A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

Ok, I didn't like the title " Partial Dose ," so I've changed it to the more appropriate "Half Dose." Regardless of the name, here's the second installment: From the Bellingham Herald : "A jury has selected Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects of Seattle to design a new art and children's museum planned for downtown Bellingham. The winner was announced Jan. 29." While the museum is new, it will be an addition to the Whatcom Museum of History & Art; a new courtyard is oriented toward the existing building a couple blocks away. The design's signature is the curved wall that defines an edge of the courtyard. The wall is envisioned as a translucent material that admits daylight during the day but can be used as a surface to project images upon - and achieve other lighting effects - at night. Links: - Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects . - Announcement of winner in the Bellingham Herald . - More images of t...

Uncommon Structures, Unconventional Builders by Alan Van Dine, published by Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 2001. Hardcover, 208 pages. ( Amazon ) Alan Van Dine approaches the history of the built environment from a unique perspective: highlighting the structures that pique our interest for their uniqueness and un-believability. Obvious examples like the Great Wall of China, Petra, and Machu Picchu sit alongside more humble structures like igloos, Sarah Winchester's "haunted house", and the common bird's nest. My favorite chapters tended towards the exotic, such as the Winchester House, an ever-expanding anomaly built by an heiress of the gun-maker's fortune and built according to seances held by the owner to keep ...

Diagonal Mar Parc in Barcelona, Spain by EMBT Diagonal Mar is a large urban redevelopment project centered around Barcelona's famous Avenue Diagonal near where it meets the sea. The ambitious plan includes five residential phases, a retail center, three hotels, three office buildings, a convention center and a public park. This last element is the focus here, a unique design by EMBT (Enrique Miralles Benedetta Tagliabue) that has been both praised and derided in the press. According to Diagonal Mar's website, the park is comprised of six general areas: fountains, a sports and amphitheater area, a bar, "magic mountain" for young children, a play area for infants and toddlers, and ...

A couple tidbits on the CTA: According to the Chicago Tribune , the threatened closure of 15 Brown Line stations during the 5-year overhaul of stations along its line will become a reality , though not exactly as anticipated. Chicagoist breaks down the impact, with stations either closing only on weekends or closed temporarily on weekday and weekends. Living near the Brown Line's Montrose station (pictured), I have to admit I'm disappointed. What's a relatively dependable means of getting someplace - especially work - will become a non-entity for much of the time, and most likely a frustration the rest of the time. For those unfamiliar with the project, the goal of the overhaul is to accommodate eight cars on trains over the current limit of six. This entails extending platforms, which is easier said than done, since some extensions require land acquisition (via eminent domain) and building demolition. Also, since the CTA is public, all renovations must meet A...

The old Sun-Times building is looking mighty stubby these days, as it's demolished to make way for Mr. Trump's BIG TOWER . Photo taken at lunchtime today on a chilly, but splendidly sunny Chicago day. Update 03.01: Listen to Hello Beautiful's Edward Lifson speak about the view of the IBM Building and the right to keep that view.

As much as I try to keep up with things, there's so much good stuff out there that many discoveries come long after they are new(s). One such example is something I've walked by many times, perhaps even stopping to glance at once a while ago. But not until today did I really notice the "Created Spaces" exhibit, part of the CTA's In-Transit Gallery .  The exhibition of four photographic artists is easy to miss, though, as it's situated on the walls of a raised walkway linking the two platforms of the Merchandise Mart "L" Station. The south wall features pieces by Nicole Fedrow and Camila Olarte, though they didn't grab may attention as much as the pieces on the opposite wall by Amanda Bertany and Logan Ross, all students (at the time of the exhibit's opening last May) in Columbia College's Department of Photography.  The following text is taken from the exhibition's description. "Logan Ross creates his spaces as tiny models; stru...

I've decided to introduce a new, recurring feature on this page, what I'm calling Partial Doses . These will be like shortened versions of my weekly page doses, featuring a couple photographs, a little bit of text, and links; some may eventually end up on my weekly page. By shortening the format, they will encourage exploration by the reader via the links provided. The first Partial Dose features the Baie-St-Paul City Hall in Québec by Anne Carrier Architectes: This project is a renovation of an industrial shed into a civic structure. The architects basically gutted the building, leaving only its structure which corresponded nicely with the new program, while also adding a glazed extension for circulation. A new canopy is the building's strongest element, shading the entry on the east side of the building and forming the building's main elevation. The overall design is very restrained, creating interior spaces with generous daylighting and views to th...

According to ABC News : Architect Philip Johnson, who is credited with bringing some of the ideas of European modern design to the United States and transforming them into a uniquely American form, has died at his home in New Canaan, Conn. He was 98. Thanks to Lil' G. for the head's up. Update: More information here from the Houston Chronicle (via Archinect ). Another update: The New York Times has a lengthy obituary by Paul Goldberger that seems to have been written in anticipation of Johnson's death (or Mr. Goldberger has fast, nimble fingers.) A very good summation of this important figure's life. (Last) Update: The New York Times has complete coverage , with the above Goldberger obit, an appreciation by Nicolai Ouroussoff, as well as old articles by Ada Louise Huxtable, Fred A. Bernstein, and others.

Skyscraper City has its 2004 Grand Finale Results of its Urban Photo Contests Hall of Fame here , including the winner below, Taipei 101 by Bluga. Check it out. And while you're at it, check out the same site's Forum with images and discussion on Madrid's Hotel Puerta de America. If you haven't heard of it, this endeavor is a 12-story hotel with each floor and various other areas designed by a different architect, possibly 22 involved. That list includes Ron Arad, David Chipperfield, Kathryn Findlay, Norman Foster, Richard Gluckman, Zaha Hadid, Arata Isozaki, Jean Nouvel, and others. Nouvel is responsible for the facade, made up of various brightly-colored fabric awnings resembling a couple pages from a Pantone book. Nouvel is also designing the penthouse floor with the theme "the beauty of women", reminiscent of The Hotel he designed in Lucerne, Switzerland. Though in Madrid he will populate the architectural surfaces of the hotel rooms with image...

Theoretical Anxiety and Design Strategies in the Work of Eight Contemporary Architects by Rafael Moneo. From the publisher : The internationally acclaimed architect Rafael Moneo is known to be a courageous architect. His major works include the Houston Museum of Fine Art, Davis Art Museum at Wellesley College, the Stockholm Museum of Modern Art and Architecture, and the Potzdammer Platz Hotel in Berlin. Now Moneo will be known as a daring critic as well. In this book, he looks at eight of his contemporaries -- all architects of international stature -- and discusses the theoretical positions, technical innovations, and design contributions of each. Moneo's discussion of these eight architects -- James Stirling, Robert Venturi, Aldo Rossi, Peter Eisenman, Alvaro Siza, Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhaas, and the partnership of Jacques Herzog and Pierre De Meuron -- has the colloquial, engaging tone of a series of lectures on modern architecture by a master architect; the reader hears not ...

The Trees in My Forest by Bernd Heinrich, published by HarperCollins, 1998. Paperback, 256 pages. ( Amazon ) Biologist Heinrich lives in the 300-acre forest of the title, a place he describes in detail both verbally and visually. Alongside his scientific, though readable, writing on the evolution of trees, sex in trees, seeds, mushrooms, and so forth, are his hand drawn sketches. The middle section of the book is devoted to these full-color, exquisitely-detailed sketches, such as on the cover at left. While the book's greatest contribution is giving the reader an appreciation of the lives of trees and the forest as a working ecosystem, the appendix illustrates the author's intentions. Talking about the forest management plan he ...

Tjalk Shopping Center in Lelystad, Netherlands by Geen Punt Architecten The following text and images are by Rotterdam's Geen Punt Architecten for their Tjalk Shopping Center in Lelystad. Click images for larger color views. Once the original shopping center on this site won a price for “most environmentally-friendly building.” After being used by the client, asbestos was found. Partly because of this, the building got a bad name and was left by its tenants. Afterwards, the qualities of the location were recognized by a retail-based development company who decided to buy it and redevelop it. The location has a key position in the local shopping area, so the design had to be both attractive and inviting. By...

If you're interested in architecture, most likely you're interested in images. They convey most of the information we digest about architecture, especially when quality buildings are constantly built all over the world, making it difficult to visit even a large percentage of them. While JPG Magazine doesn't focus on architecture, it does a great job of focusing on image. It's inaugural issue, Origin , features 31 photographers' interpretations of the word. An example page illustrates the quality of photographs and care that went into the magazine's production, Many of the contributors have web presences, including one of my favorite, Toronto-based Sam Javanrouh .

This Saturday, the fine folks at Prairie Avenue Bookshop host a discussion by author Charles Waldheim on his new book Hilberseimer/Mies van der Rohe : Lafayette Park Detroit , the fourth book in the Case series. From the publisher : At a time when many of the past decades' urban renewal projects are facing the wrecking ball, Detroit's Lafayette Park continues to be a model of urban livability. This in-depth look at the project explores why. Amid the oppressive urban blight of post-World War II Detroit, the Lafayette Park project emerged as a vibrant point of optimism and viability. Planned by Ludwig Hilberseimer, with concrete, glass, and steel buildings designed by Mies van der Rohe, and a park and gardens designed by Alfred Caldwell, this series of subsidized high- and low-rise apartments remains a superb example of an integrated community a half-century after its construction. This latest volume in the CASE series published in collaboration with the Harvard Univ...

Michael Wolf's Architecture of Density is on display at Robert Koch Gallery in San Francisco until April 6. His large-scale color photographs illustrate the unbelievable density of Hong Kong's residential high-rises. Like something out of a Sci-Fi movie, the images tend to eliminate the greater context and focus on the sheer repetition of floors, windows, air conditioners, laundry, etc. Amazing stuff. The bottom image reminds me of one of my favorite oddities from the past, Kowloon Walled City . (via Space and Culture )

Portraits of the New Architecture by Richard Schulman with Paul Goldberger, published by  Assouline , 2004. Hardcover, 215 pages. ( Amazon ) Richard Schulman's color photographs highlight fifty international architects and their buildings. In some ways a product - and critique - of the celebrity status of architects, the candid images of each (mainly individuals but sometimes firms) are the most illuminating aspect of the book. Mainly taken in offices and homes, the portraits don't have a stylistic theme, instead finding their inspiration in the architects themselves. For example, Rem Koolhaas is the only focused head among a sea of blurry OMA-ers - exhibiting the teamwork of his practice - and Daniel Libeskind...

 Porter House Condominium in Manhattan, New York by SHoP Architects Located in New York City's Meatpacking District , a trendy section of Manhattan between the West Village and Chelsea, the Porter House Condominium by SHoP contributes to the areas fashionability. Like much of the areas recent interventions, Porter House is a renovation, in this case of a six-story, 30,000 sf warehouse. In a move that recall's Winka Dubbeldam 's Greenwich Street Project , this residential development adds floors above the existing, also cantilevering over its neighbors. Definitely the most striking aspect of SHoP's design is the facade, one that relates to the existing variously-sized window openings while also departing ...

Reader John Tolva sends me this link on his website about the film I, Robot and its depiction of Chicago in 2035. Mr. Tolva's Flickr gallery collects most of the film's shots of the Chicago cityscape, such as the one above. I haven't seen the movie, but looks like I'll definitely have to check it out.

Archinect reports on two restaurants opening this month in New York City, Xing and Tides, both by local firm Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis . These two designs signal the firm's domination of NYC interior trends, as they explore space and surface via material and texture. Each design takes a single material as a departure for something entirely new and unexpected: Xing with acrylic and Tides with bamboo. Xing 's juxtaposition of acrylic, wood and stone Tides ' 80,000 bamboo skewers Previous trend-setting NYC interiors by LTL include: Lozoo (now closed) Ini Ani coffee shop Fluff Bakery , opened last year Cool stuff, to say the least.