Archives

Classics: Wolfsburg Cultural Center // Alvar Aalto

Architects: Alvar Aalto. Location: Wolfsburg, Germany. Year: 1962. Photography: wikiarchitecture, various. Alvar Aalto’s Wolfsburg Cultural Center in Wolfsburg, Germany, was constructed between 1959 and 1962. Wolfsburg is located 230 kilometres west of Berlin. It was created to offer a location for gatherings and cultural events as a small respite for the industrial town of Wolfsburg. The structure is divided […]

Classics: Olivetti Showroom // Carlo Scarpa

Architects: Carlo Scarpa. Location: Venice, Italy. Year: 1957. Photographs: seier+seier, patrizia_ferri, Orch_chemollo. The Olivetti Showroom by Carlo Scarpa was comissioned by Adriano Olivetti in the late 1950s and was used for decades. In 2011, it re-emerged as the display space for Olivetti products. Scarpa transformed the space from a dark alley into an open jewel box, featuring a strong marble staircase. […]

Classics: Seagram Building // Mies van der Rohe + Philip Johnson

Architects: Mies van der Rohe + Philip Johnson. Location: 375 Park Avenue, New York City,  USA. Project Year: 1958. Photographs:  various. The Seagram Building was designed by Mies van der Rohe in New York City and set a standard for the modern skyscraper. It was set back 100 feet from the street edge, creating an active open plaza […]

Classics: Søholm Row Houses // Arne Jacobsen

Architect: Arne Jacobsen. Location: Klampenborg, Denmark. Year: 1950. Arne Jacobsen, a Danish architect, created the Søholm Row Houses in Klampenborg, a small town north of Copenhagen, and they were finished in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The Søholm homes, together with his Bellavista complexes, contributed to Jacobsen’s rise to fame internationally. Sholm reflects the post-war trend for […]

Kaufmann House // Richard Neutra

Architect: Richard Neutra. Location: Palm Springs, California, United States. Year: 1947. Photographs: Thom Watson. Richard Neutra was one of the most significant if often overlooked architects of the 20th Century, working with Frank Lloyd Wright and Rudolf Schindler until 1930. He designed the Kaufmann House in Palm Springs, California, a vacation home for Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr. and his […]

Classics: Hurva Synagogue unbuilt // Louis Kahn

Architect: Louis Kahn.Location: Jerusalem, Israel. Year: 1968-1973. Photographs: various. In an ambitious project to replace the old Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, though not of course on the Temple Mound, Louis Kahn was hired to construct a synagogue. He was profoundly impacted by his work, which inspired sentiments of wonder and mystical or spiritual force in him. The sixteen […]

Classics: San Cataldo Cemetery // Aldo Rossi

Architects: Aldo Rossi. Location:  Modena, Italy. Year: 1971. Photographs: cosmicinspirocloud. The unfinished San Cataldo Cemetery by Aldo Rossi is often thought of as one of the first and most significant Postmodern structures. It consists of a conical tower designating a collective tomb and a cube-shaped ossuary for holding remains. The perimeter structures that enclose the courtyard have buildings with […]

Classics: Arango House // John Lautner

Architect: John Lautner. Location: Acapulco, Mexico. Year: 1973. Photographs: Jan-Richard Kikkert. The natural elements of the site, as well as the sense of space, water, and sky, served as inspiration for John Lautner’s Arango House design. This home was designed by John Lautner and Helena Arahuete. In 1973, this iconic piece of space-age organic architecture was developed. This stunning contemporary […]

Casa Barragán // Luis Barragán

Architect: Luis Barragán. Location: Mexico City, Mexico. Year: 1948. Photographs: Barragán Foundation. Luis Barragan is known for his emphasis on colour, light, shadow, form and texture, and the former residence of Pritzker Prize winner Luis Barragan encompasses all of his trademarks. The most prominent aspects of the design are the use of flat planes and light, both natural and […]

Classics: Can Lis // Jørn Utzon

Architect: Jørn Utzon. Location: Majorca, Spain. Year: 1972. Photographs:  Torben Eskerod. Can Lis is perched twenty metres above the Mediterranean Sea on a promontory. The structure of the home is made up of several pavilions that try to find the best orientation. Only a hall and a brick seat serve as the house’s entry, which is concealed by a […]