A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

While it looks more like a retail space than a residence, this library that is part of the Collector's Loft by UNStudio is nevertheless appealing. I think this is the case because it is a space devoted to books that is just off the main living space; the plan shows how the narrow space follows but peels off of the larger loft space. Living with a wall of books in the living room, their presence can often be overwhelming...physically and mentally. In this loft the living area is gallery-like with lots of art, and the library is like a parallel world that one does not have to look at all the time, but which is just as important to the owner. [Collector's Loft by UNStudio, 2010 | photo by Iwan Baan] (Spotted at Architizer / world-architects.com )

ホキ美術館, Hoki Museum, Chiba, Japan , originally uploaded by Ken Lee 2010 . Hoki Museum in Chiba, Japan by Nikken Sekkei , 2010. See more photos in Ken Lee's flickr set on the building. To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

Last August I posted exterior photos of the Sperone Westwater Gallery, then nearing completion on the Bowery one block north of the New Museum of Contemporary Art. Yesterday I finally had the chance to step inside and see how the galleries work, especially the red-box room that moves behind the translucent glass facade. If you hadn't noticed the bright red elevator while walking to the building, as soon as you step into the building you can't miss it. While it does require a look up to actually see the underside of the red cab, the lobby space is so unique -- concrete side walls, steel rails, hydraulic cylinder and piston, metal wall with doors -- that a glance up is natural. My first reaction was "get me outta here" because it's not normal to be standing under an elevator. But this elevator/gallery does not reach the ground floor; the large cylinder in the above photo shows the extent of the elevator's downward travel. Moving through the lobby and ...

, originally uploaded by tiffanysara . "Sway," an installation in the parking lot of SCI-Arc by students in the first year 1A Studio, 2010. Information can be found at The Architect's Newspaper . To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

Every day what seems like hundreds of applications for the iPad are released. A very small minority caters to architects, but nevertheless there are more and more, in a diversity of types, not just travel guides . Below are some apps that I've spent a little bit of time looking at lately. Architect Magazine | iTunes store page | FREE The current AIA magazine uses the "patent-pending Media Deck™ technology" to display the pages of the print magazine, starting with January 2010. From a front page displaying the various covers, one can browse an issue either through an internet connection or after downloading it to the iPad ( regarding the latter, I have not determined how to delete a downloaded copy, which is quite a large file ). The iPad format is basically like a PDF or Issuu format, with some extra features. These include adding favorites, searching single or multiple issues, and emailing links for the text-only version of an article. These text-only views are als...

Watching The Good Wife this evening (yes, I'll admit I watch it), I noticed something familiar, a view of a street that looked straight out of Groundhog Day , one of my favorite movies. A couple minutes research on the 'net and what did I find? It's lifted straight from the film! Exhibit A: [ The Good Wife - Real Deal, 02-08-2011 | image source , at 0:02] Exhibit B: [ Groundhog Day | image source , at 1:02] For all I know this is common, and most likely the makers of The Good Wife paid for the two-second clip and are using it legally, but it's funny how they make the figures walking in the middle of the street (they are further left in the Groundhog Day clip, which is a second or two later than the clip above) become the characters in the TV show when they cut to the next close shot. Check it out .

Yesterday Bjarke Ingels Group ( BIG ) unveiled plans for its much anticipated proposal for Durst Fetner Residential on West 57th Street and the West Side Highway in Manhattan. There is coverage of the project all over the place, most thoroughly by Justin Davidson in New York Magazine, so I won't go into detail on the design here. [W57 - West 57th Street] But I must extend Ingel's question to Durst after the latter spoke about green buildings in Copenhagen, "Why do all your buildings look like buildings?" with "Mr. Ingels, why do all your buildings look like mountains?" Some examples: [ABU2 - Khalifa Park] [AMF - Amagerforbrændingen] [BAT - Faste Batteri] [8 - 8Tallet] [FØR - Førde Rådhus Kvarter] [HOA - Holstebro Handball Arena] [HOT - Stavanger Hotel] [LDK - Little Denmark] [MER - Dolphinarium and Wellnesscenter] [MTN - Mountain Dwellings] [POL - Hambrogsgade Office Building] [SKI - Trysil Ski Resort] [TØJ - Tøj...