A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

B 018 in Beirut, Lebanon by Bernard Khoury, 1998 Situated underground, like a bunker or bomb shelter, B 018 is a new nightclub in the Levant area of Beirut. Descending a narrow, dark corridor, the visitor is confronted with bouncers acting as soldiers and a view of the club through a sniper's window. Inside the bartenders and servers dress in white uniforms resembling nurses at a sanatorium. Although this scenario does not seem ideal for a night out, it is just the atmosphere desired by architect Bernard Khoury . Sited in an area of Beirut stormed by militia forces during the Lebanese civil war in 1976 (a Palestinian refugee camp at the time), the club acts as a reminder of this dark, yet relevant, history. The client, Nagi Gebrane, and his friends ran B 018 out of Gebrane's apartment as an escape from the fighting and massacres that occurred for the remaining fifteen y...

Taller de Arquitectura in Barcelona Spain by Ricardo Bofill, 1975 Ricardo Bofill arrived on the world architecture scene when the Postmodern movement gained popularity, both by the general public and architects. His early structures, mainly large residential complexes, consisted of classical elements in overscaled facade compositions. These buildings received mixed criticism, though were popular enough that Bofill became a well-known name in the world of architecture. Built in the mid-1970's, his residence and architectural workshop, the Taller de Arquitectura, parallel his earlier designs but is more successful compositionally and spatially, creating an intimate environment not readily found in his multi-residential buildings. The Catalan architect purchased a decrepit cement factory and spent two years remodeling it. Comprised of silos, underground p...

Academy of Art and Architecture in Maastricht, Netherlands by Wiel Arets Architects, 1993 Constructed early in Dutch architect Wiel Aret 's career, the Academy of Art and Architecture in Maastricht (an addition to the Academy of Art) achieves dramatic results with a minimal aesthetic. Comprised of two studio blocks, the parti consists of four, nine-square "cubes", linked by a bridge. As the bridge indicates, circulation plays an important part in the experience of the Academy. It is beyond the "alabaster skin" of the glass-block facade that the visitor feels the building's full effect, which the exterior only hints at. The new entrance is formed from an extension of the plaza created by bridging the addition. The plaza's paving gives way to a glass-block floor that echoes the vertical faces of the building, hinting at activities belo...