Thread is enormous so I am scared to load it and check.Doctor Casino
Doctor Casino
here's what we were thinking about today:
Ned TRifle was thinking about treehouses - can you blame him?
and Doctor Casino was alerting us to a Herzog & DeMeuron we might have missed:
― jed_, Friday, 2 January 2009 16:30 (4 years ago) Permalink
Good idea Jed, that was a lovely thread to watch load ...10(+) architects I have been thinking about...but, yeah, getting big!
― Not me I'm the Emotional Type (Ned Trifle II), Friday, 2 January 2009 16:55 (4 years ago) Permalink
I'm on board - thanks, Jed.
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 2 January 2009 17:00 (4 years ago) Permalink
The HdM above, fyi, is condos at 40 Bond Street in Manhattan. More photos starting here. Very neat, I think, and some interesting ideas going on with the fence, which suggests an upside-down arcade, some kind of hedgee, and a reinterpretation of graffiti. The shiny metal stuff on the ground level is recycled from their Forum 2004, which seems like a smart move to me.
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 2 January 2009 17:02 (4 years ago) Permalink
LOVE the calligraphic fencing and like the rest of 40 Bond, but there's something lacking in the overall effect. The elements seem unrelated to one another. Like, "here's this moderately cool buidling ... and here's this ASTOUNDING decorative detail glued on for no particular reason." I've got nothing against ornamentation for its own sake, but I want all the pieces to fit together, somehow.
― good luck to you ladies--you need it (contenderizer), Friday, 2 January 2009 17:11 (4 years ago) Permalink
It's got a lovely lock!
Here's another one I've been thinking about. I mentioned this on the weird buildings thread but it's not really weird.Jackson Clements Burrows Architects
The house shows a projection of the house it replaces.
You can read more about it on the architects websitehttp://www.jcba.com.au/...but (like ALL architects websites) it's a pain to navigate and this one has an added clicky noise.
Here's another one of the same architects. They do nice houses.
― Not me I'm the Emotional Type (Ned Trifle II), Friday, 2 January 2009 17:11 (4 years ago) Permalink
I've found a better picture of the house in Melbourne with architects explanation.The site was controlled by a Heritage overlay which favoured the retention of existing dwellings. In response to the clients desire to demolish the existing house, we proposed a strategy to replace the dilapidated cottage with a new house integrated within a supergraphic image of its former self.
― Not me I'm the Emotional Type (Ned Trifle II), Friday, 2 January 2009 17:18 (4 years ago) Permalink
a supergraphic image
lol architects.
― Not me I'm the Emotional Type (Ned Trifle II), Friday, 2 January 2009 17:19 (4 years ago) Permalink
Is the issue the redundancy of "graphic" and "image"? Because I get what they're going for, in that "supergraphic" refers to a specific history/movement/motif of the late 60s and early 70s, so it's an adjective modifying "image." I dunno.
contenderizer - I agree to an extent that the green grid of windows has rather little to do with the graffiti wall, but I'm also kind of okay with that. And I'm still convinced there's something going on here in reference to Aldo Rossi but I can't really explain it coherently yet...
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 2 January 2009 17:28 (4 years ago) Permalink
tell more more of this supergraphic movement?
― Everyone is a Jedi (Will M.), Friday, 2 January 2009 20:11 (4 years ago) Permalink
I wanted to be 40 Bond's biggest fan but seeing it in person was more than a little underwhelming. I don't know if I can elaborate much but it was an "is this all there is?" kind of moment.
― I'M ACTUALLY FINE (I DIED), Friday, 2 January 2009 20:15 (4 years ago) Permalink
Well, I mean...it's just condos, y'know?
re: supergraphics - kind of a non-architectural architectural movement growing out of Op Art and a general interest in grooooovy environments through graphics. A Flickr search should turn up some typical images...here's a nice one:
You know, that stuff.
John McMorrough writes in Hunch 11:
Supergraphics are those big arrows, numbers or words painted on walls and seen throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s. Though clearly a minor occurence within the annals of architectural history during its time as a fad, it received some amount of critical attention. It was, for a time, presented as an answer (or at least a tool) to elevate to the aesthetic, social problems facing the man-made environment.
Basically, the appeal was that with just a thin coat of paint you could - without doing anything traditionally associated with architecture or interior design - transform the social conditions of a space, let's say from "boring, uptight, 1950s corporation" to "swinging, hip, groovy 1960s corporation." The limitations of this are probably pretty apparent, but that was the thinking at the time, as I understand it.
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 2 January 2009 22:05 (4 years ago) Permalink
OK, fair dos, they were not just being pretentious then! (maybe just a little).
― Not me I'm the Emotional Type (Ned Trifle II), Friday, 2 January 2009 23:58 (4 years ago) Permalink
Well, they are architects. ;)
― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 3 January 2009 00:44 (4 years ago) Permalink
<3 all of you
also, are there any wittgenstein/popper-esque stories about famous architects beefing? i never encounter these. are architects just chill?
― rox qua rox (roxymuzak), Saturday, 3 January 2009 02:03 (4 years ago) Permalink
ALSO: do people exist who find this style strictly beautiful?
Not interesting, not important, just awesomely beautiful.
― rox qua rox (roxymuzak), Saturday, 3 January 2009 02:06 (4 years ago) Permalink
Not me, but you will find a lot of love for, and images of, that breed of blocky, primary-colored postmodernism in arch. magazines from the late 80s through the mid-90s - GA would be a good place to look I think. Also the later works of Aldo Rossi and Michael Graves, off the top of my head.
― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 3 January 2009 02:13 (4 years ago) Permalink
Yeah, that's a Graves there. I just can't stand that kind of thing, and I've worried about it a lot and can't figure out why! The colors, the shapes...I'm just repelled by it all. Maybe it comes from being a child of the 80s and being inundated with suburban sprawl (vaguely) reminiscient of the above. I really don't know.
― rox qua rox (roxymuzak), Saturday, 3 January 2009 02:16 (4 years ago) Permalink
Damn straight, I love that deep blocky, colourful architecture, and naturally I love Aldo Rossi (these are great)and certain things by Michael Graves.
Also see that Loyola Law school by Frank Gehry, which, being somewhat of a Gehry-naysayer myself, I think is way better than his other stuff.
― Girlfriend, you've been scooped like ice cream (mehlt), Saturday, 3 January 2009 02:26 (4 years ago) Permalink
x-post, that is
Wait, you can't stand it/are repelled by it, but still find it awesomely beautiful?
― Girlfriend, you've been scooped like ice cream (mehlt), Saturday, 3 January 2009 02:27 (4 years ago) Permalink
Just personally, I think a lot of this stuff does play out in a really plainly dialectic fashion - so a lot of that stuff emerged specifically out of people being sick of white-box modernism in whatever its forms, which the architects in question had all been inundated with in their own formative years. And so similarly, we grew up in a world where every movie theater, doctor's office, student rec center, etc. looked like THAT stuff and we can't bloody stand it.
This is an oversimplification in a lot of ways - the architects in question are a lot smarter than I'm giving them credit for - but it does play a role.
The other story (in terms of how it became so ubiquitous) is that postmodernism's own hype had to do with communicating directly with the people, providing symbols that could be understood, etc. Whether or not the people could understand them, it reflects an interest in playing ball with the market. The architects themselves were singing the voices of cheap materials, historical quotation, and so on. The color palette might just be zeitgeist - I mean the 80s and early 90s were not, in my opinion, great times for color in general...
As a side note, I'm learning to leave room in my own tastes for things I Just Plain Like and Just Plain Don't Like, even if I can't intellectualize them yet. I can't fully rationalize my hatred of the 80s stuff or my love of Art Nouveau, the latter's just pretty and the former's just grody.
― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 3 January 2009 02:28 (4 years ago) Permalink
I'm generally just interested in them on aesthetic levels, especially when they're really pared down, minimal forms. cf. Michael Graves, on the other hand, does tend to be repulsive in, I guess, depending on 'postmodernism's own hype' and tend to make some disgusting buildings. Stuff like the above, though, I really like. It feels like forever since I read anything about architecture though, so I'm out of touch.
― Girlfriend, you've been scooped like ice cream (mehlt), Saturday, 3 January 2009 02:37 (4 years ago) Permalink
the above meaning that Theatre Square building.
Xpost to myself, I misread your post. And the answer is yes, me.
― Girlfriend, you've been scooped like ice cream (mehlt), Saturday, 3 January 2009 02:38 (4 years ago) Permalink
I don't mind the early Rossi (the image mehlt's just posted for example) which I think is onto a specifically interesting kick about type, history, collective memory, a lot of other dry and spooky stuff that makes a lot of sense for something like a crematorium. Rossi runs into trouble later trying to articulate things like conference centers and I don't know what else, but they start getting gross IMO.
Early Graves is also really good - let's say pre-1980, but there might be some good stuff later. In general I'm interested in everything about postmodernism EXCEPT the historicist language and material palette of the 1980s. Like, if you read Venturi's Complexity and Contradiction, everything he's talking about sounds great - complexity, multiplicity, layering of meaning, etc. The Hollein I posted to the last thread would be an example of that (to me), or for that matter this Ricardo Bofill project which I don't think I posted:
The language is cloying, but the spaces are fantastic!
― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 3 January 2009 02:47 (4 years ago) Permalink
― Girlfriend, you've been scooped like ice cream (mehlt), Friday, January 2, 2009 9:27 PM (21 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
No, I find it awesomely ugly, I was asking if anyone else found it awesome beautiful.
― rox qua rox (roxymuzak), Saturday, 3 January 2009 02:49 (4 years ago) Permalink
Postmodernism breaks my heart, it's architecture's loss of innocence. Before that there had always been a utopian bent to the profession - even if the buildings were failures there was at least a continual hope and search for a better way to do things and a desire to lift society. Postmodernism purposefully stepped away from that in the face of modernism's defeat and didn't aspire to anything greater than a series of classical reference punchlines without the dignity of proportion. The buildings were never going to be awesomely beautiful because they weren't even trying to be, which is sad. I love beaux arts neoclassicism because it was at least made with a real BELIEF in classicism, I don't think postmodernists believed in anything.
― I'M ACTUALLY FINE (I DIED), Saturday, 3 January 2009 16:39 (4 years ago) Permalink
Hrm, well, I think that varies a bit...one thread of postmodernism was certainly the "Collage City"/Jane Jacobs line (that eventually leads to new urbanism) where there's an active project of trying to save the city, move away from the monumental and embrace the fabric - that seems like a project with social ambition to me. Or in the Bofill posted above, maybe those images don't quite get it across but there was a clear desire to give "palaces to the people," quoting history specifically to create something that the residents would recognize as grand and honorific.
― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 3 January 2009 17:39 (4 years ago) Permalink
I used to think that the only thing unifying about postmodernist thought (or the only thing postmodernists "believe in") is a rejection of enlightenment ideals, but that's obviously glossing over a lot. For me, it is easy to view Modernism as truly beautiful as applied to one building, but equally as easy to view it as one-note as an archtectural movement, and even potentially oppressive. One manifestation of post-modernism's "social concern" (lol) would be multivalence, and the presentation of a variety (I was going to say "of aesthetic sensibilities", but I think "variety" is enough).
― rox qua rox (roxymuzak), Saturday, 3 January 2009 21:37 (4 years ago) Permalink
Yes - and then you have even more severe examples like Lucien Kroll (I think it's Kroll) where the architect's office has an open door, serving soda to the people who are going to live in the building and inviting them to make design decisions. Or Leon Krier, who believed that industrial building practice was so dehumanizing that it was better not to build, so as to avoid participating in the alienation of the worker. Postmodernism was a big umbrella, for a while there - I mean if you read an early edition of Jencks's Language of Post-Modern Architecture it really seems exciting. By the fifth or sixth edition all the photos look like the late Graves and the jig is up.
― Doctor Casino, Monday, 5 January 2009 02:33 (4 years ago) Permalink
Oh, and I finally posted my pics of WORKac's Public Farm 1. On the previous thread, I wrote:
"re: P.F.1 - Yeah, it was great - particularly in light of the kind of stuff that typically wins. They seem to feel that the committee or jury or whoever realized they were getting really tired of atmospheric projects. "We could have won last year, but not ten years ago." It was refreshing to me as a living example of Dutch-ness here on our shores (they both worked at OMA) by architects young enough that you could imagine "hey, that could be me!" So that's always going to be encouraging. But I also loved how much it was filled in with fun little gimmicks and gizmos - the periscope, the audio and video of working farms, the chicken coop...it was cool."
Extended, archi-nerd ramblings here.
― Doctor Casino, Monday, 5 January 2009 02:37 (4 years ago) Permalink
Jencks's Language of Post-Modern Architecture
This is what got me into architecture in the first place!
― roxymuzak, Monday, 5 January 2009 02:51 (4 years ago) Permalink
Haha! Just read it last year after it seemed to keep coming up. Good stuff, I read a later-ish edition that was starting to really drag by the end though. Needed a fresh edit I think, got repetitious, but as a showcase of just neat stuff and ideas the first half is essential. The "Death of Modern Architecture" chapter is classic.
― Doctor Casino, Monday, 5 January 2009 02:53 (4 years ago) Permalink
I still remember where I was when I read that.
― roxymuzak, Monday, 5 January 2009 02:55 (4 years ago) Permalink
...don't leave us hanging!
― Doctor Casino, Monday, 5 January 2009 02:56 (4 years ago) Permalink
Well, it's not exciting in re: this thread, but I was in Nashville sitting on a couch at Douglas Corners waiting to go play a show. It's just a vivid memory because I enjoyed the reading so much.
― roxymuzak, Monday, 5 January 2009 02:59 (4 years ago) Permalink
Know just what you mean - although in these grad school years there's pretty much one of three places I'm ever reading anything.
― Doctor Casino, Monday, 5 January 2009 03:02 (4 years ago) Permalink
i got the other thread locked, i hope no one objects to this? i think it's just confusing having 2 threads being revived and it's more of a rolling discussion thread at this point so it makes sense. if you do i'm sure we can get it reopened.
last post on the previous thread was hyggeligt helpfully linking us to SpaceInvading
http://www.spaceinvading.com/
thanks for that, it's actually a great link and saves quite a bit of trawling around various different blogs although it still has links to those blogs for more description, which is cool.
― jed_, Thursday, 15 January 2009 01:17 (4 years ago) Permalink
Sou Fujimoto Architects' Wooden House. love it or hate it, you've never seen anything like it.
― jed_, Thursday, 15 January 2009 01:23 (4 years ago) Permalink
http://www.archdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/1483004884_detailed-section.jpg
!!!
― jed_, Thursday, 15 January 2009 01:26 (4 years ago) Permalink
I think anybody who ever had blocks as a kid has seen something like it.
― El Tomboto, Thursday, 15 January 2009 01:26 (4 years ago) Permalink
ha, i was just about to add a similar caveat.
― jed_, Thursday, 15 January 2009 01:28 (4 years ago) Permalink
BLOOMFRAME®The BLOOMFRAME® breaks out of the 2-dimensional facade to add to the usable space in this innovative design by Hofman Dujardin Architects.
prototype that is expected to go into actual production early this year:
Bloomframe® is an innovative window frame that can be transformed into a balcony allowing an increase in usable space with minimal intervention.
Bloomframe® offers the user a flexible living environment. By opening the window frame, it is possible to walk out through the facade and to enjoy a comfortable balcony. The dynamic balcony enables adding outdoor space to compact apartments in urban high-rise areas.
The Bloomframe® balcony can be operated automatically with a simple push of the button. The system includes provisions to guarantee collapse safety during opening and closing.
The drive consists of an rpm-controlled electric motor that operates the balcony at two points via an auto-braking reduction (drop safety). The movement is transferred by tie rods from these linear guides.
The fully open position is limited mechanically, which guarantees optimum safety of the converted balcony. The application of a combined powered/mechanical movement makes the system user-friendly and easy to open and close for everyone.
― jed_, Thursday, 15 January 2009 01:34 (4 years ago) Permalink
I don't think I really understand the Bloomframe? It creates a not very attractive half-window when closed and doesn't seem to offer any advantages over a regular building other than potentially animating the building facade more - and you have to keep your patio furniture inside when you're not using it. I think I'd like it more with a glass bottom panel since it'll be up 80% of the time.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Thursday, 15 January 2009 01:49 (4 years ago) Permalink
SpaceInvading is one of my favorite things about 2009
I'm glad so many designers are doing these weird 3D circulation intensive tiny houses/follies, but I'd sure like to see some upholstery in them or at least first aid kits for the inevitable bloody heads.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Thursday, 15 January 2009 01:52 (4 years ago) Permalink
bloomframe would be cooler if the patio furniture folded out with it, like a pop-up book.
― El Tomboto, Thursday, 15 January 2009 01:53 (4 years ago) Permalink
I'd like that! Or if the patio furniture was permanently secured to it so it stuck out from the inside wall of your house when closed.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Thursday, 15 January 2009 01:56 (4 years ago) Permalink
and if it wasn't the color of an HVAC component.
― El Tomboto, Thursday, 15 January 2009 01:56 (4 years ago) Permalink
haha yeah it looks like a big access panel.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Thursday, 15 January 2009 01:57 (4 years ago) Permalink
well, i love it. obviously it doesn't have to be khaki/grey, it can be any colour, i would imagine. the bottom half could possibly be glass but people have vertigo. white steel is fine by me. also you just sit on a chair that you have in your lounge, or whatever. i wouldn't imagine you would have specific furniture for it unless it was some cheap folding deck chair you could keep in a cupboard?
haterz
― jed_, Thursday, 15 January 2009 02:21 (4 years ago) Permalink
I'm getting one
― cozwn, Thursday, 15 January 2009 02:24 (4 years ago) Permalink
me too, on m4ryhi11 road end.
― jed_, Thursday, 15 January 2009 02:26 (4 years ago) Permalink
Yay new thread!
Doctor Casino, though you are a medical man with a gambling problem so far as I can tell from login name, I do like your flickr. It has been very good recently.
Which edition is the better one to start with? Is this book the same one under a different name?
I like the Bloomframe! I think it could be a real boon to new apartments. I loathe buildings like the blocky ones upthread. They are just grotesque monoliths hammering the pedestrian down with sheer BLOCK COLOURS. Just awful.
Ha!
― hyggeligt, Thursday, 15 January 2009 10:30 (4 years ago) Permalink
hi architects
looking at going on a solo field trip in march. probably europe. have been thinking of istanbul but that's just because I'd like to go there. where would you go? for like six days or so. money is an object but where would you go?
― conrad, Thursday, 15 January 2009 13:38 (4 years ago) Permalink
Where to begin! I've only really done Western Europe (no further east than Vienna) and with huge swaths of untouched territory in there. My gut says you kind of can't screw it up in terms of travel, life experience, food, all that kind of stuff - are you trying to see the maximum amount of architecture possible or just have a great trip where you also see some fab buildings?
hyggeligt - thanks! It'll be dormant again for a while, I am now entering my last studio at school and am busy, plus obviously not traveling.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 15 January 2009 14:05 (4 years ago) Permalink
re: That 2002 Jencks - it certainly SOUNDS like a revised edition of the original - Now rewritten and with two new chapters, the seventh edition brings the history up to date with the latest twists in the narrative, and the turn to a new complexity in architecture. Rewritten with new chapters didn't really serve the previous editions all that well - just started to feel aimless and tacked-on-to. But enough time had passed that I could imagine the 2002 volume being interesting, and I appreciate anything that calls out and explores the fundamentally postmodern qualities of 90s computer projects (Greg Lynn et al). Dunno... haven't read the new bits so I dunno if it's worth it or not.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 15 January 2009 14:08 (4 years ago) Permalink
Is okay, jealousy at fancy locations was eating in to my soul anyway. Could do with the spiritual break! (xpost)
Thanks for that Dr Cas, will chance it and see when I'm flush.
― hyggeligt, Thursday, 15 January 2009 14:10 (4 years ago) Permalink
I should have said - have been to budapest, vienna, brno, prague, zurich, basel, madrid, barcelona, rome, florence, naples, berlin, munich, paris, krakow, amsterdam, rotterdam, brussels and others and places in between like leon in spain and vals in switzerland etc. and some UK stuff (I'm in scotland)
so, having never been up to copenhagen/oslo/stockholm/gothenberg/helsinki/tallinn/riga...I'm interested but don't have a ready idea of what's the best destination. not limited to europe other than in terms of the money issue
was looking at v cheap flights to oslo but hostels there seem on the expensive side. cheap flights and accommodation for gdansk but...I don't know if there's that much to see and can't seem to find good info
great trip w/ fab buildings would be fine but as much architecture as poss would be more justifiable in a way
― conrad, Thursday, 15 January 2009 14:33 (4 years ago) Permalink
that's a lot of places. are you in glasgow?
i hear Lisbon is lovely (and cheap on easyjet)
― jed_, Thursday, 15 January 2009 14:36 (4 years ago) Permalink
what about croatia? supposed to be gorgeous.
― jed_, Thursday, 15 January 2009 14:39 (4 years ago) Permalink
in glasgow yes (I mentioned conrad to you at a party on new years morning but it was early and late so I don't blame you for forgetting!)
had thought about lisbon and about porto too but was looking for something direct hoping to minimise cost and travel time
marseille? venice??
I should have found a better thread to ask this stuff as I obviously haven't been thinking about enough architects
― conrad, Thursday, 15 January 2009 14:56 (4 years ago) Permalink
I love the Bloomframe and I would sit in a Panton chair in it.
― Sickamous Mouthall (Scik Mouthy), Thursday, 15 January 2009 14:59 (4 years ago) Permalink
ah yes, i remember conrad.
― jed_, Thursday, 15 January 2009 15:02 (4 years ago) Permalink
venice yeah, go there. march is a good time to go, i think. i want to go back because i was only there for a day and a half but i loved it.
marseille i remember being quite rough but it's good to go and see the unité.
― jed_, Thursday, 15 January 2009 15:06 (4 years ago) Permalink
I would say Copenhagen is well worth the visit!
― hyggeligt, Thursday, 15 January 2009 15:07 (4 years ago) Permalink
Copenhagen is rich with stuff - see the Flickr stream and sets of user seier_seier_seier. Really interested in going myself. Here's an email seier wrote me when I was considering a trip:
****
difficult question, copenhagen in two days...
copenhagen is pretty expensive (as is the rest of scandinavia) especially when coming from the u.s., so I'll recommend you a youth hostel which opened recently in a central office tower (not a tower by american standards, but by danish...you'll see).
www.danhostel.dk/composite-185.htm?HostelId=144&RegionAbb=SN
the same site mentions an even more central hostel opening in april. might be worth checking out:
www.danhostel.dk/composite-185.htm?HostelId=2068&RegionAbb=SN
helsinki and stockholm has some OK hostels too, I would look for the hostel in the olympic stadium in helsinki and the hostel on an old boat in stockholm, if I were you.
stockholm, btw, is my favourite city in scandinavia - it is beautiful, has great nature, landscape, architecture, and wom...its a nice place.
[re copenhagen:]
now, what to see....if the weather is good, I would go for places rather than buildings, in bad weather (of which we have plenty) vice versa...
places to see would be:
strandvejen north of copenhagen, the coastal road leading through the well off suburbs to the north, great on a summers day, will take you past lots of fine sites, including good buildings like arne jacobsen in klampenborg:
www.flickr.com/photos/seier/515032609/in/set-72157600269237235/www.flickr.com/photos/seier/515004940/in/set-72157600269237235/www.flickr.com/photos/seier/515030853/in/set-72157600269237235/www.flickr.com/photos/seier/515031363/in/set-72157600269237235/
and utzon's related housing projects in fredensborg and elsinore:
www.flickr.com/photos/andrewpaulcarr/319888268/www.flickr.com/photos/seier/1544636977/in/set-72157600103941003/
there is a fine renaissance castle in elsinore which inspired shakespeare a few years ago...can't miss it.
the louisiana museum of modern art in humlebæk is a hugely influential building from the fifties, taking the formal out of the museum and putting in nature instead. lots of contemporary architects has named this building as an inspiration, including nouvel, foster and herzog + de meuron.
oh, hang on, from elsinore the thing to do would be to take the ferry to sweden (30 minutes) and drive to klippan to see the lewerentz church
www.flickr.com/photos/seier/528487325/in/set-72157600288780668/
now, that's a whole day in a rented car, so maybe you'll prefer to stay in the city...
there's christiania free town, www.flickr.com/photos/seier/1244185274/in/set-72157603843053592/, a good place to see in the evening, food and bars and a very different street scene.
should the sun shine, the island of amager, formerly known as the ass hole of copenhagen, is seeing some very interesting change these years...on a sunny afternoon, former working class and industrial neighbourhood "islands brygge" is full of young copenhageners sunbathing and swimming in the habour. it is really lively and some of the gir...MVRDV has one of their best buildings nearby:
www.flickr.com/photos/feil/113830815/
further east, on the amager coast facing sweden, is another interesting industrial area undergoing radical change. surrounded by large scale infrastructure like a wind mill park, the airport and the bridge to sweden is a new beach, a huge piece of landscaping very popular with the locals already.
and there's the old town, of course, lots of cafés and shops and the odd arne jacobsen building...
if you are just going for the buildings, I would not miss:
- the foyer of the national bank, arne jacobsen 1961-1978. central copenhagen.- bagsværd church, utzon. 20 minutes by train from copenhagen.- klippan church, klippan, sweden. about 2 hours by train, I think.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 15 January 2009 17:30 (4 years ago) Permalink
thanks for that - going to weigh up copenhagen further but it would involve two flights. venice seems like the right choice for a lot of reasons and might be possible w/ some juggling but oslo currently £11 return for four nights is going to be hard to beat even though a cheap hostel has yet to make itself known
― conrad, Thursday, 15 January 2009 17:51 (4 years ago) Permalink
Very true. Try and end up at Ordrupgaard. Recently reopened with new wing. Bakken in the Dyrhaven nearby is trippy and good fun (I also think it might be the world's oldest fairground, I spent far too much time there growing up as it was free in unlike Tivoli).
Merely a legend alas. The crown jewels are there so well worth a look.
Yes. Avoid visiting if there's a rehang because the permanent collection isn't huge for the trip involved. Another good gallery is the Glyptotek near Radhuspladset. Carlsberg money built and filled it. Lovely stuff.
Sadly not any more. They've closed down the drug stalls on pusher street and basically developers are moving in. Very sad now. I was there recently and was followed by four police officers. I am obviously sketchy looking.
A harbour tour is also a good idea. That way you get to see the Black Diamon of the royal library from the water and get closer to the new opera house. Rosenborg slot is a baroque palace in the centre of town near Norreport. It was one of Christian IV's vanity projects and well worth seeing.
seier_seier_seier
Check his shots of Venice for more inspiration Conrad. Again, thanks to Doctor Casino I have been following for the past few months. It is a great stream!
― hyggeligt, Thursday, 15 January 2009 20:40 (4 years ago) Permalink
I have some Venice and surroundings here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/doctorcasino/sets/72157601373054872/
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 15 January 2009 21:17 (4 years ago) Permalink
this is my favorite thing in the world at the moment:
by Levitate Architects
― jed_, Friday, 16 January 2009 14:58 (4 years ago) Permalink
haha I thought that first shot was an elevation and was like "whaaaaaaat?"
That design is a really fantastic thing.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Friday, 16 January 2009 15:02 (4 years ago) Permalink
haha, did the same thing!
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 16 January 2009 15:09 (4 years ago) Permalink
that stairbookcase is insanely beautiful: the top image reminds me of this mad dream i used to have as a child about a rabbit-warren library with walls made of earth ane books.
― king lame (c sharp major), Friday, 16 January 2009 15:32 (4 years ago) Permalink
i posted that stairbookcase to the What do your books look like? thread on ILB and stet said:
That looks great, but is functionally crap: you'll kick dirt into the books as you climb, and the ones at eye level are furthest from your eyes.
which kinda boggled me.
― jed_, Friday, 16 January 2009 15:43 (4 years ago) Permalink
well yeah but it's more of a limited space solution than it is a most perfectly accessible behind glass eye level book collection solution.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Friday, 16 January 2009 15:58 (4 years ago) Permalink
dezeen maybe needs to work on the color balance for those video interviews they're doing - ross lovegrove looks like a DEMON! I was going to post the pic here but it's actually too frightening so I'll link instead.
http://www.dezeen.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/rosslovegrove.jpg
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Friday, 16 January 2009 16:43 (4 years ago) Permalink
ross lovegrove IS a demon. did you watch the Aranda\Lasch one? fancy themselves a bit, don't they?
― jed_, Friday, 16 January 2009 16:48 (4 years ago) Permalink
I just watched it - my gosh I hate it when designers think they're doing something scientific when they're just aping the aesthetics of science.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Friday, 16 January 2009 17:01 (4 years ago) Permalink
well exactly. so they do some actually quite beautiful faceted tiles etc. that's good enough! the introduction where one of them keeps reiterating how serious they are actually made me feel quite depressed.
― jed_, Friday, 16 January 2009 17:07 (4 years ago) Permalink
I would be so supportive of them if they said "We like triangles and crystals because they are pretty! We make very expensive things that kind of look like them."
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Friday, 16 January 2009 17:11 (4 years ago) Permalink
Yeah, the thing is in twenty or thirty years it'll be quite clear that some designers were aggressively interrogating the possibilities of new materials and computer-aided-manufacturing, and others were picking up on the look...but while the former MAY end up more valorized, it's the pretty-looking stuff (from either camp) that will rack up big prices at vintage stores.
Thinking specifically of midcentury furniture here - some of it was made by material geeks trying to figure out how to do things that were never possible before, and some of it was made by people who thought outer space was super neat, but all of it's kind of great.
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 16 January 2009 17:16 (4 years ago) Permalink
i couldn't actually work out whether they were trying to take the piss by going on about how serious they were? or do they just have zero sense of humour?
xpost
― jed_, Friday, 16 January 2009 17:17 (4 years ago) Permalink
also, i still don't get the Bloomframe exactly - why not just...have a balcony?
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 16 January 2009 17:17 (4 years ago) Permalink
I think they were taking the piss, but trying to be funny by talking about how serious you are only works if you're funny.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Friday, 16 January 2009 17:20 (4 years ago) Permalink
i just see it as another way to have a balcony. it's neat and clever and seductive!
― jed_, Friday, 16 January 2009 17:20 (4 years ago) Permalink
Well yeah, transforming stuff is kind of guaranteed to be cool in my book.... but would you ever actually have it in the closed-up position?
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 16 January 2009 17:27 (4 years ago) Permalink
I guess it depends on climate really..
if you were in glasgow the question would be - would you ever actually have it in the open position?
― jed_, Friday, 16 January 2009 17:29 (4 years ago) Permalink
No, the question would be - why do you actually live in Glasgow? Ba-dum-CH!
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 16 January 2009 17:33 (4 years ago) Permalink
i'd laugh at that if i didn't take myself so seriously.
― jed_, Friday, 16 January 2009 17:34 (4 years ago) Permalink
I beg your pardon; I know next to nothing about Glasgow and am just free-zinging.
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 16 January 2009 18:01 (4 years ago) Permalink
;)
― jed_, Friday, 16 January 2009 18:17 (4 years ago) Permalink
ok were the designers of Jenga paid off for this
― roxymuzak, Friday, 16 January 2009 22:01 (4 years ago) Permalink
also, "free-zinging"! cute.
― roxymuzak, Friday, 16 January 2009 22:02 (4 years ago) Permalink
I blogged about Michael Graves :/http://theskyscraperblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/something-about-hating-michael-graves.html
― roxymuzak, Saturday, 17 January 2009 04:18 (4 years ago) Permalink
Great Blog Name!
― mehlt, Saturday, 17 January 2009 05:39 (4 years ago) Permalink
THANKS!
― roxymuzak, Saturday, 17 January 2009 21:20 (4 years ago) Permalink
hi, what's happening in architecture? has spaceinvading replaced our lovely thread?
― jed_, Thursday, 29 January 2009 11:28 (4 years ago) Permalink
Frozen skyline
And I guess things have got worse since then. Mentions Newhall in Essex, which has some quite interesting smaller houses.
― The Unbelievably Insensitive Baroness Vadera (Ned Trifle II), Thursday, 29 January 2009 11:42 (4 years ago) Permalink
Reversible Destiny Housing by Arakawa and Madeline Gins
Neo-Hundertwasser?
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 29 January 2009 13:36 (4 years ago) Permalink
Ooooh speaking of Spaceinvading these are great: http://www.space-invaders.com/ I saw a good few in Paris (including on Picasso's chimney). Great fun!
I've a few on the flickr account thingy but can't post private pics to ILX sadly...
― hyggeligt, Thursday, 29 January 2009 20:05 (4 years ago) Permalink
Ha, I've seen a few such things too, never realized it was a movement (or whatever)!
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 29 January 2009 20:14 (4 years ago) Permalink
=
― jed_, Monday, 9 February 2009 20:58 (4 years ago) Permalink
wtf?!
― jed_, Monday, 9 February 2009 20:59 (4 years ago) Permalink
It's not the actualy 'square' that went up in flames, no? 'Just' one of the buildings next/across it?
Anyway, a sad thing. They had Rem Koolhaas on Dutch TV and he was pretty gutted.
― Le Bateau Ivre, Monday, 9 February 2009 21:03 (4 years ago) Permalink
ah yes, the news reports on this are pretty confusing. still an unfinished koolhaas building goes up/down. sad.
― jed_, Monday, 9 February 2009 21:05 (4 years ago) Permalink
this one:
which i think is hideous but there's little point in discussing that now.
― jed_, Monday, 9 February 2009 21:09 (4 years ago) Permalink
It looks like an uncomfortable chair. Still RIP and all that...
― hyggeligt, Monday, 9 February 2009 21:20 (4 years ago) Permalink
ha, yes it does!
― jed_, Monday, 9 February 2009 21:21 (4 years ago) Permalink
symbol of 2008 starchitect culture inadvertently becomes symbol of 2009 starchitect culture
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Monday, 9 February 2009 21:38 (4 years ago) Permalink
I think you can. At least I have in the past.
― The Unbelievably Insensitive Baroness Vadera (Ned Trifle II), Monday, 9 February 2009 21:53 (4 years ago) Permalink
guys, teach me about Lebbeus Woods and where to start with his work
― mh, Tuesday, 10 February 2009 01:18 (4 years ago) Permalink
Anarchitecture: Architecture is a Political Act is good.
He's a good thinker and a great draftsman - he started out doing renderings in Saarinen's office! Super radical unusable proposals, but at heart he's a big classical softie with all the attendant ideas about the shape of a city reflecting the shape of a culture that you see in Boullee or Alberti's work.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Tuesday, 10 February 2009 03:40 (4 years ago) Permalink
I should look him up - I know him only from the rather stiff treatment Neal Leach gives him in Anaesthetics of Architecture for, I guess, taking formal inspiration from the devastation of Sarajevo? Or something? It's been a little bit and I was reading it in a hurry.
― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 10 February 2009 03:54 (4 years ago) Permalink
should be 'neil'
― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 10 February 2009 03:55 (4 years ago) Permalink
― mh, Monday, February 9, 2009 8:18 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
^^^fuckin huge stan of this guy
― lol (roxymuzak), Tuesday, 10 February 2009 05:58 (4 years ago) Permalink
haha my friend texted me "did you hear about rem's building getting butthaased"
― lol (roxymuzak), Tuesday, 10 February 2009 06:07 (4 years ago) Permalink
― The Unbelievably Insensitive Baroness Vadera (Ned Trifle II), Monday, 9 February 2009 21:53
Okay will try.
― hyggeligt, Tuesday, 10 February 2009 09:02 (4 years ago) Permalink
Yay!
― hyggeligt, Tuesday, 10 February 2009 09:05 (4 years ago) Permalink
That Q-Bert is great!
This is my favorite that I've seen:
― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 10 February 2009 13:32 (4 years ago) Permalink
Understated but ratjer cool I think (and reminds me of the Langston Hughes Library that was posted in another thread).
― The Unbelievably Insensitive Baroness Vadera (Ned Trifle II), Tuesday, 10 February 2009 14:13 (4 years ago) Permalink
And this house in Paris looks interesting. Although you can't really tell from this pic...Lots of pictures at the architects website...http://www.new-territories.com/lostinparis.htm
― The Unbelievably Insensitive Baroness Vadera (Ned Trifle II), Tuesday, 10 February 2009 14:24 (4 years ago) Permalink
Maybe that should be in the fantastic buildings thread...
― The Unbelievably Insensitive Baroness Vadera (Ned Trifle II), Tuesday, 10 February 2009 14:25 (4 years ago) Permalink
I love that house! The glass pine cones do look like willies though so A- as final result.
I am jealous of Doc Cas' space invader! My first was on the chimney of that old studio in Montmartre. Too lazy too google it I'm afraid, Picasso did his thang there.
― hyggeligt, Tuesday, 10 February 2009 15:16 (4 years ago) Permalink
Oh yeah, Francois Roche (the "duck blind" house in Paris) has some great stuff. Check out this project for a museum in Bangkok that would be covered in an ionized mesh that would pull pollution out of the sky and turn the building into a giant fuzzball:
― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 10 February 2009 16:35 (4 years ago) Permalink
hyggeligt has obviously seen some stranger willies than i have.
― jed_, Tuesday, 10 February 2009 17:12 (4 years ago) Permalink
― jed_, Tuesday, 10 February 2009 18:24 (4 years ago) Permalink
"The structure was set on fire by stray fireworks fired by revellers celebrating Chinese New Year."
i feel bad about it but i had to stifle a laugh when i read this sentence.
― jed_, Tuesday, 10 February 2009 18:26 (4 years ago) Permalink
They were either quite some fireworks or the building was not up to code...
― The Unbelievably Insensitive Baroness Vadera (Ned Trifle II), Tuesday, 10 February 2009 18:38 (4 years ago) Permalink
well, the building wasn't finished and anyway who knows what chinese building codes are like or if they even have any.
― jed_, Tuesday, 10 February 2009 19:27 (4 years ago) Permalink
Rem has never been known for his build quality.
― jed_, Tuesday, 10 February 2009 19:28 (4 years ago) Permalink
His Prada store caught on fire a few years ago, too.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Tuesday, 10 February 2009 19:33 (4 years ago) Permalink
I know that Chinese building codes have been strengthened in the last 30 years (post Tangshan) so, er, building still standing even though burnt to a crisp.
― The Unbelievably Insensitive Baroness Vadera (Ned Trifle II), Tuesday, 10 February 2009 20:07 (4 years ago) Permalink
looks better burnt than it ever would have otherwise
― get drunk and do legos (contenderizer), Tuesday, 10 February 2009 20:09 (4 years ago) Permalink
Remember that building codes would only have a partial impact in this situation - before occupancy, systems like sprinklers and smoke detectors probably wouldn't have been operational yet, and things like fire doors may not have been installed at this point. There's also a lot of (possibly flammable) construction material (propane tanks!) that may have been around that wouldn't have been in after the building was finished.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Tuesday, 10 February 2009 20:22 (4 years ago) Permalink
Gad! Will they bother trying to finish it do you think or tear it down and start all over again?
― hyggeligt, Wednesday, 11 February 2009 10:45 (4 years ago) Permalink
It depends on how severe the structural damage is - if the main supports have been warped or otherwise compromised they'll tear it down, if not they'll probably remove the damaged cladding and re-skin it.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Wednesday, 11 February 2009 15:13 (4 years ago) Permalink
i'd be amazed if the stuctural steels weren't buckled out of shape, no?
― jed_, Wednesday, 11 February 2009 15:28 (4 years ago) Permalink
ps dont know much about this, it's just a guess.
It's quite possible - the smaller exposed members show buckling but the main structure would probably have had all the fire retardants and enclosures in place at this point, and the duration of the fire wasn't that long. I'd imagine they're already testing it to determine structural integrity for immediate safety purposes and for long-term use, and we should know fairly soon.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Wednesday, 11 February 2009 15:41 (4 years ago) Permalink
http://www.dezeen.com/2009/02/11/clo-wine-bar-by-2x4/
my least favorite project of the year so far - cooooold as hell.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Wednesday, 11 February 2009 15:43 (4 years ago) Permalink
Oh wow!
― hyggeligt, Wednesday, 11 February 2009 17:41 (4 years ago) Permalink
From the ever great Big Picture blog.
― hyggeligt, Wednesday, 11 February 2009 17:42 (4 years ago) Permalink
not feeling that clo bar at all. maybe i just need to see more photos.
― jed_, Wednesday, 11 February 2009 17:44 (4 years ago) Permalink
Srsly, that last pic looks like CGI.
― •--• --- --- •--• (Pleasant Plains), Wednesday, 11 February 2009 17:49 (4 years ago) Permalink
it looks like one of those computer game things.
― jed_, Wednesday, 11 February 2009 17:54 (4 years ago) Permalink
jed I hope you don't change your mind when you see more photos of Clo - it's terrible! I might have to go see it in person just to confirm.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Wednesday, 11 February 2009 18:01 (4 years ago) Permalink
I DIED, i blanked out the "least" in the "least favorite project" part of your post. and stared at the pictures for a while wondering just what you could like about it...
yes, i find it utterly dated and, as you said, cold as hell.
― jed_, Wednesday, 11 February 2009 18:06 (4 years ago) Permalink
Anyone interested in prefab LEED certified housing? I know I am!
― waxy tears (gustywindsmayexist), Wednesday, 11 February 2009 19:37 (4 years ago) Permalink
yep, get me a spacebox while you're at the shop.
― jed_, Wednesday, 11 February 2009 19:39 (4 years ago) Permalink
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/feb/08/adaptation-or-disaster/
what??? Not quite buying this story.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Wednesday, 11 February 2009 21:38 (4 years ago) Permalink
I think there were maybe some errors that wouldn't have been super expensive to fix but somehow it was quite convenient cut out the condo portion which hadn't been selling at all.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Wednesday, 11 February 2009 21:39 (4 years ago) Permalink
this rem koolhaas thing, lord love him, has provided me with more architecture lols than anything ever has iirc
also would smash francois roche, pretty sure
― lol (roxymuzak), Saturday, 14 February 2009 01:11 (4 years ago) Permalink
+ would like more info on this pollution house, google is tough on me here
looks like the end stages of a robot fight
― schlump, Saturday, 14 February 2009 01:49 (4 years ago) Permalink
pair of pants beats balled-up chair, sorry dude
― lol (roxymuzak), Saturday, 14 February 2009 01:53 (4 years ago) Permalink
"Clash of the Chair titans!" (xpost)
― hyggeligt, Sunday, 15 February 2009 13:15 (4 years ago) Permalink
the stonework on this is pretty awe inspiring. the second photo is like o_O
― jed_, Wednesday, 25 February 2009 14:11 (4 years ago) Permalink
Saw that the other day on SpaceInvading - pretty wicked. What IS it, again? That ramp in the last photo is pretty monumental considering it goes just nowhere at all.
― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 25 February 2009 14:14 (4 years ago) Permalink
some kind of regional chinese historic museum.
i think the reason it impresses me so much is that i can never think this way, i'm too rigid and reasoned in my thinking but i really admire the look of this. not so sure about the overall context and the interiors.
― jed_, Wednesday, 25 February 2009 14:15 (4 years ago) Permalink
the Ningbo Historic Museum designed by Wang Shu, Amateur Architecture Studio.
― jed_, Wednesday, 25 February 2009 14:16 (4 years ago) Permalink
Great firm name!
― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 25 February 2009 14:19 (4 years ago) Permalink
Thanks for the info. And yeah - I have a tough time bringing in the irrational and the miscellaneous. It's my first instinct to do so, but I can never keep it under control so I end up simplifying the stuff I like best right out of the project.
(This is my last quarter of studio as I may have mentioned and I'm sort of burnt out anyway, don't mind me if the above sounds sort of tragic.)
― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 25 February 2009 14:20 (4 years ago) Permalink
well overall it's the most useful and productive way to work so i wouldn't get depressed about it.
― jed_, Wednesday, 25 February 2009 14:26 (4 years ago) Permalink
Comment by roxy lost in the discussion of pomo upthread:
There are some good ones! Off the top of my head:
* Bernini versus Borromini - the former said the latter had been "sent to destroy architecture." Lots of cute anecdotes about how a project by one would be a deliberate attempt to upstage a project by another - Bernini's fountains in Piazza Navona featuring a statue arguably recoiling in horror from the Borromini building it faces, etc. They were also stereotypical Hollywood opposites - He's a genteel, suave, theatrical architect - he's a low-born geometry nut who bludgeons workmen to death for bad craft!
* Frank Lloyd Wright versus everybody. Ego a-go-go and he didn't take well to the long years of being considered a has-been, eg "the greatest architect of the 19th century" according to MOMA. Refused to meet with Gropius when the latter came to America, and I think there's some story of a really awkward meeting with Mies. There are also some perceived betrayals by his students, I think - I'm pretty sure he fired Soleri for some reason.
* More recently - there was some kind of falling out among the New York Five, possibly relating to the pomo tendencies of some of its members? But they all still support each other's work. Supposedly the generation just after them (Stephen Holl, Williams & Tsien et al) are much more fractious generally but this is just repeating things said by professors; I have no details because, y'know, it's a generational thing to really care. If I'd been following it at the time, it'd probably be as clear to me as Eminem's beef with Triumph the puppet dog, but, well, LOL 1980s u old.
― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 25 February 2009 14:29 (4 years ago) Permalink
Oh, and not to be missed, Adolf Loos vs. Josef Hoffmann. I'm not sure the latter ever really shot back but Loos couldn't stand Jugendstil/Art Nouveau, and Ornament and Crime is more or less an anti-Hoffmann screed. Great little read, too, if you haven't done it - should be easily found in full-text online. Any architectural text that accuses people of being "either a criminal or a degenerate" has to be good. (Warning, icky early-20th century racism is in full force.)
― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 25 February 2009 14:31 (4 years ago) Permalink
casino, i love you
― the styles are a lie (roxymuzak), Friday, 27 February 2009 23:27 (4 years ago) Permalink
hahah, well, I love being in TA mode, so thanks!
― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 28 February 2009 02:34 (4 years ago) Permalink
Ornament and Crime is probably my next favorite piece of architectural writing after the Futurist Manifesto.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Saturday, 28 February 2009 05:03 (4 years ago) Permalink
I am now thinking about Frank Gehry because I just saw him on Arthur - complete with Arthur-esque ears.He was also on The Simpsons iirc, which must make him unique among architects I think.
― Ned Trifle II, Saturday, 28 February 2009 09:22 (4 years ago) Permalink
So while we're at it - this is one of his buildings I really like - much less...er...ornamental than his more well known stuff.
― Ned Trifle II, Saturday, 28 February 2009 09:24 (4 years ago) Permalink
What I like about it is that he hasn't really done that much but it's enough. If that makes sense.
― Ned Trifle II, Saturday, 28 February 2009 09:27 (4 years ago) Permalink
haha, he WAS on The Simpsons - note the letter box.OK, enough Gehry already.
― Ned Trifle II, Saturday, 28 February 2009 09:30 (4 years ago) Permalink
Huh, didn't know about that one in Hannover, or the Arthur appearance...nice!
― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 28 February 2009 16:23 (4 years ago) Permalink
http://www.dezeen.com/2009/03/20/kvadrat-showroom-by-peter-saville-and-david-adjaye/
― Dane Cook's Illustrated (I DIED), Friday, 20 March 2009 22:04 (4 years ago) Permalink
awesome what can be done with a showroom that doesn't display anything!
― Dane Cook's Illustrated (I DIED), Friday, 20 March 2009 22:05 (4 years ago) Permalink
that project is utterly gorgeous.
― jed_, Friday, 20 March 2009 22:08 (4 years ago) Permalink
just drooling over it, makes me happy to have specified mostly Kvadrat fabrics on my current project.
― Dane Cook's Illustrated (I DIED), Friday, 20 March 2009 22:47 (4 years ago) Permalink
I am not much of a fan which is odd because normally I'm all about the "ooh shiny"!
Has anyone been to Le Courboisier exhibition in The Barbican? I am wondering if it's worth travelling over for.
― hyggeligt, Sunday, 22 March 2009 11:06 (4 years ago) Permalink
Eldridge Smerins
Lots more pix at the architects website.I really like the first two there, but the third one I'm in two minds about - firstly the glass corners look a bit awkward i think and second it replaces a fine house by John Winter (which I am struggling to find a photo of sadly). In fact I'm pretty sure it was Winter's own house, which was a lovely floating glass box of a house.
― Say what you like Professor Words (Ned Trifle II), Sunday, 22 March 2009 16:46 (4 years ago) Permalink
^ prefer the one on the left
― Dane Cook's Illustrated (I DIED), Sunday, 22 March 2009 16:57 (4 years ago) Permalink
i like them both, i think. i would probably prefer to live in the new one.
― jed_, Sunday, 22 March 2009 18:16 (4 years ago) Permalink
the middle one was the subject of last week's grand designs (a UK TV show that follows the construction of a house from plans to completion.)
― jed_, Sunday, 22 March 2009 18:18 (4 years ago) Permalink
Where did I read about that one on the end? I think NYT or Dezeen. Still. I likes it.
I like all of his things. I don't like Grand Designs. The host (and people responsible for some of the monstrosities) make me v v angry.
― hyggeligt, Sunday, 22 March 2009 19:23 (4 years ago) Permalink
the middle one was the subject of last week's grand design
Damn, really? I have given up with the programme specifically because of Kevin McCloud. "When that huge piece of granite fell on your head - how did that feel?" and his constant tone of impending disaster - but I would have liked to have seen more of that house. It's described as "low cost" by the architects, but I notice it has a price tag of £650k on the Grand Designs site. I suppose these things are relative.
I lived in a house v. similar to that and it was great in many ways, character, lots of wood, lots of space but it was terrible to heat, terrible to keep clean and bits kept falling off it. I don't know if it's everyone's experience but once a house gets to about 100 years old it really starts to feel it's age. I would have given anything to have moved into "the house next door" there. Also check out this inside wall.
― Say what you like Professor Words (Ned Trifle II), Sunday, 22 March 2009 20:43 (4 years ago) Permalink
yeah "Low Cost" my arse. the building looked like it was going to be great but the interior was pretty poor, i have to say.
― jed_, Sunday, 22 March 2009 20:50 (4 years ago) Permalink
Talking of ceder cladding (I know we weren't but the hpuse on the middle there is) I went to see a housing scheme in Birmingham the other day built in 1917 from pre-fabricated cedar clad houses made in Michigan. A little bit of Americana in the heart of England.
― Say what you like Professor Words (Ned Trifle II), Sunday, 22 March 2009 20:51 (4 years ago) Permalink
fwiw, i don't mind kevin mcleod it's the clients that make me mad. more often that not it's a childless couple building a six bedroom house or something. cunts, usually.
― jed_, Sunday, 22 March 2009 20:52 (4 years ago) Permalink
I always shout at the TV - WHAT DO YOU DO FOR A LIVING!!!??? - and it always turns out to be "consultant" or "interior designer".
― Say what you like Professor Words (Ned Trifle II), Sunday, 22 March 2009 20:56 (4 years ago) Permalink
I think when an architect says a project is "low cost" it means the client didn't spend as much as the architect wanted them to.
― Dane Cook's Illustrated (I DIED), Sunday, 22 March 2009 22:42 (4 years ago) Permalink
Ha! Everyone OTM.
I used to (as penance for my sins) be responsible for an historically very important Georgian building for more than five years (on top of my day job). Having dealt in parts with conservationists, architects and general "ooh the past was so great why would you ever need CAT-5 cabling?" types of people I now err on the side of modern. Case in point: I'm off in May to check out the Vitra design museum on a visit to the parental units. Why is this a case in point? Well, if I ever have to deal with another sacrosanct building again at least I'll know what fun can be had with a hangar and a bit of money. Bloody architectural sacred cows...
I will admit that I am now a total wood snob. It behoves on on such occasions to be able to spot one's cuban mahogany (phwoar!!!) from one's stained oak.
― hyggeligt, Sunday, 22 March 2009 23:35 (4 years ago) Permalink
co-sign! I'd be lost without my American Woodwork Institute Quality Standards Handbook.
― Dane Cook's Illustrated (I DIED), Monday, 23 March 2009 00:17 (4 years ago) Permalink
http://spaceinvading.com/entry/project_id/Frame_Bar200903261238108397
okay, this seems to be a nice enough design but descriptions like this...
The main aim of the design was to recreate the usual typologies of chairs, benches, bars stands, tables and coffee tables using forms that morph from one geometry to the other, thus denying determined typology - activity associations.
...make me insanely angry. You mean the main aim of the design wasn't to create an enjoyable gathering place or a successful business? The client came to you and said "we are seeking to deny determined typology - activity associations, what do you suggest?" Fuck designers who describe their built projects as anything other than the result of a set of very real client, financial, and regulatory requirements.
― Dane Cook's Illustrated (I DIED), Friday, 27 March 2009 07:01 (4 years ago) Permalink
I don't mean to dismiss larger design concepts - I just want designers to acknowledge that the concept serves the project rather than the other way around.
― Dane Cook's Illustrated (I DIED), Friday, 27 March 2009 07:03 (4 years ago) Permalink
YAY PRITZKER
― jed_, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 10:51 (4 years ago) Permalink
Nice. I'm pretty sure his chapel was put up somewhere else here(perhaps it was on the other thread) but here's another view of it anyway...
Lots of detail on it on the flickr page from whence it came. The photographer,seier+seier+seier, has a big set of architecture photos worth seeing.
― Ned Trifle II, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 12:01 (4 years ago) Permalink
Yeah, Seier is the man! Great photos, really selective with what he posts, and obviously a thoughtful writer. Definitely learned a lot from him.
At this point AFAICT the Pritzker is a kind of honorary award for living long enough and doing at least two or three buildings nobody dislikes. It helps that Zumthor lives in a hermit hut in the middle of the Alps (or something to that effect) and hasn't made any enemies. I don't mean to diminish him because I love his buildings - but it's interesting to ask who HASN'T gotten it by now that arguably "should" have... if I ever remember my Archinect login info maybe I'll take it over there though.
― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 14:07 (4 years ago) Permalink
^otm
My reaction on hearing who won the Pritzker every year is usually "What? They didn't already have one?"
― ^ THIS IS WHY (I DIED), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 14:19 (4 years ago) Permalink
sure that's partly it but i'm such a staunch fan of zumthor. i really do think he's the best in the world!
― jed_, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 14:22 (4 years ago) Permalink
plus he was the first architect posted on the 10+ architects thread and that was surely taken into consideration by the panel when they made the decision.
― jed_, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 14:26 (4 years ago) Permalink
well yeah I mean Zumthor A+ good job well deserved glad it wasn't Pelli etc. etc.
― ^ THIS IS WHY (I DIED), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 14:29 (4 years ago) Permalink
Agreed with all the above.
So perhaps an interesting question would be: who DOESN'T have one yet? The list to date:
1979 Philip Johnson (1906–2005) 1980 Luis Barragán (1902–1988) 1981 Sir James Stirling (1924–1992) 1982 Kevin Roche 1983 Ieoh Ming Pei 1984 Richard Meier 1985 Hans Hollein 1986 Gottfried Böhm 1987 Kenzo Tange (1913–2005) 1988* Gordon Bunshaft (1909–1990) 1988* Oscar Niemeyer 1989 Frank Gehry 1990 Aldo Rossi (1931–1997) 1991 Robert Venturi 1992 Álvaro Siza Vieira1993 Fumihiko Maki 1994 Christian de Portzamparc 1995 Tadao Ando 1996 Rafael Moneo 1997 Sverre Fehn 1998 Renzo Piano 1999 Lord Norman Foster 2000 Rem Koolhaas 2001 Herzog & de Meuron 2002 Glenn Murcutt 2003 Jørn Utzon (1918-2008)2004 Zaha Hadid 2005 Thom Mayne 2006 Paulo Mendes da Rocha 2007 Lord Richard Rogers 2008 Jean Nouvel 2009 Peter Zumthor
(Not sure what's up with the two winners in '88 - it's a Wikipedia footnote that doesn't go anywhere.)
Of all these the only complete ???s to me are Portzamparc, Mayne and Murcutt - they just seem a little out of their league, but that might just be my personal taste.
Who's missing? Eisenman obv, but the sense I get is that he's made too many enemies. My friend Evan is betting on Steven Holl...
― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 15:19 (4 years ago) Permalink
good bets in the next 10 years:
ItoBottaBanDiller & ScofidioMakiCalatrava
― ^ THIS IS WHY (I DIED), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 15:36 (4 years ago) Permalink
btw today it was announced today that the group led by Adjaye won the Smithsonian African American Museum competition! Official group is Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup which is too many collaborators to ensure a good project.
Still, glad they beat out the others and excited about the building
― ^ THIS IS WHY (I DIED), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 15:43 (4 years ago) Permalink
maybe Predock also for upcoming Pritzker
― ^ THIS IS WHY (I DIED), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 15:47 (4 years ago) Permalink
also adjaye? maybe in ten years.
― jed_, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 15:47 (4 years ago) Permalink
morphosis?
― jed_, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 15:48 (4 years ago) Permalink
I'm really thrilled by Adjaye's work but he's at a really critical point in his career where he's got more on the boards than he's built in total - can he keep up the quality control and the material/light sensitivity that have made him so good so far or it he growing much too fast? If he comes out of the next three or so years without a dropoff in quality he's a lock for pretty much every award there is.
― ^ THIS IS WHY (I DIED), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 15:53 (4 years ago) Permalink
i can't see him going all zaha.
― jed_, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 15:57 (4 years ago) Permalink
don't insult zaha she's a very good painter.
― ^ THIS IS WHY (I DIED), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 15:59 (4 years ago) Permalink
changing the subject... this thing is unbelievably hideous:
i knid of didn't want to sully the thread with it but wtf?
― jed_, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 16:05 (4 years ago) Permalink
Oh god I don't want to see/talk about that thing. There was a time when I wanted Ito to break out of his neat white geometric solid/void facade thing, but be careful what you wish for...
― ^ THIS IS WHY (I DIED), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 16:12 (4 years ago) Permalink
wtf is that?
― stimulus package (cozwn), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 16:14 (4 years ago) Permalink
it looks like an office building that got drunk at the christmas party and is trying to do a mean impression of Torre Agbar because it's jealous.
― ^ THIS IS WHY (I DIED), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 16:15 (4 years ago) Permalink
it looks like a red plastercast
― stimulus package (cozwn), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 16:18 (4 years ago) Permalink
cozwn: http://www.spaceinvading.com/index/page/9
I DIED - i'm guessing that ice-cold bar thing upthread that you hated so much has been usurped as an unfavourite?
― jed_, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 16:24 (4 years ago) Permalink
Botta = missed his chance I think - last ten years have not been sympathetic to this kind of stuff
Ban = agreed, total lock
Diller & Scofidio = after a few more buildings, yeah
Maki = already got one
Calatrava = oh god please no
Predock = plausible but not adding much
Morphosis = Thom Mayne, already got one
― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 17:26 (4 years ago) Permalink
nope! I think my intense hatred of that wine bar is based on the fact that I do a lot of bar/restaurant/nightclub design, so I know damn well I can do and have done better than that. When I look at even the ugliest 30 story building I think "well, it got built, it's standing up and it's probably waterproof, got me beat".
― ^ THIS IS WHY (I DIED), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 18:17 (4 years ago) Permalink
I agree that Holl is almost certainly getting a Pritzker in the next few years.
― ^ THIS IS WHY (I DIED), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 18:18 (4 years ago) Permalink
"well, it got built, it's standing up and it's probably waterproof, got me beat".
qft.
― jed_, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 18:26 (4 years ago) Permalink
When I look at even the ugliest 30 story building I think "well, it got built, it's standing up and it's probably waterproof, got me beat".
I really should print this out and pin it up at my desk as a reminder to be humble..
― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 19:09 (4 years ago) Permalink
c'mon, it's not like he did it himself.
― jed_, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 19:19 (4 years ago) Permalink
can someone explain all the massive ooohing and aaahing that goes on whenever someone builds a catilevered stair? sometimes it seems like the only reason a design gets any attention. it doesn't always look bad, sometimes the more blocky ones look very good but when i see something like this
i find it not only unsafe-seeming but actually fairly ugly too. also i kind of wonder to what end the trick is being performed in the first place. it just seems so one-note and joyless to me.
― jed_, Friday, 17 April 2009 11:06 (4 years ago) Permalink
oops - like this:
― jed_, Friday, 17 April 2009 11:07 (4 years ago) Permalink
OOOOH:
― jed_, Friday, 17 April 2009 11:32 (4 years ago) Permalink
incredible
― jed_, Friday, 17 April 2009 11:33 (4 years ago) Permalink
Yeah that stair is sexy as hell. The room, of course, is playing a big part in that - not so bad to be surrounded by a striated wall cove lit from top and bottom.
― ^ THIS IS WHY (I DIED), Friday, 17 April 2009 14:11 (4 years ago) Permalink
I would love a video compilation of the first time people with new badass cantilevered stairs in their house have to carry something heavy on them or try to navigate them while drunk.
― ^ THIS IS WHY (I DIED), Friday, 17 April 2009 14:28 (4 years ago) Permalink
omg
i'm in love again. and i can't rise above it. i'm in love again. and i love, love, love it.
― jed_, Saturday, 2 May 2009 00:25 (4 years ago) Permalink
!!!!
― tuppence b. bag (roxymuzak), Saturday, 2 May 2009 00:26 (4 years ago) Permalink
just imagine... working there!
― jed_, Saturday, 2 May 2009 00:27 (4 years ago) Permalink
http://www.archdaily.com/21049/selgas-cano-architecture-office-by-iwan-baan/
― jed_, Saturday, 2 May 2009 00:43 (4 years ago) Permalink
So, I been a-travelin' again. As always, continuing coverage at my Flickr, and links below take you to lengthy babble by me...
Future Systems - Metropolis Tower
― Doctor Casino, Sunday, 3 May 2009 14:37 (4 years ago) Permalink
PLOT (now BIG and JDS) - VM-Husene
― Doctor Casino, Sunday, 3 May 2009 14:41 (4 years ago) Permalink
(More and better to come! A lot of this batch are kind of dingy and gray - Copenhagen weather turns on a dime, so I have tons of gorgeous photos of buildings I wasn't in love with, and then by the time I got to the real treats the clouds had swung overhead.)
― Doctor Casino, Sunday, 3 May 2009 14:42 (4 years ago) Permalink
love this!
― jed_, Sunday, 3 May 2009 14:50 (4 years ago) Permalink
Ouroussoff brings the hammer down on the latest version of Calatrava's WTC transit hub:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/11/arts/design/11calatrava.html
― ^ THIS IS WHY (I DIED), Sunday, 10 May 2009 23:56 (4 years ago) Permalink
God I loathe Calatrava, honestly, one of my least favorite architects. Instinctive challops to some degree, but also I just have never been stirred by the soaring poetry of big white strutty things. It just doesn't do anything for me, and it's always the same damn thing. That said, I wouldn't wish the WTC quagmire on my worst enemy - see the very accessible popular-press book Sixteen Acres for a painfully thorough discussion of that...
― Doctor Casino, Monday, 11 May 2009 03:25 (4 years ago) Permalink
Oh, and
Sigurd Lewerentz, St. Petri Church in Klippan, 1962-1966
My exterior photos are mostly kind of cruddy, the light was coming and going and I'm still getting used to this camera. Seier and jmtp both have really nice ones though.
― Doctor Casino, Monday, 11 May 2009 03:31 (4 years ago) Permalink
(xpost) I'm the same way - with the complexity of the site and Calatrava's tendency toward simple solutions and poor grasp of circulation mechanics (hello Milwaukee!) it seems like the transportation hub would have been much better suited to an SOM or OMA.
― ^ THIS IS WHY (I DIED), Monday, 11 May 2009 03:41 (4 years ago) Permalink
OMA would have been amazing - they stayed the fuck away from Ground Zero, though; the author of that book speculates that it's because Rem knew a no-win scenario when he saw one.
If the competition were happening now I suspect a few of the form/blob/"flows" types might be big enough names to take it on - FOA post-Yokohama for example, or UN Studio (inevitably with SOM or somebody else who really knows train stations). Might have still ended up a signature piece with too many cooks in the kitchen... but there is a whole school of architecture that has been trying to reckon with paths/vectors, motion in form, blah blah, it would have been an interesting moment for them. For better or worse. Instead, oh boy, another Calatrava building...
― Doctor Casino, Monday, 11 May 2009 03:47 (4 years ago) Permalink
http://blog.archpaper.com/wordpress/2009/05/11/hadid-opera-house-burns/
lol china?
― ^ THIS IS WHY (I DIED), Monday, 11 May 2009 18:48 (4 years ago) Permalink
result!
― jed_, Monday, 11 May 2009 19:00 (4 years ago) Permalink
maybe they have a starsonist
― ^ THIS IS WHY (I DIED), Monday, 11 May 2009 19:02 (4 years ago) Permalink
agh thats killing me about hadid's
― (b)admin (roxymuzak), Friday, 15 May 2009 20:52 (4 years ago) Permalink
yeah, good laugh.
― jed_, Saturday, 16 May 2009 00:34 (4 years ago) Permalink
Wrapping up my recent trip, here's two AWESOME churches in/near Copenhagen...
Jørn Utzon, Bagsværd Community Church, 1968-1976
― Doctor Casino, Monday, 18 May 2009 13:49 (4 years ago) Permalink
Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint, Grundtvig's Church, 1913-1940
― Doctor Casino, Monday, 18 May 2009 13:52 (4 years ago) Permalink
Absolute musts if you're ever in CPH. Both are within ~5 minute walks of metro stops, maximum 15-20 minutes out of town on the metro. And they're gorgeous.
― Doctor Casino, Monday, 18 May 2009 13:54 (4 years ago) Permalink
waht?
― jed_, Wednesday, 27 May 2009 11:33 (4 years ago) Permalink
They are filled with spices and stuff. Very fun.
― kingkongvsgodzilla, Wednesday, 27 May 2009 12:06 (4 years ago) Permalink
I have been thinking about Patrick Gywnne because I went on a tour around his house in at the weekend. A (quite big) bit of modernism in the Surrey suburbs.
― ned trifle (Notinmyname), Friday, 5 June 2009 11:44 (4 years ago) Permalink
VG
― jed_, Friday, 5 June 2009 19:09 (4 years ago) Permalink
Quit my job. Starting my own firm. Full time bar/club/restaurant/retail design. It's about to get stressy!
― It's set in "Kazakhstan" not Kazakhstan. (I DIED), Sunday, 21 June 2009 18:33 (3 years ago) Permalink
woah good luck!
what are u calling it?
― jed_, Sunday, 21 June 2009 18:50 (3 years ago) Permalink
Yeah, well done and good luck. Let us see the results!
― Originally opened in 1964 (Ned Trifle II), Sunday, 21 June 2009 19:14 (3 years ago) Permalink
Provisional, pending approval of my LLC registration.
I'm not licensed and I don't intend to be, so I'm labeling myself as a hospitality design consultant but it pretty much just means I'm not the one who stamps drawings (working w/ a friend for that). Got five projects underway and solid leads on another half dozen, all the numbers seem to make sense so far but we'll see how it goes. I've put in my notice and I've got another month at my current job while I get everything set up . It's going to be nice going from 200,000sf interior projects to 2,000sf ones.
― It's set in "Kazakhstan" not Kazakhstan. (I DIED), Sunday, 21 June 2009 21:17 (3 years ago) Permalink
it will be great working on a small team on a small project, more direct contact with clients. love the name. mine is called coh (my initials). or coh design i guess.
― jed_, Sunday, 21 June 2009 21:23 (3 years ago) Permalink
wow, I DIED, good luck! That's really exciting.
― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 23 June 2009 17:39 (3 years ago) Permalink
Can anyone identify this building?
― Spencer Chow, Friday, 26 June 2009 22:33 (3 years ago) Permalink
^No-one? I searched around but there are a surprising number of buildings with that colour glass.
Meanwhile...here's some nice prefabs...
By Marmol Radziner - see more/ read more here.
― Originally opened in 1964 (Ned Trifle II), Friday, 3 July 2009 21:16 (3 years ago) Permalink
hey ned, do you know of any other residential houses in the UK with that gwynne homewood pre-war modernist vibe?
― caek, Saturday, 4 July 2009 17:01 (3 years ago) Permalink
Spencer, that building is here:
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=29.805983,-95.446998&spn=0.001974,0.004085&t=h&z=19
― magical city of a 1000 taco geniuses (I DIED), Saturday, 4 July 2009 18:06 (3 years ago) Permalink
Hmmm, tricky. Not so much that they don't exist but that photos are sometimes hard to find.
There are Gwynne's own houses - all post war and (unless you happen to have a copy of this - difficult to find photos of.
There's this Breuer/Yorke house from 1937, not much glass though, but on stilts!http://www.flickr.com/photos/moxette/134436773
The Lubetkin bungalows at Whipsnade are terrific.You can see some great photos of them in this book - along with lots of others. This is the book to get for this type of thing I think.
This house in Bristol has a kind of Gywnne feel to it, for me.http://www.flickr.com/photos/fray_bentos/238595277/
Erm...Landfall by Oliver Hill? (one of my favourite architects)
Stuff by Connell, Ward and Lucas, especially 66 Frognall.
And so on!
― Originally opened in 1964 (Ned Trifle II), Saturday, 4 July 2009 23:32 (3 years ago) Permalink
Oh, that last one reminds me I should probably mention Greenside by Connell, Ward and Lucas.but the whole saga of that house is so maddening that it makes me want to cry. This is what is there now.
― Originally opened in 1964 (Ned Trifle II), Saturday, 4 July 2009 23:47 (3 years ago) Permalink
thanks ned, that's great! a lot of that is going on my list. i'm researching architecture helping out on a friend's movie. he's asked me to find stuff like falling water in the uk. am i right in thinking falling water is "mid-century modernism", which is different to "modernism"?
― caek, Sunday, 5 July 2009 23:54 (3 years ago) Permalink
We already have a pretty good idea of era and atmosphere of suburban/semi-rural offices for institutional architecture we need:
e.g. http://www.flickr.com/photos/seier/2987839224/
Barbican Centre, Union Carbide HQ, etc.
Also been looking at things like St Catherine's College, Oxford. The US side of this type of quasi-academic campus/building/institution/corporation is covered well in http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/02Rlandmark.html.
For the residential houses our archetype is Falling Water, at least partly because it's in a forest, but we haven't thought as much about materials, styles, scales, etc.
― caek, Monday, 6 July 2009 00:02 (3 years ago) Permalink
"There's this Breuer/Yorke house from 1937, not much glass though, but on stilts!"
The flickr photo is set to private. Do you have it's name or any other links?
― caek, Monday, 6 July 2009 00:04 (3 years ago) Permalink
Here's another photo of the Breuer/Yorke house.http://www.flickr.com/photos/10208807@N04/3599792205/
Again, though, best views are in Modern book by Alan Powers.
― Originally opened in 1964 (Ned Trifle II), Monday, 6 July 2009 07:23 (3 years ago) Permalink
Slightly different but may be interesting to you is the Dorich House from the 1930s.
― Originally opened in 1964 (Ned Trifle II), Monday, 6 July 2009 07:29 (3 years ago) Permalink
thanks!
― caek, Monday, 6 July 2009 13:05 (3 years ago) Permalink
Went and checked out "Modern" in the library today. some great stuff in there, thanks for the tip.
― caek, Tuesday, 7 July 2009 19:27 (3 years ago) Permalink
p.s. don't care if I saw this hotel in esquire magazine, I still want to visit juvet hotel:
― caek, Tuesday, 7 July 2009 19:28 (3 years ago) Permalink
looking forward to this (out in the fall, festivals first presumably): http://www.coastmodernfilm.com/
― caek, Tuesday, 21 July 2009 03:17 (3 years ago) Permalink
Shed KM (for Urban Splash) - award winning housing.
― Ned Trifle II, Tuesday, 28 July 2009 15:28 (3 years ago) Permalink
low ceilings : (, but otherwise would much rather live there than barratt home.
― caek, Tuesday, 28 July 2009 15:41 (3 years ago) Permalink
Well, they're the original ceilings!
― Ned Trifle II, Tuesday, 28 July 2009 15:49 (3 years ago) Permalink
maybe it's the photos?
― caek, Tuesday, 28 July 2009 16:07 (3 years ago) Permalink
I have been in India the last little while, haven't been able to do as much architourism as I'd like yet, but I have definitely been thinking quite a lot about B.V. Doshi. This is his IIM campus here in Bangalore:
<img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2661/3973805857_479835e0b4.jpg";>
Great stuff - the building is like 90% these exterior spaces, a grid of what would be cramped crappy little corridors in near any institutional building I've ever been. Really great sense of indoor/outdoor overlap, breezes going by, rain falling right next to you, etc. I have tons more photos but won't really be in a position to scan them for a longish while, but you can find some good ones Googling.
For academic archi-dorks I've done some initial blogging on this guy <A HREF="http://codename-albacore.blogspot.com/2009/10/doshi-primer-iim-bangalore.html";>here</A>, but I'm really hoping to see more of his stuff and revise/expand those thoughts, in a month or two.
― Doctor Casino, Sunday, 4 October 2009 14:46 (3 years ago) Permalink
god damn bbcode
― Doctor Casino, Sunday, 4 October 2009 14:47 (3 years ago) Permalink
Is it just me or have these groupings of square off-kilter skylight things been popping up EVERYWHERE in the last couple years?
http://whatwedoissecret.org/madebyblog/2009/12/barnacles/
― I DIED, Sunday, 13 December 2009 10:15 (3 years ago) Permalink
Ha, reminds me of this in my own fair city. Although obv. completely different.
― Ned Trifle II, Sunday, 13 December 2009 15:18 (3 years ago) Permalink
I know it's not really something a fact check would cover, but I can't believe the New Yorker profile on Zaha Hadid has the line "There is no single Hadid style", especially when the rest of the paragraph exactly describes that style.
― I DIED, Wednesday, 16 December 2009 23:50 (3 years ago) Permalink
Thanks for the ID upthread I DIED!
― Spencer Chow, Thursday, 17 December 2009 00:11 (3 years ago) Permalink
lenny kravitz
― conrad, Monday, 18 January 2010 05:01 (3 years ago) Permalink
SANAA wins Pritkzer. Given Pritzker discussion upthread I figured I'd put it here rather than Let's talk Architecture . What do we think?
― Doctor Casino, Monday, 29 March 2010 14:35 (3 years ago) Permalink
I'm pretty surprised that SANAA got it - usually firms are much more established/have a much larger body of work before they get a Pritzker. It's nice to see a firm getting the award while they're on the upswing. Also it's the second time the prize has gone to more than an invidual/individually headed firm (Herzon & de Meuron were the other), and I think it's healthy to steer the public away from the notion that great architecture is the product of a single mind.
― I DIED, Monday, 29 March 2010 14:47 (3 years ago) Permalink
I wasn't sure from the renderings, but from the way it's turning out Heatherwick's British Pavillion at Expo 2010 is about to make him the next starchitect:
― I DIED, Monday, 29 March 2010 15:00 (3 years ago) Permalink
^ the photo makes it look small, but it's about 20m tall
― I DIED, Monday, 29 March 2010 15:01 (3 years ago) Permalink
Yeah, is there a website anywhere with complete Shanghai pavilion coverage/photos/data? I've found a few blog posts that show a few of them haphazardly but I'd really like some kind of overall who-did-what sheet. Some of them look amazing.
― Doctor Casino, Monday, 29 March 2010 15:09 (3 years ago) Permalink
I haven't seen anything like that, just random stuff popping up on Flickr and elsewhere. I'm sure a lot of the magazines will do full rundowns w/ the opening of the Expo.
― I DIED, Monday, 29 March 2010 15:12 (3 years ago) Permalink
there are some amazing british pavilion photos at http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/03/shanghai_prepares_for_expo_201.html
― caek, Monday, 29 March 2010 15:13 (3 years ago) Permalink
Decent collection of Expo shots here - nothing near comprehensive, but the most I've seen in one place
http://www.dezeen.com/2010/04/28/shanghai-expo-2010-pavilions/
― I DIED, Wednesday, 28 April 2010 22:42 (3 years ago) Permalink
Some pretty cool things in there, I kinda wish North American would get the Expo bug again, I think it would be really cool to see what would come out of one.
― he's always been a bit of an anti-climb Max (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 28 April 2010 22:56 (3 years ago) Permalink
Thanks, I DIED. Serbian Pavilion ftw!
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 29 April 2010 21:34 (3 years ago) Permalink
http://en.expo2010.cn/participation/pop/moren.htm comprehensive. Check out the spectacularly bad SketchUp renderings of the Nepal Pavilion! There's hope for the rest of us.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 29 April 2010 22:22 (3 years ago) Permalink
I am thinking about Richard Meier because his first house in the UK (for one Rowan Atkinson) has passed the planning stage.
It's not a dramatic departure or anything but it's good that it's finally got permission. It was quite a battle.
― Duncan Donuts (Ned Trifle II), Thursday, 16 September 2010 17:19 (2 years ago) Permalink
richard meier and rowan atkison can fuck off both
― conrad, Thursday, 16 September 2010 17:22 (2 years ago) Permalink
guys, teach me about Lebbeus Woods and where to start with his work― mh, Monday, February 9, 2009 8:18 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink^^^fuckin huge stan of this guy― lol (roxymuzak), Tuesday, February 10, 2009 5:58 AM (1 year ago) Bookmark
― lol (roxymuzak), Tuesday, February 10, 2009 5:58 AM (1 year ago) Bookmark
Anyone? I've been curious for ages but a lot of the important work seems to be out of print or otherwise unavailable...
― a black white asian pine ghost who is fake (Telephone thing), Thursday, 16 September 2010 19:26 (2 years ago) Permalink
speaking of meier, there's a pretty rad series about various star architect projects once they've vacated and left it to the tenants; i think it's touring at the moment: http://www.living-architectures.com/html/filmseries.htmlmeier's church & neighborhood in rome figures
the guggenheim film has this great strand with the windowcleaners.
― FORTIFIED STEAMED VEGETABLE BOWL (schlump), Thursday, 16 September 2010 21:19 (2 years ago) Permalink
― It's set in "Kazakhstan" not Kazakhstan. (I DIED), Sunday, June 21, 2009 2:33 PM (1 year ago)
This is going pretty well! Opened 4 places, got another 4 under construction and 5 in design. Working with a James Beard award-winning chef on one and taking a bar and restaurant research trip to Tokyo for another. Keeping me and a good friend employed full time. Gotta get a photoshoot done soon. Interesting thing is that the keystone project that I quit my old job to work on went to shit but everything else had been filling in nicely, knock on FSC-certified wood.
It's incredibly stressful and there's a lot of work I really don't like doing (billing, permitting, wringing money out of clients, etc.), but I can't imagine going back to a day job at this point.
― I DIED, Friday, 1 October 2010 06:25 (2 years ago) Permalink
Based on what I see on design blogs, I'm expecting Tokyo to have a minimalist but playful white plaster single family home on a small, oddly shaped lot on every block.
― I DIED, Friday, 1 October 2010 06:27 (2 years ago) Permalink
Congrats on all that work. What are chefs like to work for I wonder? (I want a really really big work station and fuck the rest!)
Take lots of pics in Tokyo!
― Duncan Donuts (Ned Trifle II), Friday, 1 October 2010 09:24 (2 years ago) Permalink
I DIED, congrats. That's wonderful news. Can you direct us to any of your work?
― kkvgz, Friday, 1 October 2010 12:44 (2 years ago) Permalink
That is truly awesome!
― he's always been a bit of an anti-climb Max (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 1 October 2010 13:33 (2 years ago) Permalink
That's awesome news- seconding the request for pictures (of Tokyo and of your work).
...and throwing another name out there- does anyone know a good resource on Shin Takamatsu? Read about him in a book on architecture and film ages ago (he was cited as an influence on Anton Furst's designs for the first Tim Burton Batman movie), had it itching at the back of my brain for years, finally remembered his name about a week ago...
― a black white asian pine ghost who is fake (Telephone thing), Friday, 1 October 2010 13:38 (2 years ago) Permalink
High fives to I DIED!
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 1 October 2010 19:22 (2 years ago) Permalink
great to hear that, ID. I would love to see some work too.
― jed_, Friday, 1 October 2010 23:11 (2 years ago) Permalink
We all have to face him down eventually: the last couple days I have been thinking about Louis KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHN
Rushed, already-somewhat-regretted thoughts on Flickr.
― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 9 February 2011 19:35 (2 years ago) Permalink
Great essay. I've never spent a whole lot of time with Kahn, beyond a cursory study of the Salk Institute and the First Unitarian Church. The majority of my other knowledge of his work came from a screening of My Architect where his son spoke. I think now is a good time to dive into the IIM project a little more.
― one pretty obvious guy in the obvious (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 9 February 2011 20:20 (2 years ago) Permalink
He's an interesting guy, more than I've given him credit for. I've also basically never looked at him, which seems like an enormous blind spot. My Architect drove me up a wall though...
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 10 February 2011 04:25 (2 years ago) Permalink
Yeah, I don't think I would have made it through it if it weren't for the promise of a Q&A at the end.
― one pretty obvious guy in the obvious (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 10 February 2011 04:26 (2 years ago) Permalink
yeah i thought it was really horrible. the son was a dick.
― jed_, Thursday, 10 February 2011 09:25 (2 years ago) Permalink
Too, too many awkward scenes that seemed staged not because he was on a quest to find his father, but because he knew he was making a movie about a guy on a quest to find his father. Ill-conceived, and disappointingly shot if you really were hoping to see these buildings done justice.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 10 February 2011 14:58 (2 years ago) Permalink
That's true and, looking back, I think that may have been a bit part of why I've sort of ignored Kahn over the past few years. Remedying that this week though.
― one pretty obvious guy in the obvious (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 10 February 2011 15:03 (2 years ago) Permalink
Doctor Casino - are there any decent, regularly updated architecture blogs you might recommend?
― one pretty obvious guy in the obvious (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 10 February 2011 15:13 (2 years ago) Permalink
i'd recommend archdaily as well as designboom & dezeen which both have mixed design content.
http://www.archdaily.com/http://www.designboom.com/weblog/index.phphttp://www.dezeen.com/
― jed_, Thursday, 10 February 2011 17:46 (2 years ago) Permalink
I've been really O_o lately at some of the shitty projects/competition entries that have gotten published on seemingly every big daily design blog. I guess when there's pressure to put up half a dozen posts a day it can't all be great but sometimes it'll just be some uninteresting student pipe dream and it's just baffling.
― I DIED, Thursday, 10 February 2011 18:20 (2 years ago) Permalink
oh and I FINALLY got some of my projects photographed - there's a lot of processing to do on them but I'll post the ones I have up here
― I DIED, Thursday, 10 February 2011 18:22 (2 years ago) Permalink
i totally agree with that, I D.
― jed_, Thursday, 10 February 2011 18:31 (2 years ago) Permalink
this is the one that photographed best (due to mostly indirect lighting) and probably the most "architectural" in sensibility
― I DIED, Thursday, 10 February 2011 18:32 (2 years ago) Permalink
― I DIED, Thursday, 10 February 2011 18:33 (2 years ago) Permalink
That looks gorgeous! Would love to be working on that kind of project.
― one pretty obvious guy in the obvious (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 10 February 2011 18:37 (2 years ago) Permalink
"Gorgeous" was the word I was going to use! Nice stuff, and great use of lighting as well.
I actually don't read any archi-blogs at all except the Flickr of seier_seier_seier and a few others in the commenting circle around his. I just can't keep up with stuff!
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 10 February 2011 22:00 (2 years ago) Permalink
I have a boatload of arch bookmarks on my laptop, but half of them are constantly updated with pointless stuff and the rest have been dormant for long periods of time.
― one pretty obvious guy in the obvious (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 10 February 2011 22:03 (2 years ago) Permalink
I enjoy reading Iqbal Aalam.http://iqbalaalam.wordpress.com/Don't let the excess of stuff about Milton Keynes put you off, it's interesting stuff.
― I'm sorry, I did not create the cosmos, I merely explain it. (Ned Trifle II), Thursday, 10 February 2011 22:29 (2 years ago) Permalink
i keep an eye on owen hatherly since i read this great post http://nastybrutalistandshort.blogspot.com/2010/08/steel-yourself.html
― caek, Thursday, 10 February 2011 23:51 (2 years ago) Permalink
Iqbal is great for sure.
I think I bookmarked Hatherly a long time ago but have never actually sat down to read much of him! Nice reminder to finally take a stab at it.
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 11 February 2011 00:13 (2 years ago) Permalink
Thanks guys!
― one pretty obvious guy in the obvious (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 11 February 2011 00:38 (2 years ago) Permalink
ID, that is absolutely terrific, the lighting is amazing. you should be proud.
― jed_, Friday, 11 February 2011 02:24 (2 years ago) Permalink
Thanks for the kind words, y'all.
In terms of project-based architecture blogs, I really pine for the all too brief glory days of Space Invading.
― I DIED, Friday, 11 February 2011 16:57 (2 years ago) Permalink
ha - was just about to recommend space invading, but with the proviso that it is kinda absurd rendering/neat pamphlet-heavy these days
― schlump, Friday, 11 February 2011 18:59 (2 years ago) Permalink
Ajami ibn Abubakr Nakhchivani (Azerbaijani: Əcəmi Naxçıvani, Persian: عجمی ابن ابوبکر نخجوانی) - (life: 12th-13th centuries) is a Muslim architect. He is also the founder of the Nakhchivan school of architecture. The influence, which he has rendered on his contemporaries and followers, is reflected in monuments of Nakhchivan architecture.
― the philosopher named after a whiskey (nakhchivan), Monday, 14 February 2011 05:09 (2 years ago) Permalink
new Kevin Roche exhibit at Yale, I probably won't make it up to see it but I'd like to:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/23/arts/design/23roche.html
― I DIED, Wednesday, 23 February 2011 09:25 (2 years ago) Permalink
Nice! I am convinced there is a looming, overpowering Postwar Revival ahead. I took a seminar my last year of grad school that took a left turn halfway through when we decided to focus for a few weeks on "Pritzker Winners We've Never Heard Of Before." There was a real enthusiasm in the room for Roche and company (and the rest of the seminar program involved a lot of postwar British stuff of similarly ill repute). I don't know if it's so much the envy for an age of bold gestures and unrepentant Modernism that Ouroussoff suggests... for us at least it was just the excitement of fabulous-looking buildings that had been sort of kept from us in our educations up to that point.
I have also been positing a giant Team X revival for a while (briefly titled Team Twenty-Ten before that started to seem instantly dated) as a succession of graduating students here have done their terminal projects on figures like Aldo Van Eyck and Hertzberger. Mat buildings have been in vogue for a while, I believe. Perhaps the appeal is antidote to the exuberant fussiness of blobulism (the existence of which surely proves that bold gestures aren't exactly a thing of the past) in favor of the Calvinist fussiness of precisely joined concrete and Cor-Ten?
― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 23 February 2011 16:10 (2 years ago) Permalink
I don't know if it's so much the envy for an age of bold gestures and unrepentant Modernism
It is for me! I think that describes my feelings on Roche et al. to a tee. It may have been the last time that architects believed their work really mattered. The failures of modernism and the rise of post-modernism introduced a general cynicism that still lingers in even the most ambitious planning today.
― I DIED, Wednesday, 23 February 2011 17:48 (2 years ago) Permalink
Early contender for worst project of the decade? Horrible even by abysmally low Karim Rashid standards.
http://www.dezeen.com/2011/04/01/university-of-naples-metro-station-by-karim-rashid/
― I DIED, Monday, 4 April 2011 14:00 (2 years ago) Permalink
mindbogglingly awful. i was going to revive the thread a few days ago to post this very thing but i had just revived the designer furniture thread to hate on his contributions to that "objectified" documentary (have you seen it, I DIED?).
― jed_, Monday, 4 April 2011 14:17 (2 years ago) Permalink
I love Helvetica but fell asleep while watching Objectified - it's on Netflix so I guess I should give it another shot if only to be able to commiserate in hate.
― I DIED, Monday, 4 April 2011 14:37 (2 years ago) Permalink
eesh, the poor ppl who have to commute through that every day. would be interesting to see, but it'd probably feel like being trapped inside a pinball machine after a few minutes.
six artists in residence studios by todd saunders in fogo, a tiny island off the north coast of newfoundland:
http://www.saunders.no/work/item/30-fogo-studios
― rent, Monday, 4 April 2011 14:57 (2 years ago) Permalink
Some of you guys might be interested in this. I heard the rumors, but here it is. Can't believe AutoDesk is actually going to give this out for free. They're pretty notorious for squeezing out every penny they can get from us:
If you’re a designer, architect, or construction contractor (or know someone who is) then there’s a good chance that you’ve heard of AutoCAD. For those that haven’t – AutoCAD is software made for 2D/3D design and drafting – and now it’s coming to Android. There has been a version available for iOS under the name AutoCAD WS for some time now, and with the increasing number of requests for an Android version, AutoDesk decided that it was time to oblige.
The mobile versions of the AutoCAD software is not meant for exclusive use, though – it’s more of a "lite" version. You will be able to open CAD files, make basic edits, and send the changes back to the original file.
One of the big things that AutoDesk incorporated into the Android version of AutoCAD was tablet support, which wasn’t an easy task according to SVP Amar Hanspal. "We’ve had to test it across something like 15 different devices and tweak it a little to run on then all" he said, noting that they had hoped to get it out the door sooner, but "the complicated part of developing for Android is not developing itself. It’s the testing."
AutoDesk is expected to make the official announcement today and the app should hit the Market (for Android 2.2+ devices only) on April 20th for the low price of free.
― 'what are you, the Hymen Protection League of America?' (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 13 April 2011 14:52 (2 years ago) Permalink
I just don't understand why Autodesk, having pretty much committed to Revit as the CAD platform of the future, is porting AutoCAD to Macs and Android instead.
― I DIED, Wednesday, 13 April 2011 14:57 (2 years ago) Permalink
Who the hell knows with them, its pretty much right in line with them usually doing things 5-10 years late. It is super annoying that they are just now bringing AutoCAD to Mac just in time for no one to want to use it anymore.
― 'what are you, the Hymen Protection League of America?' (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 13 April 2011 14:59 (2 years ago) Permalink
I worked for a couple of architecture firms that were using autocad on macs years ago, then switched to archicad when autodesk stopped supporting mac, then one of them switched to revit on pc's a couple years before autodesk brought autocad back to macs. Out of all those options, revit's the way to go but you'd think the company that makes it would see that too.
― I DIED, Wednesday, 13 April 2011 15:04 (2 years ago) Permalink
what do people use instead then? i'm still using a 5 y o copy of powercadd, i can't afford anything else!
― jed_, Wednesday, 13 April 2011 15:06 (2 years ago) Permalink
Yeah, it is, but I've long ago stopped expecting them to do the sensible thing. My firm has jumped to Revit, but 95% of our projects are still done in CAD because we do so many renovations that its way easier when you have existing drawings.
― 'what are you, the Hymen Protection League of America?' (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 13 April 2011 15:07 (2 years ago) Permalink
Firms and software are so weird. A friend of mine worked for a little two-person firm that did all their work in something called "3D Home Architect," a copy of which I recently saw for sale at Staples on the $5 shelf. Whatever works, I guess...
― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 13 April 2011 16:06 (2 years ago) Permalink
Stirling Prize shortlist is out.
http://www.architecture.com/Awards/RIBAStirlingPrize/RIBAStirlingPrize2011/RIBAStirlingPrize2011.aspx
― I DIED, Tuesday, 26 July 2011 15:34 (1 year ago) Permalink
I feel bad picking on something so small & pointless, but I guess if you send it to design blogs it's fair game. Worst project/proposal of the year?
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/16418/lava-digital-origami-emergency-shelter.html
― I DIED, Sunday, 4 September 2011 05:37 (1 year ago) Permalink
Weird, you JUST posted that link but it seems like design boom is down right now.
― jon /via/ chi 2.0, Sunday, 4 September 2011 05:43 (1 year ago) Permalink
It wouldn't mind having it at the top of my garden but as an emergency shelter?
― Ned Trifle X, Sunday, 4 September 2011 09:24 (1 year ago) Permalink
‘the project plays with ideas of prefabrication and personalised inhabitation, as well as stacking of multiple units, while giving an opportunity for individual expression.' - chris bosse, founder and director of LAVA
That's just what you need in an emergency.
― Ned Trifle X, Sunday, 4 September 2011 09:26 (1 year ago) Permalink
the form is fine but i've seen a lot of that. the problem is that as a shelter it doesn't shelter. it's, like, made of holes. you can't lie down in it. you can probably barely sit down in it.
― jed_, Sunday, 4 September 2011 11:03 (1 year ago) Permalink
You can express your individuality though, while trying to put it together in a hurricane.
― Ned Trifle X, Sunday, 4 September 2011 11:26 (1 year ago) Permalink
They can do projects like this if they want to of course, but when it's put on public display it gives the whole profession a bad name. I don't understand why people just can't say "we generated this form because we think it looks cool, it doesn't really have a purpose".
Also it's pretty stunning that design blogs post this kind of utter shit without considering it for a second. Gotta find a way to make those 20 posts a day I guess.
― I DIED, Sunday, 4 September 2011 20:00 (1 year ago) Permalink
Yeah, that last is a real problem - there's a real absence of critical thinking on most design blogs. Not that I want people to be knee-jerk negative, or offer really sophisticated consideration of every project that crosses their desks, but, like, have some sort of opinion beyond 'Looks cool! Pass it on!,' y'know?
― Doctor Casino, Sunday, 4 September 2011 22:12 (1 year ago) Permalink
This is a good reason why I end up looking at design blogs for a week or two, then give up on them completely. To be fair, I encountered the same type of shit thinking in design school as well. Like, here are some really fantastic programs to work with, that are going to generate some really good looking models and renderings, but not one of them could ever be feasibly built in the real world. It was like my school was afraid of introducing concepts of "budgets", "structural engineering", and "buildability" for fear of stifling creativity. Which, is fine for your first couple of semesters of design, but by senior year you should be learning to work with clients and real-world challenges. Which is why when it came time to choose a focus in grad school, I went with "construction administration" over "design" because I wanted reall, applicable experience and not another two years of designing in a vacuum.
Anyway, I digress. Its a gorgeous object of art, but an utter failure at the function with which the program called for, so in my mind it should be getting lambasted instead of praised.
― jon /via/ chi 2.0, Sunday, 4 September 2011 22:31 (1 year ago) Permalink
http://www.dezeen.com/2012/01/27/wood-old-house-by-tadashi-yoshimura-architects/
Oh my god this is a beautiful project. So rare to see such a great richness of texture, space, and lighting all in one place.
― spiced with KNOWING THAT YOU'VE PAID YOUR BILLS (I DIED), Friday, 27 January 2012 02:20 (1 year ago) Permalink
This bridge is pretty cool.
― jon /via/ chi 2.0, Friday, 27 January 2012 17:59 (1 year ago) Permalink
Not completely the right place, but I wanted to admit that I've been using one of Doctor Casino's flickr albums as the screensaver on my Apple TV for a bit. I hope that's OK and non-creepy, but it's one with a lot of amazing building pictures.
Some day I hope to be able to weigh in on this thread more knowledgably!
― mh, Friday, 27 January 2012 19:02 (1 year ago) Permalink
Love that bridge project, but could never quite figure out how they manage to regulate the water level. I guess it must be a pond with overflow drains? So ballsy to make it out of wood, too!
― spiced with KNOWING THAT YOU'VE PAID YOUR BILLS (I DIED), Friday, 27 January 2012 19:15 (1 year ago) Permalink
mh - Awww, no, that is super flattering! Which album, if I may ask?
I'm currently in the midst of a CHINA BARRAGE, haven't been writing as much since I just want to get out from under the photo backlog. Might post a few choice things to this thread once I get my ideas a little more organized.
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 27 January 2012 22:20 (1 year ago) Permalink
Doctor Casino, please publish a monograph titled CHINA BARRAGE: THEY ARE JUST MAKING A SHITLOAD OF BUILDINGS OVER THERE
― spiced with KNOWING THAT YOU'VE PAID YOUR BILLS (I DIED), Friday, 27 January 2012 22:30 (1 year ago) Permalink
hahaha yeah pretty much. We're actually kicking around some homebrewed book ideas, depends how much spare time I end up having next quarter. "THIS IS CHINA" is kind of recommending itself, after being used by our good Cantonese buddy in response to any time we got too uppity and demanding of explanations for things. "T. I. C."
― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 28 January 2012 00:24 (1 year ago) Permalink
I'll have to check which album! I think I just had it set to your photostream for a bit it's obviously all your pictures including personal ones and I felt like a creepy stalker. Think I grabbed some of the "archictecture by architect" ones, naturally
― mh, Saturday, 28 January 2012 00:50 (1 year ago) Permalink
omg Doctor Casino, please get him to start saying "Forget it, Jake. It's China."
― spiced with KNOWING THAT YOU'VE PAID YOUR BILLS (I DIED), Saturday, 28 January 2012 03:25 (1 year ago) Permalink
mh - Ha, well, I'm flattered in any case!
I DIED - hahahaha, I need to pitch that. Would also make a good subtitle for the book, eg "THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY SUPERCITY: FORGET IT JAKE, IT'S CHINA"
― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 28 January 2012 16:58 (1 year ago) Permalink
(Although we were kind of thinking along the lines of THIS IS CHINA: ARCHITECTURE & URBANISM IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY SUPERCITY...but who knows?)
― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 28 January 2012 16:59 (1 year ago) Permalink
I would buy that book
― mh, Saturday, 28 January 2012 17:32 (1 year ago) Permalink
doctor casino, your flickr is like a walk down memory lane. salut!
― dayo, Saturday, 28 January 2012 20:21 (1 year ago) Permalink
Woohoo, thanks for the support, y'all!
China trip was 16 days and I'm on Day, uh, 3...but the point is, much more coming soon!!
― Doctor Casino, Sunday, 29 January 2012 01:09 (1 year ago) Permalink
I always thought that the hsbc building was just really ugly. cheers for the write-up! NB: I've never been inside it.
― dayo, Sunday, 29 January 2012 12:57 (1 year ago) Permalink
Just wrote a longish blog giving props to URBANUS, definitely one of the 10+ firms I've been thinking about. Here's a Flickr set, and here's some choice imagery:
― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 8 February 2012 07:11 (1 year ago) Permalink
how the hell have I not been following your blog?
btw what is your opinion of bjarke ingels & co?
― valleys of your mind (mh), Wednesday, 8 February 2012 16:27 (1 year ago) Permalink
thanks mh!
Ingels... man, I've struggled to come to grips with that guy. It's tempting to see him as a cynical salesperson who masks a lack of critical ambition behind a positive "Yes Is More" attitude - - - in which reading, reading, his tenure at OMA was spent learning form-making and salesmanship tactics rather than absorbing any of the social polemic that (at one time anyway) seemed to be behind the OMA stuff. In other words, they're basically MVRDV, but much more eager to get work.
On the other hand, if you take him at his word that the "yes" thing has to do with inserting the architect into normally non-architectural decision-making, offering out-of-left-field policy solutions, then maybe there actually is more of a social activist component to the work than there is in Koolhaas's at this point. The idea that the architect can actually shape the debate is pretty appealing, and the kinds of things BIG seems to want to create suggest a sort of nonpartisan but forward-looking utopianism. The architect, judging from the renderings, can make people party in the streets and so on. Always happy to see these 60s throwbacks but sometimes they just seem so stock and auto-pilotish.
Taken purely on its own terms, though, I think the form-making and program analysis stuff is totally brilliant. Not sure every apartment in the building would benefit from being a bizarre one-off in response to supposed advantages discovered in the loopholes of zoning and sun angles (etc), but as far as applications of the OMA formula go, I think they have a better knack than most. The buildings are striking and memorable and often in despite of crap budgets and restrictive circumstances. I dunno. I think the material sensibility is kind of ghastly though.
Man, I definitely shouldn't try to write about architecture after a few drinks...
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 10 February 2012 03:35 (1 year ago) Permalink
Btw, you might be interested that my friend is a contractor on a Steven Holl project right now and the stuff coming from his office sucks. No follow-through, details or lack thereof probably being fleshed out by cheap apprentices.
― valleys of your mind (mh), Friday, 10 February 2012 04:00 (1 year ago) Permalink
Huh, that's interesting! I really did find the Chinese projects to be the best-built "foreign starchitect" things we saw there. But I think a lot of that might actually be down to Li Hu, who was at the time the head of Holl's Beijing office....
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 10 February 2012 04:55 (1 year ago) Permalink
To be fair, it seems like it's pretty common on non-flagship projects. Said friend is an architect who is working as the head of the engineering department of a company that does curtain walls for a variety of projects and it seems like he runs into constant headaches due to either poor planning or a lack of actual engineering follow-through on plans.
― valleys of your mind (mh), Friday, 10 February 2012 14:28 (1 year ago) Permalink
http://bostonglobe.com/ideas/2012/02/12/how-boston-city-hall-was-born/DtfspyXVbKBIKi8iSXHX6J/story.html
^^^ great read.
― Doctor Casino, Monday, 13 February 2012 02:46 (1 year ago) Permalink
^ yes loved that article. So many people don't realize that the failures of grand scale brutalism were largely due to the lack of adherence to the initial plans in terms of pedestrian access, ground level retail, etc.
― I DIED, Monday, 13 February 2012 05:40 (1 year ago) Permalink
And I agree that there's something good in BIG's work in the utopian suggestion that we're finally moving away from the post-modernism mindset that buildings don't really matter. But at the same time his unique one off responses to sites tend to generate sloped buildings in the same way that Diller Scofidio Renfro's responses to a site tend to generate broad public stair sitting areas and viewing windows.
I certainly don't see him having the vision of even aesthetic range of OMA or H&dM, but maybe BIG's best contribution will be that if they can get a bunch of crazy looking buildings built that still have a programmatic sobriety then it might help break down the public perception of architecture as either flash or substance with little middleground.
― I DIED, Monday, 13 February 2012 05:49 (1 year ago) Permalink
Generally agree with the above - although I think DS+R are a pretty darn good firm and have less of a "branded" feel to their work. There are certain devices that recur, yeah, but they do seem to actually care about the specificities of site, or at least of architectural context. Landscape maybe not so much, but they seem to favor urban contexts, at least in the stuff that I've seen.
― Doctor Casino, Monday, 13 February 2012 05:56 (1 year ago) Permalink
Absolutely! With DS+R I think it's more a case of "we did this before and it worked really well" rather than a branding element.
― I DIED, Monday, 13 February 2012 06:11 (1 year ago) Permalink
Here are before & after images of a high end restaurant I finished this past summer. It's in a former auto garage in an alley and it's hard to tell from the photo but the kitchen is a series of open islands in the middle with tables all around, so no seat is more than about 10 feet from the cooking. One of the goals was trying to figure out how to make a 4 star experience in a raw space and we decided to keep the shell as rough as possible while everything at a tactile level during the course of the meal (chairs, carpet, table finish) would be very refined. Got a bunch of other projects I need to have shot and some more opening soon.
― I DIED, Monday, 13 February 2012 06:21 (1 year ago) Permalink
I DIED, that's lovely! The exposed ductwork seems like a nice mediator between the raw oldness of the wall surfaces and the shiny newness of the kitchen hood etc. Adds up well to me.
― Doctor Casino, Monday, 13 February 2012 06:32 (1 year ago) Permalink
I may slap the next client who says they're going for a "farmhouse aesthetic". Unless they're doing a farm.
― I DIED, Monday, 13 February 2012 15:06 (1 year ago) Permalink
Have these people actually been in farmhouses? I could unload some genuine farmhouse paraphernalia if they need some.
― valleys of your mind (mh), Monday, 13 February 2012 15:28 (1 year ago) Permalink
Amateur Architecture principal Wang Shu won the Pritzker Prize! First winner I've really been stoked for in my time of being an archinerd - we got to visit a bunch of their stuff on this last trip and it was all awesome.
― Doctor Casino, Monday, 27 February 2012 22:19 (1 year ago) Permalink
So unexpected and great! Glad the Pritzker committee seems to have moved to recognizing people doing great work when it's actually being done rather than as a lifetime achievement award.
― I DIED, Tuesday, 28 February 2012 04:24 (1 year ago) Permalink
Yeah, I think this was a pretty great choice for pretty much the exact reason I DIED mentioned.
― Gonjasufjanstephen O'Malley (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 28 February 2012 04:52 (1 year ago) Permalink
http://places.designobserver.com/feature/how-to-be-an-architecture-critic/32278/
― s.clover, Sunday, 4 March 2012 03:19 (1 year ago) Permalink
So I made a point of uploading all my Amateur Architecture (Wang Shu/Lu Wenyu) photos last week to celebrate/capitalize upon the Pritzker excitement... full set here and here's a few faves...
(If you follow the link, my apologies - I've recently gone digital and while I love lots of things about it, it seems to be weakening me as an editor, that's a lot of pictures!)
― Doctor Casino, Sunday, 11 March 2012 01:34 (1 year ago) Permalink
Photos still great! I showed some of your recent pics to an architect friend at the bar last week. On my phone so... not the presentation they deserved, but good.
― valleys of your mind (mh), Sunday, 11 March 2012 02:02 (1 year ago) Permalink
Aw gee thanks! I hope to soon be famous at bars across the nation.
― Doctor Casino, Sunday, 11 March 2012 02:06 (1 year ago) Permalink
great photos. particularly like the bottom two.
― jed_, Sunday, 11 March 2012 14:03 (1 year ago) Permalink
Thanks - yeah, their firm has a really nice handle on texture, for lack of a better way of putting it.
― Doctor Casino, Sunday, 11 March 2012 14:45 (1 year ago) Permalink
http://furrrocious-forms.tumblr.com/ geeeenius
― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 4 April 2012 12:20 (1 year ago) Permalink
― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 4 April 2012 12:21 (1 year ago) Permalink
Meaohaus
― nickn, Wednesday, 4 April 2012 18:25 (1 year ago) Permalink
put a cat on it
― desk calendar white out (Matt P), Wednesday, 4 April 2012 18:31 (1 year ago) Permalink
Is Daniel Libeskind the worst major contemporary architect? Cheap looking if not cheap to build structures that are notorious for user complaints. A few decent projects mixed in with a ton of shlock.
― I DIED, Saturday, 5 May 2012 15:02 (1 year ago) Permalink
fyi that last lighting sculpture is called "masterpiece"
― I DIED, Saturday, 5 May 2012 15:03 (1 year ago) Permalink
Libeskind is such a tragedy to me because the Jewish Museum is kind of great (kind of badly flawed but kind of great), and at the very least a kind of definitive study on the idea of trying to use a building to produce certain emotional and perhaps bodily effects - - - and each subsequent piece that reuses the language to no effect at all just cheapens the impact of the one good building. That one in Cincy just blows IMO although I've talked to people that liked it.
Worst major name, I'd have to think about for a bit. There's plenty of people where they are just not to my taste at all but I believe they are competent builders who have something interesting they're trying to do so it's hard to say they should just be tarred and feathered. Hmm.
― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 5 May 2012 15:24 (1 year ago) Permalink
yes he's the worst by some distance. "competent builder" is the last way to describe him.
― jed_, Saturday, 5 May 2012 21:22 (1 year ago) Permalink
I think part of it may be that he just tends to accept the types of projects with questionable clients and budgets that others at his level turn down. But only a part of it.
― I DIED, Sunday, 6 May 2012 02:41 (1 year ago) Permalink
I do not like those buildings.
― mh, Monday, 7 May 2012 14:25 (1 year ago) Permalink
so it may read different in person but the photos of the H&dM/Al Weiwei Serpentine pavilion sure are disappointing :(
― I DIED, Thursday, 7 June 2012 17:57 (1 year ago) Permalink
it looks totally joyless from the pics. i could have forgiven the somewhat forced/undergrad nature of the "excavation" (even though there was nothing to excavate, as it turns out, which should have been obvious) if the result had some sense of fun or any other spatial interest.
― jed_, Thursday, 7 June 2012 19:15 (1 year ago) Permalink
having said that the nouvel pavillion seemed fun from the images but was kind of oppressive to spend time in.
― jed_, Thursday, 7 June 2012 19:20 (1 year ago) Permalink
architecture photography is a hell of a field
― mh, Thursday, 7 June 2012 19:27 (1 year ago) Permalink
I'm pretty stoked by the concept of the pavilion but it definitely pushes up against the limits of a "statement" versus material/space/promenade/detail/whatever else might actually make up an architectural experience. I'm a fan of everybody involved so I want to give it a fair shake... we're taking the students to see it later this month hopefully.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 7 June 2012 21:36 (1 year ago) Permalink
^ yeah I think my high expectations where part of why I found the result so disappointing. Seems like they felt the need to create a sort of anti-pavilion but SANAA already stripped it back about as far as it could go.
I'm breaking my own rule of trying to ignore things called pavilions or viewing towers in architectural discourse as I generally think just providing shade or a platform is too low a bar to clear in terms of dealing with actual challenges of buildings.
― I DIED, Thursday, 7 June 2012 22:39 (1 year ago) Permalink
Ha yeah - - they can be nice experiments for ideas though, and at their best they really can have as much thinking and care as a building, in the way that, I dunno, a haiku can take as long to write as a novel (or whatever) but it really is a whole different order of challenges.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 7 June 2012 23:46 (1 year ago) Permalink
(Viewing towers are the worst though, somehow!)
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 7 June 2012 23:47 (1 year ago) Permalink
― mh, Thursday, 7 June 2012 20:27 (2 months ago)
Might I recommend the pretty (if boring) Julius Shulman Documentary Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman?
Also since I've spent a couple of days up and down by this building this weekend I have been thinking about (and cussing the budget panel that approved such an ugly monolithic building):
Kevin Roche, you should be ashamed. Actually that entire stretch at the moment is a bit shameful with the empty Anglo Irish building...
― hyggeligt, Sunday, 26 August 2012 08:51 (9 months ago) Permalink
I really loved the Kevin Roche exhibit I saw at the National Building Museum last month but it really glosses over some of the terrible things he's done and influenced (on the planning side even more than the aesthetic side).
― Sadly, 99.99 percent of sheeple will never wake up (I DIED), Sunday, 2 September 2012 04:06 (9 months ago) Permalink
http://www.dezeen.com/2012/09/01/united-states-pavilion-at-the-venice-architecture-biennale-2012/
USA pavilion at the Biennale is I guess a wry commentary on the difficulties wheelchair users face in the built environment
― Sadly, 99.99 percent of sheeple will never wake up (I DIED), Sunday, 2 September 2012 04:07 (9 months ago) Permalink
I already hawked this to I Love Photography, but FWIW I am finally starting in with the 2012 "adventure" photos, this time beginning with a chronologically-organized look at Alvar Aalto. This means opening with the "awkward early stuff for fans only" material but maybe it'll be of interest to some people here. First image here, following ones to the "left" in the Flickr interface. (I only recently realized you could just use the arrow keys to get around - whee!)
Highlights of the limited stuff posted so far:
Seinäjoki Defense Corps Buildings, 1924-1926
Villa Väinölä, 1926
Turun Sanomat Building, 1928-1930
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 27 September 2012 16:55 (8 months ago) Permalink
(2010 and 2011 "Adventure" collections coming, uh, someday. Just ordered a new film scanner the other day...)
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 27 September 2012 17:07 (8 months ago) Permalink
that Turun Sanomat photo is great! Did you make it to the Savoy restaurant?
― Sadly, 99.99 percent of sheeple will never wake up (I DIED), Thursday, 27 September 2012 18:28 (8 months ago) Permalink
Thanks! And nope, sadly. On the trip it felt like we must have seen every Aalto building known to man, but, turns out, guy built a LOT....
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 27 September 2012 19:57 (8 months ago) Permalink
I watched this film over the weekend: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1233611/
I'm kind of considering a desert/Palm Springs road trip/architecture tour sometime. Has anyone been out that way? It looks like a lot of Palm Springs city buildings are of the period.
I also ended up watching Urbanized (finally) and the contrast between people in the two films who have a love of architecture and an interest in its relation to the surrounding environment juxtaposed with a Phoenix, Arizona house arrangement is depressing.
― mh, Monday, 19 November 2012 22:22 (7 months ago) Permalink
There is a Modernism Week they hold out there, next one is Feb 2013. this past one included a lautner house tour that looked good, but i just couldn't work up the enthusiasm to go out there (also, the weekend tour sold out pretty quickly).
https://www.modernismweek.com/
― nickn, Tuesday, 20 November 2012 01:50 (6 months ago) Permalink
thinking of taking my ridiculous architect friend, doing the reverse F&L In Las Vegas drive, go see some architecture
― mh, Tuesday, 20 November 2012 01:52 (6 months ago) Permalink
Looks like a lot of the home tours are already sold out. There's probably a guide (or maybe use the Gerbhard/Winter So Cal one) that you could do on your own.
― nickn, Tuesday, 20 November 2012 01:54 (6 months ago) Permalink
Gebhard, that is. It's about a 2-2.5 hour drive for me, but I've never tried just driving out and looking around.
― nickn, Tuesday, 20 November 2012 01:56 (6 months ago) Permalink
Sounds like a good thing to do if you're bored on a Saturday!
― mh, Tuesday, 20 November 2012 01:59 (6 months ago) Permalink
http://www.sfmoma.org/exhib_events/exhibitions/509
upcoming Lebbeus Woods exhibit at SF MOMA
― mh, Tuesday, 27 November 2012 18:33 (6 months ago) Permalink
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/oscar-niemeyer-brazilian-architect-died-17890045
Rest in peace, Oscar Niemeyer - 1907-2012. The last heroic Modern.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 6 December 2012 00:56 (6 months ago) Permalink
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/08/arts/design/ada-louise-huxtable-architecture-critic-dies-at-91.html
damn, Niemeyer and now Ada Louise Huxtable, all the greats I thought would live forever are going. When all is said and done I don't know if there will be any 20th century architects seen to have changed architecture more than Huxtable's writing.
― Sadly, 99.99 percent of sheeple will never wake up (I DIED), Tuesday, 8 January 2013 09:04 (5 months ago) Permalink
[http://www.sfmoma.org/exhib_events/exhibitions/509upcoming Lebbeus Woods exhibit at SF MO MA
upcoming Lebbeus Woods exhibit at SF MO MA
We are almost finished with this show, it is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G
opens saturdayplease don't touch, the models are disturbingly fragile (every one arrived broken)
― "Turkey In The Straw" coming from someplace in the clouds (Sparkle Motion), Friday, 15 February 2013 06:23 (4 months ago) Permalink
how can you even tell if a Lebbeus Woods model is broken
― Sadly, 99.99 percent of sheeple will never wake up (I DIED), Friday, 15 February 2013 13:27 (4 months ago) Permalink
It made for a very difficult conservation task.
― "Turkey In The Straw" coming from someplace in the clouds (Sparkle Motion), Friday, 15 February 2013 14:56 (4 months ago) Permalink
Planning on seeing this when I'm in SF on vacation in March (please do not break them before then)
― mh, Friday, 15 February 2013 15:59 (4 months ago) Permalink
Guys, this Woods thing at SF MOMA is so awesome
― ☠ ☃ ☠ (mh), Saturday, 23 March 2013 17:59 (2 months ago) Permalink
lebbeus?
― jed_, Sunday, 24 March 2013 01:26 (2 months ago) Permalink
Of course!
― ☠ ☃ ☠ (mh), Sunday, 24 March 2013 01:51 (2 months ago) Permalink
http://www.archdaily.com/346374/can-we-please-stop-drawing-trees-on-top-of-skyscrapers/
TRUTH
― Sadly, 99.99 percent of sheeple will never wake up (I DIED), Tuesday, 2 April 2013 18:18 (2 months ago) Permalink
Hahaha, totally. Also I would live in terror of branches, or whole trees, ripped loose and careening down 50 stories to the street. Would make a good moment in a disaster, superhero, or shit Transformer movie, but otherwise, yikes.
― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 3 April 2013 12:22 (2 months ago) Permalink
Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaas in the 1970s
― Elvis Telecom, Sunday, 21 April 2013 21:16 (1 month ago) Permalink
DEMONS
― i lost my shoes on acid (jed_), Sunday, 21 April 2013 22:23 (1 month ago) Permalink
haha yeah, love young Rem
late 60s?
with dear old Wallace Harrison, 1977
― Doctor Casino, Monday, 22 April 2013 01:03 (1 month ago) Permalink
Ken Frampton & Peter Eisenman, 1970
Bernard Tschumi, 1978
― Doctor Casino, Monday, 22 April 2013 01:07 (1 month ago) Permalink