A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

Architect Peter Yeadon, along with his students at RISD, has created studies of various buildings in four contemporary buildings. The silent videos use 3d computer modeling and color-coding to look at the relationship between structure, skin, and mechanical systems. Hearst Headquarters, NYC: Institute for Contemporary Art, Boston: New Museum for Contemporary Art, NYC: Museum of Arts and Design, NY:

Here are some photos of the new headquarters of Bilbao City Hall in San Agustín , Bilbao, Spain, designed by IMB Arquitectos (2011). Photographs are by by Pawel Paniczko . To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the  archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos  archidose

It was 25 years ago this summer that the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) held the Deconstructivist Architecture exhibition, curated by Philip Johnson with Mark Wigley. The show featured drawings and models for ten major projects by seven architects: Coop Himmelb(l)au, Peter Eisenman, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, Daniel Libeskind, and Bernard Tschumi. Three have won Pritzker Prizes since 1988, and all are well known now, but at the time they were hardly familiar names. MoMA has put some pieces from their collection that were in the 1988 exhibition back on display in a small room in the contemporary galleries on the second floor. Pieces like Coop Himmelb(l)au's model of the Rooftop Remodeling in Vienna (pictured here) are also accompanied by some pieces that were not in the show, like Eisenman's drawings for House VI. The few drawings and models on display aren't much of a 25-year celebration of what can be seen as a very influential show (not as influential as t...

The Architectural League's recent digital presentation of Vacant Lots —their 1987 design study and exhibition—prompted me to flip through my copy of the book that presents some essays and designs for ten vacant lots in New York City. The League's study on affordable housing for infill lots sits on my shelf next to a contemporaneous book on affordable housing, which sets next to a book on architecture projects funded by NYSCA grants. So the next thing I know, instead of reading Vacant Lots again, I ended up digging out a bunch of books that are similar to it, not in subject but in something else—these books are two-to-four decades old yet purchased much later. Most are well beyond their intended shelf life (these are not the books that have stood the test of time—the Gideon's or the Banham's—and maintained their popularity to this day), but all of them are appealing to me for some reason. Below is a presentation of these books that I grabbed off my shelf and some quic...

Charles Ross: The Substance of Light by Charles Ross, published by  Radius Books , 2012. Hardcover, 344 pages. ( Amazon ) Along with James Turrell, Charles Ross produces artworks that tap into a background in science. Turrell received a degree in perceptual psychology, though for Ross it was mathematics. They share an interest in the properties of light and using art as a means to give light a physicality. They also have been constructing major earthworks in the desert southwest that set their sites on the sky and the stars. Turrell has been transforming the Roden Crater north of Flagstaff, Arizona, into the most recognizable extinct crater in the world; a network of tunnels and chambers frame the sky and aim to manipulate light in the visitor's experience. For even longer Ross has been building Star Axis , a stone structure atop a mesa in New Mexico that orients the visitor to the North Star, Polaris, allowing them to grasp the Earth's precessional w...

This article originally appeared on  World-Architects  but has since been removed so it is being archived here, sans illustrations and without any further editing. The Museum of Modern Art recently held an informal conversation with Peter Eisenman, Bernard Tschumi, and Mark Wigley on the seminal Deconstructivist Architecture show of 1988. This recent event prompted World-Architects to take a look back and trace the subsequent careers of the seven architects featured in the exhibition and to examine the impact of the show and the changes in architecture in the last 25 years. Think of the term "starchitect" and most likely one of the seven architects exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art's (MoMA) 1988 Deconstructivist Architecture show comes to mind. Certainly Priztker Prize winners Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, and Rem Koolhaas are household names, and to a lesser degree so are Coop Himmelb(l)au (Wolf Prix and Helmut Swiczinsky), Peter Eisenman, Daniel Libeskind, and Bernard ...

Bamboo Courtyard Teahouse in Yangzhou, China, by HWCD, 2012 The following text and images are courtesy HWCD. Located in the ShiQiao garden in Yangzhou, a city to the northwest of Shanghai, there is a floating Bamboo Courtyard Teahouse designed by Chinese architect Sun Wei, partner of HWCD. As an international design practice, with offices in London and Barcelona, HWCD has been developing various projects, specializing in boutique hotels, residential, and mixed-use projects. Their projects emphasize the existing "worldwide interconnectedness" in the architecture and design spheres by bringing together a traditional Asian aesthetic and a modern design language. The Bamboo Courtyard is an example of HWCD's design philosophy, embracing the traditional Chinese garden fundamentals while blending into the natural environment. The bamboo is arranged vertically and horizontally to produce "depth" and visual effects when walking around. Tall rows of bamboo sticks ...

Here is a tour of Los Angeles architecture by trevor.patt . A few projects by Morphosis Architects : Dr. Theodore T. Alexander Science Center School, 2004: Salick Health Care Office Building, 1991: Venice III, 1986: 2-4-6-8 House, 1978: A few projects by Gehry Partners : Chiat/Day Office, 1991: Edgemar Center, 1989: Sketch Foundation Gallery - Air and Space Exhibits, 1984: Loyola Law Campus, 1984: A few projects by Michael Maltzan Architecture : New Carver Apartments, 2009: Inner City Arts, 2008: Rainbow Apartments, 2006: Some of the buildings designed by Eric Owen Moss Architects for Samitaur Projects in Culver City (see my key to the projects here ): Schindler-Chase House (now MAK Center Los Angeles ), R.M. Schindler, 1922: To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the  archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos  archidose