A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

Earlier this afternoon I got a peek at the setup for The Architectural League's (sold out) Beaux Arts Ball at the 69th Regiment Armory, at 25th and Lexington. The party's theme is "-ism," which picks up on the fact that this year is the 100th anniversary of the influential 1913 Armory Show . Situ Studio (who graciously gave me a peek) is responsible for the environmental design (as well as the fabrication), but the party will be an immersive multimedia experience, with a lighting installation by Renfro Design Group, a performance installation by Processional Arts Workshop (PAW), a sound installation by Nathan Halpern (with Mary Lattimore and Chris Ruggiero), and a DJ set from Jon Santos. Situ Studio's design consists of lightweight vapor barriers forming diamond-like objects that seem to hover within the armory's grand drill hall. The triangular white panels are actually hung from existing cables that span from one side of the hall to the other; onl...

Here are some photos of the Ørestad Plejecenter / Senior Housing (2011) in Copenhagen, Denmark, by JJW Arckitekter , photographed 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

Archive: Design Biennial Boston edited by Chris Grimley, Michael Kubo and Mark Pasnik, published by pinkcomma books, 2013. Paperback, 240 pages. ( Amazon ) [All photographs courtesy of pinkcomma books ] In a recent eMagazine article I put together for World-Architects, a number of institutions responded to a short Q+A about " making architecture public ." Exhibiting architecture, like making books on architecture, is ripe for questioning, as the communication of images and writings on architecture is increasingly spread digitally. But, like books, exhibitions aren't going away any time soon, because even as both suffer from the difficult task of trying to explain something large (a building, a landscape, a city) on a much smaller canvas, exhibitions offer a social aspect—bringing people together into one place—that keeps them popular. One of the institutions that participated in the piece, Boston's pinkcomma , is an independent gallery that started as an exten...

This week's eMagazine at World-Architects features " Making Architecture Public ," which includes short Q&As with over ten architectural institutions around the world, to get a sense of the present and future of creating exhibitions and making architecture public. More information is at bottom. The institutions are: Architekturforum Aedes (Germany), Architekturforum Zürich (Switzerland), Architekturgalerie München (Germany), Architekturzentrum Wien (Austria), Canadian Centre for Architecture (Canada), Chicago Architecture Foundation (USA), Danish Architecture Centre (Denmark), LIGA - Space for Architecture (Mexico), MAK Center for Art and Architecture (USA), NOTE (Portugal), and Pinkcomma (USA). Architecture exhibitions are valuable means of bringing buildings, the processes of designing and making them, and other aspects of architecture to the public. With a myriad of institutions, venues, and ways of exhibiting, it's hard to determine the best way to ma...

Landscape Futures: Instruments, Devices and Architectural Inventions edited by Geoff Manaugh, published by  Actar , 2013. Paperback, 308 pages. ( Amazon ) In the second half of 2011 and beginning of 2012, the Nevada Museum of Art held the Landscape Futures exhibition , curated by Geoff Manaugh and featuring works by David Benjamin and Soo-in Yang ( The Living ), Mark Smout and Laura Allen ( Smout Allen ), David Gissen , Mason White and Lola Sheppard ( Lateral Office ), Chris Woebken and Kenichi Okada , and Liam Young . The exhibition explored "how planetary landscapes, and our perceptions of them, can be utterly transformed by technology and design." This subject and stance won't be a surprise for those familiar with Manaugh's blog or his writings published in other print and online sources. Yet as the exhibition and companion book illustrate his stance—which opens up architecture to a much wider cabinet of curiosities for influence, consideration and...

Leaf Facade in London, England, by Squire and Partners, 2013 Architectural inspiration can be found just about anywhere nowadays—forms and structures can echo those of animals ; buildings can become landforms through the manipulation of landscape; and a building's function can dictate its expression , among an almost infinite number of tactics. In many cases inspiration comes from something nearby, such as an area landmark or an important view. In the case of Squire and Partners ' design of a private house in Mayfair, London, inspiration came in the form of a house one block away. The five story residence—consisting of four bedrooms, a swimming pool, a gymnasium, a home cinema, two roof terraces and an area of green roof—sits in a conservation area, so the architects converted an old pub (The Red Lion) and retained an 18th-century brick wall, behind which the house rises. Cladding of the house was inspired by a building on Curzon Street that faces the preserved brick fa...

Here are some photos of the Cultural Center "SDK" (2013) in Warsaw, Poland, by WWAA and 137kilo , photographed by Wojtek Gurak . To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the  archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos  archidose

Cities Without Ground: A Hong Kong Guidebook by Adam Frampton, Jonathan D. Solomon and Clara Wong, published by  ORO Editions , 2012. Paperback, 128 pages. ( Amazon ) Think "guidebook" and most likely photos and descriptions highlighting particular objects—be they buildings, sculptures, parks, or even neighborhoods—comes to mind. But these entities are never separate from what is around them, a fact especially pronounced in cities, where new and old architecture, public art, and landscapes partake in almost constant negotiations with their surroundings. Then there are the networks—usually streets but comprising many more conduits in this age of infrastructure and flows—and this guide to Hong Kong, a "city without ground," is unique in this regard, for it focuses on the above- and below-grade walkways that traverse large sections of the city. So given the carefully honed subject of the guidebook, the question is "how are the walkways presented?" Ph...

Here is proof of what I'd call archenotourism —an assemblage of architourism and enotourism : Wine Enthusiast Magazine is giving away a four-day trip for two to the Marqués de Riscal winery and hotel in Rioja, and Madrid. Details are here and below. [City of Wine Complex for Marques de Riscal Winery, Frank Gehry, 2006] The winner of this prize receives: Round-trip flights for two from the U.S. to Madrid, Spain Two-night accomodations at the Marqués de Riscal hotel, featuring: A private wine tasting and winery tour Treatments at onsite Spa Caudalie Vinotherapy, valued at $300 Breakfast daily, and a welcome dinner at the Michelin-starred Marqués de Riscal Restaurant, valued at $500 Visit to the nearby town of Logroño for sightseeing and a tapas-and-wine pairing dinner One-night stay for two at a Madrid hotel Visit Wine Enthusiast to enter .

This is just a reminder for those in NYC that I'll be giving an architectural walking tour of the High Line. Info and link for tickets below. The High Line and Its Environs Saturday, September 21, 11am to 1:30pm Tickets at 92YTribeca Trek the High Line taking in the park and the surrounding buildings and step off to get a closer look at select buildings.

Here are some photos of the Sokol Blosser Winery Tasting Room (2013) in Dayton, Oregon, by Allied Works Architecture , photographed by stvdg . For more on the project see this week's Building of the Week feature at World-Architects. To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the  archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos  archidose

Makers of Modern Architecture, Volume II: From Le Corbusier to Rem Koolhaas by Martin Filler, published by New York Review of Books, 2013. Hardcover, 348 pages. ( Amazon ) This sequel to NYRB architecture critic Martin Filler's 2007 book, Makers of Modern Architecture , pulls together another 19 essays written from 2008-2013 on the most influential architects of the last 100 years. Three architects make return appearances from the first volume—Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, and Renzo Piano—reflecting how Filler's pieces are often sparked by contemporary events, be they exhibitions, recently completed buildings, or (not surprising, given his host publication) newly published books. He discusses a number of Renzo Piano's museums on the occasion of the Broad Contemporary Art Museum's completion at LACMA and the publication of two books on that and other Piano-designed museums. In other cases the spark is a biography written by a son (Edward Durell ...

Pizzagalli Center for Art & Education at Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont, by Ann Beha Architects, 2013 As museums around the United States continue to expand—think St. Louis Art Museum and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art , among others—their facilities overtake parts of the city and the landscape, resulting in sometimes over-sized institutions. Another tactic can be found in Shelburne, Vermont, and the new Pizzagalli Center for Art and Education at the Shelburne Museum , a 45-acre (18-hectare) campus with nearly 40 buildings. The new Center, designed by Ann Beha Architects , adds only 16,000 square feet of exhibition and educational spaces, but it nevertheless makes a large impact on the museum, particularly by allowing it to stay open year-round, when previously it closed during the winter months. Of course, adding to the Shelburne Museum in the manner of other institutions does not make sense, for twenty-five of its buildings are historical and were reloc...