A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

Toyama Observatory Tower in Kosugi, Toyama, Japan by Shoei Yoh, 1992 Before the New York intellectual duo Diller + Scofidio proposed a habitable cloud hovering above a Swiss lake for Expo 2000, Shoei Yoh built the Toyama Tower in Kosugi for Prospecta 1992 in Kosugi, Toyama, Japan; an "open-frame cube" utilizing fog effects to create the sensation of walking in the clouds. The 32m high structure accomplishes one of the architect's goals: for visitors to contemplate the beauty of nearby mountains, a popular pastime in Japan. Unlike Diller + Scofidio's project, where the building's structure disappears behind the mist created by miles of piping, Yoh's structure is overt. The Toyama Tower is definitely an object in the landscape. Each approach can be seen as a reflection of each culture. Diller + Scofidio's embrace of technology and its use in society leads to a d...

Velodrome & Pool in Berlin, Germany by Dominique Perrault, 1999 Dominique Perrault 's name became internationally known after he designed Francois Miterrand's last grand projet , the National Library in Paris, France. In that design he explored the relationship between building, landscape, and the city, inserting a submerged courtyard between the four "L"-shaped towers of the library. Here the landscape is brought inside the realm of the building, while his design for an Olympic velodrome and pool in Berlin, Germany, brings the buildings inside the realm of the landscape. Deriving their footprints from their athletic functions, the pool and velodrome are a square and circle, respectively, located symmetrically in a large park with grass, trees, and paths. Instead of merely placing the buildings on the site, though, Perrault submerged the interior functions into th...