Author: Ricardo Cámara

Like millions of people, I consider myself modern, but I felt an urge to explore what lies behind the idea of modernism and its positive attitude toward innovation.

I have this thing with stairs

Forget about the wheel. More than 8.000 years ago, somebody came up with the great idea of bridging a large vertical distance by dividing it into smaller vertical ones. A new functional element to move in space was invented. It’s staggering just how many iconic stairs provided value to spaces and rapidly evolved beyond aesthetic and engineering… Continue reading I have this thing with stairs

7 reasons why you should be in Denmark for Christmas

Denmark is seriously reinventing its Christmas traditions, so If you have always wondered what it would be like to experience a refreshingly Nordic Christmas, now is the time. It only takes a few minutes to pick up your phone and call that Danish family you met on holidays or that business woman from the last… Continue reading 7 reasons why you should be in Denmark for Christmas

How Modernism Was Invented In The Japanese Middle Ages

Do you believe that modernist architecture is western culture’s gift to the world? If so, think again. Modernism has been less disruptively original as you might think. What lies behind many of the ideas of Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, or the Eameses were actually invented in the Japanese middle ages. We have… Continue reading How Modernism Was Invented In The Japanese Middle Ages

The Day America Was Not Ready To Be Modern

Remember how you felt at that last business fair? You may be all too familiar with this load of fancy pop-up architecture and temporary pavilions. You may even have visited an international exposition. But you probably haven’t experienced the kind of months-long mega-blowout as millions did in Chicago in 1893.

Sant’Elia invented the future before the future existed

Before Mies Van der Rohe, before Metropolis, before the Bauhaus, there was a guy who invented the future before anyone thought we needed one. Ever wonder what the future would look like? Just hop into your virtual DeLorean and travel back to the years before WWI, right where the Stone Age begins for most millennials.

My Most Brutal Post Ever

Brutalism is the Chuck Norris of architecture: it is loved or hated, but it cannot be ignored. Few people see the charm in massive concrete blocks or understand the utopian visions of future communities that these brutalist architects imposed.

A Robot Drives Below My Window Every Minute

Each day, we’re warned about new dangers, and robots frequently inhabit our fears to make us paranoid of the future. For every lovable WALL-E, there’s a terrifying Terminator. We fear the latter would usher in the fall of our civilization and crush our skulls under its cyborg feet.

Amazing Mid-Century Shop Windows

Since 1945, Graphis magazine has covered the evolution of the art, advertising, and design world, from Picasso to Swiss typography. I am the lucky owner of some vintage issues from the mid-50s that never became outdated.

Published
Categorized as Design

Mid-Century Houses for Mad Men

For you trying to escape reality, Mad Men is the right place. Millions have sought comfort in entertainment, namely from this award-winning show. Becoming one of the most influential shows in recent history, Mad Men has delivered some complex narratives and sharp descriptions of our commercial selves from the ‘40s through the ‘70s. This Emmy Award-winning show is now… Continue reading Mid-Century Houses for Mad Men

My Favorite Self-Driving Car Is On Mars

I recently finished Andy Weir’s novel The Martian. The publishing story of this title is a fine example of how digital media is a great format in which to test new ideas. The drama started when no one was interested in publishing the novel and Weir opted to launch it in Kindle format almost for free.

Film Titles: First Impressions Matter

Great movies have great opening titles. Every film director or producer with respect for him or herself hires some of the finest graphic designers for their film titles. Filmmakers such as Otto Preminger, Alfred Hitchcock, and David Fincher have relied on great professionals to tell the story before the story is ever told.

Published
Categorized as Design

9 Ways Tyler Brûlé Has Changed Your Life

No worries if you have never heard of Tyler Brûlé, because many of us working with advertising, marketing, design, and media have. And much of what you have seen, liked and done in the last 15 years has been heavily influenced by Brûlé and the people behind Wallpaper* magazine. Wallpaper* was the must-read glossy, global living guide for… Continue reading 9 Ways Tyler Brûlé Has Changed Your Life

Thanks for a great year!

December marks my one year blogging and I would like to thanks all of you for your interest and positive feedback.

You Can Climb the Oslo Opera House After Work

It is not surprising why Scandinavian architectural studios have taken the world by storm. People in many cities have been longing for stunning buildings that combine function, efficiency, and  a people-friendly design…  and you know, Scandi studios master this.

Moonbase Alpha is Secretly Located in a Danish Hospital

One of the most brilliant pieces of retro-futurist design in Scandinavia is the Herlev Hospital at the outskirts of Copenhagen. Get ready to travel back to a time when the future was a bit brighter and polyester was fashionable.

The day Apple could have been a washing machine

As soon as the news broke that Steve Jobs was returning to Apple, every single person on this planet offered up their own advice with regard to how he should transform the company. Let’s face it – I did it too.

The Incredible Thing Is That The House In Ex Machina Is Real

Do not expect to meet Alicia Vikander, but do get ready to enjoy the breathtaking scenery and the mid-century modern interiors at the  Juvet Landscape Hotel in Northern Norway. We love great film locations in this blog and Alex Garland’s sci-fi thriller, Ex Machina deserves a post. This stylish movie about nature and artificial intelligence is a must-see at home.

Berlin: A Tale of Three Cities

You can never get enough of Berlin. East and West Berlin give us two different ways of understanding the modern movement. And the unified, contemporary Germany offers a third dimension of the modern lifestyle. Enjoy this great city during your next trip to Germany. Here you have some personal snapshots of this great city.

Keep me Posted. Vintage Manhattan Skyline

Do you love modernist architecture and Corporate America in the mid-twentieth century? Can you still enjoy Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce? If so, stop by the Vintage Manhattan Skyline blog, where Mexico City resident Erick Christian Alvarez offers a good overview of the transformation of the Big Apple in these decades.

I’m working back in the city

Good work requires requires a good architectural environment. We at Eniro, the leading Scandinavian local search company, have just moved from an anonymous industrial area to new offices in the city of Frederiksberg in Copenhagen.

These Almost-forgotten Plans Would Have Ruined Copenhagen

If you are looking for someone to thank for the bike culture in Copenhagen, you have to travel back in time to the late 1940s when Copenhagen officials presented two ambitious car-centric plans that went really wrong and resulted in the opposite solution.

The good (Danish) life

Our family enjoys living in a housing project in Greater Copenhagen designed in the sixties by one of the most prominent architectural studios at that time, Fællestegnestuen. It is a high-density development with an inward-looking plan clearly inspired by kasbahs. The exterior walls are plain white facades without windows, but there are large windows facing… Continue reading The good (Danish) life

The Mug That Came From The Cold

I start my day with coffee poured into a good piece of Scandinavian design. My cup is a Kai Frank design for the Finnish porcelain factory Arabia, a factory that revolutionized design in postwar Europe.

Published
Categorized as Design

This Is Not Going To Happen

There was sound and fury when Erick van Egeraat’s housing project for Krøyers Plads in the harbor district of Christianhavn was unveiled. It seemed as if the contemporary Dutch architect was trying to mess with a part of Copenhagen that a Dutch engineer (Johan Semp) had built 400 years before.

Bad Guys Get All The Best Homes

It has long been said that bad guys get all the best locations in movies. The pimp Pierce Patchett in the classy movie LA Confidential is a good example. Following the best film noir tradition, the film was shot mostly on location in Los Angeles, and Patchett gets to live in the architectural masterpiece Lovell Health… Continue reading Bad Guys Get All The Best Homes

My Modern School From 80 Years Ago

Imagine a school based on human values, motivation and critical thinking with exchanges abroad. Such was Instituto-Escuela in 1930, a revolutionary education institution inspired by the latest educational trends from Germany and the Netherlands and one of the most modern schools in Europe at that time.

Modern Home For A Modern Family

While working for the city council during the 1920’s, Ángel González produced some of the best romantic palaces and historicist buildings in the city of Cáceres, in Western Spain. Some might have originally expected him to continue on that trajectory during that prosperous period in Spain, but González shifted dramatically into Functionalism, designing the most… Continue reading Modern Home For A Modern Family

You Won’t Pay Attention To The Horses In This Track

We have agreed in our family that next time we visit Madrid, we will go see the city’s horse racetrack “La Zarzuela”. Designed by Carlos Arniches, Martín Domínguez and the engineer Eduardo Torroja, it is one of the most brilliant architectural works of 1930’s Spain.