A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

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. For the longest time I was not a fan of interviews, though recently I've come around to them to the extent that I sometimes search them out. I'm not sure why I didn't like them nor why I like them now, but it might have to do with having less time to read books in their entirety combined with a desire to know the ideas and motives of particular architects. With this subtle shift of reading habits a number of bo...

Here are some of my photos (and a video at bottom) of the SeaGlass Carousel by WXY Studio at Battery Park in Lower Manhattan. The form of the small stainless steel and glass structure is inspired by nautilus shells. Landscape design was carried out by Starr Whitehouse with Piet Oudolf . The spiraling exterior rises toward the entry where the most glass is found. George Tsypin Opera Factory was responsible for the production design of the aquatic-themed carousel. Instead of riding horses, as is the norm with carousels, people sit inside one of 30 luminescent fish. The experience is meant to be like a "mini opera" that makes people feel like they are underwater. The total effect can't be captured here, since videos projected on the underside of spiraling ceiling will enhance the sense of immersion after sunset. During yesterday's press preview, everybody riding the fish seemed to be having a great time. Lastly, here's my amateur-hour vi...

Here are some photos of the Fort York National Historic Site Visitors Centre (2015) in Toronto, Ontario, by Kearns Mancini Architects and Patkau Architects , photographed by Riley Snelling . See more photos of the project on Ryan Snelling's website . 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

Head over to World-Architects to check out Architecture As Subject for Art , a short Q&A feature I just posted on some artists using architecture and building as subjects for their artwork. The feature includes a number of artists that have been on this blog before: Lynette Jackson , Sarah McKenzie , SerraGlia , and Allan Wexler . [Sarah McKenzie: Patriot, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 48 in x 72 in] The intro from the piece : To get a sense of how artists see and think of architecture, World-Architects sent a short questionairre to six artists: Lynette Jackson is a Georgia native whose work – much of it produced only on an iPhone – is heavily influenced by mid-20th-century architecture and design; Sarah McKenzie lives and works in Colorado where she paints buildings and landscapes in a state of flux; Daniel Mullen , born and Scotland, lives and works in Amsterdam where he creates paintings following from his passion for architecture; SerraGlia is the alias of Italian arc...

Most of the posts in my ongoing "architecture advertising" series focus on architects and/or buildings used in print ads, commercials, and other forms of advertising. As most people probably know, often advertising takes less obtrusive means, such as being embedded into editorial content. The most obvious means of this is the fashion spread, which is a magazine's way of saying "this is the way men or women should dress," but which is really advertising for the clothes being worn. In the latest Esquire , the "Epic" September Style Issue (subtitled "How to Dress Now") an architect makes an appearance on page 174 (of 190): I'll admit it's pretty cool to find Joshua Prince-Ramus in the issue. He might not be the most obvious choice (BIG's Bjarke Ingels would make sense, though for all I know he's already done it), but his shaved head and cool determination work well. Heck, I'd buy those clothes. Wait – that outfit costs ...

"Book Briefs" are an ongoing series of posts with two- or three-sentence first-hand descriptions of some of the numerous books that make their way into my library. These briefs are not full-blown reviews, but they are a way to share more books worthy of attention than can find their way into reviews on my daily or weekly pages. 2013 Competitions Annual edited by G. Stanley Collyer with Daniel Madryga | The Competition Project | 2014 This collection of the winners and runners up of fifteen architectural competitions – similar in format to the 2012 Competitions Annual – is framed by two themes, one on the back cover and one in the introduction: the increased role of landscape architects in competitions and large-scale architecture in general, and the need for better-designed affordable housing which eschews the misconceptions that arose from the (sometimes literal) implosion of public housing since the 1970s. Not all of the projects found within the book correspond ...

Measure opens tonight (running until September 12) at the Storefront for Art and Architecture. It will be worth going just to see this drawing by James Wines on the measurable and immeasurable impact of the Storefront: Participants include: The Architecture Lobby Barozzi / Veiga Víctor Enrich Fake Industries Architectural Agonism (Urtzi Grau, Cristina Goberna) and Georgia Jamieson FIG Projects FleaFollyArchitects Formlessfinder Michelle Fornabai Grimshaw Architects Steven Holl Bernard Khoury Kohn Pedersen Fox Assoc. KUTONOTUK (Matthew Jull + Leena Cho) Erika Loana Jon Lott / PARA Project MAIO m-a-u-s-e-r (Mona Mahall + Asli Serbest) MILLIØNS (John May + Zeina Koreitem) Nicholas de Monchaux Anna Neimark and Andrew Atwood / First Office pneumastudio (Cathryn Dwyre + Chris Perry) + POOL James Ramsey, RAAD Studio Reiser + Umemoto Mark Robbins Selldorf Architects Malkit Shoshan Nader Tehrani / NADAAA Urban-Think Tank Anthony Titus Ross Wimer James Wine...

Here are some photos of the Public Toilets (2011) in Uster, Switzerland, by Gramazio Kohler Architects , photographed by Ken Lee . 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

At the end of 2012 I visited the Parrish Art Museum shortly after the grand opening of the Long Island institution's Herzog & de Meuron building, writing a weekly dose on it in early 2013. Over the weekend I finally returned, specifically to see the Tara Donovan Slinky sculptures. Those sculptures were decent, kind of worth the trip, but I was more impressed by how in just a over a couple years the building has integrated itself into the landscapes designed by Reed Hilderbrand Associates. So below are a few 2012/2015 photos comparisons (keep in mind that the views are not exact matches, but they are fairly close). Southern roadside elevation in 2012: Southern roadside elevation (with Roy Lichtenstein sculptures) in 2015: Left is bioswale at parking lot in 2012 and right is bioswale in 2015: Approach to the museum from parking on the north in 2012: Approach to the museum from parking on the north in 2015: North elevation in 2012: North elevation in 2015: ...

Here are some photos of the Philharmonic Hall (2014) in Szczecin, Poland, by Estudio Barozzi Veiga , photographed by Maciek Lulko . The building won the 2015 Mies van der Rohe Award, European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture . 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 POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews (2013) in Warsaw, Poland, by Lahdelma & Mahlamäki Architects , photographed by Ziemowit Cabanek . 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

Today AIA Chicago announced that Richard H. Driehaus is the recipient of the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award. While I'm not too excited about one of the driving forces of neoclassical architecture getting an award from an AIA chapter in one of the most modern American cities (where Driehaus and his foundation resides), the award made me curious about the previous recipients. How does he compare to others? Although I immediately recall that Stanley Tigerman and John Vinci recently receiving the honor, it's surprising just how difficult it is to find a list of AIA Chicago's Lifetime Achievement Awards, which started in 2006. Basically AIA Chicago doesn't have one. So I did a little digging and put the list of winners from this and past years below (hopefully I got them all correct). Videos about the winners are supplied when available. 2015: Richard H. Driehaus 2014: John Vinci 2013: Stanley Tigerman 2012: Helmut Jahn 2011: Ben Weese 2010: Natalie de B...