Archive by Author
Carlo Scarpa: A Tactile Experience
A visit to a former Olivetti showroom in Venice, now a museum, yields new insights into Scarpa’s unique genius.
Image: Mark English Architects
by Rebecca Firestone with Mark English AIA
read more »
Alan Tse: Adaptive Modernism
“My first valuable opportunity for a signature 11-story high-rise condominium building was shattered by all 7 Planning Commissioners… 672 hours later, I transformed from a egotistic architectural designer into a humble-minded individual getting a career-long lesson.”
(Image courtesy Alan Tse)
by Rebecca Firestone with Mark English AIA
read more »
Archaeology of the Perverse: Damien Hirst at Punta della Dogana
Is “Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable” really the most expensive artistic flop in living memory, or are these art critics missing the real point?
Image: Mark English Architects
by Rebecca Firestone with Mark English AIA
read more »
Their Heads Are Green and Their Hands Are Blue: MDC
A correspondent from Mars visits the Monterey Design Conference. Who are these strange creatures called “architects”? Architects possess a unique language and culture all their own – a purpose and a place in the world.
Images: Mark English Architects and Sou Fujimoto
by Rebecca Firestone with Mark English AIA
read more »
Portuguese Modern: An Architectural Tour
“The Paula Rego House is all about form. The mechanical systems are so integrated with the building that they’re invisible.”
Image: Mark English Architects
by Rebecca Firestone with Mark English AIA
read more »
Mexico’s UNAM Campus: Revolution Past and Present
Mesoamerican motifs and revolutionary ideals live on in a dynamic fusion, at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México campus in Mexico City – an independent university with a rich and deep cultural heritage.
Image courtesy Mark English Architects.
by Rebecca Firestone with Mark English AIA
read more »
Sonja Trauss: Pro-Housing SF Candidate Advocates for Affordability
“San Francisco’s old guard wants to keep you out by preventing you from finding housing, which is driving rents sky-high. Why would you want to vote for them?”
by Rebecca Firestone with Mark English AIA
read more »
Mexico’s Vasconcelos Library: A Unique Building Concept
“ It’s an interesting building from the inside. The books hang from a ceiling structure in open cages. Visitors walk along bridges, catwalks, ramps, and stairways, all within a giant 70-foot shell. Inside, it’s clean and orderly, a refuge from the chaos outside.”
(Image: Mark English Architects)
by Rebecca Firestone with Mark English AIA
read more »
Lyon’s La Confluence District: Walking Tour
The French city of Lyon’s “La Confluence” is a bold island of modernity exists on a sliver of land between two rivers. “Part of the logic of making the architecture more bold is to make it interesting from all angles.” How does this compare with similar redevelopment efforts in San Francisco?
Image: Mark English Architects
by Rebecca Firestone with Mark English AIA
