A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

Sykes Student Union in West Chester, Pennsylvania by KieranTimberlake Associates   The following text and images are by KieranTimberlake Associates of Philadelphia for the Earl F. Sykes Student Union on the campus of West Chester University in Pennsylvania. West Chester University is part of the state system of universities. The core campus is a coherent set of historical, stone schist structures, generally constructed from 1890 through the 1930's. A central challenge for the addition was to provide a 'front door' and connection back to the main campus which is separated by a main thoroughfare from the existing 1970's Student Union. The addition and intervention placed between the existing building and the street reconciled the existing structure's recessive and disorienting position relative to the core...

Bowral House in New South Wales, Australia by Glenn Murcutt, 2001 Featured is the Bowral House in Southern Highlands, New South Wales, Australia by 2002 Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate Glenn Murcutt. The following text and images are from the Pritzker's award announcement. The Australian architect, Glenn Murcutt, who works as a sole practitioner, primarily designing environmentally sensitive modernist houses that respond to their surroundings and climate, as well as being scrupulously energy conscious, has been named to receive the 2002 Pritzker Architecture Prize. The 66 year old Murcutt lives and has his office in Sydney, but travels the world teaching and lecturing to university students. In announcing the jury’s choice, Thomas J. Pritzker, president of The Hyatt Foundation, said, “Glenn Murcutt is a stark contrast to most of the...

Undercover Lab in Tokyo, Japan by Klein Dytham architecture The following text and images are from Klein Dytham architecture for their design of the Under Cover Lab in Tokyo, Japan. Undercover Labs is a design studio for one of Japan's leading fashion designers, Jun Takahashi of Under Cover. The building itself is very undercover. Not only is it tucked away in the back streets of Harajuku in Tokyo, but the site is also very deceiving. A narrow but long driveway leads to a 12m x 12m site at the rear. Our response to the site, brief and client was very undercover too - not wanting to make a huge flamboyant statement which said look at me but rather a strong but understated design. It was in fact this narrow driveway which was the key to the project. How to make the building impressive and commanding when the main bulk of the ...

NaturBornholm in Aakirkeby, Denmark by Henning Larsen Popularized by Herzog and DeMeuron in their design of the Domus Winery in California's Napa Valley, gabions - wire containers filled with stones - have long been used in engineering, particularly in rivers. Their use in the winery and in Henning Larsen's NaturBornholm in Aakirkeby, Denmark, the effect is aesthetic instead of practical, artistic instead of engineered. The former uses larger stones above smaller stones to reverse the common perception of mass, that larger and heavier objects should be closer to the ground and smaller and lighter objects above. But since the larger stones allow more light to enter between them, they appear lighter, and vice-versa with the smaller stones. At the NaturBornholm, though, the use of gabions is related to the b...

The following text and images are contributed by Sarawut Chutiwongpeti , of Bangkok, Thailand, for his art installation "concerning the cutting edge of the 21st century", with support by The Japan Foundation. Materials are plastic, white-spun yard, aluminum tubes and foil, with electric lighting controls. The installation has developed into a three dimensional work depicting living space in an expanse of emptiness comprising light, sound, and colors, all of which are closely connected with time. One can hardly fathom the intrinsic value of any particular object; with time, it has lost the value and therefore has little by little changed in terms of color, dimension and appearance. Shape and form are hardly recognizable, as witnessed and experienced by Claude Monet; in his eyes physical appearance ...