10(+) MORE architects i have been thinking about

good bit in LA Plays Itself where he talks about that one, iirc says it's a house that hollywood loves to hate (houses villains) but that they totally misunderstand the spirit of the building

woah.

Zaha Hadid (1950-2016)

http://www.dezeen.com/2016/05/03/vlooyberg-tower-close-to-bone-cantilevered-weathering-steel-staircase-observation-belgium/

(i do wonder why they do this sometimes)

simpsons fans, clearly

I don't think anyone's going to observe much out of those windows...

Finally made it inside the Nakagin Capsule Tower, built in 1972 and a rare remaining symbol of Japanese Metabolism. Tours by @nakagincapsule are ¥3,000 with proceeds towards building restoration. pic.twitter.com/VvSDFIz2Yo

— Dan Castellano (@ninja_padrino) March 4, 2018

:o

ha, we just taught that one this past week! would love to get inside. there used to be shockingly cheap airbnbs. didn't even bother trying when we were in town with students - it's just not set up at all for any kind of group tour, obv.

It seems kind of claustrophobic even in an area known for small apartments, but that might just be the framing from photos I've seen

I haven't decided if I'm into the design, but I need to get some photos of the Renzo Piano building under construction in my area.

the capsules are super super small. a bed, a desk, a corner shower and toilet, and shelves for your reel-to-reel tape player. no kitchen. they're basically monk's cells. the premise was that you'd swap out capsules over time, embracing obsolescence and change and all that jazz. unfortunately they didn't reach the scale of production needed for this to be economical, and anyway it's hard to imagine people really wanting their homes to become yet another type of product they're obliged to replace as it wears out or becomes outmoded. (some of the other metabolists were explicitly marxist in their outlook - presumably in their schemes the capsules would be made and provided by the state, not by a would-be capsule zaibatsu.)

they make more sense as teeny hotel rooms for business travelers, but then, holiday inn (and numerous japanese-only operations) already solved that one. one of my favorite formal precedents but really fraught with problems conceptually.

I have that Koolhaas/Obrist book on Metabolism but I need to go back and finish it. It's ok, in a Koolhaas/Obrist book way. There are probably much better works on the subject!

5 Women Accuse the Architect Richard Meier of Sexual Harassment

TW: workplace sexual harassment and assault, photo of the accused, descriptions.

once again: apparently everyone knew, and nobody did anything. the headline really undersells the accusations.

probably going to tour this recent renzo piano work at some point. a few friends did work on the project

https://www.designboom.com/architecture/renzo-piano-krause-gateway-center-des-moines-iowa-01-11-2019/

https://www.designboom.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/renzo-piano-krause-gateway-center-des-moines-iowa-designboom-1800.jpg

I felt extremely dumb when the pivoted top story was explained to me: the building sits at the area where the street grid goes from river-parallel to north-south jeffersonian grid style. the top of the building reflects the latter

When you're a modern forest witch pic.twitter.com/hTbYUUaAnL

— Vananarama (@fullnihilism) September 16, 2021

the Swiss pavilion at expo 70

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/79/44/31/794431e9f7ea074304571f0dcd91baa7.jpg

On Le Corbs;

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/jun/25/100-years-of-le-corbusier-what-does-he-mean-to-todays-architects

Good stuff in there, thanks!