Hitting the heights of education

I love this story http://bit.ly/GOGnl1 about an architecture student who put his design to the most extreme test possible. Andrew McCarthy was taking a master thesis on architecture in extreme climates (love this subject, I wrote a book about it) and as part of his work designed a tent. He didn’t just design it, he also made it (even though) he had never sewed before). And he didn’t just make it, he took it to the top of Aconcagua in the Andes, the highest mountain in the western hemisphere.

In a place notorious for its high winds, he suffered winds that were worse than the average – and his tent survived. 

There is a great tradition of architects developing temporary shelters.Most famously,  Charlotte Perriand, who worked with le Corbusier, developed a portable hut that she and several friends carried up a mountain. McCarthy may have a great future ahead of him. 

Discovering diaporamas

Diaporamas was a new word for me, but French journalist Guillaume Roche puts together these really cool combinations of words and images, which seem a great way to use the properties of the internet. His latest one draws on my book Extreme Architecture, or ‘Architecture Hors Limites’ as it is called in French.

The Delta Shelter in Washington State is one of the eight projects shown.

Studio April showcases Extreme Architecture

Studio April, the designer of my Extreme Architecture book, has put lots of lovely visuals on its website.