From the Blog

Re-imagining Infrastructure

By Neil Chambers
Ecomimicry offers alternative solutions to public works spending

Design as a Public Service

By John Cary
Grads are encouraged to seek a sense of purpose

Greatest Hits

Metropolis connects big ideas to design, encouraging industry-wide debates. Take a look at five pioneering articles from the past 30 years.

Complexity and Composition

September 1985

When William Mitchell wrote about computer aided design in 1985 it was still a brave new world. No wonder his text reads like promotional copy from a World's Fair. It was prescient nonetheless.

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The Design of Garbage

December 1988

Long time contributing editor and columnist Karrie Jacobs continues to be a prescient voice in Metropolis. In 1988 she was the first to chide package designers for contributing to a landfill crisis. The cover (shot at the Fresh Kills landfill) and the story made a strong statement about the magazine's mission.

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Access: Special Universal Design Report

November 1992

Inspired by the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) and the first universal design conference (1992) Metropolis celebrated the civil rights legislation and foresaw a built environment designed for everyone - regardless of ability or disability, size or age. Two decades later, we're still hoping.

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Architects Pollute

October 2003

When architect Ed Mazria proved the correlation between the built environment and global warming, he told us, "This is the most important moment in the history of architecture." He wasn't exaggerating.

Download PDF (1.2 MB)

Collaboration in Seattle

October 2004

How do you cover a story that has been told over and over again? Metropolis editors went for the counterintuitive approach: include every member of the big collaborative team, starting with the star architect to the project architects, clients, donors, engineers, interior-, graphic-, lighting-, product-designers, and those who use the building.

Download PDF (3.6 MB)

ELSEWHERE ON THE SITE

2011 Metropolis Conference Videos Now Online

This year’s ICFF conference featured a cast of “design entrepreneurs” who are reinventing their practices through creative approaches to the new economy.