A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

For the time being*, the architectural spotlight in Chicago is square on Renzo Piano, who's unveiling his final design for the Art Institute Expansion which has its groundbreaking today, and which also sees an exhibition on the design open at the museum today. If that's not enough, news coverage is rampant: :: Light and Airiness for Art Institute of Chicago's New Wing (New York Times) :: A talk with the park (Sun-Times) :: Museum bridge to connect art, popular park (Tribune - Kamin) :: Grand transformation at the Art Institute (Tribune) :: Art Institute to add new wing (Tribune - Kamin, again) Click image for Chicago Tribune graphic on the expansion. *Until Thom Mayne receives the Pritzker Prize at Millennium Park this evening.

Archinect links to CNN.com International's Special Report: Vision , which features visionaries like Norman Foster and Will Alsop , among many others . Foster writes about the importance of building sustainably, the world's population growth, and the importance of living in cities. A sidebar online poll had the following unsettling, though unsurprising, stat when I voted: I'll admit it's not the clearest question (Who is the we? Our elected officials? The public? Architects/Engineers/Developers? Whoever's voting?), but it definitely points to a lag between knowledge of a problem and application of solutions. In this case, the solutions will potentially take much longer to put into place than the very real impact of the problem.

Paper Temporary Studio in Paris, France by Shigeru Ban In January 2003, Japanese architect Shigeru Ban won the architectural design competition to build the Centre Pompidou - Metz , about 3.5 hours east of Paris in Metz's theatre district. The winning design is somewhat of a departure for the architect known for paper-tube structures and single-family residences: a large, undulating glass roof is pierced by cantilevered tubes while also covering outdoor spaces. Set to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the original Pompidou - the controversial structure designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers in Paris - the new building is set to open in 2007. To achieve the completion date of 2007, Ban designed a temporary structure (bui...

Finally visited the Milwaukee Art Museum and its signature addition by Santiago Calatrava earlier today. The bird-like brise-soleil is especially impressive from the approach via the Calatrava-designed footbridge. In the space below the brise-soleil , their presence is diminished by the deep mullions of the glass walls. The long wait in line for admission is lightened by site-specific artwork in the West Galleria, in this case a work of words by Liam Gillick. One of my favorite's in the Museum's permanent collection is Modernity circa 1952, Mirrored and Reflected Infinitely, 2004 by Josiah McElheny.

From The Guardian's article on Brad Pitt designing a restaurant and residential penthouse in Frank Gehry's redevelopment of the Hove seafront (my amendments in [brackets]): Brad Pitt Born Shawnee, Oklahoma, US Age 41 Career highlights Johnny Suede, Fight Club, Ocean's 11 [Se7en, Twelve Monkeys, Snatch] Career lowlights Seven Years in Tibet, Meet Joe Black [Troy, Interview with the Vampire] Why he matters 'He combines the matinee idol looks of Gary Cooper with the sex symbol loveliness of Marilyn Monroe' [He's one of the most popular actors in the world.] Frank Gehry Born Toronto, Canada Age 76 Career highlights Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao; Walt Disney concert hall, Los Angeles [DG Bank, Berlin; Cardboard and Bentwood Furniture] Career lowlights Experience Music Project, Seattle [American Center, Paris] Why he matters 'One of the most prominent contemporary American architects with his open, curvilinear, diverse and sometimes playful west coast style'. [H...

Starting June 10, photographs of Terry Evans will be on display in Chicago's Millennium Park. Titled Revealing Chicago: An Aerial Portrait , an online version of the exhibition is up and running already. The well-designed, interactive maps (political, physical, protected lands) stretch from the Kankakee River in the south and Portage, Indiana in the east to Geneva in the west and the Wisconsin border in the north, with an extra downtown blow-up. Thematic galleries (steel mills, neighborhoods, lakefront, suburbs, farming, etc.) provide additional browsing options. Either way, the photographs are especially beautiful, making the site a welcome distraction. Here's a sampling: IIT Student Center by Rem Koolhaas City Farm near Cabrini Green Metropolitan Correctional Center by Harry Weese Suburbia The exhibition is a collaboration between Openlands Project and Chicago Metropolis 2020 . (via Gapers Block )

If you're up for flexing your archi-democratic muscles, point your mouse to the 2005 Prix d'excellence en architecture de l'Ordre des Architectes du Québec. 32 projects are finalists for the award, with voting by the public available - YOU - until July 31. Finalists include: :: Anne Carrier Architectes :: Croft Pelletier Architectes :: Faucher Aubertin Brodeur Gauthier :: Dan S. Hanganu Architectes :: Hal Ingberg/James Aitken :: Lapointe, Voyer, Lemay et Associés (pictured) :: Marosi + Troy Architectes/Jodoin Lamarre Pratte :: Saucier Perrotte Architectes :: Pierre Thibault :: And many, many more ! Project pages feature extensive galleries, so even if you aren't voting you should have fun browsing.

At 1pm EST today, the Coney Island Development Association and the Van Alen Institute announces the winner of the Parachute Pavilion , an open ideas competition for a year-round structure at the base of the famous Parachute Jump. Having registered but not completed the competition, I'm especially eager to see the winning design. I'll post some images and information on the winning entry once it becomes available. And the winner is... the team of Kevin Carmody, Andrew Groarke, Chris Hardie and Lewis Kinneir, of London, chosen from more than 850 entries from 46 countries. According to Van Alen's press release, "The winning design team receives $10,000 and the opportunity to work with Van Alen Institute to develop a program and a publication that demonstrate the role of powerful design in improving the City...Second prize of $5,000 was awarded to Ramon Knoester and Eckart Graeve of Brooklyn and the Netherlands, and the $3,000 third prize went to Roman Torres, Patrick St...

On display now at the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma are various structures scattered across the newly renovated grounds and gardens, as part of the exhibit LANDed: Innovative Garden Structures . Vines by MADE In an essay on the exhibition , Brian J. Ferriso asserts "the LANDed structures create a garden experience like no other: a provocative experiential display of creativity that directly addresses the concept of the formal garden, its structures, and their relationship in the future." The architects in the exhibition : :: Della Valle + Bernheimer Design , Brooklyn ( Butterflies ) :: design subset , Austin ( ROAM room) :: Lyn Rice Architects, New York ([AND] SCAPES) :: MADE , Brooklyn ( Vines ) :: Mitnick Roddier Hicks , San Francisco ( Split/View ) Thanks to Eric M. for the head's up.

Flipping through Surface Magazine's 2005 Design Issue , I discovered a couple unbuilt, single-family house designs by Stanley Saitowitz , featured in an article on dot-com dreams gone awry in and around San Francisco, the epicenter of tech money in the 90s. The Zakin and Davis Houses both feature long, linear bars that bend and overlap each other, ending in dramatic cantilevers that strain towards the ideal vista. Zakin Residence Davis Residence These large houses seem to fall into a series of designs - also including the Kahn and Omega 3 projects - that use linear bars to define outdoor spaces, frame vistas, and instill each house with a unique sequence of movement and spatial relationships, especially when compared to typical residential design. In relation to Saitowitz's previous, built houses, these are extravagant, their expense (both land and building) and failure a product of the dot-com bubble and bust. While this means similar designs, in terms of scale and size, aren...

Nasher Sculpture Center Handbook edited by Steven A. Nash, published by Nasher Sculpture Center, 2003. Paperback, 189 pages. ( Amazon ) The Nasher Sculpture Center is an extraordinary combination of architecture, landscape design and art, an urban oasis in the Arts District of Dallas. Housing the collection of Raymond Nasher and his late wife Peggy, a visit to the building (Renzo Piano) and garden (Peter Walker) clearly illustrates their love of sculptural art, from pre-Columbian to contemporary, but in particular Modern 20th-century sculpture. Half of this handbook is devoted to their collection, with an essay by the editor and plates of 55 artworks. The other half of the book describes the history of the project, with design ...

Tending, (Blue) in Dallas, Texas by James Turrell and Interloop A/D At the northern end of the Nasher Sculpture Center 's garden sits a rough, granite-clad cube and a deep portal , each set within terraced rows of alternating flowers and bushes. Frosted glass doors recessed within the portal veil a soft glow of artificial light within. Once through the doors, a curved vestibule space leads the visitor towards the cube's interior, through another set of frosted glass doors. Smooth limestone benches line the perimeter, their sloped backs accommodating the artworks raison d'etre : a square, "knife-edge" cut-out in the roof open to the sky above. This description of Tending, (Blue) accurately conveys the movement a...

Some Chi-town news briefs and happenings: :: The Chicago Tribune reports that The Fordham Company approached Santiago Calatrava to design a residential high-rise on North Lake Shore Drive. Nothing more is known at this time, though it makes me wonder where exactly this tower would be located, since vacant lots along LSD are scarce (outside of 600 North which is slated for a pair of towers by Pappageorge/Haymes ). Fordham Co. isn't exactly known for cutting-edge architecture, so the choice to solicit Calatrava is unexpected, though refreshing. It should be interesting to see what develops. :: The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will donate $11 million for the ailing Chicago Public Schools, specifically for small schools. Given the lack of state and federal funds for education, this is good news, though unfortunately it won't go too far towards improving facilities, constructing new schools, and other physical improvements to the system....

A day after Donald Trump unveiled his borrowed design for the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan, the LMDC unveils its design for the Cultural Center, by Norway's Snøhetta . The building is located in the northeast corner of the site, adjacent to each memorial footprint, itself taking on a similar form either dictated by the site or in respect to the voids. With the recent Trumpian developments in this on-going drama, it looks like Snøhetta's design might be too abstract and impressionistic for most people to understand. Regardless, it might be the most tasteful design that has been presented to the public for the masterplan since the memorial competition.

Following up on yesterday's post about Donald Trump unveiling his design to rebuild the Twin Towers, NY1 reports that the design is available online . Apparently the design is one that's been on the internet for a while now (linked in yesterday's post), designed by Kenneth Gardner and Herbert Belton. Further it appears that Trump is merely endorsing this design rather than commissioning a designer for something new. No surprises there. If you're a reader of this page, you've probably noticed that I don't think rebuilding the Twin Towers is the right thing to do, even though I'm not in love with Libeskind's master plan and the hybrid Freedom Tower. Instead of rushing into one or the other, perhaps it's time for all interested parties to step back and reevaluate what's going on at the WTC site, so New York doesn't end up with something that hurts the city, and therefore the country. Money, politics and symbolism seem to be overshadowing go...

Tyler Green posts both his favorite painting(s) in America and favorite American painting(s) in response to the National Gallery launching a search for Britain's favorite painting.  Throwing some suggestions into the mix , it didn't take long to think of my favorite paintings in America, both by my favorite painter Gerhard Richter and both in the permanent collections of American museums (correct me if I'm wrong). Betty , 1988 St. Louis Art Museum Two Candles , 1982 Art Institute of Chicago  Picking a favorite American painting is a bit more difficult, taking my mind back to a university class on Modern American Art. Given that choosing something like this comes down to personal taste, for me that would be mid 20th-century abstract and abstract expressionist art. Which means a favorite wouldn't be a single work but a range of work by individual artists. So, in no particular order:  :: Franz Kline   :: Robert Motherwell   :: Mark Rothko   :: Barnett Newm...

Looks like Donald Trump is going to follow through on his words from a couple weeks ago when he panned Freedom Tower and pushed for rebuilding the Twin Towers "only stronger and a little bit taller, even if it's only one story taller." "They should...not build something that looks like an empty skeleton...The design for the Freedom Tower is an egghead design, designed by an egghead, which has no practical application and which, frankly, didn't look very good. I've gotten great reviews on my buildings . I'm somebody who believes strongly in great architecture and [Freedom Tower]...is just not a good design." (my italics) It's obvious Trump isn't enamored with Libeskind and thinks very highly of his own taste, though I can't recall much positive praise for his buildings, which tend to be unexceptional at best. Ironically his Trump Tower in Chicago, which has received some good words in print for its design (though countered by criticism of...

"The Miniaturization of the Megalopolis: Paolo Soleri's Arcosanti downsizes sprawl" Unpublished, written for TENbyTEN Do we need an alternative to urban sprawl? The easy answer is “yes,” but it’s difficult to propose what the alternative would be. New Urbanism -- an urban design movement that attempts to alleviate sprawl through real estate reform -- is an admirable attempt, but it falls prey to middle and upper-class exclusivity and continued automobile dependence, not to mention historical pastiche, rooted more in American myth than reality. Ultimately, New Urbanism proposes more of the same, repackaged and slightly more compact, focusing on the past rather than the future. So, what is the more effective alternative? These are the questions posed by Paolo Soleri, the man behind Arcosanti, an urban laboratory smack in the middle of Arizona. Located about 65 miles north of Phoenix, it is envisioned as a city for 5,000 inhabitants based on Soleri’s original design con...

Dark Age Ahead by Jane Jacobs, published by Vintage, 2005. Hardcover, 256 pages. ( Amazon ) In this book by the author of the influential and now classic The Death and Life of Great American Cities , Jacobs proposes that North American culture is heading for a Dark Age, loosely defined as mass amnesia where a culture and way of life is forgotten. Though much broader in scope than Death and Life , many similar ideas can be found here, particularly in relation to communities, the automobile, and economics in relation to the physical environment. Jacobs frames her argument in five areas where the current trajectory points to a dismal future: the car's destruction of community life, credentialing ...

B House in Portland, Oregon by Architecture W What eventually became the B House started as an unremarkable split-level ranch house that sat unsold for almost two years in Portland's otherwise hot market. Sitting on the edge of a nature preserve, the site offered a beauty the small house couldn't reciprocate, so many realtors recommended tearing down and rebuilding. But Brian White of Architecture W opted to add a new story on top of the existing and renovate the old interior, citing the quality of the original first floor plan and sustainability concerns (reuse of existing vs. demolition to reduce waste and building materials). Comparing views of the old and the new, it's apparent the B House is almost a literal stacking of new on top of...

I'll be away from home and work for a few days, resuming posting on Monday. In the meantime here's a stumper for ya: Where is this sculpture? Bonus: Who is the artist? The winner gets a lollipop.