A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

Below are some things that landed in my inbox during my two-week break from this blog. IAAC's 4th Advanced Architecture Contest , CITY-SENSE: Shaping our environment with real-time data. Actuated Matter Workshop on Responsive Materials , Zurich University of the Arts, in collaboration with with Loop Design . Two weeks are left in the Institute for Urban Design's By the City/For the City competition. "Musical impresario Pharrell Williams and architectural visionary Chad Oppenheim present contemporary treehouse concept to inspire future generations through architecture." More from the press release can be found at Arch Daily . Avian Architecture: How Birds Design, Engineer, and Build by Peter Goodfellow The National Trust for Historic Preservation released its America's 11 Most Endangered Places list, which includes the Greater Chaco Landscape (above; image source: left and right ). One of my first posts on this blog , way back in 2004, was o...

Some catching up with the archidose flickr pool after my vacation. [Glasgow Riverside Museum in Glasgow, Scotland by Zaha Hadid Architects , 2011 | Photograph by abbozzo ] [The Poetry Foundation in Chicago, Illinois by John Ronan Architects , 2011 | Photograph by g. hoffman ] [Pebble's Lounge of the Hyatt Regency in Duesseldorf, Germany by JSK Architects , 2010 | Photograph by Ken Lee 2010 ] [ Steinskulpturenmuseum in Bad Münster am Stein, Germany by Tadao Ando, 2010 | Photograph by Ken Lee 2010 ] [Life Tunnel installation in Psycho Buildings exhibition at the Hayward Gallery in London, England by Atelier Bow-Wow , 2008 | Photograph by mr prudence ] [Bodega Antion in Elciego, Spain by J. Marino Pascual & Asociados , 2008 | Photograph by Wojtek Gurak ] [Marqués de Riscal Winery in Elciego, Spain by Gehry Partners, 2006 | Photograph by Wojtek Gurak ] [Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California by Daly Genik Architects , 2005 | Photograph by Arc...

The other day I received a press release for the interior design of a cafe in my neighborhood, Omonia Bakery in Astoria, Queens. The space, a next-door addition to the corner cafe, is designed by New York City-based bluarch . The bakery features a glass counter behind which are the pastries, a glass-walled kitchen, and a rear yard with tables and chairs and built-in stadium seating. [photos courtesy bluarch] bluarch describes the design: The main  feature of the 1,000SF interior space is a fluid surface [clad with 1/4" chocolate  brown Bisazza tiles] which covers the ceiling and the side walls to different  heights. This surface warps in bubbles and negotiates a system of 6-inch tubular  incandescent light bulbs… and an arrangement of red cedar wood spheres. The epoxy flooring continues to the walls via filleted corners. A shelf  and LED strips navigate the transition with the chocolate  surface. Being located near my apartment, this is a place I'm...

Postings will be slim for a couple weeks as our family finally takes the plunge into Walt Disney World. I've held out 30-odd years, but with a preschooler it's hard to resist the pull. As well, my weekly page will be on summer hiatus until July 5th. The above photo is in reference to Michael Sorkin's essay "See You in Disneyland" in Variations on a Theme Park (Hill and Wang, 1992). Sorkin describes his photo of a sky above Disneyland as a "substitute for an image of the place itself...the first copyrighted urban environment in history...[since] the Walt Disney Company will permit no photograph of its property without prior approval of its use."

Rafael Moneo: Remarks on 21 Works by Rafael Moneo, with photographs by Michael Moran, edited by Laura Martínez de Guereñu, published by  The Monacelli Press , 2010. Softcover, 668 pages. ( Amazon ) In the preface to José Rafael Moneo's book highlighting 21 of his completed buildings from 1973-2007, the Spanish architect asserts that "it is a chronicle of the theoretical concerns of the discipline at the time these projects were built." This approach, which makes this book less a traditional monograph and more a reflection on architecture in a larger context, links the book to Moneo's earlier Theoretical Anxiety and Design Strategies in the Work of Eight Contemporary Architects . The insight he levied upon architects like Rem Koolhaas, Aldo Rossi, and Alvaro Siza are now turned inward to the inspirations, the design process, and the issues influencing his architecture. The essays are more than insightful; they are honest, intelligent, and varied in what...

The following quotes are pulled from the book reviewed this week, Rafael Moneo: Remarks on 21 Works by Moneo and published by The Monacelli Press. The photographs are courtesy Michael Moran , from the same book. Completed in 1981, the City Hall in Logroño, Spain is considered by Moneo as "city as architecture or buildings configured by fragments of the city." Inspired by Aldo Rossi's The Architecture of the City, a triangular open space fronting the city hall sits at an angle to the city's grid. The two long elevations facing this plaza are treated differently, one colonnaded and the other with punched openings, what Moneo further describes as a "way of understanding the city hall through its composition in relation to urban space." Another city hall project can be found in the City Hall Extension in Murcia, Spain. Completed in 1998, Moneo approached the project as "revering the existing architecture while conceiving the new one free from co...

Last week I visited the recently opened Section 2 of the High Line . It was a warm midday, not as hot as opening day, making it good weather for a stroll from 21st Street (where it melds with Section 1) to its terminus at 30th Street. For those not familiar with the High Line, see my post on the first section that opened in 2009 , also recommended for seeing the progression and continuity from the Gansevoort Street entry to its current extents near Hudson Yards. Below are my impressions on Section 2, the text typically referring to the photo directly above it. Before the opening of Section 2 last week, fence demarcated the split between it and the first section to the south. Now that the two are linked together, the transition is seamless; the Chelsea Grasslands moves subtly into the Chelsea Thicket. (Reference this map for locations of the various areas along the High Line.) Continuity is also found in the paving and the benches that rise from it. The above photo is taken from th...

The covers story for today's CBS Sunday Morning is " Welcome to the blogosphere ," on the growing influence of blogs and some of the few bloggers that are making lots of money from them. About 85 seconds into the piece, during the quote "Blogs cover everything you can think of, from Architecture ... to Zombies," a screenshot of my blog hits the screen. Wow! My one second of fame! Click the link above or image below to the watch the video. (Thanks to Margo for the heads up! Usually I watch CBS Sunday Morning, but today the little one decided to let her parents sleep in, so I missed it.)

Fallingwater edited by Lynda Waggoner, with photographs by Christopher Little, published by  Rizzoli , 2011. Hardcover, 328 pages. ( Amazon ) As I type this post, a symposium is being held at the Carnegie Museum of Art on the 75th anniversary of Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater , the 1938 house for the Kaufmann family in Bear Run, Pennsylvania. This lavishly illustrated coffee table book on what is considered to be the greatest house of the 20th century is timed to this marker, and it was created by two figures highly knowledgeable of the building: Editor Waggoner is Fallingwater's director and vice president of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and photographer Little previously contributed to a 1986 book on the house, which marked its half-centenary. At the symposium they are joined by contributors to this latest book: academics, authors, curators, and the structural engineer responsible for strengthening the daring cantilevers that are as famous as the water feat...

Thesis Prize Winner - Harvard Graduate School of Design 2011 - Greg Tran: Mediating Mediums - The Digital 3d from Greg Tran on Vimeo .

Some photos from a recent visit to Section 2 of the High Line, which opened on June 8th. I'll post thoughts on the design soon, but in the meantime enjoy the slideshow ( show BIG ).

HIGH LINE PARK PHASE 2 | Rainbow City , originally uploaded by Rocco S. Cetera . AOL's Rainbow City by FriendsWithYou , with a Pop Up Shop by HWKN , sits on West 30th Street next to the recently opened Section 2 of the High Line in New York City. It will be in place until July 5th. To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

"Book Briefs" are an ongoing series of posts with two- or three-sentence first-hand descriptions of some of the numerous books that make their way into my library. These briefs are not full-blown reviews, but they are a way to share more books worthy of attention than can find their way into reviews on my daily or weekly pages. 1: Ethics for Architects: 50 Dilemmas of Professional Practice by Thomas Fisher | Princeton Architectural Press | 2010 | Amazon Book series come and go, many not taking off according to early (optimistic) plans. PAPress's Architecture Briefs series, on the other hand, is effectively churning out titles on "single topics of interest to architecture students and young professionals." These include model-making, lighting, materials, and even philosophy. Thomas Fisher tackles ethics, a topic with a potential for a big yaaaawn. But unlike the AIA Guide to Professional Practice, these 50 dilemmas are highly readable, providing an un...