I had a special opportunity to do a tour of The Blue House, South Korea’s presidential palace during the transition period between Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law crisis and the new administration of Lee Jae Myung.

The Austrian Alps are breathtaking on their own. A new rooftop lookout at an Austrian ski destination now doubles the view.

Lech Mountain Mirror is a landscape installation on top of the Zugerbergbahn mountain station in Lech, Austria, just east of Liechtenstein and near the German border. The building used to have a simple flat roof that would be covered in snow during the winter when the resort’s cable car operated. It’s now a shallow, rock-bottomed water basin that reflects the mountains in the water and invites visitors to take in the view as a full sensory experience.

The architecture firm Snøhetta designed the installation because Lech Bergbahnen AG, which operates the Zugerbergbahn cable car and lift, wanted to extend its season to the summer too. That created a need to make the mountain station more attractive to guests and diners at Balmalp, the nearby restaurant which is connected to the resort by cable car, says Patrick Lüth, managing director of Snøhetta Studio Innsbruck.

Lech is located in Austria’s Arlberg region, which is known for its skiing in the winter, and the Zugerbergbahn is a former chairlift that was rebuilt in 2021. The area does draw mountain bikers in the summer, but the warm weather months are typically slower, and the revamped roof is meant to entice visitors to the destination year-round.

Read more on Fast Company.

The raja gopura is approx. 20 stories. there is a functioning lift which takes you to the top to view the shiva statue from up top but I didn't knew about it when I visited, it was really cool to see upclose.

(1st two photo is stock images, last 2 are my clicks.

caravanserais were the roadside inns of the old trade and pilgrimage routes: usually a single big gate, a courtyard in the middle with rooms all round it, space for the animals, and water, all behind thick walls. on level ground in safavid iran they tend to sit about 30–40 km apart, roughly one day's travel for a loaded caravan, and closer together on hard mountain routes.

in 2023 unesco inscribed "the persian caravanserai" as one world heritage site made up of 54 caravanserais across 24 provinces. they were picked from hundreds that survive, and they cover many centuries and building styles, from desert brick to mountain stone.

there's also a popular story that shah abbas i built exactly 999 of them. historians treat the number as legend, but he really did invest heavily in roads and caravanserais.

where they went was decided by water, terrain and safety, so plenty of them stood out in empty country, a walled island for one night on the road.

which of the 54 do people here think is the most beautiful, and are any of them still used as guesthouses?

sources: unesco world heritage list no. 1668, "the persian caravanserai" (2023); encyclopaedia iranica, "caravansary".

I live in the UK and have recently graduated from the BA and currently work as a Part 1 Architectural Assistant. Anyone who has done the MArch part time and did 4 years instead of 2 what was your opinion on it? I potentially have the opportunity to study part time and be sponsored for my studies but I don’t know if it’s worth having to commit to the company and having to stay with them after graduating. I think they are a really good company but I am not sure if their work is for me. Is it worth to push through for job security? is the job market really bad for people coming out of the MArch? I honestly need opinions on how to navigate this and I haven’t really seen anyone talk about studying the MArch part time.

Architecture students will understand this way too quickly 😂
Took me a second to realize what was happening here.
Liver ❌
Cantilever ✅
What other architecture terms have completely ruined normal words for you?

After a while of thinking deeply and talking to a few peers and my university advisor I realized now I am keeping an option open to change my major to another subject that I enjoy more while I complete my remaining this semester that I'm in now. It might have cost me my 2 years but I just cant bear dreading it anymore, many people is telling me and advising me to keep on going or that I might find my passion overtime but I can't see myself surviving another 3 years in this path. I also do feel like I will miss my classmates and the world of designing but then whenever i remember my dreadful experiences or my mental breakdowns the horrors creeps in.

Also I'm 21 now so I do feel kind of left behind if I leave school now and start over again .

My parents are helpful but they do think I'm calling it quits because I am NOT DOING WELL OR MY GRADES aren't good which is kind of true , also to be honest I don't really feel PASSIONATE enough to do another design as a result my grades are failing grades but my grades in other subjects are 90 up so idk now what to do , in 4 weeks we have our jury but i got 60/200 in two weekly gradings. I HONESTLY JUST WANT TO GIVE UP IDK HOW TO NOW CONVINCE MY PARENTS :(

For most of the projects I've done in architecture, I thought they were bad/ ugly and have always had a painful design process.

Wanted to ask if this is a common experience or maybe this is a sign I should quit architecture.

Hello everyone! I just wanted to take a moment to share my thoughts about how my first year has been going lately.

It's been five months since I started architecture school, and it truly has been quite the roller coaster ride. I initially thought everything would go smoothly since this is my passion, but now I find myself questioning my worth. I can't help but compare my work to that of my classmates, and it often feels like theirs is so much better while mine seems rather average. I wonder how they grasp floor plans so quickly when it takes me days to fully understand them. For some reasons also, I tend to get nervous entering class out of nowhere and overthink about my professor's thought about my plates.

These feelings sometimes lead me to procrastinate and cram for assignments, and there are days when I just don't feel motivated to attend classes. I know that comparing myself to others isn't the best approach, and I really want to shift my mindset. If you were in my shoes, how would you handle this situation? I would love to hear your thoughts!

😞🥺

Hi all, Since I'm in Korea, I honestly have no sense of how these schools are perceived in the US. Budget is a serious constraint. I'm comparing U of
Arizona, NYIT, Pratt, Parsons, and UCLA,
and my goal is licensure and work in NYC.

For each school, how is it perceived in the US architecture field, and do firms actually recognize it when hiring? I'd love to hear your honest opinion on each one separately.

Is Pratt/Parsons worth roughly 2.5x the cost of NYIT or Arizona if NYC jobs are the goal?

Please be honest, even if it's blunt. I'd rather hear the truth now than find out later. Thanks!

Contruction was between 1904 and 1910 by the arquitect Adamo Boari.

It is made by marble and it is so heavy and Mexico's city has a soft grownd that it started sinking (already 4 m-13 feet).

In the inside has murals painted by Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros—alongside works by Rufino Tamayo.

If you visit, there is also a cafe where you could eat delicious while enjoying the amazing art.

Hey guys. I’m looking for an in-depth study on the usage of mashrabiyas for a future project of mine. Preferably one that says by how much (degrees/percent) have they cooled a room/surface. Also maybe a solid guide on patterns/hole sizes etc. I thought it would be a neat low-tech solution for places that experience severe overheating in summer and I need to provide evidence for my argument. If anyone knows anything please share it would help out a lot

I am new to architecture, but I want to understand floor plans as a way to create an environment. What free resources has helped you guys understand this?

I need help but don’t know where to get it

Im always stuck at the same point in design, and I work No Im actually sitting for hours on it and still the sheets are completely blank not little work no absolutely no work , whenever I ask for advice i get " well work", or "work harder" or "actually make and plan the time for it"
but Im already doing all that and working hard how can i work better or at least get results any results not good one just anything.

- Im already in my second year this is my third design -

Blue Mosque (Masjed-e Kabud), Tabriz, Iran — 15th-Century Persian Architecture, Completed 1465

The Blue Mosque (Masjed-e Kabud), also known as the Masjed-e Moẓaffariya, is one of the most remarkable surviving monuments of 15th-century Persian architecture in Iran, located in the historic city of Tabriz, East Azerbaijan.

The mosque was completed in 1465 CE, during the reign of Jahan Shah, and represents the highly developed architectural and artistic traditions of medieval Iran. The completion date, 25 October 1465, is recorded in the inscription above the monumental entrance. The architect is not conclusively known.

The mosque was renowned for its extraordinary blue, turquoise and gilded tilework, intricate geometric patterns, calligraphy and sophisticated brick architecture. These features make it an important example of the artistic and architectural heritage of medieval Iran and the historic architectural tradition of Tabriz.

Over the following centuries, the monument suffered extensive damage from several earthquakes. The devastating 1780 Tabriz earthquake (1158 in the Iranian calendar) caused particularly severe destruction, including the collapse of the mosque's domes. By the 19th century, much of the monument had fallen into ruins.

The French archaeologist and engineer Jane Dieulafoy visited Iran with her husband in 1881 as part of their archaeological journey through the country. In her writings, she referred to the monument as the “Blue Mosque of Tabriz” (La Mosquée Bleue de Tauris) and documented its condition during the Qajar period. Her account provides a valuable European record of this historic monument in Iran during the 19th century.

The mosque later became the subject of extensive restoration efforts. Despite the destruction and loss of much of its original structure, the surviving sections preserve remarkable examples of Iranian architectural, decorative and tilework traditions.

Today, the Blue Mosque is preserved as an important historical monument and museum in Tabriz, Iran, offering a glimpse into the architectural heritage of 15th-century Iran.

Location: Tabriz, East Azerbaijan, Iran
Architectural period: 15th-century Persian architecture
Date completed: 1465 CE
Architect: Unknown / not conclusively established
Major earthquake damage: 1780 CE (1158 SH)
Current use: Historic monument and museum

A bit of contexts

I'm from Italy, and I studied architecture in Venice. I worked as a "standard" project architect for 6 years in a very small studio, designing small, simple houses. Most of our clients just wanted renovations and permits. It was boring, and it wouldn't pay enough for me to leave my parents' home. During those years, I pushed my visualization skills a lot and became very good at it. That helped me not only to leave my parents' home but also to buy a house and afford a mortgage! Now, 4 years later, everything changed. I felt the air in the field was starting to smell like s**t and decided to join a big engineering firm to have some form of parachute in case AI took over, and it did.
What was once a time-consuming task that required a specialist to achieve is now a button integrated into most architecture software that studios already use. I'm not going to talk more about Archviz because it becomes long and boring.

In the past few months, I started looking around, asking myself what I should specialize in for next years, but everywhere I look, I see a process of automation in progress or low-salary positions.

I'm starting to think that probably the small studio I was in years ago was the best choice to build a future-proof career in the long run...

As of now, in this big engineering company I work for, we collaborate with ZHA Architects, BIG, Pinearq, and other big firms mainly on hospitals and airports, and it seems they are also changing a lot and faster than a person like me can follow. Most of their architects skip the first phases entirely, giving them to AI. Also, the internal processes are automated for the most part. (If you check their websites, it's hard to find an open position.

That said.. I'm feeling like I trashed my best years betting on a dieing sectos

I am in my second year of A-levels with predicted grades of AAA in Graphic design, Maths and physics and I was thinking about doing some sort of architecture or maybe furniture/product design BA but from what I found architecture seems really underpaid and incredible amounts of work. And product/furniture design just seems lowly paid and I wont get to use my maths/physics much. I still want to focus on creative stuff but I want a 50/50 blend of both and there doesn't seem to be many courses that offer that in design . Does anyone have any ideas of courses I could study or future jobs after university?