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The Origin of the 80's Aesthetic

14 Things Every Designer Should Do in 2015

14 Things Every Designer Should Do in 2015

Welcome to 2015! Here's a little motivation to help make this year even better than last year. Read, share, be inspired! 1. Draw More. A drawing a day keeps the doctor away. Studies have shown that drawing is a form of active meditation---which can help lower blood pressure, anxiety, and stress! So grab a pen or pencil the next time you're talking on the phone or you have time to kill a little. You'll be doing more good than you think! 2. Be Patient Things don't just happen o

The DesignBloc Feature // PLAY: The Documentary

The DesignBloc Feature // PLAY: The Documentary

PLAY: The Documentary play (plā/) verb : engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose. All work and no play, is just no fun! People from all over the world are working themselves too hard, and leaving no time to enjoy the little moments in life. However, our friends at The Urban Conga are making a difference to change that. The Urban Conga, is a non-profit community that activates social interaction through the act of "PLAY." Thei

Unleash the Designs!

Unleash the Designs!

That's right kids... The designs for the Guggenheim Helsinki project have been revealed! Stage One involved submissions from 77 countries. Each submission is presented on the Guggenheim Helsinki Design Competition online gallery and allowed just two images and a brief concept summary provided by each competitor. However, don't expect to vote just for your favorite design big wigs. Each design is only listed by its registration number. Bit brief, yes, but the competitors were

The Situation Room

The Situation Room

What happens when you combine the minds of Marc Fornes and Jana Winderen? You get The Situation Room. But do not fear, this has nothing to do with Jersey Shore. A commission by the Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York City, a self-supporting, bright pink structure is born. The form was designed by Fornes and Winderen engineered the sounds making one question their surroundings and built environment. The design is testing what it is one knows about sound and the bui

Not your Grandfather’s Great Outdoors Experience

Not your Grandfather’s Great Outdoors Experience

Import.Export Architecture is updating our ideas of what we consider “roughing it” in the great outdoors. They want to look up, way up. Their creation is a 5-story platform that completely changes the camping experience. Each platform can be reached with an attached ladder and the alternating design of the levels allows people to be able to interact with those on other levels. The idea was to create a design that would allow the benefit of a cheap camping option while still b

Coit’s Restoration

Coit’s Restoration

San Francisco’s Coit Tower recently finished the $1.7 million restoration and has re-opened its doors after 6 months. The main focus of the restoration was the repair of the tower’s 25 water-damaged fresco murals. If you aren’t familiar with this icon in San Francisco atop of Telegraph Hill, it was designed by architects Arthur Brown Jr. and Henry Howard. It was named for San Francisco socialite Lillie Hitchcock Coit who wanted to the tower to be a memorial to the city’s fire

The NOMA Convention is Near! Lecture Highlight: "Design & Technology - MoBE" - October 4th

The NOMA Convention is Near! Lecture Highlight: "Design & Technology - MoBE" - October 4th

*Update: The date of thie event has changed to October 4th (October 3rd was reported in the post last week) The NOMA {National Organization of Minority Architects} annual convention is in Philadelphia this year, and there will be lots to do and see. One event we would like to highlight is a presentation by Architect, Pascale Sablan, AIA, NOMA, LEED of FXFOWLE in New York. The lecture hosted Sablan titled, Design & Technology, will focus on the design process and technologies

*Update* Equilibrium: The App That Keeps You Balanced

Update Equilibrium: The App That Keeps You Balanced

Earlier this month The DesignBloc showcased "Equilibrium", a new app idea designed to promote balance in our daily lives, made by architects, graphic designers, and product designers. "By tracking activities in your area that improve mind, body, and spirit, Equilibrium gives you a more complete picture of wellness." says Equilibrium developers. The first week of August, we reported that the developers of Equilibrium were in a type of Kickstarter competition called BigApps Pro

The ABC of Architects

I love this video by Andrea Stinga and Federico Gonzalez. I discovered it sometime last year, and just wanted to share it with those who probably haven't seen it yet! A oldie, but goodie. It's called the ABC of Architects. If you're just now starting out as an architecture student or you're emerging designer, you can name-drop any of these names or buildings in a pin-up or concept presentation, and get cool points from your friends or colleagues. Enjoy. The DesignBloc Palladi

Beethoven Music Hall: Zaha Hadid

Beethoven Music Hall: Zaha Hadid

Music and architecture are pretty amazing alone, but when you combine the two art forms, it's just magical. Zaha Hadid Architects created magic when they designed today's featured building, the Beethoven Concert Hall. The Beethoven Concert Hall is a renovation of the once limiting 1950's building located in Bonn, Germany. It not only gave the existing building a facelift, but it incorporated a "multifaceted crystalline mass, growing out of the earth, floating on water," state

Patron Saint...of Architecture!?

Patron Saint...of Architecture!?

Oh, What a Saint! That’s right fellow architects, we may finally have a Saint to pray to when deadlines loom, clients become unbearable, or we need an extra hour of sleep? Finally Now, who may this be you may be asking yourself? After sifting through all of the famous names you can recall from hours in architecture school… it’s Antoni Gaudi. An Architect a Saint? ...Who knew! Antoni Gaudi, Looking All Saintly! WWGD: What Would Gaudi Do? Within the next year, Pope Francis is r

Equilibrium: An App That Keeps You Balanced

Equilibrium: An App That Keeps You Balanced

Balancing your Life: Check out this great new app made by architects, graphic designers, and product designers. It's called Equilibrium, and it's designed to promote balance in our daily lives. You know we can all use more of that! "By tracking activities in your area that improve mind, body, and spirit, Equilibrium gives you a more complete picture of wellness." says Equilibrium developers. Here's how it works: Equilibrium organizes wellness into three categories: think, whi

Pinch us, NCARB Just Did What!?

Pinch us, NCARB Just Did What!?

Pinch us, we must be dreaming. NCARB has officially announced that the wait period to retake an architectural licensing exam has been reduced from 6 months to 60 days! This is unbelievable news considering that this rule has been in place since 1998, when they started the computer based format. For those that are unfamiliar with the process, ARE stands for Architectural Registration Exam, and is comprised of 7 exams. In order to become a licensed Architect, one must complete

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