British and Irish architects, artists and critics have selected the buildings that they look forward to seeing again after the coronavirus pandemic.
At present, much of the world is on lockdown, with millions of people confined to their own homes and travel severely restricted. However, once the pandemic is over, people will once again be free to visit their favourite buildings.
"The feel of cool marble under bare feet" is how architecture critic Michael Sorkin begins his list of Two Hundred and Fifty Things an Architect Should Know.
Sorkin, who died last month from complications due to Covid-19, would have understood the need for all the new digital initiatives to satisfy our creative cravings, yet it is impossible to replace how being in the presence of buildings can make us feel.
Louis Kahn's Salk Institute in San Diego, with its extraordinary setting and views, as well as its immense physical form, is the most powerful reminder of the importance of the direct encounter, said architect Jamie Fobert who recalled seeing it for the first time:
"As I walked across the near-empty surface of this public space, I felt lifted physically and opened up emotionally," he said. "Like walking into a Superstudio montage, a tabula rasa with the ocean at its edge, it was at once a surreal and completely tangible experience."
Artists Ben Langlands and Nikki Bell, whose exhibition at London's Soane Museum sets out to explore what buildings can tell us about contemporary society, have also found themselves thinking how the setting is as important as the architecture.
For them, it's Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer's Niteri Contemporary Art Museum in Rio de Janeiro. "It positively lifts the spirits and soars aloft!" they said.
"It's one of the most beautiful, audacious, and energising buildings we've visited," they continued.
"Poised between the city and the sea, mountains and the sky, it perfectly expresses the optimistic energy of Rio, a city where it often feels as though anything is possible, a city that has the power to lift the spirits at every turn with the drama of its incredible natural setting."
The ability to connect emotionally to our environment is fundamental to human experience, yet it is only at times like that we ask why certain places make us feel alive and human.
Architect Farshid Moussavi cites Yokohama Port Terminal, her first building as Foreign Office Architects.
Precht designs Parc de la Distance for outdoor social distancing
She emphasises that public buildings also contribute to social values and the quality of urban life.
"Its floors seem caring as they are covered with wood that has been meticulously laid down to adapt to the building's undulating geometry," she said ofthe port terminal. " They invite you to sit anywhere and relax."
Architecture is also about bringing people together.
For Simon Conder, best known for a series of exquisite houses on the remote Dungeness Beach in Kent, OMA's Casa de Musica in Porto reminds of him our temporary social distancing. "It's the most magical and sociable building I have ever been to," he said.
Buildings that connect with nature don't always have to be far away from home.
Architect Sarah Wigglesworth points out that a connection with nature can be as simple as having a garden to look at during months of self-isolation citing Peter Aldington's house at Turn End in Essex.
"The key is the garden - which is gorgeous - and whose presence is felt everywhere," she explained. "The house itself is simple and homely but with beautiful light and views of all kinds of nature. This is so important for mental wellbeing and connecting us to the natural cycles of the seasons."
Ellis Woodman, director of the Architecture Foundation says the building most imprinted on his mind right now is the ByeongsanseowonConfucian Academy in Korea because of the way "the building tells you about your place within the immediate community and the wider world".
"It is somewhere where diurnal and seasonal changes are felt very intensely something I know I am really going to miss being stuck indoors for the next few months," said Woodman.
At the time of writing, the Venice Architecture Biennale is still due to take place in August this year, a city were where the combination of colour, surface and light is a permanent inspiration for architects. But for John Tuomey of Dublin based O'Donnell +Tuomey, the city he is thinking about most is Rome.
"In these days of solitary retreat and social isolation, I find myself dreaming of the streets of Rome, my mind's eye strolling through the crowded spaces around the Pantheon," he said.
Every architect knows the Pantheon but for Tuomey it's not merely the building but the surrounding streets what he calls the "the sweet sense of clash between monumental presence and the continuity of everyday existence" that he misses.
This, he says, is "architecture and the city working off each other, a perfect cocktail of transcendent awe and civic cheer, one that makes us live in hope".
35 architects and designers contribute video messages to help launch Virtual Design Festival
Architects and designers have been responding to the coronavirus pandemic in a variety of positive ways including building hospitals, designing prefabricated intensive care units and making face shields.
Dezeen has launchedVirtual Design Festival, the world's first digital design festival, as a platform to bring the architecture and design world together to celebrate the culture and commerce of our industry, and explore how it can adapt and respond to extraordinary circumstances.
The rest is here:
Architects and critics chose their feel-good buildings - Dezeen
- Demolition of Mary Miss's art at Des Moines Art Center paused - The Architect's Newspaper - April 17th, 2024 [April 17th, 2024]
- AIANY and ASLANY announce transportation and infrastructure awards - The Architect's Newspaper - April 17th, 2024 [April 17th, 2024]
- Termites are nature's architects, building well-ventilated nests - Earth.com - April 17th, 2024 [April 17th, 2024]
- JSA/MIXdesign share its work for the Queens Museum and champion participatory design processes - The Architect's Newspaper - April 17th, 2024 [April 17th, 2024]
- County okays agreement with architect for renovation county office building - WspyNews - April 17th, 2024 [April 17th, 2024]
- hiroyuki ito architects' tenjincho place is a curving slice of nature in tokyo - Designboom - April 17th, 2024 [April 17th, 2024]
- An international competition seeks to find a design team for Helsinki's New Museum of Architecture and Design - The Architect's Newspaper - April 17th, 2024 [April 17th, 2024]
- Coachella debuts its 2024 art installations by Morag Myerscough, HANNAH, and Nebbia - The Architect's Newspaper - April 17th, 2024 [April 17th, 2024]
- New University of Mississippi Architect Contributes to 1000 Projects and Counting The Local Voice - The Local Voice - April 17th, 2024 [April 17th, 2024]
- Similar, but not the same: How qualifying as an architect differs between the US and UK - Building Design - April 17th, 2024 [April 17th, 2024]
- Charles E. Dagit Jr., award-winning architect, civic leader, and champion sailor, has died at 80 - The Philadelphia Inquirer - April 17th, 2024 [April 17th, 2024]
- Renowned architect to visit Stuckeman to juror student design competition - Penn State University - April 17th, 2024 [April 17th, 2024]
- Architects win citation for Raleigh County Sheriff's Office Headquarters design - MSN - April 17th, 2024 [April 17th, 2024]
- Trial begins for man accused of throwing Des Moines architect over a railing to his death in 2016 - KCCI Des Moines - April 17th, 2024 [April 17th, 2024]
- 'It will be breathtaking,' Notre Dame's chief architect says; iconic cathedral reopens Dec. 8 - Detroit Catholic - April 17th, 2024 [April 17th, 2024]
- The reflection of a city in motion. West Bund Orbit by Wutopia Lab | The Strength of Architecture | From 1998 - Metalocus - April 17th, 2024 [April 17th, 2024]
- The best new metal songs this week: April 12 2024 - Louder - April 17th, 2024 [April 17th, 2024]
- Architecture and the Right to Housing - Canadian Architect - April 17th, 2024 [April 17th, 2024]
- Architect Tipton Housewright Says Too Much Parking is 'Bad Urban Design' - CandysDirt.com - CandysDirt.com - April 17th, 2024 [April 17th, 2024]
- Why architects sorely need a new approach to resourcing projects - Architect's Journal - April 17th, 2024 [April 17th, 2024]
- former textile workshop transforms into modern machiya residence in kyoto - Designboom - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- MoDus Architects wraps school in tartan pattern for "warmth and familiarity" - Dezeen - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- Architect Eyal Weizman on Mapping Israel's Genocidal Campaign - Democracy Now! - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- Aural Art Show Brings Aestheticism to Architects - PantherNOW - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- 125 Greenwich Street by Rafael Violy Architects catches fire in Manhattan while under construction - The Architect's Newspaper - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- Barcelona Architects Association visit the Spotify Camp Nou works - FC Barcelona - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- Disagree Better Architects, Not Arsonists - National Governors Association - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- Construction Underway for Music Venue in Midtown Sacramento - San Francisco YIMBY - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- House of Reclaimed Gold / OutOfTheBox I Eco-Architects - ArchDaily - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- Baracco+Wright Architects realizes a light-filled back building - The Architect's Newspaper - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- HMC Architects is one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies of 2 - Fast Company - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- AE Works Announces Strategic Acquisition of WTW Architects, a Pillar in Pittsburgh's Architectural Legacy - StreetInsider.com - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- DINGWALL Streams ARCHITECTS' Bassist Ripping Through "Doomsday" - GearGods - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- Exclusive: Connie Booth, One of the Chief Architects of PlayStation's First-Party Studio System, Is Joining EA - IGN - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- Bookstore in the Blast Furnace / hyperSity architects - ArchDaily - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- The Dalmore Luminary Series 2024 Edition revealed - Wallpaper* - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- MAD Architects' Forthcoming Lishui Airport: a White-Feathered Bird Ready to Soar - Archilovers.com - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- Neon surprises await in this Cologne home by DIIIP architects - Yahoo Lifestyle UK - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- Count down to Architect'24, the ASEAN's largest building technology exposition - Nation Thailand - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- foster + partners designs 'the star,' a hollywood tower wrapped in spiraling gardens - Designboom - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- Kasper architects + associates Inc. seeks DDRB approval for facade renovation of Downtown office | Jax Daily Record - Jacksonville Daily Record - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Fernando Lara looks beyond famed architects to uncover deeper themes throughout history | Penn Today - Penn Today - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Photographing the BEM - The shared learning building (BEM) at cole Polytechnique - World-Architects - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Among the Clouds Art Center / Yuan Architects - ArchDaily - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- The Most Talented Landscape Architects in Arizona - Iconic Life - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Gallery of MVRDV, Orange Architects, and LOLA Unveil WrtZ Masterplan in the Netherlands - 2 - ArchDaily - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- MVRDV, Orange Architects, and LOLA Unveil WrtZ Masterplan in the Netherlands - ArchDaily - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Why Architects Should Watch "Perfect Days by Wim Wenders - Archilovers.com - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Croxatto and Opazo Architects front Chilean home with rotated terrace - Dezeen - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Exploring the Legacy of Modernist Landscape Architect Dan Kiley - ArchDaily - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Rethinking Marketing? The Rise of Narrative Architects | by Meir Amarin | Jan, 2024 - Medium - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Check Out This Ultra-Luxe Half-Floor Residence At One Thousand Museum By Zaha Hadid Architects Asking $8.5 Million - PROFILE Miami - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- 16 Materials Every Architect Needs to Know (And Where to Learn About Them) - ArchDaily - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Holcim and Zaha Hadid Architects team up to print circular bridge - Global Construction Review - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- MSG withdraws its application to build a Sphere in London - The Architect's Newspaper - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Kooo Architects designs rural hotel to blend with village in China - Dezeen - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Deep-finned colonnade frames home extension by Will Gamble Architects - Dezeen - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Designer and Architect Neri Oxman Accused of Plagiarism - Hyperallergic - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- With 'Hand and Machine,' architects revert to analogue forms of expression - STIRworld - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Ontario landscape architects seek legislative update for profession - qpbriefing.com - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Paying Tribute to the Influential Architects We Have Lost in 2023 - ArchDaily - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Five international work opportunities for architects and designers - Dezeen - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Architects OMA reinvent the art museum in Buffalo - The Globe and Mail - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Architect Shigeru Ban of Japan visits Maui to offer sustainable housing option in wake of wildfire - Maui Now - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- James Gunn shares photo of some of the DCU architects - Batman-News - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- MAD architects' nanhai art center in china emerges from the lake like endless ripple of water - Designboom - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- MAD Architects imagines Nanhai Art Center like "a continuous wave of water" in Foshan city - World Architecture Community - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Preliminary Application for 1581 University Avenue in Central Berkeley - San Francisco YIMBY - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Kapoor named new CEO of DMR Architects - ROI-NJ.com - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Kadre and Lehrer Architects team up for a new transitional housing community in Los Angeles - Archinect - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- sa Hjort Architects completes blocky home on Sweden's southern coast - Dezeen - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Repurposed Imperfection-Embraced Buildings - Trend Hunter - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Architects recommend awnings for temperature control, design accents - Palm Beach Daily News - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Vote for US Building of the Year 2023 - - World-Architects - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Client Solution Architects Achieves ISO Recertification for IT, InfoSec, Quality Management Systems; Tim Spadafore ... - ExecutiveBiz - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- The Multiple Facets of the Architect: Exploring the Works of lvaro Siza Vieira - ArchDaily - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Meet the American Institute of Architects' First Black Woman President - The Story Exchange - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Civic Architects and VDNDP "embrace imperfections" for university retrofit - Dezeen - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Architect Coke Florance Remembered for Influencing Nation's Capital and Colleagues - CoStar Group - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Five international work opportunities for architects and designers - MSN - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]