A designer, as defined by Webster’s Dictionary is “one who creates and often executes plans for a project or structure”. This broad definition encompasses two different practices: that of Architecture and building design, and that of the Industrial, or, product designer. Both are designers, and both design very different things. //
M. Min Ra, principle of Front Inc (a firm dedicated to facade engineering and consulting), has had the opportunity to work with prominent architecture firms as Office of Metropolitan Architecture [OMA], REX, Herzog and de Meuron, SANAA, and Zaha Hadid Architects, and he shares some insight with dealing with some of the most preeminent architects in the field.
an interview with m. min ra [MR] by kelly darby [KD] and patrick di rito [PDR]
Almost one year ago, Adobe began to display a virtual environment for ideas and art called the Adobe Museum for Digital Media [AMDM]. Although not the first digital museum as they emphatically claim [see Asymptote's Guggenheim Digital Museum], this space further disassociates Walter Benjamin’s concept of the aura that describes of an original work of art and its reproduction, now through a digital medium. [1] Although attempting to propose a fully collaborative, constantly available location for the experience of art, the thesis of this article proposes that Adobe has exacerbated the connection between physical and virtual reality into furthering this ontological disconnect between man and machine.
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Iraqi-Kurdistan is the only autonomous region of Kurdistan. The economy has flourished since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The region’s economic success has given momentum to the building of new infrastructure, following the current Zeitgeist to be as western as possible. However, this has led to the implementation of kitschy and socially engineered architecture. Neither of the two approaches of design reflect the rich culture of Kurdistan that previous generations grew up with, nor will they contribute to the production of a healthy living environment for future generations to come. //
As the eve of the flux night approaches the team begins to make prototypes. the animals are restless. //
The Common First Year (CFY) in the College of Architecture at Georgia Tech is a collective, discipline-bridging exploration of the designed, lived, and built environment. As a GTA for the Lecture component of CFY headed by Professor Sabir Khan, I presented to the 150 or so students my list of the Top Ten Keywords that I thought they should know immediately if they are to consider architecture for their Undergraduate degree. My list includes: Scale, Program, Site, Promenade, Tectonics, Structure, Ornament, Material, Digital Design, and Performance. //
Prologue / Prólogo / Prolog / Proloog
The following writing is the first of a series of nine nonlinear vignettes investigating the cities of Barcelona, Berlin, and Amsterdam created after a two month trip through Europe studying architecture and urban design. This matrix of nine narratives contain three short stories from each city, and one of each thematically organized under Banlieuescapes, Morphoscapes, and Timescapes. //
"I don't build in order to have clients, I have clients in order to build!" - Howard Roark, The Fountainhead
About five years ago, I graduated from undergrad. Having worked in a pizza joint all through college, I was desperate to begin applying what I had learned in school, so I got a job as an architect intern in a small firm in Atlanta. //
Located in the United Arab Emirates, Masdar City is planned as the world’s first carbon neutral, zero-waste city. The city is billed as one of the world’s most sustainable urban developments, and will be powered entirely by alternative energy sources, including solar energy, wind farms, geothermal power, and a hydrogen power plant. As such, the project offers a welcome opportunity to study concepts and practices in sustainable technologies, designs, and business models. //
“Blurring the Boundaries Between Art and Architecture and Bridging the Gap with Digital Design” //
To follow up to my first post on the CoA alumni I did some research. As it turns out, there are a FEW tools out there for connecting students with alumni and MANY for helping students look for jobs – but finding them required a bit of digging and using them as an architecture student did not lend the most fruitful of results. [SoA alumni map complements of Teri Nagel] //
A proposal for “Art on the Atlanta Beltline.” Patrick Di Rito, Ky Le, James Murray, Shota Vashakmadze. //
We are the last class to experience the Paris Program!?! As a senior architecture student participating in the Paris Program, I never imagined I’d have to think about, let alone put such a thought into writing. //
“Goodbye pain, goodbye extremes, goodbye self-denial, and goodbye Ulay.” Marina Abramovic.
[video] [video2 video3 video4] //
