Flickr The Commons

The key goals of The Commons on Flickr are to firstly show hidden treasures in the world's public photography archives, and secondly to show how your input and knowledge can help make these collections even richer. Fantastic, copyright free imagery. Here is a result for Architecture >

For I. M. Pei, History Is Still Happening

Nicolai Ouroussoff follows up his previous article on I. M. Pei's latest project with thoughts on the architect's career: I CANT seem to get the Museum of Islamic Art out of my mind. Theres nothing revolutionary about the building. But its clean, chiseled forms have a tranquillity that distinguishes it in an age that often seems trapped somewhere between gimmickry and a cloying nostalgia. NYT | Slideshow

Designs to Beat the Downturn Blues

We might have had a bleak end to 2008, but it was actually a good year for splendid buildings and inspiring architectural exhibitions. BD asks 18 major players in the business to pick out their highlights from the past year. BD

Kalita Humphries Theater

Kalita Humphries Theater, originally uploaded by Super Bjorn.

I hit 30,000 views today. Congrats everyone so here is a Frank Lloyd Wright building for you. A great theater and old home for the Dallas Theater Center before the head over to the new Wyly Theater.

Working out of the Box: Annalisa Dominoni

From Archinect:

Working out of the Box is a series of features presenting architects who have applied their architecture backgrounds to alternative career paths. Are you an architect working out of the box? Do you know of someone that has changed careers and has an interesting story to share? If you would like to suggest an (ex-)architect, please send us a message. This week we present Annalisa Dominoni, an Italian architect who has applied her architectural education and experience to design architecture, products, and clothing for space travel and extreme environments. Archinect: Where did you study architecture? Annalisa Dominoni: At the Facoltࠤi Architettura of Politecnico di Milano. At what point in your life did you decide to pursue architecture? When I chose an artistic secondary school, my idea was to continue studies at the Academia of Art, but during those years I developed a strong interest towards architecture, which became stronger when I took my diploma. I've always had the ability to visualize space and volumes in relation to the users and his perception. I liked to think in 3D and work with study models at different scales to understand dimensions and proportions. When did you decide to stop pursuing architecture? Why? After my degree in Architecture, I opened an Architecture and Design bureau. At the same time, I wrote for various architecture and design journals such as Domus and Abitare, maintaining a connection with the university (I was assistant in the design courses). After three years, when I decided to start my academic career, I chose the theme for my PhD Industrial Design for Space trying to understand if an architect, a designer, could have a role in this field - generally characterized by engineers, biologists, physics etc, - and what that role would be. Dome C Concordia Base - Scientific Research on High Antarctic Plateau Habitability Design Expertise - Dome C Concordia Base, Antarctica Habitability Design Expertise - Dome C Concordia Base, Antarctica Fortunately, at that moment, there were two competitions for the technological utilization of the International Space Station. I presented two proposals which were both accepted. The first proposal was the design of a new integrated clothing system to be used during the IVA (Intra-Vehicular Activities), and the second one was the design of a new light fitness system to be used by the crew as a countermeasure in microgravity. During this time I was the editor and director of Techne Magazine, an important scientific and technology journal which was going very well. With success from the industries and the public, I had the space programs to develop, the PhD and no more time to devote to architecture I had to make a choice Describe your current profession. Professor at the Facoltࠤel Design of Politecnico di Milano teaching strategic design and innovation systems. Director of the SPIN-DESIGN LAB project research laboratory, characterized by a wide multidisciplinary transversality, where academic and industrial skills are combined. Research areas of SPIN-DESIGN include space and extreme environment, prosthetic objects, innovation and techno-textile_DESIGN. My projects aim at increasing comfort and adaptability in extreme and little-known environments, and human conditions encompassing the design of high tech and innovative industrial products. International Space Station ISS Director of TECHDESIGN research centre, a collaboration between the Politecnico di Milano and TexClubTec. TECHDESIGN research centre aims to study and find applications to market innovative fabrics and materials, defining future scenarios and designing new product families. Member of AIAA/DECT/ASASC (AIAA, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, DECT, Design Engineering Technical Committee, ASASC, Aerospace Architecture Subcommittee) in which I am involved in different branches such as Education and Research/Design. Ive developed research projects with research bodies as ENEA, and Space agencies such as ASI, Italian Space Agency, ESA, European Space Agency and NASA, with the co-operation of major industries such as Thales Alenia Space and Laben, and the other companies such as ABB, Aerosekur, Benetton Group, Domino, Electrolux Zanussi, Sealed Air, TechnoGym, Prada, Usag etc. Columbus Module at the International Space Station ISS Experiment in Space My Space design projects have been tested on board the International Space Station, ISS, by the astronaut Roberto Vittori. Principal Investigator of VEST Experiment, an integrated clothing support system to be used in microgravity condition, launched from Baikonur Space base in Kazakistan, MARCO POLO Mission, ASI, April 2002. Principal Investigator of GOAL (Garments for Orbital Activities in weightLessness), ENEIDE Mission, ESA, April 2005, obtaining the ENEIDE MISSION AWARD from ESA. GOAL, Garments for Orbital Activities in weightLessness, ENEIDE Mission Ive developed many feasibility studies on habitability in extreme environments as BASE CONCORDIA in Antarctica, a feasibility study to design alternative solutions for interiors and equipment, ENEA, 2002, and in Space conditions as MEEMM, a feasibility study to increase usability of experimental equipment on Columbus Laboratory of the International Space Station, ESA, 2003. Intra-Vehicular Activities IVA Publications The results of my research projects have been presented in international conferences and published in proceedings and scientific journals. In 2002, I published the book Industrial Design for Space that contains the reflections and the projects for living in Space and that defines the role of design in Space project activities. From 1999 to 2001, I was editor and director of the technological innovation journal Techne World Wide Magazine. What skills did you gain from architecture school, or working in the architecture industry, that have contributed to your success in your current career? As a space architect, I design Lunar and Mars bases and equipment which requires specific skills and competence similar to traditional architecture disciplines. Also, technology and innovation have been very important in my career to define a new field of application in different areas, from intelligent fabrics (think about textile materials for inflatable habitation modules in Space but also tensile structure used in different context on Earth) to nanotechnologies (for example the sensor systems integrated into materials to monitoring building structures and equipment, or the surface nanostructured treatments to improve the performances of the materials) taking in mind the importance of the users need in relation with the design of the artificial world, the third skin (the architecture). Mars base design for Facility for Integrated Planetary Exploration Simulation (FIPES) Do you have an interest in returning to architecture? As you can see, there are so many skills and activities in common between my current work and architecture that allow me to maintain my interests in a design continuum made of objects and tools at different scales. As says a famous title from Triennales exhibition in Milan From spoon to the city. At the same manner, I could say From Space to the Earth. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

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Future Wyly Theater

Future Wyly Theater, originally uploaded by Super Bjorn.

The Future Wyly Theater in Dallas, TX.

The Audacity of Hope for Better Public Works

Last Saturday, President-elect Obama announced plans for a "public works construction program" that will be "the largest new investment in our national infrastructure since the creation of the federal highway system in the 1950s." Is he talking about architecture? I'm not getting my hopes up. Robert Campbell for the Boston Globe

Plectic Architecture?

Plectic Architecture -Towards a Theory of the Post-Digital in Architecture. Professor Neil Spiller-Director-AVATAR Bartlett School of Architecture, via Beyond the Beyond

ShowCase: The Mondri and Elano Hotel

From Archinect:

ShowCase is an on-going feature series on Archinect, presenting exciting new work from designers representing all creative fields and all geographies. We are always accepting nominations for upcoming ShowCase features - if you would like to suggest a project, please send us a message. How do we make a hotel of genuine experiences in Las Vegas, the City of Pastiche? How do we extract the identity of the Mondrian and the Delano Hotels without producing copycat versions? How do we maximize the benefits of a large-scale complex without losing the identity and individual logistics of its parts? How do we address a mass audience while retaining the exclusivity required by a long tradition of ground breaking hotels? And finally, how do we create the Small and Intimate when the program is huge and imposing? ↑ Click image to enlarge Outside image (Click on this and all of the images to get a detailed view) ↑ Click image to enlarge Outside image ↑ Click image to enlarge Rain forest lobby ↑ Click image to enlarge Pool deck We studied the Mondrian and Delano Hotels with the aim to extract core elements of their identities. Rather than falling for their success, we tried to encircle where they could fail in the event of a Las Vegas relocation. ↑ Click image to enlarge Model photo ↑ Click image to enlarge Model photo ↑ Click image to enlarge Facade detail ↑ Click image to enlarge Model photo ↑ Click image to enlarge Model photo What makes these two hotels different and what connects them? We have reproduced the essence of the hotel experience and thereby attempted to introduce a genuine experience of Las Vegas to Las Vegas. JDS/Julien de Smedt Architects Julien De Smedt is the founder and director of JDS Architects based in Copenhagen, with offices in Brussels and Oslo. A designer and architect whose work is known in Europe and abroad, Julien's commitment to the exploration of new architectural models and programs has helped to re-energize the discussion of architecture in Denmark with projects such as the VM Housing Complex, Maritime Youth House and Stavanger Concert Hall. Born in Brussels to French art enthusiast Jacques L鯢old and Belgian artist Claude De Smedt, Julien attended schools in Brussels, Paris, and Los Angeles before receiving his diploma from the Bartlett School of Architecture. Before founding JDS Architects, Julien worked with OMA, Rotterdam and co-founded in well known architecture firm PLOT in Copenhagen. Among other awards and recognitions, Julien received the Henning Larsen Prize in 2003 and an Eckersberg medal in 2005. In 2004 the Stavanger Concert Hall was appointed Worlds Best Concert Hall at the Venice Biennale, and the Maritime Youth House won the AR+D award in London and was nominated for the Mies van der Rohe award. In 2007 Julien also won a large international competition for the new Holmenkollen Skijump in Oslo, Norway. Julien has been a guest professor at Rice University in Houston, Texas and invited to teach at the University of Kentucky in 2009. Among other places, Julien has also lectured at the Sendai Mediatheque in Japan, the Architectural Association of Ireland, the Tate Modern in London, the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona, the Pavillon de l'arsenal in Paris, the McGill University in Montreal, Yale University in New Haven, and both SciArc and USC in Los Angeles. Julien's work has been exhibited in numerous locations around the world, such as Copenhagen, Toronto, Paris, New York City, and Sao Paulo. The first monograph of JDS Architects, entitled PIXL TO XL, was published by Damdi in December 2007 and is currently available.

Yale unveils new School of Management building by Foster

Foster + Partners presented their designs on Monday to the Yale community for the new School of Management building. Sir Norman Foster graduated from Yale in 1962. Images and info at Yale.edu, Via