Ken Isaacs Wanted to Retool the Way We Live
A new book revisits the designer's visionary work, which advanced everything from flexible, “living” structures to microhouses.
Architecture
New Talent: EXTENTS Expertly Weaves the Digital and the Physical
Through installations, conferences, and teaching, the Michigan-based studio engages critically with technology.
Quality Control: Avenier Cornejo Takes on Social Housing in Southeastern Paris
The sunlit 22-unit building features energy-harvesting mechanisms and a brick facade that echoes its 19th-century neighbors.
The Melbourne Conservatorium of Music Strives For Openness
Designed by John Wardle Architects, the new home of Australia's oldest music school breaks way from the monastic model of the conservatory.
Tech Start-ups Find a Shared Home at The Company Building in Manhattan
While the SHoP-designed project offers an antidote to many of Silicon Valley’s ills, a larger urban dilemma remains.
Triangle with a Twist: OMA’s New Tower Reinterprets Local Commercial Ephemera
In Amsterdam’s south, OMA has completed a triangular hotel—the largest in the Netherlands and Belgium—that shows its neighbors how to dance in style.
Keep Calm and Terra-cotta On
Prized for its tactile qualities and historical association with crafts, the material is enjoying a steady revival in New York City and beyond.
A Big-Box Store Finds New Life as a Healthcare Clinic
With clever spatial arrangements and distinctive materials, HDR transformed a Sports Authority in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood into an outpatient clinic.
With the Opening of the West Bund Museum, Reflecting on Shanghai’s Cultural Mega-Developments
The Chipperfield-designed, Pompidou-affiliated arts space fits into a unique but precarious spatial and development context, our correspondent writes.
Book of X Rays Questions the Ethics of Preservation
On the face of it, Modern Management Methods documents the preservation practices of two Le Corbusier projects. But that's just the half of it.
A Film School in Poland Is Built Around a Historic Home
In a bid to save the 19th-century brick tenement, the architects of the Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School embedded the former's façade into the latter.
Nordstrom's Manhattan Flagship Unites Historic Landmarks and Contemporary Forms
James Carpenter Design Associates and CallisonRTKL integrate a progressive new build and waveform facade within two landmarked buildings in Nordstrom's Manhattan flagship.
CetraRuddy Restores Church Missions House for Fotografiska Museum in New York
The local firm, which has worked on several reuse projects, converted the 1890s-era building into a photography gallery.
Grafton Architects Completes its First Building in the U.K., Kingston University’s Town House
The Dublin-based firm worked with a somewhat radical program that juxtaposes dance studios with a library and lecture area for the southwest London university.
A Poetic Respite in Abu Dhabi Blends Cultural Tradition With Contemporary Design
The Al Musallah Prayer Hall draws on Abu Dhabi’s rich history and desert landscape.
Michael Chen Unveils Micro-Apartment Prototype at KBIS
The Transformer-type installation incorporated a kitchen range, an entertainment system, a vanity, and a bed.
A 1959 Modernist Office in Sacramento Shines Again
The building’s midcentury architecture was historically significant, so architecture firm Dreyfuss + Blackford’s upgrades had to be thoughtful and subtle.
"Keep Off the Grass": Why Fighting for Free Access to Green Space Implicates Us All
In an opinion piece for Metropolis, Alexandra Hagen, CEO of Swedish firm White Arkitekter, explains why countering commercial forces is central to protecting urban space.
A City Dwelling in Monterrey Is Inspired by the Mountains Around It
Casa Ocho Vigas, designed by Mexican firm Covachita, features a host of sustainable details, like natural ventilation, reclaimed casting boards, and a large elm tree.
Paris Exhibition Gives Charlotte Perriand Her Due
Inventing the Modern World foregrounds the French architect-designer's inimitable talent, while also playing up her spirit of collaboration.
