A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

Searching the internet for information on Camillo Sitte for my weekly page, I came across the Camillo Sitte Institute and this project by Gunther Domenig in Vienna, Austria: Unfortunately both the Sitte Institute's and Domenig's web sites are only in German, so I can't really give you any more information than what you see, though a Google search indicates the project was completed last summer. The dynamic architecture seems appropriate for a mobile phone company, who probably strive for a contemporary image. Image from Archinect Links: - Project page at Camillo Sitte Institute (in German). - Gunther Domenig 's home page (in German). - T-Mobile 's web page on the completed building (in German). -Images, text (in German) and data at online architektur . -More images and text (in German) at nextroom architektur .

Ronnie Gensler, student in Columbia University's architecture program, has achieved the impossible: a three-dimensional representation of an orgasm!  An article in the the Columbia Spectator cover's Gensler's project, though for the most part exposes to the rest of the University the unconventional aspects of the department's program and the day-to-day workings of a major most people find equally fascinating and baffling. It's an interesting project hat has been quite elegantly executed.

It appears that Blogger has refined its comments, streamlining the comment page with the ability to see previous ones, but more importantly now giving the user three options for posting comments: as a Blogger user, as "other" with name and web page (if applicable), and anonymous (for those really biting comments). Because of this nice change, I'm going to phase out the HaloScan comment option over the next couple days. I'm going to transfer the comments from HaloScan to the Blogger comments (as far back as seems necessary) and then delete the HaloScan option, consolidating your contributions into one location.

With only three days until Christo and Jeanne-Claude's " The Gates " is unfurled in Manhattan's Central Park, web pages devoted to the undertaking are popping up over the internet, among them The Gates @ Central Park and jok/kaz , a daily weblog of two people working on the project. While I couldn't find anything on Christo and Jeanne-Claude's website regarding any inspiration behind the work, my girlfriend Karen pointed out the striking similarity between The Gates and the Fushimi-Inari Shrine in Kyoto, Japan. Each is a repeated post-and-beam frame along curving paths, painted orange, and tightly-spaced. See for yourself: Image by  Scott Surbeck Karen in Kyoto Granted that the flags, once installed, will set apart The Gates from the Torii, but nevertheless the similarities are striking.

Blair Kamin reports on the United States Post Office's 2005 Commemorative Stamp Program 's twelve stamps titled "Masterworks of Modern American Architecture." I could only skim Kamin's piece, since in the very first paragraph he rips on his least favorite building, Soldier Field. He says, "I often write about BIG THINGS -- skyscrapers that soar into the clouds, exhibition halls bigger than 14 football fields, blockbusting stadiums that tower over their neighborhoods " (my italics). I think BK needs to get over this; he lost the fight to stop the renovation and he needs to move on. Regardless, he whines about Chicago buildings (SOM's Hancock and Mies' 860/880 LSD) being featured only on two stamps. That's two of twelve. Sixteen percent. One less than New York City. That's plenty, to me. The twelve stamps are: :: Guggenheim Museum by Frank Lloyd Wright :: Disney Concert Hall by Frank Gehry :: Yale Art and Architecture Bui...

The whole blogsphere seems to be up in arms about an article by Ben Joravsky that appeared in the Chicago Reader about a photographer accosted by security guards for taking a picture of Anish Kapoor's "Cloud Gate" with a tripod. The article (if you have a Flickr account you can view the article via New (sub)Urbanism ) indicates that the elements of Millennium Park are copyrighted by their respective authors, so no professional photographs can be taken without paying a fee. The accosted photographer actually slid security a $20 bill to bypass the higher fee. As absurd at this is - and most people picking up this story come to that consensus - it begs the question, "Is Millennium Park a public space?" The default answer is yes, but if that were the case there wouldn't be an issue, or so it seems to me. In some way the Park has become a hybrid public/private (read: corporate) space that's confusing copyright and civic laws. In response people have be...

Christopher " A Pattern Language " Alexander has completed his four-volume omnibus culminating his exploration of architectural theory over thirty years. Nature of Order focuses on the topic of living structure. Each book can be read separately but are also interdependent and connected. NPR features an interview with Alexander, who talks all-too-briefly about the ideas behind the books in a laid-back and understandable manner. From Alexander's web page: In Book 1 [ The Phenomenon of Life ], Alexander defines life and living structure as the necessary criteria for quality in buildings; in Book 2 [ The Process of Creating Life , he] examines the kinds of process that are capable of generating living structure; in Book 3 [ A Vision of a Living World , he] presents hundreds of his own buildings and those of other contemporaries who have used similar methods consistent with the theory of living process; in Book 4 [The Luminous Ground], the culmination of the quar...