- A powerful, eloquently-argued essay by Tim Abrahams. that takes apart the Stadium for London 2012 piece by piece, providing fascinating insight into the process by which this strange structure was designed and built. Drawings by the excellent illustrator and architect Nigel Peake.
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Category Archives: Engineering
Inspiration: Nigel Peake
I have been following the work of illustrator Nigel Peake since I published his student thesis in the Scottish architecture magazine Prospect just before he won a Silver Commendation in the RIBA President’s Medal in 2005. Since then he has … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Art, Engineering, Uncategorized
Tagged blackfriars, bridges, kennington, London, nigel peake, vauxhall
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Taste And The Tower
I want to say something about the history of the relationship between towers and the Olympic Games, leading to a few comments on the outpourings of disgust around the ArcelorMittal Orbit. It is often forgotten that this began with the … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Art, Engineering, Interview
Tagged anish kapoor, arcelormittal, boris johnson, cecil balmond, eiffel, Olympics, orbit, tower
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Interview: Cecil Balmond
Cecil Balmond is a Sri Lankan born, British designer, engineer, artist, architect, and writer. Known for his close collaborations with architects, such as Toyo Ito on the Serpentine Pavilion and Rem Koolhaas on the Casa da Musica in Porto and … Continue reading
Posted in 2012, Design, Engineering, Interview
Tagged AGU, arcelormittal, arup, cecil balmod, james stirling, london 2012, non-linear, orbit, rem koolhaas
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Interview: Yona Friedman
What are your views on planning? I am very much against planning. We are now in a worldwide crisis due to overplanning. I am against overplanning. Planning means that you consider every event possible. Except an event which is unexpected … Continue reading
Posted in Engineering, Interview, Urbanism
Tagged archigram, cedric price, getty, high-speed rail, los angeles, sarkozy, transrapid, unesco, yona friedman
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The World’s First Printed Building
In a small shed on an industrial park near Pisa is a machine that can print buildings. The machine itself looks like a prototype for the automotive industry. Four columns independently support a frame with a single armature on it. … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Engineering
Tagged 3D printing, andrea morgante, enrico dini, norman foster, pisa, radiolaria
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Open Source Design
London’s design scene has been dominated by designers working with craft techniques such as knitting. This has led to a kind of fetishisation of the handmade, a strange pre-reccession moment when the market for one-off handmade design bizarrely fed into a … Continue reading
Posted in Design, Engineering
Tagged brackets, bruce mau, design, droog, eindhoven, grid, linux, open source, open structures, plates, thomas lommee, wikipedia
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A Ballardian Shard?
This is a great documentary by the film-maker Simona Piantieri, which I contributed to. I think she gets a great range of voices who actually provide an insight into the building. I think I’ve modified my views on it as … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Engineering, Urbanism
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A Cathedral Dedicated to Excrement
As London’s sewer system accepts into its gaping maw a huge autumnal deluge, it is worth sparing a thought for those who created it. The Metropolitan Board of Works was created in 1855 to improve the cities infrastructure ‘under the … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, 2012, Engineering
Tagged Architecture, Urbanism, Bazalgette, John Lyall, London, sewage, Olympics, Metropolitan Board of Words, design
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Northern Seascapes
Posted in Architecture, Engineering
Tagged Architecture, gareth hoskins, marintek, snøhetta, V&A
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