Dubai 46

Reading Kevin Nance's PR-piece about SOM's Adrian Smith and his designs for Trump Tower in Chicago and Burj Dubai in, well, Dubai (both set for completion in 2008), my mind wandered to a film I saw recently: Code 46, directed by Michael Winterbottom. The "sci-fi love story" is set in the not-too-distant future, taking place primarily in Shanghai. The story centers around two characters played by Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton. Robbins uses "empathy drugs" to find people that are taking advantage of his clients, while Morton plays a worker that Robbins finds out but falls in love with. It's a time when genetic decoding influences choices more than human will.

I enjoyed watching the movie, though more for the visuals than the story. From the very beginning, it's apparent the film uses existing locations to convey this not-too-distant but also not-too-far-fetched future. For the approach to Shanghai from the airport, Winterbottom uses the highway near Dubai to subtly illustrate the effects of environmental damage.


Images found here

In another scene, Robbins finds himself in an interior made famous by Andreas Gursky, a hotel interior that conveys the impression that - through our "choices" in how we create habitation - we're not that far removed from other creatures, like bees, as we think. It fits well into the movie's impersonal treatment of people in this fictive future.



This impersonalilty/universality is consistent throughout the film in the decision to have the characters inhabit spaces that are sleek, modern, cold.



So much so, that when we see Morton's character exiled for her "sins" the contrast hits you over the head.



So what does all this have to do with Nance's piece on Adrian Smith, outside of the fact he's designing a building for Dubai? Well, in some ways Dubai is a present-day version of Winterbottom's future. It's a land of contrasts. Rich and poor. Desert and greenery. Big and small. Real and surreal.

Smith even admits to being inspired by the depiction of the Emerald City in the Wizard of Oz for his design of Burj Dubai: "I just remembered the glassy, crystalline structure coming up in the middle of what seemed like nowhere." In the Burj Dubai, via Smith's subliminal inspiration, we now have the embodiment of these contrasts under construction in the desert playground that is Dubai.

The Urbs

Unbeknownst to me until today, this little page has been nominated for not one, not two, but three Urbs! What's an Urb, you ask? Well, it's an Urban Blogging Award that's run by Gridskipper and features multiple categories that cover the gamut of urban life.



This page has been nominated for World's Best Urban Architecture Blog, World's Hottest Urban Blogger (!?), and World's Best Urban Blog. Thanks go out to whoever nominated me and, needless to say, I'm in great company in each category.

So head on over to Gridskipper (before Dec. 7) and nominate like crazy, as "only those top blogs with the most total nominations will make it into actual voting."

Friends of the Trenton Bath House

Referring to the Trenton Jewish Community Center, Louis I. Kahn said, "I discovered myself after designing that little concrete block bathhouse in Trenton." While the small structure hasn't received as much recognition or attention as the architect's other buildings, such as the Kimbell Art Museum or Salk Institute, this quote illustrates that these later masterworks owe a lot to the ideas initially fleshed out in New Jersey.

To monitor the fate of the Bath House and later Day Camp by Kahn, the Friends of the Trenton Bath House was formed just this month, chaired by Susan G. Solomon. The organization's web page indicates that the "current owner...is planning to relocate to a new facility outside of Princeton. It is unknown who will purchase the property, which includes the Kahn buildings, and whether or not there will be a commitment to preservation."



Membership is free and will help the organization raise attention to the buildings' "fragile conditions" and worthiness for preservation, as well as in finding an appropriate buyer.

The Archi-Tourist

Back in August, I posted about the appeal of Galinsky and the need for a guide that would include contemporary architecture that might not make the cut into Galinsky...the more obscure, if you will. Spurred by a comment from Marcus, I opted for the wiki route, set up a free page and have been adding to it and tweaking it for the last few months, getting it ready for a public release. Well, it's not necessarily "ready" (a lot of information is still needed on certain pages), but now's as good a time as any, given that wiki software enables multiple users to create and edit the documents, filling in any gaps.

So without further adieu, I give you The Archi-Tourist.



Basically, each document is a different building or space or place, with information about the architecture, images, address and map, directions, and various links. At this point the format is consistent from document to document, though, like everything else, this may change over time as more people contribute and more bells and whistles get added to the site. But this initial "release" is, in my mind, a good place to start.

The most popular use of the wiki software is wikipedia, which allows anybody with an internet connection to edit documents on a gazillion things. While The Archi-Tourist uses the same sort of software, to start only invited users will be able to create and edit documents, so as to keep a reasonable amount of quality control. Check out the contributing page if you'd like to contribute.

Monday, Monday

My weekly page update:

Maag Recycling in Winterthur, Switzerland by Open Operating System oos ltd open operating system and Rotzler Krebs Partner.

The updated book feature is A View from the Campidoglio: Selected Essay 1953-1984", by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown.

Some unrelated links for your enjoyment:

Free Soil
"An international hybrid collaboration of artists, activists, researchers and gardeners who take a participatory role in the transformation of our environment." (added to sidebar under blogs::landscape)

Portland Architecture
Just like the title says, a blog about architecture in the Portland, Oregon.

The Beautiful People Take the Red Line
Three b/w photo galleries of people on Chicago's red line. Hit "look" to flip through images. (via Gapers Block)

Gobble, Gobble

It's time for a brief Thanksgiving break. Posts will resume on Sunday or Monday.


Image found here

Door Is Ajar

Gregory Crewdson is all over the place these days.



An exhibition of his latest series, "Beneath the Roses", at White Cube earlier in the year.



Part of the "The New City: Sub/Urbia in Recent Photography" exhibition currently at the Whitney.



Part of "the real ideal: Utopian Ideals and Dystopian Realities" exhibition at Sheffield Galleries and Museum Trust.



And articles all over the place.



His surreal, David Lynch-esque photographs are cinematic undertakings, usually requiring multiple bodies for extensive and elaborate staging (especially with lighting) and just as much time and effort with computers during "post-production". For me, the payoff is worth it. Not all of his series appeal to my senses, but this latest series hits me just right.

Get Yr $$ On

Just in time for the day after Thanksgiving, traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year in these old United States, Oprah Winfrey told millions of people what to buy for the Holidays. For those of you residing in the States - though this might apply much elsewhere - you've probably been bombarded one way or another by holiday consumer hype much earlier than usual this year, as companies try to make for anticipated drops in consumer spending caused by higher energy costs and such.

Personally, I'm aiming to make my gift-giving (and receiving) this year less about material goods and more about life's intangibles, such as donations to public radio, music classes, etc. This approach is more difficult than procuring "stuff" but ultimately a bit more rewarding, if not initially appealing to people.

The opposite end of Oprah's spectrum, though, is Buy Nothing Day, taking place on Friday in the States and Saturday in the UK. Billed as "a day where you challenge yourself, your family and friends to switch off from shopping and tune into life," this movement may or may not have been created by Adbusters but the organization definitely plays a hand in promoting it. Looking at their "BND Action Pyramid", buying nothing isn't enough. Non-spenders should spread the message via posters, t-shirts, banners, join Jammergroups, and generally get in shoppers faces with commentary on consumerism and corporations.



But does Buy Nothing Day really have a noticeable impact? Probably not. Like other "days" (Earth Day, Great American Smokeout, etc.), it's more publicity than anything. And while that might call attention to something, the next day people usually just go about their business, in this case shopping. An extension of the day that might have a slightly better chance is the Buy Nothing Christmas, though I don't know how anybody can pull that off.

In both cases, the emphasis on Nothing might be the biggest problem. Instead of countering 1 with 0 (in binary terms), why not counter 1 with 0.5? or 0.33? That might not get as much attention or publicity, but it's more realistic, especially given that so many people live in society's dependent on the commercial market. As an individual, to abandon it completely is so difficult that people probably won't even bother or pay attention, but to be more responsible about what, how much, and why we spend, is more feasible and may be more effective.

(thanks to Maria for the head's up)

Monday, Monday

My weekly page update:

Colonie in Paris, France by BOB 361 Architects.

The updated book feature is A Guide to Contemporary Architecture in America: Volume 1, Western U.S.A., by Masayuki Fuchigami.

Some unrelated links for your enjoyment:

Brand Avenue
Blog on "Place, Space, & Identity." (added to sidebar under blogs::urban)

All Jurors Wear Black
"Architecture is hard to understand. Noble minds and smart people have advanced it's debate in spite of their abilities. The observations, notices, and insights recorded here are to help the rest of us understand what's going on. Sometimes its a lot of hype, other times its pretty inspiring." (added to sidebar under blogs::architecture)

Design Spotter
"The web-based platform for publication and publicity for designer-makers."

A Competition, a Conference, an Award

Competition:

Burnham Prize 2006
"Learning from North Lawndale: Defining the Urban Neighborhood in the 21st Century" is the title of this year's Prize, whose winner will receive an extended fellowship at the American Academy in Rome in Fall 2006.

Conference:

Tropical Green
Taking place February 9-10 in Miami, "learn how to design and build sustainably - and profit from it."

Award:

CAF Patron of the Year Winners
Da Bears, Da City, Crate & Barrel and so forth.

Half Dose #19: Palace Fouquet's Barriere

This 80-room hotel, located on the Champs Elysees and set to open in 2006, is designed by Edouard Francois for the Groupe Lucien Barriere. The corner addition connects to its neighbors to create a unified hotel, while also linking aesthetically between the two.



This last is accomplished by copying a Hausmanian building on the Champs Elysees and creating its replica in a moulded concrete facade.



Given that this articulated facade doesn't relate to the interior rooms, openings are punched into the concrete wherever necessary, creating a mash of (traced) old and new.



This concept is a very intriguing approach for relating to, and integrating with, historical buildings. It falls somewhere between contemporary buildings that strive for contrast and neo-traditional buildings that use less-literal means of copying. Reminiscent of artwork by Rachel Whiteread, it's a design that I hope receives widespread press when complete, as it's an idea ripe for discussion if not replication.

Links:

:: Groupe Lucien Barriere
:: Eduard Francois

Short Anxiety

In last Sunday's Chicago Tribune, Blair Kamin argues for "a need for the city [of Chicago] to develop a planning framework that offers specific guidelines about where tall towers should go, how they can be placed so they block as few views as possible, and how they should behave at ground level." This article is definitely responding to the Spire-Tweezer one-two punch levied in the last couple months. Below's "composite photo prepared for this story," illustrates the crowding of the two towers and their proximity to Trump's tower down river (though this view is slightly misleading, as was mine in the link above, as it's a view that will rarely be experienced, except as one flies by in a plan or sails by in a boat).



Elsewhere in the article, Kamin uses Park Tower and the Peninsula Hotel as an example of "a growing movement in the design community to educate the development world that tall, slender buildings are not bad things," in a quote by Lori Healey, the city's new commissioner of Planning and Development. He states that the soaring Park Tower is more appealing than the short and squat Peninsula, though there's more going on than tall vs. short. Park Tower's location pretty much dictates a tall tower, not just because of its relationship to the city's historic Water Tower, but because of the unimpeded views to the east and the lake. Beyond the Water Tower is the equally-historic fire station, the MCA, and a park. Each of those should be around a long time, guaranteeing views for residents of Park Tower. The Peninsula, on the other hand, is a hotel (where views are important but not as much so as in residential) and faces tall buildings to the east. While its architecture may be as equally uninspiring as Park Tower, its stoutness alleviates the areas spiked towers, opening up the Water Tower to some sky and sun. Basically, both practically and as urban design, both types are worthwhile.

This gets to Kamin's conclusion, where he quotes Ralph Johnson and agrees that the city should dictate where "wall" buildings go (Grant Park) and where tall buildings go. Furthermore, retail and other "public" uses should line the ground floor below the ubiquitous parking garages that usually sit below towers. I definitely agree that we need a lively pedestrian-level streetscape, though the location of tall and short buildings should be more flexible and perhaps even on a case-by-case basis, taking into account other nearby developments.

What isn't mentioned in the article is the FAR bonuses that the city has provided in its latest zoning revision. If a developer sets aside space for a space like a winter garden or an arcade, or pushes parking underground (these and other bonus schemes are definitely costly but may be outweighed by the additional units or leasable space created by the bonuses), they gain FAR. And given the lack of a height restriction in most of downtown, it's no surprise that developments are aiming higher. While there's bound to be arguments over how to achieve a well-scaled and quality city environment, it's going to have to be done by the city, be it via zoning reform or the like. And the way things are going now, that's not very likely while a certain Mayor's in power.

Update 11.18: The following snippet written by Ada Louise Huxtable (emhasis added by me) that's featured in The Architect's Newspaper's article "On Criticism" (worth reading, by the way) seems particularly apt in regards to the issues discussed above, even though it was written in 1980. The fact it was written 25 years ago (in a NYTimes article called "Zoning: The End of the Line") shows that lessons are hard to learn and practice when there's a way and an incentive to do something else.

In an attempt to legislate an impossible balance between a profitable city and a livable city, New York has created a monster—call it Frankenstein zoning. The process by which good intentions and innovative practice are turned into an urban nightmare has been gradual and technically arcane. But what has been happening, insidiously and overtly, is that the whole idea of zoning has been turned upside down. It has been subverted from a way to control building bulk and size to a method for getting bigger buildings than ever.

If that seems like an anachronism, it is; exactly the kind of overbuilding is being encouraged that the law was designed to prohibit. The result, which is just beginning to be visible, is the rapid appearance of ranks of oppressively massive, sun- and light-blocking structures of a size that we have never seen in such concentration before. Their outline and impact appeared first on Madison Avenue from 53rd to 57th Street, with the 42-story, block-long Tishman building from 53rd to 54th Street, another tower across Madison at 55th Street, and the gargantuan AT&T and IBM buildings, from 55th to 56th, and 56th to 57th Street. This enclave of blockbusters was joined by the huge Trump Tower looming on the Bonwit Teller site at 56th and Fifth.

When the first of these immense projects designed under the city’s revised 1961 zoning regulations appeared, such as Olympic Tower on Fifth Avenue or Citicorp on Lexington, they seemed unique; as singular structures they were more interesting than overwhelming. As a standard to be replicated, however, they have become cautionary examples…What must be understood is that this wave of bigger-than-ever New York buildings is not some overreaching passing fancy. It is the new and future norm…The bottom line is that the developers build what they are permitted to by law.

These new buildings, therefore, are equally revealing of the manipulative, negotiable, and mutable art that New York’s zoning has become. And because what New York does in zoning is emulated by the rest of the country, whether it is innovative and constructive or dangerous and foolish, other cities will probably follow an example that has evolved from a reasonable system of controls, including creative attempts to balance restraints with public amenities, to an ad hoc exercise in horse-trading that is a clear environmental disaster.

TSUNAMI+

Got this in my inbox and thought I would pass it along. Click on the image for more information on the TSUNAMI+ Conference on Post-Disaster Planning and Reconstruction.

Monday, Monday

My weekly page update:

Simons Sauna in Sipoo Molandet, Finland by Heikkinen-Komonen Architects.

The updated book feature is American Playgrounds: Revitalizing Community Space, by Susan Solomon.

Some unrelated links for your enjoyment:

Museum for Missing Places
"Situated in Houston, Texas, the Museum is...a public information project that addresses contemporary issues of urban place identity through the eyes and actions of city residents. Using interactive exhibits, the Museum proposes alternative ways of mapping a city in the context of rapid and uncontrolled urban change and the uncertainty of enduring architectural landmarks." (via Archinect)

Revitalization
"The magazine of community renewal and natural resource restoration" that will debut in January 2006. (via The Place Where We Live)

Hoberman Transformable Design
Work "centered on the fundamental idea that a designed object can transform the way a natural organism does."

Half Dose #18: Mount Tindaya

Mount Tindaya is located on Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands. It was chosen by artist Eduardo Chillida, after a long and exhaustive search, as the location for a large-scale sculpture, a carved space of roughly cubic proportions (50m per side) inside the mountain that would be capped by two skylights.


Mount Tindaya

Ove Arup Engineers began work in 2003, performing a feasibility study and mapping the geology of the location. The most difficult aspect of the design's carved void is the flat ceiling that Chillida desires, given that the weight above would best be transferred to the "walls" via an arched, or similar ceiling.



Since the project's inception, in the form of small-scale models as shown here, the Canary Islands has been enthusiastic about realizing it full-size in Mount Tindaya. The three-phase project (I-feasibility, II-drilling, III-construction) is expected to be completed in 2010, according to Arup's page.



Check out the highly informative Mount Tindaya web page below for lots of information on the project, the artist, and the process behind its realization.

Links:

:: Mount Tindaya
:: Eduardo Chillida
:: Arup feature
:: Floornature feature

More Water Tanks

Although I couldn't find anything on MoMA's web page, Gothamist mentions that Rachel Whiteread's long gone Water Tower has been resurrected on MoMA's inaccessible roof, visible from its garden.


Water Tower in its original location

About five years ago I featured the installation on my web page. And even though I heard about it too late to see it in person, I have mixed feelings about its resurfacing at MoMA. While this does enable me and many other people to see the resin tank -- which I described as "a quiet glimmer in the city's visual cacophony" and as simultaneously an object and non-object -- its removal from its original context is ultimately disappointing.

Visible from the corner of West Broadway and Grand in Soho, its initial incarnation sat in an area not only dotted with functioning water tanks but an area partly defined by this presence, almost as much as the landmarked cast-iron facades. By putting it in an area with fewer (visible) tanks, its context changes and so does its presence. What I found appealing about the work was its double nature, the way it existed as an object while also disappearing. This effect was not only due to the translucent container but also to its location alongside other working tanks. One might be looking towards the artwork but never really pay attention to it or realize that it's different, due to the conditions of light and/or its not-out-of-place shape. This will be missing at MoMA. If I find myself in New York and in Midtown, I might look up at the Water Tower, but I'll still wish I saw it in Soho.

Facade Project

Since my recent move, I've seen this from the "L" station every morning:



When I previously lived near that station I remember the building's unfinished facade and empty interior, awaiting a fit out to be turned into condos, I assumed. It sat that way for years, not surprisingly since it sits five feet from the tracks. Now the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative, who occupies the building's storefront, has installed The Facade Project: A commemorative work in progress.

Each window on the upper three floors of the Collaborative building contains the faces of 9 of the US soldiers who have died in Iraq. Altogether, the piece shows the faces of 648 of the troops as a tribute and reminder.

I usually don't get into this sort of thing, but the interaction of the faces with the unfinished building -- as well as the sheer number of faces -- make it a powerful statement. From the photo above, it seems like the Collaborative should open the space to visitors to heighten the aesthetic and emotional experience.

Bob the (Messy) Architect

Last night, a packed house crammed into IIT's Crown Hall to listen to Robert Venturi talk about Mies van der Rohe and himself, who he called Bob. As part of the Chicago Humanities Festival's recent embrace of architecture, Venturi was a natural choice to shake things up at the bastion of Mies's preaching.


Mies

Brief history: Mies coined the phrase "Less is more". In reaction to that, and pretty much all of Modernism, Venturi countered with "Less is a bore". (Late in Venturi's talk he mentioned a twist on his quote that somebody coined, one I actually prefer to the original: Mess is More)


Bob

Thus Bob, the "Anti-Mies" spoke last night about classicism, symbolism, and mannerism. In the first case, he stated that Mies was a classicist, because his buildings and spaces were stripped-down renditions of what came before; in the second case, he attested that Mies used symbolism, most apparently in the non-structural, applied steel sections on the facades of multi-story buildings, symbolizing industry; in the third case, he argued that given the first two -- and the fact that Mies did not acknowledge the classicism or the symbolic ornamentation, Mies was not mannerist. Bob is mannerist, according to Bob, because he is overtly symbolic. His conclusion was that Mies was covertly symbolic and classicist in a complex and contradictory time, while Bob is overtly symbolic and mannerist in a complex and contradictory time.

So what does this mean? To me, Bob is trying to bring Mies closer to himself by aligning him with his beliefs. Having popularized the phrase "complexities and contradictions" in the influential book of the same title, he takes that as the defining characteristics of the 20th century, the industrial century. If one doesn't take this to be true, then his argument pretty much falls apart, as Mies's architecture has a different frame of reference. But that won't work for Bob. For him, the 20th century was complex and contradictory and only symbolic and mannerist architecture accurately represents that time. While I've never been a big fan of him and his wife's architecture, the duo's updating of their theories to the signs, symbols, and iconography of the digital age is unfortunately just as off-putting.

Alleys of Chicago

When I'm asked to describe Manhattan or other parts of New York City by Chicagoans who have yet to visit, I usually start by saying, "They don't have any alleys." It's only a few words but it says a lot, about both the physical and the active make-up of the city. Physically, while the blocks in Chicago are broken up by alleys, Manhattan features impenetrable blocks filled with buildings, with the occasional pocket park or through-block connection. Services like trash, utilities, and loading that are relegated to alleys in Chicago are on the street in Manhattan, adding to the already bustling roads and sidewalks another layer of activity. So alleys help to give each city its character: Chicago is less dense and vibrant than Manhattan, but it's also cleaner and more pedestrian and car friendly. To me, there's no good or bad about either. I love either city for what it is, knowing that alleys -- or lack thereof -- are only one defining feature.

Well, all that babble was spurred by the Chicago Tribune's week-long series on Chicago's alleys. The Flashy, interactive tour is a bit lacking in some respects, but for New Yorkers and other people who have yet to see any of Chicago's almost 2,000 miles of alleys, it definitely illustrates the variety of embodied within an otherwise mundane and practical piece of the city.

(via Gapers Block)

Japan Photo Blog

Just stumbled upon the above blog -- what I'