A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

Boundaries 9: Do It Yourself Architecture Boundaries International Magazine , July-September 2013 MONU #20: Geographical Urbanism Magazine on Urbanism , April 2014 As more and more magazines of various ilks cease publication each year (87 in 2013 according to one source, though over 100 started in the same period) or fold into all-digital versions, it's always good to see titles going strong, particularly in the realms of architecture and urbanism. Even with the difficulties in running print media, two titles that continue their own unique and uncompromising paths of exploration are Boundaries out of Italy, which is "entirely devoted to sustainable architecture and cooperative projects, focusing particularly on places where new developments and ideas in architecture are arising," and MONU out of the Netherlands, the self-described Magazine ON Urbanism "that focuses on the city in a broader sense, including its politics, economy, geography, ecology, its social...

On opening day, May 21, I visited the 9/11 Memorial Museum in Lower Manhattan. I snapped lots of photos and spent a few hours there, much longer than I anticipated. Therefore, photos and impressions from that visit are split into two posts: Part 1 is the pavilion, designed by Snøhetta, and Part 2 is the below-grade museum, designed by Davis Brody Bond. [All photos by John Hill] Even before stepping foot inside the pavilion on opening day, the changes at the World Trade Center site are obvious. Instead of getting a timed ticket and going through airport-like security to access the memorial, with its twin pools and grove of trees designed by Michael Arad and Peter Walker respectively, the perimeter of the site is partly open at its perimeter to allow unencumbered access to the memorial. While this situation allows the memorial to be more integrated into its Lower Manhattan surroundings, the ticketing and security screening are shifted to the museum proper. Unlike the below-gra...

The Air from Other Planets: A Brief History of Architecture to Come by Sean Lally, published by  Lars Müller Publishers , 2014. Hardcover, 248 pages. ( Amazon ) Manhattan Atmospheres: Architecture, the Interior Environment, and Urban Crisis by David Gissen, published by  University of Minnesota Press , 2014. Paperback, 240 pages. ( Amazon ) For the 2014 Venice Biennale, director Rem Koolhaas is asking visitors to consider the Fundamentals of architecture. One aspect of the exhibition that opens on June 7 is Elements of Architecture , which "will pay close attention to the fundamentals of our buildings, used by any architect, anywhere, anytime: the floor, the wall, the ceiling, the roof, the door, the window, the façade, the balcony, the corridor, the fireplace, the toilet, the stair, the escalator, the elevator, the ramp..." I'm thinking of this much-anticipated (and equally hyped, one could say) exhibition in the context of these two books because all of th...

The title of this post is the punny catchphrase printed on postcards for Makeshift Society , which bills itself as "a coworking space and organization for creatives, by creatives." The first space is found on Gough Street in San Francisco, and the second one, which just opened a few weeks ago, is located in an old factory building on Hope Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Last week I got a tour of the two-story space from Bryan Boyer , a partner at Makeshift Society and principal at Dash Marshall , who worked with Rena Tom, founder and partner at Makeshift Society, on the design of the space and its furnishings. [All photos by John Hill] The space is located on the ground floor of a building less than one block from the BQE, but more importantly, it is close to three subway lines: L, G, and J/Z. The space gets plenty of sunlight through two large storefront windows facing south and windows on the both sides, overlooking a parking lot (right in the photo above) and a sl...

The exhibition Five Proposals for the Future of Atlantic Yards opens at the Warehouse Gallery in Brooklyn on June 5, running for just over a couple weeks, until June 22. Per the exhibition's website: "The Atlantic Yards Site presents a major opportunity to create a  significant piece of architecture and urbanism at the center of several Brooklyn neighborhoods. Five architects will present their alternative proposals for the site. Each scheme will provide 4,278,000 square feet of housing and 156,000 square feet of retail space, equivalent to the master plan by Forest City Ratner." Further, per the website : "The five proposals are intended to illustrate alternative architectural possibilities to the community through schemes that are equally profitable for the developer. The schemes will show that the proposed density is not inherently problematic if distributed properly on the site. The exhibition will open up a dialogue about the site’s potential, giving the c...

Drawing Ideas: A Hand-Drawn Approach for Better Design by Mark Baskinger and William Bardel, published by Watson-Guptill, 2013. Hardcover, 304 pages. ( Amazon ) Creativity and design are riding a high these days. In various forms they are seen as the means for solving many of the world's problems, be it an app for this or that, a way to get clean water, or how to build a cleaner car. Much of the hype over creativity and design is hyperbole, and just as much of it is framed in the context of helping business, specifically helping the bottom line. I'm skeptical about the hype as well as design being relegated to business interests, but nevertheless I believe that creativity (the core of design, if you will) is something that should be fostered in children and adults alike for many reasons: in solving problems, in embracing art and culture, in heightening intelligence and emotional understanding, and on and on. The above thoughts were going through my head as I tried to ...

Last year's Wheelwright Prize traveling fellowship was notable for being open for the first time in its nearly 80-year history to graduates outside of the Harvard GSD, regardless of the fact that recipient Gia Wolff graduated from the Ivy League school in 2008. This year's prize continues the new tradition of being open beyond the confines of Gund Hall, but it differs in that a shortlist of finalists* was announced a few week's before last night's award to Barcelona-based architect Jose Ahedo . Beating the six finalists, as well as the roughly 195 other eligible entries, Ahedo wins the $100,000 travel grant with his proposal "Domesticated Grounds: Design and Domesticity Within Animal Farming Systems." The proposal sounds anything but sexy, but Ahedo's first independent project -- Blanca from the Pyrenees , a 13-building dairy complex -- shows the potential for some smart and visually appealing design in an area often left to anybody but architects. Addi...

Here are some of my photos of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City by SOM. The building is a cube-like addition on 11th Avenue that is connected to the existing school on 10th Avenue via a long concourse that is capped by a green roof. The west-facing elevation on 11th Avenue, at West 58th Street: A close-up of the addition's elevation on West 59th Street: Looking west along West 59th Street; the main entrance is in the foreground: Another view of the main entrance: A close-up of the main entrance: The main-entrance signage from the other side: The main entrance drops people into this light-filled space at the eastern end of the concourse: A view of the skylight from the mezzanine: And a close-up of the lighting below the skylight: Moving west along the main level of the concourse: A little bit more west: The steps and seating at the western end of the concourse: A view from atop those steps, looking east: The 11th Aven...