Limestone load-bearing exoskeleton spawns outrage in London

In a time when stone is primarily used in facades as screen walls or purely decorative cladding, London’s 15 Clerkenwell Close by Groupwork + Amin Taha Architects (ATA) brings structure to the fore with a load-bearing masonry exoskeleton. Since construction in November 2017, the mixed-use development, which is the home of Taha and his practice, has proved contentious

This memorial to Argentinian farmers glows with reinforced resin and burlap panels

In 2011, estudio Claudio Vekstein_Opera Publica (eCV) was approached by the government of Argentina‘s Sante Fe Province to design a space memorializing the centennial of the Alcorta Farmers Revolt. Founded in 1892, Alcorta is a small farming town laid out according to a dense and rigid grid surrounded by plotted agricultural land, an urban morphology typical

The Longchamp Racecourse goes for the gold with a metallic facade

In 2011, Dominique Perrault Architecture (DPA) was chosen by France Galop, the governing body of horse racing in France, to redesign and modernize Paris’s venerable Longchamp Racecourse. Located in the city’s second largest park, Bois de Boulogne, the design of the 160,000-square-foot project seeks to connect to the surrounding landscape—the racecourse’s most prestigious events occur during the fall—with a

An Estonian office block receives a splash of color with an aluminum mesh facade

Estonia-based architectural practice molumba has enlivened a suburban office block with a unique concrete and aluminum screen assembly. The project was commissioned by AS Elering—the nation’s largest transmission systems operator for electricity and natural gas—as a dramatic, three-fold expansion of the preexisting structure in Mustamäe, a southwestern neighborhood in the nation’s capital of Tallinn. Facade

The Global Hub’s undulating facade turns toward Lake Michigan for inspiration

The newest major addition to Northwestern University in Chicagoland, the 415,000 square-foot Kellogg School of Management’s Global Hub, establishes a formidable cornerstone for the campus’s border with Lake Michigan. KPMB Architects, a Toronto-based firm with a significant background in sustainable institutional design, addressed the region’s weather extremes with a well-executed layout and an undulating triple-glazed glass curtain wall. Facade Manufacturer Guardian

Morris Adjmi gives classic New York terra-cotta cladding a modern twist

Morris Adjmi Architects has just completed its wedge-shaped 363 Lafayette mixed-use development in New York City. The project is located in the heart of the NoHo Historic District, a context known for its mid-rise store-and-loft buildings clad in detailed cast iron and stone. Facade Manufacturer Boston Valley Terracotta, Belden/Tristate Brick, Vitro Glass, Tristar Glass Architects Morris Adjmi Architects

Morphosis founder Thom Mayne on the future of facades

From October 25 to October 26, The Architect’s Newspaper is hosting its Facades+ conference in Los Angeles for the fourth year in a row. The conference features leading architects based in Los Angeles, including Heather Roberge, Principal and Founder of Murmur Architects; Tammy Jow, Associate Director of AC Martin; Thom Mayne, Founding Principal of Morphosis Architects; and Stan Su, Director

Airport parking garage animated by resilient, kinetic facade

The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) has big plans for Boston’s Logan International Airport, ranging from the modernization of Terminal E to the expansion of adjacent runways. In 2016, as part of these modernization efforts, Boston-firm Arrowstreet delivered a dynamic expansion of its West Garage featuring a kinetic aluminum facade. Facade Manufacturer EXTECH Exterior Technologies, Inc. ArchitectsArrowstreet Inc. Facade Installer Ipswich

A playfully punctured aluminum skin enlivens this Danish school

On the outskirts of Aarhus, Denmark, CEBRA–a multidisciplinary practice based in Denmark and Abu Dhabi–recently designed a 100,000 square-foot primary school embedded in a forested landscape and influenced by the local architectural vernacular. For the firm, the Skovbakke School is an expression of democratic architecture that engages and opens with the surrounding landscape and creates a multitude

Shulman + Associates blends the vernacular and contemporary in hybrid facade systems

On October 4, Facades+ is coming to Miami. The conference features nine speakers from a broad range of AEC firms, ranging from architectural concrete supplier Gate Precast to Paris-based Ateliers Jean Nouvel, and Miami’s own Arquitectonica. Allan Shulman, who founded Miami’s Shulman + Associates in 1996, will be co-chairing the conference. Over the last two decades, Shulman + Associates has been recognized with

Facades+ Los Angeles will scale the heights of Southern California design

From October 25 to 26, Facades+ will bring local and national leaders of the architecture, engineering, and construction industry to Los Angeles for the fourth year in a row. The first day of the conference features keynotes by Thom Mayne, founding principal of Morphosis Architects; and Heather Roberge, principal of Murmur. Founded in 1972, Morphosis has spread its distinctive presence internationally. In recent

Morphosis Architects’s Kolon One & Only propels a knotted cloud-like facade

Architects Morphosis Facade Contractors/Suppliers POSCO (Steel Curtain Wall), ALU EnC (Aluminum Curtain Wall), Korea Carbon (GFRP), Korea Tech-Wall (GFRC), Han Glass (Glass), Steel Life (Interior Liner) Facade Consultants Arup, FACO LocationSeoul, South Korea Date of Completion2018 SystemBrise-soleil system on the main, west-facing facade ProductsFiber reinforced polymer (FRP) using one of Kolon’s own high-tech fabrics, Aramid

SHoP Architects brings aluminum luster to Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Facade Manufacturer Alucobond; Sobotec Ltd. ArchitectsSHoP, Gensler Facade Installer  Crown Corr; Hunt Construction Group (general contractor) Facade Consultants SHoP Architects LocationUniondale, NY Date of Completion2017 SystemAluminum screen ProductsAlucobond® PLUS naturAL Brushed Originally opened in 1972, the old Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on New York’s Long Island was given a facelift and interior renovation by SHoP and Gensler respectively in

Pelli Clarke Pelli designs a snaking business complex for Tulane University

Facade ManufacturerViracon, YKK AP America. Inc, DeGeorge Glass Company, Performance Architectural Inc. Architects Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects Facade Installer Broadmoor LC Facade ConsultantsPelli Clarke Pelli Architects LocationNew Orleans, Louisiana Date of Completion2018 SystemGlass curtain wall with thermal sunshades and light shelves ProductsYKK thermal sunshades, Viracon glass hybrid Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects (PCPA) connected two preexisting buildings

How Amazon achieved crystal clarity in its glass domes

NBBJ designed a trio of connected glass orbs with living walls at the new Seattle headquarters for online retail giant Amazon. According to an announcement on Amazon’s blog, the spherical design—a project seven years in the making—was “chosen due to its natural occurrence in nature and as a nod to historic conservatories, like Kew Gardens.” This atypical meeting place away

Collective-LOK’s Roche/Dinkleloo Double contrasts vernacular with the institutional

In July 2018, Collective-LOK (CLOK) unveiled their Roche/Dinkeloo Double, a temporary installation located below a cantilevered section of UMass Amherst’s Fine Arts Center. CLOK is a collaboration formed by architects Jon Lott, William O’Brien Jr., and Michael Kubo. The Fine Arts Center, designed by firm Roche-Dinkeloo in 1975, is located on the border of UMass Amherst’s campus. According to architect Jon Lott, the

Brooklyn’s Zimmerman Workshop raises a church from the ashes

Facade Manufacturer Timber Systems Limited Architects Zimmerman Workshop Facade Installer Timber Systems Limited, Facade ConsultantsZimmerman Workshop, Timber Systems Limited Location Brampton, Canada Date of Completion2017 System 2016 Products Fine Metal Roof Tech Copper Shingles In 2014, a two-alarm fire devastated Ontario’s St. Elias Ukrainian Church. The heavy timber church was designed by architect Robert Greenberg