Transstudio

Blaine Brownell’s new book, Material Strategies: Innovative Applications in Architecture, has just been published by Princeton Architectural Press. Brownell wrote the Transmaterial series to introduce readers to hundreds of emergent materials that have the potential to transform the built environment. Now, Material Strategies shows architects how creative applications of these materials can achieve such transformations. [...]

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake and resulting tsunami and nuclear disaster that hit Japan last March created an unthinkable tragedy that devastated Japan’s northern Tohoku region. According to the Japanese National Police Agency, the triple-sided cataclysm killed more than 15,000 people, displacing some 100,000 children, and caused tens of billions of US dollars in damage. Although [...]

Japanese approaches to light have long fascinated Western audiences. Novelist Junichiro Tanizaki’s 1933 book In Praise of Shadows articulated the unique qualities of Japanese light found within the shadowy recesses of traditional Japanese dwellings. Tanizaki claimed that the Japanese approach to illumination prioritized subtlety, smoothness, and depth—in contrast with the West’s stark treatment of light. In [...]

Verity Magdalino’s interview with Blaine Brownell appeared in London-based Stylus magazine on April 14, 2011. Entitled “Conversations on Material: Blaine Brownell with Japanese Architects and Designers,” the interview focuses on Brownell’s book Matter in the Floating World, published by Princeton Architectural Press in 2011.

It can be argued that Japan contains a higher number of internationally significant architects and designers relative to its geographic size than anywhere else in the world. Japanese designers regularly implement radical experiments in new materials and building systems that successfully address imminent energy and resource challenges. These technological achievements are combined with an acute [...]

Blaine Brownell will give a lecture and workshop at Ecotech 2010 in São Paulo, Brazil in December. With the theme “Challenges and Trends for a Sustainable Architecture: Materials and Energy,” Ecotech will host some of the most internationally renowned experts in the areas of materials and energy, with proposals and solutions at the forefront in the [...]

Blaine Brownell will lecture at CIDAG 2010, the first international conference in design and graphic arts, organized by ISEC – Higher Institute for Education and Science and IPT – Polytechnic Institute of Tomar, Portugal. CIDAG will be held in Lisbon next week, and Brownell’s lecture will occur on Friday, October 29 at 2:00 pm. His talk is [...]

Tokyo University of Science professor Kaori Ito co-taught a collaborative workshop with Blaine Brownell at the University of Minnesota School of Architecture from August 26 to September 1, 2010. Students from both universities formed five multi-national teams in order to investigate the nature of public space in the Twin Cities. Using the short film as [...]

Director of 3XN materials research Kasper Jørgensen’s interview with Blaine Brownell appears in 3XN’s book Material Behaviour, published by the Danish Architecture Center. Entitled “The Colour of Today—An Interview on Material Behaviour,” the discussion covers topics ranging from sustainability to new material technologies. The publisher offers this description: Mind Your Behaviour invites you into 3XNs [...]

Blaine Brownell will give a lecture about emergent material technologies at The College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University in Shanghai at 6:30 pm on Monday, May 24, 2010. The talk will be followed by a discussion with architecture students about the potential applications of emergent materials in China.