A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

Here's a couple Polaroids taken by victortsu of the Sainte-Bernadette-du-Banlay Church in Nevers, France by Claude Parent and Paul Virilio, 1966. To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

Graphic Anatomy by Atelier Bow-Wow, published by  Toto , 2008. ( Amazon ) Most architectural monographs favor photographs and computer-generated renderings over the architectural drawings that make the finished building possible. Ironically, where photographs tend to remove people from their idealized compositions, renderings in the age of Photoshop do the opposite, but rarely in the manner in which a space will be used; People are used as scale figures rather than an influence on the design of the spaces. What's surprising, and amazing, about the latest book from Japan's Atelier Bow-Wow is the way it gives architectural drawings the appeal of renderings, by giving them the depth of perspectives and populating them in a way that it is clear considerations of the space's -- as well as the construction's -- function are of the utmost. ...

Tierra Atacama Hotel and Spa in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile by Rodrigo Searle & Matías González Photographs are by Sebastián Sepúlveda. Previously featured on this web page was a satellite building of the Portillo Hotel and Ski Resort , located at an elevation of 3000 meters (9,850 feet) in the Andes of Chile. The sister resort of Portillo is in a polar opposite condition: the Tierra Atacama Hotel and Spa sits to the north in the Atacama Desert. As each resort caters to different activities, from skiing in the south to hiking and relaxing in the north, the architecture also responds accordingly. Designed by Rodrigo Searle and Matías González, Tierra Atacama uses natural materials to root itself in its dry context, as if it is built from the land it sits upon. From the mortarless stone wall that greets visitors at the resort's entrance, it is clear that the architecture stri...

Monaco House , originally uploaded by jonolist . Monaco House in Melbourne, Australia by McBride Charles Ryan, Architecture + Interior Design , 2008. To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

Flipping through the latest issue of New York Spaces in the dentist's office the other day, what stood out amidst the primarily opulent and interior design-focused projects was the Bar House by C|S Architecture in Fairfield, Connecticut. [photograph by Peter Margonelli | image source ] The juxtaposition between what are in effect two bars is definitely contrasting, but nevertheless pleasing. The new addition actually bows to the older structure (a horse barn built from a kit on site in the 1990s) via its massing and subdued color. Where the barn's "face" is oriented to the open field in the foreground above, the Bar House opens itself in the same direction, with a sliding glass wall. [photograph by Peter Margonelli | image source ] Since the architect's web site does not include this project, the two images above will have to suffice. From what I recall when skimming the magazine's description of the project (truncated in the online version ) plans are unde...

Here's a few views of the Rehabilitation of the Theater and Foyer of the André De Gouveia Residence (aka Portugal House) at La Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris by AAVP Architecture (Vincent Parreira), 2008. To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

"What [Karl] Marx was able to show was that these three necessary conditions of a capitalist mode of production [being growth-oriented, resting on the exploitation of living labor in production (i.e. a gap between what labor gets and what it creates), and being technologically and organizationally dynamic] were inconsistent and contradictory and that the dynamic of capitalism was necessarily, therefore, crisis-prone. There was, in his analysis, no way in which the combination of these three necessary conditions could produce steady and unproblematic growth. In particular, the crisis tendencies of capitalism would produce periodic phases of overaccumulation, defined as a condition in which idle capital and idle labor supply could exist side by side with no apparent way to bring these idle resources together to accomplish socially useful tasks. A generalized condition of overaccumulation would be indicated by idle productive capacity, a glut of commodities and an excess of inventori...

plaza villa de madrid , originally uploaded by pajaritos13 . Villa de Madrid Square in Barcelona, Spain by Baena Casamor Arquitectes , 2003. To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

Although my French is quite rusty, I'm intrigued by this project by Perraudin Architectes for an agricultural school in Bourges, France. [aerial rendering | image source ] Where language can't explain the ideas, drawings and renderings suffice. The aerial view illustrates the relationship between the old and new, the latter adopting not only the existing buildings' forms but their siting. [site plan and sketches | image source ] The courtyards created by the building footprints are suitable for both agricultural and educational functions, as they create intimate environments separate from the fields beyond, with the buildings acting as wind breaks to help create a calm courtyard space. [aerial rendering | image source ] The pyramidal form that the architects adopt from traditional farm buildings in the region is an expansive shelter that protects the occupants from rain and other elements, while allowing warm air to rise to the loftspace above to vent or recirculate, depen...

, originally uploaded by victortsu . Docks de Paris in Paris, France by Jakob + Macfarlane , 2007. To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

Kraanspoor in Amsterdam, Netherlands by Ontwerpgroep Trude Hooykaas In many first-world countries industrial waterfront have been morphing into desirable locations for parks, residences, office, and other functions stemming from the rise in service-based "industries" and the decline or relocation of manufacturing, shipping, and other "heavy" industries. Concerns about the questionable nature of such tactics in political, economic, and social terms are typically tossed aside, in favor of a focus on quality of life and environment issues. As noise and pollution give way to quiet, cleanliness, and green space, the potential for outstanding architectural interventions also increases, especially when the architecture confronts the industrial past in immediate ways. The new home for the growing architecture and interiors firm Ontwerpgroep Trude Hooykaas (OTH) in Amsterdam North is a fine example of such an intervention. Dubbed Kraanspoor -- litera...

Young Architects 9: PROOF  by The Architectural League of New York, published by  Princeton Architectural Press , 2008. Paperback, 176 pages. ( Amazon ) This book documents the winners of the 26th of The Architectural League of New York 's Young Architects Forum, in which competing architects are asked to develop portfolios around a theme, in this case Proof . The word immediately brings to mind testing, mainly scientific proofs and the numerous tests that hypotheses in that field undergo before being accepted and eventually advanced beyond, in a continual process of progress and change. The same certainly cannot be said for architecture, whose ideas are implemented and disseminated, but not treated similarly to scientific proofs. Post-occupancy evaluations, for example, don't influence the field as much as glossy presentations of projects and architectural theory detached from the impact of space on users. Needless to say, this does not mean that architecture couldn'...

The second of last week's 1-2 punch unveiling of ultra-pricey condo developments by celebrity architects -- which included OMA's 23 E. 22nd St. -- is 56 Leonard Street by Herzog & de Meuron. Unlike OMA, the Swiss duo has already completed a buiding (not just interiors) in Manhattan, the much lauded 40 Bond . Of course, the differences do not end there. [Image courtesy of 56 Leonard website ] The design for the 57-story tower in Lower Manhattan -- located near the bunkered AT&T Long Lines Building -- is described by the architects as "houses stacked in the sky," 145 of them, to be exact, ranging in price from $3.5 to $33 (yes, 33) million. The typically stacked floors are shifted at the base and top of the tower to create large terraces for the higher-priced units. Balconies are used for the floors in between. [Image courtesy of 56 Leonard website ] Renderings of the Jenga-esque design can best be described as messy, unfortunately. Any coherent image...

Two views of Six Dwellings in Borneo Eiland, Amsterdam, Netherlands (2000) by Miralles/Tagliabue - EMBT Arquitectes . To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

A couple New York City museums are (re)opening their doors in the coming two weeks. [Brooklyn Children's Museum as seen from Brower Park | image source ] The Brooklyn Children's Museum opens its bright yellow doors on September 20, in its new expansion by Rafael Viñoly Architects (PDF link ). [Museum of Arts and Design | image source ] The new Museum of Arts and Design at 2 Columbus Circle opens to the public on September 27. The controversial design is by Portland-based Allied Works Architecture .

, originally uploaded by KMGough . La chiesa de Longarone in Belluno, Italy by Giovanni Michelucci , 1976. To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

The Architecture of Image: Existential Space in Cinema by Juhani Pallasmaa, published by  Rakennustieto Publishing , 2008 ( Amazon ) "I am interested in the ways cinema constructs spaces in the mind, creates mind-spaces, thus reflecting the inherent ephemeral architecture of the human mind, thought and emotion. The mental task of buildings and cities is to structure our being-in-the-world and to articulate the surface between the experiencing self and the world. But doesn't the film director do exactly the same with his projected images?" This snippet from Juhani Pallasmaa's introduction to his analyses of five films by four directors ( Rope and Rear Window by Hitchcock, Nostalghia by Tarkovsky, The Shining by Kubrick, and The Passenger by Antonioni) paints a clear picture of the architect/writer's intentions. Much variety comes with each director's unique way of telling a story, th...

National September 11 Museum in Manhattan, New York by Snøhetta The eve of the seven-year anniversary of the September 11 attacks saw the unveiling of the latest designs for a museum for the site. Officially called the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center , the Memorial by Michael Arad and Peter Walker is basically in its initial form, but the Museum component has changed considerably from its 2004 design by the Norweigan firm Snøhetta . The tying together of these two elements in the name of the complex can be attributed to the Museum's subsidiary role to the Memorial, the need for an above-ground beyond the Memorial's sunken footprints, and the need for a secure, formal entry to the latter's primarily subterranean spaces. What's been generically called the cultural component of the site, since Daniel Libeskind won the competition for the rebuildinng of ...