Life Without Buildings

A Galaxy Not-So-Far Away

By combining Star Wars toys with sumptuous shots of Parisian architecture, French photographer Cedric Delsaux brings the empire a little closer to home. I'm sure France is safe for now though, because if Darth Vader even thought about invading, Zidane would head-butt him in his respirator. More photos here and here.

via The First Post

A Library Renaissance

David Chipperfield's Des Moines Public Library. The deceptively simple facade creates a substantial, solid building by day, while at night it magically dissolves, transforming the building into a lantern. A lantern spreading the light of knowledge...or something. Looking at these images, I'm reminded of one of my favorite libraries - The alabaster-clad Yale Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Only in reverse. Sort of.

image via Divisare

previously: Is the library relevant?

previously: Not-so-koolhaas

previously: The Other Seattle Library

previously: Mies-on-an-auction-block

ARTIFACTS + ELEMENTS

Last week, Inhabitat launched their new column Green Building 101. If you haven't check it out yet, I strongly recommend you do so. It's a friendly primer on Environmental Design that's easy to understand and a joy to read. Today's topic: Sustainable Sites.

The Guardian's Tim Adams spends a day with The Rem, who says things like "Well, we are currently in discussion about how the country of Iceland might look in the future." etc. etc.

An incredible post at City of Sound on the aesthetic beauty of soccer. And John Cage, of course, who reminds us "Purposeless play (is) an affirmation of life - not an attempt to bring order out of chaos, nor to suggest improvements in creation, but simply to wake up to the very life we are living, which is so excellent once one gets one's mind and desires out the way and lets it act of its own accord."

I've moved the 1893 Columbian Exposition photos to the Flickr site. Hopefully, I'll be getting more online in the next couple weeks.

...and because it seems to be everywhere today - THE MAGNETIC BED. Practical? No. Will it get you laid? Oh hell yes.

1893 Columbian Exposition Monograph

At a flea market this weekend, I found an original 1894 monograph of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Most American architecture students learn a little about the fair in school, but I truly gained an appreciation for it after reading Erik Larson's absolutely incredible Devil in the White City. With its 300 photographs and the flowery captions of J.W. Buel, the monograph does an incredible job of illustrating the vastness of scope and raw ambition of the 1893 Columbian Exposition. I scanned a few pages that can be viewed after the jump. Some of those captions are just too damn funny.

UPDATE: Photos can now be found on my Flickr site.

For Lease: Facade Space

Amsterdam-based art school The Sandberg Institute is selling their facade, because as they say "more than always, the world is ruled by commercial and economical relationships. Culture defines, and most important, is defined these days by market dynamics." Wait...this is an art school talking? Well, they're calling this "artvertising," but I fail to see how it's any different from what's happening in the commercial districts of every major city between Manhattan and Tokyo. For those of you who might be interested, prices are based on the location and size of the ad on the gridded facade, a la The Million Dollar Homepage.

via The Cool Hunter

The Sandberg Institute

Freedom Tower Take 1 2 3 4

It's summer again, and you know what that means; iced tea on the balcony, broken air conditioners, post-collegiate backpacking, and of course, a new design for the Freedom Tower. Yes, it was EXACTLY ONE YEAR AGO when blogger whipping-boy and modern-day Peter Keating, David Childs, unveiled his post-cribbing revision of America's Sisyphean rock, the Freedom Tower. And what's happened in the past year? Well...nothing really. Just, you know...politics and stuff. Oh yeah, and there's now another giant hole in the America - New Orleans. Nothing really happening there either, come to think of it.

Anyway, back to the Tower. Not much has changed really. In fact, the The Gutter doesn't think this should even be called a redesign, and I have to agree with them. The most notable changes include the addition of a sky lobby and the replacement of the metal cladding surrounding the 187 foot high bomb-resistant concrete base with laminated glass prism structures. The sparse entry plaza is solemnly fortified / decorated by what I'm sure are bomb-resistant steps, bomb-resistant tress, and what looks like um, lots of gravestones.

I never thought we'd be designing our buildings to fend off explosions and our cities to survive biblical disaster.

previously:Fortress: Manhattan

Revised Design for Freedom Tower [New York Times]

Have Your House and Eat it Too

Cleaning out the TiVO this weekend, I found a few forgotten recordings, including Food Network Challenge: Incredible Edible Mansions. Most of the *ahem* "mansions" were elaborate, typical gingerbread fare. One ambitious young chef, however, decided to interpret F-dub's Fallingwater.
Much like the original, the strength of Gingerbread Fallingwater's cantilevers was a cause of concern, and also like the original, although there was some drooping they didn't snap. The site - so important to Fallingwater - was of course, an important element in this competition entry. To avoid disqualification, the entire hosue must be edible, and the site is no exception. It's made entirely from rice krispie treats with spun sugar foliage.

In the end, the Gingerbread Victorian won out over the modern masterpiece. Art imitating life, I guess...

Nouveau Nouvel

...or should it be "neuf?" Regardless, with buildings opening on both sides of the Atlantic this week, Dr. Evil is a busy man. The Musee du Quai Branly opens in Paris tomorrow, to much acclaim and more than a little controversy. President Chirac's pet project is to be for Non-Western Art what the Louvre is for Western. In a televised announcement, he told the nation, "This museum is a symbol of a France that recognises the diverse cultures of the world." Yet in typical imperialist fashion, it pillaged its works from others; in this case, the Musee des Arts Africains et Oceaniens and the Musee de l'Homme. Others believe that the museum perpetuates cultural sterotypes... Whatever, says I. It looks damn cool and it's realy nice to see Nouvel working with solid forms and color.

The Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis (right) looks to be just as successful. I won't waste my breath (or fingers, I guess) when Christopher Hawthorne has written such a great review for the LA Times.

"If ever a building deserved to be called sexy-ugly, it's this one. Somehow sleek and ungainly at the same time, a brooding, preening pile of geometric forms that could hardly be less photogenic, particularly on the outside, the design manages to slide naturally into its industrial riverbank context and feel utterly up-to-date. In a manner that is truly French, the fact that the building seems aware of its imperfections doesn't keep it from exuding a palpable vanity."

Links aplenty:

A Dramatic Impact [Pioneer Press]

Minneapolis gets a taste of French style [ LA Times]

Imperialist? Moi? Not the Musee du Quai Branly [ New York Times]

That's Amelie's real new Paris[Times Online]

Musee du quai Branly : l'art et la science [Le Monde]

New Dwellings

Go check out Dwell's new and improved home on the web. Besides a great looking and more user-friendly new page, Dwell.com will be host to editorials, reader-submitted materials, design resources, project profiles, and - taking a much appreciated cue from ICON - the "nice modernists" have posted a complete online archive of their 2006 content, with more on the way.

Dwell.com

ooh...Pout for me Jacques!

I like a lot of their work - especially the new DeYoung - but geez...Herzog & deMeuron sure seem like real assholes. First, they're making shit-smelling perfume, then they're posing pretentiously (they can't helpt it! they're swiss!) for the essential photo shoot that completes each H&dM project, and now they're giving annoying answers to interview questions. In an interview with the New York Magazine, pouty Jacques Herzog lets us know that he's smarter and more important than...well, everyone else.

What do you think of the new MoMA?
I am not so interested in answering that kind of question. I think the design they have gotten is quite exactly what they wanted, which is within the tradition of the history of the museum.

Why did you put Tupperware in your exhibit?
Why do you ask me about Tupperware? Why not about chairs?

Chairs are something that architects often design. Tupperware is not something people connect with serious architecture.
I think it is as serious as anything else. Honestly, I am not interested in design at all, whether it is a chair or a table. It fits well because of the size and the proportion. That's basically it.

Do you collect anything yourself?
Actually, I hate collections...

So maybe it's just Jacques, but you get the idea. And why doesn't Pierre ever talk?

Build it Black [New York Magazine]

Artist's Choice: Herzog & de Meuron, Perception Restrained [MoMA]

previously: Some Thoughts on MoMA

ARTIFACTS + ELEMENTS

March and April brought with them a mini life-overhaul and a hiatus in blogging, and I've been recently trying to get back in the swing of things here at Life Without Buildings. So to that effect, I'm hoping that "Artifacts + Elements" will be a regular post where I can briefly catch up with some of the week's news items, post some photos, or just link to cool pages.

I've updated the sidebar with new and revised links. They're now more clearly divided into categories, with new additons "Design + Technology," "San Francisco," and "Music + Media" (my tastes lean towards the indie-yuppie, I'm afraid). More slight changes are probably in store, so if you spot any browser compatibility problems, or have a tip or suggestion, please let me know.

Check out some of the links if you have a second. Lately, I've been enjoying the pleasantly diverse musings at Architecture + Morality (Not to be confused with the OMD album), the impecable taste of Josh Spear and Product Dose, the beautifully savy links from The Apt's broadcast, and of course, the psychotechnogeographical treasure chest that is BLDG BLOG - who somehow continue to reveal worlds I had no idea existed.

Local Find: South Beach Harbor Building

Out on the Bay, in the shadow of AT&T Park, sits the South Beach Harbor Services Building.

Part of a Harbor improvement project that began in 1999, the 12,000 square foot, light-flooded building includes a community meeting room, public restrooms, non-profit work areas; the harbormaster's office and maintenance shop; boater showers and laundry; and rental space for the South Beach Yacht Club.

Above, you can see a schematic elevation that differs slightly from the final built work. The revisions make better use of the versatility of the louver system assembly, creating a more unified facade. [click images to increase size]

The wooden screen not only protects the Southwest-facing facade from direct sunlight, but also creates enclosures for balconies and walkways and gives the simple rectangular-in-plan building a sense of dynamicism while conjuring metaphors of sailing.

I've found a lot of publicity and fundraising information online, but nothing on who actually designed the building, so if anyone knows who the architects were, please leave a comment.

more harbor building pics [flickr]

South Beach Harbor

The City In Print

I came across this passage in Ian McEwan's Saturday , and thought it an especially optimistic and eloquent outlook on the modern city.

...gazing towards Charlotte Street, towards a foreshorteened jumble of facades, scaffolding and pitched roofs, Henry thinks the city is a success, a brilliant invention, a biological masterpiece - millions teeming around the accumulated and layered achievements of the centuries, as though around a coral reef, sleeping, working, entertaining themselves, harmonious for the most part, nearly everone wanting it to work.

Now if only we could agree on exactly how it should work.

Federal Building Update

An update on the construction of Mayne's San Francisco Federal Building.
It reminds me of student work...in a good way. Like a full-scale built version of some conceptual studio project made from basswood sticks and metal mesh. Come to think of it, that's probably the highest compliment I could give Mayne's work.

More Federal Building pics [Flickr]

previously: Federal Building Update

previously: Federal Building: Delayed & Overbudget

Morphosis

Le Corbusier Has a Posse

Saw this truck on my walk to work yesterday morning. LIMN is a San Francisco and Sacramento based, "multi-leveled resource for design-driven furniture, lighting, accessories, and art for the home and office," as well as one of my favorite places to ogle furniture I'll never be able to afford but glady spec for clients.

Inspired, I'd like to submit for your approval:

geez, Phil was really going for a certain look, wasn't he? The design is, of course, modeled after the infamous Andre the Giant Has a Posse campaign by Shepard Fairey.

I think both gentlemen would approve, may they rest in piece. Now go forth and make stickers!

Happy Bloomsday!

In Ulysses, Joyce employs stream of consciousness, parody, jokes, and virtually every other literary technique to present his characters. The action of the novel, which takes place in a single day, 16 June 1904, sets the characters and incidents of the Odyssey of Homer in modern Dublin and represents Odysseus (Ulysses), Penelope and Telemachus in the characters of Leopold Bloom, his wife Molly Bloom and Stephen Dedalus, parodically contrasted with their lofty models. The book explores various areas of Dublin life, dwelling on its squalor and monotony. Nevertheless, the book is also an affectionately detailed study of the city, and Joyce claimed that if Dublin were to be destroyed in some catastrophe it could be rebuilt, brick by brick, using his work as a model. In order to achieve this level of accuracy, Joyce used the 1904 edition of Thom's Directory - a work that listed the owners and/or tenants of every residential and commercial property in the city. He also bombarded friends still living there with requests for information and clarification.

There's a copy of Ulysses that's been sitting on my bookshelf since I moved to San Francisco. I think I was nurturing some kind of hip-intellectual bookgroup fantasy, where I would read and discuss this canonical work in wood paneled rooms that smell like whiskey and pipe smoke. Not-so-surprisingly, that has since failed to come to fruition. Therefore, in the spirit of the occasion, I've decided to start reading it today...then hopefully get drunk at some pub readings tonight.

James Joyce [Wikipedia]

Life Without Submission

A call for entries...

Architecture and Ideas: "Spatial Material"

Both poetry and architecture hold the capacity to emotionally and surprisingly move us. Poetry has the power to change perceptions, create startling images and reveal hidden creases. Poetry connects bodily rhythms with sonorous pleasure, existential insight and imaginative delight.

Architecture further connects physical movement in space, gravity and material form. Both poetry and architecture reveal in unexpected ways how the world touches us.

The 2007 CCUSA issue of Ai welcomes submissions, projects, built works, articles engaged with the idea of rethinking architecture so that (as in poetry) the unexpected, the unexamined, the unforeseen and the new is revealed.

Please submit materials in the form of a CD or electronic files (PC compatible) by September 15, 2006 to:

Dr. Thomas Mical
School of Architecture
Carleton University
1125 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K1S 5B6
thomas_mical@carleton.ca

Low-resolution files are preferred for the initial submission.

via Canadian Architect

Mies-on-an-auction block

In other library-related news, Washington D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams wants to ~~sell~~ lease for 99-years the Martin Luther King Memorial Library. The 1972 Library, designed by Mies van der Rohe is in undeniable need of renovation, and studies have been done showing the feasibility of such an undertaking - see the right image above, designed by a team of AIA members 6 years ago. (white beams? really?) Unfortunately, the local government seems more disposed to use their Mies blood-money to erect a new Central Library and develope the old convention center site only a few blocks away. Then, I suppose they'll just move the "memorial" name plate and use Mies' Library for Gun Shows and Flea Markets.

DC Library Renaissance Project

Through Glass Darkly: DC's poor vision for Library [Washington Post]

Williams Pushes Forward with Library Plan [DCist]

The Other Seattle Library

Seattle's The Stranger reviews the Douglas-Truth library expansion, in an a praise-singing article, most noteworthy perhaps, for its erudition and flowery prose.

Designed by Schacht/Aslani Architects, the expansion.... is a smooth composition of curving and intersecting walls of glass that lead to and rise along the side of a sloping mass, whose copper skin is split by the course of a skylight. On clear mornings, as the sun rises in the east, the expansion scintillates like something hologrammed from the future. To use Cybotron's words: "Tomorrow is a brighter day."

...That discontinuity—the line along which one thing ends and something else begins—that breakage of rhythm, that "subversive edge," as Roland Barthes calls it in The Pleasure of the Text, gives us a bliss that's frankly erotic. Barthes writes: "The subversive edge may seem privileged because it is the edge of violence; but it is not violence which affects pleasure ... what pleasure wants is the site of a loss, a seam, the cut, the deflation, the dissolve which seizes the subject in the midst of bliss."

No doubt, Charles Muded writes a great review. It's so easy to sound like a good writer by ruthlessly criticizing something, it's nice to see someone's talents come out in a review that almost fetishizes the building. Although, I don't get the Cybotron reference. (a detroit electro group?) Can anyone help me out with that one? Mudede must be a fan, as he also used the reference in his review of V for Vendetta.

The Douglas-Truth expansion is part of Seattle's $196.4 million Libraries for All program. Passed in 1998, the program helped fund ~~Koolhaas'~~ Prince-Ramus' Central Library, as well as the construction of new branches and branch expansions.

Can Good Design Heal?

In a photo essay for Slate, Witold Rybczynski asks this very question. The article focuses on Maggie's Centres, a series of cancer wards in the UK that provide non-medical care to patients as well as caregivers in less institutional environs. Maggie's Centres were started by noted architectural critic Charles Jencks and his wife, Maggie Keswick Jencks, in 1995 when Maggie was dying of breast cancer and the couple realized that the hospital environment neatively affected both patients and families. With his connections to the architectural world, Jenck has been able to commision some of the best-known names in the field to design these aesthetically pleasing care centers. Work has just started on the first London Centre, a colorful, spacious, and open additon to Charing Cross Hospital, designed by Richard Rogers.

One lesson of Maggie's Centres is that architectural talent is too precious to be confined to cultural monuments and - in Lord Rogers' case - high-end office buildings. It's nice that art museums and corporations have great architecture, but it would be nicer - and much more valuable for most of us - if hospitals had it, too.

Healthier By Design

Designing the Future of New Orleans

Over at the online home of Architectural Record, they've posted the winning entries to the twp competitions they sponsored along with the Tulane University School of Architecture.

The High Density on the High Ground Competition asked professionals to propose a 160-unit housing project on an actual development site, while student competitors in the New Orleans Prototype House Competition designed a three-bedroom house that could adapt to a variety of conditions.

Designing the Future of New Orleans

Realizing a Wright

After purchasing an 11 acre island in New York, Joe and Barbara Massaro were pleasantly surprised to discover that their new acquistion was the site for an unbuilt Frank Lloyd Wright home. In an article that's more of a letter-letter to mac's and Archicad, we learn how architect and Wright scholar Thomas A. Heinz painfully recreated the master's drawings and did his best to interpret Wright's intentions - a difficult task considering that the only documentation of the house was in the form of an eighth-inch-scale plan, section, and three elevations.

It's an interesting article and makes a good argument for the utilization of BIM systems. Heinz used modern technology to stay true to Wright's methods and planning. Although other Wright designs have been built posthumously, this would be the first since the architect's death to be built exactly on the site for which it was intended, and very much like Fallingwater, the power and beauty of this house lies in its relationship to the immediate context.

Also, check out the trailer for "Building Wright," an upcoming documentary focusing on the realization of the Massaro project.

- No Place Like (this) Home

Ando: Osaka-it to me

Tadao Ando, elegant architect of concrete and light, has his praises sung in this week's installation of "Amazing Kansai!!" [Please note: 2 exclamation marks!(!)]

The article sheds some light on Ando's background, including his early boxing career and his first architectural epiphany:

"When the carpenters opened the roof, I saw a ray of light coming into my dark house," Ando said. "It's really a simple thing, but I was moved, knowing that light came in from above. I learned that light can't be appreciated without darkness."

I seem to remember having a similar ephiphany on the morning of my first hangover.