Arcology, Gestalt ,Ekistics, Ecumenopolis, Principles of intelligent urbanism, Transit Oriented Development, Permaculture , Ergonomics, Biomimetics, Urban design , Garden city movement, Smart growth, Walkability, Urban planning, Green-collar worker,...
Completed in 2021 in Nanping, China. Images by Ziye Huang, Yuchen Xing. The Mobile Working Cabin was completed in the midsummer of 2021. It is a prefabricated multi-functional space product designed by the members of the...
Telecommunication office building (part of the PTT Telecommunications Center) Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia Built in 1972-74. Urban Planning: Kenzo Tange (1960s) Architect Janko Konstantinov ©...
I'd never heard of the city of Shibam, in Yemen, until I received a very interesting e-mail from Yusuf M. in Sana'a, that country's capital. I don't know how he learned of my blog, but he did, and sent me a series of very interesting pictures of Shibam. It looks like a fascinating place! (Click the pictures for a larger view.) According to Wikipedia: Shibam is a town in Hadramawt, Yemen with about 7,000 inhabitants. Shibam is thought to have already come into existence by the 2nd century AD. It has been the capital of the Hadramawt Kingdom for several periods of time. (There is also a town by the same name outside Yemen's capital of Sana'a. To avoid confusion, the town of this article is therefore often referred to as Shibam Hadhramaut.) Shibam owes its fame to its distinct architecture, which now is on UNESCOs program to safeguard the human cultural heritage. The houses of Shibam are all made out of mud bricks, but about 500 of them are tower houses, which rise 5 to 16 stories high, with each floor having one or two apartments. This technique of building was implemented in order to protect residents from Bedouin attacks. While Shibam has existed for around 2,000 years, most of the city's houses come mainly from the 16th century. However, many have been rebuilt over and over again during the last few centuries. Shibam is often called "the oldest skyscraper-city in the world" or "Manhattan of the desert", and is the earliest example of urban planning based on the principle of vertical construction. The city has the tallest mud buildings in the world, with some of them being 40 meters (130 feet) high, thus being the first high-rise (which need to be at least 75 feet or 23 meters) apartment buildings and tower blocks (except perhaps for the insulae of ancient Rome). The tallest building in the city is the mudbrick minaret which stands at about 53 meters (175 feet) tall. In order to protect the buildings from rain and erosion, the façades are thickly coated and need to be maintained and frequently renovated by the inhabitants. The renovation can be completed by well-practiced workers within [a] short time. This is fascinating! I never even knew the place existed! Yusuf kindly included these two pictures of local women going out to harvest in the fields, to show me the uniquely-shaped hats they wear over their all-concealing Islamic garb. Yusuf, thanks very much for sending these pictures, and sparking my interest in a place I'd never heard of. I hope my other readers enjoy them as much as I have. Peter (PS: I'm assuming Yusuf has copyright in all of these pictures - he sent them, after all. If that isn't the case, and anyone else owns copyright in one or more of them, please let me know, and I'll either provide credit or remove them.)
First-year architecture and urban planning students at the Estonian Academy of Arts have designed and created READER, a shelter based on the concept...
Nothing will prepare you for the unclassifiable oddity of Arcosanti, Arizona
The suburban landscape consists largely of endless expanses of paved parking lots pocked with strip malls, gas stations, chain restaurants, and McMansions. Rather than razing these structures with the aim of greening the suburbs, Galina Tahchieva proposes
First-year architecture and urban planning students at the Estonian Academy of Arts have designed and created a shelter titled ‘READER’, a place where people can get away from their daily routine. Among other structures developed by the students, the shelter is located in the national park Lahemaa of North-Estonia. READER was constructed within five days […]
Image 4 of 13 from gallery of Where Will the Children Play? How to Design Stimulating and Safe Cities for Childhood. via Cities for Play. Designing Child Friendly High Density Neighbourhoods
Built by Le Corbusier in , Ville Radieuse (The Radiant City) is an unrealized urban masterplan by Le Corbusier, first presented in 1924 and publ...
View-only. To obtain a downloadable version, contact Urban Strategies to agree to our copyright terms.
Accomplished comic author, and orthodontist-in-training, Grant Snider turns his acerbic attention to his neighborhood, and the wonders of "Suburban Planning."
Image 8 of 30 from gallery of Bicycle Snake / DISSING+WEITLING Architecture. Photograph by DISSING+WEITLING Architecture
Ebenezer Howard's Garden Cities are now embedded into London and New York.
Imagine a world in which nature is intertwined with the industrial: giant lotus flowers replace concrete skyscrapers; an urban forest forms a city constantly in shift through a tree’s life cycle. This is the imaginarium of Belgian architect Luc Schuiten. To discover his work is to fall under the spell of a colourful cosmos, where…
Working with the Scottish Borders Council, the NHS and Berwickshire Housing Association, OCA have designed 14 semi-detached houses and a shared...
Completed in 2009 in Utrecht, The Netherlands. Images by Hennie Raaymakers from DAPh & Ana Rocha. From a basic form, defined by the municipal urban plan, sculptural “eyes” emerge with direct views to the varied countryside landscape. The form and...
Cities may have loads of opportunities and energy but have also been linked to a variety of issues affecting human well-being. Traffic noise, commutes, and pollution all end up affecting our stress levels and even our sleeping habits. City planners have the responsibility to ensure that we don’t all go crazy just living our lives.
Completed in 2014 in Shobara, Japan. Images by Hiroshi Ueda. This is the elderly care facility located in Shobara City, Hiroshima. All the time, the client hopes that this facility can be a wooden warmly house...
Every house in the neighborhood looks nearly identical, with perfectly manicured lawns. There’s not a bike lane in sight, and it’ll take you at least 30 minutes to walk to the nearest shop. Trees are few and far between, and if you don’t own a car, you’re essentially stranded. That’s right, folks, we’re talking about the good old suburbs!
Archinect image gallery.
Has the New Urbanism outlived its original purpose? The movement’s charismatic founder, Andrés Duany, seems to think so.
Smart Urban Villages is planning to create medium-density, sustainably designed housing communities with optional shared meals, mortgage-free long term leases and pools of shared vehicles to cut down on car ownership costs.
Completed in 2020 in Berching, Germany. Images by Erich Spahn. Urban planning. After an intensive search for a new location for the replacement building for the culture factory in Berching, an inner-city area...
Drawn with wit and grace, Krier's clever sketches reveal scandalous elements of architectural practices and ideology.
A photo journal from Copenhagen and beyond - a sun soaked, Scandinavian summer.
25 SQUARE PLANS From Left to Right: Bertram G. Goohue, Nebraska State Capital, Plan, Lincoln, Nebraska / Julian Elliott, Plan of the Pilcher House, Zambia / Typical Plan of Ancient Moorish Dwelling,...
Experiments in cooperative living offer a great model for building sustainable urban communities. But can they work for everyone?
Completed in 2008 in Seoul, South Korea. Images by André Morin. Engineering: Perrault Projets, Paris (Architectural Engineers); VP&Green Ingenerie, Paris (Structural Engineers); HL-PP Consult, Munich (Building...
Contrary to what has been asserted elsewhere, the suburbs are not about to have a renaissance. In fact, there are many reasons to believe we are nearing the end.
