DOMUS “The Green School: Architecture Without Architects”

An innovative school in Bali, with the mission to train the next generation of leaders in sustainability, is constructed completely from bamboo. December 2010

Link to full article on DOMUS website

PDF: DOMUS-Green School-Caroline James

“Building New Ground? Subsidized Housing in South Africa,” Abitare America, March 2012

Thorsten Deckler and Anne Graupner, Johannesburg-based architects have just completed a subsidized housing community near Johannesburg with vast improvements to the standard government housing projects. However, their research and design workshops in the non-formal settlements in South Africa reveal that upgrade approaches are effective tactics towards tackling the immense housing need.

“Fusing with the Landscape: Steven Holl’s Cité de l’Océan in Biarritz,” Mark Magazine, December 2011.

In my interview with Steven Holl, he speaks about the phenomenology of light in his half-buried museum, which saves on energy costs through passive cooling strategies, and creates a cultural center topped by a vast civic space that connects to the ocean. Link to article on SHA Press page.

“Francis Kéré in Mali: An Architecture Report from Bamako”

In the design of service structures for the National Park of Mali and the visitors’ centre at the Great Mosque of Mopti, Diébédo Francis Kéré mediates between notions of technology and the vernacular tradition. Link to full article on DOMUS website

“Ahmed Baba Institute Library,” Architectural Record, March 2011

The new Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Islamic Studies and Research, completed in 2009, introduces high-tech methods for conserving, exhibiting and studying the famous Timbuktu manuscripts. I speak with a poet and librarian from Timbuktu, who describe the caveats in introducing too “modern” a structure to the ancient building fabric of Timbuktu. Link to full article on Architectural Record website (requires subscription)

“Peter Rich: Der Brückenbauer (The Bridge Builder),” Architectural Digest Germany, July/August 2011

In my interview with South African architect Peter Rich, he describes his approach for community-based design, from training local craftsmen in vault-building, to recording oral histories of residents in the historic Township of Alexandra, Johannesburg.