Steven Holl Architects, in collaboration with Glasgow-based JM Architects, has won by unanimous vote the international design competition for the new building of the Glasgow School of Art on the site opposite Charles Rennie Mackintosh's landmark building.
Though the competition was to find an architect-led team and not to select a design, the choice makes pefect sense given Holl's proficiency and interest in the use and expression of light in his work. It is a perfect match for Mackintosh's building which itself was groundbreaking for its push-pull typology of light.
"The Selection Committee considered that Steven Holl Architects' work showed a poetic use of light and their submission demonstrated a singular creative vision, scale of ambition, profound clarity and a respectful rivalry for the Mackintosh Building. The Committee believed that Holl's approach to the craft of building, his understanding of the opportunities of new technology and an enjoyment of the challenges of sustainable design, promised a great step forward in the development of architecture in an urban setting."
The building is composed studio volumes shaped by light and connected by a "circuit of connection" which encourages the creative contact central to the workings of the school.
Some have expressed dissapointment in the decision preferring a native architect for the job. However given the stature of the existing building, it is fitting that a global search procured a fitting match.
Link: Steven Holl Architects
A tired San Francisco Victorian duplex is transformed by Oakland firm Envelope Architecture + Design in collaboration with owner and interior designer Claire Bigbie and landscape designer Flora Grubb. 
I believe that architecture today needs to reflect on the tasks and possibilities which are inherently its own. Architecture is not a vehicle or a symbol for things that do not belong to its essence. In a society that celebrates the inessential, architecture can put up a resistance, counteract the waste of forms and meanings, and speak its own language. I believe that the language of architecture is not a question of a specific style. Every building is built for a specific use in a specific place and for a specific society. My buildings try to answer the questions that emerge from these simple facts as precisely and critically as they can.The formal ceremony for what has come to be known throughout the world as architecture’s highest honor will be held on May 29 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
It's been around the blogosphere for a while... and we've mused on the nice lap dance it gives the High Line park. But in a striking bit of coincidence, I just recently had the opportunity to see The Standard with my own eyes, and NY Time critic Nicolai Ouroussoff has reviewed it. So I'm inspired to post a nice, old-fashioned bit of archiporn... yes, lots of pictures after the jump. But I'll keep writing so you can say you read the articles.
This massive mixed-use complex was constructed on the remains of a hillside whose earth had been used for a huge landfill project for the Osaka Bay area. The design reconstructs the landscape that had been destroyed but also, through the idea of rebirth and reconstruction, serves as a memorial to the thousands who had lost their lives and the destruction of land in the massive earthquake that shook the Kobe region in 1995. The complex is vast in scale, yet the design manages capture the small quiet moments for which Ando is known.
We've featured a few articles about MR+A's work in the past, from furniture to prefab, so I was pretty stoked to open the mailbox today and find a copy of Princeton Architectural Press' recent book, Marmol Radziner + Associates: Between Architecture and Construction. Published in July 2008, this book runs the gamut of MR+A's work. Beginning with the "Early Years", the book highlights some of the witty quotes placed on their office marquee then quickly jumps into many of their most well-known projects including the Kaufmann House restoration, the Harris Pool House, the TBWA/Chiat/Day offices in San Francisco, and the Glenncoe Residence.
In addition to the firm's commercial and residential work, there is also a section showcasing their furniture work and the design decisions that went into creating their Glenncoe furniture line.
Overall, this is a well designed book that truly captures the creativity and uniqueness of MR+A. Definitely give it a look the next time you're at your local bookseller.
Link: Princeton Architectural Press
Link: Indoor/Outdoor
Woah... that was fast...
This book is the result of two years of architectural research. Dynamic facades, ventilated, high-tech or traditional composites with new features. This book shows that currently new skins not only act as an isolating element, besides interact with the environment, optimizing energy exchange with the outside. From Germany to Australia or Korea to Colombia, there are many examples that readers can visit with this publication. With international vocation due to bilingual English-Spanish text and a language away from technicalities, this paper aims to show as an "interactive toy" the evolving field of the facades in architecture.
Has the suspense gotten to you yet? At long last, we put you out of your misery. And the bling was worth the wait... lots of picture galleries for you modern home loving peops.
One of our most popular posts here at L+L is the Finland Summer House posted by James back in January 2005. If exploring summer houses in Finland is your raison d'être, then we have a book for you. Finnish Summer Houses by Jari & Sirkkaliisa Jetsonen is a new book from Princeton Architectural Press that showcases work from architects such as Eliel Saarinen, Alvar Aalto, Juhani Pallasmaa and many others.
Architectural styles featured in the book run the gamut from farmhouse villas of the late 1800's to the modern structures of today.
Link: Princeton Architectural Press
CA Boom V follows in a tradition of providing sensory overload to design professionals and aficionados alike (hint: the architects are normally the tired looking folk, since the wardrobe no longer reveals anything apparently), and this edition did not let anyone down in that respect.
Richard Wilson is regarded as one of the most influential artist/sculptor of the 21st century. English born, he initially trained as a graphic designer but half way through his degree his switched to a Fine Art degree as he realised he was a ‘maker’.
After completion of his academic studies, Wilson returned to London and set base in Butlers Wharf till the early 80’s. 
A day on which one can't help but think of monuments and symbols seems like an appropriate time to take a look at a successful modern monument... at least Witold Rybczynski thought so, and it got me to thinking about it as well.
A quick round up of the annual Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in London... this year by Danish/Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson and Norwegian architect Kjetil Thorsen (of architecture firm Snøhetta). The pavilion opens this Friday and will remain on site until November 2007.
Architect Pouya Khazaeli Parsa drew upon inspiration from Le Corbusier’s “Poem of the right angle” when designing this home which features an aerial ramp that takes you from a first-floor terrace to a roof garden with views of the beaches along the Caspian Sea.
Via: Domus Web (Reg Req'd)
CA|Boom I
Teardrop Vase from Derek Chen
Wing Lounge Chair from LYX
Porch House
D.C. architect Carib Daniel Martin came up with the idea of HELP (Housing Every Last Person) soon after Hurricane Katrina devasted the Gulf-Coast region. His idea was to create an emergency housing system that was easily transportable and could be quickly assembled.
With a working demo in place, he secured the means to manufacture his creation and has spent the last two years fine-tuning his work. Expanding on his original design, he has evolved the structure to also meet the needs of the commercial, non-emergency market by producing 4 models: the microCABANA, microHOME, microSTUDIO, and microSHED.
The archives of this iconic publication which created the Case Study House Program have been exhumed and have found new life on the web.
Architecture, which used to be serious but fun, is now serious but silly. Innovative straight line, geometrical, rational, less-is-more architecture has been replaced by novelty, by glib, zigzag, crumpled, broken, exploded and discontinuous designs, by "constructive alienation," by Bernard Tschumi. Gott in Himmelb(l)au. The avant garde in architecture has lost its way.Yeowsa!
An exhibition at Art Center College of Design's South Campus in Pasadena (right down the street from my office) is running April 14 – July 1, 2007.
Open House: Architecture and Technology for Intelligent Living envisions the house of the future as a place for new spatial experiences, new systems of sustainability and new sensory enhancements. This open-ended exhibition and multi-faceted research initiative, incorporating Art Center research studios, as well as a series of public programs, encourages creative individuals to make a substantial contribution to the dialogue on how we will live in the future.Link: Art Center - Open House
Less talk, more walk you say? Well what are ya waitin' for, buckaroo?!
It is not in our tradition to pull punches. Unlike Washington, our opinion is not easily bought by lobbyists or big business (ok, ok, Time Warner has not tried yet, nor have they returned our numerous phone calls... but, hypothetically speaking...).
Fine, we do not have any deep-pocketed sponsors or sugar parental units, so we can pretty much say what we want.
Well, for the first time in CA Boom history, L+L missed the first day of home tours... sorry kids. But not to worry, we have days 2 and 3 covered. And besides, we've already Clipped links to 2 of the 5 homes from the first day -- the Living Homes design by Ray Kappe as reported by Curbed (previously on L+L here and here) and the LA Times article covering the Beitcher residence designed by W3 Architects.
London based architect Richard Rogers has been announced as the winner of the 2007 Pritzker Prize winner. The 73-year old architect is the fourth Pritzker laureate to be chosen from the United Kingdom.
Born in Florence, Italy, and trained as an architect in London, at the Architectural Association, and later, in the United States at Yale University, Rogers has an outlook as urbane and expansive as his upbringing. In his writings, through his role as advisor to policy making groups, as well as his large-scale planning work, Rogers is a champion of urban life and believes in the potential of the city to be a catalyst for social change.The formal ceremony will be held on June 4 in London.
As part of this year's Silver Lake Film Festival in Los Angeles, BLDGBLOG and Materials & Applications, have teamed up to curate an architectural film fest on Tuesday, May 8th, from 8-10pm at the Art Center College of Design Wind Tunnel in Pasadena.
What is fascinating, and very much an area for further research, is the close relationship between radical architectural design and the cinema. Much of the best of modern architecture, combining digital and three-dimensional design processes, is cinematic in scope and feeling.The fest will be an evening of talks and presentations about film, science fiction, space, landscape, and architecture featuring feature four of the most innovative concept artists working in film today: Ryan Church, James Clyne, Mark Goerner, and Ben Procter.
Lately I have come across some interesting articles regarding the 10th Architecture Biennale in Venice (2006), its subject being ‘Cities’, and found myself profoundly amused at how criticised the English pavilion (in particular) had been for lacking in ‘real architecture' and 'architects’ work' especially. 
Beijing based Thinking Hands has placed a call for architectural ideas for their 500m3 Design Competition. The competition is part of the development of Gao Bei Dian Art District, renovation of the Phase 1 or 'old factory area', on Beijing's east Fifth Ring Road.
Today marks the launch of the Open Architecture Network -- an online, collaborative, open source community which aims to be a catalyst for change.
The CA Boom Home Tour of West Hollywood Hills and Laurel Canyon was again a success and well worth being a part of. 
LA based architecture firm Marmol Radziner has launched full scale production of their award-winning, green, modern prefab homes... and they are offering tours of their new modular factory. Of course they intend for this to be a preview for petential prefab homeowners, but I am sure a few of you prefab geeks will slip your way in just to chek it out.
The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland has named the winners of the 2006 awards.
This competition (sponsored by Building Design, SketchUp, et al.) "offers you the opportunity to stretch your creative mind to the full. The buildings, of course, are not going to be built - the aim is to see what you think is possible..." This is a sketch competition - not developed designs - and is open to architects, architectural technicians, students, designers and engineers.
The Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design has announced the winners of the seventh annual National Design Awards. The finalists and winners will be honored at an event on October 18, 2006.
"Cooper-Hewitt is delighted to once again recognize, through the National Design Awards, some of the greatest contributions to the world of design made in recent years." Cooper-Hewitt director Paul Warwick Thompson said. "Each year, the Awards grow in scope, and this October we are introducing National Design Week, a new education initiative created to promote better understanding of the role that design plays in all aspects of our lives. During National Design Week, Cooper-Hewitt will host programs and panel discussions on design, and on our website, we will launch design education content for teachers nationwide."Awards are given in eleven categories:
An exhibition at the Barbican Art Gallery in London running June 15, 2006 - September 17, 2006.
The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) and the Canada Council for the Arts have announced the winners of the Governor General's Medals in Architecture for 2006.
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Committee on the Environment (COTE) have selected the top ten examples of sustainable architecture and green design solutions that protect and enhance the environment. The projects will be honored on May 3 during a presentation at the National Building Museum in Washington and again in June at the AIA 2006 National Convention and Design Exposition in Los Angeles.
As Clipped earlier, the prefab home designed by Ray Kappe for Living Homes is being installed in Santa Monica, California today, and we have lots of pictures (after the jump).
Paulo Mendes da Rocha of Brazil was announced today as the winner of the 2006 Pritzker Prize winner. The 77-year old architect is Brazil's second Pritzker laureate joining Oscar Niemeyer who was honored in 1988.Mendes da Rocha has shown a deep understanding of space and scale through the great variety of buildings he has designed, from private residences, housing complexes, a church, museums and sports stadia to urban plans for public space. While few of his buildings were realized outside of Brazil, the lessons to be learned from his work, both as a practicing architect and a teacher, are universal.The formal ceremony will be held on May 30, 2006 in Istanbul, Turkey.
OK prefab junkies, here is your exotic South African prefab fix. Though we saw a bunch of prefab at CA Boom, it was basically stuff we had seen before, but this wasn't there, and it is new to us.
Day 2 of CA Boom 3 featured some great work overall, even if the weather was not cooperating today. Granted, there was no snow or rain (this is Southern California afterall, for all you non-CA peops), but the inside outside notion of living pursued in Steven Ehrlich's and David Hertz's projects did not come across quite as pleasantly, with cool, foggy and windy conditions making the visitors shiver at times.
The exhibition Future Landscape shown at CUBE, Manchester, has now come to an end. Over the two months of being opened to the public, the exhibition has gathered under one collection several projects, bridging Architecture and Landscape, which, in a near future, will shape the North West region of England.
St. Patrick's Day seems an appropriate time to get back to my series on Ireland. Having looked at Dublin, both at large and in particular, this time I will focus on a particular district: Temple Bar.
The 10th Architecture Week, the annual British public celebration of contemporary architecture, will be held June 16-25, 2006, in cities throughout the U.K.
Prefab seems to have been the panacea for many young architects seeking to make a name for themselves. Many efforts have not gotten off the ground and frankly many have not been overwhelmingly impressive. But a name like Ray Kappe (founder of SCI-Arc and a well respected west coast architect) lends a certain credibility to this prefab proposal.
The acropolis of transportation engineering and home of arguably the greatest four wheel creations in history has taken the next step towards composing the ultimate ode to the automobile: the car loft. German architects Manfred Dick (who sought a patent for his concept) and Johannes Kauka are about to break ground for what promises to be a wet and steamy dream for car enthusiasts and safety minded yuppies alike.
When the unstoppable Wal-Mart comes to town, there is sure to be a struggle, and the push to open big box stores in more urban areas has been no different - in fact it has raised new issues as can be seen in the current proposed New York City location.
Architect and digital designer Dr. Margot Krasojevic has worked with Zaha Hadid and run studios at the A.A. and Bartlett as well as schools around the world. Her research and design practice is focused on time sequence, palimpsest and spatial narratives. During the past five years she has been engaged in work, publications, exhibitions and research on "pathological space" as displayed on her websites: Decodeine.
At the University of Arizona in Tucson, Mary Hardin has established a sort of desert Southwest counterpart to Mockbee's famed Rural Studio, blending architecture education and practice into a practical laboratory of experimentation and discovery.
Architectural and design practice, Sybarite UK has come up with a radical approach for housing units in a rural setting by seriously beefing up the common treehouse. The concept is an amazing display of creativity and consideration to the environment which is clearly the way things are rightfully heading these days.
Conceptual research project in rural areas of England such as Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. In partnership with local planning authorities and property developers we aim to develop a modular tree house concept. This could, with a flexible planning arrangement, encourage a more organic approach to country living. Architecturally, the design direction evolves from the underside, to the interior and then outwards concentrating on views and aspects above the tree horizon. The ‘belly’ of the tree house accommodates undulating kinetic baffles that utilise wind power to generate electricity. The plan form also meanders to the extent that modular sections can be prefabricated so that the overall size can vary from a single bedroom house up to a five bedroom model. The prefabricated design can be installed on site within two weeks, is extremely lightweight, uses many recycled products, is part self-sustainable and low on maintenance.
The north-western German town of Herford made quite a splash in the art world with its ambitious new project, the MARTa Herford Museum. The 21,000 sq.ft. addition by Frank Gehry brought a serious overhaul to the existing structure that's been standing since the 1950's.
With the name MARTa fronting the triad of design (M standing for Möbel/furniture), art (ART) and architecture/ambience (a), the museum aims to provide fresh inspiration for art, design, architecture and business both in the local region and far beyond. An extraordinary complex of buildings designed by Frank Gehry houses a novel combination of a museum, centre of excellence and event forum. It is here that exhibition curator and museum director Jan Hoet displays contemporary aspects of art and design. The main idea behind MARTa Herford is to highlight and redefine the contradictory links between art and business.The museum addition is sure to add to Herford's prominence in the design community where the town accounts for 20% of furniture made in Germany as well as hosting two prominent trade shows, MOW and ZOW. Both are showcases for the furniture trade and suppliers respectively and act as both international forums as well as barometers for the industry.
Got an empty lot that your itchin' to drop a mid-century modern home on? If so, then you're in luck. Custom home builder Maxx Livingstone is re-releasing the 1956 Butterfly Home originally designed by mid-century modern architect William Krisel A.I.A. This "Architectural Icon" will maintain all the architectural integrity of the original along with some modern updates.
In addition, out in in California's Coachella Valley, they are in the process of developing a residential community chock full of Krisel Modern homes. This community should be open to viewings in late 2006.
Link: Maxx Livingstone [Thanks, Bob]
Back to Ireland as promised, and a month after my last post in the Seeing Éire series no less. Here we will take a closer look at one building in Dublin by O'Donnell + Tuomey Architects, a building which made an impression on me nearly eight years ago and which took my two visits to Dublin to finally see in person.
Ever commited to the unconventional, MVRDV has designed a housing complex for Liuzhou, China that once again defies convention. The location of the project is a valley where the eroding mountain face will be enveloped by a series of staggered boxed structures that will leave pockets of vegetation in an amalgam of built and natural form. In the valley itself is a wetland or constructed pond that is shown to support both vegetation and housing on its edge. 
The LA Times features an article on LA's "newest status symbol", the Sierra Towers.
Sierra Towers sits on Doheny Road at the western end of the Sunset Strip, where the lively commercial clutter of West Hollywood gives way to the grand mansions of Beverly Hills. The building has always had its fans, well-heeled Westsiders of a certain age who appreciated the unobstructed views from every floor and the tender ministrations of porters and attentive doormen. It isn't surprising that condos in the building have been selling for jaw-dropping prices the last few years — the cost of residential real estate has skyrocketed throughout Southern California. Yet a Sierra Towers address now represents something more than a hefty price tag: The building has acquired a cool quotient.Link: LA Times
It is one thing to celebrate a new building, but it is another to look back and recognize an outstanding design that has stood the test of time. We have an award winner looking back 5 years to show you from Ireland as well, but here is a building in the US which has been awarded a 25 year award. And I am sure that the Throncrown Chapel will continue to be celebrated for some time to come.
Michael Wolf is a photographer who captures the residential condition of Hong Kong as a portrait of both density and abandonment. The repetitive patterns of apartment buildings showcases order at its most extreme producing a visual lull that is both attractive and arresting. The majority of images were captured at unknown heights creating a boundlessness that is uncomfortable, but outweighed by the intrigue. Michael Wolf's truly engaging study can be found in Kenneth Baker and Douglas Young's Hong Kong: Front Door / Back Door.
Getting back to Ireland as promised, let's take a look at some modern Irish architecture in Dublin. Although Adriean did not tag along with my wife and I on our trip... at least not that I know of... he was feeling the Irish architecture vibe as well with his post highlighting some of this year's RIAI (Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland) award winners.
The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland has recently handed out their awards for the best of 2005. Founded in 1839, the RIAI is the representative body for professionally qualified architects in Ireland and is the only dedicated exhibition facility for architecture and design in the country.
The RIAI travels to numerous venues throughout Ireland as well as London to recognize and showcase the wide range of projects completed throught the year. From high end residential to conference centres, it's a great display of work to look through.
Link: RIAI - Irish Architecture Awards 2005
It's competition day at L+L... this one by Architecture for Humanity.
The Pearlroth House, built by architect Andrew Geller in 1959 and located in Westhampton Beach, is scheduled to be demolished in spring 2006. Filmmaker Jake Gorst, along with Exhibitions International, are working to save the house from demolition. Their plan is to relocate the house and turn it into a museum of mid-century modern architecture.
Johnathan Pearlroth, son of Mitch and Arthur Pearlroth, and current owner of the house, approached filmmaker Jake Gorst in April 2005 regarding the possibility of preserving the house by relocation. Additions made to the house in the 1970s were decaying and much repair work needed to be done. Present day building codes made a complete restoration impossible without further compromising the original design. Pearlroth realized that he would have to build a new structure if his family was to continue enjoying their beachfront property.For more info, follow the links below.
Situated in the historical Italian city of Rimini, designer Ron Arad plans to make history of his own.
Scheduled for an early 2006 opening, the revamped duoMo hotel is set to reintroduce itself as a modern icon within these historical surroundings.
looking back at the dream, to what, to how we would have wanted the duoMo hotel to become, we were sure that we wanted something that embraced the past but looked towards the future, something different, something international that reflected our need for dynamism, design, and creativity on one hand while on the other could also be a place to unwind, meet people and conduct business.The standout for me thus far is the amazingly over the top (but rightfully so) reception desk......Ron you got me at hello.
A free-thinking women's college, Wellesley features a campus that is the antithesis of traditional academic hierarchical form. Buildings are clustered and scattered across the wildly varied Massachusetts landscape, exemplifying the ethos of the school.
It has been argued that "no single building on the Wellesley campus can claim as much historical significance and general admiration as does the landscape itself, and the buildings best loved within the Wellesley community have aesthetic properties which blend with those of the landscape."Link: Wellesley College Wang Center
Czech born / London based architect, Eva Jiricna , is represented quite nicely in a recent publication of her projects titled 'In/Ex Terior'. The book showcases a selection of 39 projects and designs which includes over 250 photographs and drawings to really get the point across as to how much of a talent she really is. It's a well layed out portfolio of retail, hotels, night clubs and much, much more.
Over the last decade Jiricna´s contribution to architecture and design has been recognised with personal awards, including being made a Royal Designer for Industry, a Commander of the British Empire for Services to Interior Design, election as a Royal Academician by the Royal Academy of Arts, and induction in the American Hall of Fame. She holds honorary doctorates and professorships at several universities (e.g., Southampton Institute, Technical University in Brno, University of Sheffield, Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague). In 2003 she was elected a President of Architectural Association of London. She participates on international juries and lectures widely on her work.Link: Eva Jiricna Architects
It would seem that former pro snowboarder Marc Morisset selected the site for his home the way he would pick a line. Sited on a steep wooded hillside in Whistler, B.C., the house nearly rides the site; carving and floating down the slope while grabbing exhilarating moments of big air.
The house is about being on the slope... composed of crevasses and plateaus.Designed by San Francisco based Studio (n-1), the firm of Dutch transplants Christos Marcopoulos and Carol Moukheibe, the three bedroom house is set in an Intrawest planned subdivision. The architects pushed and pulled at the stringent Design Guidelines to create a modern mountain home in contrast with the more typical neighbors, but in harmony with its environment.
If leftover people, leftover spaces and leftover materials are part of your life, then One Small Project would like to hear from you. The architects, students, designers and artists contributing to One Small Project are working towards helping and profiling the conditions of people known typically as squatters, self-builders, slum dwellers, informal settlers or displaced persons, and are highlighting the unique projects that help some of the 1 billion people who find refuge and community among the spaces that people forgot about, and the materials they threw out.
In June 2006, New Music Arts Projects presents soundaXis, a city-wide festival celebrating architecture, music and acoustics that will transform Toronto into a playground of sound and space exploration. For two weeks, the city will be alive with concerts, interdisciplinary installations, symposia, screenings and site-specific musical events. Events will be held across the city, presented and hosted by many of Toronto’s most innovative arts organizations.
LoftyHeights is a new project started by Oliver Bollmann that looks at adaptive reuse and green building practices in the San Francisco Bay area that aspires to become a clearinghouse where architects, city officials, investors, home owners and real estate agents come together to post and learn about local, and potentially sustainable, building opportunities. The focus of the project is the existing urban environment, often underused or abandoned, the message is the idea that urban density is more sustainable. The site has been in existence since July 2005.
What we're committed to at LoftyHeights is to bring forth the creative conversions of underused buildings, buildings that sit idle after the dot.com crash or others, including warehouses, industrial, R&D and offices, into living homes that create community while remaining kind to our dwindling resources. Creating a quality of space for the owners out of an everyday structure, using green practices, encouraging proximity and density.
Designing for the 24-hour environment requires that the designer have an understanding of the materials that can be used to illuminate spaces shadowed by darkness. Convention points us towards traditional forms of lighting like halogen, solar, LED etc... but what of the luminescent properties of the materials themselves? Properties that include: transparency, reflectivity, retro-reflectivity, photo-luminescence, thermo-luminescence, screening, fiber-optical luminescence and fluorescence? This was the focus of a project lead by Pierre Bélanger, Assistant Professor Faculty of Architecture, Landscape & Design, University of Toronto that used night as the point of departure for a rooftop landscape architecture plan.
Facade, screen, ceiling, shelter, sound and fire barrier are just some the things that the architectural wire cloth series from Haver & Böecker can be. A thoroughly versatile steel mesh, it can take on harsh weather and pollution, and is often used along highways and in industry as a filter. The aesthetic qualities of architectural wire cloth make it ideal as a skin allowing subtle changes of colour and light at different angles. It also offers a myriad of options for interior application as ceilings and screens. Haver & Böecker have been producing woven wire cloth since 1887 with their first operation in Hohenlimburg, Germany and are distributed worldwide by their parent company W.S. Tyler.
An Exhibition on the work of the Pritzker Prize winning architect Luis Barragan is now showing through November 6, 2005 in Athens, Greece at the Benaki Museum in the Pireaus Street Annexe.
The exhibition presents approximately 70 large-scale photographs by Japanese architect Yutaka Saito, wooden models (approximately 1.0-1.5 sq.m. apiece), as well as a series of the corresponding designs (floor plans - designs) of works by Barragan. In tandem with the exhibition, there is a video installation, with a 15-minute film on the forms of the Barragan oeuvre.Link: Benkai Museum
The work of Vancouver based D'Arcy Jones Design is modern yet warm, simple yet intricately detailed. There is that sensibility and materiality associated with contemporary American North-Western design as exemplified by architects such as James Cutler and Miller Hull, yet with a spatiality and form reminiscent of Rudolph Schindler, Richard Neutra and Ray Kappe.
Designed by Melbourne-based John Wardle Architects, this house is located on the Mornington Peninsula outside of Melbourne.
Treehouses have grown-up and are winning awards for excellence in design and innovation. If the idea of treehouse as family dwelling conjures up images of the Swiss Family Robinson, then prepare yourself for the following reinterpretations.
Can't get enough Corbusier? The Fondation Le Corbusier and Codex Images International - Birkhäuser are offering a series of DVDs that chronicle the work of Le Corbusier from 1905-1964. Broken into series of 4 sets, October heralds the arrival of the second set of 5 DVDs covering the years 1930-1945. The complete set features roughly 300 projects that will no doubt serve as an important archive for researchers, students and enthusiasts. 
This exhibition presented across two venues at Monash University near Melbourne: the Monash University Museum of Art on the Clayton campus and Faculty Gallery on the Caulfield campus. The show opened September 7th and runs through October 29, 2005.
Pavilions for New Architecture presents the creative practices of a dynamic group of contemporary architects who have emerged on the architectural scene over the past decade.
Taking the pavilion as its subject, and as a lens through which to view the practice of architecture, Pavilions for New Architecture offers a significant opportunity for the open expression of architecture at a scale that is at once playful and provocative, speculative and rhetorical.Link: Monash University Museum of Art - Pavillions for New Architecture
Located in the South London suburb of Tulse Hill, Brixton, the school acts as a community hub both visually and physically. The original project brief called for a building of high quality to house a complex program of multiple educational needs.
As Montreal enjoys a burst of activity in the housing market developers are looking for properties that can combine all of the elements that make Montreal unique like history, style, and cityscape. Prével's Le Loft does just that by taking a contemporary approach to the reinterpretation of the Lowney candy factory, home of the Cherry Blossom. The Lowney factory sits on the edge of Old Montreal, a stylish and trendy neighbourhood adjacent to the waterfront and downtown Montreal. While the layout and spa-like finishes are typical of most new condos today, what makes Le Loft stand out from the rest is the 4 season urban chalet situated on the roof. The chalet is a glass and steel structure that provides shelter from Montreal's harsh winter, and stunning views of the waterfront and city.
We first "met" Lorenza Casini, a student in the Materiality College at Manchester School of Architecture, when she contacted us last year regarding our post on MPreis supermarkets in the course of her research for this project. We are very pleased now to share the finished product now with you.
A 'city within a city' is a phrase used in Japan to describe a cluster of buildings connected by industry type, restaurants, recreational facilities and occasionally residences. Shiodome Shiosite is one of Tokyo's newest complexes consisting of skyscrapers that house media giants like Nippon Television and Dentsu Inc., one of the largest advertising agencies in Japan. 
Earlier this week we featured a Clipping regarding the reopening of IIT’s Crown Hall set for this weekend. With the most recent news of the campus's historic designation, we'll take a larger look at the IIT campus.
We've talked about Cradle-to-Cradle quite a bit here at L+L, but have never featured the winning professional entry in the C2C Home Competition. Designed by Matthew Coates and Tim Meldrum with Brendan Connolly, Rich Franko, Kristine Kenney, Julie Petersen and Ron van der Veen, the concpet embraces environmental responsibility, social responsibility and community interdependence as a complete manifestation of the guiding principles and design issues laid out in the competition brief.
St. Louis, Missouri based architect Andrew Raimist's blog features many images and anecdotes about modern architect Harris Armstrong as part of his research for a book he is writing about Armstrong.
Moshe Safdie is an architect whose designs exude harmony. This is especially true of the new Crystal Bridges museum and cultural centre designed for Bentonville Arkansas.
We've run across a couple of "rooftop parasite" items this week; at Archinect regarding an article regarding rooftop additions in Manhattan, and at Life Without Buildings where they posted a book called The Green House which features a project called P.A.R.A.S.I.T.E. (shown right) designed by Dutch architects Korteknie Stuhlmacher.
The third London Design Festival is taking place all over London, September 15 – 30, 2005.
Buildings that walk and wear "puffa-jackets"? If you thought the Halley V Research Station from 1956 was getting a little drab and dated, then the proposals for the new Halley VI Research Station will delight your intellectual and aesthetic sensibilities.
The Chicago Athenaeum, an International Museum of Architecture and Design, is exhibiting their 2005 American Architecture Award winners.
Need a reason to visit Montreal this winter? Montreal's underground city is a good enough one in my books. With its inception in 1966 the plan for the underground coincided with the opening of Montreal's Metro, and has since grown to include 1,500 offices and 1,600 boutiques. It also has numerous art installations, a skating rink, and leads you through historic and newly constructed buildings. For instance, you can go from IM Pei's Place Ville Marie to Claude Cormier's Lipstick Forest in the redesigned Palais des Congress in Old Montreal without ever surfacing.
Link: amarrages prospectus
Designed in the late 1920's and completed in 1930 by architect Adolf Loos, famous for his essay entitled Ornament and Crime which contributed to Modernist ideology. Located in Prague, the Villa Müller is one of the Twentieth Century's most significant modern villas.
| Visit: | Nad Hradním vodojemem 14 |
| CZ 162 00 Prague 6 - Strešovice | |
| Czech Republic |
I have been a fan of this house since the first portion was built some years ago, and was able to tour the expanded home last year at CA Boom. When I saw that the home would be featured again this year, I was not disappointed... actually I was excited to have the chance see it again. I hyped this tour above all others to Anthony as CA Boom approached, and upon our visit, his enthusiasm matched mine as is evident in the wealth of images in our extended photo gallery.
Photo Gallery: McKinley Residence
Link: Syndesis / David Hertz AIA
Article: Outside
Reference: CA Boom II Day One (L+L)
Reference: CA Boom II Day Two (L+L)
Reference: CA Boom II Day Three (L+L)
Also on the second day of the home tours was the home of architect Glen Irani, which I had the opportunity to see last year at CA Boom. If the Kanner House is a riot of color, then the Irani house is an orgy.
Located on one of the Venice canals on a 30' x 95' lot, the house is a modernist grid of steel, glass and brightly colored planes. The house is painted mainly in shades of bright blue offset by lime green, orange, red, blackened steel, natural maple, and polished concrete floors.
Photo Gallery: Irani House
Link: Glen Irani
Reference: CA Boom II Day One (L+L)
Reference: CA Boom II Day Two (L+L)
Reference: CA Boom II Day Three (L+L)
The second day of home tours started off on a good note. The Kozely/Farmer Residence by Sant Architects is designed to make great use of indoor/outdoor space. The landscape by Jay Griffith forms a lush frame for the house, and extends garden rooms from every room of the house.
The building is designed as three simple volumes that are shifted in relationship to each other to define exterior spaces as well as to modulate volume and light within the house.
Photo Gallery: Kozely/Farmer Residence
Link: Sant Architects
Link: Griffith & Cletta
Reference: CA Boom II Day One (L+L)
Reference: CA Boom II Day Two (L+L)
Reference: CA Boom II Day Threee (L+L)
Originally built in 1956, the Troxell House in Pacific Palisades, California has been rigourously renovated by architecture firm SH_Arc. The house had been occupied by the original owner until recently, and few changes had been made over the years.
A prime example of Neutra's California Modernism, the stucture is a simple post and beam grid with a broad flat roof. The house is approached from one end where a carport and storage area tuck beneath the roof with an entry path located between the house and the hill sloping up to the street. A long hallway inside bisects the east end of the house with four small bedrooms along the street side and the bathroom, laundry and kitchen along the other. The living room, entry and dining room are arranged in an "L" at the heart of the house with floor to ceiling windows and doors opening to a broad terrace perched on the hillside. The far west end of the house contains the master bedroom.
Photo Gallery: Troxell Residence
Link: SH_Arc
Reference: CA Boom II Day One (L+L)
Reference: CA Boom II Day Two (L+L)
Reference: CA Boom II Day Threee (L+L)
Visiting the Entenza Residence on day one of the CA Boom II home tour came as a surprise. It was not listed on the tour handouts so it was an exciting stop on the tour. The house was originally designed for John Entenza by architect Harwell Harris. According to Michael Folonis, the architect who handled the restoration project of this home in 1998, it is quite possible that Entenza's Case Study program was conceived at this home.
Photo Gallery: Entenza Residence
Link: Michael Folonis
Link: Case Study Houses
Reference: Harwell Harris (L+L)
Reference: CA Boom II Day One (L+L)
Reference: CA Boom II Day Two (L+L)
Reference: CA Boom II Day Threee (L+L)
We had the opportunity to tour the 511 House, the private residence of architect Stephen Kanner and his family. This is the second year that Mr. Kanner has graciously opened his home for CA Boom, but we were unable to participate in the first day of the home tours last year.
Located in Pacific Palisades, California, the 511 House is a riot of form, color, texture and materials in an almost post-modern mix of California Modern and Googie road-side architecture.
Link: Kanner Architects
Related: Canyon View by Kanner Architects (L+L)
Reference: CA Boom II Day One (L+L)
Reference: CA Boom II Day Two (L+L)
Reference: CA Boom II Day Threee (L+L)
If you are not familiar with the work of Mexico City architect Alberto Kalach, then we are pleased to be the first to introduce you to his work. If you have seen his work before, and that of the his former firm Kalach & Alverez, then you no doubt will enjoy seeing his work again.
The GGG House, built in 1999, is an abstracted modern structure inspired by the work of the sculptor Jorge Yazpik. It is also obviously influenced by the great Mexican architect Luis Barragán and recalls shades of Tadao Ando, Louis Kahn, Carlo Scarpa and even Le Corbusier (look for the windows à la Ronchamp). The building and landscape commingle beautifully with broad indoor/outdoor terraces, contained courtyards and planted roof tops.
Link: Alberto Kalach GGG House (many more pics)
The physical act of climbing trees tends to lose its appeal when we get past our teens (well, for some people...), but now you can let the Peter Pan in you take flight in a safe way (does anyone remember that Michael Jackson interview on 20/20) by going to visit the German national forest in Hainach, Thueringen.The bridge spans 300 meters and you find yourself about 44 meters above the forest ground (meter=yard, more or less). Apparently one is almost certain to experience bats, woodpeckers and other inhabitants of the "Buchenurwald" up close and personal, and the glazed viewing platform even protects you rugged explorers from the elements. Not so convinced about the tower design itself (bit heavy, ey?), but how cool of a tree house would this have been when you were a kid?! Oh, and Archigram... take that!
Link: Nationalpark Hainich
Link: Under Construction Photos
Some of you may recall the contest that DWR was holding to identify the architect of a modern home last month.
The veil has been lifted, and the author has been revealed as Barcelona-born architect José Antonio Coderch (1913–1984), one of the most prominent post-war architects working in Spain.
Link: MEAM Net - José Antonio Coderch
Photos: El Poder de la Palabra
Photos: Casas - Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Granada - Casa Ugalde
Photos: Casas - Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Granada - Casa Rozes
Book: William Stout Books - Jose Antonio Coderch Houses
Reference: Name that modernist! (Land+Living)
Designed by London based Adam Richards Architects, the Flinthouse in Wiltshire provides an entrance and kitchen to a subdivided wing of an 18th century manor house.
The new structure is anchored by a gabion garden wall filled with reclaimed flint. The cedar framed building is a modern version of a medieval cruck timber framing which provides an open roof volume within. Horizontal cedar slats float over large areas of glazing, modulating light and views as well as relating to traditional horizontal wood cladding.
Firm: Adam Richards Architects
Earlier this year, I spent 5 days with a friend in California's Sierra Nevada on a backcountry ski and splitboard tour. Our destination was the Palisades Glacier located east of the town of Big Pine off Hwy 395. Due to the distance one needs to travel over difficult terrain, the Palisades Glacier is one of the least visited locations in the Sierra during the winter months. It's remote, avalanches are common, sunny weather can turn stormy in minutes, and help is a long ways away. So, I have to admit that I was somewhat intrigued to discover a design competition proposal from the firm ERW Design for a modern mountain hut tucked away in the Palisades.
More student work to browse, this time from the Architectural Association in London.
The AA has set up a website featuring student work from all levels and programs at their projects Review 04/05. Lots to see…
Link: AA Projects Review
Via: Archinect
The recent DWR newsletter features a contest to identify the designer or location of a 1952 house by an "influential but relatively obscure" architect. The first 20 responses to either name the architect or the location of the residence will receive a book devoted to the architect in question.
The images are worth a peek even if the contest doesn't appeal to you.
Link: DWR Newsletter
Submissions: summersurvey@dwr.com
UPDATE: Click here for the answer
Funny how sometimes you are just not ready to seem something until you are in the right mindset. Way back in May, the New York Times Magazine published their Architecture 2005 issue which included a lengthy piece by Michael Kimmelman profiling the life and career of Brazilian modern master Oscar Niemeyer.
Our fascination this past weekend with images from Brazil has put us in the frame of mind to digest this retrospective, and we highly recommend it to you.
Article: NY Times Magazine - The Last of the Moderns
Link: Slideshow
Sydney based firm Dale Jones-Evans Pty Ltd Architecture is committed to design that is of its place and time, a modern architecture that is truly Australian.
For this re-envisioned terrace house in Sydney, Dale Jones-Evans completely gutted the structure and inserted a new steel framed building into the shell. The center of the house features a vertical floating stairwell and illuminated glazed bathroom core. The floor plane extends out at the rear terminating at a sunken black 'grotto' pool, which is wrapped in a fluid woven metal sculptural veil.
Link: The Water House
Firm: Dale Jones-Evans Pty Ltd Architecture
I have a penchant for this kind of photo documentation... it reminds me of architecture school (thank you, Mary Ann Ray).
Photo blogger Thomas Locke Hobbs features some very interesting and beautiful photos of his travels and experiences in Brazil; everything from buildings and urban vistas to culinary delights and signage/graffiti. There are also photos of men in drag and tighty-whities, not that there’s anything wrong with that...
Link: Thomas Locke Hobbs
Via: Cityrag
Thumbnail at right: SESC Pompeia, designed by Lina Bo Bardi, São Paulo.
A Daily Dose of Architecture picked up the satellite imagery theme yesterday as well... must've been something in the air, or sunspots or something... and featured images of architectural landmarks yesterday.
We decided to do some reconassance as well and have a few architecture images of our own below. Let us know about your spy finds as well!
Link: The Grand Tour
Link: Google Maps
Thumbnail at right: Getty Center, Los Angeles by Richard Meier
We find student design work to be incredibly interesting because of how it reflects the design world and speaks to the future.
The Architect's Newspaper features the work and thoughts of students from architecture schools in the "tri-state" (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut) area. Professors at 13 schools were asked to select one outstanding project from the last academic year. Check it out.
Link: The Architect's Newspaper - Kids These Days
Via: Archinect
Designed and built by Tel Aviv, Israel based partnership U-I, Avi Laiser and Amir Shwarz, the lofts were built in an old diamond polishing factory that was vacant for more than 10 years. The project is aimed at a young population who look for contemporary rental spaces in the center of Tel Aviv’s business/industrial district, and desire a creative lifestyle.
The lofts were built on a very low budget in a speed time of 4 months using a flexible wall construction method that allows joining two spaces or more to create larger spaces in the future. The polished concrete floors are continuous and each unit got a colored wall or box that defines the usages of the open space. Right now the project is fully occupied with happy tenants.
UPDATE (7-29-09): Avi Laiser now has his own firm AR/Arch. We're not sure what Amir is up to these days.
Nine images of the Lotus House by Tokyo based Kengo Kuma and Associates were recently posted at Archinect.
Kengo Kuma deftly balances the physical and the ephemeral, with a keen sense of the relationship between materials. Among the many awards he has received are the Spirit of Nature Wood Architecture Award, the International Stone Architecture Award and the AIA DuPONT Benedictus Award for Water / Glass.
Link: Archinect - Kengo Kuma Lotus House
Firm: Kengo Kuma and Associates
Book: Kengo Kuma: Selected Works
Designed by Los Angeles based architects Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee, the Sale House was designed to engage an early Morphosis project, the 2-4-6-8 house, in Venice, California (circa 1978-1981). The reconceptualized site concept created an internal configuration around exterior courtyard living spaces.
Living spaces were designed as an open and flow and are transparent to the outside. Taking cues from the colorful Morphosis building, each private interior room was "conceived as a unit of color, lined with resin panels of bright pink, turquoise and yellow orange."
Link: Johnston Marklee & Associates Sale House
I mentioned previously that I became engrossed in research while putting this together. The most fascinating find on the web was Frank Lloyd Wright Resources (linked below) page hosted by the Marin County Library. This page includes a nice historical brief, photo gallery including images of the design and construction process, a project chronology and a listing of FLLW resources in the library's collection.
But what enthralled me the most was the voices of the Civic Center page which features clips in mp3 format of speeches by Frank Lloyd Wright from 1957 and 1958 and interviews with other architects, politicians and journalists who were involved with the project.
Before Wright's death on April 9, 1959, he had finished the supervision of drawings for the main building and the master plan for the site. In this section we will finish our exploration of Wright's design, and take a look at some of the changes and developments after his passing.
A stunning photo by William Allin Storrer depicts and early view of the Hall of Justice. The photo captures a landscape in keeping with what Wright had experienced before additional landscaping and trees were added to the site.
Link: Marin County Library FLLW Resources
Photos: Lee Sandstead
Photos: Picture the Scene
Photos: Digital Imaging Project
Photos: Digital Imaging Project (Post Office)
A couple of weekends ago, I was in Marin County, California, and I realized that while I have seen it from the freeway, I have never actually visited Frank Lloyd Wright's Marin County Civic Center.
Serendipitously, Frank Lloyd Wright was born on this day in 1867, and (most) of the photos I took at the Civic Center are the only ones that my malfunctioning digital camera did not corrupt. So today seems like a good day to share those photos, as well as some information about this important work by Frank Lloyd Wright.
I developed a childhood fascination with Wright's architecture nearly 20 years ago (ok, yes, I was an archi-geek even then), and spent much of my early self-guided architectural education reading as much as I could about Wright. While I continued this interest into my college years, I became much more interested in European modernism and new architecture, leaving my interest in Wright more or less latent until last week. As I began to put together what I intended as a very brief photo gallery of the Marin County Civic Center, I found myself engrossed in the research of details and history of the project. While by no means exhaustive, we have a two-part look (through photos and abundant linkage) at the Marin County Civic Center as it was planned, as it is now, and as it may be in the future.
| Visit: | Marin County Civic Center |
| 3501 Civic Center Drive | |
| San Rafael California | |
| 415.499.6646 |
Photos: Marin County Civic Center Photographs
Book: An Architecture for Democracy: the Marin County Civic Center by Aaron Green
An article in today's San Diego Union-Tribune covers the 2005 San Diego AIA Awards program and quotes LA architect Lawrence Scarpa saying:
"I've served on a lot of (design awards) juries. I was shocked and pleasantly surprised to find this many quality projects.
"There's something going on in San Diego that's right."In addition to Lawrence Scarpa, the jurors were Michael Folonis of Michael W. Folonis, AIA and Associates and Ralph Johnson, FAIA, firm-wide design principal at Perkins+Will.
Article: SD Union-Tribune - There's something going on
Link: AIA San Diego Design Awards
Berkeley based Arkin Tilt Architects is an award-winning firm specializing in energy and resource efficient design. Their design for this mountain home on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada mountain range responds to the rugged sloped site and house is virtually energy independent. The design was given a Green Project Award in 2005 2005 by the AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE).
An article in the Sydney Morning Herald by Anne Susskind profiles this remodeled home designed by sustainability focused Kennedy Associates of Sydney.
Front of the semi-detached home was retained with contemporary two storey addition at the rear. The garden continues the space out the back with a courtyard and features an innovative water recycling system as a design feature.
Three rain water tanks and 'green wall' gray water treatment system enable the house to use 75% less water for the town water system. The house is heated and cooled using a solar powered system by Sun Lizard.
Firm: Kennedy Associates Architects
Article: smh.com - The art of space
If you are familiar with Land+Living, you know that we can't resist modern mountain architecture, and this just leaves us begging for more.An article by Christopher Hawthorne in the NY Times features a modern residence in Ketchum by Portland, Oregon based Allied Works. The firm's website features only one teeny-tiny image of this project, but thankfully the Times has a slideshow accompanying their article.
Allied Works managed to sneak an aggressively contemporary house into Sun Valley, where the architectural style might be called hunting-lodge chic on steroids.Enjoy.
Firm: Allied Works Architecture
Article: NY Times - Sun Valley Surprise: Chalet So Spare
Originally posted 2/16/2005
UPDATE: Allied Works has updated their website and now offers some detailed text and amazing images of the house including sketches and models in design development, construction shots and the completed project. We've added a few images, including a reduced plan by request. Please visit Allied Works' website for much more.
Saint-Pierre de Firminy, a church designed by Le Corbusier is nearing completion decades after it was commissioned in the Loire Valley. Firminy-Vert is the largest concentration of work by Le Corbusier outside Chandigarh - at least it will be next summer when the church is completed. The project is overseen by architect José Oubrerie, a Corbu apprentice who has been involved with Firminy-Vert since its inception.
Firminy-Vert was envisioned as a catalyst for urban renewal, centered around the former quarry. The plan called for three housing blocks (Corbu's Unité d'Habitation concept), a cultural center, stadium and a parish church. The project was completed after Corbu's death short two Unités and work on the church was halted in 1978.
Visit: Firminy (French)
Link: Culture.fr (French)
Article: IHT - Le Corbusier, by design (via: Planetizen)
I used to work with a couple of guys who were pretty hardcore gamers. They'd spend all hours of the night playing online games such as Half-Life and Unreal Tournament. One of the cool things about these games is that end-users can modify the "worlds" in which these games are played. With that in mind, here's what happens when you have a few gamers that also happen to know how to create an architectural rendering or two. Ah, now just imagine being able to take a sniper position in Pierre Koenig's Case Study No. 22 House.
From Onix comes this communal housing project featuring 14 bungalows with a shared common area.
"Onix was requested by the Woonconcept Foundation to design approximately 14 patio bungalows for a small section of the Krakeel neighborhood in Hoogeveen. The houses are situated in a green zone that meanders through the suburb, consisting of an attractive green avenue, school facilities, ponds, a children’s farm, playing fields etc. An autonomous construction, the building forms a spatial jetty consists of private terraces, verandas, privacy screens, stages, a car port, end facades, roofs, a communal terrace, and an entrance gate to the inner area."
Designed by San Francisco based architect Bruce Tomb, this project is an interesting modern addition to a small duplex at Tierra Nueva, a co-housing community of 27 passive solar homes in Oceano, California.
Built on a modest budget, the addition was designed to sit over the existing house with a small footprint and minimal structural alteration. Access to the new room is provided via an exterior stair and bridge over the existing roof.
Link: Bruce Tomb
We’ve always been impressed with this well known Canadian firm based in Vancouver. A partnership between David Battersby and Heather Howat, the collaborative practice draws on backgrounds in architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design to create a distinctive modern vocabulary all their own.
There is a certain "look" to their work which comes from a rigorous design philosophy. Each project is a unique representation and expression of their quiet yet meticulously conceived design language.
We highly recomend that you browse through the project images on their website... truly outstanding work. Go... now!
Firm: BattersbyHowat
With all these UK posts, one might think we're turning into L+L London (hmmm, there's an idea). Well, here's yet another UK blog. In the same vain as the Fold House this traditional Waterloo home gets a clean modern addition.
"The garden extension to this grade II listed building in Waterloo is a simple pattern of solid and glazed panels repeating the original openings of the rear façade which are then repeated in reverse on the roof. The additional floor space extends the family living area and acts as an open connection between kitchen and dining area. The works also included lowering the existing semi-basement to create a utility room, storage and study and refurbishment of the house throughout."
Firm: Dive Architects
Designed by London based Canadian architect Alison Brooks, designed this simple and refined addition to a Victorian terraced house.
The existing kitchen was remodeled and expanded outward to include new dining and living areas within the bronze and glass Miesean pavilion. The concept is of a repeatedly folded plane of bronze which defines the space and frames views of the garden. Two of the glazed walls can be opened completely to create a seamless indoor/outdoor space.
Firm: Alison Brooks Architects
I can't recall how I came across the website of Auckland, New Zealand, based architects Fearon Hay, but it was a happy find... one look at the Coromandel House and I was hooked.
The house is beautifully linked to its site and landscape. In fact, architects Jeff Fearon and Tim Hay conceived of the house and landscape design together as an integrated whole. The plan assimilates indoor and outdoor living spaces with window walls which slide away to open the house to the extensive decks and patio spaces.
Firm: Fearon Hay Architects
We don't know much about this house in Saiki-city, Japan, but we like it. It was designed by Takao Shiotsuka Atelier, an architecture firm based in Oita on the southern Japan island of Kyushu. The exterior cladding and spare esthetic is slightly reminiscent of Lorcan O’Helihy’s Vertical House, but similarities end there - the form and concepts are quite different.
The two story structure is topped by a third level lantern, with a 360° ribbon window providing views of the city and allowing light to penetrate the center of the house through the translucent stairway.
Firm: Takao Shiotsuka Atelier
Link: Blue House
While first browsing through the website of New York City based OBR Architects, I was pleasantly reminded of the early works of Steven Holl. Upon clicking the profile link, I found out why - the firm's principles, Pablo Castro and Jennifer Lee, are both Holl office alumni.
Their work has a certain simplicity, more a distillation really, derived from rigorous study and attention to detail. It is clear that they have a strong design ethic that is both academic and practical.
Link: OBRA Architects
Traces of the former agricultural field are exploited and built upon to create a modern regional home in Michigan. PLY Architects of Ann Arbor developed the design as a spatial exploration of the rural American landscape as manipulated by the Jeffersonian Grid, exploring the relationships between the agrarian landscape and domestic life.
Connections are made between inside and out; primary interior spaces are linked to reciprocal landscape elements, relating the domestic rituals with the grided landscape and creating a symbiosis between daily life and place.
Firm: PLY Architecture
I visited Arcosanti in 1998 on an extended field trip through Arizona while pursing my masters degree, and was reminded of this trip while reading an article in the Arizona State University student newspaper.
What a crazy place... crazy, and incredibly interesting. During our two day stay at Arcosanti, we learned about the concept of Arcology, explored the site, and partied all night with the locals.
Paolo Soleri is an Italian architect who was an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright in the late 1940's. Soleri later developed the concept of Arcology, the fusion of architecture and ecology, an alternative urban development form. In 1970 construction began on Arcosanti, a prototype town for 5,000 people (there are currently about 60 residents).
...a highly integrated and compact three-dimensional urban form that is the opposite of urban sprawl with its inherently wasteful consumption of land, energy and time, tending to isolate people from each other and the community.I bet Mr. Greenhut would freak. ;-)
Link: Arcosanti
Link: Cosanti Originals
Article: ASU Web Devil - In your own backyard: No roads, no conservatives (via The Dirt)
Québec based architect Pierra Thibault designs a wide range of projects on a variety of scales. Always central to his work is an understanding of context and the dialogue between design and environment.
The interrelation of landscape, site history and cultural context allows for the development of distinctive solutions that give birth to buildings rich with meaning, atmosphere and heightened sensory awareness.Link: Pierre Thibault, architecte
Architecture For Sale is an online resource featuring some of the most sought after real estate on the planet. From Schindler to Neutra to Murcutt, Architecture For Sale has them listed. The prices of these homes are way out of my price range, but if you've got a million plus burning a hole in your pocket and are in the market for a new home, check them out.
Architecture for Sale is the premier online resource for architectural properties around the world. For nearly a decade, architectureforsale. com has featured an eclectic and diverse offering of estates, historic properties and architectural residences. Our current listings may include: a craftsman bungalow in California; a grand Southern plantation inLouisiana; a modernist retreat in Connecticut; a prefabricated house available for construction worldwide; a historic light house in Maine; or an urban loft in Germany. Our goal is to marry a customer with the architectural, historic or estate home of his or her dreams.Link: Architecture for Sale
Previously, we mentioned the firm of Kanner Architects in a blog about the AIA/LA Awards. Revisiting their site, we discovered their Canyon View guesthouse.
The owners insisted on a warm modern design that was to be flexible, private, and contextual. The structure's highly articulated form is composed of a series of angled cedar wall planes. "Breaking the box" into a series of angled walls allows the building to more effectively blend into its environment.Firm: Kanner Architects
An architectural exhibition running April 19-23, 2005 at the DESTE Foundation’s Centre for Contemporary Art at 8 Omirou Str., Neo Psychico, Athens, Greece.
The exhibition invited 10 avant-garde architects to propose their own vision of what a future hotel could be. The first prize entry will be exhibited in the reDESIgnDESIre exhibition curated by architect Sotirios Papadopoulos at the SoHo gallery in Milan, during the Salone del Mobile 2005.
Link: Invisible Hotel
Visit: DESTE Foundation
Today, on Saint Patrick's Day, we pay tribute to a great Irish-American architect, Lorcan O'Herlihy. Well, actually.... today Archinect just happened to point us to an article from that the LA Times by Barbara King published back in December about Lorcan... so anyway...
We dig Lorcan. He's a very nice guy who does cool work. I actually cold-called his office looking for a job about 5 years ago, and Lorcan spoke to me on the phone for a couple minutes even though he didn't have any openings. The fact that he would even personally take my call blew me away.
So, for our St. Patrick's Day tribute to Lorcan O'Herlihy, we've included a bunch of previously unpublished pics from our tour of his home at last year's CA Boom festival, provided tons of linkage, and we lift a pint of Guinness... well, actually we'd do that anyway. Sláinte!
Firm: Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects
Article: LA Times - All he needs is a little room
Article: Irish-Architecture.com
Link: Kline residence image gallery
Link: ArchNewsNow - Habitat 825
Link: ArchNewsNow - Hillside Haven: Lexton/MacCarthy Residence
Via: Archinect
Reference: CA Boom (Land+Living)
There is a certain equation that we cant resist:
I flipped past this really quickly at Wallpaper a while back... but I was in a hurry and didn't realize that it contained the magic variables, so I didn't delve further.
Located in the middle of South Tyrol at 1500 meters, this resort is accessible only by cable car (add another childhood fantasy point for this one). Designed by Milan based architect (and one time creative director for Swatch) Mattheo Thun, the structure is at once sleek and organic. Each room contains a fabricated rammed earth wall which serves as a divider and thermal mass for the embedded radiant heating elements... nice.
Visit: Vigilius Mountain Resort
Firm: Mattheo Thun
Via: Earth Architecture
As a follow up to the quasi-debate going on with regard to our post about The Very Small Home, here is an article that talks further with author Azby Brown about building smart in Japan... and elsewhere.
At Land+Living, we're all about functional space. Americans as a generalization may think that bigger is better... however we think that functional is better. Perhaps square footage is not so important as "well designed" usable space. Urban property values continue to spiral upwards (like for us in Los Angeles) forcing us to truly consider how we live and what we value.
(Azby Brown) suggests that the small house is actually superior to its larger incarnations and that, given a choice, the truly discerning are opting for life on the squeeze.Read.
Article: Telegraph - Turning Japanese, why aren't we turning Japanese?
Via: Archinect
Reference: The Very Small Home (Land+Living)
The prefab GlidehouseTM design by architect Michelle Kaufmann made quite a splash last year at Sunset Magazine's Celebration Weekend in Menlo Park, California. So much so that this year's Celebration will feature an encore.
The BreezehouseTM is a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1,798 square foot modular home with an optional 248 square foot third bedroom module. The house is organized around a light-filled central space called the Breezeroom which is opens to outdoor living spaces at each end and is topped by butterfly roof.
Firm: MK Architecture
Link: Live Modern - Catch the Breezehouse at Sunset
Visit: Sunset Celebration Weekend - May 21 & 22, 2005
Reference: The Fab New World of Prefab Houses (Land+Living)
Reference:
Prefab-o-rama (Land+Living)
Located on a wooded hillside in the Chilterns, Oxfordshire, U.K., this simple modern house fits wonderfully into it's surroundings.
Designed by London based architect Níall McLaughlin, the house is a straightforward glass box concept laid out on a regularized 12 square grid. A second glass box protrudes perpendicular to the main structure and encloses a lap pool.
Firm: Níall McLaughlin Architects
Award: Irish Architecture Awards 2002
Designed by Sid L. Scott, AIA of Portland, Oregon based Scott | Edwards Architecture
this house utilizes simple "off the shelf" materials to achieve stunning results.
We really like the way that the construction and framing of the structure is honestly expressed. Glulam beams, plywood, structural steel and hardware are exposed and featured as design elements. Large windows capture views of Mount Hood and the Willamette Valley.
The overall effect is a design that is both modern and regional, and we're all about that! Beautiful.
Billing itself as "the premiere resource for all things modern", 360° Modern features real estate listings as well as a community page with descriptions on the buying and selling of modern homes. Their real estate section seems to focus mostly on the greater Seattle area.
We are people passionate about and dedicated to the appreciation of Modern Architecture and all things related. We are here to provide two services: a place for pertinent, interesting, changing information about Modern Architecture and Modernism and to provide real estate services for people wanting to buy or sell a Modern home.
Link: 360° Modern
This project adjacent to Manchester’s city center aims to regenerate the former Cardroom housing estate, which itself was an urban renewal effort in the 1970's to reclaim an abandoned industrial sector. Poor planning contributed to the demise of Cardroom Estate, but a bold new framework by Alsop hopes to learn from the past while looking forward.
The area has been re-dubbed New Islington, and a new splashy flashy website (as noted at Archinect) details the concept for the new project and history of the neighborhood. Sustainability and context is the name of the game.
Link: New Islington
Designer: Alsop
Developer: Urban Splash
Reference: Urban Splash (Land+Living)
Anthony's Swedish crush reminded me of a Scandinavian fascination of my own... so today, I'll pay tribute to the Aalto legacy.
I have been inspired by the work of Finnish architect and designer Alvar Aalto since early in my architectural education. His work continues to be a strong influence in the design world; everywhere from architecture to consumer products (Ikea owes a heck of a lot to Aalto).
Muchos Aalto linkage for your browsing pleasure, and more Aalto talk follows.
Link: Alvar Aalto Foundation
Link: Artek
Visit: Alvar Aalto Museum
Link: Aino Aalto (book available through Aalto Museum)
Link: Iittala (Aino Aalto glassware)
Link: Alvar Aalto Houses (CD-ROM by Opulens)
Link: Baker House (MIT student project website)
Web Exhibition: Aalto Chairs
Web Exhibition: Paimio Sanatorium
We love midcentury... mm mm mmmmm. Especially here in Southern California where architects such as Cliff May explored the concept of indoor outdoor space with wonderful results.
Realtor Doug Kramer of Long Beach, California bills himself as a specialist in midcentry modern properties... and, what the heck... he's got some good stuff on his website including a gallery of some restored/remodeled homes, as well as some decent history and general info.
Link: The Long Beach Cliff May Ranchos (from Doug Kramer's Ranchostyle.com)
Via: Archinect (nice find, Alan)
Also: Amazon - Western Ranch Houses by Cliff May
Related:
The World of Eichler Design (Land+Living)
Originally posted 1/25/2005
UPDATE: Doug Kramer strikes again! And this time with a nicely designed and updated website with even more midcentury design... Cliff May and beyond!
Link: SoCal Modern [Thanks, Raena!]
More from my trip to Orange County, this time at the throne of consumersim *gasp* a mall. They have the Gap and Hot Dog on a Stick, and hey look! They have good design too!
This is a pedestrian bridge built in 2000 connecting two parts of a large shopping mall designed by a collaborative team of Kathryn Gustafson (Gustafson Guthrie Nichol), Ellerbe Becket and Anderson & Ray.
It is an interesting solution to a utilitarian need; a pedestrian connection across a parking lot and busy street, and the mediation of a change in elevation. The bridge is called the "Bridge of Gardens," a ridiculous name probably dreamed up by the mall, but that name does at least hint towards the marriage of landscape, engineering and architecture.
I have seen this published before, but never with more than a couple small images... so check it out... I went overboard on the pics just for you.
Firm: Gustafson Guthrie Nichol - Landscape Architecture / Art
Firm: Ellerbe Becket - Architecture
Firm: Charles Anderson (formerly of Anderson & Ray) - Landscape Architecture
Firm: HNTB - Structural Engineering
Link: South Coast Plaza
Not all 60's housing experiments/designs were created equal, especially when it comes to large scale developments. But when it's good, it's good. We've previously featured some good stuff in California, and here is a tasty morsel in Great Britain.
This website (with small but enticing images) is a wealth of information about this "unique housing project in Kent, its original developer SPAN and their consultant architect Eric Lyons."
Link: Span Kent, New Ash Green
Via: Things
Once upon a time at SCI-Arc, I encountered Barbara Bestor sitting on my jury for a crit while pursuing my Masters degree in Architecture. Crits are like defending yourself against a crime that you know you have committed, and I recall that Barbara found me to be particularly guilty. Well, she may not have been enamored of my design that day, but I am quite impressed with the work shown on her website.
In her 30's, Barbara Bestor has established herself in a profession that is hard to break into at a young age, especailly as a woman in a profession (even in 2005) skewed towards men. Based upon my experience with her and what I have seen of her work, I can see how she has done it... she is tough talking and opinionated but refined, talented, knowledgeable, and skilled at producing wonderful results with small budgets.
Link: Bestor Architecture
While I appreciate the concept of the tower in the park, the reality of many modernist urban developments can be quite dismal. And while I agree with the principles of the New Urbanism, I feel that many New Urbanists are too hung up on the "white picket fence" trappings of traditional style.
But even Andres Duany provides a retort to this perception, and has designed a project that (at least partially) proves it. "Aqua breaks the mold of what many people perceive TND to be, but that’s a misconception. New Urbanism is not style-based. Aqua makes that clear."
Aqua is mid-sized infill project (8.5 acres) on Allison Island in Miami Beach. It is the site of a former hospital and the project reuses an existing parking garage/office building.
Orginally posted 1/17/2005
New article: Slatin Report - Chilly Design, Hot Aqua
Link: Aqua | Allison Island - hehe... aqua.net ;-)
Article: The Next American City - New Urban Meets Modern in South Florida
Article: HousingZone.com - Andres Duany & Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk: Home/Work (2002)
Firm: Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company
Via: Planetizen
We've had a little dryspell in our prefab news, but the drought is over... more prefab for you junkies.
Designed by Los Angeles area architects Linda Taalman and Alan Koch, the concept is a high design, customized (with funky outFiTs) 1000 square foot kit house that takes only 8 weeks to construct. "The iT house is made up of a series of off-the-shelf parts which are internationally distributed by industry partners or locally available as typical standard construction." Two houses have been commissioned and will be build this year.
Link: iT House
Firm: TK Architecture
This "young firm" based is Bergen, Norway is producing some interesting work that is both experimental and ecologically responsible.
For this summer house, the architects have conceived a wood structure defined by a continuous, folded plane forming interior and exterior spaces.
Firm: Saunders & Wilhelmsen Architecture
UPDATE: Mr. Saunders and Mr. Wilhelmsen have now moved on to individual practices.
Link: Saunders Architecture
Link: Wilhelmsen Arkitektur
Exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago running through April 15th, 2004.
Featuring:
The 10 architects reflect a cross section of Chicago’s vibrant architectural scene—from large and small firms as well as the academic community—bringing to this exhibition diverse experiences and insights. Each architect was asked to define an important issue for the future of Chicago and create a “spatial commentary” on that particular theme.Link: Art Institute of Chicago - Chicago Architecture: Ten Visions
Our penchant for alpine architecture continues... there is a reason after all, since I (James here) used to work for a firm in the Lake Tahoe area. And frankly, I got pretty bored with same old cabin/lodge style, so I always have an eye out for a modern approach to mountain architecture.
This house in Breckenridge, Colorado by Denver based Faleide Architects is comprised of two boxes. One is glass to open to the views and the forest and the other is more cozy, sheltered and closed. To us... this is what a mountain house should be like.
Firm: Faleide Architects - Crowder House
Link: Architectural Record - House of the Month, December 2004
Updated and refreshed on a budget, this house in San Gabriel, California is an example of significant cosmetic transformation on a budget... specifically my budget.
Building on the simple stucco box form, the design is clean, modern and simple. Throughout the house and property, the key was to get the most bang for the buck by using a minimal palette of materials and to reuse much of the existing material on site.
Design: Studio J2L
"Each year the American Institute of Architects Los Angeles Chapter recognizes significant achievements in local architecture at their awards gala, held this year at the California Science Center School.
Winning projects represent the cutting edge in contemporary architecture, interior design and historic restoration, selected by a distinguished jury of local and internationally known architects."
Some of the winning firms include:
Link: AIA LA
Via: Royal Homes Toronto Studio
The feature article this month at Domus highlights a group of Chilean architects and their system of designing low-cost housing.
The M7 prototype is the result of a slow process of research and development, begun in 2001 by the Chilean architects’ cooperative URO1.ORG. Its aim was to find modular construction solutions that would allow users to freely configure and construct their own small-scale architecture. The weekend home, located at Tunquén on a green plateau facing the Pacific Ocean, was used as an experiment to study a variety of possible materials and to perfect assembly methods based on extreme simplicity and practical economy.Full article available at Domus.
Firm: URO1.org
Via: Domus (Registration Req'd)
Seattle based E. Cobb Architects create regional modern design solutions with an emphasis on space and material. We admire many of their projects, many are more eye catching, but his one in particular is of interest to us because they way that the design responds to specific site conditions over formal considerations.
Located on a lake front site in the Cascade Mountain Range, the house navigates an extreme topography drops 54 feet over 126 feet in distance from the road to the lake shore. The house negotiates the slope and the "occupyable spaces high in the tree branches" with minimal site clearing or grading.
Firm: E. Cobb Architects Inc.
We've said it before, but we must say it again: it is the simple solutions that we often find to be the most elegant.In this case, Lekker Projects, a small environmental design firm with offices in Shanghai and Singapore, was faced with the problem of correcting bad Feng Shui while creating a distinct signage element for the 88 Xintiandi Hotel in Shanghai. The solution was to use Chinese roof tiles (the symbol of the hotel) in an inventive way to create a simple but striking result. The form of the tiles are instantly recongnizable, but their application is inspired.
Firm: Lekker Projects
Link: 88 Xintiandi
This is the first we've heard of the Metro Shed, but at first glance, it looks to offer a nice alternative for those of you contemplating a new backyard pool house.
The MetroShed idea grew from the need to have a quiet, detached living / working space close to home. The MetroShed is a modern outdoor structure created using top quality wood, glass, aluminum and acrylic building materials. The MetroShed is sold as an unfurnished shell, or fully furnished ready to enjoy. The MetroShed can also be customized to match existing modern contemporary residences.The Metro Shed can also be customized to match your modern home.
Link: Metro Shed [Thanks, Donovan!]
It is always interesting for us to "discover" to work of an architect outside of our usual sphere of influence (our sphere based from Los Angeles, California).We recently came across the work of Chilean architect Felipe Assadi and were impressed with the quality of work produced by his five person firm. We think that his work holds its own compared with work by European and American architects with whom we are better acquainted and certainly deserves some attention.
Link: Felipe Assadi
Mr. Gehry finds peace with his new Venice neighbors.
It started as a rumor, hardly louder than the rustle of palm fronds from the octet of 90-foot trees that sway above the southern end of one green, quiet block. Frank Gehry, for most people's money the most famous architect in the world, had bought the large vacant lot at the northern end of the block. He was planning to build his dream house there.From the LA Times.Perhaps the very first thought — you could see it in people's dawning reaction, even from those who haven't yet rattled their jewelry at the much-debated Walt Disney Concert Hall downtown — was that the house had every chance of looking as wrong as Shaquille O'Neal in a Miami Heat uniform. But that thought was almost immediately shooed away by a second: They were about to be … Gehry-adjacent.
Link: LA Times
Six prototype houses each designed to be constructed of a different material - concrete, steel, cardboard, timber, glass and clay -
were designed by an architect in collaboration with the appropriate trade association or research institute.
The objective of the exhibition is to promote new ways of providing affordable, environmentally sustainable, prefabricated housing in Australia that are also futuristic and innovative in their design.Link: YBE2004 Houses of the FutureThe idea of an exhibition or prototype house is to break the boundaries of convention and to offer a vision of what the House of the Future might be like.
A Weekly Dose of Architecture is featuring a modern Boathouse in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Lots of text and images (including construction photos and plans)... plus there are more photos on the firm's website. Check it out, won't you?
Firm: Eindhoven Architecten BV
Link: A Weekly Dose of Architecture
The tenth update from Jennifer & Barry on their LV home build:
" This past weekend was a very productive one. On Thursday I took a load of construction debris to the dump and sprayed insulation around the windows. Barry installed OSB over one of the faux wall panels that houses a downspout and more siding was installed. We spent most of Friday afternoon assembling the aluminum frames for the 10' sliding doors, installing shims around each door frame and cleaning up around the site. On Saturday Barry and I installed all of the 10' sliding doors. Since the house is now "weathered in" we can have all of the electrical installed. Barry will also start staying in the house during the week instead of driving back and forth to Richmond each day."
Link: Luminhaus
Link: Article #10
Link: LV Home Kit
Reference: LV Home - Building Update I
Reference: LV Home - Building Update II
Reference: LV Home - Building Update III
Reference: LV Home - Building Update IV
Reference: LV Home - Building Updates V & VI
Reference: LV Home - Building Update VII
Reference: LV Home - Building Update VIII
Reference: LV Home - Building Update IX
Received word today that Edgar Blazona's latest creation, the MD 280, is planning to be auctioned on eBay come October 14th.
"I wanted to give you a update on the latest Modular Dwelling prototype to be auctioned off on Ebay starting October 14th. This new 280 square foot building has a separate bedroom, separate bath and a full kitchen. It will come complete with all the fixtures, appliances, and cabinets. The MD 280 will also come with pin foundation piers so there is no need for a foundation or slab. Please check out Fabprefab for lots of great shots. The starting bid will be $39,000.00 and the auction will last 10 days. This should be the first PRE FAB building to ever be auctioned off on the almighty Ebay."UPDATE: The MD 280 is now listed on eBay.
Link: Fabprefab
Link: Modular Dwellings
Related: MD 280 (MoCoLoco)
The ninth update from Jennifer & Barry on their LV home build:
"One tropical storm, two hurricanes and many days of rain…we survived. I researched several roofing systems including EPDM, and Barry and I decided to go with the Duro-Last system. Duro-Last is a PVC prefabricated roofing system (most of the roof details and seams are fabricated in the plant). Duro-Last membranes are all custom made from the architectural roof plans. The results provide lower on-site labor costs and better installation quality. Duro-Last is available in three colors: white, gray or tan. We chose gray for its reflective quality and its ability to blend in with the Galvalume siding. Duro-Last also provides a 15-year warranty at no additional charge."
Link: Luminhaus
Link: Article #9
Link: LV Home Kit
Reference: LV Home - Building Update I
Reference: LV Home - Building Update II
Reference: LV Home - Building Update III
Reference: LV Home - Building Update IV
Reference: LV Home - Building Updates V & VI
Reference: LV Home - Building Update VII
Reference: LV Home - Building Update VIII
"The house is composed of two simple rectangular volumes forming an L-Shaped plan. It engages the landscape and the pleasures of being in the country by framing it. The private pool area acts similar to some beaches in teh area, where the beac becomes a stage for exhibitionism by parading bodies.
Inspired by Giacometti's sculture titled, "Figure in a Box between Two Boxes which are Houses", the Sagaponac-House takes the form of minimalist structure hovering over a solid platform within the untouched natural landscape."
[Thanks, Graig!]
Firm: Hariri & Hariri
Related: First of the "Houses at Sagaponac" Completed
Domus Web has a write up on Japanese architecture firm, Atelier Bow-Wow.
" For Atelier Bow-Wow's Yoshiharu Tsukamoto and Momoyo Kaijima, Tokyo is full of wonders and idiosyncracies that never cease to inspire their architectural creations. There is almost a real-time interaction between what they see and what they do in the complex, ever-evolving city. Domus presents some extracts of their researches (‘Made in Tokyo’ and ‘Pet Architecture Guidebook’) and three recent domestic projects. Text by Taro Igarashi. Photography by Takashi Homma"Link: Domus Web (Reg. Req'd)
Saphenia features a very nice photo tour of this 1931 Corbu masterwork... the most comprehensive collection of photos I have seen of the Villa Savoye anywhere.
The Villa is a physical manifesto of Le Corbusier's "five points of the new architecture" with its grid of supporting pilotis, horizontal window bands, free facade, open interior plan and roof terraces. The articulated circulation system also exemplifies Corbu's idea of the "architectural promenade."
Link: Saphenia - Villa Savoye
Via: Things Magazine
"Flower Tower" is a bit of a misnomer since bamboo isn't a regularly flowering plant (bamboo generally dies after flowering, and most species are long lived, so you connect the dots), but it sounds better than "Bamboo Building" I guess. This Parisian apartment block features a green facade of bamboo planted in 380 large concrete pots embedded in the balconies.
Article: Guardian - Flower power
Firm: Edouard François
"BetterBricks talked with Bert Gregory, President & CEO of Mithun, a Seattle-based architecture, design and planning firm and a national leader in resource sensitive and sustainable design."
"Mithun is probably best known for its design of the REI stores and IslandWood, the innovative environmental learning center on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Bert served as design team leader for both of those projects."
Link: BetterBricks
Firm: Mithun
Designed by more fellow SCI-Arc grads, the new Q! new hotel on Kurfürstendamm in Berlin is a 4 star hotel with 72 rooms, four studios, one penthouse and a bar and spa (wellness area).
The interior of Denari-esque undulating planes was designed to fit into the shell of the new building designed by another architect. Continuous surfaces (where floors wrap up to become walls, seating areas, beds, counters and ceilings) are used throughout the hotel providing a "cocoonlike" effect.
Firm: Graft
Link: Q! Berlin
Via: Architectural Record
Location: L+L Maps - Hotel Q!
Now this is a nice house with beautiful integration of interior and exterior spaces adapted to the local climate. The home was built in the 1957 and was recently restored and updated by Austin, Texas based Steinbomer & Associates Architects. We're not sure who designed the landscaping, but we think that it is nicely integrated with the architecture and is perfectly suited to the local environment. The project included the addition of a master bedroom and a wonderful trellised courtyard with a translucent wall facing the street.
Link: Steinbomer & Associates Architects
Landscape: John Wilder [Thanks Gregory!]
"Situated In The Makuleke Region In The Northern- Most Part Of Kruger National Park- The Outpost Rests High On A Hill Overlooking The Floodplains Of The Limpopo And Luvuvhu Rivers. This Region Is Bordered To The North By Zimbabwe And The East By Crooks. Corner And Mozambique. Measuring 24000 Hectares The Region Is Well Known For Its Abundant Wildlife And Excellent Birding Includes Less Common Species Not Evident In The Southern And Central Regions Of The Park. The Diverse Terrain Includes Mopane Woodlands- Fever Tree Forests- Acacia Thickets As Well As Some Of The Largest And Oldest Baobab Specimens.
Acclaimed Italian born architect Enrico Daffonchio designed The Outpost. Using simple, clean lines and combining elements of steel and canvas the unashamedly contemporary design of The Outpost emphasizes its beautiful surrounds but blends and preserves the wilderness that is its home. "
Link: The Outpost
Minneapolis, Minnesota based Coen + Partners is a landscape architecture, urban design and planning firm with a modern approach that is influenced by regionalism.
It is our intent to create interfaces between cultural and natural systems with lasting social and ecological impacts. Designed spaces can articulate and highlight physical relationships in ways that bring meaning and beauty to man-altered environments.Coen + Partners headed the planning and design for the Mayo Woodlands, a thoughtful reinterpretation of a typical residential subdivision near Rochester, Minnesota. The firm altered the inherited street and lot layout with four interventions: first, native prairie grasses overlay the site creating a uniform natural field; second, building sites for each residence were carved out of the prairie in an orthogonal layout deemphasizing the curving cul-de-sacs; third, traditional agricultural windbreaks of pine trees were laid across the site from east to west; and fourth, a series of low east/west walls and fences delineate paths connecting the neighborhoods. In addition, the colors of the houses are to graduate from off-white to grey and black as one moves through the site towards the river.
Firm: Coen + Partners
Firm: Salmela Architecture & Design
Firm: Altus Architecture
Link: Mayo Woodlands
Link: ASLA Award
Article: Star Tribune (registration required)
Flipping channels this evening I came across the tail end of the ABC show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. As they were panning over the backyard, one thing in an otherwise typical "Extreme Makeover" style landscape caught my eye: an MD 100! It was constructed next to the pool and I must say, made for quite the attractive pool house.
Link: Extreme Makeover
Link: Modular Dwellings
Related: MD 100 Shed (Land+Living)
Michelle Kaufmann has updated the Glidehouse to include a second story. Check out the renderings at LiveModern.com:
"Glidehouse 2 builds on the successful approach of the Glidehouse to offer affordable clean, green living on an urban lot. The 2-story Glidehouse is designed for smaller or urban lots, but also can be deployed to help preserve views from a hillside. The second story can orient the bedroom windows at the ends, or facing out. The Glidehouse 2 stacks two modules, each 15'6" x 54', to create a 3-bedroom, 2.5-bath, 1,674 sf home. A basement/garage foundation can also be easily engineered."[Thanks, Doug]
Link: Glidehouse 2 (LiveModern)
Related: Glidehouse (Land+Living)
Archinect has recently posted a nice feature showing images of works to be displayed at the upcoming 9th Intl. Architecture Exhibition. Enjoy.
Link: Archinect
Link: 9th International Architecture Exhibition - METAMORPH
We've mentioned our penchant for modern alpine architecture before, and this just gets us going on a Monday morning. It is always nice to see good design applied to common places of experience like grocery stores, and Austrian supermarket chain MPreis has set he bar very high.
MPries is a regional chain in Austria's Tyrol valley, and many of the 30 different architecture firms they have worked with are Tyrolean natives. MPries does not have set corporate design guidelines allowing each store to be site specific and unique.... and sexy.
Link: MPreis
Via: Guardian Unlimited - Happy shopper
Update 10/31/05: Seeing MPreis (L+L)
Greg La Vardera is an architect who designs stock plans for modern homes. Stock plans have a bad rap as being uninspiring and - gasp! - occasionally designed by someone void of proper architecture credentials. However, with a solid understanding of modern design and its application in residential architecture, he has put together several plans that definitely take the bland and boring out of stock plans.
Recently, Greg completed the plans for his latest project, the Porch House.
"The Porch House leads a double life. During the winter it is a cozy two bedroom cabin. During the summer it is a weekend retreat able to accommodate many friends and guests. The entire ground floor of the cabin is designed as one big screened in porch, with sleeping areas and a summer kitchen which allows you to move your life outside for the summer months, hence the name Porch House. So despite the size of the house, during the summer months the number of people that can be accommodated can be quite large. These summer living spaces are made to drink in the scenery and make life at this retreat as different as possible from your daily life back home. Think of it as a machine for unwinding!"We're not sure what Greg has in store for the future, but we'd like to see some of his designs come with a "prefab" option, boxed up and ready for delivery. Nice work, Greg!
Architect: Greg La Vardera
Link: Porch House
Related: Deck House (MocoLoco)
In addition to the #8 installment in the process of building their home, Jennifer and Barry have also launched their new website, Luminhaus, to promote their LV Home as a vacation rental.
"Our window distributor installed all of the windows during the week of August 2nd. On Sunday, August 8th, I took a break from being mother and wife and went to the building site by myself to inspect the windows and install weatherproofing over the nailfins. The windows look great and I can't wait to install the sliding doors. During the week of August 16th, our roof membrane will be installed and Barry will be installing the rough plumbing."
Link: Luminhaus
Link: Article #8
Link: LV Home Kit
Reference: LV Home - Building Update I
Reference: LV Home - Building Update II
Reference: LV Home - Building Update III
Reference: LV Home - Building Update IV
Reference: LV Home - Building Updates V & VI
Reference: LV Home - Building Update VII
This ten day festival taking place between September 20 and 30 in London, England, features all manner of design from graphics to products, photography to fashion, architecture to interiors and everything in between. The festival spans the city with exhibits, lectures, screenings, parties and seminars. Events are individually priced.
Link: London Design Festival 2004
Via: Dezain
Speaking of things Saarinen, the Design Observer has posted an article about Eero Saarinen's TWA Terminal with a bit of history of the building along with links to photos, facts, etc. Also today, a New York Times article outlines plans for Jet Blue to use the currently shuttered facility.
Link: Design Observer
Link: New York Times
More contemporary photos at: Galinsky
While certainly not an inexpensive or small house, this residence by New York architect Michael Haverland was created out of a process of budget minded editing and attention to detail making it much less costly to build than the neighboring Houses at Sagaponac.
The home incorporates an eclectic mix of classic modern and antique fixtures and furnishings while the design of the architecture is also modern yet timeless.
"Modernism is really about economy of means and rigor, and how you design space. If you lose those values, it's just a superficial treatment of modern surfaces."Link: Michael Haverland Architect
Yet another update from Jennifer and Barry detailing their LV Home build:
We installed the tallest faux wall panels first onto the Simpson strong walls, then proceeded to install the panels on the back of the house where the large sliding doors/windows will be. After lifting the parapet panels onto the roof, Kevin measured the parapet height on each panel, nailed a 2x4 onto the panel, and we were able to hang the panel onto the side of the house while Kevin nailed each into place.This is coming along quite nicely. We're definitely looking forward to seeing the final result.
Link: Article #7
Link: LV Home Kit
Reference: LV Home - Building Update I
Reference: LV Home - Building Update II
Reference: LV Home - Building Update III
Reference: LV Home - Building Update IV
Reference: LV Home - Building Updates V & VI
This San Mateo family has setup an online tour of their Eichler home:
"We purchased our house in June, 2000. It's located in an Eichler devlopment known as 'The Highlands' in San Mateo, California.Designed by A. Quincy Jones, it's an atrium model with four bedrooms, two baths, and 1,660 sq. ft. of living space. In 1959 when new, the house sold for about $24,000. We paid just a bit more in 2000.
The lot is rectangular, 68' wide by 110' deep, set on a slight slope, with the rear of the house, which is almost entirely floor-to-ceiling glass, facing east.
The front door is to the side of the central carport, and opens into an atrium space which provides access through three different sliding glass doors to the living room, dining/kitchen area, or home office area."
Link: Eichler Home Tour
Architect: A. Quincy Jones
Photo: Ernie Braun
The upscale outdoor urban shopping complex can be found these days even in China, complete with Starbucks and Haagen-Dazs. The photos seem to show a very high quality project beyond many that we have seen in the United States. We are kind of fascinated by this project as it seems to do a pretty nice job of combining historic architecture and landscape with modern additions, but even more so because one of the restored houses in the project was the site of the first Communist Party meeting in China... hello irony.
Link: Xihu Tiandi
Article: Straits Times
Firm: Wood + Zapata
Firm: Nikken Sekkei - Planners Architects Engineers
Firm: Cicada Landscape Architecture
"The Canal House is composed of three cubes: one raised at the street as a studio, two together at the canalside as the residence. In its concept and execution, the house is informed by two ideas, one embracing the possibility of the poetic, the other a more specific kind of material formation."
Link: Sander Architects
The company is hosting an exhibit at their Saarinen designed headquarters in Moline, Illinois entitled Structures of Our Time: 31 Buildings That Changed Modern Life. It is a special architectural exhibit celebrating buildings that have received the American Institute of Architect's 25-Year Award. The Deere Administative Center was one of Saarinen's last designs. The surrounding pastoral landscape setting was designed by Stu Dawson of Sasaki Associates.
Link: John Deere & Company
Link: Eero Saarinen bio (via USNPS)
Link: Sasaki Associates
Via: Quad-City Times - "Deere’s World Headquarters is centerpiece of new exhibit"
Via: Quad-City Times - "Landscaping was dear to their hearts"
Design-build is becoming more and more common in the United States from large scale commercial and institutional projects down to small residential remodels. It is a return to a kind of practice where a "master builder" orchestrates the entire process rather than the rather disjointed design-bid construction industry prevalent today.
MAK is an example of a Design-Build firm doing some interesting work including the remodel of an Airstream trailer for their own office space. They also have a very nice website that details the process of design-build and shows some examples of their work. In addition, MAK is committed to environmental sustainability; just an example of the flexibility and innovation common in design-build.
Firm: |M|A|K| Design+Build
Via: Archinect
We fell behind in keeping up with Jennifer and Barry and their journal of the LV home. They've entered their 5th and 6th updates and the house is coming along quite nicely.
"Saturday morning, my brothers and I were greeted by a smiling student volunteer, Corey Barnes, a second year architectural student at UVa. Corey asked for my tool belt and worked beside Kevin for the rest of the day. Two more volunteers soon arrived. Nancy Coulter (third year landscape architectural student at UVa) and her husband, Jonathan, who works for Advanced Energy in NC. Nancy spent some time sketching the property."
Link: Article #5
Link: Article #6
Link: LV Home Kit
Reference: LV Home - Building Update I
Reference: LV Home - Building Update II
Reference: LV Home - Building Update III
Reference: LV Home - Building Update IV
Back in May, we blogged about the construction of the Dwell Home. Well, as of July 10, the house has been completed and the results are stunning. Follow the links below and check it out.
Firm: Resolution: 4 Architecture
Link: The Dwell Home
Link: Dwell Magazine
Reference: Dwell Home (L+L)
M&A is a research center dedicated to pushing new and underused ideas for landscape and architecture into view. Twice a year, they hold experimental installations in their courtyard.
Their current installation, created by designer Rob Ley, is titled Serial Departure:
"With your fingers, squeeze your laptop screen. That disturbed pressure pattern you see represents the contact point between multiple parallel planes, an interruption of coexisting systems. Where your fingers squeeze, the exterior plastic layer is compressed against the liquid crystal strata, and a new condition is created.In addition to their installations, M&A also hosts a series of lectures and workshops throughout the summer. If you happen to be in the Los Angeles area, check out their website for dates and times.Serial Departure explores the space of this phenomenon by applying pressure to typical construction processes to see if they can create unexpected ripples of new possibilities. Architecture has alsways been based on a logic of stacking and assembly, but how does bending, as an operation, change our understanding of shingling and framing? Serial Departure capitalizes on the understanding of modulation and distortion beyond that of design concept and metaphor. Through both the surrogate use of molds and more interestingly, by applying forces directly on the materials through a variable jig, techniques of material coercion, teasing, and manipulation are integrated with the grid of aggregation, creating new effects in both the visual and the spatial."
Link: Materials & Applications
Designer: Rob Ley, Urbana
Sited to enhance the various landscapes of forest and meadow of a former ranch, the design vacillates freely between interior and exterior with broad covered porches serving as living and circulation space. Other built elements extend into the landscape including boardwalks and two water features, which attract birds and evoke functional cattle and irigation troughs. Over the years native grasslands and wetlands on the property have been restored by the owners. The only manicured portion of the landscape is a rectangular field of water conserving buffalo grass bordered on two sides by the "L" shaped house.
Architecture Firm: buildingstudio
Landscape Firm: MESA Design Group
Via: Architectural Record
Now here is something we don't run into everyday... a developer dedicated to high design standards, a sense of urbanism and an apparent motive beyond just profits. With projects designed by Alsop Architects, Foster and Partners, Glenn Howells Architects and FAT we could not help but take notice. Then again, if it sells, it sells. Take a look, browse the slick website... what do you think?
Link: Urban Splash
When we first saw the MD 100 by Edgar Blazona in ReadyMade magazine, we were intrigued by its simplicity and clean modern lines. Here was a simple structure that just about any person handy with a hammer and saw could build in their spare time using simple off-the-shelf materials. Kent Holden is one such person and while he chose to stray from the plans and alter the structure to meet his needs, the results are still quite impressive.
"Here are a couple of shots of my new shed. I haven't put the Plexiglas in yet but it will go across the top and down the right side as in the original plan. As you can see I changed the front to a sliding door and put a small door on the left side. I didn't put any interior panelling in (it's just a shed) and by changing the plywood from 3/4 to 5/8 I think it cost me less than $1000 for the whole project. If you take a look at Lowes or Home Depot I'm sure you'll agree you don't get much of a shed for that price."Looking good, Kent!
Have you built or do you know anyone that has also built an MD 100? If so, drop us a line and tell us about it.
Link: ReadyMade
Link: Modular Dwellings
Chicago's new 24.5 acre Millennium Park is be unveiled next week with the grand opening ceremony on July 16th and festivities planned throughout the weekend.
The park has its share of designer credentials with Frank Gehry, Kathryn Gustafson and Anish Kapoor just to name a few.
Link: Millennium Park
Link: Public Building Commission of Chicago
Link: Millennium Park - unofficial site
Link: Archinect (Pritzker Pavilion photo gallery)
Interior designer Jasper Sanders and architect Gavin Elliot had the idea of creating a compact apartment unit that could offer the option of low-cost city-center living to those otherwise priced out of the market. The concept, called Abito, is hyper-efficient 347 square foot apartment priced around £85,000. Each apartment features high ceilings, balcony, foldaway bed and storage wall, and a multifunctional pod (the "central living unit") in the center of the unit which contains storage, laundry, kitchen and bath. Ask Developments is now building the concept in cities across the U.K.
Imagine you could buy a city centre apartment that was cheaper than a one bedroom flat, but much, much better. (Abito is) specifically designed to reflect modern lifestyles.
Link: Abito
According to John Latschar, superintendent of Gettysburg National Military Park, the architects hired during the Mission 66 program "ran amok." The Mission 66 program implemented under Eisenhower produced, in addition to Neutra's Cyclorama Center, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis by Eero Saarinen.
The LA Times ran an article yesterday by Mark Rozzo entitled Who Chooses History?
The National Park Service Has Decided That L.A. Architect Richard Neutra's Landmark Cyclorama Center--Which Has Stood at the Gettysburg Battlefield for More Than 40 Years--Now Detracts From the History.Richard Neutra's son Dion, who is also an architect, is fighting the impending demolition of the "Abraham Lincoln Shrine of the Nation." Besides running amok, the other great quote from the LA Times article is this one from Mr. Latschar, "Mr. Neutra had the idea that this would be his monument to Lincoln and freedom and all that stuff." Yeah, why bother with all that stuff?
Article: LA Times
Link: Richard and Dion Neutra Architecture
Link: Mission 66: Mid Century Modern Architecture in the National Parks
Locus Architecture has created an updated bungalow style home constructed in a manner that reduces the waste and negative environmental impact inherent in standard construction practices. And... it's for sale!
It’s a synthesis of fanciful urban loft and practical family basecamp. Kaleidoscopic art and green design. Radical new techniques and reused materials. Welcome to nowhaus 01: the first in a series of singular homes that celebrate modern, sustainable city living—conceived and built by LOCUS Architecture. This dramatic rebirth of a 1950s rambler near Cedar Lake manifests our core principles—and some of our most intriguing ideas.Link: NowHaus
To follow up on yesterday's post, more modern alpine architecture. This time an exhibit which runs from today through the end of October in New York, and then moves to Helskinki.
The first American showcase of the varied and energetic architectural scene flourishing in Austria's two exquisite, westernmost mountain provinces of Tirol and Vorarlberg. Featuring the work of 26 individual architects and firms, Austria West presents an array of models, drawings, photographs, and other documentation, revealing the ways in which architects in these two very different regional cultures have together forged a new Alpine modernism of international relevance.Link: Austrian Cultural Forum
As snow sport enthusiasts, we are always intrigued by modern alpine architecture since the vast majority of mountain architecture is heavy timbered and rustic. This competition seeks to put a Swedish resort on the map with an enormous mountaintop complex featuring a hotel, 3500 seat auditorium, restaurants, spa, ski facilities, etc.
The winning entry called Biesse-Baenie by Swedish firm Wingårdh Arkitektkontor is a stunning topographic design that extends the slopes and ski lifts up onto an artificial roof landscape punctuated by organic crystalline mounds forming sky lights and the hotel building. The gondola sweeps from the town square at the foot of the mountain and up into the main lobby space of the new building.
The other proposals are also very interesting, but we agree with the jury; the Biesse-Baenie proposal is outstanding.
Link: Breath of Life
Firm: Wingårdh Arkitektkontor
The first group of houses is under construction and "Sagaponac House-43" by Hariri & Hariri has just been completed.
The Houses at Sagaponac is a residential development in the Hamptons on Long Island, New York. It is a sort of who's who gallery of starchitects all building in the same neighborhood. The idea is to create something in contrast to the recent proliferation of shingle style "McMansions" inspired by another starchitect with a more historicist bent, Robert A. M. Stern.
The houses themselves are all designed to create modest, functional, single-family living spaces from 2,000 to 4,500 square feet that are environmentally conscious without compromising artistic vision.Apparently $1.4 - 2.9 million for a house is modest in the Hamptons... anyway, there are some cool designs to be built and we applaud the landscape plan for the development which emphasizes indigenous vegetation and eschews planting of vast ornamental lawns.
Via: Architectural Record
Link: Houses at Sagaponac
Firm: Hariri and Hariri Architecture
This competition sponsored by the AIA Committee on Design produced some interesting results. Entrants were asked to "explore the impact of their designs relative to sustainability, economics, and social issues." First place (design shown at right) was awarded to a team composed of Jeffrey S. Lee, AIA; David Hill, Assoc. AIA; Matthew Konar; Jennifer Olson; Nelson Tang; Marni Vinton, and Holly Williams.
Link: AIArchitect
This complex of apartments, shops and offices has all the elements of so many "mixed-use" developments which are cropping up in the United States recently, but with a few key differences. First and foremost, the complex has been built over the course of three decades, expanding and adapting with time. In addition the design is modern, the scale is intimate and the result is brilliant.
The basic idea is intelligently urban (an early modern New Urbanism) with much attention paid to the "interaction of facade and street space, understanding the sidewalk as a place of activity." The development also features a network of paths and stairways which connect the various levels of the hillside complex and provide pedestrian circulation through the site.
What is remarkable is that the complex blends so well into its context without resorting to pseudo-historicism. If only more American cities and developers would learn this lesson of incremental development and detailed place making.
Firm: Maki and Associates
Link: Hillside Terrace
"The 2 Bar Slip is anchored by a central living space with windowed views in every direction, perfect for a site with desirable views in multiple directions. The central living-dining-kitchen space opens at two corners to bright windowed halls that lead to bedrooms. This space creates a cross-directional axis that is further implied by tilted roof and ceiling planes, opening the interior to the outside.. The two separated wings of bedrooms allow the house to easily sustain a large family, or work as a shared duplex residence."
Feature article from Domus on the Dutch Son-O-House:"The Son-O-House is a sculpture that does not spring from a movement trapped in the material. The movement actually remains virtually present in the volume of the structure; it surrounds its material elements and, at the same time, permeates them. The same applies to the sounds emitted by the installation that Van der Heide has integrated into Spuybroek’s project. The speakers do not play music but a droning sound, the key of which varies according to the movements of those present in the various rooms."
We really like this cabin... despite its name... and we are not alone as it was granted with an honor award by the American Institute of Architects this year. This resembles no "cabin" we have ever seen, but with the elemental form and use of simple materials, the moniker seems very appropriate. The design is certainly bold, but we think that it fits nicely within its surroundings. And check out that view... we can conceive of no finer picture frame. Plus, we just want to play with that door.
Firm: Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects
Link: 2004 AIA Honor Award
"We installed most of the wall panels in two days. The beams were extremely heavy, but Kevin and Neal installed all of them. We will finish the exterior walls and install the roof trusses during the 4th of July weekend. Until then, we will put a final coat of waterproofing on the foundation, install the drainage system and Sonny will finish backfilling."
Link: Article
Link: LV Home Kit
Reference: LV Home - Building Update I
Reference: LV Home - Building Update II
Reference: LV Home - Building Update III
Speaking of roof gardens (we always end up with some kind of theme running through our posts) the newly opened building at the Art Center College of Design South Campus features a planted roofscape designed by Nancy Goslee Power. We made a visit a couple weeks ago and took some pictures... should've charged the battery... but oh well...
The first major exhibition to be held in The Wind Tunnel is happening right now: a region-wide exhibition of all the artists graduating the MFA programs at Art Center, CalArts, Claremont Graduate University, Otis, UCI, UCLA, UCSD and USC.
Also see the article in Metropolis about Art Center's long range campus plans... which, we are relieved to know... include work by Frank Gehry. Too bad he doesn't build much.
Architect: Daly Genik
Landscape Architect: Nancy Goslee Power & Associates
Link: Article in Metropolis
Show: Supersonic Jun 12 - Aug 21, 2004
"The Pope-Leighey House is a "Usonian" house which represented Wright's vision of affordable, well-designed housing in a democratic America. The low cost was attempted, in part, by the conventional means of reduction in size, and the use of four basic materials-- wood, brick, concrete, and glass. The reverse board-and-batten "sandwich" walls were an attempt to simplify construction by fabricating the exterior and interior walls as a complete unit. Wright designed the floor plan on a 2' x 4' grid which saved on costly on-site estimation."
Roger Duffy of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill integrated landscape and architecture in a new building for a private high school in Greenwich, Connecticut, with light artist James Turrell and landscape architects Brown Sardina. The landscape weaves through the building in the form of courtyards, and the roof is literally an extension of the landscape as the sloping site allows the roof of the merge with the ground plane. Transparent glass facades and light cupolas on the rooftops of each structure flood the building with daylight.
In addition to the extensive use of daylight, other sustainable design initiatives include the use of recycled materials, a waste management plan, storm water and irrigation systems, and high quality air and energy systems.
Via: Architectural Record
Firm: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Firm: Brown Sardina
Link: Hydrotech Garden Roof system
"Walter Gropius, founder of the German design school known as the Bauhaus, was one of the most influential architects of the 20th century. He designed this house as his family home in 1937, when he came to teach at Harvard's Graduate School of Design."Visit: Gropius House
Elaine Louie writes about the Nicholas Murcutt designed Box House in the today's NY Times online edition. An excerpt from the article:"...in Australia the Box House is much admired among designers, having won a commendation in 2002 from the Royal Australian Institute of Architects. And it is not even finished. For $50,000, Ms. Charles and Mr. Halstead got a roof over their head, but not a gas stove or hot water. That's Stage 2, to be completed in August for another $11,000 (all sums in this article are in American dollars). They will have to wait for Stage 3 for a toilet, to be tucked into a storage shed with solar panels on the roof. The collected electricity will permit a refrigerator, hot water and lights. Stage 3, still on the drawing board, will cost another $11,000. In the meantime, the family uses a neighbor's outhouse, which the Australians call a long drop. It is also a long haul, being more than 100 feet away."
Architect: Nicholas Murcutt
Link: NY Times
Link: NineMSN
Images: © Brett Boardman for The New York Times
An Atlanta based firm adds more space to their client's apartment by going up.
"Our client loved the views from the roof of his loft apartment in the Castleberry Hill Historic district in downtown Atlanta. Like so many other downtown residents, he also wanted to capture some outdoor space. Living in a landlocked apartment, his best option was to go up onto the roof and create an urban oasis there."Firm: Square Feet Studio
"Barry and I put the first waterproofing coat on the foundation wall May, 25, 2004. We were hoping to finish waterproofing before framing started but it rained the rest of the week.
The treated lumber for the floor was delivered on May 28. We started framing early Saturday morning, May 29. It was a beautiful day...sunny and in the high 70's. The framing crew consisted of my brother Kevin, Christopher (a family friend), my husband Barry and I."
Link: Article
Link: LV Home Kit
Reference: LV Home - Building Update I
Reference: LV Home - Building Update II
We weren't around when this Gehry article was published by Newsweek, but if you missed it the first time (as we did) and you simply can't get enough Gehry, then this one is for you, Mr. I browse the Internet night and day looking for Gehry articles Man.
"If you’re hoping to persuade Frank Gehry to design something in your city, here’s one phrase you should not use: 'the Bilbao effect.' He hates it. 'When people approach me like that, I turn them down,' he tells NEWSWEEK. The architect understands that his iconoclastic design draws hundreds of thousands of admirers annually to Spain's Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, which opened in 1997. But he takes issue with the term, which was coined after cities around the world tried to emulate the museum's success by commissioning high-style architecture designed specifically to draw attention—and tourist revenues. Gehry is not comfortable with the whole phenomenon. He says his designs are meant to benefit and improve the communities where they will be built and he insists he wants to be a 'good neighbor.'"Link: Newsweek/MSNBC
If you have a few hours to kill and an interest in Arts and Crafts architecture, here is something to keep you occupied. This online archive is an exhaustive collection of photographs, drawings, sketches, paintings, correspondence and documents related to the work of Greene & Greene. The website is quite advanced and is geared towards scholars... bit it isn't too hard core for someone with a passing interest. Isn't the internet cool?
a-matter and Arcspace both have nice pieces about the "Living Tomorrow" pavilion in Amsterdam, designed by NL Studio. "Living Tomorrow" is an exhibition featuring a "House of the Future" and an "Office of the Future" with products and designs from 34 companies including: HP, Microsoft, Philips and Unilever. The exhibition web site is not yet available in English, but the a-matter and Arcspace features both provide some more information about the exhibit and (mainly) the architecture.
Link: a-matter
Link: Living Tomorrow Amsterdam (Dutch - English coming soon)
Firm: UN Studio
A photographic documentation of the travels in Japan of two scholarship winners; Roche Scholarship winner Colin Franzen and SOM Traveling Fellowship recipient Zane Karpova. Four "sections" cut across the island were chosen as paths of travel and documentation. The images are keyed to these lines of investigation revealing a wonderful array of landscape, architecture, culture and space.
Link: Franzen and Karpova Japan Sections
Via: A Daily Dose of Architecture
We have been looking at these images for some time, but it didn't click until yesterday when we came across a photo tour of Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation. The Morphosis design seems to us to take many cues from Corbu; the plan for Algiers also came to mind. Thus we decided to post an entry about Corbu's Marseille project, and to follow up today with a feature on the Morphosis Olympic Village.
Our design for the Village establishes an iconic landmark and proposes an innovative vision for a 21st century urban environment that will redefine contemporary urban living through its commitment to sustainability, connectivity and interdependence. It is our intent to transform Hunters Point into a revitalized “new territory” that will leave an important legacy, or gift, to the city, while also providing the new generative tissue, or architectural DNA, that will continue to stimulate and inspire the development of the Queens area.Link: NYC 2012 press release (Morphosis announced competition winner)
With 43 acres of open space reserved for both urban and natural parkland, this development’s greens will create the largest urban waterfront park in New York City. By working carefully and deliberately to sculpt land and building forms into a coherent relationship with the existing urban fabric and naturally advantageous site conditions, we will create a vibrant new neighborhood that will become an important stimulus for creative and optimistic development of the adjacent urban areas for years to come.
"The fishbowl home, where it's really easy to look inside, is becoming more common as buttoned-up cottages buffered with frontyards are being replaced by glass-paneled homes that press up to the property line. Meanwhile, the people peering in have become even more curious about what goes on in these houses, say behaviorists who study those on both sides of the window."
Driving around LA, we've certainly seen our share of converted Taco Bells. This site now confirms that what we've witnessed is in no way unique to LA. Imagine that.
"It is not without the bitter taste of self-awareness, specifically about the overwhelmingly crass and commercial (and, indeed, downtrodden and dreary, bleakly suburban, and economically grim) nature of the content of this site, that we at NFA embark on our quest to document bad conversions. That said, it is perhaps best that we look at this phenomenon as a delightful yet sad part of our culture's clattering landscape: it is an amusing diversion, it is an economic gestalt, it is a crime of design, it is a confusion to the would-be consumer. Let us rejoice in bad conversions and seek to amuse ourselves with them wherever possible, taking utmost pains to observe the careful, hopeless touches of their renovation and their indelible flourishes of nonsense on our landscape. Embrace blight! We have no other hope."Link: Not Fooling Anybody
From the Seattle Times Magazine, Pacific Northwest, comes this article about a couple remodeling their 1939 home in Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood.
"When you can't go sideways, go up. That was part of the solution for Dave and Heidi Boone, remodeling a 1939 house snuggled onto Queen Anne Hill. With the potential for grand views and lots of design/construction savvy — he's an upper-end residential contractor who once considered being an architect — this project had a lot going for it."
Link: Pacific Northwest (Seattle Times)
Photograph: BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER
Stumbling about again today, this time over at Hyperkit, we found this nice little feature. Hyperkit spent 3 days in Marseille at the Unité d’Habitation designed by Le Corbusier (1947-1952). The pictures show some wonderful views of the building including the sculptural rooftop "garden." The Unité was designed to be a self contained urban village, and is but a piece of Le Corbusier's idea for modern city living, the Cité Radieuse.
Link: Hyperkit visit Le Corbusier
More info about Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation:
Great Buildings Online
Galinsky (including info on how to visit)
One of the things we've admired when grabbing lunch at Chipotle is the simple interiors they have in their restaurants. Materials such as concrete, wood, stainless steel, exposed conduit, corrugated aluminum, and old-school pull-chain porcelin light fixtures. Perhaps they've taken the typical "let's make this look like an artist's loft" approach to their design (on their behalf, what project these days doesn't use at least some of those materials?) but for a fast food restaurant, we like what they're doing. Rip out the dining tables and chairs, throw in some furniture, and hell, I'd live there. Also, we didn't know this but according to their website, each Chipotle interior and exterior is unique.
"The design of Chipotle mirrors the idea behind our food: simple ingredients put together in creative, new ways, elevating them to a higher level. Each Chipotle uses the same basic materials - wood, concrete, raw steel and metals - but no two look the same."Not bad considering they're owned by McDonalds.
Link: Chipotle
UPDATE
Artist: Mayatek (chairs & artwork by Bruce Gueswel) [Thanks, Craig!]
"Before excavating, Barry and I decided exactly where the LV Home would be built. We chose a knoll with southern exposure. We marked the trees that needed to come down and staked out the building's rough location with rebar. Since we wanted the LV Home to 'float' on the ground per Rocio's design, we were faced with a problem. The building site is on a hill with a 7-foot slope. We wanted to keep the natural landscape of the knoll undisturbed. So we chose to level the hill where the house will sit and terrace the remainder of the hill. This was a risky decision because we didn't know if the excavator would hit rock..and there's plenty of rock!"
Link: Article
Link: LV Home Kit
Reference: LV Home - Building Update I
Are you suffering from Frank Gehry withdrawals? Not to fear, his projects are still sprouting up everywhere these days.
The commanding campus will include the Museum of Tolerance, a Theater complex, an International Conference Center, a Grand Hall and an Education Center and Library. The Center is forecast to become a stimulant for the economic, cultural, and educational growth, as well as a boost to tourism resources of the city and is expected to be completed in 2006/7.Link: Museum of Tolerance
"From 1908–1940, Sears, Roebuck and Company sold more than 100,000 homes through their mail-order Modern Homes program. Over that time Sears designed 447 different housing styles, from the elaborate multistory Ivanhoe, with its elegant French doors and art glass windows, to the simpler Goldenrod, which served as a quaint, three-room and no-bath cottage for summer vacationers. (An outhouse could be purchased separately for Goldenrod and similar cottage dwellers.) Customers could choose a house to suit their individual tastes and budgets.""Sears was not an innovative home designer. Sears was instead a very able follower of popular home designs but with the added advantage of modifying houses and hardware according to buyer tastes. Individuals could even design their own homes and submit the blueprints to Sears, which would then ship off the appropriate precut and fitted materials, putting the home owner in full creative control. Modern Home customers had the freedom to build their own dream houses, and Sears helped realize these dreams through quality custom design and favorable financing."
Via: Things Magazine
Link: Sears Archive
"The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Committee on the Environment (COTE) have selected 10 examples of architectural and "green" design solutions that protect and enhance the environment. The selected projects address significant environmental challenges with designs that integrate architecture, technology, and natural systems. The top ten projects make a positive contribution to their community, improve comfort for building occupants, and reduce environmental impacts through strategies such as: reuse of existing structures, connection to transit systems, low-impact site development, energy and water conservation, use of "green" construction materials, and design that improves indoor air quality."
Link: AIA Top Ten
Yeah, so it's obvious we read Dwell. Often. Both print and online. So I'm not sure how I missed this from the Dwell forum, but here ya go.
"Awarded "Home of the Year" by Architecture Magazine and never before available for purchase, this sophisticated modern live/work property is perfectly sited in sought after Little Italy. Designed c.2002 by Sebastian Mariscal of MS-31, this stunning residence was recently profiled in the ultra hip urban shelter magazine Dwell. Form follows function with meticulously planned space, volume and light. Clad in sheets of stainless steel and clear heart redwood there are three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a screening room and a legal office with separate entrance."
Via: Dwell
Link: Architectural Home Sales
Firm: MS-31 (warning: annoying browser resize)
"For several years, we have been interested in modern prefab architecture. Barry gave me a copy of Arieff & Burkhart's book PREFAB for Christmas, 2002. When I saw Rocio Romero's LV Home, I knew if we ever built a prefab house, it would be the LV Home. I had also just finished documenting a 1960's house designed by Richard Neutra...I became enthralled by modernity."
Link: Article
Link: LV Home Kit
Michael from FabPreFab.com has posted images of the finished Glidehouse that was on show at the Sunset Celebration this past weekend in Menlo Park.Also check out the discussions on the show and the Glidehouse at Livemodern.com.
Via: Dwell
Link: Fabprefab.com
Link: Glidehouse Forum (Livemodern.com)
Previously: The Fab New World of Prefab Houses
Continuing our theme of regional newspaper magazines, the Seattle Times Magazine, Pacific Northwest, has a write up on the city's stunning new library.
"This is a building designed to be understood inside out. It is expected to upend your assumptions about structure: In the words of key designer and former Seattleite Joshua Ramus, "A truly rational building will not look rational." In The World According To Koolhaas, a building will not necessarily be a box, with function forced to fit the space, but rather space expanded here and contracting there to fit function. It is like a house with the naturalness of add-ons, built over generations, but these add-ons are integrated from the beginning.
Article: Pacific Northwest
Link: Seattle Times
Firm: OMA
Photographs: Benjamin Benschneider
As one of the last surviving architects of the Case Study House program, Killingsworth, 86, is a quiet hero in the architectural community. His whole career he has consistently been stable, modest, thorough and relatively unknown in comparison to his Southern California contemporaries. Along with well-known figures such as Richard Neutra, Charles and Ray Eames, Pierre Koenig, Craig Ellwood and Raphael Soriano, he was one of a handful of optimistic, social-minded architects who tested unconventional concepts of plan, form and structure in residential architecture. Conceived by John Entenza, the editor of Arts and Architecture magazine, the Case Study Houses provided affordable yet progressive prototypes for living.
The prefabricated Glidehouse by architect Michelle Kaufmann is being featured at the Sunset Magazine Celebration Weekend. Several Glidehouses have already been sold and will be heading for sites across the west.
"At a ceremony May 6 in Boston, Metropolis named Single Speed Design as the winner of the magazine's first Next Generation Design Prize. In front of their peers and colleagues, the members of the architecture firm—John Hong, Erik Carlson, and Jinhee Park, along with their collaborator, developer Paul Pedini—were honored for their proposal to transform remnants from the Big Dig, Boston’s $15 billion public works project, into beautiful, sustainable housing."
Link: Metropolis
Firm: Single Speed Design, LLP
"Taking a drive up the Pacific Coast Highway in California presents magnificent views of the coastline as you weave back and forth amongst the hills. One can expect rolling hills, breaking waves, and steep, rocky cliffs but, perhaps less expectedly, one can also stumble upon man-made parts of the landscape that seem to harmonize naturally. One such example is the Glass Residence in Big Sur. Daniel Piechota of Sagan Piechota Architects explains that this residence which is 90 percent glass impedes as little as possible with its surroundings and is a house 'one experiences from the inside out.'"
Link: Architectural Record
Firm: Sagan/Piechota
Photographs: Alan Weintraub
"The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) unveiled plans for a Frank Gehry-designed building that will expand the total space of the museum by 20 percent or 190,000 square feet over its present 486,000. Gehry's $194.8 million scheme is part of Transformation AGO, a $500 million initiative to invigorate the institution with new art, a new building, and a new push for greater public visibility. Groundbreaking is scheduled for early 2005 with completion by 2007."
Via: ID Online
Link: Art Gallery of Ontario
Dan Hill reposted his sketches of Gehry's Guggenheim:
"I'm not going to apologise for the hasty, impressionistic style of the sketches. Having tried and failed to draw the thing vaguely accurately, I decided the only possible response was to let go. A decent monograph about Gehry's work notes his own preferred drawing style (it's amazing how many drawings he produces, given how his work is presumed to be entirely computer-generated) - Gehry lets his pen flow across the paper, rarely if ever lifting it from the page. He likens it to an ice-skater, sweeping around the 'canvas' but not leaving the ice. I wasn't aware of this when I did these drawings, but inspired by Rodcorp's recent experiments in 'How simply and recognisably can we draw buildings?', in turn inspired by Things Magazine's post on buildings as logos (including 'building logotype tennis' by Jonathan Bell and I in the comments there), I'm posting these sketches here anyway. The only way I could think of representing the sinuous form of Gehry's Guggenheim was let the pen go. Bearing in mind Rodcorp's question, are these incredibly quick and 'careless' scribbles recognisably Guggenheim?"Via: City of Sound
Construction of the Dwell Home - a design contest sponsored by Dwell Magazine back in 2003 - is nearing completion. The contest winning home was designed by Resolution 4 and is expected to be completed mid-2004.
Firm: Resolution: 4 Architecture
Link: Open House
Link: The Dwell Home
Link: Dwell Magazine
Jennifer Siegal's Office of Mobile Design (OMD) has designed two prefabricated lines of modular dwellings, and has begun production of the "Portable House."
"The big challenge facing many homeowners is how to make more out of less space, an issue that has been beautifully resolved in this house. Michael Collins and Daniel Banchik purchased what was a nondescript cottage on a small lot in West Hollywood, California, because they loved its location near art galleries. But they wanted a more functional, contemporary interior that connected easily to the outdoors, and, according to architect Patrick Tighe, the home's construction was substandard."
Firm: Tighe Architecture
Via: Sunset
The Farnsworth House, built by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1951 and located near Plano, Illinois, is one of the most famous examples of modernist domestic architecture and was considered unprecedented in its day.
