In X-Ray Architecture, the Metaphor Escapes Control
Beatriz Colomina's new book overlooks the concrete cruelties of the designed environment.
Review
Exhibitions on Both Sides of the Atlantic Ponder Future Life—on Earth, and Beyond
In London and Philadelphia, curators prod at the ethics, anxieties, and material culture of humanity as we gear towards a future interplanetary society.
At the Lisbon Architecture Triennale, Wondering "Can Architects Curate?"
Despite some smart research, this edition's glut of information and ignorance of context reflects architecture's crisis of curation, our critic writes.
Deconstructing Degrowth at the Oslo Architecture Triennale
The 2019 edition of the triennale imagines a world free from the pursuit of GDP—but is it enough?
The Reach at Kennedy Center Excels Where It Counts—Acoustics
Steven Holl Architects' detail-oriented way of thinking about acoustics is what makes the Reach, and the myriad spaces within it, so successful.
"Southern Exposure" Uncovers the Proud Architectural Legacy of Chicago's South Side
In his new book, the journalist and photographer Lee Bey directs readers to some of Chicago's greatest architectural treasures, nearly all of them hiding in plain sight.
RIBA Exhibition Tells the Oft-Neglected Story of the "British Bauhaus"
Before moving on to America, Walter Gropius, László Moholy-Nagy, and other Bauhaus protagonists spent a productive spell in the U.K.
London Exhibition Interrogates the "Radical" in Radical Architecture
At the Royal Academy of Arts, scores of architects—Denise Scott Brown, Peter Cook, and Patrik Schumacher, among them—show what being radical means to them.
Urban Renewal, A Blight on Other American Cities, Sparked an Architectural Renaissance in Pittsburgh
The editors of the new volume Imagining the Modern argue that the reviled federal program was responsible for creating the postcard Pittsburgh.
Finding Women Architects in Where’d You Go, Bernadette?
Fictional depictions like Bernadette form a vital accompaniment to initiatives that seek to help women architects flourish.
This Year's MoMA PS1 YAP Summer Pavilion Takes on Real Estate and the U.S.-Mexico Border
Designed by Mexico City–based Pedro & Juana, Hórama Rama reflects on the rampant real estate development that has enveloped PS1, as well as wider political and environmental issues.
New York’s Iteration of the Cruising Pavilion Charts an Architecture of Queerness
The Lower East Side exhibition closes April 7 before being reprised in Stockholm this fall.
Despite Its Oft-Copied Look, the Sea Ranch Still Provides Rich Architectural and Social Lessons for Today
An exhibition at SFMOMA doesn’t dwell on the development’s prehistory and afterlife, but rather tries to recover some of its original sensibility.
See the Swan Song Designs of Paul Rudolph
This Center for Architecture exhibition provides fresh insight into the architect's last designs in East Asia.
Against Pluralism, Again: Two Books Rethink Theory and Criticism's Role in Architecture
Not Interesting and Possible Mediums both depict and challenge our pluralistic age, in which architects are pressured to package themselves as commodities.
Yale School of Architecture's "Two Sides of the Border" Reimagines the U.S-Mexico Border
The Tatiana Bilbao–organized show uses student work, Iwan Baan photography, and maps to present multitudinous—though sometimes blurry—visions for the contentious region.
In His Latest Residential Building, OMA's Reinier de Graaf Doesn't Practice What He Preaches
OMA's Norra Tornen in Stockholm, whose showy launch purposely coincided with that of a nearby residential project by BIG, is a pedagogical embarrassment, our critic writes.
New Documentary Provides a Portrait of Design Superstar Dieter Rams
In Rams, Gary Hustwit—of Helvetica and Objectified acclaim—looks into the enduring legacy of the 86-year-old German industrial designer.
Why Architects Need to Get Dirty to Save the World
The new book The Architecture of Closed Worlds: Or, What Is the Power of Shit? offers lessons for today by looking at Biosphere 2, Eden Project, and other microworlds.
Taking a Second Look at This Year's Nebulous Venice Architecture Biennale
Freespace, now in its third month, is an exercise in subjective taste-making rather than research-driven programming.
