Take a deep breath
No. Seriously. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Take a few in fact. Alright. Now that you’ve done that (and I’m trusting that you did), did you notice […]
Author Archives: karsalkas
Blitz Building
Habitat for Humanity might have coined the phrase “Blitz Build” but today this is being taken to a new level. Last week, in India, a 10-story tower was constructed in […]
Cooling with water
The British Pavilion is one of the earliest structures to use water in a wide variety of ways for passive cooling. The British Pavilion was designed by Grimshaw and Associates […]
Temperature Sensitive Materials
Materials that react to the immediate environment are popping up everywhere. In some fields this is not something new. Clothing design may be at the forefront of this idea with […]
Telling a Story
When you picture a temporary facade what comes to mind? Paper? Plastic? Cardboard? Did someone say sugar? I doubt it, but I didn’t want to wait all day! These murals […]
Homeostatic Facades
Do you ever have one of those moments when your only response is “holy shit”? That was my response when I first saw this movie of the homeostatic facade. The […]
Greetings to the Sun
Greeting to the Sun was designed by Nikola Basic and sits in Zadar, Croatia adjacent to the Adriatic Sea. In the evening the circular plate becomes a glowing surface […]
A Case for Bamboo in the US
Bamboo is typically associated with tropical climates. It has been used by indigenous people as for both its inexpensive and renewable nature as well as to […]
Material Interrogation: Wood Block House
The Wood Block House by Tadashi Yoshimura Architects is part of a series of wood houses by TYA. The modest house is located in Nara, Japan for a retired couple […]
Recycled Buildings
In an effort to become more sustainable, green, or what have you people have started to look more at what we currently have rather then what we can have that […]
Elastic Wood
For many centuries wood has been used for its structural properties and less attention has been paid to its decorative qualities. Other fields, particularly furniture and interior design have better […]
Cleaning Concrete
Photo catalytic concrete is a new technology that is able to break down organic polluted materials. The titanium dioxide additive (TiO2) in concrete neutralizes pollutants into harmless compounds that are […]
Foil Architecture
Aluminum Foil. In a game of word association, what do those two words bring to mind? Grilling, Chipotle Burrito, leftovers…Ok, maybe I’m just hungry right now, but in that game […]
Obsolete Materials
With the provocation, “is brick an obsolete material?” a further matter arises. It begs the question, what makes a material obsolete? Generally, a material can only be considered obsolete when […]
Material Focus: SAHRDC
While brick is nothing new to architecture, for many centuries it has been used in a static and redundant way that has left very little to the imagination. Today, this […]
Material Strategies 
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