Dezeen Magazine

City of Culture building by Peter Eisenman

This week we launched our series about deconstructivist architecture

This week on Dezeen, we kicked off our series exploring deconstructivism, an influential architecture movement from the 20th century led by the likes of Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaas.

Among the highlights of the series so far is an overview of the style by historian Owen Hopkins and an exclusive interview with the renowned architect Daniel Libeskind.

Daniel Libeskind portrait
Daniel Libeskind said he "always felt slightly repulsed" by deconstructivism

Polish-American architect Libeskind, who is considered one of the movement's key proponents, told Dezeen that he "always felt slightly repulsed" by the term deconstructivism.

We also rounded up the seven early deconstructivist buildings that featured in the seminal 1988 Deconstructivist Architecture exhibition at MoMA, including Parc de la Villette by Bernard Tschumi and Rooftop Remodeling Falkestrasse by Wolf Prix, and profiled architect Peter Eisenman.

Structure built by MIT using tree forks as joints
MIT researchers developed structural joints made from discarded tree forks

In other architectural news, Dezeen reported on a new construction technique developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that could allow load-bearing structures to be built from discarded tree forks instead of steel.

The Eindhoven University of Technology also challenged the construction industry's reliance on steel as it completed a bridge in Almere built from flax fibres combined with bio-resin and polyurethane foam blocks.

Render of plant-covered building by Kengo Kuma
Kengo Kuma broke ground on a plant-covered building 

SANAA hit the headlines when photos of its Sydney Modern gallery extension were released ahead of completion, while Kengo Kuma made waves after breaking ground on a plant-covered building in the US.

Other upcoming buildings that were revealed included a tree-like experience centre in Sweden by Henning Larsen and a series of interlocking residential towers in the US by OMA.

Drift installation at Elbphilharmonie
An installation by Drift was cancelled due to the presence of unknown drones

Design news this week included the cancellation of Drift's four-day installation at the Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg because of "aggressive disruption" by unknown drones.

In an opinion piece, writer Phineas Harper slammed Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) as a "cultural dead end", claiming that they are the most boring form of digital art being developed.

The Bathing Culture exhibition in Reykjavik
The Bathing Culture exhibition launched at DesignMarch 

Dezeen teamed up with DesignMarch, Iceland's largest design fair, to livestream a day of talks that investigated the role of design and architecture in shaping alternative futures.

Another highlight of the coronavirus-delayed festival in Reykjavík, which runs until 8 May 2022, was the Bathing Culture exhibition examining the history of geothermal pools in Iceland.

Converted artist studio in London
VATRAA converted an artist studio into a house

Projects that caught readers' attention this week included a "self-powered home" by Cosmic ADU, a brick house by Sanden+Hodnekvam Arkitekter and a residence in a converted artist studio by VATRAA.

Our lookbooks showcased ten living rooms with floor-to-ceiling glazing and compact children's bedrooms with space-saving bunk beds.

The main image is of City of Culture in Santiago de Compostela by Peter Eisenman, courtesy of Eisenman Architects.

This week on Dezeen

This week on Dezeen is our regular roundup of the week's top news stories. Subscribe to our newsletters to be sure you don't miss anything.