A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool in Chicago, Illinois by Eifler & Associates Architects, 2001 Local firm Eifler & Associates Architects (with landscape architect Wolff Clements & Associates) received a 2003 Design Excellence Award from the Chicago Chapter of the American Institute of Architects for its restoration of the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool (formerly the Rookery) in the Lincoln Park Zoo on the north side of Chicago. Designed by landscape architect Alfred Caldwell in the 1930's, the Lily Pool consists of two interlocking pavilions overlooking the water with paths meandering between indigenous plants and entry gates. Since its completion, the pavilions have undergone various renovations, including roofing repairs and changes and repa...

Guide to Ecstacity by Nigel Coates, published by  Princeton Architectural Press , 2003. Hardcover, 454 pages. ( Amazon ) Ecstacity is a fictional city pieced together from sections of Tokyo, Cairo, London, New York, Rome, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro, and British architect Nigel Coates' metaphor for his beliefs on architecture and the urban condition for the 21st century. The book, a guide to this multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, all-embracing city, is described to the reader through six chapters: Tuning In, Locking On, Undressing, Letting Go, Cranking Up, Flipping Out. While the author believes the book does not need to be read in order cover to cover, these chapters more accurately describe the linear nature of the book, ...

Malacca House in Malacca, Malaysia by SCDA Architects One of Architectural Record 's ten Design Vanguards for 2003, SCDA Architects ' Soo Chan founded the firm in 1995 after working at Kohn Pedersen Fox and then A61 in Singapore. The Malaysian-born architect set up his practice in Singapore, where their focus appears to be, though new commissions extend outside the peninsula to China, Thailand and beyond. Soo Chan's designs reflect the environment of Singapore in its embrace of the big and small, from grand, urban plans to small boutiques and single-family houses. This situation is not unlike many other parts of the world, but a design focus appears at these two extremes. SCDA's completed work ranges from boutiques for Song & ...

Carrigacunna Pool in Cork, Ireland by Springett MacKay Architecture, 2003 The second piece in a three-phase improvement and restoration of Carrigacunna Castle in Southern Ireland is a new indoor swimming pool designed by London's Springett MacKay Architecture (now MSA Limited ). Located between two walls of a stable dating back to the 18th century, the project also included a link to the main building and a small courtyard. The corridor plays an important role in the project, separating the courtyard and the pool but also acting as a fulcrum for the intervention. Its two long walls exhibit the old and the new, the new wall shared with the courtyard is light and transparent and the existing wall shared with the pool is heavy and deep, its origina...

Higher: A Historic Race to the Sky and the Making of a City by Neal Bascomb, published by  Doubleday, 2003. Hardcover, 352 pages. ( Amazon ) Higher tells the story of the architects, clients, financiers and contractors involved in the construction of the Manhattan Company Building, the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building, as each building tried to be the world's tallest. The majority of the book focuses on the architects of the former two, respectively Craig Severance and William Van Alen. Once partners in a successful architecture firm, the two UN-amicably split shortly before taking on these illustrious commissions, adding fire to the flame in the competition for the tallest. Each archi...

Pasadena Christian Center in Pasadena, California by Tolkin & Associates Architecture, 2001 Located on a busy commercial street a few miles from Pasadena's Central Business District, the Pasadena Christian Center inhabits an old 700-seat movie theater. Local architects Tolkin & Associates Architecture carried out the adaptive re-use of the building, transforming it into a space for 300, with educational and children's worship facilities. The most unique aspect of the movie theater, its lamella roof structure, became an important part of the Center's design. Stripped of its paint down to the bare wood, the wood structure forms the grand, congregational space with two new, smaller wooden structures inserted into the space for the e...