The Tall Building Politically Reconsidered

The tall building has been an expression of machista one-upmanship since its earliest beginnings. San Gimignano’s stone towers are a built testament … More

Brutal Underground

[Originally published in Mark Magazine #54] Barcelona has a problem: too many motor vehicles occupy too much space and fill … More

A Response to Marc Kushner’s ‘A New Golden Age of Architecture’

[Originally published on medium.com] Dear Marc Kushner, Like yourself, I also want people to love architecture. But unlike yourself, I don’t … More

Death of a Manifesto

“Architecture Must Blaze” is the title of a 1980 manifesto by Coop Himmelb(l)au. In it, the architects declare: “we don’t want to exclude everything … More

Emot-Icon Building

Considering the recent spate of ‘icon’ buildings, you would think that an Emoji would exist for ‘Architecture’ by now, but no, this is in fact … More

Multiple Discovery, Idea Theft, or Tweaking?

Having an original idea is everything in architecture. Its history is one of innovations and breakthroughs; of new ideas, materials, and … More

Observations on Attitude

[Originally published in Log Journal #32] Visiting “Fair Enough,” the satirical exhibition in the Russian Pavilion, I was reminded of … More

2015 Atmosphere Symposium: Emergence

The annual Atmosphere symposium, presented by the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Manitoba, will be held February 5–7, … More

Radical Architecture at its Most Subversive

This house near Barcelona ranks among the most radical and subversive works of architecture of 2014, and yet it’s not by … More

Seeing Things

Mountain architecture is very different from its flatland counterpart. This may be stating the obvious, but I’m referring here to … More

Seriously now, folks.

The other day, a friend of mine posted a rather humorous item titled “Religious Truths” on Facebook along with the … More

Tradition

It’s early January, and in Spain the Christmas shopping season is still in full swing. Aarrgghh! It’s all because of … More

Pure Shit (II)

This building in the Catalan Pyrenees is a perfect example of the kind of “pure shit” that, according to Frank … More

The STEM Turn

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. It’s an acronym that can be heard a lot coming from the … More

Thinking Big: The City of Culture of Galicia as Regional Development Strategy

[Text originally commissioned in 2011 by a Swiss art institution for an exhibition that never materialized and for which I … More

Barcelona’s Disappearing Green Façades

Barcelona’s ‘green façades’ are disappearing at an alarming rate. A part of this city’s vernacular tradition, the small balconies typically used by apartment … More

Carme Pinós Honours the Pillar

[Originally published in Mark Magazine #52] Our Lady of the Pillar, Zaragoza’s 17th-century baroque basilica, is dedicated to the Virgin … More

How to become a “public space” benefactor in 6 easy steps:

Pssst. Nouveau-riche and dying to go down in philanthropic history? Why not build a “public space” vanity project? It’s easy. Here’s how you do … More