The Circularity Paradox: Can the Design Industry Truly Embrace Reuse?
While the concept of circular design promises a sustainable future, its practical application in the architecture and design industry faces significant challenges,…
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Source-aware columns and essays on design, cities and professional practice.
The Materiality of Memory: Reimagining Heritage Structures with Timber
This column explores the complex dialogue between historical preservation and contemporary material innovation, specifically focusing on the use of timber in the…
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The Paradox of the “Living Building”: Between Ambitious Goals and Daily Realities
This column examines the challenges and complexities inherent in achieving true "living building" status, exploring the gap between aspirational certifications and the…
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The Paradox of Adaptive Reuse: Preserving Heritage While Embracing Modernity
This column explores the complex challenges and opportunities inherent in adaptive reuse projects, examining how historical structures can be recontextualized for contemporary…
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The Enduring Allure and Lingering Questions of Timber High-Rises
As the construction industry grapples with sustainability and efficiency, mass timber buildings have emerged as a compelling alternative to concrete and steel.…
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The Quiet Revolution: How Modular Construction is Reshaping Urban Housing
This column explores the evolving landscape of modular construction and its potential to address critical urban housing challenges, examining its benefits, drawbacks,…
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The Enduring Challenge of Adaptive Reuse in Historic Urban Cores
Adaptive reuse projects in historic urban cores present a unique set of challenges and opportunities for architects, developers, and urban planners. This…
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The Unseen Costs of Adaptive Reuse: A Critical Look at Materiality in Historic Conversions
Adaptive reuse projects are lauded for their sustainability and cultural preservation, but often the material implications and long-term maintenance of these conversions…
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Opinion: Parametricism as a “Technophile Triumph of Fetishised Process Over Outcome
Catherine Slessor critiques parametricism as an architectural style, arguing it prioritizes complex digital processes over human-centric outcomes and disconnects architecture from culture,…
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Architecture Criticism Should Follow the Money, the Brief and the Maintenance Plan
A Paionia7 column on making design criticism more useful for readers.
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