Category: Architecture|Design

  • What Makes Paris Look Like Paris?

    Recently on this blog we have talked about the cognitive mapping of a city, exploring how individuals see and record their own neighborhoods. As I write this I can’t help but recall Kevin Lynch’s The Image of the City.  He analyzed the organization of cities and subsequently pointed out the way we navigate through these spaces.…

  • Homes for Artists

    WRITTEN BY ALINE FADER In New York, gentrification has often occurred due to creative professionals and artists moving into neighborhoods that have been neglected by real estate interests and making them attractive due to their sweat investments and cultural programming of the area. Usually this results in more affluent populations moving in and displacing the…

  • Château de Chenonceau, France

    The Château de Chenonceau located outside Tours, France is probably one of the smallest of chateaus in France, but what it lacks in size it makes up in its beautiful location. It spans the River Cher in the Loire Valley. It was built in the early 15th century as a small manor house, and then was expanded…

  • River Envy

    On a recent trip to Munich, I suffered from a severe case of river envy. It was fairly hot weather for a Friday in July and my friends that I was visiting decided to play hooky from work. Taking a leisurely bike ride from the center of the city south along the Isar river, a…

  • The Sandpit

    The Sandpit is a cool depiction of a day in the life of New York City urban landscape. Sam O’Hare’s short film recorded in 35,000 stills on Vimeo has won the 2012 Webby Awards for Best Viral, and the 2010 Prix ARS Electronica Award of Distinction. Sam O’Hare has a degree in architecture from UK and…

  • Santiago Calatrava: a better bridge designer than an architect

    I recently visited Calatrava’s City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain.  This huge complex was built in the bed of the river Turia, which was diverted after a devastating flood in 1957.  Shortly after, the riverbed was converted into a park to showcase the work of the Valencia native, Santiago Calatrava.  The park has one…