Posts will resume in two weeks.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
On Vacation
I'll be on vacation for a couple weeks, enjoying some sun, sky and time with family, and therefore taking a break from my daily and weekly web pages. In the meantime check out my 33 favorites and the other quality links on the sidebar.
Posts will resume in two weeks.
Posts will resume in two weeks.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Today's archidose #300
The Deshpande Center for Social Entrepreneurship in Hubli, India, 2009. If you know the architect of this building, please put it in a comment on this post.
There are many more photos of the DCSE Building in bavadekar praveen's Flickr set.
To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just:
:: Join and add photos to the archidose pool, and/or
:: Tag your photos archidose
33 Favorites
With the sidebar links growing every week, I've decided to add a category at the top with my current favorites, the web pages (primarily blogs) that I look to daily or almost daily, whatever the case may be. This list will definitely morph over time as my interests change, as pages fade away, or as other pages' tastes diverge from mine. Please don't take it personally if your page isn't there or if it falls off. It's a subjective list there to help those overwhelmed by the loooooong list below it.
Why 33? Well, my aim at first was 20, but it was too difficult to limit myself to that number. Just over thirty seemed to work, and I'm a sucker for repetition and palindromes.
So here's the list, also added to the top of my sidebar links.
Why 33? Well, my aim at first was 20, but it was too difficult to limit myself to that number. Just over thirty seemed to work, and I'm a sucker for repetition and palindromes.
So here's the list, also added to the top of my sidebar links.
:: Arch Daily
:: Archinect
:: Architect's Newspaper
:: ArchitectureMNP
:: ArchNewsNow
:: [the belly of an architect]
:: BLDGBLOG
:: Brand Avenue
:: BUILD Blog
:: City of Sound
:: Coudal
:: Design Observer
:: dezain.net
:: Edificial
:: Fantastic Journal
:: HTC Experiments
:: Landscape+Urbanism
:: Lebbeus Woods
:: Life Without Buildings
:: loud paper
:: Pentagram
:: Polar Inertia
:: Pruned
:: PYTR 75
:: The Sesquipedalist
:: sit down man...
:: SpaceInvading
:: Strange Harvest
:: Super Colossal
:: things magazine
:: Tropolism
:: varnelis.net
:: Where
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Archivia Books
Walking down Lexington Avenue in the Upper East Side earlier today, I came across Archivia Books, a newish (open since November, 2007) bookstore specializing in architecture, art, design, decorative arts, gardens, interiors. While small in terms of square footage, the shop packs plenty of books, with a very good selection of architecture books along one wall.
The majority of architecture books are high-end, with the usual Phaidon and Taschen behemoths alongside various monographs, abundant regional titles (a lot focusing on Kentucky, for some reason), and a fair number of picture books of historical architecture, fitting the store's speciality. A few of the titles that caught my eye (below, l-r) were Contemporary Houses by Antonio Corcuera, Paradise Lost: Persia from Above by Georg Gerster, and New Prefab Architecture by Sergi Costa.
My NYC Bookstores list has been updated, with Archivia Books tied for 11th.
The majority of architecture books are high-end, with the usual Phaidon and Taschen behemoths alongside various monographs, abundant regional titles (a lot focusing on Kentucky, for some reason), and a fair number of picture books of historical architecture, fitting the store's speciality. A few of the titles that caught my eye (below, l-r) were Contemporary Houses by Antonio Corcuera, Paradise Lost: Persia from Above by Georg Gerster, and New Prefab Architecture by Sergi Costa.
My NYC Bookstores list has been updated, with Archivia Books tied for 11th.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Monday, Monday
My weekly page update:
Seminar II in Olympia, Washington by Mahlum Architects.
This week's book review is Integrated Design in Contemporary Architecture by Kiel Moe.
Lots of unrelated links for your enjoyment (the next weekly page update won't be for another three weeks):
Seminar II in Olympia, Washington by Mahlum Architects.
This week's book review is Integrated Design in Contemporary Architecture by Kiel Moe.
Lots of unrelated links for your enjoyment (the next weekly page update won't be for another three weeks):
Into the Loop
Architecture blog with projects both into the loop and out of the loop. (added to sidebar under blogs::architecture)
The Pocket Square
"Fashion, architecture, literature, criticism." (added to sidebar under blogs::architecture)
design / politics
"A blogsite for everyone dedicated to the design of cities and environments." (added to sidebar under blogs::urban)
Ctrl-N/ journal
"On cities, mapping, psychogeography and the experience of places." (added to sidebar under blogs::urban)
In and About the City...
"The urban experience, chicago and beyond." (added to sidebar under blogs::urban)
Bad British Architecture
"This aggression will not stand." (added to sidebar under blogs::architecture)
Digital Urban
"Modelling, visualizing and communicating urban environments." (added to sidebar under blogs::urban)
Vanishing STL
"Chronicles of the vanishing urban landscape of St. Louis." (added to sidebar under blogs::urban)
ChicTip.com
"Your ticket to stylish living." (added to sidebar under blogs::design+technology)
Criticalismo
"Writings on architecture (and other trivial things) by Rafael Gómez-Moriana." (added to sidebar under blogs::architecture)
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Today's archidose #299
The Watercube - National Swimming Center in Beijing, China by PTW Architects, 2008.
Previously on this blog.
To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just:
:: Join and add photos to the archidose pool, and/or
:: Tag your photos archidose
Friday, March 20, 2009
Book Review: A Weird and Wonderful Guide to London
A Weird and Wonderful Guide to London, edited by Mat Osman
Le Cool Publishing, 2008
Hardcover, 252 pages
When I travel to a city I always bring a guidebook. In London over the Millennium New Year, for example, I had a pub guide and an architecture guide. Those definitely came in handy for finding bitters and buildings, but of course those were less than sufficient for experiencing the gamut that is London. If Le Cool's Weird and Wonderful Guides were around back then I definitely would have taken their London guide with me. Geared more to residents that tourists, the book uncovers places seldom seen or heard, picked by locals for locals but nevertheless appropriate for adventurous travelers.
The difference between this guide book and others is evident first in the maps, or deficiency in the case of Le Cool. One map is found at the beginning of the book, though it is more table of contents than navigating device, with the neighborhoods and page numbers floating in a white space otherwise inhabited only by the Thames and some dotted lines and arrows, the last following the book's pagination, but hardly anything more. This says to me that there is no set path in the city, a sentiment corroborated by one flip through the book: abundant illustrations, various fonts, numerous layouts and a saturation of color capture the sense of moving through London. Even the start of each neighborhood's section is barely comprehensible, indicated usually by a sign of sorts embedded in the noise of the page.
But aside from the book's design -- a multitude of voices finding expression page after page -- the most obvious difference between Le Cool and anything else is the content. The index paints the picture clearly, and legibly, in black and white. Alongside the long list of pubs, restaurants and stores are "cafes with fetish shops in their basements" and "hairdressers cum art galleries that turn into clubs in the evening." Granted, these last two are short lists, but they make clear the focus on alternative and hybrid, the appeal of places that arise from the types of personalities that infuse the book with its visual charm and varied appeal. It's certainly an artistic and youthful take on the city (if I could take this book back in time with me to the Millennium I would have had a more interesting and inebriated experience then), but one that isn't ignorant of the cultural and historical layers of London.
Le Cool Publishing, 2008
Hardcover, 252 pages
When I travel to a city I always bring a guidebook. In London over the Millennium New Year, for example, I had a pub guide and an architecture guide. Those definitely came in handy for finding bitters and buildings, but of course those were less than sufficient for experiencing the gamut that is London. If Le Cool's Weird and Wonderful Guides were around back then I definitely would have taken their London guide with me. Geared more to residents that tourists, the book uncovers places seldom seen or heard, picked by locals for locals but nevertheless appropriate for adventurous travelers.
The difference between this guide book and others is evident first in the maps, or deficiency in the case of Le Cool. One map is found at the beginning of the book, though it is more table of contents than navigating device, with the neighborhoods and page numbers floating in a white space otherwise inhabited only by the Thames and some dotted lines and arrows, the last following the book's pagination, but hardly anything more. This says to me that there is no set path in the city, a sentiment corroborated by one flip through the book: abundant illustrations, various fonts, numerous layouts and a saturation of color capture the sense of moving through London. Even the start of each neighborhood's section is barely comprehensible, indicated usually by a sign of sorts embedded in the noise of the page.
But aside from the book's design -- a multitude of voices finding expression page after page -- the most obvious difference between Le Cool and anything else is the content. The index paints the picture clearly, and legibly, in black and white. Alongside the long list of pubs, restaurants and stores are "cafes with fetish shops in their basements" and "hairdressers cum art galleries that turn into clubs in the evening." Granted, these last two are short lists, but they make clear the focus on alternative and hybrid, the appeal of places that arise from the types of personalities that infuse the book with its visual charm and varied appeal. It's certainly an artistic and youthful take on the city (if I could take this book back in time with me to the Millennium I would have had a more interesting and inebriated experience then), but one that isn't ignorant of the cultural and historical layers of London.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Today's archidose #298
As I'm typing this post there are exactly 10,000 photos in the archidose Flickr pool. In honor of that milestone of sorts, here's some curves.
[Central Los Angeles High School for the Visual and Performing Arts in Los Angeles, California by Coop Himmelb(l)au | photograph by !architect4!]
[Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, Canada by Frank Gehry | photograph by picturenarrative]
[Reichstag, New German Parliament in Berlin, Germany by Foster + Partners | photograph by prats.]
[Ordrupgaard Museum Extension in Copenhagen, Denmark by Zaha Hadid | photograph by janorama]
[Central Los Angeles High School for the Visual and Performing Arts in Los Angeles, California by Coop Himmelb(l)au | photograph by !architect4!]
[Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, Canada by Frank Gehry | photograph by picturenarrative]
[Reichstag, New German Parliament in Berlin, Germany by Foster + Partners | photograph by prats.]
[Ordrupgaard Museum Extension in Copenhagen, Denmark by Zaha Hadid | photograph by janorama]
To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just:
:: Join and add photos to the archidose pool, and/or
:: Tag your photos archidose
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Giacomo Costa
At MoMA's bookstore yesterday I came across Giacomo Costa: The Chronicles of Time, an image-drenched book on the Florentine photographer, with a foreward by Norman Foster. His fusion of photography and digital techniques is clearly fantastical, like a not-too-distant Hollywood future. What stood out most in the book and on his web page were cityscapes punctured by linear amorphous megastructures.
[ATTO N.3, 2006 | image source]
[ATTO N.4, 2006 | image source]
[ATTO N.10, 2007 | image source]
[PERSISTENZA N.2, 2008 | image source]
The above seems to be various stages in time of such a megastructure and its surrounding fabric, apparently free of any habitation and upkeep. They are reminiscent of the images used to describe Alan Weisman's The World Without Us. Both the city and the alien structure are visible in various stages of deterioration, with buried infrastructure coming to the fore in ATTO N.10 and vegetation more prominent than buildings in PERSISTENZA N.2.
Costa lets the images speak for themselves on his web page, so the following description is taken from the publisher:
[ATTO N.3, 2006 | image source]
[ATTO N.4, 2006 | image source]
[ATTO N.10, 2007 | image source]
[PERSISTENZA N.2, 2008 | image source]
The above seems to be various stages in time of such a megastructure and its surrounding fabric, apparently free of any habitation and upkeep. They are reminiscent of the images used to describe Alan Weisman's The World Without Us. Both the city and the alien structure are visible in various stages of deterioration, with buried infrastructure coming to the fore in ATTO N.10 and vegetation more prominent than buildings in PERSISTENZA N.2.
Costa lets the images speak for themselves on his web page, so the following description is taken from the publisher:
Employing sophisticated digital techniques borrowed from the world of cinema the artist reinterprets the collective imagination of the metropolis, creating unreal cityscapes, spaces with vast perspectives that include spectacular ruins and architectures. Suspended between tradition and modernity, real and dreamlike, the “views” in The Chronicles of Time recall the sci-fi genre (are they perhaps the result of natural catastrophes? nuclear wars?) and at the same time, so rich in meticulous details, they seem to be the fruit of a contemporary reinterpretation of the most classic topos, that of the ideal city.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Today's archidose #297
Following on the heels of #296, here's some more Portuguese architecture, photos of the Esplanade in the Garden in Matosinhos, Portugal by Guilherme Machado Vaz, 2005. Photographs are by z.z.
To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just:
:: Join and add photos to the archidose pool, and/or
:: Tag your photos archidose
Conditions Magazine
Just found out about the Scandinavian Conditions Magazine, "conceived in order to search for knowledge and predicaments of our continuously evolving society." Its first issue won't come out until May, but some abstracts and bios from that issue are already available online, illustrations of the magazine's focus on the conditions of architecture and urbanism. It appears that the initial distribution will be limited to 1,000 copies and only Scandinavia; hopefully this will expand and/or the online content will make content available to an international audience.
Some details from the Conditions Magazine web site:
Some details from the Conditions Magazine web site:
Manifesto(via Things Magazine)
In opposition to ignorance and superficiality this magazine is conceived in order to search for knowledge and predicaments of our continuously evolving society. It is organized in a fluctuating network of agents reflecting the present globalized state of a dynamic society, economics, politics and culture which are the motivators of architecture. Through a play of thoughts in an open ended forum, predefined "facts" will be unsecured and constantly reinvented. The forum will gather the architect, client, politician and the public, a communion of ideas creating conditions for evolution.
Current Issue
The first issue of Conditions is dedicated to strategies for evolution in architecture and urbanism. It is easily recognized looking back when you are able to separate actual progress from variations. Our concern is how to interpret the contemporary situation and how to maneuver and act upon the present ensuring that architecture becomes really evolutionary.
Facts
Conditions is a new Scandinavian magazine focusing on the conditions of architecture and urbanism. Presenting new perspectives, in the way of conceiving and analyzing designs, works and theory for architecture.
- 4 issues per year
- 750 - 1000 copies per issue
- The magazine will be printed in color. Size is 27 cm (tall) by 20 cm (wide). 100 pages of editorial content.
- Distribution to Scandinavia, to all the major architecture organizations, architecture schools / libraries and architecture bookstores and webstores in Europe.
- Magazine language is English
- Editors: Joana Sá Lima, Tor Inge Hjemdal and Anders Melsom
- Designer: Ole Peder Juve / JUVE DESIGN
Monday, March 16, 2009
Monday, Monday
My weekly page update:
Double Class Villa in New Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China by Babel Architectures.
This week's book review is Green Roofs in Sustainable Landscape Design by Steven L. Cantor.
Some unrelated links for your enjoyment:
Double Class Villa in New Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China by Babel Architectures.
This week's book review is Green Roofs in Sustainable Landscape Design by Steven L. Cantor.
Some unrelated links for your enjoyment:
InfraNet Lab
Blog of InfraNet Lab "a research collective probing the spatial byproducts of contemporary resource logistics." (added to sidebar under blogs::urban)
Infrastructurist
"America under construction." (added to sidebar under blogs::urban)
Unemployed Architect
New blog by a "Boston area architect who suddenly finds herself with a lot more time on her hands..." (added to sidebar under blogs::architecture)
Arquitectura no Porto
Photos of architecture in Porto, Portugal. (added to sidebar under blogs::architecture)
The Designer's Review of Books
Reviews of books on design. (added to sidebar under blogs::design+technology)
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Book Review: True Green Home
True Green Home by Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin
National Geographic, 2008
Paperback, 144 pages
The latest book in National Geographic's True Green series focuses on architecture and the domestic realm. Authored by the director and deputy chair of Clean Up the World and Clean Up Australia, the book promises to be a valuable addition to sustainable literature, especially combined with the reputation of National Geographic. While a decent introduction to the subject, the results unfortunately do not meet up to the potential.
Obviously from the book's title, the reader is presented with 100 ideas for making their house or apartment more environmentally responsible. The ideas run from large-scale (siting and orientation) to the small (selecting cleaning and other household products), with many applicable to those renting and who can't make the large-scale changes. A number of books on residential sustainability neglect the fact that most people can't afford new construction, but this book acknowledges both that situation and the fact that reuse and renovation can be more sustainable anyways. By splitting the book into ten sections of ten ideas (a mathematically symmetrical approach that leads to some unfortunate redundancy and omissions) -- such as green energy, eco-kitchens, bathrooms, and greener gardens -- the authors cover a lot of territory, furthered by ten case studies that allow the reader to see green ideas in action.
So if the ideas are extensive and helpful, what makes the book lacking in potential? Mainly it's the book's layout. Perhaps stemming from the publisher's reputation for well-illustrated volumes, the coffee table-esque paperback doesn't practice what it preaches. The guide could easily have been pared down to a small-format, take-anywhere size (à la the Sustainable White Papers series) with illustrations more suited to the ideas presented. While well illustrated, a photograph of a faucet, for example, does not tell the reader anything about water conservation, except signaling that such page deals with water. We are treated to imagery for imagery's sake; a raiding of a clip art library to make the book more appealing to those flipping through the book for the first time, rather than extending the ideas in visual terms.
Besides my relatively minor quibbles, the book is a decent introduction to those uncertain how to tackle greening their home. For architects and other professionals already immersed in sustainable design, the book does not have much to offer, but this is clearly not the intended audience. Lastly, the book includes online references and a glossary, helping the reader navigate the ideas and explore more beyond the 100 ideas presented here.
or 
National Geographic, 2008
Paperback, 144 pages
The latest book in National Geographic's True Green series focuses on architecture and the domestic realm. Authored by the director and deputy chair of Clean Up the World and Clean Up Australia, the book promises to be a valuable addition to sustainable literature, especially combined with the reputation of National Geographic. While a decent introduction to the subject, the results unfortunately do not meet up to the potential.
Obviously from the book's title, the reader is presented with 100 ideas for making their house or apartment more environmentally responsible. The ideas run from large-scale (siting and orientation) to the small (selecting cleaning and other household products), with many applicable to those renting and who can't make the large-scale changes. A number of books on residential sustainability neglect the fact that most people can't afford new construction, but this book acknowledges both that situation and the fact that reuse and renovation can be more sustainable anyways. By splitting the book into ten sections of ten ideas (a mathematically symmetrical approach that leads to some unfortunate redundancy and omissions) -- such as green energy, eco-kitchens, bathrooms, and greener gardens -- the authors cover a lot of territory, furthered by ten case studies that allow the reader to see green ideas in action.
So if the ideas are extensive and helpful, what makes the book lacking in potential? Mainly it's the book's layout. Perhaps stemming from the publisher's reputation for well-illustrated volumes, the coffee table-esque paperback doesn't practice what it preaches. The guide could easily have been pared down to a small-format, take-anywhere size (à la the Sustainable White Papers series) with illustrations more suited to the ideas presented. While well illustrated, a photograph of a faucet, for example, does not tell the reader anything about water conservation, except signaling that such page deals with water. We are treated to imagery for imagery's sake; a raiding of a clip art library to make the book more appealing to those flipping through the book for the first time, rather than extending the ideas in visual terms.
Besides my relatively minor quibbles, the book is a decent introduction to those uncertain how to tackle greening their home. For architects and other professionals already immersed in sustainable design, the book does not have much to offer, but this is clearly not the intended audience. Lastly, the book includes online references and a glossary, helping the reader navigate the ideas and explore more beyond the 100 ideas presented here.
or
Friday, March 13, 2009
Prairie Avenue Spring Sale
Just found out that the Prairie Avenue Bookshop in Chicago is having a Spring Sale, with 25% savings on lots and lots of books until March 20. Click the image for more information and to browse the store's site.
"25% off all titles published in 2007 or earlier! Promotion runs 3/12/2009 - 3/20/2009. Book must have a publication date of 2007 or before. Promotion only applies to items currently in stock. No rain checks. All sales final. Please use the code 'Spring09' in the comments when ordering online. We will email you with an updated receipt reflecting the sale prices!"
Thursday, March 12, 2009
What'choo talkin' 'bout?
In 2004 I posted about the sale of Sears Tower, asking if the tallest building in the United States will keep its name. Now exactly five years later Crain's reports that the tower will be renamed Willis Tower. Say what?
Back in 2004 I thought the name recognition would trump any marketing coming from renaming the building, but apparently I was wrong.
[Sears Willis Tower during an air show | photo from Chicago Tribune]
From Crain's:
Back in 2004 I thought the name recognition would trump any marketing coming from renaming the building, but apparently I was wrong.
[
From Crain's:
The insurance broker announced Thursday morning that it will move to the Sears Tower and that the building will be renamed Willis Tower.(For those who don't get the title of this post, click here. Thanks to HB for the heads up!)
London-based Willis Group Holdings said it will consolidate five local offices into more than 140,000 square feet in the 110-story building at 233 S. Wacker Drive. Almost 500 employees will move into the building, Willis said.
...
Willis is the largest new tenant to move into Sears Tower since the 2001 terrorist attacks. In recent years, the building has suffered several big tenant losses, including its largest tenant, by rental revenue, Ernst & Young U.S. LLP, which is moving in 2012 to an almost-complete skyscraper at 155 N. Wacker Drive.
“Having our name associated with Chicago’s most iconic structure underscores our commitment to this great city, and recognizes Chicago’s importance as a major financial hub and international business center,” Joseph J. Plumeri, chairman and CEO of Willis Group Holdings, said in a release.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Lewis Mumford Lecture: City of Words
The Graduate Program in Urban Design School of Architecture, Urban Design & Landscape Architecture City College of New York is pleased to announce the sixth annual Lewis Mumford Lecture on Urbanism.
Paul Auster: City of Words
Thursday, March 12, 2009 at 6pm at The Great Hall of Shepard Hall, CCNY
Convent Avenue at 138th Street, New York, NY
The lecture is free and open to the public. No reservations are necessary.
From the CUNY Newswire:
Paul Auster: City of Words
Thursday, March 12, 2009 at 6pm at The Great Hall of Shepard Hall, CCNY
Convent Avenue at 138th Street, New York, NY
The lecture is free and open to the public. No reservations are necessary.
From the CUNY Newswire:
“Paul Auster is the quintessential urban novelist. His novels are about different ways of reading the city and different ways in which urban spaces can be characterized,” said Michael Sorkin, Distinguished Professor and Director of the Graduate Urban Design Program at CCNY, who organizes the lecture series.
Professor Sorkin noted that Mr. Auster’s novels are “amazing popular among architects. There is something in his writing that speaks to the way architects formulate space.”
About Paul Auster
Mr. Auster is the author of 15 novels, five screenplays and published essays, memoirs and autobiographies. He has edited several collections and translated works into English, as well. The “Times Literary Supplement” called him “one of America’s most spectacularly inventive writers.”
His novels include: “Man in the Dark” (2008), “Travels in the Scriptorium” (2007), “The Brooklyn Follies” (2005), “Oracle Night” (2004), “The Book of Illusions” (2004), “Timbuktu” (1999), “Mr. Vertigo” (1994), “Leviathan” (1992), “The Music of Chance” (1990), “Moon Palace” (1989), “In the Country of Last Things” (1987), and the three novels known as “The New York Trilogy:” “City of Glass” (1985), “Ghosts” (1986) and “The Locked Room” (1986).
Among his screenplays are: “The Inner Life of Martin Frost” (2007), “Lulu on the Bridge” (1998), “Smoke” (1995) and “Blue in the Face” (1995). He also directed the first two. Mr. Auster won the Independent Spirit Award for best screenplay and the Silver Bear from the Berlin Film Festival for “Smoke.” “Lulu on the Bridge” was an official selection of the Cannes Film Festival.
His nonfiction works include: “Hand to Mouth” (1997), “The Red Notebook” (1995), “The Art of Hunger” (1992) and “The Invention of Solitude” (1982). They were collected for the first time in the Picador Paperback Original “Collected Prose” (2005).
Mr. Auster edited and introduced the national bestseller “I Thought My Father Was God: And Other True Tales from NPR’s National Story Project” (Picador, 2002) and edited “The Random House Book of Twentieth-Century French Poetry.” He also edited “Samuel Beckett: The Grove Centenary Edition” (2006).
In 2006, Paul Auster was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters and won the Premio Principe de Asturias de las Letras, Spain’s most prestigious prize for literature. Among his other awards are the Commandur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, the Prix Médicis for the best foreign novel published in France (1992) and the Morton Dauwen Zabel award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1990).
Mr. Auster lives with his wife, the writer Siri Hustvedt, in Brooklyn. His next novel, “Invisible”, will be published in November 2009.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Today's archidose #296
Children's Library in Porto, Portugal by Paula Santos, 1998.
Be sure to check out z.z's interactive Google Map of Arquitectura no Porto for many more photos of buildings in the area.
To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just:
:: Join and add photos to the archidose pool, and/or
:: Tag your photos archidose
Monday, March 09, 2009
Monday, Monday
My weekly page update:
Brochstein Pavilion in Houston, Texas by Thomas Phifer & Partners.
This week's book review is Expanding Architecture: Design as ActivismBook Title, edited by Bryan Bell & Katie Wakeford.
Some unrelated links for your enjoyment:
Brochstein Pavilion in Houston, Texas by Thomas Phifer & Partners.
This week's book review is Expanding Architecture: Design as ActivismBook Title, edited by Bryan Bell & Katie Wakeford.
Some unrelated links for your enjoyment:
Architecture List
"A Directory of Great Architectures." (via BLDGBLOG; added to sidebar under blogs::architecture)
entschwindet und vergeht
"The only good architects are dead architects." (via BLDGBLOG; added to sidebar under blogs::architecture)
Morphopedia
"The online encyclopedia of Morphosis. (via Edificial; added to sidebar under blogs::offices/architects)
places and spaces
"Comments and news about Environmental Planning and Design." (added to sidebar under blogs::landscape+maps)
SMIBE
"The Society for Moving Images about the Built Environment." (added to sidebar under architectural links::organizations)
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Bustler Bookmarks
A new addition to the far-right sidebar of this blog is "My Bustler Bookmarks," a banner that lists handpicked Competitions, Events and News from Bustler. Clicking on the individual heading will change the list within the banner, which also includes a scrollbar if required. Clicking the individual listing will open a new window with information on that item. Pretty neat.
Attention New Yorkers: the Events listing will be limited to events in New York City, thereby replacing my occasional lectures posts. By contributing lectures and other events to Bustler, this listing (usually the next two or three weeks) should be a pretty thorough list of choice happenings. After clicking on Events, hold your mouse over the individual listing for a moment to see the date; the most immediate dates are at the top, later events at the bottom.
I hope this new banner is a helpful addition to this blog.
Attention New Yorkers: the Events listing will be limited to events in New York City, thereby replacing my occasional lectures posts. By contributing lectures and other events to Bustler, this listing (usually the next two or three weeks) should be a pretty thorough list of choice happenings. After clicking on Events, hold your mouse over the individual listing for a moment to see the date; the most immediate dates are at the top, later events at the bottom.
I hope this new banner is a helpful addition to this blog.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Today's archidose #295
Here's some photos of the British High Commission in Colombo, Sri Lanka, by Richard Murphy Architects with local architects Milroy Perera Associates, 2006. Photographs are by Daveybot, who has many more pics of the building in a Flickr set.
To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just:
:: Join and add photos to the archidose pool, and/or
:: Tag your photos archidose
Friday, March 06, 2009
AE11: New Wave Bunkers
Hearing the word "bunker," one most likely thinks of the Cold War, of protecting oneself and one's valuables from destruction, specifically nuclear destruction. Cold War bunkers ranged from individual shelters buried in one's suburban backyard to the US government's many real or mythological subterranean vaults for the storage of everything from arms to money. With the Cold War long over and the term bunker taking on purely historical connotations, the transformation of those facilities, and the revitalization of the idea of subterranean fortifications for other purposes, is leading to a plethora of what I'm calling New Wave Bunkers.
The Federal Reserve Communications and Records Center (Mt. Pony) in Culpeper, Virginia is one such government bunker, a facility for the storage of currency in the case of a mass catastrophe on US soil. It also housed the "central switching station of the Federal Reserve's Fedwire electronic funds transfer system...in a a steel reinforced concrete building with lead-lined radiation-proof steel shutters that can seal the bunker off from the surface in a matter of seconds."
[Images from Mt. Pony sales brochure | image source]
Recently the cold war-era facility was transformed into the Library of Congress - Packard Campus, designed by San Francisco's BAR Architects with Smith Group and SWA Group. Housing the Library's Motion Picture Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division in the 415,000-sf (38,550 sm) facility, the architects extended the existing grass-covered facility to include more spaces incorporating natural light, mainly in the new hemicycle portion overlooking a circular pond.
[Library of Congress - Packard Campus, photographs by Doug Dun | image source]
The interior is hardly bunker-like, owing to the fact that most of the storage facilities are housed under the earth berms, with areas bathed in light intended for employees and visitors. Storing temperature- and humidity-sensitive film and other materials that degrade over time, the new facility offers protection, not from explosives (I'm sure the building can take a beating, nevertheless) but from the elements. Of course how this or any facility can protect valuables from the march of time is difficult to say; that's probably a losing exercise (or one for a potential profession, where people and machines continuously backup data on various media -- Google's doing it already), but one that will probably be tackled by a government and/or corporation someday.
[Library of Congress - Packard Campus, photograph by Doug Dun | image source]
Actually the Svalbard Global Seed Vault can be seen as such a bunker targeting the ravages of time, but in this case it is again human-inflicted conflict that is doing the damage. "Ensuring that the genetic diversity of the world’s food crops is preserved for future generations," the seed vault in the permafrost of Norway's mountains takes the current and continued destruction of biological diversity as the impetus for its existence. It's a depressing but unfortunately true scenario that is playing out, like the destruction of biological species in the name of human progress.
[Svalbard Global Seed Vault, photographs by Mari Tefre/Svalbard Global Seed Vault | image source]
The vault itself (the architectural design is by Peter W. Søderman MNAL of Barlindhaug Consult) is marked by a concrete prow jutting from the mountain. The narrow opening leads to a tunnel that continues deep into the permafrost and to the three underground chambers for storage of the actual seeds. The rather small 1,000-sm (10,750-sf) facility uses the mass of the earth and the cold climate -- having taken into account climate change scenarios in the final location of the vault -- as a backup for the maintenance of below-zero conditions; electrical means maintain the temperature currently.
[Svalbard Global Seed Vault, drawing by The Directorate of Public Construction and Property | image source]
The Seed Vault is science fiction come to life. It presupposes the possibility of a dreadful future, but it tackles such with a certain optimism, that the diversity of plant species today are worth saving. It is highly practical, yet it is also strange to think that, for example, the reintroduction of a particular vegetable in an area devastated by human or natural disaster in the future will entail a transaction. It might not entail a purchase of the seed, per se, but here they are treated as commodities, isolated from their natural context onto a shelf, much like a store.
[Svalbard Global Seed Vault, photograph by Mari Tefre/Svalbard Global Seed Vault | image source]
Another recently completed New Wave Bunker is the United States Capitol Visitor Center (CVC), an over-budget and long-delayed entrance on the east side of the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. Plans for the large 580,000-sf (54,000-sm) complex actually started before September 11, though the decision to bury it three stories underground may have come about from the attacks on that day, not just as goals to be invisible and to not structurally disturb the 140-year old building.
[US Capitol Visitors Center | image source]
Designed by RTKL, the CVC is basically a massive pre-function space, spiced with exhibition space and an auditorium for a film on the building's history; additional facilities for Congress are also part of the total square footage. The building allows thousands of people to be in a secure and surveilled location before heading into the Capitol, instead of wandering about the grounds or the rest of DC. The Center allows more people to visit the Capitol in this sense, as frustrated visitors probably won't mind the air conditioning over the old prospect of sweating it outside.
[US Capitol Visitors Center, | image source]
The CVC is a bunker to protect tourists, the government and its buildings from terrorists. The bunker no longer protects what it contains; it protects what moves through and is at the end of the flow of circulation that it dictates. The bunker is but a security screen for those moving from point A to point B. The more I think about it the more I'm inclined to believe that the decision to bury the building underground is to mask its massive size, so contemporary architecture does not compete with the neoclassical Capitol, not for reasons of security. Burying buildings underground for defense against those who want to destroy something no longer makes sense. A diversity of small weaponry and delivery of threats has made large-scale protection misguided. These New Wave Bunkers show how the decisions to build underground have more to do with climate, the fragility of human creations and making security and surveillance invisible.
[Unique Cave Home | image source]
Postscript: I couldn't resist including this cave for sale outside St. Louis, Missouri. It's certainly not in the league of the other three projects here, but it is an interesting take on "shelter," where a 15,000-sf (1,400-sm) house was built inside an existing cave. (Yes, the house is bigger than the Seed Vault.) Here novelty is the most likely the name of the game, though the thermal mass of the rock certainly helps with heating and cooling. Unfortunately the inside is a hodge-podge of drywall and Home Depot fixtures, lacking any creative response to the fact the house is located in a cave.
The Federal Reserve Communications and Records Center (Mt. Pony) in Culpeper, Virginia is one such government bunker, a facility for the storage of currency in the case of a mass catastrophe on US soil. It also housed the "central switching station of the Federal Reserve's Fedwire electronic funds transfer system...in a a steel reinforced concrete building with lead-lined radiation-proof steel shutters that can seal the bunker off from the surface in a matter of seconds."
[Images from Mt. Pony sales brochure | image source]
Recently the cold war-era facility was transformed into the Library of Congress - Packard Campus, designed by San Francisco's BAR Architects with Smith Group and SWA Group. Housing the Library's Motion Picture Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division in the 415,000-sf (38,550 sm) facility, the architects extended the existing grass-covered facility to include more spaces incorporating natural light, mainly in the new hemicycle portion overlooking a circular pond.
[Library of Congress - Packard Campus, photographs by Doug Dun | image source]
The interior is hardly bunker-like, owing to the fact that most of the storage facilities are housed under the earth berms, with areas bathed in light intended for employees and visitors. Storing temperature- and humidity-sensitive film and other materials that degrade over time, the new facility offers protection, not from explosives (I'm sure the building can take a beating, nevertheless) but from the elements. Of course how this or any facility can protect valuables from the march of time is difficult to say; that's probably a losing exercise (or one for a potential profession, where people and machines continuously backup data on various media -- Google's doing it already), but one that will probably be tackled by a government and/or corporation someday.
[Library of Congress - Packard Campus, photograph by Doug Dun | image source]
Actually the Svalbard Global Seed Vault can be seen as such a bunker targeting the ravages of time, but in this case it is again human-inflicted conflict that is doing the damage. "Ensuring that the genetic diversity of the world’s food crops is preserved for future generations," the seed vault in the permafrost of Norway's mountains takes the current and continued destruction of biological diversity as the impetus for its existence. It's a depressing but unfortunately true scenario that is playing out, like the destruction of biological species in the name of human progress.
[Svalbard Global Seed Vault, photographs by Mari Tefre/Svalbard Global Seed Vault | image source]
The vault itself (the architectural design is by Peter W. Søderman MNAL of Barlindhaug Consult) is marked by a concrete prow jutting from the mountain. The narrow opening leads to a tunnel that continues deep into the permafrost and to the three underground chambers for storage of the actual seeds. The rather small 1,000-sm (10,750-sf) facility uses the mass of the earth and the cold climate -- having taken into account climate change scenarios in the final location of the vault -- as a backup for the maintenance of below-zero conditions; electrical means maintain the temperature currently.
[Svalbard Global Seed Vault, drawing by The Directorate of Public Construction and Property | image source]
The Seed Vault is science fiction come to life. It presupposes the possibility of a dreadful future, but it tackles such with a certain optimism, that the diversity of plant species today are worth saving. It is highly practical, yet it is also strange to think that, for example, the reintroduction of a particular vegetable in an area devastated by human or natural disaster in the future will entail a transaction. It might not entail a purchase of the seed, per se, but here they are treated as commodities, isolated from their natural context onto a shelf, much like a store.
[Svalbard Global Seed Vault, photograph by Mari Tefre/Svalbard Global Seed Vault | image source]
Another recently completed New Wave Bunker is the United States Capitol Visitor Center (CVC), an over-budget and long-delayed entrance on the east side of the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. Plans for the large 580,000-sf (54,000-sm) complex actually started before September 11, though the decision to bury it three stories underground may have come about from the attacks on that day, not just as goals to be invisible and to not structurally disturb the 140-year old building.
[US Capitol Visitors Center | image source]
Designed by RTKL, the CVC is basically a massive pre-function space, spiced with exhibition space and an auditorium for a film on the building's history; additional facilities for Congress are also part of the total square footage. The building allows thousands of people to be in a secure and surveilled location before heading into the Capitol, instead of wandering about the grounds or the rest of DC. The Center allows more people to visit the Capitol in this sense, as frustrated visitors probably won't mind the air conditioning over the old prospect of sweating it outside.
[US Capitol Visitors Center, | image source]
The CVC is a bunker to protect tourists, the government and its buildings from terrorists. The bunker no longer protects what it contains; it protects what moves through and is at the end of the flow of circulation that it dictates. The bunker is but a security screen for those moving from point A to point B. The more I think about it the more I'm inclined to believe that the decision to bury the building underground is to mask its massive size, so contemporary architecture does not compete with the neoclassical Capitol, not for reasons of security. Burying buildings underground for defense against those who want to destroy something no longer makes sense. A diversity of small weaponry and delivery of threats has made large-scale protection misguided. These New Wave Bunkers show how the decisions to build underground have more to do with climate, the fragility of human creations and making security and surveillance invisible.
[Unique Cave Home | image source]
Postscript: I couldn't resist including this cave for sale outside St. Louis, Missouri. It's certainly not in the league of the other three projects here, but it is an interesting take on "shelter," where a 15,000-sf (1,400-sm) house was built inside an existing cave. (Yes, the house is bigger than the Seed Vault.) Here novelty is the most likely the name of the game, though the thermal mass of the rock certainly helps with heating and cooling. Unfortunately the inside is a hodge-podge of drywall and Home Depot fixtures, lacking any creative response to the fact the house is located in a cave.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Today's archidose #294
Here's a few buildings in Austin, Texas. Photographs are by T. Cook.
[Austin City Hall by Antoine Predock]
[Texas Hillel Center for Jewish Life by Alterstudio]
[The Opium Den in the Charles Moore House at the Moore/Andersson Compound by Moore/Andersson Architects (now Andersson • Wise Architects)]
[Austin City Hall by Antoine Predock]
[Texas Hillel Center for Jewish Life by Alterstudio]
[The Opium Den in the Charles Moore House at the Moore/Andersson Compound by Moore/Andersson Architects (now Andersson • Wise Architects)]
To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just:
:: Join and add photos to the archidose pool, and/or
:: Tag your photos archidose
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Today's archidose #293
Noticing a plethora of panoramas and/or photos cropped to panorama proportions in the archidose Flickr pool, I decided to present a number of them in one post.
[Bloch Building of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri by Steven Holl Architects | photo by archipreneur]
[Millowner's Association Building Villa Shodhan in Ahmedabad, India by Le Corbusier | photo by superka_01]
[The High Court in Chandigarh, India by Le Corbusier | photo by superka_01]
[Swiss Re HQ, 30 St Mary Axe in London, England by Foster + Partners | photo by deejaypow]
[Bloch Building of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri by Steven Holl Architects | photo by archipreneur]
[Millowner's Association Building Villa Shodhan in Ahmedabad, India by Le Corbusier | photo by superka_01]
[The High Court in Chandigarh, India by Le Corbusier | photo by superka_01]
[Swiss Re HQ, 30 St Mary Axe in London, England by Foster + Partners | photo by deejaypow]
To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just:
:: Join and add photos to the archidose pool, and/or
:: Tag your photos archidose
Monday, March 02, 2009
Book Review: Almanac of Architecture & Design
Almanac of Architecture & Design 2009, edited by James P. Cramer and Jennifer Evans Yankopolus
Greenway, 2009
Paperback, 590 pages
With Google search, Web 2.0 tagging and other means of making information easier and faster to find online, the existence of reference books is harder and harder to argue. Those big 26-volume encyclopedias surely won't be missed, but how this thinking applies to more concise reference guides, like almanacs, warrants some attention. To dismiss them outright is to gloss over the advantages that books offer, namely that information is clearly located. Online information may be easy to find quickly but its location is vague, the rise of social bookmarking and other tools aiding in our orientation in cyberspace testament to this. But to say something is located is only part of the story, because it's what we can do once we locate something that is important. What we hold in our hands can be marked, highlighted, dogeared, affected by us to become personal and more meaningful.
DesignIntelligence's (DI) 10th Edition of their Almanac of Architecture & Design is as good a book as any for exploring the pros and cons of old fashioned reference books. Unlike other architecture reference books, like Graphic Standards, this almanac looks at the parts of the profession that arise from practice, not at the day-to-day workings of architects themselves. An obvious contemporary in this regard is Felder's Comprehensive, a decent desk reference that unfortunately wasted half of its size on manufacturers, one arena of print that can be unapologetically given over to a strictly online presence (i.e. Sweets). Each presents awards, organizations, education, publications, and rankings. DI also includes sections on sustainability, historic preservation, building types, and obituaries. Where Felder last updated its "annual" desk reference in 2006, DI actually updates its editions on a yearly basis, following certain bits of information (award winners, endangered lists, obituaries) that change annually or biannually.
Critiquing DI's Almanac based on what information it provides, the book is clear and thorough, with extensive indexes (by name and location) that are sometimes the most helpful way of finding something. While not explicit, the book is clearly US-centric, as awards, organizations and other listings from elsewhere are missing, though well-known groups like RIBA are represented, if incompletely. The content can be generalized into two source types: DesignIntelligence and others. The latter makes up the bulk, ranging from primary sources, such as organizations, to secondary sources, like web pages and their rankings. DI's source lists include helpful timelines (women in architecture, for example), building types (almost exclusively in the US) and other subjective lists. Carefully chosen quotes pepper some of the pages, a fine addition to the text but one that should also include the reference location, not just the author. Lastly, a b/w plate section highlights prominent projects, yet the photographs aren't keyed to the rest of the book, so it's not clear if a project is included for winning an award, for example, or just for being an appealing visual.
Not surprisingly online resources are missing from the mix, even though the editors reference web pages, such as Planetizen and its top urban planning books. Web sites like Archinect and archINFORM challenge print resources in their breadth and speed of change, as well offering even more content via a multi-authored approach. Besides concern of editing, layout and functionality, what might point to one medium taking precedence over the other is what the individual does with the information. Increasingly people use information to find more information, an almost endless loop of searching and discovering. In this sense, web pages have the advntage of being linked to the information people want. In other words, if one finds something in DI's Almanac, more than likely they will put the book down and visit that resource online to learn more information. The book and the web site are portals to learning more, so the latter has the advantage of being linked immediately. Here location means something else entirely from location mentioned at the beginning of this review; it is a link in an endless chain of information, rather than an end in and of itself.
or
Greenway, 2009
Paperback, 590 pages
With Google search, Web 2.0 tagging and other means of making information easier and faster to find online, the existence of reference books is harder and harder to argue. Those big 26-volume encyclopedias surely won't be missed, but how this thinking applies to more concise reference guides, like almanacs, warrants some attention. To dismiss them outright is to gloss over the advantages that books offer, namely that information is clearly located. Online information may be easy to find quickly but its location is vague, the rise of social bookmarking and other tools aiding in our orientation in cyberspace testament to this. But to say something is located is only part of the story, because it's what we can do once we locate something that is important. What we hold in our hands can be marked, highlighted, dogeared, affected by us to become personal and more meaningful.
DesignIntelligence's (DI) 10th Edition of their Almanac of Architecture & Design is as good a book as any for exploring the pros and cons of old fashioned reference books. Unlike other architecture reference books, like Graphic Standards, this almanac looks at the parts of the profession that arise from practice, not at the day-to-day workings of architects themselves. An obvious contemporary in this regard is Felder's Comprehensive, a decent desk reference that unfortunately wasted half of its size on manufacturers, one arena of print that can be unapologetically given over to a strictly online presence (i.e. Sweets). Each presents awards, organizations, education, publications, and rankings. DI also includes sections on sustainability, historic preservation, building types, and obituaries. Where Felder last updated its "annual" desk reference in 2006, DI actually updates its editions on a yearly basis, following certain bits of information (award winners, endangered lists, obituaries) that change annually or biannually.
Critiquing DI's Almanac based on what information it provides, the book is clear and thorough, with extensive indexes (by name and location) that are sometimes the most helpful way of finding something. While not explicit, the book is clearly US-centric, as awards, organizations and other listings from elsewhere are missing, though well-known groups like RIBA are represented, if incompletely. The content can be generalized into two source types: DesignIntelligence and others. The latter makes up the bulk, ranging from primary sources, such as organizations, to secondary sources, like web pages and their rankings. DI's source lists include helpful timelines (women in architecture, for example), building types (almost exclusively in the US) and other subjective lists. Carefully chosen quotes pepper some of the pages, a fine addition to the text but one that should also include the reference location, not just the author. Lastly, a b/w plate section highlights prominent projects, yet the photographs aren't keyed to the rest of the book, so it's not clear if a project is included for winning an award, for example, or just for being an appealing visual.
Not surprisingly online resources are missing from the mix, even though the editors reference web pages, such as Planetizen and its top urban planning books. Web sites like Archinect and archINFORM challenge print resources in their breadth and speed of change, as well offering even more content via a multi-authored approach. Besides concern of editing, layout and functionality, what might point to one medium taking precedence over the other is what the individual does with the information. Increasingly people use information to find more information, an almost endless loop of searching and discovering. In this sense, web pages have the advntage of being linked to the information people want. In other words, if one finds something in DI's Almanac, more than likely they will put the book down and visit that resource online to learn more information. The book and the web site are portals to learning more, so the latter has the advantage of being linked immediately. Here location means something else entirely from location mentioned at the beginning of this review; it is a link in an endless chain of information, rather than an end in and of itself.
or
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