Uploaded April 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
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Inflatable Architecture has enabled the imaginations of environmental dreamers of all types. From figures like Buckminster Fuller to Ant Farm, inflatables promise to liberate people from the harsh conditions of nature or the tyranny of architecture. Originally developed by the US Military for radar enclosures on the arctic, inflatables were picked up by NASA before their secrets were bestowed upon the public who deployed them to solve all sorts of problems, from enclosing pools to stadiums. Today — 70 years later — and people are still dreaming of new uses for inflatables. However, there are other, more covert uses that one might not even know were inflatable, like their application at the Kaplan Institute at IIT by the architect John Ronan. Here the facade is an inflatable ETFE membrane that filters light while providing ample insulation. This video traces this evolution from military and NASA technology, all the way to buildings like the facade on the Kaplan Institute.
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__About the Channel__
Architecture with Stewart is a YouTube journey exploring architecture’s deep and enduring stories in all their bewildering glory. Weekly videos and occasional live events breakdown a wide range of topics related to the built environment in order to increase their general understanding and advocate their importance in shaping the world we inhabit.
__About Me__
Stewart Hicks is an architectural design educator that leads studios and lecture courses as an Associate Professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He also serves as an Associate Dean in the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts and is the co-founder of the practice Design With Company. His work has earned awards such as the Architecture Record Design Vanguard Award or the Young Architect’s Forum Award and has been featured in exhibitions such as the Chicago Architecture Biennial and Design Miami, as well as at the V&A Museum and Tate Modern in London. His writings can be found in the co-authored book Misguided Tactics for Propriety Calibration, published with the Graham Foundation, as well as essays in MONU magazine, the AIA Journal Manifest, Log, bracket, and the guest-edited issue of MAS Context on the topic of character architecture.
__Contact__
FOLLOW me on instagram: @stewart_hicks & @designwithco
Design With Company: designwith.co
University of Illinois at Chicago School of Architecture: https://arch.uic.edu/
#architecture #design
Go to curiositystream.com/stewarthicks for 26% off CuriosityStream and get Nebula for FREE!
Inflatable Architecture has enabled the imaginations of environmental dreamers of all types. From figures like Buckminster Fuller to Ant Farm, inflatables promise to liberate people from the harsh conditions of nature or the tyranny of architecture. Originally developed by the US Military for radar enclosures on the arctic, inflatables were picked up by NASA before their secrets were bestowed upon the public who deployed them to solve all sorts of problems, from enclosing pools to stadiums. Today — 70 years later — and people are still dreaming of new uses for inflatables. However, there are other, more covert uses that one might not even know were inflatable, like their application at the Kaplan Institute at IIT by the architect John Ronan. Here the facade is an inflatable ETFE membrane that filters light while providing ample insulation. This video traces this evolution from military and NASA technology, all the way to buildings like the facade on the Kaplan Institute.
__Membership__
Join this channel to get access to perks:
youtube.com/channel/UCYAm24PkejQR2xMgJgn7xwg/join
__About the Channel__
Architecture with Stewart is a YouTube journey exploring architecture’s deep and enduring stories in all their bewildering glory. Weekly videos and occasional live events breakdown a wide range of topics related to the built environment in order to increase their general understanding and advocate their importance in shaping the world we inhabit.
__About Me__
Stewart Hicks is an architectural design educator that leads studios and lecture courses as an Associate Professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He also serves as an Associate Dean in the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts and is the co-founder of the practice Design With Company. His work has earned awards such as the Architecture Record Design Vanguard Award or the Young Architect’s Forum Award and has been featured in exhibitions such as the Chicago Architecture Biennial and Design Miami, as well as at the V&A Museum and Tate Modern in London. His writings can be found in the co-authored book Misguided Tactics for Propriety Calibration, published with the Graham Foundation, as well as essays in MONU magazine, the AIA Journal Manifest, Log, bracket, and the guest-edited issue of MAS Context on the topic of character architecture.
__Contact__
FOLLOW me on instagram: @stewart_hicks & @designwithco
Design With Company: designwith.co
University of Illinois at Chicago School of Architecture: https://arch.uic.edu/
#architecture #design
![Louis Kahn’s Architecture of the Room [Trenton Bath House, Esherick House, Exeter Library]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lZGOyBzy5c8/mqdefault.jpg "Louis Kahn’s Architecture of the Room [Trenton Bath House, Esherick House, Exeter Library]
In this video, Stewart breaks down the floor plan design strategies of architect Louis Kahn (1901-1974) for how they treat and arrange rooms in servant/served configurations. After World War II showed us the dark underbelly of technology, the architecture that gave us “machines for living in seemed misguided and dehumanizing. In contrast to pre-war Modern architecture open and free plans, Louis Kahn considered new possibilities for rooms; believing their privacy and enclosures could work together in a ‘society of rooms.’ Beginning with a close look at the Trenton Bath House, the video includes computer animations, sketches, photographs, and historical narratives to trace the evolution of the room through other works by Louis Kahn like the Adler House, Esherick House, and the Exeter library — a monumental room of cultural memory.
FOLLOW me on instagram: @stewart_hicks & @designwithco
Design With Company: https://designwith.co
University of Illinois at Chicago School of Architecture: https://arch.uic.edu/
#louiskahn #architecture #modernarchitecture")
