A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

Glass in modernism was theorized as a material whose transparency dissolved the separation between inside and outside. In effect it was a material that disappeared by allowing light to pass through while blocking air, bugs, and most projectiles. Today glass is seen less simply. Instead its presence is explored via a number of procedures, from casting and bending to silkscreening and other surface enhancements. One aspect of this is the transformation of curtain walls from two-dimensional surfaces to three-dimensional, vertical terrains. [Trutec Building in Seoul, Korea by Barkow Leibinger Architects | image source ] As the production of both architectural designs and construction elements (materials, systems, etc.) has evolved with computers, more complex and varied designs are possible. One example are folded glass facades, which take once-modular components of glass and steel and make them appear more malleable. Barkow Leibinger Architects ' Trutec Building in Seoul, Korea s...

, originally uploaded by mjyo . The Wise Campus Center at Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont by Perry Dean Rogers Partners Architects (2007). To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

Writing and Seeing Architecture by Christian de Portzamparc and Philippe Sollers, translated by Catherine Tihanyi, published by  University of Minnesota Press , 2008. ( Amazon ) A conversation differs from an interview in both the contributions of those involved and the goal of the undertaking. In the latter the interviewer is subsdidiary to the interviewee, aiming at extracting as much (hopefully interesting) information as possible in a typically short amount of time. A conversation, on the other hand, brings together two individuals (in most cases) with relatively equal contributions to the proceeding, where the dialogue between the two is the point. Unique insights arise from agreements and arguments between those involved, especially when the personalities are from different fields. This "candid conversation between Christian de Port...

During the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Beijing this last weekend, much was made by the media of China balancing the traditional and the contemporary. Viewers observed 2008 "fou" drums lit up as they were thwacked, modern dancers creating a landscape painting in sand, and a giant scroll unfurling with the help of thousands of LED lights. It was a show that conveyed many things, among them the advances that China is making, and the ability to balance them with thousands of years of history. When one sees the most notable projects swirling around Beijing's hosting of the Olympics, that balance of the old and new is not abundantly clear. Möbius-strip skyscrapers, a theater on a huge plot of land and surrounded by a large moat, an airport as wide as Manhattan, a bird's nest stadium; the fine-grained fabric of traditional life is being eschewed in favor of grand gestures with functions that abandon the agriculture base of the country. In the rest of the c...

"The creation of a new capital city is not only about the articulation of a new national identity, but also more importantly about the creation of the state itself. The state constructs itself by opening up new spaces, closing others, inscribing them with the marks and symbols of the nation and state power, and organizing urban space around foundational norms and principles. These are self-constitutive acts; the state constitutes itself as an agent of modernity vested with the power and authority to control space, dictate the meaning of urbanity, shape the evolution of the public sphere, and suppress contending ideologies. By constructing a city, the state becomes an agent of the nation, the author that inscribes the nation into space, hence creating the nation-state. Giving shape to urban space by monitoring the architectural styles, erection of statues and monuments, and placement of squares, parks, shopping centers, and public buildings allows the state to establish its power a...

I've always found the gulf between architect and end user most fascinating, particularly in the legibility of architectural production (plans, elevations, sections, details, sketches, models, perspectives, renderings, etc.), by — for lack of a better term — laypeople. It goes without saying that much of what is produced by the former is not fully grasped by the latter, in terms of how a set of drawings, for example, will translate into a building. Models and renderings attempt to bridge this gulf of understanding, but in some cases diagrams done after a building's completion can prove even more helpful. These post-occupancy aids may be done for publication, though more often than not they are done for public buildings (museums, libraries, etc.) as wayfinding devices, given to visitors to help orient themselves in space. The effectiveness, and apparent legibility, of such devices makes me wonder if architects could benefit from them in some way, by not only using them as aids in...

Watching the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games , I have to admit that the $300 million show-to-end-all-shows used the stadium to some good effect, from the fireworks launched from the roof's opening to the projections on the surface of the translucent roof. But instead of a clip from the ceremony, here's a lo-fi take on the stadium: