A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

Here are some photos of the Roman Temple of Diana Environments (2011) in Merida, Spain, by José María Sánchez García Architects , photographed by Gonzalo Mauleón . To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the  archidose pool To contribute your Instagram images for consideration, just: :: Tag your photos #archidose

Here are some photos of the Departments Of Law And Central Administration, Vienna University of Economics and Business (2014) in Vienna, Austria, by Crab Studio (Cook Robotham Architectural Bureau), photographed by Sebastian Deptula . To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the  archidose pool To contribute your Instagram images for consideration, just: :: Tag your photos #archidose

Nordic Light: Modern Scandinavian Architecture by Henry Plummer, published by  Thames & Hudson , 2014. Paperback, 256 pages. ( Amazon ) Last year I included Henry Plummer's Cosmos of Light , a record of three religious buildings designed by Le Corbusier, in my list of notable books of 2013 at Designers & Books. I must admit that even though Plummer contributes both the words and the photographs, be it Cosmos of Light or Nordic Light , the subject of this review, it's the photographs that sway me toward a deep liking of his books. While Plummer's love of what he is documenting in words and images is clear, I find his text flowery, full of adjectives that are trying really hard to convey the qualities of light that come across in particular buildings or places. But I'd argue that his photographs convey those qualities so much better; such is the skill of his shooting, particularly his framing and his patience in waiting for the right light. The cover of Nor...

Here are some photos of the ARoS Art Museum (2004) in Aarhus, Denmark, by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects , capped by Olafur Eliasson 's Your rainbow panorama (2011), and photographed by Sindre Ellingsen . To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the  archidose pool To contribute your Instagram images for consideration, just: :: Tag your photos #archidose

First in the recent trend of glass walkways came the Grand Canyon Skywalk (2007): [Photo from Grand Canyon National Park ] Then The Ledge at Willis Tower's Skydeck (2009): [Photo from Skydeck website ] And this year came the Eiffel Tower : [Photo from Tour Eiffel ] And the Tower Bridge : [Photo from Tower Bridge Exhibition ] So what will be the next trendy, vertigo-inducing glass walkway attraction? A logical site would be the Gateway Arch in St. Louis: [Background image from Together We Roam ] But why not an Amazon warehouse? [Background photo from Newsweek ] Or even the Oval Office? [Background photo from White House Museum ] What would you want to see from above through a glass walkway?

Here are some of my photos of Fulton Center (opened November 10, 2014) in New York City by Arup and Grimshaw Architects with the "Sky Reflector-Net" by James Carpenter Design Associates . Corner of Fulton and Broadway with Corbin Building (corner of John and Broadway) on the right: Looking west down Fulton toward the World Trade Center site: Entrance at Fulton and Broadway with atrium drum popping above the glass-box parapet: The gap between the glass box and the atrium: Looking toward the atrium from near the entrance along Broadway: Getting closer to the atrium: A view across the atrium to the Broadway/Fulton entrance with the lower edge of the Sky Reflector-Net visible: Looking up at the atrium oculus from one level below the street (bottom of escalators in above photo): The same view from two levels below the street, looking through a circular opening in the floor above: An escalator cuts through part of the old Corbin Building to give acce...

Here are some of my photos of Valentino New York Flagship (2014) by David Chipperfield Architects : "The Valentino New York Flagship Store is situated on Fifth Avenue in the former Takashimaya Department Store, designed by John Burgee and Philip Johnson, which opened in 1993." To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the  archidose pool To contribute your Instagram images for consideration, just: :: Tag your photos #archidose

As most people probably know by now, on Monday MAD Architects released its design of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art , planned for a site on Chicago's lakefront between Soldier Field and McCormick Place. Here is one of the three renderings released: The proposed site plan, with Lucas Museum as #5: Not surprisingly, critics have had a fun time tearing apart the design of MAD's Ma Yansong, saying: "the museum proposal is needlessly massive...a fumbled essay in 'blob architecture,' leaden and lumpy" ( Blair Kamin )  "a gooey, mountainous slug of a building with two squinty windows and a silvery halo, making it look like a sainted Jabba the Hut" ( Justin Davidson ) "much needs to be worked out to keep this challenging work from being just weird" ( Edward Keegan ) "an alien land mass, ringed with a rather tacky Space Mountain-inspired top"( Martin Pedersen ) "a pile of Chicago snow with a hubcap on top...Hollywood ...

For those in NYC, there is a panel discussion on architectural publishing taking place at McNally Jackson Books on Monday. Details are below. On Monday, November 10, 2014, CLOG will be moderating a panel discussion based on CLOG : Unpublished , which is a critical analysis of the architectural publishing industry. Panelists will include: Cathleen McGuigan (Editor in Chief, Architectural Record ), Fred Bernstein (Journalist), Alan Rapp (Senior Editor, Architecture + Design, The Monacelli Press), and Vanessa Quirk (Managing Editor, ArchDaily) McNally Jackson Books 52 Prince Street New York, NY 10012 Monday, November 10, 2014 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM The panelists will take questions from the audience after the discussion.

Here are some photos of Kronstad DPS (2013) in Bergen Norway, by Origo Arkitektgruppe , photographed by Sindre Ellingsen . To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the  archidose pool To contribute your Instagram images for consideration, just: :: Tag your photos #archidose