10(+) MORE architects i have been thinking about

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:

http://www.new-territories.com/images/B_mu_013.jpg

http://www.new-territories.com/images/poussiere.jpg

hyggeligt has obviously seen some stranger willies than i have.

http://www.dezeen.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/television-cultural-centre-by-oma-squ-3269109950_816e180b9a_b.jpg
http://www.dezeen.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/television-cultural-centre-by-oma-3268281835_12df22f2da_b.jpg

"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.

They were either quite some fireworks or the building was not up to code...

well, the building wasn't finished and anyway who knows what chinese building codes are like or if they even have any.

Rem has never been known for his build quality.

His Prada store caught on fire a few years ago, too.

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.

looks better burnt than it ever would have otherwise

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.

Gad! Will they bother trying to finish it do you think or tear it down and start all over again?

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.

i'd be amazed if the stuctural steels weren't buckled out of shape, no?

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.

http://www.dezeen.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/squclo-wine-bar-by-2x4-08july065521.jpg

http://www.dezeen.com/2009/02/11/clo-wine-bar-by-2x4/

my least favorite project of the year so far - cooooold as hell.

http://cache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/lantern_02_11/l23_17915275.jpg

http://cache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/lantern_02_11/l22_17910347.jpg

http://cache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/lantern_02_11/l24_17910405.jpg

http://cache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/lantern_02_11/l25_17910619.jpg

http://cache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/lantern_02_11/l26_17917969.jpg

http://cache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/lantern_02_11/l27_17917937.jpg

Oh wow!

From the ever great Big Picture blog.

not feeling that clo bar at all. maybe i just need to see more photos.

Srsly, that last pic looks like CGI.

it looks like one of those computer game things.

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.

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.

Anyone interested in prefab LEED certified housing? I know I am!

yep, get me a spacebox while you're at the shop.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/feb/08/adaptation-or-disaster/

what??? Not quite buying this story.

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.

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

+ would like more info on this pollution house, google is tough on me here

http://cache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/lantern_02_11/l22_17910347.jpg

looks like the end stages of a robot fight

pair of pants beats balled-up chair, sorry dude

"Clash of the Chair titans!" (xpost)

the stonework on this is pretty awe inspiring. the second photo is like o_O

http://www.archdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/1167062845_wang-shu-ningbo-museum-4124.jpg
http://www.archdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/470058299_wang-shu-ningbo-museum-4278.jpg
http://www.archdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/1213211655_wang-shu-ningbo-museum-4405.jpg
http://www.archdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/982224247_wang-shu-ningbo-museum-4391.jpg

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.

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.

the Ningbo Historic Museum designed by Wang Shu, Amateur Architecture Studio.

Great firm name!

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.)

well overall it's the most useful and productive way to work so i wouldn't get depressed about it.

Comment by roxy lost in the discussion of pomo upthread:

also, are there any wittgenstein/popper-esque stories about famous architects beefing? i never encounter these. are architects just chill?

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.

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.)

casino, i love you

hahah, well, I love being in TA mode, so thanks!

Ornament and Crime is probably my next favorite piece of architectural writing after the Futurist Manifesto.

I am now thinking about Frank Gehry because I just saw him on Arthur - complete with Arthur-esque ears.
http://13.media.tumblr.com/1195466_400.jpg
He was also on The Simpsons iirc, which must make him unique among architects I think.

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.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Hannover_Gehry-Tower.jpg

What I like about it is that he hasn't really done that much but it's enough. If that makes sense.

haha, he WAS on The Simpsons - note the letter box.
http://blog.davidteoh.com/archives/simp5.jpg
OK, enough Gehry already.

Huh, didn't know about that one in Hannover, or the Arthur appearance...nice!