Architecture Desk

Art in Architecture

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From the Architecture Desk

There's a genre in sculpture that I've grown to love over the years and that's three dimensional art that's incorporated into architecture. My favorites are the abstract shapes that clearly represent a mood or ideal an otherwise boring building.

Just a reminder that when you're world building you can say a lot about the culture of the society you're portraying by one or two properly placed building sculptures.

Someone put together a fully stocked album of art in architecture over on Flickr. That's where I found these. Check out hundreds more here: LINK

-Jake

Experimental Ball Apartments from the 1980s

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From the Architecture Desk

Back in the early 80s an artist and sculptor had an idea for an experimental settlement of extraterrestrial looking buildings, and somehow convinced some investors to get the money to build it.

That visionary was Dutch artist, Dries Kreijkamp, and his masterpiece was something he called the "bolwoningen." Bolwoningen roughly translates to "ball apartment" which is fitting because Kreijkamp recognized the shape of a sphere as the most organic and natural form in nature.

As something of a sphere artist myself (see half my robot designs above) I love these quirky little abodes.

More photos here: LINK LINK LINK​

-Jake

Javier Senosiain Aguilar Casa Orgánica

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From the Architecture Desk

Casa Orgánica, a concept house by Mexican architect Javier Senosiain somehow looks cozy, prehistoric, and futuristic all at the same time. For the homewner who's always saying, "Pshhhh, who needs straight lines?!"

Senosiain says the house was inspired by the shape of a peanut shell: "two roomy oval spaces with a lot of light, connected by a low, narrow, dimly lit passageway."

It doesn't just look super interesting, it actually is psychologically functional: "he idea for this proposal was based on the elemental functions required by man: a place to live and fellowship with others, which would include a living room, dining room, and kitchen, and another place for sleeping, with a dressing room and bath. The original concept is embodied in two large spaces: diurnal and nocturnal."

More photos and info here: LINK

-Jake

Recycled Cast Aluminum Wall Tiles

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From the Architecture Desk

Want to add a sci-fi ancient alien twist to your interior design? These recycled cast aluminum wall tiles designed by sculptor/architect David Umemoto should do the trick.

David says "Sand-casted aluminum (after concrete) is definitely my favorite material. It has a great combination of elegant shininess and industrial roughness."

Pretty cool look if you ask me.

More here: LINK​

And here: LINK LINK

-Jake

Expired Mansions​

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​From the Architecture Desk

I found this incredible photo album on Flickr of abandoned mansions and castles around Europe. They are the work of photographer Benjamin Wiessner. There's not much online about this guy that I could find in a cursory search, but there's plenty of photos of vacant, decrepit buildings and awe inducing locations attributed to him.

I love urban (and in this case sub-urban) exploration. Creeping through abandoned places, piecing together why these ghost homes were vacated fills my mind with stories and things I want to draw. When I can't do it in person, I live vicariously through people like Wiessner who generously share the wonders they see with us.

Check out 75 more expired mansions in his Flickr album here: LINK

-Jake

The Fab Lab

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​From the Architecture Desk

The Fab Lab is a maker space and studio office for Roth Architecture located in the Yucatán peninsula. Designed to look like it organically grew out of the jungle, this place looks more like an alien home than an office space.

Tons more photos and info here: LINK​

Roth Architecture specializes in these kinds of buildings. Check out the rest of their projects here: LINK

-Jake​

House Cave

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From the Architecture Desk

Found this cool House Cave designed by Spanish Architect office UMMO Estudio.

I love seeing how people incorporate dwellings into the landscape and cave houses are one of my favorite subgenre of living spaces.

This whole space just looks cozy and safe. Though I can imagine there's all kinds of bugs that want to live there too, haha.

More photos and info here: LINK

-Jake

The Sculpted Architecture of Jacques Couëlle

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From the Architecture Desk

Self-taught French architect Jacques Couëlle was a polarizing figure in the world of mid century architecture. Eschewing the straightlines and minimalism that was in voque at the time, Couëlle saw the building as a sculpture and in 1962 created the masterpiece Castellaras estate in Mouans-Sartoux, France.

Couëlle work blurs the line between sculpture and architecture and I really dig it.

More images here: LINK​

Related from the blog: LINK LINK

-Jake

Völkerschlachtdenkmal

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From the Architecture Desk

​The Völkerschlachtdenkmal is a German monument constructed in 1913 honoring the Battle of Nations in Leipzig.​

It caught my eye as I was surfing Flickr a few months ago, and I've been thinking about its style and grandeur since. I love the scale of this thing. It is massive.

If the design doesn't look explicitly European to you it's because of unlike many monuments and buildings of the era, the monument lacks classicist style elements, instead borrowing from the architecture of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt.*​

I really love the aesthetic. And it's directly influencing an illustration I've got on the drawing board today.

More images and history about it here: LINK​

and LINK

-Jake

The French Communist Party Headquarters

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From the Architecture Desk

The French Communist Party headquarters in Paris designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer looks like a set for a sci-fi film. Georges Pompidou, the right-wing French president at the time this was built had this to say about it “it was the only good thing those Commies have ever done.” haha.

I think it's pretty cool too. Definitely good inspiration for making set pieces more cool.

You can read more about this place here: LINK​

-Jake

The Bloomhouse

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From the Architecture Desk

Found a cool house in located in the hills of West Austin. This was a collaboration between two friends in the 70's: Dalton Bloom and Charles Harker who wanted to build a house that was not only unique, but was eco friendly, and would stand the test of time. 50 years later the Bloomhouse is still standing, and now YOU can stay the night there.

You know I love this kind of stuff. This thing looks like it grew out of the ground made up of equal parts fungus and elf magic.

Better photos and history here: LINK​

-Jake

Dai Heiwa Kinen Tō

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From the Architecture Desk

Dai Heiwa Kinen Tō (translated: The Great Peace Prayer Tower), is a cenotaph tower in Japan. It'd dedicated to "the souls of all war victims in history, regardless of race, ethnic group, sovereign state, border, region, religion, religious denomination and creed."

This is such a bizarre direction for a monument and I love that it exists.

More info here: LINK

-Jake

Stargazing in Style

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Department of Space Exploration in cooperation with the Architecture Desk

Out in The-Middle-of-Nowhere, France, nestled in the rocky grasslands is a tiny village of telescope buildings specifically designed for stargazing.

This is like the perfect mix of everything I love: weird bubble architecture, elaborate machines, scientists hiding out in the wastelands, and space.

Chefs kiss!

(Via: Messy Nessy Chic)

Related: Pascal Hausermann​

-Jake

Scale Model of Imperial Rome

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From the Office of Scale Models

Planning on visiting Rome? Put this on your list of thing to see: LINK

This really gets me excited. I've been infatuated with miniature scenes and tiny sets ever since I was a little boy. My grandpa had a scale model of a small town with a train going through it. It was top of my todo list of things to check out when I'd go visit him. My favorite part of Mister Roger's Neighborhood was the end and beginning where the camera pans across the scale model of Mister Roger's neighborhood. If there's something like this at a visitors center, a museum, or a road side tourist attraction you bet I'm stopping to check it out.

This particular model took 35 years to build. It was the project of Italian architect Italo Gismondi. Look at the level of detail, and the overall scale of this thing!

-Jake

Pascal Hausermann

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From the Architecture Desk

Sitting squarely on the aforementioned crossroads of timelessness and futuristic is the work of architect Pascal Hausermann.

I've seen his work pop up every now and again in places online but I never tracked it back to the source. This stuff is incredible and lightyears ahead of his time. I think his design philosophy is leapfrogging over earth based structures and is inspiring what humans might be living in on the moon or Mars. They say his work is a processor to the blobitecture movement. I think it transcends it.

That last photo is my favorite. Seeing his building succumbing to time and nature makes them it all the more beautiful in my opinion.

A lot more images here: LINK​

Note: I'm pretty sure this guy inspired the architecture seen in the comics of Masimune Shirow. I've been studying Shirow's Appleseed and Dominion lately (his non-naked lady work) getting inspiration and ideas for panel layouts for the comic I'm currently working on.

-Jake

Check out this Spanish Apartment Complex

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From the Architecture Desk in cooperation with the Photography Desk

​La Muralla Roja is a post modern apartment complex in Spain deigned by Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill. I could take or leave most of his work, but La Muralla Roja looks incredible.

Even more so through the eyes of a skilled photographer. Ludwig Favre took these photos and treated them with a little color magic in Photoshop making this place feel otherworldly.

You can see more photos of this place here: LINK​

And the rest of Favre's work is remarkable. Check it out here: LINK​

-Jake

Japanese Tōmyōdai

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From the Department of Creative Bank Accounting, Architecture Desk

I learned about Japanese lighthouses this week. Most of the lighthouses you'll see in Japan look like traditional western style light houses. In the Meiji era Scottish engineer Richard Henry Brunton supervised the building of 26 of them and established a system of lighthouse keepers. Prior to his influence, Japanese lighthouses looked like this:

There's only a handful of these left and they aren't very well known. All of these are Edo period and look distinctly Japanese. I love the squared off and squatty look to them.

For some reason whenever I've thought of lighthouses I always thought of the traditional New England cylindrical style. It never occurred to me that other cultures would need to have solved the same problem and would've done it in their own style. Something to think about next time you sit down to design a spaceship or castle. Try to think about how this particular alien or fantasy race would approach the problem and let that influence the design, from the bones up.

(Via @UrbanFoxxx)

-Jake