Architecture

BLDGBLOG has been one of the most distinctive voices in architectural discourse since 2004, when Geoff Manaugh launched this singular platform for “Architectural Conjecture, Urban Speculation, and Landscape Futures.” What sets BLDGBLOG apart is its ability to find architectural significance in the most unexpected places, from underground oil reserves to artificial aurora experiments. The blog’s recent post on “Contextual Collapse” exemplifies this approach perfectly. Manaugh takes a Financial Times article about strategic oil reserves and transforms it into a meditation on architectural vulnerability and subterranean infrastructure. The U.S. Strategic Oil Reserve becomes not just a utilitarian storage system, but a vast underground architecture of salt caverns that could someday simply collapse under their own geological limitations. ...

🔗 99% Invisible is a project that, since 2010, has explored the unseen aspects of design, architecture, engineering, and material culture. Originally launched as a podcast by Roman Mars, it has since grown into a full-fledged website featuring articles, photographs, audio recordings, and videos. Each episode and article tells the story of seemingly ordinary elements of our surroundings – from the shape of road signs, to the construction of bridges and buildings, to the hidden meanings behind patterns and urban systems. These are narratives about the subtle forces that shape our lives, often unnoticed, yet profoundly impactful. ...