By National Building Museum Curator Deborah Moore Sorensen Detroit’s contraction over the past several decades has been like its expansion in the early 20th century: of a scale unlike any other American city. The notes offered here provide some context for the two Detroit photography shows, Detroit Is No Dry Bones: Photographs by Camilo José […]
By Andrew Caruso In 2012, the American Institute of Architects conferred its highest honor—the AIA Gold Medal—upon Steven Holl. Andrew Caruso had the opportunity to talk with Steven about his sources of inspiration, a mid-career enlightenment, and his recent recognition as one of the most celebrated “American” architects. Andrew Caruso: Balancing your practice with teaching
By Andrew Caruso With this interview we begin a series of conversations, “Inside the Design Mind,” with key architects, exploring the motivations of today’s design icons and influencers. This initiative is part of the National Building Museum’s intention to tell the story of our time through architecture, engineering, and design. Heroic. Contemplative. Grieving. Victorious. The
By Sarah Leavitt I never had an Easy Bake Oven as a kid. Maybe that’s why it was a special thrill when I got to buy one as an adult…as part of my job. The only problem is that I never had a chance to play with it. The classic domestic toy went right downstairs
By Andrew Caruso National Building Museum Online contributor Andrew Caruso interviewed Juhani Pallasmaa during his time as a professor in residence and 2011 Walton Critic at The Catholic University of America.Offering the design field some of its most poignant reflections, Juhani Pallasmaa has written and designed his way into the zeitgeist of architectural discourse. The
The igloo, of course, is the most famous of all snow buildings. They are mainly associated with the Inuit people, but have been found throughout the Canadian Arctic region as well as Greenland. Igloos are constructed of independent blocks of ice leaning on one other in a dome pattern. Although there may be extremely cold
Part 4 in a Series on Unbuilt Washington Unbuilt projects punctuate the history of modern Washington, and it is remarkable how quickly some of these proposals have been forgotten. Many Washingtonians, for instance, remember Frank Gehry’s design of 1999 for the extension of the Corcoran Gallery of Art and College of Art + Design, but
Part 3 in a Series on Unbuilt Washington Given the current political climate, it is hard to imagine an era in which elected officials and even private citizens from across the country were clamoring for the federal government to spend money on the beautification of Washington, but such was the case around the turn of
Part 2 in a Series on Unbuilt Washington Monuments and memorials, laden with symbolism as they are, often generate public controversy and elicit impassioned proposals from designers. The Washington Monument is a case in point, and the structure’s magnificent simplicity belies its tortured history. Pierre (Peter) L’Enfant’s original plan called for an equestrian monument to