A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

David Rockwell , an architect known as much for set design as for architecture and interiors, and whose work is self-described as a "quirky pluralism", has a new book. Spectacle is "a visual essay documenting the notion and history of spectacle, those public performances and happenings that galvanize hordes of people and, if only for a brief moment, express the culture of our time in mass participation." Here's a taste . In its documentation of images influencing the author/architect it reminds me of John Pawson's popular book Minimum . Not coincidentially, both are published by Phaidon Press . To celebrate the publication of Rockwell's book, The Architectural League (with the Municipal Art Society’s Urban Center Books ) is hosting a panel discussion on Wednesday, November 1 with David Rockwell and Bruce Mau, moderated by Chee Pearlman. It's at 6:30 p.m. at the Baruch Performing Arts Center, 55 Lexington Avenue.

As an extension of this week's dose by Denmark's 3XN, here we feature the work of that office's former competition design managing architect Eve Harlou. The Z-House is a 700 sm (7,500 sf) single-family residence in Risskov, Denmark. The design is composed about an S-curve, visible in model above but also this elevation . This S-curve continues into the arrangement of rooms in the floor plan , whereby outdoor "rooms" are created, especially towards the back of the house. A feature wall abutting the stair creates an anchor for the house, a kind of eye of the swirling around it. Links: :: Eve Harlou :: 3XN

Wallpaper* City Guide: New York , by the editors of Wallpaper*  ( Amazon ) and New York's 50 Best Places to Find Peace and Quiet by Allan Ishac ( Amazon ). At first, these pocket books appear to be two incompatible guides to New York City, the former looking at the stylish and trendy side of the city and the latter finding those out-of-the-way places devoid of crowds and noise. But in a way these two books are complementary. The places in Peace and Quiet are a perfect antidote to the crowd spots in the Wallpaper* City Guide . After a long day of shopping on Fifth Avenue, one can step over to Paley Park and relax under the trees as the waterfall masks the sounds of the city. Or one can change pace from t...

Habitat '67 by hyfen Habitat '67 by Moshe Safdie. To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

Dwell on Design: Coming to Palm Springs December 1-3 2006 Exploring the past, present, and future of modern architecture and design. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE...October 27, 2006...San Francisco, CA...Dwell has announced plans for Dwell on Design: Palm Springs to be held at the Hotel Zoso in Palm Springs December 1-3 2006. Known as a Mecca of modern design and boasting one of the highest concentrations of important mid-century modern architecture in the United States, Palm Springs is the ideal location to address issues of preservation, sustainability, and the future of modern living. The weekend will be packed with information and activities including two very special cocktail receptions, a conference, an on-site modern showcase, a film premiere, and exclusive home tours. A DAILY DOSE OF ARCHITECTURE DISCOUNT! A Daily Dose of Architecture readers who register for Dwell on Design Palm Springs will receive a $75 discount off of the full conference ticket price. Use A Daily Dose of Architectu...

ArcAm west by mauOne ArcAm in Amsterdam by Rene van Zuuk . To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

P.A.N. stands for [progressive architecture network], an exhibition opening tomorrow at the Frederieke Taylor Gallery in New York. Curated by Winka Dubbeldam and Helene Furjan, the exhibition includes: The exhibition will feature the work of five, young, international architecture firms that share an attitude toward architecture rather than a common style or formal doctrine...mobile and connected, operating on multiple continents simultaneously and moving in and out of collaborations and affiliations at a fast pace. A reception will be held tomorrow from 6-8pm at the gallery's space at 535 West 22nd Street in Chelsea.

Urban Cactus is a housing project in the Vuurplaat section of Rotterdam by UCX Architects / Ben Huygen and Jasper Jaegers and done for Vestia Rotterdam Feijenoord/Estrade Projecten. Due to its siting at the end of harbor, the architects chose to conceptualize the project as belonging to the "green nerve" rather than the surrounding urban structure. They placed the 98 residential units on 19 floors, using the pattern of outdoor spaces to determine the overall appearance of the project. The slightly irregular pattern alternates these outdoor spaces to create what are in effect double-height spaces. Each unit then receives more sunlight than a typical stacked composition. Also the terrace area might be equivalent to a constant depth extended around the perimeter (say two meters), but their configuration creates larger "rooms" for gardening and for enjoying the outdoors and the city views. Links: :: UCX architects :: Estrade

Hotel as Home: The Art of Living on the Road by Gary Chang, published by  Princeton Architectural Press , 2006. ( Amazon ) Architect Gary Chang (of EDGE Design Institute ) is known mainly for his Suitcase House , a building that is actually a hotel near the Great Wall of China. It features a wonderfully creative interior comprised of folding panels and hidden spaces. Given the flexibility that comes from the multitude of possible configurations of the panels, it's apparent that Chang wants to make travel special. So it's no surprise that he authored a book that presents his favorite hotels from around the world. Like many other architects today, Chang spends a great deal of time ...

DSCF2506.JPG by schopaia Handrail detail at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa by David Chipperfield Architects . To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

Here's a couple recent projects that have landed in my inbox. Vanke Center in Shenzhen, China by Steven Holl Architects : A "progressive new sustainable mixed-use complex...on the South China Sea...the building, a horizontal skyscraper, will contain a conference center, hotel, serviced apartment and offices and the headquarters of China Vanke Co., Ltd....The floating horizontal bars of space loosen the connection between formal structure and function, giving vitality to the main ground level and surrounding landscape. The plan provides open space for the intricate multi-faceted daily life at this ground level to evolve and change." O-14 Commercial Tower in Dubai by Reiser + Umemoto : "O-14, a twenty-two story tall commercial tower perched on a two-storey podium...comprises 300,000 square feet and...will be located along the extension of Dubai Creek, occupying a prominent location on the waterfront esplanade. The design for O-14 is for a tower sheathed in a forty cent...

This just landed in my inbox, and it looks very promising: World Changing: A User's Guide for the 21st Century . From consumer consciousness to a new vision for industry; non-toxic homes to refugee shelters; microfinance to effective philanthropy; socially responsible investing to starting a green business; citizen media to human rights; ecological economics to climate change, we think this is the most comprehensive, cutting-edge overview to date of what's possible in the near future -- if we decide to make it so.

turbine room by MaLoL Carsten Holler's installation in the Tate Modern's turbine hall. To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

This afternoon we were treated to a lecture on Budapest, Hungary's House of Terror , "illustrating the grim decades of Nazi and Communist repression." Architecturally, the museum is basically a renovation of a much-renovated former headquarters for both the Nazi and Communist secret police, but the exhibition installations seem to overshadow the interiors. The exterior is another story. The existing building is painted a muted grey that stands out from its neighbors and supposedly recalls the outfits of the secret police. Wrapping the building's cornice is a new projecting "blade" with backward letters and figures cut out; the blade continues down the side of the building to sidewalk level. During the daytime hours the reverse letters spell out TERROR in the shadow case from the new projection. The blade intervention is strengthened at pedestrian level as visitors are forced to walk through it on the way to the entry. What at first glance appears to be a si...

simon in the har by archaalto This year's Ghost Lab project by students and Brian MacKay-Lyons. Many more photos of the project in archaalto's ghost lab 8 set . To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

Dear readers, As you've noticed posts have been thin lately. This has been mainly due to battling a flu/cold thing (I won) and a studio deadline (today). Things won't improve just yet, though, as I'll be out town for a number of days and won't have access to a computer; as such my weekly page will take a week off. Posts on this page will resume early-mid next week. john

One of the recipients of a 2006 Victoria, Australia's State of Design Award -- specifically The City of Melbourne Sustainability Design Award -- is Katrina Logan for her LUMI Illuminated Rainwater Storage . The satin acrylic container is targeted towards "the inner-city design community." Logan "envisages the balconies of high-rise developments as LUMI's ultimate destination." While the feasibility of collecting water on balconies typically located below other balconies may not work too well (making it perhaps more appropriate for backyards), it's nevertheless a great idea: making water conservation attractive by making something that's, well, attractive.

IMG_2716_1.JPG by andrewpaulcarr The Casa da Musica in Porto, Portugal by Rem Koolhaas and OMA. To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on the Earth by Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees. ( Amazon ) The ecological footprint is a tool for measuring the resources required to sustain certain lifestyles, in terms of use and waste. Basically, the tool tries to describe what is needed to live sustainably with our planet, and not surprisingly we are far from that goal. The typical footprint of someone living in North America (Canada, USA) is higher than someone living in India. This is definitely not shocking information, as most people understand the differences between the lifestyles of the two places. But the tool shows that the footprint of the former is over ten times the size of the latter. More ...

Wuhan French-Chinese Art Centre in Wuhan, China by standardarchitecture The years of 2003-05 were the China-France Culture Years . One element of this expression of French art in China is the the Wuhan French-Chinese Art Centre in Wuhan, China, the most populous city in Central China, sitting at the confluence of the Yangtze and Han Rivers. The building's site in the city is perhaps the most important condition for standardarchitecture , who strove to create "an important public space for the city and a monument for both the past and the ongoing transformation of the city." The architects approached the design conceptually as an urban container made from the Ancient and intuitive Chinese images of ink and water. They related ...

This was too irresistible not to pass along, a video by Swiss crew Liricas Analas performing a song in the Thermal Baths in Vals, posted over at Gravestmor . Previously

untitled by rutger spoelstra Mecanoo's library at the TU Delft. To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

World Architecture News profiles perhaps the three biggest celebrity architects within the last few days, featuring new projects by Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid and a completed museum by Daniel Libeskind . With last night's lecture by James Wine of SITE still fresh in my mind, let's take a look at these projects in relation to some of his ideas presented. Gehry's Louis Vuitton Foundation for Creation -- a fancy title for what's basically an art museum -- is planned for western Paris. The design is most notable for its lack of resemblance to Gehry's recent buildings, like the Walt Disney Concert Hall or the Millennium Park bandshell. Instead of titanium or stainless steel we see glass, with dashes of color here and there. It's like a deconstructed greenhouse or Crystal Palace, much different than Gehry's other Parisian building, the American Center (now La Cinemathatheque Francaise ). Does this change in material signal a change in Gehry's career? Wines ...

A rumor I heard yesterday about Adrian Smith leaving SOM is corroborated today by Blair Kamin in the Chicago Tribune. While Edward states that Smith's "taking about 50 people with him," this bit of information is not part of Kamin's piece. Regardless, it wouldn't surprise me if that were the case, as even at a corporate office with high salaries and good benefits, the camaraderie and allegiance to personalities can run high. The Tribune article makes the decision stem from a mandatory retirement that SOM would have enforced in about three years. The 62-year old Smith sees another 10-15 years worth of work in him, something not unheard of with architects. Frank Lloyd Wright worked practically until the day he died at the age of 91, Frank Gehry is 77 years old and shows no sign of slowing down just yet. Also in the rumor mill is news on the oft-reported Aqua tower by Studio Gang , a mixed-use high-rise that's becoming the signature building of the Lakeshore E...

[House of 5 Dreams by Jones Studio] This week we feature ten of the 22 projects selected in this year's American Architecture Awards program for 2006. The 22 winners of this year's American Architecture Awards -- run by The Chicago Athaneum Museum of Architecture and Design "to honor and celebrate the most outstanding accomplishments for new architecture designed and built in the United States by leading American and international architecture firms" -- range from an installation to a skyscraper, with many in-between. Like many architectural awards, single-family residences are in abundance. Perhaps the biggest is the House of 5 Dreams by Jones Studio, a 30,000 s.f. house/private museum for a "pair of prolific art and artifact collectors" in P...