments spent five nights in a closed Sistine Chapel, gathering images from every corner of the chapel, including Michelangelo’s famous artwork on the chapel ceiling and large fresco, The Last Judgment, on the sanctuary wall. This was the most extensive access ever granted by the Vatican to an outside group.” For more information, see the press release from Villanova University.

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New in ARTstor: Architecture by Le Corbusier

ARTstor has collaborated with the School of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Planning at Dalhousie University to make available approximately 250 images of architecture by Le Corbusier in the Digital Library. The images have been selected from a collection of slides donated to Dalhousie University by the family of Paul Jobin, which are housed in the School of Architecture’s Slide Library.

To view the Corbusier (Dalhousie University) collection, go to the ARTstor Digital Library (select on or off-campus here), browse by collection, and click on “Corbusier (Dalhousie University);” or search the keywords: corbusier dalhousie.

For more detailed information about this collection, visit the Le Corbusier (Dalhousie University) collection page.

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JSAH Online to Include Video, Virtual Modeling and More

The Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) has developed a new platform for its online journal. The online version of the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historials (JSAH) will support video, dynamic images, virtual modeling, and digital mapping. JSAH Online will only be available to SAH members during 2010, with independent subscriptions beginning in 2011. A sample article showing some of the journal’s capabilities is currently online. See Inside Higher Ed for more information.

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