Modernist architecture

Marcio Kogan’s modernist rooftop gym in São Paulo

Close to Ibirapuera Park, in São Paulo’s affluent Jardins neighbourhood, Cobogó House sits in a tranquil plot. Designed by celebrated local architect Marcio Kogan, the house features his signature long, low yet dramatic volumes and tastefully appointed rich, warm materials...

David Chipperfield’s Nationalgalerie renovation in Berlin gathers speed

David Chipperfield’s office is pretty busy in the landmark department at present. Hot on the heels of the completion of a new entrance and accessories hall for the historic Selfridges building in Duke Street, London and with their new James-Simon-Galerie...

A. Quincy Jones’ The Cooper House is a midcentury modern design triumph

The walls and windows don’t seem to be there. From carpet to concrete to plants and trees, rooms are just part of the gradient. They don’t as much end as fade away. Certainly, walls and windows do exist here in...

From Vertigo to Psycho, how Hitchcock changed the role of architecture in film

Tour West Vancouver’s considerable cache of midcentury modernist homes

As Vancouver’s real estate wars ravage the city’s heritage housing, including its considerable cache of midcentury modernism, the West Vancouver Museum’s West Coast Modern Home tour offers a beacon of hope on the architectural horizon. Coinciding with the close of...

Jean Prouvé architecture goes on show at Marseille sculpture park

This summer sees the third open-air exhibition of lightweight architecture and sculpture at the Friche d’Escalette in Marseille. The park (a former lead mine) and its exhibits are privately owned by Éric Touchaleaume, a collector and dealer of the Fab...

London’s finest brutalist architecture

Wallpaper* July 2018 (W*232) opens an enquiry into what’s coming up in this new age of brutalism. We investigated the renewed interest in brutalist structures’ architectural heritage in London and wider Europe where neglected behemoths are being rebooted and given new life...

Mews house in Battersea gets facelift by Groves Natcheva Architects

London-based architects Groves Natcheva have completely transformed a run down, 20th-century mews house in West London’s Battersea into a stylish contemporary residence. The authors – a team headed by Adriana Natcheva and Murray Groves – are no strangers to creative reinventions in...

Brutalist cathedral in the UK opens to the public following renovation

Architecture buffs might recognise the brutalist cathedral in Clifton, Bristol by its distinctive, irregular, elongated hexagonal floorplan. What many don’t know however, is that the iconic building has been suffering from water leakages for years, due to its large, striking lead...

Brutalist icon Preston Bus Station gets facelift by John Puttick Associates

You’d be hard pressed to find a British brutalist icon outside London that is as instantly recognisable as Preston Bus Station. The project, originally completed in 1969 to a design by BDP, is Grade-II listed, but was in need of a...

Retro revival: Mark Janson’s 1960s weekend home gets a modern twist

Mark Janson is no stranger to good design. After graduating from Parsons School of Design in 1982, Janson joined architect Steven Holl on a number of projects like the ‘Bridge of Houses’, a kind of a precursor to New York’s...

Modernist-inspired residential gem Stradella completes in Bel Air

South African architects Saota are an established force in the market for upscale, contemporary, single family houses. They are popular for their modernist-inspired approach, which fuses strong connections between indoor and outdoor living. Now the Cape Town-based practice has just...