Last week saw the opening of the newly refurbished Tate Britain, which was much acclaimed by art and architecture lovers alike. The Millbank riverside main entrance was re-opened and the central entrance space underneath the rotunda was transformed by Caruso St John Architects into a stunning three-storey space connecting the lower ground floor via a spiral…
A tweet in my timeline yesterday made me think about the relationship between buildings and their effects and implications, or in short: what buildings do and don’t do. Here is the original statement: Chinese game company’s HQ – beautiful + encourages serendipitous interactions = awesome wired.com/design/2013/01… — Ben Waber (@bwaber) March 17, 2013 Now, there…
I recently stumbled upon a series of photographs I took last summer, on a gloriously sunny day, visiting the Serpentine Pavilion 2012 in London, which was constructed by the architects Herzog de Meuron and the artist Ai Weiwei. It was nice to be reminded of summer in the current winter gloom, but I was also…
A recently published research paper on ‘A holistic multi-level analysis identifying the impact of classroom design on pupils’ learning’, written by Professor Peter Barrett and his team at Salford University has created quite a stir in mainstream media and received lots of attention. Among other outlets, it featured prominently in the Guardian, on dezeen, Wired…
I’ve recently had the pleasure to visit a hospital in The Netherlands on a research trip and was very impressed with the ways in which the Orbis Medical Centre in Sittard was organised – spatially as well as culturally. Orbis clearly aims at doing things differently in Healthcare and as such can teach us a…
Several months after the opening of the new concourse of Kings Cross Station, now that the initial hype is over, I’ve finally had the chance to go and have a closer look at how the new station works. Designed by John McAslan and Partners and engineered by Arup, the new station was mostly praised for…
I cannot remember when it was or in which context exactly. But some time ago, somewhere, somehow, someone mentioned to me how odd it is that architecture is always photographed and presented under certain conditions: 1) perfect weather, i.e. blue skies, or alternatively: 2) at night or dawn, 3) no trace of usage, 4) no…
The other day I passed by Apple’s flagship store in Covent Garden/London and was almost magically pulled into it by its wondrous atmosphere. It is huge, open, filled with light and incredibly empty. By empty I don’t mean lacking visitors, as people were clearly playing around with the gadgets and computers on display (though there…
Alain de Botton’s latest book “Religion for Atheists” was published this week alongside a big media campaign with graphically stunning posters and the seemingly simple question ‘Even if religion isn’t true, can’t we enjoy the best bits? What I find interesting is the connection of a philosophical and maybe political question to an architectural statement.…
As part of ‘Workplace Week‘ I had the rare opportunity to visit Westminster Palace and see it through the eyes of a Facilities Manager, which was highly fascinating and intriguing. Andrew, Head of Facilities for the Parliamentary Estate guided us through Portcullis House, the building on the Embankment, where all MP’s have their offices, and…
spaceandorganisation 