Els Xiprers –The Cypresses in Catalan– is the name of a Barcelona primary school situated in a very special setting: a forested … More
Category: unsolicited text
Selfie Scene
With the invention of the ‘selfie’, the traditional comic foreground or carnival cutout is rendered obsolete, along with the profession of carnival portrait photographer. … More
Architecture and Crime
A recent escape from a maximum-security prison in upstate New York, in which two convicted murderers cut through steel jail-cell walls to … More
Sign o’ the Times
Isn’t it great when something that looks ‘arty’ turns out not to be art at all? A well-designed object that … More
New ‘Public’ Space in Barcelona
“The goal is to turn this old, unloved port into the best super marina in the world, to integrate yachting … More
From Baukunst to Kunstwelt: The Biennalization of Architecture
There is no doubt that architecture is an art. The eternal question is which kind. Is architecture a building art? A … More
Taste
RCR, the Catalan architectural firm known for its love of Corten steel, has an exhibition in Barcelona’s Palau Robert that … More
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
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
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
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
