Did you know? Bjarke Ingels once wanted to be a graphic novelist.
- “All comic books take place in built environments, and I was very good at drawing people and animals, and stuff like that, but I hadn’t spent much energy drawing buildings. So I thought, maybe I could, and then I became an architect.” he said.
And BIG published a comic book format -unlike a typical architectural monograph- that expresses its groundbreaking agenda for contemporary architecture. Yes is More is the easily accessible but unremittingly radical manifesto of Copenhagen-based architectural practice Bjarke Ingels Group.
Did you know? Louise Blanchard Bethune was the first American woman known to have worked as a professional architect.
Louise Blanchard took a position as a draftsman in the Buffalo, New York, architectural firm of Richard A. Waite in 1876. In October 1881 she opened her own architectural office in partnership with Robert A. Bethune, whom she married in December. The firm of R.A. and L. Bethune designed several hundred buildings in Buffalo and throughout New York state, specializing in schools. They also designed hotels, apartment houses, churches, factories, and banks, many of them in the Romanesque Revival style popular in the late 19th century.
In 1885 Bethune joined the Western Association of Architects, of which she later served a term as vice president. She helped organize the Buffalo Society of Architects in 1886; it later became the Buffalo chapter of the American Institute of Architects. She also promoted a licensing law for architects, as well as equal pay for women in the field. In April 1888 she became the first woman elected to membership in the American Institute of Architects, and the next year she became the first woman fellow of the institute.
Did you know ‘’Lunch Atop a Skyscraper’’ the photograph that changed architecture?
This image, taken on the 69th floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, is surely one of the most iconic photographs ever taken in New York City. The photograph epitomizes the boldness and bravery of ironworkers on the front lines of Manhattan’s skyscraper boom of the early 1900s and is an enduring symbol of New York’s irrepressible architectural ambition. What you may not know, though, is that the photo was staged as part of a promotional campaign for the building. Despite this, its powerful juxtaposition of hair-raising height and camaraderie makes it one of the world’s most beloved images of the built environment.
“Lunch Atop a Skyscraper” brought high-rise typology to a mass audience, as well as shining a spotlight on those that make skyscrapers a reality. With this photograph, pride for the city and its builders became inextricably linked.
Did you know? Zaha Hadid had a very successful line of shoe designs.
Hadid’s infatuation with the design was not only limited to architecture. As a matter of fact, her line of shoes was where she could let out all her creative juices without being restrained by the limitations of architectural design. One of her famous shoe designs was known as “the flame”. The pair of heels reflected a Zaha-like futuristic appeal reminiscent of parametric forms.
Did you know? If you look closely at the first letter of the Pinterest logo, it resembles a pin we might use for pinning papers or photos to walls.
The social media site Pinterest is a portmanteau of the words “pin” and “interest,” since it allows users to pin things they’re interested in into a board. Since the word “pin” and the act of pinning something to a board plays such a crucial part in the brand’s identity, the Pinterest logo has a pin design hidden in the letter “P.”
This pin-shaped “P” is used throughout the rest of Pinterest’s branding, including its social buttons. It’s also used in the phrase “pin it,” which is frequently used to draw attention to media that can be pinned to a Pinterest board. All of these hidden “pins” are designed to get people pinning things by mimicking the action of pushing a real pin into a bulletin board.
Feeling fully-informed? Right?
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