Dezeen Courses: we’ve rounded up six short courses that intend to enhance proficiency in design software, including Adobe Creative Suite, Grasshopper, Rhino and SketchUp.

This roundup includes courses that are led by designers at internationally recognised studios such as BIG and Snøhetta. The courses are offered online or in person with the option of one-to-one tutorials.

Here are six design software courses on Dezeen Courses:

Digital Design Course at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago

The Digital Design short course at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago enables students to develop their skills in a variety of digital design disciplines.

Find out more about the course ›

Grasshopper Pro: Mastering Advanced Parametric Design at Hopific

Taught by Snøhetta’s computational design specialist Thomas Jeremy Tait, the Grasshopper Pro: Mastering Advanced Parametric Design course at Hopific provides architects with an in-depth understanding of parametric design.

Find out more about the course ›

Unit X6 at Softbiome

The Unit X6 course at Softbiome prepares students to start their careers in digital design and relevant fields, such as architecture, animation and the video game industry.

Find out more about the course ›

ATN Masterclass at ArchiTech Network

Delivered by BIG’s design technology manager Oliver Thomas, the ATN Masterclass at ArchiTech Network enables architects to master design software including Grasshopper, Revit, Enscape and Rhino.

Find out more about the course ›

SketchUp for Interior Design Beginners Course at The Little Design Corner

The SketchUp for Interior Design Beginners Course at The Little Design Corner teaches students SketchUp skills, which they can study in their own time.

Find out more about the course ›

Interior Design Training Course at London Design Training Courses

The Interior Design Training Course at London Design Training Courses is tailored to interior designers and architects. It aims to improve proficiency in design software, including SketchUp, Revit, Vectorworks and AutoCAD.

Find out more about the course ›

Dezeen Courses

Dezeen Courses is a service from Dezeen that provides details of architecture, interiors and design courses around the world. Click here for more information.

The post Six short courses on design software on Dezeen Courses appeared first on Dezeen.

The latest edition of our Dezeen Debate newsletter features Vruit, a set of sex toys designed for self-insemination. Subscribe to Dezeen Debate now.

At this year’s Dutch Design Week, design graduate Juliane Kühr showcased a collection of sex toys for self-insemination, which can be used during sex to help facilitate conception. The Vruit kit includes a masturbator for sperm donation and two insemination devices.

Readers were intrigued by the kit. One reader commended its “innovative design purposes”, while another said: “This sounds like a great idea! I have some friends in my circle who are in a similar situation, and I know they would love to use this.”

Other stories in this week’s newsletter that fired up the comments section included plans for Terrarium Cheong-Dam, a skyscraper being designed in South Korea by ODA, a home featuring concrete pillars in Canada designed by Omer Arbel and a minimalist pink house in Culiacán, Mexico.

Dezeen Debate

Dezeen Debate is sent every Thursday and features a selection of the best reader comments and most talked-about stories. Read the latest edition of Dezeen Debate or subscribe here.

You can also subscribe to our other newsletters; Dezeen Agenda is sent every Tuesday containing a selection of the most important news highlights from the week, Dezeen Daily is our daily bulletin that contains every story published in the preceding 24 hours and Dezeen In Depth is sent on the last Friday of every month and delves deeper into the major stories shaping architecture and design.

The post Dezeen Debate features “innovative” vibrator that doubles as artificial insemination device appeared first on Dezeen.

Dezeen School Shows: a youth hostel built on a former car park in New Orleans is included in Dezeen’s latest school show by students at Tulane University in Louisiana.

Also included is a social housing development in Mississippi created in an existing warehouse building and a scheme that sees existing freight railway lines into passenger train links.

Tulane University

Institution: Tulane University
School: Tulane School of Architecture
Course: Master of Architecture, Master of Science in Historic Preservation and Master of Sustainable Real Estate Development
Tutors: Andrea Bardón de Tena, Liz Camuti, Brent Fortenberry, Kari Godchaux, Margarita Jover, Seth Knudsen, Casius Pealer, Mary Helen Porter, Mark Rabinowitz, Cynthia Steward and Jonathan Tate

School statement:

“At the Tulane School of Architecture, our students have the power to transform the built environment. Through rigorous curriculum, cutting-edge research initiatives and collaborative partnerships, our graduates are equipped to address the urgent challenges of climate change and social injustice.

“We take pride in fostering an inclusive community of talented individuals from diverse backgrounds to collectively shape a more equitable and vibrant future.

“Graduate students may pursue a Master of Architecture (M Arch) degree, a Master of Science in Historic Preservation (MSHP), a Master of Sustainable Real Estate Development (MSRED) or a dual degree in M Arch plus MSHP or M Arch plus MSRED.

“The NAAB-accredited M Arch degree programme provides diverse options to engage critical topics through studio, seminar, and lecture courses that bridge intellectual, technical, social and physical areas.

“Students are also encouraged to explore a research interest – in addition to the traditional architectural thesis – through Research Studios and specific research concentrations – climate change, urban ecologies and public space (river and coastal urbanism), digital fabrication and advanced ecologies, affordable housing, design build, and contemporary architecture in historic contexts (adaptive reuse).

“The MSHP degree provides a rigorous foundation in the core principles and concepts of historic preservation practice in the United States and beyond.

“Elective courses give students the opportunity to specialise in an area of preservation and its allied disciplines. A thesis or practicum forms the programme’s capstone project that demonstrates a mastery of knowledge in the field.

“The MSRED degree is practice-oriented and emphasises opportunities for students through a faculty of industry professionals, experiential learning and connections with local and national networks.

“The programme equips graduates with a blended education in business, economics, sustainable design, urbanism and legal issues. Students’ culminating work involves collaborating with a professional partner to complete a directed research project.”

Occupying the Amphibious Edge: Reframing Managed Retreat to Establish Resilient Coastal Settlement Strategies by Megan Spoor

“Our current methods of inhabiting the Gulf Coast region presume a permanence of land and predictability of risk.

“We have sought to maintain our stability-seeking occupation patterns by constraining the coastal landscape through structural interventions, creating a path dependency on hard infrastructure that is unsustainable in the long term.

“Occupying the Amphibious Edge is a strategy for land use zoning, which promotes collective stewardship of the coastal zone and its infrastructure through conservation-led land acquisition.

“Four main coastal zones are proposed, in which hard infrastructure is adapted, ecological restoration is prioritised and new housing typologies support densification of higher ground.”

Student: Megan Spoor
Course: ARCH 6041 – Gulf Research Studio (National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine)
Tutors: Liz Camuti and Margarita Jover
Email: megan.spoor[at]gmail.com

Hundred Year Lines by Allison Slomski

“In pursuit of an energy-efficient future, this proposal imagines an American policy shift equal in magnitude to the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 to retrofit our extensive freight rail system to include passenger use and provide incentives for developing interconnected local transit systems.

“To accompany an anticipated nationwide resurgence in ridership, the project introduces a new typology for the building infrastructures that accompany transit systems, deployable for a myriad of sites and scales.

“Its implementation is tested in New Iberia, Louisiana, the parish seat of Iberia Parish and home to roughly 30,000 people.

“The building houses transit connection points that serve as a civic magnet and energy distributor, and can accommodate emergency shelter or evacuation needs.”

Student: Allison Slomski
Course: ARCH 6041 – Gulf Research Studio (National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine)
Tutors: Liz Camuti and Margarita Jover
Email: aslomski[at]tulane.edu

St Louis Number 3 Tombs Documentation by Allyson Hinz and Catherine Restrepo

“In this foundational segment of the building preservation course, students are introduced to the detailed process of documenting historic structures, with a focus on tombs at St Louis Number 3 Cemetery in New Orleans.

“This assignment exemplifies the course’s dedication to melding theoretical insights with hands-on fieldwork, providing students, particularly those from non-architectural backgrounds, with a unique opportunity for direct architectural documentation experience.

“During site visits, students utilized HABS (Historic American Buildings Survey) specifications to create detailed field documentation of chosen tombs.

“Given their manageable scale, these tombs serve as an excellent introduction to architectural documentation and allow each student to engage thoroughly with an individual structure, ensuring deep comprehension of the documentation process.

“After the fieldwork, the gathered data is diligently converted into a digital format using AutoCAD, upholding precision and aligning with professional standards.”

Students: Allyson Hinz and Catherine Restrepo
Course: PRES 6041 – Preservation Studio I: Building Preservation
Tutors: Mark Rabinowitz and Cynthia Steward
Emails: ahinz[at]tulane.edu and crestrepo[at]tulane.edu



Group project: Heritage at Risk: Bridgetown, Barbados

“This academic endeavour was a collaboration between Tulane School of Architecture’s Historic Preservation Programme, the Commonwealth Heritage Skills Training Programme and the University of the West Indies.

“Beginning in January 2023 with a visit to Barbados, the project involved three phases: documentation, conservation and interpretation.

“Documentation – students surveyed 313 buildings within Roebuck Street Corridor. Various techniques, from laser scanning and photogrammetry to archival research and traditional photography, were employed to illuminate the architectural and historical significance of the region. Buildings were georeferenced, with all underlying survey data incorporated into a GIS mapping effort.

“Conservation – this phase included conditions assessment and culminated in a conservation management plan, identifying areas needing immediate intervention.

“Interpretation – proposals for a walking heritage loop, museum panels, and exhibits were developed to foster public engagement, connect communities to their rich cultural inheritance, and promote stewardship of Roebuck Street’s historical environment.”

Students: Brianna Baldwin, Amanda Bentz, Belinda Chau, Brooke Crowder, Madeleine Davies, Thais De Four, Robert Fisher, Erica Guzman, Chris Kolodey, Abigail Lovins, Jiaqi Luo, Anthony Mendez, Sarah Quinn, Catherine Restrepo, Karan Sharma, Robin Smith, Sara Tankersley and Yao Zhang
Course: PRES 6042 – Research Studio “Heritage at Risk: Barbados” (a Saul A. Mintz Global Research Studio)
Tutors: Brent Fortenberry and Mary Helen Porter
Emails: bbaldwin[at]tulane.edu, abenz[at]tulane.edu, bchau1[at]tulane.edu, scrowder[at]tulane.edu, mdavies4[at]tulane.edu, tdefour[at]tulane.edu, rfisher8[at]tulane.edu, euzman1[at]tulane.edu, ckolodey[at]tulane.edu, alovins[at]tulane.edu, jluo5[at]tulane.edu, rmendez1[at]tulane.edu, suinn3[at]tulane.edu, crestrepo[at]tulane.edu, ksharma2[at]tulane.edu, rsmith51[at]tulane.edu, stankersley[at]tulane.edu and yhang95[at]tulane.edu

Conservation Management: Auburn Billiard Hall and Carriage House by Samantha Staviss

“This project presents a groundbreaking conservation management study centred on Auburn’s historic Carriage House and Billiard Hall in Natchez, Mississippi.

“The study highlights the importance of safeguarding overlooked outbuildings – often hubs of activity for enslaved persons – by combining modern documentation techniques like laser scanning with traditional historical analysis.

“This work emphasises the importance of an inclusive interpretation, ensuring that the full spectrum of histories associated with suburban villas and plantations is not only preserved but actively told.

“This approach provides invaluable insights to architects, historians and preservationists who aim to bridge historical narratives with contemporary conservation techniques.”

Student: Samantha Staviss
Course: PRES 6985 – Preservation Practicum
Tutor: Brent Fortenberry
Email: violamusic27[at]gmail.com

Small, Multifamily, Affordable by Daniel Tighe

“Recent changes to the New Orleans Zoning Ordinance increased the number of allowable units on many residential properties throughout the city from two to four.

“This research investigates the number of fourplexes built because of this change and the likely impacts it will have on future housing development in the city.

“While city zoning represents a clear barrier to increasing housing density, several more barriers exist constraining the development of fourplexes in New Orleans, such as a lack of subsidies, the strength of alternative developments, and increased construction standards for four-unit complexes.

“The purpose of this project is to clearly define these barriers while proposing policy solutions that could encourage greater housing density and affordability in New Orleans.”

Student: Daniel Tighe
Course: SRED 6740 – Directed Research
Tutors: Casius Pealer and Seth Knudson of the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority
Email: dtighe[at]tulane.edu

Brownfields to Brightfields: Revitalising Brownfields with Solar Infrastructure in New Orleans by Mario Das

“New Orleans, a city susceptible to devastating hurricanes and flooding, grapples with abandoned infrastructure and widespread poorly tracked contamination.

“High contamination levels pose significant health risks for residents. However, redeveloping these contaminated sites is hindered by factors like the type/level of contamination, costly remediation, insurance challenges and difficulties in site access and control, discouraging potential investors.

“This project explores the imperative need to reduce contamination in New Orleans.

“It delves into the potential benefits, opportunities and challenges of repurposing these contaminated sites as Brightfields through the installation of solar infrastructure.

“Moreover, it investigates relevant state and federal policies, incentives, and cleanup programmes that play a crucial role in transforming brownfields into brightfields, fostering environmental remediation and clean energy generation.

“Photo courtesy of Abandoned Southeast.”

Student: Mario Das
Course: SRED 6740 – Directed Research
Tutors: Casius Pealer and Kari Godchaux of New Orleans City Planning Commission
Email: dasmario.96[at]gmail.com

A Place for Wonder by Giuliana Vaccarino Gearty

“43 per cent of Greenwood, Mississippi’s families are single mothers, many of whom also work.

“This project aims to support some of these working mothers by providing community-oriented housing that is bolstered by socialising-focused amenities, including a daycare, outdoor recreational space and communal dining areas.

“Located in a former manufacturing district, the development embraces an existing warehouse, whose ground floor has been converted into communal and retail spaces.

“Each housing unit looks out onto a central courtyard, which features areas for play and contemplation.

“The development is punctured by multiple alleyways that, while mirroring vacant lots and alleys downtown, are reclaimed as access points to the vibrant social interior of the housing block.”

Student: Giuliana Vaccarino Gearty
Course: ARCH 6051 – Research Studio ‘Town. House. Urban development and housing in the margins’
Tutor: Jonathan Tate
Email: giuliana.vaccarino[at]gmail.com

The Rampart Youth Hostel by Kosta Sevic

“The Rampart Youth Hostel integrates building and infrastructure in a multi-faceted approach.

“The project responds to its surroundings and understands the significance of historic urbanism between New Orleans’ Central Business District and the neighbourhoods of Treme and the French Quarter through its treatment of massing and facade fenestration.

“The 38,000-square-foot project transforms an existing surface parking lot into a low-cost, short-term shared lodging facility offering an affordable way to travel created by a combination of its mixed-use space integrated into the youth hostel plan.

“The programme aims to increase revenue and connect tourists with locals through its accessibility to amenities and public areas within the footprint of the building.

“Considering the challenges posed by New Orleans’ climate, the project focuses on resilience and sustainability from high-level massing strategies down to design details and material choice.”

Student: Kosta Sevic
Course: ARCH 6032 – Integrated Studio
Tutor: Andrea Bardón de Tena
Email: ksevic[at]tulane.edu and kosta.sevic[at]outlook.com

Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and Tulane University. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

The post Nine architecture projects by students at Tulane University appeared first on Dezeen.

Embassies designed for the United States by Walter Gropius and Eero Saarinen feature in this roundup based on David B Peterson’s book US Embassies of the Cold War: The Architecture of Democracy, Diplomacy and Defense.

“These mid-century modern embassies were built as a billboard for democracy,” Peterson told Dezeen. “By the end of world war two, neoclassicism had come to be widely associated with fascism.”

“By designing the United States’ first purpose-built embassies in an explicitly modern language, and by building them on such a wide scale in the victorious exuberance of the post-war American moment, the State Department was seeking to differentiate American culture from fascism and communism.”

Peterson, who studied the topic at Columbia University and whose father worked as a cabinet secretary for Richard Nixon, wanted the book to highlight how architecture set the stage for the global role that the US would play during the later part of the 20th century.

He contends that the “open” use of modernist designs, which relied heavily on glass, mirrored the democratic posture that the US was attempting to cultivate abroad.

The inclusion of architects who were persecuted by fascist regimes, such as Walter Gropius, added to this dynamic.

“Everything has changed”

However, Peterson also wanted the book to demonstrate how, with global unrest and war looming, the design of contemporary embassies contrasts with this mid-century mood.

Because of security concerns, embassies have shifted away from prominent urban areas, becoming more defensive and “fortress-like”.

“Everything has changed, and not for the better, at least for fans of architecture and design,” Peterson said.

“Due to security concerns after two terrorist attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 and the World Trade Center attacks in 2001, many of the US embassies of the Cold War have been decommissioned and sold because protective security is challenging in the dense, urban environments were most were built.”

Peterson referenced the Kieran Timberlake-designed US Embassy in London’s Nine Elms as indicative of this trend.

“I would call the recent embassy architecture ‘the identity crisis of the American Embassy’,” he said.

Read on for Peterson’s 10 picks from US Embassies of the Cold War.

Havana, Cuba, by Harrison & Abramovitz (1953)

This compact, symmetrical embassy was designed in the Cuban capital before the country’s socialist revolution by Wallace Harrison and Max Abramovitz, the designers of the UN headquarters in New York and the CIA headquarters in Virginia.

“It embodies the highs and lows of American foreign policy during this era: on the one hand, it was designed as a symbol of optimism and international cooperation and on the other hand, it was hastily evacuated in January of 1961, not long after Castro’s revolution forced Batista to flee the country, just weeks before JFK’s inaugural address,” said Peterson. 

New Delhi, India, by Edward Durell Stone (1959)

Edward Durell Stone’s New Delhi embassy features a cantilevered roof with small pillars and is set in front of a large water feature. It was praised by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright as “the only embassy to do credit to the United States,” according to Peterson. 

“Edward Durell Stone’s embassy in New Delhi stands out because it was universally praised as a modern masterpiece. It is also one of the few Cold War embassies on the US Secretary of State’s Register of Culturally Significant Property,” said Peterson.

“It still serves as a US embassy and just underwent a significant renovation to ensure its ongoing functionality.”

Baghdad, Iraq, by Josep Lluis Sert (1955)

Modelled on the architecture of Middle Eastern antiquity, Spanish architect Joseph Lluis Sert’s now-vacant embassy building exemplified the government’s emphasis on “openness and accessibility”, according to Peterson. 

“It is like a Babylonian hanging garden sprawling along the bank of the Tigris River, with diplomatic buildings widely spread out and the surrounding urban context porously connected,” said Peterson.

“Sert’s design perfectly captures the optimism of the State Department during this era, and its general lack of concern over terrorism and other security threats.”

Since 2007, the US has operated a 104-acre complex as its embassy in the country.

Karachi, Pakistan, by Neutra & Alexander (1959)

American architect Robert E Alexander and Austrian-American Richard Neutra designed an embassy that featured a stark design interspersed by gold-painted louvres. It was quickly abandoned as Pakistan moved its capital from Karachi to Islamabad.

“Neutra & Alexander’s Karachi embassy is significant because it was a failure,” said Peterson.

“The architectural press hated it. Conservatives in Congress hated it. Less than a year after opening, the capital of Pakistan was moved from Karachi to Islamabad, rendering the building functionally useless.”

Oslo, Norway, by Eero Saarinen (1959)

Eero Saarinen’s design for Oslo featured a triangular layout and a facade covered with windows, some recessed and some not.

“Eero Saarinen’s embassy in Oslo is among the most daring designs approved by the State Department,” said Peterson.

“It is an interesting example of a modern building where form firmly dominates function. It was recently decommissioned and is now a national landmark.”

Accra, Ghana, by Harry Weese (1957)

Harry Weese’s design for the Ghana embassy featured a single-storey structure suspended off the ground with central staircases and local influences, in response to criticism that the international style being over-used.

“Widespread criticism resulted in attempts like Harry Weese’s to incorporate local traditions and materials,” said Peterson.

“Conceived as an inverted Wa-Naa palace, and extensively finished in local mahogany, the Accra embassy exemplifies this push towards contextuality.”

Athens, Greece, by Walter Gropius (1961)

After fleeing Nazi Germany, Gropius, founder of the Bauhaus design school, designed a structure with a massive, cantilevered roof and some sections suspended by pilotis. It is still in use today and is under renovation.

“His design for the Athens embassy is one of the masterpieces produced by the State Department’s program,” said Peterson.

“As such, Athens is where we see one of the best examples of the amazing talent that poured out of Europe into the United States during this era.”

London, England, by Eero Saarinen (1960)

Saarinen’s London design featured a long building with floor-to-ceiling glass at its base and was heavily criticised by Londoners at the time, according to Peterson, who noted that it was “one of the most controversial” of the embassies.

“Tragically, in recent years it has been decommissioned, gutted and altered virtually beyond recognition except for parts of the facade,” said Peterson.

“It is soon to be restaurants and a hotel, highlighting the vulnerability of these historic buildings and the need to preserve them, when possible.”

The Hague, Netherlands, by Marcel Breuer (1959)

This brutalist work by Marcel Breuer was built in a historic part of the city that was partially destroyed by bombs during world war two and is now a contemporary art museum.

“In Europe, the modern embassies were often built in dense, historic city centers on land only made available as a result of aerial bombardment during world war two,” said Peterson.

“Marcel Breuer’s embassy in The Hague is one of the prime examples of this kind of architectural juxtaposition.”

Dublin, Ireland, by John Johansen (1964)

John Johansen’s design for the Irish capital featured a curved structure with a precast concrete facade based on Celtic fortresses and still functions as an embassy today.

“John Johansen’s embassy in Dublin was the last one completed under the modern embassy program, and it is one of the finest,” Peterson said.

“The success of the Dublin embassy stands as a symbol of the poignant irony that the modern embassy program was curtailed just when it seemed to be hitting its stride.”

The photography is courtesy of the Onera Foundation.

The post Ten Cold War US embassies that embody America’s 20th-century “victorious exuberance” appeared first on Dezeen.

A castle-like house by London studio Denizen Works that is vying for the RIAS Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award is the focus of this video, produced by Stephenson&.

The short film is the first in a series being published by Dezeen this month with the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) to spotlight the award’s 2023 shortlist.

Stephenson& captured the monolithic, sculpted form of Hundred Acre Wood and how it sits within its dramatic surroundings while also offering a glimpse of its spacious interior.

Throughout, Denizen Works founder Murray Kerr explained how his studio came to develop “the language of the building” from a blank canvas by following sun and wind patterns.

“We started to talk about, well, what if the house is almost a kind of found solid and then gets eroded by the weather,” he said.

“Which is why the west elevation that faces the prevailing winds is much more kind of broken down and the rest of the house.”

The Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award is held annually by RIAS to celebrate the works of Scottish architects. This year’s winner will be announced on 30 November and receive a £10,000 cash prize.

Two university buildings – Campus Central at the University of Stirling and Laidlaw Music Centre at the University of St Andrews – are also vying for the title of Scotland’s best building for 2023.

The final project on the four-strong shortlist is a house that incorporates a ruin, which was longlisted in the rural house category of the Dezeen Awards 2023.

The post Hundred Acre Wood house resembles object “eroded by the weather” appeared first on Dezeen.