A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

Tonight and maybe tomorrow I'll be migrating this blog to one of Blogger's upgraded templates. (This is different than the migration I previously mentioned .) This change should make browsing the blog better, among other things, and it will take away some of the headaches I've had from using the old templates, modified by me beyond recognition (part of the problem). The upgrade will look different but will have basically the same three-column layout. I'll need to research on keeping a few of the bells and whistles I've grown to like, namely the collapsing comments and sidebar truncation on individual posts. I'm also going to look into making "v2" work with mobile devices. That said, bear with me over the weekend as this change happens. Update, 45 minutes later: Flipped the switch and copied over the sidebar information. I'm digging the background image (corresponds with "this week's dose"), but it's not static on iPad (I like it ...

I've uploaded photos from yesterday's "hard-hat" tour of the Trenton Bath House to my flickr account. I'll be posting about the restoration of the Louis I. Kahn-designed building in a few days, but check out the photo set ( slideshow ) in the meantime.

Territory: Architecture Beyond Environment: Architectural Design edited by David Gissen, published by  Wiley , 2010. Paperback, 136 pages. ( Amazon )   Last year's Subnature by David Gissen asked architects to broaden how they see and react to nature, acknowledging environmental forces like dust, smoke, debris, and others that arise from interactions with our surroundings. He presented projects by contemporary architects embodying his ideas, and he does the same here as guest editor of an issue of AD. But Gissen's nuanced approach to human-nature interaction is different here: Territory looks at projects that simultaneously produce "architectural objects and the environment surrounding them." Granted, all buildings come close to this production -- impacting their surroundings through the creation of micro-climates influenced wind currents, heat given off from materials and systems, and the reflection of the sun, to name a few -...

ARCHIPELAGOS is one of the New Practices New York 2010 (NPNY) winners. Their web page features this humorous image of a few members of the office: Are they moving? Hauling their presentation to the Center for Architecture for the NPNY exhibition? Paying homage to Mr. Bean ? Those interested can ask them on Thursday when they take part in the NYPNY2010 Winner's Panel Discussion .

New Directions in Contemporary Architecture: Evolutions and Revolutions in Building Design Since 1988 by Luigi Prestinenza Puglisi, published by  Wiley , 2008. Paperback, 240 pages. ( Amazon ) The year 1988 marks the beginning of Italian writer and critic Luigi Prestinenza Puglisi ’s exploration of architecture in the last two decades. This date at first glance seems questionable, arbitrarily based on the book’s publication date, but it coincides with the Deconstructivist Architecture exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), curated by Philip Johnson and Mark Wigley. That show compiled primarily unbuilt work by the now household names Coop Himmelb(l)au, Peter Eisenman, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, Daniel Libeskind, and Bernard Tschumi. Like Johnson’s much earlier International Style exhibition at the same venue, Deconstructivist Architecture was style over substance, image masquerading as shared values. Nevertheless it denotes a shift from postmodern arc...

House 6 in São Paulo, Brazil by StudioMK27 - Marcio Kogan Photographs are by Pedro Kok . In response to the House 6 client's request for a covered outdoor space, architect Marcio Kogan ( StudioMK27 ) decided to rethink the veranda of traditional Brazilian architecture. According to the architect the verandas are "covered linear spaces in front of the living room and bedrooms which act as intermediary spaces between the interior and exterior." Here that space is turned perpendicular to the living room, achieved by raising the bedrooms above and beyond the living spaces. A look at the ground floor plan reveals how the house is walled off from its neighbors, affording it an internal focus. Access occurs on the east and movement to the house proper is along the veranda. The two parallel bars on the ground floor are perpendicular to this movement: the open-plan living area is the first and largest, the home office is located in the rear annex. Between the two is ...

" + Pool is an initiative by a group of architects and designers to build a floating pool in the rivers of New York City ... The project was launched with the ambition to improve the use of the city's natural resources by providing a clean and safe way for the public to swim in New York's waters. ... [W]e are looking to build a team of interested organizations and professionals to continue the development of the project into a buildable proposal. " [image description | image source ] Many readers may know that a floating pool in the waters of New York City has been done already , to a design by Jonathan Kirschenfeld that is still used today . So what does + Pool offer that the floating pool now being used doesn't? Looking at the images and explanation on the web page, it uses the + shape to offer more room for different uses: laps, sports, kids play area, and a "lounge." And unlike the floating pool, + Pool actually uses the river water it ...

Here are some photos of 7800 Çeşme Residences and Hotel in Izmir, Turkey by Emre Arolat Architects , 2007. Photographs are by asli_aydin . To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

A project under construction that I've been keeping an eye on for my guidebook to contemporary NYC architecture is the Townhomes of Downing Street in Greenwich Village by 1100: Architect . The three townhouses have been under scaffolding for a while now, so I was pleased to see some of the facade revealed when I passed by yesterday. According to the architects, "The unique sandstone facade reinterprets the traditional arrangement of transparent windows perforated into a solid facade." At first glance I thought the stone was travertine, though the appearance lacks travertine's consistency. As well, travertine does not make the most sense for facades, as it is one of the most porous stones. Regardless, the appearance is quite smooth and monolithic, owing not just to the choice of stone but also the matching mortar. The sandstone runs vertically, so it does not read like stacked pieces. The windows and (slightly) projecting frames are very elegant, working together with...

The last time I posted an update of construction progress at the World Trade Center site was, appropriately, last September . Seeing an aerial of the site (taken July 7, 2010) in a denverpost.com collection of NYC aerial images prompted me to do another quick progress update. [labels by archidose | photo by Daniel Acker/Bloomberg | image source ] The most recognizable progress is the ever-growing Freedom Tower, set to be over 500-feet high by the end of the year. Tower 4 trails behind, but at least it's out of the ground. The sites for towers 2 and 3 are now just a big hole in the ground. Also noticeable is the deconstruction of the former Deutsche Bank Building at 130 Liberty Street, slowly revealing the recently completed W Hotel. Not visible is the WTC Hub by Calatrava (behind 7 WTC), though the work to date has primarily been below grade. Also below sidewalk level are the pools for the National September 11 Memorial, set to open on the 10th anniversary of the attacks.

[photos by archidose] Last week was the opening of the New Practices New York 2010 exhibition at the Center for Architecture. 'Twas a fun and crowded opening party. Winners of the AIA New York Chapters's biannual competition include: Archipelagos EASTON + COMBS (highest honor winner) LEONG LEONG MANIFOLD SOFTlab SO-IL (Solid Objectives - Idenburg Liu) TACKLEBOX The exhibition in the Center's lowest level was designed by LEVENBETTS , and it is unique for splitting the contents of each firm's presentation into three areas. A grouping of videos is along one wall; opposite are black and white supergraphics; the room in the back includes table and wall space for models. Below are a some shots from the last. [SO-IL] [TACKLEBOX] [SOFTlab] [LEONG LEONG] The above smattering of models shows a predilection for fields, atypical projects and presentation, and architecture as an armature for an expanded oeuvre. A comparison with this year's Architectural League Prize is apt...

Last week's news about BP's eventual stoppage of the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico may be the first good news in the 90-odd days of the disaster, but it's only one piece in the much bigger and longer process of remediation. The news also threatens to overshadow the scale of the disaster; even with the bombardment of images and news around the spill, it's far too easy to forget as the next important event displaces what came before. Photographs from the series "Shifting Lands" by Michel Varisco do a good job of conveying the scope of the spill in the Gulf, since many of them are taken from above. ["Shifting Lands" by Michel Varisco | image source | spill photos are found at the end of the series] Her images--in the above series and others focused on the area--straddle the realms of nature, documentary, and art photography. The beauty of Gulf-coast Louisiana certainly comes through in the images, but so does the interaction of humans and nature, a l...

Then why not donate some of it to one or more of these worthwhile undertakings? CHROMAtex.me : a site specific installation on Manhattan's Lower East Side, starting August 26: Vertical Urban Factory exhibition, coming to the Skyscraper Museum in the fall: SIDAREC Technology and Media Lab , under construction in Nairobi, Kenya:

Buildings Without Architects: A Global Guide to Everyday Architecture by John May with consultant editor Anthony Reid, published by  Rizzoli , 2010. Hardcover, 192 pages. ( Amazon )   The title of the latest book by writer John May immediately recalls the famous book by Bernard Rudofsky, Architecture Without Architects . Rudofsky's book, subtitled "A Short Introduction to Non-Pedigreed Architecture," surveyed vernacular architecture around the world via photography, some by the author, much of it from other sources. Initially published in 1964 as a companion to an exhibition of the same name at MoMA, the book is a visual feast, but its presentation and commentary by Rudofsky keep it squarely aimed at a formal appreciation of its subject. Later scholarship looked at construction and cultural aspects of vernacular buildings, not just form, most notably by Paul Oliver, who has written numerous titles on the "architecture of the pe...

Pedestrian Bridge over the river Carpinteira, Covilhã, Portugal by João Luís Carrilho da Graça Photographs are by Fernando Guerra - FG+SG . Project spotted at portuguese-architects.com . Bridges, be they for vehicles or pedestrians, serve to connect point A and point B. So naturally bridges tend to take the shortest route, a straight line, although extremely long bridges may curve to follow terrain. But structural and economic efficiency, among other factors, make the direct route predominate. This situation means the winding Pedestrian Bridge over the river Carpinteira by João Luís Carrilho da Graça is a standout. Resembling a stretched Z when seen from above, the bridge is about 220 meters (770 feet) long. The architect notes that the center section is positioned to be perpendicular to the valley it rises above, and "the other two sections are inflected and oriented towards their anchoring points." In other words, the starting points were set and then the zig-...

Writing a review of a book on vernacular architecture, I came across a soon-to-be-released reprint of the sequel to Lloyd Kahn 's classic large-format book Shelter , logically called Shelter II and published by the aptly named Shelter Publications . Shelter II (1978) is the second in a series of books about people building their own homes in different parts of the world. The principles outlined in Shelter , published almost 40 years ago, seem even more important today: relearning the still-usable skills of the past and doing more hand work in providing life's necessities. Shelter II provides a basic manual of design and construction for the first time house-builder. The book begins with simple shelters still being built and lived in by people with minimal resources. They can be viewed for historical or anthropological interest, or as sensible, instructive examples of efficient construction by those who lack the choices available in industrialized soc...

Last year I posted the Bartlett School of Architecture 's ten-minute summation of the Year 1 program. This summer we are treated to more Year 1 videos, including the below 9:30 "sketch" by Brook Lin. More 2009-2010 Year 1 Bartlett vids can be found here and here . (Thanks to Patrick for the heads up!)

If you're like me, you've never been to Trenton, New Jersey. Well, now you have a good reason to visit: Wednesday, July 28 is a hard-hat tour of Louis I. Kahn's Trenton Bath House , a building I featured previously in a review of Louis I. Kahn's Trenton Jewish Community Center by Susan G. Solomon . Kahn famously said of the small building, "If the world discovered me after I designed the Richards [ Medical Research Building ], I discovered myself after designing that little concrete block bathhouse in Trenton." [Click photo for larger image with tour details | photo: Farewell Mills Gatsch Architects, LLC] These landmark buildings, designed by the renowned Modernist architect Louis I. Kahn (1901-1974) for the Jewish Community Center of the Delaware Valley, opened in 1955. The project was carried out by Princeton, NJ-based architecture firm Farewell Mills Gatsch Architects , LLC (FMG) with l...

Here are some photos of Vallecas 51 in Madrid, Spain by Somos Arquitectos , 2009. See #430 for more Vallecas architecture. Photographs are by z.z . To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

More often than not, Amazon's recommendations are a bit off, but every now and then they are spot on. That is the case with Cities for People by Jan Gehl , to be released in a couple weeks by Island Press . Previously I read and reviewed his classic Life Between Buildings . Most recently the Danish planning guru has been pivotal in New York City's piece-by-piece transformations of its thoroughfares . In his latest book, I think the title says it all. The publisher's description: For more than forty years Jan Gehl has helped to transform urban environments around the world based on his research into the ways people actually use—or could use—the spaces where they live and work. In this revolutionary book, Gehl presents his latest work creating (or recreating) cityscapes on a human scale. He clearly explains the methods and tools he uses to reconfigure unworkable cityscapes into the landscapes he believes they should be: cities for people. Taking into account chang...