Architecture

What mirrored ants, vivid blue butterflies and Monstera house plants can teach us about designing buildings Author Aysu Kuru Lecturer in Architecture and Construction, University of Sydney Almost all buildings today are built using similar conventional technologies and manufacturing and construction processes. These processes use a lot of energy and produce huge carbon emissions. This is hardly sustainable. Perhaps the only way to truly construct sustainable buildings is by connecting them with nature, not isolating them from it. This is where the field of bioarchitecture emerges. It draws on principles from nature to help solve technological questions and address global challenges....

Architect Christopher Alexander mined mathematics to find patterns for good living Author Theodora Vardouli Assistant Professor, Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture, McGill University Architect and mathematician Christopher Alexander died at age 85 on March 17. “The end of an era,” one of my colleagues remarked. She was perhaps referring to Alexander’s influential trajectory of over 30 years at the University of California, Berkeley. Obituaries about Alexander portrayed him as a fierce critic of modern architecture and chronicled his quest for buildings and cities that displayed qualities of warmth and aliveness. Alongside the production of numerous papers, books and buildings, Alexander’s...

5 senses? In fact, architects say there are 7 ways we perceive our environments Author Farzam Sepanta PhD Candidate, Building Engineering, Carleton University Have you ever wondered why you feel cozy in some places while you feel stunned in others? Think about the last international airport you landed in, or a local coffee shop in your neighbourhood. How we perceive these places is multifaceted. We often hear that we perceive our environments through five senses: sight, smell, touch, sound and taste. But what if there are more senses involved in our perception? Architects concerned with “the ways we experience things, thus...

Party Palace of the ‘Suntan King’: Beachfront Mansion Built for Hawaiian Tropic Founder Available for $6M A beachfront home with three swimming pools but no real kitchen has hit the market for just under $6 million. Ron Rice, founder of sun-lotion company Hawaiian Tropic, built the Ormond Beach, FL, spread in 1987 as a party palace. Known as the “Suntan King,” Rice died in May at the age of 81. But his real estate legacy shines on. Beachfront property (Courtesy Realty Pros Assured) Interior (Courtesy Realty Pros Assured) Interior (Courtesy Realty Pros Assured) Indoor pool (Courtesy Realty Pros Assured) His fanciful...

Facades+ looks back on a successful 10th anniversary year Adjaye Associates’ Winter Park Library reminded the Facades+ Atlanta audience of the importance of compelling facades on public-facing buildings. (Dror Baldinger)   Facades+ celebrated its 10th anniversary year with 12 successful events across North America. In a year that saw increasing interest in mass timber, embodied carbon, and adaptive reuse, Facades+ covered the highest performing and most innovative building envelope designs. Facades+ began the year with events in Atlanta, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. The Atlanta conference, co-chaired by Cooper Carry principal Brian Campa, featured a presentation on the Winter Park Library...