A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

Vintage Magazine: Quatrième Issue Vintage Magazine, 2013 Paperback, 104 pages [All photos courtesy of Vintage Magazine] Even before opening the fourth ("Quatrieme") issue of the biannual Vintage Magazine , it's obvious that something special is inside. The cover, designed by Chip Kidd , is a tile-like layering of progressively larger covers meant to recall linoleum, an intention aided by the smooth yet sticky coating on the paper. Inside, the magazine is a roller coaster of textures, colors, and formats that goes so far beyond the confines of the word "magazine" that if Vintage didn't call itself such the reader would assume it is a one-of-a-kind publication: a curio lovingly, and artistically, stitched (and glued and folded and pocketed) together. How many magazines, after all, come with a pop-up, much less one mounted on a removable chip-board booklet that can become a display object in the reader's home? [Novogratz house and pop-up] Vintag...

Here are some photos of Stade Jean-Bouin (2013) in Paris, France, by Rudy Ricciotti , photographed by JP2H . To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the  archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos  archidose

A Weekly Dose of Architecture Updates: This week's dose features the Modern Ruin in Sante Fe, New Mexico, by Autotroph Design: The featured past dose is the House at Punta Chilen in Chiloé Island, Chile by dRN Architects: This week's book reviews are Art Parks: A Tour of America's Sculpture Parks and Gardens by Francesca Cigola (L) and Guide to New York City Urban Landscapes by Robin Lynn and Francis Morrone (R): : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : **NOTE: The next weekly dose update will be 2013.09.09.** : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : American-Architects Building of the Week : Art D' Maison in Fargo, North Dakota, by Stahl Architects and Builders:

Here are some photos of The Interlace (2014) in Singapore by OMA and Buro Ole Scheeren , photographed by Jonas Klock . To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the  archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos  archidose

The "Insight" feature in this week's World-Architects eMagazine looks at 10 schools of architecture. Given that many schools are starting up this week, it's a good time to take a look inside some of these " Spaces for Learning " and see how they can help influence the education of students. [Cornell University Milstein Hall background photo by Brett Beyer ]

Art Parks: A Tour of America's Sculpture Parks and Gardens by Francesca Cigola, published by  Princeton Architectural Press , 2013. Paperback, 224 pages. ( Amazon ) Guide to New York City Urban Landscapes by Robin Lynn and Francis Morrone, with photography by Edward A. Toran, published by  W. W. Norton , 2013. Paperback, 288 pages. ( Amazon ) As I write this, summer—at least the months between the end of one school year and the beginning of another—is winding down. But it's not too late to get out and enjoy the outdoors in warm weather. These two guides, both focused on landscapes in different ways, are invitations to do just that. Art Parks calls itself "the first comprehensive guide to America's outdoor art spaces," and that seems long overdue. In a way, sculpture parks can be called the museums of the 21st century; they are art spaces that were prefigured by artists like Robert Smithson who transformed landscapes through large-scale earthw...

Modern Ruin in Sante Fe, New Mexico, by Autotroph Design, 2012 Photographs by Alexander Dzurec and Kate Russell are courtesy of Autotroph Design "Modern Ruin" is an apt name for this house and studio in Agua Fria Traditional Village, just outside Sante Fe. Sharing a piece of property with a family member's house, a green house, chicken coops, and a garden, the new structures designed by Autotroph Design recall the area's traditional adobe architecture and its modern industrial infrastructure. The project appears like something incomplete—a ruin—even as it provides relatively comfortable appointments for the owners, who are also the builders. The project is comprised of two primary volumes: the dwelling in rammed earth and weathered steel, and the studio in a prefabricated Quonset hut. The house is a two-story structure with service and living spaces on the first floor and a bedroom upstairs. A roof terrace extends from the bedroom over the kitchen and ...

The "So You Want to Learn About" series highlights books focused on a particular theme: think "socially responsible architecture" and "phenomenology," rather than broad themes like "housing" or "theory." Therefore the series aims to be a resource for finding decent reading materials on certain topics, born of a desire to further define noticeable areas of interest in the books I review . And while I haven't reviewed every title, I am familiar with each one; these are not blind recommendations. It's late August, meaning that students are heading to architecture schools, either returning or going for the first time. The books collected below are geared to the latter, though it's a long enough list that all architecture students in their early years should find something of value. With sufficient interest, architecture can take hold of a person for a lifetime. Therefore it's beneficial to start off on the rig...

I've never seen the red elevator/gallery behind the facade of the Norman Foster-designed Sperone Westwater gallery on The Bowery actually move, but this short film from Foster + Partners captures the slow ascent and descent through some time lapse photography. Check out the Foster + Partners channel on YouTube for many more recently uploaded videos.

I'll admit this is pretty shallow, but I can't help thinking of The Simpsons' "window to weight gain"* when I see photos of MVRDV's Glass Farm . [L: MVRDV's Glass Farm | R: Still from The Simpsons' King-Size Homer episode, in which Bart rubs a Krusty burger on the wall to see how fatty it is] *In the King-Size Homer episode Homer tries to gain weight to go on disability, so he can work from home. Dr. Nick gives him this advice about what foods to eat, as he rubs a piece of fried chicken on a piece of paper: "And remember, if you’re not sure about something, rub it against a piece of paper. If the paper turns clear, it’s your window to weight gain."

The other day I hopped on the 7 Train to Long Island City, Queens, to check out the just opened Hunters Point South Waterfront Park, designed by Thomas Balsley Associates and WEISS/MANFREDI . The park is one of the first components of the larger Hunters Point South development, which will include affordable housing, schools, and a future extension of the park. Here is a slideshow from my visit.

Here are some photos of Cultural Center of Viana do Castelo (2013), Portugal, by Eduardo Souto de Moura, photographed by José Carlos Melo Dias . To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the  archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos  archidose

Young Frank, Architect by Frank Viva, published by  MoMA 2013. Hardcover, 40 pages. ( Amazon ) Billed as " MoMA’s first storybook for kids ages three to eight ," Young Frank, Architect tells the story of two architects name Frank, one young and one old. No, it's not a time-capsule portrayal of Frank Gehry and Frank Lloyd Wright (though they do make appearances in the book), but two generations of one family—a boy and his grandfather.  Like a lot of children's stories, this one embraces being different, saying it's okay to build chairs out of toilet paper tubes and make skyscrapers wiggle. These are the things young Frank wants to do but old Frank tells him it's not right. MoMA validates the former's wishes when, on a visit to the museum, they see how the Franks, Gehry in particular, actually designed paper chairs and wiggly towers. Back home, Frank and his grandfather embrace the lessons they learned and together design whimsical c...

Saint Louis Art Museum East Building in St. Louis, Missouri, by David Chipperfield Architects, 2013 Many thanks to Aaron Dougherty for the photographs of SLAM's new East Building. In 2005 David Chipperfield Architects was selected for the Saint Louis Art Museum's (SLAM) expansion. Two years later the British architect unveiled his design for the East Building , a low modern addition that quietly respects Cass Gilbert's Palace of Fine Arts, the only lasting building from the 1904 Worlds Fair and one of three buildings SLAM occupied to date (above- and below-ground expansions occurred in the 1980s). Due to the recession, it would take another three years for construction to start, and another three years for the project's completion. The $160 million, 200,000-sf (18,580-sm—more than half devoted to below-grade parking) East Building opened on June 28, 2013—free, just as it's always been. The East Building's exterior is predominantly dark concre...