Articles by AD Editorial Team

For the large majority of “household names” in the architectural sphere, their origins take on an almost mythical status – and this is certainly the case for Atelier Bow-Wow, one of Japan’s most renowned internationally operating studios. In this discussion with Dean Amale Andraos (Columbia GSAPP), Momoyo Kaijima—who co-founded the practice with Yoshiharu Tsukamoto in 1992—discusses their particular relationship between research and practice, the difficulty and rewards of working in the Fukushima area following the 2011 tsunami and nuclear incident, and her personal interest in working across generations to develop a deeper understanding of the relationship between buildings and their inhabitants.

When in 2015 Zaha Hadid Architects and ADP Ingeniérie unveiled designs for the “world’s largest airport passenger terminal” in Beijing, much of the political maneuvering to allow it live up to its claim remained unclear. But the situation has since changed, Bloomberg reports, with the Chinese authorities designating this new terminal—which will compete with the capital’s existing airport—as “the hub for members of the SkyTeam alliance.”

Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Art and Planning has unveiled a 12-piece versatile furniture series designed for the school’s New York City space in Manhattan’s financial district. Created by Hong Kong-based architecture office CL3 and interdisciplinary design studio Lim + Lu (founding partners of which are Cornell alumni), each piece has been inspired both by their New York context and intuitive operation by a global user.

Following the opening of the 2017 Serpentine Pavilion, designed this year by Diébédo Francis Kéré (Kéré Architecture), photographer Laurian Ghinitoiu has turned his lens to London. Designed to mimic a tree, or a canopy of trees, the wooden structure has been designed to fuse cultural references from Kéré’s home town of Gando in Burkino Faso with more “experimental” construction techniques. His ambition is that the pavilion becomes a social condenser – “a symbol of storytelling and togetherness.”

In the tenth episode of GSAPP Conversations, Jorge Otero-Pailos (Director of the Historic Preservation Program at Columbia GSAPP) speaks with Francine Houben, founder and creative director of the Dutch practice Mecanoo. Recorded before the school’s annual Paul S. Byard Memorial Lecture, their conversation centers on her practice’s work to renovate and redevelop the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington D.C., Mies van der Rohe’s last building and only library project.

“As a precaution,” the British Prime Minister Theresa May told the House of Commons today, “the [British] Government has arranged to test cladding in all relevant tower blocks.” This initial investigation ordered by the UK Government following the devastating fire and loss of life at Grenfell House in North Kensington, London, on the June 14 have returned results showing that “three samples,” according to the BBC, “are ‘combustible’.” Further results are expected to be made public over the course of the next 48 hours. The Prime Minister also declared that:

Ziad Jamaleddine (L.E.FT) with Selva Gürdoğan

Earlier this month, the Norman Foster Foundation opened its doors in central Madrid. Inhabiting in an old residential palace, and having undergone extensive renovation works since, the Foundation have also constructed their own contemporary courtyard pavilion. Housing a treasure trove of artefacts from Lord Foster’s personal collection, the structure—which is shaped like the wing of an aircraft—also exhibits a newly restored 1927 Avions Voisin C7 originally owned by Le Corbusier.

The 2017 Serpentine Pavilion, designed by Diébédo Francis Kéré (Kéré Architecture), was unveiled today in London. Conceived as a micro cosmos—“a community structure within Kensington Gardens”—the pavilion has been designed to consciously fuse cultural references from Kéré’s home town of Gando in Burkino Faso, with “experimental construction techniques.” The architect hopes that the pavilion, as a social condenser, “will become a beacon of light, a symbol of storytelling and togetherness.”