Designed by Glenn Murcutt, the Walsh house is located in Kangaroo Valley, Australia. I found this building appealing because of its modernistic aesthetic. It overlooks the valley and encourages enjoying the view with its angled and open windows; the length of the building ensures that you are able to see it from throughout the house. I like the angle that the roof has, it reminds me of a shanty that is held together haphazardly with uneven supports; it is amusing that this is conveyed by a two million dollar house. I also like the light color interior contrasted with the dark exterior, alongside the metal and glass.

The MPavillion in Australia is a temporary outdoor recreational public space that is redesigned and constructed each year by a new architect. For 2019, that architect was Glenn Murcutt. Pictured above is the final product. I think it is an interesting design; I like the multi layered ceiling and the supports that jut out from the corners. I don’t particularly care for the simple pole supports, however it is important to remember that it is only a temporary structure. I really like the open space in which it is fixed, the trees and grass surrounding and the small area of stones next to the wood floor. It gives a really natural feel to the open space inside.

The renovation of kingsdale school is quite a spectacle. Sadie Morgan believes in an Eco friendly architectural design. When renovating the school the architects used mainly wood because it is non toxic an nonhazardous. Another reason that they used wood is because it appeals to the eye better then concrete. They also created a very spacious sports Hall and a second floor viewing area so people can watch the sports that are going on. This was actually a very challenging feet because trying to use wood for everything causes for some advanced ingenuity but they were able to pull it off.

The last building from Williams and Tsien that I’ll cover is the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, and this very well may be the best one so far.  Much like the other buildings, it has the squared stones covering the entire exterior of the structure, however this time, about a quarter of the exterior is covered with reflecting tiles shining bright at night. Next, the shape of the building is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before; it’s somewhat of a three-dimensional hexagon. I also appreciate how the nature surrounding the building allows people to walk around, soak in, and enjoy the sight that is the Obama Presidential Center.

The next building from Williams and Tsien that caught my attention was the LeFrank Center at Lakeside, located in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NY. I’m now detecting a pattern in Williams and Tsien’s exterior design: it seems they like using the squared stones, which I sincerely have nothing against. I personally believe the exterior designs are beautiful. Along with the gorgeous ice skating rinks, the LeFrank Center looks like it could be a nice getaway home in the arctic. A place where you can relax inside, and then skate around with your significant other for a while. It’s perfect for this upcoming Christmas season.

The Hastings pier was destroyed by an arson attack and the fire took pretty much everything with it. The Hastings pier charity and the white rock trust invited all architects to submit ideas for a new peer not even a week after the pier was burned down. Sadie Morgan and a few of her companions proposed a very unique idea. The idea did not include the shops or trademark attractions like most peers do their goal was to make it very spacious. So they set out to build a clutter free platform over the ocean. She also used salvage wood from the previous pier and recycled it to help build the new one , and the pier went on to win the 2017 Sterling prize.

This is the Alvorada Palace in Brasilia, Brazil. Niemeyer finished construction between 1957 and 1958 near Lake Paranoa. This building serves as the official residence of the President of Brazil. Niemeyer used a combination of water, glass, and marble in order to achieve the modern look that he wanted for this structure. Furthermore, the columns that are seen on the side of the building have become symbolic to the country and can be found on the flag as well as the Coat of Arms for the capital of the Republic.

For Williams and Tsien’s next architectural work, I looked into the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, PA. The outside of the building is totally covered with large, white, square stones. This was accompanied by a reflecting pool that looked as if it was from the year 2035. The whole building had me asking myself, “is this how buildings will look in the future?” I say this because it looks a decade or two ahead of its time. I still can’t wrap my head around how the top section of the structure stuck out so much further than the bottom. The Barnes Foundation is truly ahead of its time, in my opinion.

When I first began my second round of blogs, I was assigned the married architect duo of Tod Williams and Billie Tsien.  My initial thought was, “great, two people who I’ve never heard of and will probably bore me to death.” However, I was wrong. The first building of their’s which I looked into was the American Folk Art Museum; when I looked it up I had never seen anything like it before in my life. While it does stick out like a sore thumb among the average skyscrapers of New York, I found a deep appreciation for its uniqueness. The outside reminded me of what you’d see on the wall of a fancy hotel fountain: many tall, dark, stone brocks put together. It’s certainly different, but at the same time it’s gorgeous.

King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Centre (KAPSARC) is a non-profit that focuses on ways to effectively utilize energy more efficiently. This building resides in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and was designed by Zaha Hadid. The build was finished in 2017, after her death. This project was the first of Zaha Hadid to be awarded LEED Platinum certification by the US Green Building Council because of how the building minimizes its energy consumption by responding to the environmental conditions surrounding it. Hadid designed a hexagonal prismatic structure which ultimately requires the least amount of materials by creating a “lattice of cells within a given volume” according to her website. 

Hadid also looked to a future need to expand, and effectively designed this building to accommodate exterior changes without compromising the overall exterior design. With a honeycombed, hexagonal structure, Hadid created a strong outer shell to help protect the building from the extreme weather conditions. It is clear that every aspect of this building was well-thought out to maximize its potential. The building provides natural light, increased opportunity to connect, and positively impactful building elements. The exterior shell and design resembles that of a crystal, and contrasts the desert that surrounds it.