A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

, originally uploaded by kwikzilver . "Smarties" student dormitory at Utrecht University in Utrecht, Netherlands by Architectenbureau Marles Rohmer (2008). To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

"Even as the high priests of contemporary architecture set themselves up as visionary artists or seers in a throbbing celebrity economy, architecture frequently ignores or underestimates its civic influence. Architects certainly deserve admiration for what they, alone among us can do: create monuments of the built environment. When Howard Roark, the architect hero of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead , points to a building and says, 'I don't care what anyone says about me; I built that ,' one cannot but admire the material certainty of his pride. But one toxic result of recent 'starchitecture' culture is the steady stream of theoretical bafflegab that pours from architectural schools and journals. This is usually the result of what me might call 'philosophical backformation': finding some plausible-sounding theoretical cladding to hang on an already conceived, even completed, structural project. Self-respecting architects would not allow useless aesthetic...

Lessons from Bernard Rudofsky: Life as a Voyage edited by Architekturzentrum Wien, published by  Birkhäuser , 2007 ( Amazon ) Bernard Rudofsky is not a household name like his most famous book, Architecture Without Architects , even though the Austrian-born architect/designer/critic/curator authored eight other books, ranging on subjects from clothes to pedestrian streets. Perhaps this owes to the fact his achievements as an architect and designer haven't had the longevity of his books, and his most well-known books tend to downplay authorship, even though his subjective prose peppers illustrations on vernacular architecture, urbanism, and fashion. In other words, Rudofsky embraced and expressed the ideas of others; he was not n...

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2008 in London, England by Frank Gehry Photographs are copyright 0lll-Architecture Gallery . The Architecture of Frank Gehry looms on the horizon like a huge boulder in an otherwise carefully cultivated landscape . - Kurt W. Foster This quote from the introduction to a 1998 monograph on the world's most famous living architect seems apt for his latest executed work -- his first in England -- this year's Serpentine Gallery Pavilion . Located near Serpentine Lake -- from which the contemporary art gallery takes its name -- in London's Kensington Gardens , the chaotic-looking wood, steel and glass pavilion stands out from its formal, manicured surroundings, as well as the 1934 tea pavilion that the Gallery calls home. At first glance this ninth of the Gallery's pavilions recalls early Gehry, a phase marked by the use of inexpensive materials (chain link fencing...

Civilities I and Civilities II (2007) by a+t a+t Paperback, 176 and 160 pages In this a+t series, Civilities refers to "buildings that keep up society's pulse," a combination of the words civil and facilities. The projects featured in the first two volumes of the series aren't limited to what are commonly seen as civic building types (government buildings, libraries, community centers); theaters, museums, schools, parks and other public, semi-public and even private institutions are included. The idea is to focus on buildings that strive to bring people together, and to be the spaces of interaction at a time when social isolation (outside shopping and work) is prevalent. Like other a+t magazine series , projects are fairly recent; here buildings were completed in 2006 and 2007. This makes for an abundance of fresh and innovative architecture in a variety of (mainly European) contexts as well as a variety of building types, but it does not make for an exhau...

The following text and images (no plans, sorry) are courtesy Studio Klink , for their first built project, the Peet House (aka Rabbit House) in Lelystad, The Netherlands. Thanks to them for making my life a little easier this weekend. [photograph by Lars van den Brink ] Villa Peet was designed as a sequence of contrasting spatial experiences. These contrasts create a feeling of entering new worlds behind a series of rabbit holes. The absence of traditional interior doors gives the ground floor a sense of continuity, although the different spaces are well defined. [photograph by Lars van den Brink ] The sequence on the ground floor is as follows: 1) The entrance hall: high. A glimpse of the stairs and a small balcony give a hint of the world above. 2) Central axis: long. After turning the corner in the hallway one looks through the whole house straight into the garden. 3) The kitchen/dining: wide and high. A brigde runs through the room and divides the spaces for cooking a...

PABELLÓN DE ESPAÑA, EXPO ZARAGOZA_2-76-2_E2s , originally uploaded by arquitextonica . The Pavilion of Spain at Expo Zaragoza 2008 by Francisco Mangado. See more images and information (in Spanish) on a+t's blog . To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

_MG_3879-Edit , originally uploaded by Peter Guthrie . 2008 pavilion for Kivik Art Centre in Österlen, Sweden by David Chipperfield Architects and Antony Gormley . To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

Serpentine Gallery, Frank Gehry, 2008 Pavilion , originally uploaded by Iqbal Aalam . The 2008 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion by Frank Gehry opened on July 20. To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

The Bill McKibben Reader: Pieces from an Active Life by Bill McKibben, published by Holt Paperbacks, 2008. ( Amazon ) Self-described author-educator-environmentalist Bill McKibben is characteristic of much environmental writing today: he practices outside of academic institutions, he lives what he preaches (namely, outdoors), and he promotes activism and political involvement to counter the environmental problems on which he focuses. He is, in effect, a good person to have around, a voice of reason in an age of an overabundance of (dis)information. McKibben's potential reach is aided by the accessibility of his writing, owing in part to his existence outside academia, but also to his frequent contributions ...

Carmarthen Place SE1 in London, England by Emma Doherty and AiR Materiality in architectural design all too often devolves into a selection of applique over structure, with inside and outside having little in common, such as painted gypsum board inside and brick outside. This example illustrates that these two sides are typically seen as facing separate realms: the harsh exterior world and the intimate interior. In this sense both require appropriate responses that often negate the use of one material in place of the other; gypsum board will not withstand weather, and brick (sometimes) does not provide the warmth and softness required indoors. One material that is able to straddle these two separate yet interconnected realms is wood. Many species not only withstand the elements (with or without the aid of sealers) they improve with age and exposure to the sun, wind and rain. Inside, wood has a similar effect, aging gracefully underfoot, exhibiting the paths of inhabitants. Additi...

Key Contemporary Buildings: Plans, Sections and Elevations  by Rob Gregory, published by  W. W. Norton , 2008. Paperback, 240 pages. ( Amazon ) This third volume of the Plans, Sections and Elevations series follows Richard Weston's Key Buildings of the Twentieth Century and Colin Davies' Key Houses of the Twentieth Century . Gregory's contribution looks at buildings built primarily in the first six years of this still nascent century. His selection is not as predetermined as the first two, given their focus and hindsight, and given the wide range of designs that fall under the monicker contemporary, but Gregory does a fine job of choosing buildings that whose analysis via plan, section and elevation is rewarding. The book arranges the 95 projects in eight sections, based on plan (centralized, linear) or context (cityscape, infill). These categories, like any, somewhat arbitrarily segregate buildings that otherwise share certain characteristics, but this allows com...

castelvecchio , originally uploaded by stoneroberts . The Castelvecchio Museum in Verona, Italy by Carlo Scarpa (1964). 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 project that looks pretty straightforward at first... [model exterior | image source ]   ...but which reveals itself to be more than a platonic solid.  [model cutaway | image source ]  The large public office building designed for the periphery of Madrid is like a city within a cylinder. Orthogonal blocks sit within a ring, in the process creating a complex solid-void composition, dramatic from above and below. [model view down and up | image source ] What looks like it could have sprung from OMA is in fact the product of Productora , a Mexico City-based office formed only two years ago. But an OMA connection does exist, as each of the four heads at Productora worked with Fernando Romero , previously a partner at OMA. Six degrees of separation? How about two? [development of design | image source ] Regardless of the typology-bending design's similarity to Mr. Koolhaas's way of approaching architecture and the city, the project can be seen as a response to...

As much as I love books – the kind that can be held in one's hands and flipped through at will – the idea of online books is also something I appreciate for a number of reasons: saving on paper use, availability to a wider audience, and the potential of formats different than double-sided pages bound together. Here are a couple online books, as different from each other in subject as in execution. Piel.Skin by Ethel Baraona Pohl Pohl presents a Flash-based book with 25 contemporary projects around the world. The Flash format allows for an interactive world map for the projects, with Google Maps links for each accompanying some text and images. A very well done "book" that shares some characteristics (and projects) with my weekly page . Architecture and Memory by Robert Kirkbride The New School's Kirkbride expands upon an essay included in volume four of Chora (I reviewed it on my weekly page ), a study of the late 15th-century Renaissance Studios of Feder...

Reader Finn passed along a link to The Modern House Estate Agents , a UK agency "specialising in the sale of 20th and 21st century homes of architectural distinction." A quick glance through the properties reveals that they are definitely distinctive, as well as being well documented. One that stood out is David Adjaye 's Lost House in London. [Lost House exterior | image source ] The Lost House is one of the properties that has been sold, and one can see why, from the modest entrance on the street to the outdoor rooms and slick interiors. [Lost House courtyard | image source ] While the Modern House agents describe the house in some detail, they omit what is probably the most interesting tidbit for me and others without any intention of buying: why is the house for sale? Did the original owner "flip it" for profit? Did they grow out of it? Get tired of it? Move to Dubai? [Lost House exterior | image source ] Of course this sort of information personalizes the ...

Just found out about this design competition, and I have to say it sounds great, something I might just have to enter. But if you're like me, you only have four days to register. That deadline is July 18, with the entry deadline one month later. "' Designing the 21st Century Street ' is an open design competition sponsored by Transportation Alternatives . We are looking for new conceptual and physical approaches to the planning of public streets by asking participants to redesign the intersection of 9th Street and 4th Avenue. The street will be re-imagined as a healthy, safe, and sustainable 21st Century street."

New Urbanism and Beyond: Designing Cities for the Future edited by Tigran Haas, published by  Rizzoli , 2008. ( Amazon ) If there's one thing that architects and New Urbanists should focus on, it is remedying the rift between architects and New Urbanists. Of course, many architects are New Urbanists, and even many that aren't card-carrying members agree with the tenets of the Congress for New Urbanism , but the two tend to criticize each other, all-too-many times strongly and non-constructively. Granted that disagreements are inevitable in individuals and groups, the fact that New Urbanism is the only design movement making substantial progress on tackling sprawl and other urban issues today, attempts at working together ...

Casa Doppia in Aversa, Italy by Iodice Architetti In the town of Aversa, a little north of Naples, is the aptly named Casa Doppia (Double House), aptly named as the house is not one but two houses, not-quite mirrored doubles of each other. Designed by local architects Iodice Architetti , the design and execution of the residence is such that one would warrant it attention, so the twin nature of the project makes one's way of looking at the design shift to take into account the circumstances. The most obvious shift in thinking about the design is by looking at the floor plans. One notices that the plans are similar to each other, but not the same. They are not even mirrored opposites. Instead they are subtle manipulations of what are basically the same programs in roughly similar envelopes. For example, the ground floor of one locat...