In lieu of a normal "This Week in Architecture" there is a bit of something special this week. On Clemson University's campus, where I currently attend finishing up my B.A. in Architecture, sits the latest extension of Lee Hall, which houses the Art and Architecture departments. Dubbed Lee III, the Thomas Phifer designed building is LEED Silver rated and houses all the years of landscape architecture students, in addition to the grad students in the architecture program.

Lee III was recently featured on ArchDaily, and I'd like to just give a little bit of insight to what the building is really like, having spent a good amount of time there. Before you read my comments, I think it might help to take a moment and read the article here first.

While Lee III is presented as a cutting edge building, it seems to fail in many of the most basic of functions. There's no doubt that the building looks cool. Mezzanines above the ground floor level overlook many of the student work spaces and the columns look like trees spreading their branches to hold up the green roof.

On the outside, the vast amount of windows let in lots of natural light, and as an admirer of glass design myself, is pleasing to the eye. The tensioned cables that aid in structure are pretty cool too.

But here's where things start getting a little messy in my opinion. Because the majority of buildings on campus are brick, a giant hanging curtain wall was slapped onto the west side of the building. I think that despite past precedents, the building could be a standalone symbol of innovation and progression on campus, while in fact tradition overruled that notion.

There were many things that were intended to happen with the building to help keep it as close to net-energy zero as possible. One such thing involved automatic windows that opened and closed, adjusting to temperature to make the building self-climated-controlled. Unfortunately, these windows don't actually work, and may not even exist. Lee III is known for being downright frigid, despite the floor supposedly being heated via a radiant heat system.

In terms of workspaces, the desks that they chose to use, while offering extra storage spaces through cubbies and cabinets, fail to allow the most necessary thing onto the desk itself, that being light. The skylights simply don't let in enough light, and since the auxiliary lights are left for the most part off during the day, there is always a shadow line right down the middle of your desk, in addition to it already being relatively dark inside the general building. A short walk around the studio spaces will prove this point, as almost every student has one or even two adjustable arm lights clipped to the desk, because it's very hard to work when you can't see things properly.

But all of these issues are dwarfed by the most major issue in my eyes, and that is sound. In a building built entirely of steel and concrete, there is nothing that dampens the sound. I've had reviews in a space they call "the Wedge", an angled space with walls you can pin up on, and if you're not in the front row, you can't hear a single thing the presenter is saying. Basically, when speaking softly all you hear is echoed mumbles and muddy tones, and when speaking loudly, you are heard from across the entire building. This means that even small side conversations and studio discussions bound all around the room, making the entire building, overall, loud. For a major where many students prefer quiet to concentrate and focus, this is a huge issue.

But of course, those things are just my take on it. I still think it's a cool building, and appreciate Clemson's interest in designing sustainably. That being said, it would behoove Clemson and other universities to really survey students and ask what things they value most in their studio experience, and help tailor design to those needs.

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Welcome to another episode of This Week in Architecture!

Cardboard Cathedral

Coming to us from New Zealand, we first have Shigeru Ban's Cardboard Cathedral. For those who don't know, Shigeru Ban is a Japanese architect known for his "design of structures that can be quickly and inexpensively erected in disaster zones." The city of Christchurch, New Zealand recently undertook the weight of a disastrous earthquake last February, which killed over 200 people. The cathedral that used to stand was one of the most famous landmarks of the city, and so it was imperative that the cathedral be reconstructed as soon as possible.

Ban's construction technique is rather simple: an A-frame made up of paper tubes and 20-foot containers. Tubes will be coated with both waterproof and flame retardants that Ban has been developing since the mid 1980's.

Recycled shipping containers help to uphold the sides of the structure, and it's been great to be able to reconstruct the church so quickly. The Cardboard Cathedral will be the largest paper tube structure of Ban's career thus far, with a capacity of 700 people. It is to be used not only as a place of worship, but also as a space for events or concerts.

Check out the full story here.

MAD Building

We then move to Oslo, Norway, where we see the MAD Building designed by MAD arkitekter. Breaking the mold of the modern tower, the allowable footprint for this building was only 11 meters wide (about 35 feet) for a 15 story building. With two 16 story buildings flanking either side of the lot, naturally something amazing needed to happen to make it all work.

Interestingly enough, the Opera Quarter (the site of the building) has many buildings that are very long and narrow, providing lots of great visual sight lines. Despite the slim nature of the building, each level has six apartments of varying shapes and sizes.

This whole building just goes to show that even great design can flourish in less-than-ideal places and situations.

Check out the full story here.

World Water Day

This last story is not from any one particular location, but instead shows a group of ten projects that are very environmentally conscious designs that really focus their energies toward water conservation. Whether it's the Renzo Piano Building Workshop, the Great Barrier House, or the VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre, there are a ton of options in completely different forms offered here. If sustainability is your thing, this is definitely worth checking out. It really goes to show that making something sustainable doesn't have to drastically affect your design!

Check out the full story and list here.



Thanks for sticking around; tune in next Friday for another episode!

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Aside from perhaps chemical engineering and physics majors, the architecture major contains some of the most dedicated students around. In fact, people are often so dedicated to their work that you really do lose contact with many people in what we like to call "the outside world." The school even recommends that you actually live with people that aren't in your major so that you still have some semblance of a social life.

As the years progress in your undergraduate career, you'll find that your roommates often text you just to see if you're still alive, because they haven't seen you at home in three days. You'll be on campus from 8 in the morning until 8 at night, scraping together for meals (and sometimes forgetting about them entirely) and naturally, completely blowing off that diet that you were planning on doing because fast food just sounds way better right now. However, you'll also find that you are really desiring some free time. People do actually improve at getting their work done in a relatively timely manner by the time you become a senior (either that or we all just have become really good at putting it off and then throwing it all together last minute).

Come the few days before review, the entire attitude changes. Lax procrastination turns into imminent panic, and it's almost expected that there will be a good number of people that will be up all night the night before a review. I actually pulled my first all-nighter in quite some time a few weeks ago (I haven't stayed up all night since sophomore year). The sun goes down and you lose track of time, and eventually the pink rays of sunrise are before you and you realize that you've been there all night, and all of a sudden you're shivering and your muscles ache and your head is spinning. Sounds exciting, right?!

Of course, there are those of us that are really solid in the area of time management, and are able to finish all their work with time left over to spend as they please. A good friend of mine actually has a 4.0 GPA, is involved in AIAS, Freedom by Design, RUF and others,  lifts with me three days a week, has time to go on group road rides, has time to spend with his girlfriend and still gets plenty of sleep every night.

See? It is possible to actually finish everything you need to do; all it takes is a little focus and drive. Once you learn that, you'll be unstoppable.

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Welcome back to another episode of "This Week in Architecture"! Let's jump right in to what we have this week:

A House in Kamigamo

From Kyoto, Japan, we first visit a House in Kamigamo, designed by Méga. Hidden from the street by the combination of a large privacy fence and a protective façade, this home is deformed to fit on a very strange acute triangular plot of land. Initially, the site was zoned to be a sort of scenic overlook, and so the house that now stands on the plot captures a beautiful view of Kyoto city.

From the inside, the house is about as bare bones as you can get. In some ways, it shares some similarities to the Native American longhouses primarily used by the Iroquois tribe, in that its ceiling is actually the bare rafters that hold up the roof.

Due to the steep fall of the land as you move away from the street, the home is terraced down to help ease the potential forces created from one giant cantilever (the basic principle being that the higher something is, the greater the gravitational potential energy there is, thus making it harder to hold up -- physics!). There is also something really minimalist about the home; the rooms feel large and open, and the walls are simple stained wood and paint.

Check out the full story here.

Iceberg

Next we travel to Montreal, Canada to view a project by ATOMIC3. Montreal is the deemed the culture capital of Canada, and this project is no exception. In my opinion it hearkens back to the childhood curiosity. The project is an architectural form, but doubles as an interactive light and sound display. As you move through the various zones, certain things happen, whether it lights flash or sounds are made.

The reason for the name is that the idea of the project is intended to show the life cycle of an iceberg, from birth in the Arctic circle all the way down to the warmer waters where it eventually melts. As people move through the iceberg skeletons, they are transformed by motion-sensor-controlled lights and sounds that are inspired by the true sounds icebergs make as they melt. There is a really cool video that goes along with the article that I encourage you to check out, because it really helps to illustrate what I'm talking about.

Check out the full story here.

Daqing Highway Passenger Transportation Hub

Coming to us from Daqing, China, the Daqing Highway Passenger Transportation Hub is the epitome of state of the art. It almost seems as if there isn't a single straight edge on the entire building. Huge long sweeping lines along the exterior façades provide a wonderful contrast between the uniform square windows.

Located in the northern alpine zone of China, the building attempts to show a cultural staple of the region, the snow and ice (quite successfully, I might add). Its exterior lines almost look like snow drifts and ice sweeping along the façade. While the main building is three stories, the tower is fourteen, and helps to break through the mold of a traditional traffic pavilion.

Check out the full story here.

ANIMA Cultural Center Proposal

Our final project comes to us from Bernard Tschumi Architects. His first project in Italy, the ANIMA Cultural Center Proposal is a "cultural, social and architectural generator of events". The large open permeable space is both flexible for many uses and welcoming, while the façade helps to encourage creativity and an open mind.

ANIMA, a name given by Tschumi, is actually an acronym which stands for Art, Nature, Ideas, Music, Action. The full article has sketches, renderings, and some serious detail that is definitely work giving a look.

Check out the full story here.


Thanks for tuning into another episode, and hope to see you this Friday! read more

Just so you all know, there will not be a "This Week in Architecture" episode this week. I have a big review next Wednesday and have been focusing on getting everything done for it. See you next Friday!

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Welcome to another episode of This Week in Architecture!

Centra Metropark

Starting off, we head to Iselin, NJ to visit the Centra Metropark office building designed by KPF. One of the cool things that appealed to me here was that I have been to the Metropark area a good number of times. Whether it's picking up a family member after a trip or heading into NYC myself, it's sometimes the best place to come to. To see such a cool building inhabit an area that is in desperate need of revitalization is very cool.

The natural daylighting strategies should be noted, as in some places portions of the building are cut out to allow light in. This is especially relevant for me right now; in studio we are designing a museum and one of the key elements is figuring out how natural daylighting will work.

Check out the full story here.

 CityLife Milano

Moving on to Milan Italy, a project entitled CityLife Milano designed by Zaha Hadid Architects is underway. While the complex contains some more or less normal skyscrapers, the one that strands out the most is the middle one, bending at the waist and almost appears to be bowing down to onlookers. It blows my mind that structural systems even work for stuff like that.

Zaha Hadid certainly stays true to her usual style of design, with bright white surfaces and chaotic (and seeming engineering nightmares) structural forms. Despite the strange appearance, I actually quite like the complex, and the interior renderings are absolutely pristine.

Check out the full story here.

Piraeus Underwater Antiquities Musem

There is no real designer here (as there are tons) but a good many people participated in a competition to build an underwater antiquities museum. The museum was to be both functional and visually stimulating, becoming a landmark for the city and a source of "quality tourism and sustainability.

This article is great because it shows tons of other competitors. I think there are a lot of people (most especially students) that don't take the time or the effort to work on competitions, and it's really a great way to keep in practice with design!

Check out the full story here.

Third Wave Kiosk

Lastly we head to Torquay, Australia to see the Third Wave Kiosk designed by Tony Hobba Architects. Generally these types of little beach shacks don't interest me too much, but this one caught my eye for a very specific reason: the lighting. On the night photos/renderings, the light shoots up along the walls from a portal in the ground. Pretty cool stuff.

I have to say, the design fits in well with the beach. It is unobtrusive, and really goes along well; it looks like it belongs there. The architects made sure that it went along with its environmental setting, but also was able to engage in the beach culture. It's pretty challenging to pull off a tiny kiosk center made to serve many people, but it is certainly well-executed here.

Check out the full story here.


Well, that's going to do it for this episode. Thanks for tuning in, and hope you stop by next week! If you liked this, don't forget to tweet, share, or email it to your friends!

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For many students out there, it is getting exceedingly difficult to find jobs, internships, or other ways that gain you valuable experience and give you the opportunity to showcase your skills to potential employers. The thing about the field of architecture is that it is certainly not like riding a bike -- in order to impress employers and teachers you need to always hunger for more, whether that is learning or gaining experience through work. Experience, above everything else is probably the most valuable thing you can have on your résumé, apart from a professional degree in the field. But nowadays, many students (including myself) are struggling with ways to gain experience and showcase talent and design prowess.

Awhile back I joined a group on LinkedIn that regularly posts links from "The Competitions Blog", a blog that makes its subscribers aware of a huge number of competitions in the architectural world. Whether you work by yourself or work with a team, this is a fantastic way to open your mind to new design challenges, and really get a chance to see what you're made of in terms of design. As is with all competitions, they cost money, but as I'm quickly finding out, experience in the world far exceeds the monetary value of the cost of the competition. Besides, every now and again it's certainly doable to spill out 50 bucks here and there for a competition. Naturally, the experience is entirely invaluable if you do well in the competition, as you not only can put that on your résumé, but gain some great exposure as a designer from it.

And so on that note I would highly recommend that you check out "The Competitions Blog" and subscribe via email to get new competitions when they come out. At the very least, it's neat to see what sorts of competitions are out there; and if you see something that strikes your fancy, design away! read more

Welcome to another episode of This Week in Architecture. This episode will talk about religious architecture, renovations, new horizons, and even a sort of self-examination. Enjoy!

St. Alfred's Church

Coming to us all the way from Blackburn North, Victoria, Australia, is St. Alfred's Church, designed by Studio B Architects.  Unlike most religious architecture, this church certainly breaks the mold. An expansion of a previous 45-year-old building, the combination church/education building is simple yet unique. The giant white "tower" with a cross serves as an easy way to spot the landmark.

Most would assume that sustainable design requires large amounts of capital that will pay itself off ten and twenty years into the future, but the church had a relatively small budget to work with. Despite the lack of working capital, sustainable features like natural cooling and solar heating help create comfortable internal conditions year-round.

It is a prime example of taking a project's surroundings into consideration, since the entryway faces directly toward a shopping mall, acting as an invitation for the community. Linking back to the surrounding area in a project is, in my opinion, one of the harder things to do when designing.

Check out the full story here.

UT Visual Arts Center

Locate in Austin, Texas, USA, we now visit the University of Texas Visual Arts Center designed by Lake|Flato Architects. The building re-uses the former Blanton Art Musem space to create "a community hub for the Department of Art and Art History." From the outside, the center looks like a pretty standard building, aside from the entryway. However once inside, the viewer is exposed to enormous barrel vaulted ceilings, large monolithic forms and of course, the standard museum white walls.

The plan is to use the renovated space for a combination of three purposes: exhibition space of faculty and student work, administrative offices, and four studio spaces for graduate students.

Check out the full story here.

Thomson Cottage Renovations and Addition

Jumping back to surrounding Aussie territory, we now travel to New Plymouth, New Zealand where we find the Thomson Cottage, an existing railway cottage. Renovation designs took place under architect Bonnifait + Giesen to extend the roof life, increasing the square footage and creating enough vertical space for an office mezzanine space.

Interestingly enough, the façade facing the street was left virtually untouched. Most of the work was done in and on other parts of the house.

I personally have always been a fan of mezzanine / loft levels, which are intriguing because they bring multiple floors together. There is not only a visual connection, but a visual one too. In this case, having an office on the upper level would mean that you are not locked away in a closed-off cubicle, but still can have some interaction with any activity below.

Check out the full story here.

New London Airport

Moving to London, UK, the Mayor has selected Zaha Hadid Architects to develop a design for a new major airport in southeast England. This plan is supposed to help solve the aviation crisis in Britain. Now, if you're like me, you don't know very much about the aviation crisis in the UK (I had not even heard about it before).

Like other airline industries, the UK is struggling to make profits in light of recessionary spending habits. With less people boarding planes, airlines are forced to impose charges for fuel, extra baggage, and other taxes that simply were never there. As if that weren't enough, the larger airports like Heathrow (which anyone can agree is a nightmare if they've been there) simply can't accommodate the capacities that are going through. There are too many planes coming in and out from other international destinations.

While the British economy suffers, a new airport in the right place with the right capacity could be a big move to bring back prosperity. [Note: if any of these facts are wrong, let me know and I'll fix them! Did my best to do the research and bring in factual information]

With all that said, ZHA did what they do best in designing their Zagreb Airport Competition proposal and designed something very organic, and very white. It will be interesting to see this airport hopefully  come to fruition in coming years.

Check out the full story here.

Understanding End-User

The next article is less of an actual design but rather a self-examination of architects' understanding of what might be one of the most useful concepts in design: the end-user. As designers, we all strive to have a certain effect on those who experience spaces we construct. But in years of late, as the general population changes, do we still understand what the end-user really wants? Do we have evidence to back up our conclusions or do we simply design and with convinced justifications of things that aren't true any longer?

So what are your thoughts? Do we truly understand the people that we design for or is that just something we say?

Check out the full story here.


Thanks for tuning in to another episode of This Week in Architecture. See you next week!

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Continuing the articles for this week!

Essence Financial Building

A recent competition has determined OMA the winner of a skyscraper competition in Shenzhen, China, beating out four other entries by both international and Chinese practices. This will be OMA's second tower in Shenzhen (the first will be the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, expected to be completed by April 2013)

The firm expressed their excitement of being involved to further the development of the city, and especially so in being a part of a drastic change in the city, from 'a manufacturing city into a services hub'. The new necessity for services means that the city can really become a center of towers, of which the new financial building would be one.

The coolest part of the design is the giant open space about halfway up the building, which acts as a platform overlooking the Shenzhen Golf Club. The fact that it's shaded by the top half of the building means that there is plenty of opportunities for just about anything, even if the weather is poor!

Check out the full story here.

New Jerusalem Orphanage

Shipping container architecture is, in my opinion, one of the up-and-coming styles of architecture. It may not be the prettiest thing you've ever seen, but in terms of repurposing, it's about one of the coolest options.

4D and A Architects took this concept and not only repurposed old shipping containers, but actually turned it into a vibrantly colored orphanage for South African orphans. The outside includes playful colors, while the inside mixes more muted tones with bright accents. The containers are fully furnished on the inside, and, had you not been able to see the ribbed walls of the container, look just like a normal living space!

The orphanage was originally established in 2000 to care from children who had been abandoned because of poverty, HIV, or other social problems. Because of the large amount of children, they needed a new place to house the kids, and 4D and A Architects were enlisted.

Check out the full story here.

Hurricane Sandy Relief

This story really hit close to home, as I grew up and still have my permanent address in central Jersey. Hurricane Sandy really devastated the shore, and not many people know that the cleanup and rejuvenation effort will take years. Boardwalks were wiped out, homes destroyed. Some towns close to leveled. The summer tourism industry is one of Jersey's biggest contributors to income, and that industry is going to be seriously hurt this summer, and many summers to come.

However, Governor Cuomo of New York is attempting to put together a plan for those whose homes were ravaged in NYC's coastal region. First, obviously is the money to help aid those with damaged homes cover the bills. But more importantly, there is a goal to help create a natural barrier to storm surges in the future, with everything from flood gates to barrier reefs.

With over 300,000 New York homes destroyed by flooding, winds or fires during the storm, it is imperative that there is a plan for future storms of this caliber. This may not be closely architecture related, but it's good to see that the homes and communities are really going to have lots of aid going their way to keep them going.

Check out the full story here.

Infinity Tower

Moving to the luxurious city of Dubai, SOM is working on a 73 story skyscraper which began construction in 2006 and is finally getting close to completion. The tower's defining characteristic is the a full 90 degree twist from bottom to top (that's 1.2 degrees of rotation per floor).

SOM claims that in order for a building to survive, 'the exterior form must be a direct expression of its structural framework.' The building is just that, but with some really amazing visuals. The spiral shape is designed to expressed the always-changing shapes of the deserts, winds and seas in the area.

When completed, the tower will be the tallest twisting tower in the world (Dubai's architecture has a knack for breaking some serious records).

Check out the full story here.

HAT

HAT is the home base for Komada Architects, located in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan. It is a small residence built in front of the gate of a large park in Tokyo, and quite honestly, look far more like a small modern suburbanite home than a representation of Japanese architecture.

The first floor is extremely open, offering easy circulation between the external and internal space. The second floor fits over the top like a hat, offering a very secluded and private residency for the family. The contrast between the two spaces is, in my opinion one of the coolest things about the building.

Check out the full story here.


Thanks for tuning in this week; hope you enjoyed part ii, stay tuned next week for episode V!

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Welcome to a monster edition of "This Week in Architecture". So large, that it will be split in two! The reason? First, why not? And second, I know I skimped a little last week. Plus, lots of cool things are happening this week!

Interior Light-Single Family Housing

Designed by Viraje Architects, this single-family home sits in beautiful Valencia, Spain, home of the famed Tomatina Festival. While appearing quite simple from the outside, the inside includes a wide open floor plan, lots of glass walls and a seemingly endless amount of space. There is a glassed off internal courtyard, and this is the defining aspect behind the design of each floor.

Now, maybe it's just the perfectly white walls with striking black accents, but I love this house. Of course, we see it without all the furniture and natural amount of junk that people generally bring with them when they move. However, I think seeing the wonderful open spaces before moving in might actually inspire me to leave a lot behind and really cut down on the amount of things I have.

The final thing that is notable is the sliding doors -- there are multiple sliding doors that actually slide into the doors, hidden away as if they were never there in the first place!

For many more pictures, check out the full story here.

Coupled House

It seems this week that residencies were really piquing my interest. Our next story comes from Tokyo Japan, where Naoi Architecture and Design Office have designed the Coupled House. While this home also contains lots of stark white walls, there is a warmth brought to it all with the rich-grained wood.

The original project was actually a renovation on a small plot in an existing neighborhood. Since many other homes in the area had also been recently refurbished, NADO made sure to preserve the scale of the home, but gave it a completely new face.

In Japanese culture, gardens and courtyards play a huge role in the home. They help to connect people to the outside world, most notably their neighbors. This helps foster new relationships among the group and allow new ones to blossom. It even helps to relieve stress caused by claustrophobia and oppressiveness. In order to use this same sort of concept in a living space, the home has lots of empty spaces that aren't really defined for a particular use or purpose. In a way, these almost become the gardens of the indoors, allowing for interpersonal interaction and a strong realization of the other inhabitants in the home.

Japanese culture intrigues me, and seeing how it affects the design process is really interesting. The "coupled" portion of the name comes from the connection of these spaces not only to each other, but to the inhabitants, and also from one inhabitant to another. The entire home revolves around connections, whether internal or external.

Check out the full story here.

The Timmelsjoch Experience

We now jump to Brenner Pass, Italy to see the Timmelsjoch Experience, designed by Werner Tscholl Architects. On first thought of Italy, I would imagine there aren't many of us picturing steep mountain faces and snow-covered fields. Instead, most focus on the intrigue of Venice, the legacy of the papacy and Rome, and the mild climate of the Mediterranean. And yet here we have a museum that looks like it almost literally sits in the middle of nowhere.

The Timmelsjoch is a large indentation in the Alpine ridge between the Reschen Pass and the Brenner Pass. Where an old mule road once laid, a highway now exists, with architectural sculptures popping up at several stopping places along the road, existing as a place for travelers to learn about the surrounding area and its history. There are, altogether, five sculptures, two on the Austrian side, and two on the Italian side. The final exists at the highest point both as a sculpture and a museum. Should you ever be driving from Austria to Italy or vice versa, this is definitely worth a stop.

Check out the full story here.

Masonic Amphitheatre Project

We move across the pond to the States, where the Masonic Amphitheatre Project in Clifton Forge, Virginia was recently announced as the 2012 American-Architects Building of the Year. Designed and constructed by the design/buildLAB at Virginia Tech's School of Architecture + Design, it's simple structure provides an entirely new way to experience whatever might be going on onstage.

Husband and wife team Marie and Keith Zawistowski (who studied under Samuel Mockbee at Auburn's Rural Studio) now head up the third-year architecture studio known as design/build. The new theatre replaces an old truck tire facility and gives visual mention to Clifton Forge's past as a railroad town. It was extremely well-received by the town, and, given the award, well received by the nation as well!

The runner-up of American-Architects Building of the Year is also mentioned in the article.

Check out the full story here.

Non-Design: Architecture's (Counter-Intuitive) Future

The title is what caught my eye on this one, and upon further inspection, the article talks about the need for simple design to be a solution for the poverty-stricken homeless. How simple could a building really get in order to save these people from living on the street? Surely they don't need much. And while many might argue that designing a super simplistic house isn't really design at all but the lack thereof, it's something that really might become a necessity in the future.

One of the more notable quotes that I found in the article was the ability to "change everything without changing anything". What an interesting concept: no one is trying to relocate people, change their lives, take everything away; but rather they are given an option, and a true space they can call their own. The Quinta Monroy development in Chile helps this idea along significantly. Though simple concrete boxes from the outside, the homes (which only cost $7500 for both land and a house; far less than most people's cars in the States) are stacked apartment-style dwellings with a bathroom, kitchen, and empty space.

So what do you think? Is this really the future of architecture? Designing futuristic marvels is all well and good (though extremely expensive) but when it comes down to basic practicality, what can we do there?

Check out the full story here.


Keep your eyes peeled for the second part of this week's episode, which will be posted either later tonight or first thing tomorrow. Thanks for reading!

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