A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

Last week I voyaged on the Around Manhattan Official NYC Architectural Boat Tour with featured guide Meta Brunzema, an architect, urban designer, Pratt University professor, and founding director of Friends of Hudson River Park . The weekly tours that are run by AIANY with Classic Harbor Lines include a few guest guides this year, Brunzema the most recent and yours truly the last, in September . Brunzema's narration, which was accompanied by regular guide Arthur Platt , focused on waterfront infrastructure (piers, landfill, etc.) and new developments along New York City's waterways. Below are some highlights from Brunzema's tour -- most of the facts new to me and gleaned from her descriptions -- along with some of my photos. Pulling out of the slip at Chelsea Piers, the starchitecture draws one's attention to the skyline, but there's just as much interesting stuff happening over the water, such as the various states and construction of the piers along the Hud...

Here are some photos of the Norman and Doris Fisher House in Hatboro, Pennsylvania by Louis I. Kahn (1967). Photographs are by Bill Brookover . To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

In my review of the exhibition catalog for the CCA exhibition Imperfect Health last week, I mentioned the SANAA-designed "Rabbit Ear" chair. One version is designed for the Japanese market and one for the United States, the latter following the former by two years. The chair's inclusion in the exhibition and book obviously portrayed one difference between the two countries, yet so simply through a couple similar pieces of furniture. Can you guess which is which? [SANAA's "Rabbit Ear" chairs | image sources: left and right ] A little clue: [Image sources: left and right ] The chairs designed by Kazuyo Sejima+Ryue Nishizawa/SANAA are actually called Armless Chair and Armless Chair (Wide) , part of Maruni 's Nextmaruni concept line. The idea behind them (literally) is that the portion of the chair back aligned with the spine is removed, making the chair more comfortable by reducing pressure on the spine. While I'm somewhere between the tw...

Here are some photos of Laajasalo Church in Laajasalo, Helsinki, Finland by Kari Järvinen and Merja Nieminen (2003). Photographs are by ken mccown . To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just: :: Join and add photos to the archidose pool , and/or :: Tag your photos archidose

Foreclosed: Rehousing the American Dream by Barry Bergdoll and Reinhold Martin, published by  MoMA , 2012. Paperback, 188 pages. ( Amazon ) In five years as Chief Curator for Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Barry Bergdoll has tended to alternate between proactive explorations on contemporary areas of importance and exhibitions that raid the MoMA vaults and presents works aligned across a particular theme. In the former camp are Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling (2008), Rising Currents: Projects for New York’s Waterfront (2010), and Foreclosed: Rehousing the American Dream , organized with Reinhold Martin and on display until August 13, 2012. In these exhibitions, architects are commissioned to develop designs and materials on, respectively, prefabricated dwellings, rising water levels around New York City, and the housing crisis in the United States. Foreclosed assembles MOS Architects, Visible Weather, Studio Gan...

Löwenbräu-Areal in Zurich, Switzerland by Gigon/Guyer & atelier ww, 2012 Recently I received a press release indicating that "Switzerland’s leading contemporary art organisation, the Kunsthalle Zürich , will open to the public for a preview week between 10 -17 June 2012 in its new permanent home within the Löwenbräukunst. The official reopening will take place in August 2012." The Löwenbräukunst, it turns out, "also houses the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst and a number of international leading galleries." But it is also part of the larger Löwenbräu-Areal , which is comprised of the arts center, a residential tower, and an office building. Design by Zürich-based architects Gigon/Guyer with atelier ww , the project is, not surprisingly given the name, the renovation of a former Löwenbräu brewery. Existing galleries are added to, and the office and residential buildings are new, from the ground up. In the top rendering, the pieces from left to r...

[West plaza, looking southwest] Last week I walked by Frank Gehry's 8 Spruce Street (aka New York by Gehry ) to see if the two plazas designed by James Corner Field Operations with Piet Oudolf were complete. As the photos here attest, they are...almost; the west plaza is done, but the east plaza is still being worked on. [West plaza, looking southeast] The west plaza (first five photos) is the primary plaza for the project, since it sits adjacent to the main entrance for the 76-story residential tower. It is about 11,400 square feet, while the east plaza is around 4,000 square feet. The east plaza is a little bit wider at southern edge than the northern edge. This shape isn't really sensed, because Corner places long planters and benches at angles, making the whole plan a composition of diagonals. The pavers are even interlocking L-shaped pieces that are angled where they meet. Plenty of trees soften the space and will provide more shade over time. [Residenti...