A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

Chesa Futura in St. Moritz, Switzerland by Norman Foster and Partners Upon first glance of the renderings for the Chesa Futura apartment building in Switzerland's Engadin Valley, it is difficult to believe it is the work of London's Norman Foster and Partners . Although the architect's work in recent years has embraced forms that veer from the orthogonal, the overt "blobbiness" and choice of materials stand apart from his recent oeuvre. Situated on a slope overlooking the town of St. Moritz, Foster refers to the form as novel, though the building is responsive to its site in ways that dictates its form. The image above illustrates the large south-facing openings with balconies that face the lake and surrounding mountains. Likewise the north side responds to the sun, or lack of, with smaller openings...

OKO Restaurant in Glasgow, Scotland by Zoo Architects   A conveyer belt sushi restaurant in Glasgow, Scotland is a testament to the spread of culture across geographical boundaries and the use of technology in its spread. London's Zoo Architects designed the OKO Restaurant in Glasgow's Merchant City, though the restaurant's design is all-encompassing, extending beyond the architecture to the delivery system and the tableware. Offering a mezzanine bar with traditional Scottish snacks and drinks - and DJs spinning records on the weekends - the restaurant's greatest appeal lies in the conveyer belt dining, where sushi and other dishes slowly pass the diner on a moving belt for the taking. Upon arriving at OKO the diner is escorted to the belt and explained the menu and the process: chopsticks, condiments, water tap, n...

Chasse Park Apartments in Breda, Netherlands by Xaveer de Geyter Architects, 2001   Situated on a former military base in Breda, The Netherlands, the Chasse Park Apartments by Belgium's Xaveer de Geyter Architects are a series of towers that accentuate views and open space through their siting and unique elevations. The master plan for the area was created by the Office for Metropolitan Architecture, known more for architect Rem Koolhaas' radical designs than their competent and innovative urban planning. Here the plan includes additional residences (700 total, 137 in the Chasse Park Apartments), a town hall, a concert hall and plenty of parking for all uses. The plan features buildings by well-known Dutch architects, including Erick van Egeraat and OMA , and landscape by West 8 . Geyter's five towers sit atop a parking ...

Institute for Contemporary Art in Boston, Massachusetts by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, 2002 The following text and images are by The Institute of Contemporary Art the for their New Waterfront Museum by New York's Diller + Scofidio (now Diller Scofidio + Renfro ) in Boston, Massachusetts. On September 4, 2002, the Trustees of The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, unveiled Diller + Scofidio's highly anticipated design for a new 62,000-square-foot, four-story museum to provide both a world-class exhibition space to showcase works by leading contemporary artists and a vibrant center for public performances, educational activities, and waterfront access. Diller + Scofidio's dramatic cantilever design integrates the public harborwalk into the building and produces shifting views of the waterfront throughout the museum, ...

Camino Nuevo Charter Academy in Los Angeles, California by Daly, Genik Architects, 1999 The following text and images are by Daly, Genik Architects of Santa Monica, California for the Camino Nuevo Charter Academy and elementary school in Los Angeles. The elementary school is the first of several projects Daly, Genik is designing for the Camino Nuevo Charter Academy. The new elementary school was created out of an abandoned mini-mall on Burlington Street. By reusing and renovating the former mini-mall and parking lots, this familiar type of low-slung building is transformed into an inviting 12-classroom elementary school around a courtyard. The three main elements include a new freestanding extension which widens the upstairs passageways allowing ambient light into the classrooms, the sloping parking lot which is converted ...

Sesseljuhús in Sólheimar, Iceland by ASK Architect, 2002 The following text and images are by ASK Architect for their design of Sesseljuhús in Sólheimar, Iceland. Sesseljuhús is a house built at Sólheimar in Iceland in commemoration of Sesselja Hreindís Sigmundsdóttir. The building will be taken into use on July the 5th 2002, on what would have been Sesselja's 100th birthday. Sesselja was the founder of Sólheimar, she established a children's home and organic farm there in 1930. Now, over 70 years later, Sólheimar is a thriving eco-village with approximately 100 inhabitants. Over the last 15 years various environmentally friendly buildings have been constructed at Sólheimar. Sesseljuhús is by far the largest and most challenging project undertaken so far. The house will function a...

Ogilvy & Mather in London, England by Buschow Henley, 2001 The following text and images are by London, England's Buschow Henley for their design of Ogilvy & Mather 's offices in London's Canary Wharf. Ogilvy & Mather moved from central London to Canary Wharf in 1991 at the start of the economic downturn in the UK. Each department was allowed to stake their individual claim for space creating an ad-hoc layout on the largest single office floors in Europe. The result was highly segregated departments connected by a series of disorienting circulation routes which left staff inclined to stay put rather than venture into 'alien' territory. Initially, we undertook a three month research study for Ogilvy which, resulted in a universal desire to challenge the status quo of departmental division, an...