Monday 30 March 2015

4 April Events

Here is a heads up on four architecture-related events taking place in New York City this April. I posted about a couple of the events previously, and am including them here as reminders, while the other two events are featured here for the first time. Details on each are below the list.


April 2: 2015 Mumford Lecture: Rebecca Solnit
April 6: Oculus Book Talk: "Radical Cities: Across Latin America in Search of a New Architecture"
April 9: Architecture's Appeal Launch and Panel
April 16-17: Facades+ New York Conference


Thursday, April 2: The 2015 Lewis Mumford Lecture on Urbanism will be given by writer, historian and activist Rebecca Solnit. The 11th annual lecture is presented by the Graduate Program in Urban Design, Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at City College of New York (CCNY), and will be held in the Great Hall of Shepard Hall at CCNY, Convent Hall at 138th Street. It's free, open to the public, and no reservations are necessary.



Monday, April 6: The Oculus Book Talk: Radical Cities: Across Latin America in Search of a New Architecture takes place from 6pm to 8pm at the Center for Architecture. "What makes the city of the future? How do you heal a divided city? In Radical Cities, Justin McGuirk travels across Latin America in search of the activist architects, maverick politicians and alternative communities already answering these questions. From Brazil to Venezuela, and from Mexico to Argentina, McGuirk discovers the people and ideas shaping the way cities are evolving." The event is free for AIA members and students with valid student ID; $10 for non-members.



Thursday, April 9: Architecture’s Appeal, "a panel discussion and book-launch celebrating a new volume of essays from a diverse group of well-known scholars that examines the role of history and theory in contemporary architectural praxis," takes place from 6pm to 9pm at Parsons SCE's Glass Corner (25 East 13th Street, Room E206). It was "conceived to honor the teaching and scholarship of Dr. Alberto Pérez-Gómez, the Saidye Rosner Bronfman Professor in History and Theory of Architecture at McGill University, whose work over the past thirty years has significantly contributed to the discourse of architectural history and theory, Architecture’s Appeal will include a panel conversation with Dr. Pérez-Gómez and the two co-editors, Dr. Negin Djavaherian and Dr. Marc Neveu. The event includes an installation of illustrations contributed by five Parsons SCE graduate and undergraduate alumni to the lead article of the book, written by SCE Associate Dean Robert Kirkbride, who will host." The event is free; no tickets or reservations are required.



Thursday, April 16 and Friday, April 17: Facades+ is the "leading conference on high performance and high design building skins. A robust dialogue encompassing all aspects of building envelopes, Facades+ bridges industry, academia, the profession, operations, and ownership. The developing technology of high-performance facades has emerged as the key to building systems integration, central to the realization of resilient buildings and a sustainable built environment." Day One is the symposium at the CUNY Graduate Center's Proshansky Auditorium (365 Fifth Avenue at 34th Street), and Day Two consists of workshops that are held in the lower level of the CUNY Graduate Center. Visit the Facades+ website for a list of speakers and workshops and for ticket prices.

Friday 27 March 2015

Hybrid solitary... semi-social quintet... on cosmic webs...

This afternoon I stopped by Tanya Bonakdar Gallery in Chelsea to take a look at Tomás Saraceno's exhibition Hybrid solitary... semi-social quintet... on cosmic webs...

Hybrid solitary... semi-social quintet... on cosmic webs...

The lettering on the wall hints that the show is in two parts. On the first are clear cubes suspended in a dark room and illuminated by spotlights. Inside are the work of spiders but more complex that typical webs, owing to the artist turning the cubes like an hourglass to increase the complexity, and beauty, of the silky creations.

Hybrid solitary... semi-social quintet... on cosmic webs...

Hybrid solitary... semi-social quintet... on cosmic webs...

Hybrid solitary... semi-social quintet... on cosmic webs...

Upstairs are the artist's suspended sculptures of wire, balloons and foil, constructions that approach the complexity of the spiders' creations, though in the structure of interconnected bubbles rather than webs. These pieces are like architectural models that are part of the artist's "continued engagement with the concept of 'cloud city' that explores the possibility of a future airborne existence within and beyond the 'spaceship' Earth." Whatever the case, Saraceno's artistic and arachnological creations are a wonder to behold.

Hybrid solitary... semi-social quintet... on cosmic webs...

Hybrid solitary... semi-social quintet... on cosmic webs...

Hybrid solitary... semi-social quintet... on cosmic webs...

Hybrid solitary... semi-social quintet... on cosmic webs...

Today's archidose #825: Mies

Today is Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's 129th birthday, so below are a selection of photos of his buildings from the archidose Flickr pool, presented in chronological order (links are provided to project pages on the Mies van der Rohe Society's website; click/mouseover the photos to see information on the photographers).

Weissenhofsiedlung, Stuttgart, Germany, 1927:
IMG_7399
IMG_7376
IMG_7421

Barcelona Pavilion, Barcelona, Spain, 1929:
Fundação Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona, Espanha
Mies at it's best
Mies in perspective II, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona Pavilion
Mies in perspective I, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona Pavilion
Fundação Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona, Espanha

Tugendhat House, Brno, Czech Republic, 1930:
Villa Tugendhat - garden view
Villa Tugendhat - living room

Lange House, Krefeld, Germany, 1930:



Lemke House, Berlin, Germany, 1932:
20100625-DSC_0676

860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments, Chicago, IL, USA, 1951:
860-880 Lake Shore Drive, Chicago - Mies van der Rohe
860-880 Lake Shore Drive, Chicago - Mies van der Rohe
860-880 Lake Shore Drive, Chicago - Mies van der Rohe
860-880 Lake Shore Drive, Chicago - Mies van der Rohe
Mies on lakeshore dr.

Farnsworth House, Plano, IL, USA, 1951:

ext_entranceback
Farnsworth House - Mies - entry

S.R. Crown Hall, Chicago, IL, USA, 1956:
Crown Hall
Crown Hall - Chicago (Mies van der Rohe)
Crown Hall

Seagram Building, New York, NY, USA, 1958:
Seagram and Citicorp


Seagram Building Lobby

Federal Center, Chicago, IL, USA, 1964:
federal center
federal center
federal center

Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany, 1968:
Neue Nationalgalerie #6
Neue Nationalgalerie #9
Neue Nationalgalerie #7
Neue Nationalgalerie #4
Neue Nationalgalerie #5


Toronto-Dominion Center, Toronto, Canada, 1969:
Mies being Mies
More Mies
Toronto Dominion Centre
TD Centre - Banking Hall

To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just:
:: Join and add photos to the archidose pool
To contribute your Instagram images for consideration, just:
:: Tag your photos #archidose