Architecture

Frankly, we do give a damn! Did it have to go? Read more.

• Guidelines for Historic Restoration
• Adaptive Reuse of Older Buildings
• Restoring Antebellum Architecture, like Scarlett O'Hara

^{Photo of entrance to the Ambassador Hotel, 2004, by David McNew/Getty Images ©2004 Getty Images}

Wang Shu and his wife, Lu Wenyu, founded Amateur Architecture Studio in 1997 in Hangzhou, China. A Western architect is unlikely to choose such a company name, but it's said that Shu's approach is much like an amateur builderâ€"one based on spontaneity, craft skills, and cultural traditions. "One problem of professional architecture," the 48-year-old Shu says on his website, "is, that it thinks too much of a building. I design a house instead of a building. The house is the amateur architecture approach to the infinitely spontaneous order."

Last year when the Pritzker ceremony venue was announced, many thought that the young Chinese architect may be on the short list. This year's ceremony will be held in Beijing, China on May 25, 2012.

Photo: Ceramic House, 2003-2006, Jinhua, China.
_{Photo © Lv Hengzhong / Amateur Architecture Studio, courtesy pritzkerprize.com.}

Read more about:

• Modern Architecture in Beijing China
• Architecture in China

Designed by the architecture firm Palmer and Krisel, the house was built by the prominent Palm Springs builder Robert Alexander, who lived there with his wife Helen. In 1962, Look magazine featured the Alexanders and their House of Tomorrow.

The Alexanders were tragically killed in a plane crash and in 1966 Elvis Presley rented it to use as a an occasional retreat. Elvis gave the Look Magazine House of Tomorrow some of the same off-beat decor he used at Graceland Mansion, his home in Tennessee. However, Elvis's House of Tomorrow remained true to the modernist ideas of the architects and builder.

Everyone needs a dream, and these luxury building plans will let you indulge your dream home fantasies. You'll find large estates with separate guest suites, servants' quarters, home entertainment rooms, pool houses, detached garages, and more. Are these luxury dream homes elegant and upscale... or are they wasteful "McMansions"? You be the judge.

1. Luxury Home Plans

From Home Planners, 150 plans for large, luxurious homes and estates in a variety of styles.

2. American Dream Homes

Also from Home Planners, this paperback has plans for 50 especially glamorous homes... the types of places where movie stars might live.

3. Luxury Homes and Lifestyles

Custom home builder Orren Pickell has compiled 80 color photos and drawings to illustrate ways to incorporate luxury details when you build or remodel.

Pritzker-prize winning architect Richard Rogers is known for grand yet transparent buildings with bright, light-filled spaces and flexible floor plans.

Lloyd's of London by Richard Rogers Partnership: Section through the atrium

Courtesy Richard Rogers Partnership

Famous for his bridges and train stations, Spanish modernist Santiago Calatrava combines artistry with engineering. His graceful, organic structures have been compared to the works of Antonio Gaudí.

Born:

July 28, 1951 in Valencia, Spain

Education:

Important Projects:

Proposed and Under Construction:

Important Awards:

More About Santiago Calatrava:

Buildings by Frank Gehry >>

^{Photo of Frank Gehry, designer of The World Cup of Hockey trophy, holding the trophy, 2004, © Dave Sandford / WCoH via Getty Images.}

Wang Shu and his wife, Lu Wenyu, founded Amateur Architecture Studio in 1997 in Hangzhou, China. A Western architect is unlikely to choose such a company name, but it's said that Shu's approach is much like an amateur builderâ€"one based on spontaneity, craft skills, and cultural traditions. "One problem of professional architecture," the 48-year-old Shu says on his website, "is, that it thinks too much of a building. I design a house instead of a building. The house is the amateur architecture approach to the infinitely spontaneous order."

Last year when the Pritzker ceremony venue was announced, many thought that the young Chinese architect may be on the short list. This year's ceremony will be held in Beijing, China on May 25, 2012.

Photo: Ceramic House, 2003-2006, Jinhua, China.
_{Photo © Lv Hengzhong / Amateur Architecture Studio, courtesy pritzkerprize.com.}

Read more about:

• Modern Architecture in Beijing China
• Architecture in China

About the CN Tower

At the center of the CN Tower is a hollow, hexagon-shaped concrete pillar with electrical lines, plumbing, stairwells, and six elevators. At the peak is a 102-metre (334.6 ft) tall antenna that broadcasts TV and radio signals.

The main support pillar for the CN Tower was constructed by hydraulically raising a large metal platform from the base. A helicopter erected the antenna in 36 sections.

For many years, the CN Tower ranked as the world's tallest tower. However, the Tokyo Sky Tree in Japan is now taller, measuring 625 meters (1,998 feet). Also outranking the CN Tower is the Canton Tower in China, measuring 600 meters (1,968.5 ft).

CN Tower Official Site

Pritzker-prize winning architect Richard Rogers is known for grand yet transparent buildings with bright, light-filled spaces and flexible floor plans.

Lloyd's of London Site Plan by Richard Rogers Partnership

Courtesy Richard Rogers Partnership

Trained as an artist and an architect, Maya Lin became famous for her design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC.

Born:

October 5, 1959 in Athens, Ohio

Childhood:

Maya Lin grew up in Ohio surrounded by art and literature. Her educated, artistic parents came to America from Beijing and Shanghai and taught at Ohio University.

Education:

Graduated from Yale University, School of Architecture: B.A. in 1981, M.A. in 1986

Selected Projects:

Awards:

Current Activities:

Maya Lin has a design studio in New York City where she lives with her husband and their two children. She is working on sculpture installations.

About Maya Lin:

An Elvis fan views the Presley family headstone in the 'Meditation Gardens' area of Graceland, Elvis Presley's home in Memphis, Tennessee.

Completed in the mid-1930s, Gisela Bennati's home introduced a new approach to housing design: the dramatic yet informal A-frame style. Previously, A-frame construction had been relegated to sheds and other utilitarian buildings. Bennati's house foretold mid-century modernism with expansive windows, locally-mined stone, and open living areas with exposed diagonal rafters.

Nearly two decades passed before the A-frame form won popular attention. During the 1950s, various adaptations of the A-frame became a trendy choice for vacation homes. Schindler's contribution to the style is often overlooked.

New Videos:

• Characteristics of a Neo-Mediterranean Home Style

Updated Pages:

• Frank Gehry's Profile
• Architecture School Rankings by DesignIntelligence, 2012
• 1965 - Present: Neo-Mediterranean House Styles

• Easy to Heat, Easy to Clean Bungalow
• 1920 Farmhouse Bungalow
• What Is Architecture?
• Favorite Building by Eero Saarinen
• World's Most Wonderful Buildings

Constructed in 1961 and 1962 when tiki architecture was in fashion, the complex has 12 buildings with 40 condominium units on five acres. Wooden tiki ornaments and other playful details give the buildings and the grounds a fanciful tropical flavor.

Tiki styling takes on abstract shapes at the Royal Hawaiian Estates. The rows of bright orange buttresses (known as flying-sevens) that support the patio roofs are said to represent the stabilizers on outrigger canoes. Throughout the complex, steep peaks, projecting rooflines, and exposed beams suggest the architecture of tropical huts.

In February 2010, the Palm Springs City Council voted 4-1 to designate the Royal Hawaiian Estates a historic district. Owners who repair or restore their condo units can apply for tax benefits.

For more pictures, see Royal Hawaiian Estates Vintage Photos

Your Turn:
Are mid-century buildings like the Royal Hawaiian Estates "historic"? Should architecture from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s be restored and preserved? Share your views.

_References:

• _{Royal Hawaiian Estates Official Site}

The house first appears on St. Augustine's tax rolls in 1716, but it was constructed before then. By 1788, the building was only "in fair condition," according to a Spanish map of that time.

No one knows for sure whether the St. Augustine schoolhouse truly is the oldest wooden school in the United States. New Mexico and other parts of the country claim to have schools much older. Nevertheless, the St. Augustine Schoolhouse offers some insights into how North American buildings were constructed back in the 1700s.

What is a fanlight?

A fanlight is a semicircular or semi-elliptical window over a doorway or another window. Federal or Adam Style homes often have fanlights. Shown here is a doorway with a fanlight above.

Architecture Glossary

 

Frank Gehry plans a surreal, crinkled design for the Dr Chau Chak Wing Building, coined the "Treehouse," at the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia.

Design for the Dr Chau Chak Wing Building, the "Treehouse," at the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia. Frank Gehry, architect

Model of the West façade by Gehry Partners, LLP, courtesy the University of Technology newsroom.

Learn more about Frank Gehry's "Treehouse," the Dr. Chau Chak Wing Building:

• Dr Chau Chak Wing Building, UTS Facilities Management
• Frank Gehry unveils his Sydney tree house, Architecture & Design
• Surreal and beautiful- Gehry’s new building meets Dali in Sydney, Digital Journal
• Gehry competes with ghosts for architectural vision, Sydney Morning Herald

Living during an era when American business leaders amassed huge fortunes, Gilded Age architect Richard Morris Hunt became known for designing palatial homes with lavish interiors.

Born:

October 31, 1827 in Brattleboro, Vermont

Died:

July 31, 1895

Education:

Richard Morris Hunt was born into a wealthy family. He traveled extensively through Europe and studied in Geneva, Switzerland and at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He was made an assistant at the École in 1854.

Mansions by Richard Morris Hunt:

Great Buildings by Richard Morris Hunt:

Other Projects by Richard Morris Hunt:

Working with artists and craftspeople, Richard Morris Hunt designed lavish interiors with paintings, sculptures, murals, and interior architectural details modeled after those found in European castles and palaces.

Important Styles:

About Richard Morris Hunt: