Patrick Lynch

UN Studio Announces 20th Anniversary Exhibition of Erasmus Bridge, New Book and App

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© flickr user lukeprice88. Licensed under CC BY 2.0

Marking the 20th anniversary of the opening of their iconic Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam, UN Studio, along with the Kunsthal and Heerema Group, have organized an exhibition demonstrating “the many and varied ways that the bridge has been embraced by the public and become a symbol of the city of Rotterdam.”

UN Studio will also being using the exhibition opening as an opportunity to launch their new book, Knowledge Matters. Written by firm co-founders Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos, the book was envisioned as “an exploration into a more agile form of practice - one that is scalable, relevant and opens conversations about the future of the discipline in the context of today’s knowledge sharing society.”

The book will also be released

Studio Pei-Zhu Unveils Plans for Performing Arts Center in Dali, China

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Courtesy of Studio Pei-Zhu

Studio Pei-Zhu has unveiled plans for the Yang Liping Performing Arts Center in Dali, Yunnan, China. Located at a low latitude and high elevation, Dali features a dramatic terrain and a unique climate that create a boundless relationship between earth and sky. The project site is located in the heart of this landscape, on a fertile plateau between the Cangshan mountain range and Erhai lake.

In designing the Performing Arts Center, Studio Pei-Zhu has drawn inspiration from these natural variations in landscape and climate, employing a large canopy roof and a flowing form to invite users into the complex.

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Graded topography and grassy hills draw theatergoers into an interior plaza, A “theater box” opens onto the plaza, transforming the space into an interior-exterior performance area. The blurred boundary between indoor / outdoor and landscape / stage also work to

Bjarke Ingels, Rem Koolhaas to Feature in September Issue of WIRED UK, “THINK BIGGER”

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Next Month, architecture will be hitting the mainstream media, as Bjarke Ingels has been selected to grace the cover of the September 2016 edition of WIRED UK. Titled “THINK BIGGER,” the issue will also feature profiles and stories from architects and designers Tom Dixon, Neri Oxman, David Adjaye and Rem Koolhaas. A Condé Nast Publication, the magazine focuses on the effects of science and technology on topics including design, architecture, culture, the economy, politics and philosophy.

The feature is not Ingels’ first appearance in WIRED or WIRED UK, as previous profiles have included articles about BIG’s Serpentine Pavilion Design and the firm’s role in shaping the New York City skyline. He was also recently named to the annual WIRED 100 list of people “shaping our culture, the tech economy, consumer behaviour, scientific discovery - in short, the people making things happen.”

Koolhaas, too,

Experts Fear Massive Losses of Historic Italian Architecture Following Magnitude 6.2 Earthquake

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After yesterday’s devastating magnitude 6.2 earthquake in central Italy, art historians fear that numerous historic Italian buildings and their contents may be permanently lost. The affected region is dotted with hilltowns containing beautiful churches, monuments and museums, many of which have been rendered completely unrecognizable.

4.3-magnitude aftershock hits Amatrice, Italy, causing additional damage after earthquake https://t.co/WHZtgHIRAN pic.twitter.com/RgvGwM7ml8
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) August 25, 2016

The town of Amatrice, which was voted one of Italy’s most beautiful towns just last year, faced some of the worst destruction, including to many of its acclaimed “Cento Chiese,” 100 churches filled with sculptures, mosaics and frescos. Notable architectural elements, such as the rose window of the 15th-century church of Sant’Agostino, have collapsed, while a remaining Renaissance palazzo has been converted into a temporary morgue.

Hauntingly, the clock face on the town’s 16th-century tower remains frozen

This Artist Draws Iconic Works of Architecture Using an Etch A Sketch

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via Intrepid Travel

Anyone who has ever picked up an Etch A Sketch knows just how difficult and time consuming it can be to draw even the simplest of shapes. But for some fanatics, the challenge is simply a part of the fun. Artist Jane Labowitch, known also as “Princess Etch A Sketch,” is one of those people. Since first picking up an Etch A Sketch at the age of 4, she has been fascinated with the red drawing toy, developing her skills to recreate notable works of art, architecture and pop culture.

Check out her drawings of some of architecture’s most iconic works after the break.

Spending up to 20 hours on the most complicated pieces, Labowitch creates her drawings on Etch A Sketches of various sizes. A recent trip to India saw her expand her artistry into a unique form of travel journalism.

Taj Mahal (With Flowers)

LYCS Architecture Design School Inspired by A Child’s Drawing

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Courtesy of LYCS Architecture

LYCS Architecture has released designs for Yuhang NO.2 School, a kindergarten, primary and secondary school complex in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Encompassing 44,900 square meters, the design takes inspiration from a child’s drawing of his ideal school – a small town filled with child-scaled spaces and “happy” streets. The complex is broken up into 15 gabled volumes, which gradually increase in size and scale to accommodate the range of student ages.

“Traditional primary and secondary school planning in modern Chinese cities usually provides students and children with an adult-scale campus environment at an excessively early stage. Such environment gives no help to them in coping with high educational and social pressure. Facing these phenomenon, it is the architects’ responsibility to subversively break these conventions in school planning and offer children with space of their own scale and age in

Have We Reached the End of the McMansion Era?

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© Flickr user dbasulto. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

The architectural world’s most hated structures may finally be meeting their demise. McMansions, the cheaply-built, faux-opulent mega-houses that litter many of the world’s suburban communities, were born in the 1980s and quickly became the most desirable living accommodation for middle and upper-middle class families. After a slight blip caused by the financial recession of 2008, McMansion popularity returned, with the median size of homes reaching a peak of 2,488 square feet just last year. But as seen in a new study conducted with data from real estate website Trulia, the economic benefit of purchasing one of these houses may now finally be falling.

Tracking data for homes built from 2001 to 2007 between 3,000 to 5,000 square feet (a typical McMansion size), the study found that the premium homeowners were willing to part with to purchase one of these