Below are some of my photos of the ETH Zurich Pavilion that is part of the IDEAS CITY Festival in New York City. To learn more about the pavilion, which is made from old beverage cartons, head over to World-Architects to see the piece I wrote.
Saturday 30 May 2015
Friday 29 May 2015
Today's archidose #840
Here are some photos of the Community Church Knarvik (2014) in Hordaland, Norway, by Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter, photographed by Sindre Ellingsen.
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Thursday 28 May 2015
Ross Barney Architects Studio Visit
Head on over to World-Architects to see a studio visit I made to Ross Barney Architects in Chicago. The firm opened a stretch of the Chicago Riverwalk over Memorial Day Weekend, one of the projects highlighted in the piece.
[Ross Barney Architects occupies the old office of Harry Weese | Photo by John Hill]
[Ross Barney Architects occupies the old office of Harry Weese | Photo by John Hill]
Wednesday 27 May 2015
AE32: Climbing Nets
No less than three projects featuring nets – at least two for climbing – were featured in today's email from Arch Daily.
OB Kindergarten and Nursery by HIBINOSEKKEI + Youji no Shiro:
[Photo: Studio Bauhaus, Ryuji Inoue]
Garrison Treehouse by Sharon Davis Design:
[Photo: Elizabeth Felicella]
Saigon House by a21studio:
[Photo: Quang Tran]
Add to those projects a few more...
Brazil Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015 by Studio Arthur Casas + Atelier Marko Brajovic:
[Photo: Iñigo Bujedo Aguirre]
Net by Numen:
[Photo: Courtesy of Numen]
In Orbit by Tomás Saraceno:
[Photo: Studio Tomás Saraceno]
...And it looks like we have ourselves a new – or at least trendy – architectural element, with porous, malleable, playful surfaces bridging the realms of art and architecture.
OB Kindergarten and Nursery by HIBINOSEKKEI + Youji no Shiro:
[Photo: Studio Bauhaus, Ryuji Inoue]
Garrison Treehouse by Sharon Davis Design:
[Photo: Elizabeth Felicella]
Saigon House by a21studio:
[Photo: Quang Tran]
Add to those projects a few more...
Brazil Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015 by Studio Arthur Casas + Atelier Marko Brajovic:
[Photo: Iñigo Bujedo Aguirre]
Net by Numen:
[Photo: Courtesy of Numen]
In Orbit by Tomás Saraceno:
[Photo: Studio Tomás Saraceno]
...And it looks like we have ourselves a new – or at least trendy – architectural element, with porous, malleable, playful surfaces bridging the realms of art and architecture.
Tuesday 26 May 2015
Book Review: Architectural Styles
Architectural Styles: A Visual Guide by Owen Hopkins
Laurence King, 2014
Paperback, 240 pages
In the introduction to his visual guide to architectural styles, Owen Hopkins lets the reader know that architectural "style" is a 19th century creation, something that enabled architectural historians to chart developments in the appearances of buildings over time. But 220 pages later, in the book's postscript, he asks, "In the face of ever-increasing architectural variety...what possibilities are there for 'style'?" In both instances, Hopkins appears to be arguing against the validity of architectural style and the need for a book documenting one. Yet alas, he has written a book on such a topic, and with its focus on the visual, the book is a good introduction for students of architecture and laypeople with an interest in architecture, and a handy reference for architects who have forgotten what they learned in their history classes.
In the book's chronological format, there is an obvious move from simplicity to complexity, from "one" classical style to a plethora of styles, or, more accurately, a plurality of architects creating their own styles. The book starts with a chapter on the Classical and then moves on to eight more chapters: Early Christian, Gothic and Medieval, Renaissance and Mannerism, Baroque and Rococo, Neoclassicism, Eclecticism, Modernism, and After Modernism. The name of the last chapter reiterates the idea that style is historical; it is used to talk about what happened in the past, rather than what is happening now, or at least in the recent present. Charles Jencks may argue that just about everything post-Pruitt Igoe is Postmodernism, but Hopkins breaks down the last chapter to also include Regionalism, Deconstructivism, Eco-architecture, Expressive Rationalism, and Contextualism. He does the same for each chapter, elucidating the nuances within a style that arose from geography and time.
As can be seen in the spread above, within each chapter and "sub-style" Hopkins highlights key terms that accompany a photo of a building. This is the format used throughout, which certainly emphasizes the visual, but also brevity. This is architectural history for people who scan their content, be it by scrolling through web pages, flipping through magazines, or "reading" the environment around them. There isn't anything necessarily wrong with this approach, but at times I wish Hopkins went further in his visual approach, like he did in Reading Architecture, which includes numerous drawings, many with labels, and photographs labeled as a means of visual storytelling. Perhaps the difference is due to the page size, as Styles is smaller than Reading, making it a compact guide. Whatever the case, Architectural Styles will not replace more thorough histories of architecture, but it does a good job in making architectural history more accessible and understandable to a wider audience.
Laurence King, 2014
Paperback, 240 pages
In the introduction to his visual guide to architectural styles, Owen Hopkins lets the reader know that architectural "style" is a 19th century creation, something that enabled architectural historians to chart developments in the appearances of buildings over time. But 220 pages later, in the book's postscript, he asks, "In the face of ever-increasing architectural variety...what possibilities are there for 'style'?" In both instances, Hopkins appears to be arguing against the validity of architectural style and the need for a book documenting one. Yet alas, he has written a book on such a topic, and with its focus on the visual, the book is a good introduction for students of architecture and laypeople with an interest in architecture, and a handy reference for architects who have forgotten what they learned in their history classes.
In the book's chronological format, there is an obvious move from simplicity to complexity, from "one" classical style to a plethora of styles, or, more accurately, a plurality of architects creating their own styles. The book starts with a chapter on the Classical and then moves on to eight more chapters: Early Christian, Gothic and Medieval, Renaissance and Mannerism, Baroque and Rococo, Neoclassicism, Eclecticism, Modernism, and After Modernism. The name of the last chapter reiterates the idea that style is historical; it is used to talk about what happened in the past, rather than what is happening now, or at least in the recent present. Charles Jencks may argue that just about everything post-Pruitt Igoe is Postmodernism, but Hopkins breaks down the last chapter to also include Regionalism, Deconstructivism, Eco-architecture, Expressive Rationalism, and Contextualism. He does the same for each chapter, elucidating the nuances within a style that arose from geography and time.
As can be seen in the spread above, within each chapter and "sub-style" Hopkins highlights key terms that accompany a photo of a building. This is the format used throughout, which certainly emphasizes the visual, but also brevity. This is architectural history for people who scan their content, be it by scrolling through web pages, flipping through magazines, or "reading" the environment around them. There isn't anything necessarily wrong with this approach, but at times I wish Hopkins went further in his visual approach, like he did in Reading Architecture, which includes numerous drawings, many with labels, and photographs labeled as a means of visual storytelling. Perhaps the difference is due to the page size, as Styles is smaller than Reading, making it a compact guide. Whatever the case, Architectural Styles will not replace more thorough histories of architecture, but it does a good job in making architectural history more accessible and understandable to a wider audience.
LEGOs coming to the High Line
Friends of the High Line has announced that Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson will be presenting "The collectivity project, an installation of white LEGO bricks that features an imaginary cityscape conceived and designed by the public," from May 29 until September 30 on the High Line at West 30th Street. The collectivity project was previously installed in public squares in Tirana, Albania (2005, photo below), Oslo, Norway (2006), and Copenhagen, Denmark (2008).
[Olafur Eliasson, The collectivity project, 2005. Installation view at 3rd Tirana Biennale, Albania, 2005. Photo by Olafur Eliasson. Courtesy the artist; neugerriemschneider, Berlin; and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York.]
In addition to the public – meaning kids like my six-year-old daughter – being able to play with the LEGOs,
[Olafur Eliasson, The collectivity project, 2005. Installation view at 3rd Tirana Biennale, Albania, 2005. Photo by Olafur Eliasson. Courtesy the artist; neugerriemschneider, Berlin; and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York.]
In addition to the public – meaning kids like my six-year-old daughter – being able to play with the LEGOs,
"a selection of architectural firms involved in current or ongoing projects in the surrounding neighborhood – BIG–Bjarke Ingles Group, David M. Schwarz Architects, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, James Corner Field Operations, OMA New York, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Robert A.M. Stern Architects, Selldorf Architects, SHoP, Steven Holl Architects – have been invited to collaborate by building one visionary structure or construction for the opening of the project. In the cooperative spirit of the project, these initial buildings will become part of the collective architecture that the public builds over the four months of the project’s installation."So starting Friday, you'll have the chance to modify a design by one of these firms, just another reason to head to the High Line this summer. Oh, and I'm giving a walking tour of the High Line on Saturday, May 30 – tickets available here.
Monday 25 May 2015
Today's archidose #839
Here are some photos of the Northeastern Illinois University El Centro Campus (2014) in Chicago, Illinois, by JGMA, photographed by John Zacherle.
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