A Daily Dose of Architecture

Louvre Abu Dhabi

2009-11-20T17:03:00.002-05:00

The idea of a Louvre branch on Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island is just mind-boggling. When completed in 2013, the museum will present "works drawn from the Louvre and other French museums and from its own permanent collection." But if the numbers in Adran Hornsby's article on the end of "starchitecture" in the latest Hunch are any indication -- approximately half of the $1.4 billion budget is allotted for "Louvre art loans and management and curatorial services" -- the majority of art will be shipped to Abu Dhabi.

But what art? Curators will have to pass on paintings depicting the female nude, a rather large canon of Western art, as Hornsby points out. So when thinking about a project that buys the use of the name Louvre, borrows its art, and is still largely undefined in terms of its contents, it seems appropriate that Jean Nouvel's design is basically a big roof, a dome over a bunch of buildings and outdoor space. The name and the architecture come before the contents, which are seen as just more items of international trade and commerce.

[architect and client under full-scale mock-up]

Yet I have to admit it's a pretty cool roof, one that filters the sun to minimize the heat from it but still celebrate it. The PR text describes it and the mock-up above:

"A key design element of the Louvre Abu Dhabi will be its great dome, 180 meters (almost 600 feet) in diameter, floating above a cluster of buildings and waterways. Perforated by interlaced patterns, the dome will let a diffused light filter magically into the spaces below. The prototype, 6 meters (approximately 20 feet) in diameter, is being used to test the play of light and shadows on the site prior to fabrication of the final structure"

[architect and client inside small-scale model of the Louvre Abu Dhabi]

Well, if the Louvre Abu Dhabi can't display the nude female body, why not giant statues of Jean Nouvel and Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan? Looks good to me.

Today's archidose #373

2009-11-20T14:15:00.001-05:00

Here are a couple Friday afternoon facades.

[Beekman Tower in Manhattan by Gehry Partners, under construction | photo by Philippe2032 from Paris]

[Campus Audiovisual in Barcelona, Spain by David Chipperfield Architects, 2008 | photo by jmtp]

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Half Dose #71: Grand Teton National Park Discovery and Visitor Center

2009-11-18T22:00:00.001-05:00

Completed in the summer of 2007, the Grand Teton National Park Discovery and Visitor Center -- officially the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center -- by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson still racks up the awards, most recently a 2009 AIA Seattle Honor Award and a 2009 Western Red Cedar Architectural Design award. It's easy to see why in the playful yet restrained design that echoes the surrounding mountains of northwest Wyoming.

[photo by Nic Lehoux]

When I think of a national park visitor center the one overlooking Mount Rushmore, as portrayed in Alfred Hitchcock's North By Northwest, comes to mind, mainly because I've never been to a national park appointed with such a building. I'm not sure if the cafeteria in the visitor center in the film is modeled on the real thing, but a few things come across in the film set: a spacious interior, a modern/rustic aesthetic, and expansive views of Mount Rushmore. The Grand Teton Visitor Center has all these qualities, though its view is much less focused than the South Dakota landmark.

[photo by Nic Lehoux]

The main parti of the design is a U-shape that creates an intimate outdoor space and opens up a large perimeter of windows to the mountain views to the north. Services and other ancillary spaces are located on the east and west (an auditorium addition is planned for the west side), leaving the central spaces open with generous light from the south-facing courtyard. [floor plan]

[sketch and plan by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson]

Further, the sloping section means the north-facing glazing is taller than the exterior walls facing the courtyard. This may seem at odds with the particularly cold Wyoming winters, but it serves more of a symbolic than a practical purpose: the slope and expanse of glass open up the building towards the mountains while the serrated plan echoes their rugged topography.

[photo by Nic Lehoux | sketch by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson]

In terms of appearances, the building brings to mind the phrase "extreme vernacular," in the sense of "to the extreme!" The Visitor Center recalls traditional wood buildings -- mostly in the courtyard and solid east-west ends -- but it departs sharply from the vernacular by combining the sloping roofs with a highly irregular plan and large expanses of glass.

[photos by Nic Lehoux]

Even the tree-trunk columns and beams depart from any traditional role in the selective use of them: they are not continuous, only used in an upside-down U-formation when needed at varying angles that echo the exterior wall but do not follow them precisely.

[photo by Nic Lehoux]

This last photograph clearly illustrates the expansive views captured with the 30-foot (9-meter) high glass walls. In this large space the Discovery displays get a little lost; I can see people quickly gravitating to the glass walls and benches past them. Remembering North by Northwest, I can see a lovely cafeteria in this space.

Today's archidose #372

2009-11-17T13:55:00.000-05:00

Nottingham Contemporary, originally uploaded by stoneroberts.

The Nottingham Contemporary in Nottingham, England by Caruso St John Architects, opened on November 14, 2009. See many more photos in stoneroberts' flickr set on the building.

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Monday, Monday

2009-11-16T00:30:00.001-05:00

My weekly page update:

Horizontal House in Shiga, Japan by EASTERN design office.

This week's book review is The Atlas of American Architecture: 2000 Years of Architecture, City Planning, Landscape Architecture and Civil Engineering by Tom Martinson.

Some unrelated links for your enjoyment:

Build Boston
The 25th year for "the largest regional convention and tradeshow for the design and construction industry." November 18-20.

DesigNYC
A web page with "the mission of improving life in NYC by connecting community and civic groups in need of design services with professional, pro bono design resources." (added to sidebar under architectural links::new york city)

Modern Lines for the Eternal City
Ouroussoff reviews Hadid's latest, MAXXI the new museum of contemporary art in Rome.

RMB City
"An online art community in the virtual world of Second Life...an experiment exploring the creative relationship between real and virtual space, and is a reflection of China's urban and cultural explosion." Created by artist Cao Fei (China Tracy in SL).

Association of Architecture Organizations
"The AAO is made up of a network of like-minded professionals that share information about architecture, its value and benefits to society, and its ever-changing role in the 21st century and beyond." (added to sidebar under architectural links::organizations)

Today's archidose #371

2009-11-15T22:00:00.002-05:00

Tokyo Cocoon Tower, originally uploaded by Manuel.A.69.

The Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower in Tokyo, Japan by Kenzo Tange Associates, 2008.

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Literary Dose #41

2009-11-14T16:45:00.001-05:00

"Consumption and affluence have increased in many parts of the world, and although they seem to form a baseline of contemporary society, some counter-movements are also visible within consumer society. Not a wholesale refusal but some level of consumer savvy, such as re-use, purchasing sustainable, 'ethically produced' or local goods. Here, the market finds a way to respond. When viewed cynically, that indicates that there is no 'moral' component to the market, but that profit is the only concern. While this may be true, if the public enforces a conscience upon producers by choosing to purchase some goods over other (and price being one of numerous factors in that choice), the results are not necessarily bad. The TV-program Extreme Home Makeover encompasses a number of different features of this debate. On the one hand, it presumes the desirability of an identity expressed in architectural terms (although primarily on the surface more than in the space). Bedrooms are turned into drive-in movie theaters, incorporate pick-up truck beds, have music-themed wall decorations, grass-covered floors -- anything is possible, as long as it is based on a particular hobby or interest of the room's occupant. It also offers a 'quick', and sometimes superficial fix: although wrecking balls and sledgehammers are used extensively, the fundamental structure of the space is not typically transformed. The houses remain recognizable suburban family dwellings. It offers a spectacle: extensive demolition and construction crews are working against the clock with the design team, and the pressure builds as the deadline nears. And it offers the satisfaction of the family returning, who will forget the troubles in their life as they walk through their beautiful new home. We could say: this form of sugar-coated home makeover is no more than a temporary placebo for their problems. Or we could also say: if there is a role for architecture to play in the everyday life of suburban families, this offers a caricature of what architects could be doing -- making the home back into a castle."

- Lara Schrijver from Radical Games: Popping the Bubble of 1960s' Architecture (NAi Publishers, 2009, p. 20)

Today's archidose #370

2009-11-13T12:15:00.001-05:00

Here are a couple photos of the Brandhorst Museum in Munich, Germany by sauerbruch hutton, 2008. Photographs are by ludd, who has many more photos of the museum.

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Chicago's Past and Present

2009-11-11T20:00:00.001-05:00

Opening tomorrow night, Nov. 12, at the Aperture Gallery and Bookstore are "two exhibitions exploring Chicago's past and present:" Michael Wolf: The Transparent City and Barbara Crane: Private Views, each recently released in book form. Wolf's photos -- featured on this blog previously -- are the more architectural of the two exhibitions; his camera captures the Midwestern city's glass high-rises and the residents within, while Crane focuses in on the details, gestures and bodies of street fair revelers.

[Michael Wolf: The Transparent City | image source]

Wolf is known for shots like the one above that crop out a building's context but manage to convey a great deal about a place. One would have a hard time confusing Hong Kong's and Chicago's vertical living, both captured by Wolf. But the show also features details, "fragments of life—digitally distorted and hyper-enlarged—snatched surreptitiously via telephoto lenses: Edward Hopper meets Blade Runner:"

[Michael Wolf: The Transparent City | image source]

These details send the voyeurism-meter to eleven. Feelings of "how dare he!" towards the photographer arise, but the viewer is also implicated in the prolonged gaze into people's homes, an irony in voyeuristic expression in the arts. To me his photos say something about the choices given condo-buyers in Chicago, mainly between this glass building or that one. Is that choice predicated on buyer's preference? On developer's bottom line? On qualities of architectural design? Of course a complex combination occurs, but one result is an opening-up of private lives to the other glass building across the way.

Michael Wolf: The Transparent City
Barbara Crane: Private Views

Opening Reception:
Thursday, November 12, 6:00–8:00 pm

Exhibitions on view:
November 7, 2009 – January 21, 2010

Aperture Gallery and Bookstore
547 West 27th Street, 4th Floor
Between 10th and 11th Avenues
New York, NY

Today's archidose #369

2009-11-10T23:15:00.000-05:00

Archivox Architectes - Aulnay-sous-Bois, originally uploaded by urban photography vu en ville.

Residential Center for Disabled in Aulnay-sous-bois, France by Archivox atelier d'architecture, 2008.

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Monday, Monday

2009-11-09T00:00:00.002-05:00

My weekly page update:

Palmwood House in London, England by Undercurrent Architects.

This week's book review is Corporate Architecture: Building a Brand by Alejandro Bahamón, Ana Cañizares & Antonio Corcuera.

Some unrelated links for your enjoyment:

an arch's life
New blog by "an Austrian architect living in Copenhagen." (added to sidebar under blogs::architecture)

blueverticalstudio
Web page of a cross-media studio that mixes portfolio and inspiration. (added to sidebar under blogs::offices/architects)

Gelatobaby
Blog of Alissa Walker, "a writer, a gelato-eater, and a walker in LA." Alissa recently authored City Walks Architecture: New York. (added to sidebar under blogs::design+technology)

Green Footstep
"An assessment tool for reducing carbon emissions from building construction projects," from the Rocky Mountain Institute. (added to sidebar under architectural links::sustainability)

shrapnel contemporary
"Occasional splinters on architecture, culture and contemporary urban practice." (added to sidebar under blogs::architecture)

Today's archidose #368

2009-11-08T08:15:00.002-05:00

DSC08689, originally uploaded by hellothomas.

Hawaii Gateway Energy Center in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii by Ferraro Choi and Associates, 2004.

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Half Dose #70: East Village Penthouse & Rooftop Garden

2009-11-07T23:00:00.002-05:00

New York's Pulltab Design recently sent me some images of a rooftop project that features a little bit of "urban rust." Situated atop a 1900's walkup in Manhattan's East Village, the design is "a space for both reading and entertaining," consisting of a penthouse and garden.

[photo by Elizabeth Felicella | courtesy Pulltab Design]

The penthouse and garden are two projects for the previous and current owners. The former encompasses a single room and adjacent outdoor space, and the latter creates more outdoor space in an area to the left of the below diagram.

[exploded aerial view | image source]

Materials were selected for their changing qualities over time. They are primarily teak, bronze, zinc and Cor-ten steel. The first is used for the single-room penthouses's columns, windows and doors; custom bronze brackets were created for the space; zinc lines the steel used to collect rainwater from the roof; and Cor-ten steel guardrails follow the old building's parapet and defines the small outdoor room adjacent to the penthouse. These guardrails of "urban rust" recall the sides of dumpsters, though I'm guessing this is a comparison neither architect nor client would want to acknowledge. Nevertheless the top image illustrates how well this material works in its location, anchoring the otherwise lightweight addition.

[photos by Elizabeth Felicella | courtesy Pulltab Design]

Beyond the Cor-ten steel guardrail lies the project's second phase (below), created for the succeeding owner. A palette of wood and metals with active patina prevails again, but the latter is used sparingly, defining a small lily pool. Plantings are used with partial height walls and a trellis to create a sense of privacy and provide shade.

[photo by Bilyana Dimitrova | courtesy Pulltab Design]

But the focus of this second rooftop intervention is the hand-carved block of white oak with its keyhole-shape, stainless steel fountain. Like the metals used throughout the roof, this block is intended to weather over time, marking the seasons and the years.

[photo by Bilyana Dimitrova | courtesy Pulltab Design]

Today's archidose #367

2009-11-06T23:15:00.002-05:00

Here are some photos of 4143 Buena Vista in Dallas, Texas by Ron Wommack Architect, 2009. Photographs are by fake_plastic_earth.

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NYC Guide RFB (Request for Buildings)

2009-11-05T10:30:00.002-05:00

As indicated in my announcement about A Guide to Contemporary New York City Architecture, a book I'm writing, to be published by W. W. Norton, I'd like to solicit opinions as to what projects should be included in the book. If you'd like to help, read on for some selection criteria before sending me your suggestions.

Projects in the book will fall into two broad categories:

1. Those completed between 2000-2010
2. Those planned for completion after 2010

I'm interested in both, but primarily the first, as they will make up the bulk of the book. Those in the second category, which I will include in an "On the Horizon" appendix, should be actual projects that have a good chance of realization, not hypothetical or speculative ones never to go beyond renderings. Given that my research to date has yielded a lot more buildings than can fit in the book, it is not necessary to send me obvious choices, like 40 Bond by Herzog & de Meuron, IAC HQ by Frank Gehry, the Cooper Union Academic Building by Morphosis, or any other NYC building on the Archi-Tourist, for that matter. I'm looking for "under the radar" buildings, quality architecture that has not clogged the airways of the architectural media. That said, below are my criteria for what is included in the book.

Projects for consideration:

:: Buildings (all types highly visible in the public realm)
:: Accessible interiors (museums, community centers, libraries, etc.)
:: Landscapes (parks, plazas, recreation, etc.)
:: Monuments (memorials, etc. with architect involved)

Projects NOT for consideration:

:: Storefronts (restaurants, shops, galleries, etc.)
:: Inaccessible interiors (offices, residences, schools, etc.)
:: Rooftops (residential penthouses, etc. without visibility or access)
:: Temporary structures (installations, showrooms, etc.)

If you'd like to send me a project you think should be in the book, please copy and paste the information below into an e-mail to me, filling in as many blanks as possible:

Project: ______
Architect: ______
Location: ______
Year of completion: 20__

Thank you!

Architize Me

2009-11-05T00:00:00.001-05:00

Monday was the official beta launch* of Architizer, "a new way for architects to interact, show their work, and find clients...an open community created by architects for architects." Developed by Marc Kushner, Matthias Hollwich (both of HWKN), Ben Prosky (Columbia University) and Alex Diehl (KREATIVEKONZEPTION*), the site is being referred to as "Facebook for architects" by many, what with its social networking framework, but it's actually closer to LinkedIn's focus on professional relationships. Comparisons aside, at first glance Architizer is a sharp-looking page that is almost guaranteed to be popular with its intended audience.

The three main categories on the page are Projects, People and Firms. Just about every architectural publication, blog, etc. is focused on projects, and architecture offices are listed on sites like world-architects.com, where I work, and others. But the inclusion of "people" between these two is where the novelty and potential of the site exists. Returning to LinkedIn, one could say that people already have a networking tool describing their positions in firms, but Architizer does this and combines pretty pictures with it, linking individuals to the projects they worked on.

But will Architizer be the exclusive domain of OMA, other well-known architects and their former employees? Or will it embrace the diversity of architecture all over the world, even projects produced by more lackluster firms? Too much of the latter runs counter to the high-quality projects and name-brand architects that stocked the site before its launch (guidelines for the direction of the site?), but the opposite condition would turn the site into just another page where architects can look at cool projects.

Most likely the site will evolve into something between these two extremes, full of all shades between the good and the bad, though the former will rise to the fore in the mix. This will happen via the filters for each of the three main categories, mainly "featured" and "most viewed." The first is the default, which I'm guessing is controlled by the administrators, and it's pretty much a sure bet that the most viewed projects, people and firms will be the best of the bunch; no painted concrete condos or suburban strip malls at the top of these lists.

Architizer also features Schools, Jobs, Competitions and a Blog. These are certainly secondary to the main bread and butter of the site, though the school feature has great potential, visually exhibiting the strengths of alumni, and therefore the school, more directly than anywhere else. It also looks like the $$ will come from "the window manufacturer [that] sponsors a page for their product used in [a] project" and advertising, though I think the latter will run the risk of cluttering the site, which has a nice legibility to it, rounded corners and all.

*Check out Guest of a Guest for photos from the beta launch party at Storefront for Art and Architecture on Monday.

NOV Events

2009-11-04T10:30:00.006-05:00

Some ongoing and upcoming events of note in NYC worth highlighting. And don't forget tomorrow is the Design Trust for Public Space's annual benefit and Saturday is the Institute for Urban Design's Arrested Development symposium at Cooper Union. 'Tis a busy month.

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PERFORMA 09

The third edition of the internationally acclaimed biennial of new visual art performance, will be held in New York City from November 1–22, 2009, showcasing new work by more than 150 of the world’s most exciting contemporary artists.

Here are some architecture-related programs with snippets; click the links for more information.

Performa Hub
Biennial Headquarters
41 Cooper Square
Sunday, November 1 - Sunday, November 22, Open 10am-8pm
Located in the latest architectural gem on the Bowery, the brand new Cooper Union building, the Performa Hub will function as our headquarters during the biennial.

The Public School (for Architecture)
Van Alen Institute & nyc.thepublicschool.org
30 W. 22nd Street, #6
Sunday, November 1 - Sunday, November 22, times vary
Performa is pleased to collaborate this November with The Public School (for Architecture) New York, a project by Van Alen Institute New York Prize fellows common room and Telic Arts Exchange.

Pre-enacting the Now and Future City
City of Tomorrows
Storefront for Art and Architecture
97 Kenmare Street
Saturday, November 7 3:00pm
A playful tour of the New York City of the future that merges urban geography, science fiction and guerilla street theater. Four short sci-fi scenes about New York City's political, spatial, and social futures...

Actions Propaganda
Performa Hub
41 Cooper Square
Saturday, November 7 11:00am
Performa teams up with Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal, on a workshop laboratory inspired by Actions: What You Can Do With the City, a CCA exhibition with 99 actions that instigate positive change...

Ten Days for Oppositional Architecture: Towards Post-Capitalist Spaces
An Architektur
Gair Building No 6
81 Front Street, DUMBO, Brooklyn
Thursday, November 12 - Saturday, November 21, times vary
The transformation of the urban landscape within the last decades has increasingly been dominated by the demands of capitalist utilization. Due to the current crisis, however...

Sirens Taken for Wonders
Paul Elliman
Performa Hub / Van Alen Institute
41 Cooper Square / 30 West 22nd Street, 6th Floor
Friday, November 20 - Saturday, November 21, times vary
“Sirens Taken for Wonders” takes the double form of a workshop (Nov. 20, 10 pm) and a panel session with Arline Bronzaft (Chair of Noise Committee, Mayor’s Committee on the Environment of New York City), Laura Kurgan (an architect and artist), and Raviv Ganchrow (architect and sonologist) (Nov 21. 4 pm) to explore the coded languages of sirens and the different connotations we attach to them...

P.A.
Marina Rosenfeld
Park Avenue Armory
643 Park Avenue
Sunday, November 22 7:00pm
A sound art performance by Park Avenue Armory artist-in-residence Marina Rosenfeld, "P.A." uses the massive airspace and complex social function of the Armory drill hall as both a reflecting and distorting structure...

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UIWe: Culture Designers

Thursday, 11/5, 6:30pm
Self-described "cultural designers" JACOB BLAK and CHRISTIAN PAGH discuss their Copenhagen-based practice, UIWe, with DOMINIC LEONG, Partner, LEONG LEONG ARCHITECTURE.

Free and open to the public
RSVP: gdb2106[@]columbia[dot]edu

Studio-X
180 Varick Street, STE 1610
Between King and Charleton Streets
212 989 2398

[Studio-X is a downtown studio for experimental design and research run by the Graduate Architecture, Planning and Preservation of Columbia University.]

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RIGHTS OF WAY
A New Politics of Movement in New York City?
A PANEL DISCUSSION WITH DAVID SMILEY, CIVIC LEADERS, ACTIVISTS, AND CITY PLANNERS

Thursday, 11/12 6:30 PM

The James Room
4th Floor Barnard Hall

With the recent turn to pedestrian zones, bike lanes and greenways in New York and in many cities around the world, there is a growing sense that a new kind of urbanism is possible, one no longer dominated by the culture and politics of the automobile. “Rights of Way” will examine the issues surrounding bikes and pedestrianization, and will explore sustainability, finance, public health, and the ways in which the street can serve as a fulcrum in debates about public space and urban life.

MODERATOR
David Smiley, Assistant Professor of Architecture and Urban Studies at Barnard College

PANELISTS
Noah Budnick, Transportation Alternatives
Richard R. Gonzalez, Urban Design Lab at The Earth Institute
Margaret Newman, NYC Department of Transportation
Linda Pollak, Marpillero Pollak Architects
Sheila Somashekhar, Sustainable South Bronx

Sponsored by the Department of Architecture and the Urban Studies Program

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Paris/New York: 2 Metropoles—Policy for Urban and Social Space

Monday, November 16, 2009 6:30-8:30pm Frederick P. Rose Auditorium, New Academic Building, The Cooper Union For The Advancement of Science and Art, 41 Cooper Square

Discussion with Mireille Ferri (Conseil Régional d’Ile de France, Vice President), Pierre Mansat (Deputy Mayor in charge of the Paris Metropole project, Mairie de Paris), Christian de Portzamparc (Architect, participant to the Grand Paris competition, President of the Association des Architectes pour le Grand Paris), and Amanda Burden (NYC Planning Commission, Chairman). Moderated by Jean-Louis Cohen (New York University Institute of Fine Arts, Professor), with introductions by Anthony Vidler, Assoc. AIA (Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture, Cooper Union, Dean & Professor) and Kareen Rispal (French Embassy, Cultural Counselor).

Paris/New York: 2 Metropoles—Planning for Sustainability, Density, and Inclusion

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 9:00am-6:00pm Center For Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Place, between Bleecker and West 3rd Streets

A day of lectures and panel discussions will present strategies of French and American urbanists in addressing challenges in transportation, densification, social housing and open space. The morning session will be dedicated to issues in Paris arising from the Grand Paris challenge. After a welcome by Sherida Paulsen, FAIA (AIANY, President), urban designer and architect Alexandre Chemetoff will give the opening keynote, introducing a discussion between Emeline Bailly (Chef de projets, Délégation à la Politique de la Ville, Mairie de Paris), Catherine Barbe (Institute for the Sustainable Metropolis, Mairie de Paris) and architects/professors Djamel Klouche (School of Architecture, Versailles) and David Mangin (School of Architecture, Marne-la-Ballee). The afternoon will focus on New York with a panel including Rohit Aggarwala (NYC Mayor’s Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability), Rick Bell, FAIA (AIANY, Executive Director), Adrian Benepe (NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, Commissioner), Alexandros Washburn, AIA (NYC Department of City Planning, Chief Urban Designer), and Thomas K. Wright (Regional Plan Association, Executive Director). Alexander Garvin (Yale University, Professor) will give the closing keynote. A reception to follow.

Issuu Ruummage

2009-11-03T02:45:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago I discovered Issuu -- "the leading digital publishing platform delivering exceptional reading experiences of magazines, books, catalogs, reports, and more" -- when I was separately sent a preview of a magazine and a new book. Issuu's interface allows one to flip pages, zoom and pan, and download as a PDF file, among other features. At the time I did not explore the rest of the site, though revisiting Issuu recently I clicked on the "Related" sidebar and searched around, finding some decent architecture selections, presented below. In general, though, the architecture-related titles tend to be individual and firm portfolios, with some catalogs, and magazine and book excerpts too. The titles below are full-length books and magazines, a mix of student and professional publications.

[Architectural Design Research, Vol 3, No. 1]

[b>magazine n°13]

[Canadian Architect October 2009]

[Geometry of Design]

[Urban Planning]

Monday, Monday

2009-11-02T11:15:00.001-05:00

My weekly page update:

Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England by Rick Mather Architects.

This week's book review is Building Up and Tearing Down: Reflections on the Age of Architecture by Paul Goldberger.

Some unrelated links for your enjoyment:

Architizer
"A new way for architects to interact, show their work, and find clients. It is an open community created by architects for architects." (added to sidebar under blogs::sustainability)

Bronx Architecture
"An online guide to the architecture of the borough developed by Lehman College Art Gallery/CUNY" (added to sidebar under architectural links::new york city)

Le territoire des sens
"A research blog which proposes a reflexion on the links between real and imaginary territories." (added to sidebar under blogs::art)

spatial breakbeat research
"Mixing > architecture.breakbeats.fiction.graphics.urbanism."

12th & Main
Urbanism blog by "a concerned citizen who wants to help in whatever way to keep tabs on our local elected officials. " (added to sidebar under blogs::urban)

Today's archidose #366

2009-11-01T20:15:00.003-05:00

Here are some photos of the Wales Millennium Centre (Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru) in Cardiff, Wales (completed in 2004) by Jonathan Adams of Capita Architecture. Photographs are by wojtek gurak.

To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just:

:: Join and add photos to the archidose pool, and/or
:: Tag your photos archidose

Jean Tschumi, Bernard Tschumi & DOCOMOMO

2009-10-31T22:00:00.001-04:00

On Wednesday evening I attended a party at Vitra celebrating the publication of a long overdue monograph on architect Jean Tschumi, written by Jacques Gubler and published by Skira. Jean Tschumi: Architecture at Full Scale documents the brief career of the Swiss architect who eschewed his Beaux Arts training in favor of "the polemical field of modernity and its technological expression." In the US, the name Tschumi is more well known prefaced by Bernard, rather than Jean, who died in 1962 at the age of 57, when his son was only 18 years old. His early death may have cut his architectural career short, but the quality of the architecture that he produced is evidenced in the pages of this monograph and in the Archizoom exhibition last year, curated also by Gubler.

I'm especially taken by the image on the party invitation of the Aula de Cèdres, a conference center and auditorium at HEP Lausanne:

On Wednesday Gubler spoke of Tschumi's architecture relative to color (embraced by the architect, but rarely captured in documentation of buildings) and scale, referring to the book's subtitle and the architect's consideration of design from furniture to the city. The book offers an in-depth exploration of Tschumi's career, which includes a number of office headquarters, for Nestlé, La Mutuelle Vaudoise, and the World Health Organization. (This blog post at New Switzerland gives a decent overview of the qualities of Jean's architecture.)

One is tempted to break down how the father's architecture influenced Bernard Tschumi's, though if an influence on the latter is evident, it is in the year's since his father's passing. Some brief words on Wednesday by the architect of the new Acropolis Museum pointed to little discussion between the two regarding architecture. In fact Bernard admits that he didn't decide to pursue architecture until a trip to Chicago, only a few weeks before his father died. But with time to study his father's buildings, and a role in Architecture at Full Scale, it would be difficult not to find Jean's influence on his son.

[new Acropolis Museum | image source]

Looking at the two buildings shown above, I would say the influence of Jean on Bernard happens primarily with thinking about site. The above clearly illustrates how the new Acropolis Museum's top relates to the distant Parthenon, while the lower floor contends with the ruins preserved below. In between, the museum is all about movement and the clarity of the exhibition, but it can be seen as the byproduct of contending with the site below and distant. The elder Tschumi's HEP building skillfully addresses the site's topography (as can be seen here) and adjacent buildings, standing out formally but fitting into the multi-faceted landscape.

In the Wednesday-night party's introduction by Nina Rappaport, Chair of DOCOMOMO-New York/Tristate, the preservation of Jean Tschumi's architecture in Switzerland was commended, an unspoken difference between an appreciation of Modernism's gems and the demolition of the same in part or in full an ocean away. The US chapter of DOCOMOMO (international working party for DOcumentation and COnservation of building sites and neighborhoods of the MOdern MOvement) includes ten regional chapters (all tolled the international DOCOMOMO is 53 chapters strong), but fights for preservation seem to be lost more often than won.

While this fact points to a limited appreciation in this country for architecture produced in the middle of last century, I can't help but wonder if this situation is more about ideology than taste. Modernism was predicated on progress and responses to the changes sweeping across the developed world from industrialization and world wars, so the preservation of the movement's buildings seems anithetical to their origin. That people equate modern architecture with the tabula rasa clearing of neighborhoods, towards the erection of towers in the park in that time does not help matters.

A couple issues further complicate matters: how many modern buildings were not built with the longevity of buildings centuries before; the open plans and platonic forms of modernism did not turn out to be as flexible as envisioned. These point to the necessity of preservation less than 75 years after many buildings of the era were completed and the creativity needed by architects to propose and carry out the adaptive reuse of modernist structures. I think the latter is key in efforts to preserve modern architecture, especially when faced with opponents arguing that demolition and new construction is cheaper and therefore better. The fact that many modern buildings are ingrained and important elements in their neighborhoods (ironically, like the older buildings many modern structures replaced) is perhaps the strongest argument for DOCOMOMO's continued relevance today.

Today's archidose #365

2009-10-29T20:30:00.001-04:00

Here are a couple recent buildings in London photographed by z.z.

[10 Hills Place by by Amanda Levete Architects, 2009]

[Reiss HQ by Squire and Partners, 2008]

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:: Join and add photos to the archidose pool, and/or
:: Tag your photos archidose

Sketchbook of the Moment

2009-10-28T16:00:00.001-04:00

Earlier today I was speaking with my publisher about the impact of digital technology on good-old-fashioned books, after which I saw the Sentient City exhibition. Needless to say I was feeling awash in the technology that is changing the way we absorb information, interact with each other, and encounter the city. So I felt a tinge of sentimentality when I came across The Hand of the Architect, a "limited edition Moleskine book filled with [378] drawings from 110 internationally renowned architects." Flipping through the pages, for a few moments the rush of the digital (if only in my head) gave way to a calm and slowness that hand drawings seem to embody.

[The Hand of the Architect | image source]

Of course hand sketches in their various media (graphite, ink, wash, crayon, marker, etc.) are good for much more than perspective in today's get-carried-away-with-technology world. They convey thoughts and ideas in particular ways that are much freer than any digital counterpart. Unencumbered by the need to learn software, the hand-brain connection allows the latter to figure things out as the former touches pen (or brush or quill or whatever) to paper. In other words, making a drawing by hand forces one to confront what one is drawing, thinking and understanding what each line, stroke, dot, field of color describes.

Books like this one from Moleskine are timely reminders of how digital tools can't replace all traditional ones, particularly pen and paper. For example, the research for my book is documented via a mix of spreadsheets, digital map overlays, digital photos, and a notebook (a Muji, sorry Moleskine). The last is a collage of notes, sketches, and pasted images, an ideal canvas for me for jotting down ideas at home, on the train, in front of a building, wherever I may be. But my research cannot exist without the digital components, and I'd also have a hard time limiting myself to just the bytes and bits.

So it should not come as a surprise that in addition to the "glimpse into the sketchbooks of visionaries like Michael Graves, Zaha Hadid, Piero Lissoni, Kengo Kumo, Mario Botta, Tadao Ando, and many more" is a "companion special edition blank journal" for budding architects and others to fill up.

or

Today's archidose #364

2009-10-28T14:15:00.000-04:00

IMG_0996, originally uploaded by jim_malone.

Guerrero Street Mixed-Use Development in San Francisco, California by Kennerly Architecture & Planning.

To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just:

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Pike Loop Inauguration

2009-10-27T11:15:00.000-04:00

Since world-architects.com is the media partner for the Storefront for Art and Architecture and Pike Loop (featured previously) I was able to get a sneak peek last night at the completed installation, snapping the photos below. Tonight at 7pm is the inauguration of Pike Loop, which will be in place at Pike Street between Division Street and East Broadway until the middle of January, 2010. The exhibition on the installation's architects, Gramazio & Kohler, is on display at the Storefront until November 14, 2009.

[Pike Loop installation | photo by archidose]

[Pike Loop installation | photo by archidose]

[Pike Loop installation | photo by archidose]

[Pike Loop installation | photo by archidose]

[Pike Loop installation | photo by archidose]

[Pike Loop installation | photo by archidose]

[Pike Loop installation | photo by archidose]