Iceland Academy of Arts by ADEPT Architects

Iceland Academy of Arts by ADEPT Architects

Iceland’s new Art Academy in the heart of Reykjavik. The Iceland Academy of the Arts will have a central location on the main shopping street Laugavegur – and will be uniting the existing institutes for art, architecture, design, theatre and music under one roof. Furthermore the building will contain a library and a gallery as well as theatre and music halls. Read more >>>

MUSEUM OF IMAGE AND SOUND by Isay Weinfeld

Museum of Image & Sound by Isay Weinfeld

MUSEUM OF IMAGE AND SOUND – MIS

The building, made up of 5 blocks housing the museum functions and grouped according to usage affinities and public traffic, rises from a ground floor crossed by an internal passageway connecting Atlantica Avenue to Aires Saldanha Street. Each volume features a different external cover that fulfills the lighting-control needs of the respective internal functions. In the first block, immediately above ground floor and directly accessible from the passageway, lies the area reserved for temporary exhibits. Read more >>>

Architect: Isay Weinfeld

House of Hope (Barbados) by Gordon Ashby

House of Hope (Barbados) by Gordon Ashby

A unique house. Two Bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, Living, Dining, Kitchen and Family. The house evolved in the design process to be the intersection in plan of three primary shapes- circle, rectangle and triangle. Concrete block but treated with coral render to define volumes. Read more >>>

Architecture Caribbean Celebrates its First Anniversary (20th June 2010)

Architecture Caribbean Celebrates its First Anniversary

Architecture Caribbean would like to thank all our members, readers, subscribers, supporters, designers, artists, students, and the entire design community in the Caribbean, Latin America, and the rest of the world. Read our anniversary message here >>>

Interview with Bahamian architect – Terry-Jeane Thompson

TJ Thompson

Terry-Jeane Thompson is a Bahamian architect, and architectural consultant/ feature Writer for “Insitu Arch Magazine”, a Caribbean Architecture publication, started by CEO Marcus Laing in Oct 2008. She was gracious enough to take time from her busy schedule for an interview with Architecture Caribbean about the current state of the architecture profession and construction in the Bahamas.

Read her entire interview with Architecture Caribbean here >>>

Why is art important to society?

Art in society

Architecture Caribbean asks Caribbean artists, “Why is art important to society?” Here are some of their responses..

“Art sometimes tells a story of an event that is topical or historical, it illustrates fantasy and reality and is most times is inspired by society itself. Art allows us to escape into dreamy landscapes or provokes our thoughts with abstract and often controversial compositions. However, mostly ART allows us, as a society, to share, understand, accept and enjoy.”

Peter Sheppard
Artist

Read the entire interview here >>>

Tell us what you think of their responses and what is your answer to the question…”Why is art important in society?”

Interview with Trinidadian artist Peter Sheppard

Project by Peter sheppard

Peter Sheppard is a Trinidadian artist who was born into a creative family as both his parents painted and were involved in the Carnival Arts. His father Stephen Sheppard, painted landscapes in acrylics from scenes that inspired him after long drives in and around the countryside. His mother Margaret Sheppard (Highgate), also painted. She made costumes for the theatre, carnival, weddings and personal wardrobes. They exposed him to a wide range of visual and performing arts. He studied at the International Fine Arts College in Miami, Florida. He says that his “canvas is all things Trinidad & Tobago and I live my life enjoying all that our wonderful nation has to offer. Its rich and diverse Culture, its delicious food representing our many ethnic segments of our population. Our many festivals, quaint villages, peaceful rivers, majestic mountains and people full of a life-time of stories will forever provide inspiration for my paintings. I paint from my memories and experiences and enjoy sharing this with the public through my paintings.” He was gracious enough to take time from his busy schedule for an interview with Architecture Caribbean.

Read entire interview here >>>

Interview with Caribbean Artist – Jackie Hinkson – Pt.1

Jackie Hinkson

Jackie Hinkson is an artist who describes himself as “a Trinidadian who spent his childhood and youth with…broad-minded parents and five siblings.” He spent most of his youth in the heart of Port-of-Spain. The urban and extensive early rural experiences left an indelible impression on his mind. Here is a portion of the interview, see below for the entire interview.

Country House, Gran Couva

Architecture Caribbean: Who are your favorite artists (Caribbean and International Artists)?

Jackie Hinkson: There are many and they change from time to time. I am not familiar with the work of Caribbean artists outside of Trinidad. Sadly, there is very little exchange and communication between the Caribbean islands. Locally, in my youth, I greatly admired Sybil Atteck, Leo Basso, MP Alladin and Carlyle Chang. On the local contemporary scene I like the drawings of Eddie Bowen and some of the work of Lisa O’ Connor and Sundiata, and much of the work (particularly their earlier pieces) of the recently deceased James Boodhoo and Boscoe Holder The international artists I admire most (living and dead) are the early Renaissance painters Giotto and Piero della Francesca, the Venetian Titian, the Spaniards Francisco Goya and Diego Velasquez, the French painter Simeon Chardin, the impressionist Paul Cezanne, the American watercolorist Winslow Homer and the American Edward Hopper, to name a few.

Estate Cocoa Dry House

Architecture Caribbean: You were commissioned by the Trinidad & Tobago government in 1982-1985 to produce One Hundred pieces of work showing the “disappearing architecture” of the country, tell us more about this experience.

JH: Perhaps because I grew up in a typically fine example of an early 20^th century wooden, gabled-roof, fretwork ornate house, and perhaps because the humble wooden homes, the shops and barrack yards of Port-of-Spain and the rural and plantation architecture of Trinidad had left such an indelible mark on me, I devoted a large number of years to the capturing the traditional and disappearing architecture of the island. This Government project was an important chapter in this commitment. I traveled throughout the country searching for fine examples of the vernacular architecture and rediscovering many from my childhood experiences in the rural and coastal districts. Importantly, I always felt, when executing these works, that I was trying to do more than just record or chronicle, I was also exploiting these images for their emotional and symbolic potential, to allude perhaps to ideas about age or change or death or decay or simply to pay tribute.

Roadside Vendor, Tobago

AC: What’s the most challenging part of your work?

JH: There are several but if I had to choose one I would say to be completely honest to my vision (in my work) and to be not seduced by any notions, no matter how current or popular, that are not consistent with that vision.

Click here to read Interview Pt. 1>>

Jackie Hinkson’s artwork is rich in detail and recording history. His works on Caribbean architecture are a breath of fresh air, reminds us of days gone by, and serves as a record. It is a reference for our history in architectural detailing and elements of Caribbean architecture. It is valuable because it enables us as architects to find innovative ways to pay homage to our history in our contemporary designs and detailing. What are your opinions of the work of Jackie Hinkson?