While our monuments may justify the response of awe, generally architecture is something to be occupied and adopted, not to be held at a distance and puzzled over. The modern buildings to be admired are those where the physical, material and spatial potential of architecture has been coherently organised, leaving us with a quiet conviction that the way the building looks, and the experience of being within it, not only reassures us through its physical authenticity, but inspires us to consider what our built world could be.
The process of architectural composition must consider what society expects architecture to look like and be like. While it is not our role simply to fulfill these expectations, they must influence our approach. Architecture must engage innovation both at a formal and technical level. While we must search for new possibilities and ideas we must be suspicious of innovation for its own sake. This does not preclude the radical exceptions that we need as provocation.
We must consider innovation within the self-imposed limits of understanding and meaning. The generation of form that has no explanation beyond its own desire to be innovative must be measured against the imagined limits of precedents.
The pursuit of spectacular form erodes the idea of normality. We desire of our environment, buildings and spaces that aspire to their own sense of nature; spaces and buildings that both respond and describe the individual’s position within a civic society.
The rejection of such ambitions based on the fact that social patterns, political authority and commercial structures have changed and that our new situation need new forms and new types of spaces, succeeds in giving license to the erosion of urban structure and uncontrolled urban sprawl.
A Chippefield project has a kind of calming effect on the senses. For the government of the Austrian city of Innsbruck -along with this project’s developers – I imagine DC’s proposal for the Kaufhaus Tyrol Department Store was like taking a deep breath of fresh air and saying ‘everything is going to be alright’.
Long story short – this retail project in the heart of a ‘traditional’ [re: Baroque] Austrian city was a mess, and chewed up two different architecture firms before Chipperfield was called in to clean up the mess. A few months later his office was redesigning the entire project with the blessings of the client and the government – a task that had apparently seemed impossible to the previous designers.
Possibly the nicest part – at first glance the project really isn’t a big deal. Calm, simple, clean, quiet, respectful of its context without fading into the background – are we sure this is a retail project? Was the developer confused?
While not DC’s greatest project, the firm was able to stay true to its typically dope style, creating something elegant and modern [out of a shopping mall - my ninjas, please]. While obviously going for a modern approach, the project sought to address its context in an appropriate way – and does so by angling slightly along its long facade. This subtly breaks the mass into three sections, meant to be reminiscent of the massing of the surrounding historic buildings. The fifth floor of the project is also pulled back, mimicking the way floors were added to the surrounding structures throughout the years.
For this month’s installment of New Yorker Currents, Paul Goldberger, The New Yorker’s architecture critic, spoke with Richard Cook, a partner in Cook+Fox Architects and the designer of the new Bank of America Tower, a Manhattan skyscraper, completed earlier this year, that is the largest building to receive a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification, the highest standard set by the U.S. Green Building Council. Here they discuss sustainable architecture, the use of nature in design, and the debates over the LEED standard.
[3D compositions (concepts for Iron Man 2) by Prologue - via]
Monday Monday Monday…well, Sunday night for me actually. I like to use these ninjas on the net posts to vent a little sometimes, and was considering losing my mind over this whole Islamic Cultural Center in the general region we will forever know as Ground Zero – but it seems played out. That, and I guess I don’t have much to say about it. Haters gonna hate, I suppose – and bigots even more so. I would like to point everyone in the direction of this great little map over at C-Monster’s Tumblr site and put this out there, tho – which basically just illustrates the fact that while Ground Zero itself may be hallowed ground, the surrounding area is just NYC. We’re not turning all of Manhattan into an extended memorial – it just ain’t happening.
Anyways, I’m always looking for links! If you come across something on the net that you think should appear on AMNP, or that readers should be made aware of, drop me an email [architecture@myninjaplease.com], hit me up on google talk [same email], contact me via Twitter, or simply leave a comment here on the site. And as I said last week – I’d really like to get the Ninja Arithmetic posts going again, and they relied mostly on reader submissions.
Ah – buildings for the Greenway! Thankfully the BSA is on top of things, and trying to push along planning for these empty spaces. Commercial properties? Ground floor retail? A building at Dewey Square? All the buildings ‘don’t have to be museums’? Brilliant – let’s hope we start to see some of these ideas unfold.
Putting an actual building at Dewey Square would be great – holding that space out front of South Station, and improving the streetscape along Summer Street. That, and I was just saying the other night while leaving the Fisherman’s Feast (in the North End) that what the Greenway seems to desperately need is a bar (really, more than one). It’s a strange scene there at night, with most people (it seems) just passing through the space – unless some special event is going on. I say dope little cafe by day, classy bar at night.
One thing I’m tired of hearing about is the scary shadows, blah blah blah. Sure, we need to be careful of blocking out the sun – but people have complained about tall buildings being suggested for the EAST of the Greenway. I’m not going to insult a ninjas intelligence and explain why that’s ridiculous – but c’mon son.
Architecture student Magnus Larsson details his bold plan to transform the harsh Sahara desert using bacteria and a surprising construction material: the sand itself.
Not so new, but new to me – this video is pretty interesting. Imagine building with nature like this, and what that could mean for architecture and construction. Who’s to say that we won’t be programming these bacteria, etc, to perform increasingly complex & specific tasks – guiding them along a certain design trajectory while allowing for just enough randomness for unique and ‘natural’ results. We could be growing whole cities – which, needless to say, would be pretty dope.
Winners of the 2010 Boston Society of Architects Unbuilt Architecture Award have been announced and include Brookline, MA base Choi+Shine – for their entry Land of Giants (above)- along with NYC based NAMELESS for Playcloud (below).
Making only minor alterations to well established steel-framed tower design, we have created a series of towers that are powerful, solemn and variable. These iconic pylon-figures will become monuments in the landscape. Seeing the pylon-figures will become an unforgettable experience, elevating the towers to something more than merely a functional design of necessity.
I’m really in love with Land of Giants – it’s like something out of Middle Earth, but from the future. The idea that these electrical towers could be considered aesthetically in addition to functionally says a lot about what could be done with our infrastructure projects – and the added whimsy of the chosen forms [giants!] is super entertaining. It would be so great if we could consider the fact that we have to look at these things when building our electrical grid, or highways, etc – and then have a little fun with them.
Playcloud explores the narrative potential of a pneumatic and fabric structure. We are not only looking for the utopian implications of the pavilion, but also investing in a practical and sustainable solution for City of Dreams Pavilion.
Playcloud is simply visually stunning in terms of the renderings. These lighter than air, almost ghost-like structures would make for a great pavilion installation -if they’re buildable [i suppose that's why they're the 'unbuilt architecture' awards].
More images for each project can been seen over at Bustler. There were two other winners of the award, but I didn’t think they were quite as ill. You can find out more over at ArchDaily.
Note: this really has nothing to do with anything, but does anyone else think it’s strange that the BSA doesn’t publish this sort of thing itself? I mean, they have a webpage – no reason why they shouldn’t use it to display winning entries to the competitions they’re holding. Weird.
Alright, so I’m still getting back into the swing of things over here – hence the week showing for this list-o-links. Really tho, if you’re looking to see what ninjas are reading/watching/listening to/whatever then you should follow me on Twitter [@architecturemnp]. I’m hoping to keep the Twitter feed updated on the regular and then to pick selected links for this weekly round-up.
With that in mind – I’m always looking for links! If you come across something on the net that you think should appear on AMNP, or that readers should be made aware of, drop me an email [architecture@myninjaplease.com], hit me up on google talk [same email], contact me via Twitter, or simply leave a comment here on the site. In particular I would love to get Ninja Arithmetic going again, which was really made possible by reader submissions. Hope to hear from you – and enjoy the week ahead.
- looking for a dope metal facade for a project? turn to Bill Zahner [WIRED]
- we should run a competition for designs for some kind of outpost for the giant chunk of ice that broke of of Greenland… [Boston Globe]
These two videos – both found over at Treehugger – are pretty great, and show why we should a) be more like Copenhagen and b) how we could possibly do it.
But this is the US, where our government itself is desperate for you to buy and drive cars – so keep dreaming, my ninjas.
These ninjas were arrested for building an awesome monster - thing out of shipping pallets and skateboards on top of a Brooklyn warehouse? My ninjas, please - this is a sad sad world that we live in. And these guys are ninjas.
When you sue an architect for problems with an unconventional / original design, are you stomping out innovation? MIT would probably say no, while Frankie G may disagree...
We've all known for a minute now that the architecture and sculpture of ancient Greece wasn't left as natural stone, but was painted in technicolor - and ultraviolet light is know giving us a better idea of just what these familiar ruins and works of art really looked like. Makes our copies of Ancient Greece's architecture look like they're in need of a paint job, no?
In this Sunday's Boston Globe Robert Campbell discusses a new book tells how a Cambridge store spread modern design across America. The People's Republic would like to say "You're Welcome for all the dopeness". .:via->Boston.com
There is already an existing mosque less than a mile from Ground Zero - only 686 feet from the proposed Cordoba Center. Is this existing mosque insulting to the WTC site? Could Cordoba move the 686 feet and be okay? Oh no, wait - I'm trying to understand this from a rational standpoint, which is obviously naive of me...
Anyone else think that Santiago Calatrava's design for the redevelopment of the Denver International Airport's South Terminal is a little ridiculous looking? I mean, definitely not his best work. The interiors look fine, I suppose - very 'Calatrava goes to the airport' with the white trusses. But from what the renderings show the exterior isn't looking so hot...
The Architecture League has a great series of recent programs [in podcast form] related to the The City We Imagined / The City We Made: New New York 2001-2010 exhibition that you should definitely check out - along with most of the other talks they have available on their site.
I've been hating on fancy architectural renderings since before I even started AMNP - now people are asking if the actual buildings can ever live up to the photoshopped hype. For real? That we're so enamored with the imagery that we don't appreciate the final result suggests some pretty serious issues...
Polish-American architect Daniel Libeskind has been chosen as the 2010 recipient of the Buber-Rosenzweig Medal, making him the first ever architect to win the prize. The medal, which celebrates contributions to Christian-Jewish understanding, was awarded on Sunday, March 7, 2010 in Augsburg, Germany.
This sounds pretty dope, I have to say: "Nation's First Architecture Race Kick's Off Chicago's 2010 Tourist Season -Springtime beckons Chicago's tourist population to come out of hibernation to peer and play amidst its streetscapes and skyscrapers. This April teams of participants will gather in America's Second City to stretch their legs and test their navigational skills in the first Amazing Architecture Race stepping off in iconic Millennium Park."
We're a little late to jump on the bandwagon, sure - but MyNinjaPlease now has a Facebook fan page! Become a fan and receive updates in your Facebook newsfeed - and submit links that you think should appear on MNP!
"InnoVida Holdings, LLC, headquartered in Miami Beach, is a company that builds fiber composite panels. It has pledged a donation of 1,000 prefab houses/shelters to Haiti. The company says the structures are waterproof, wind resistant and the walls have a far higher deflection capacity than concrete. The units have been designed by renowned architect Andres Duany."
The only 2 Brits on the 7-person jury to decide the winner of the competition to design the new US Embassy in London are unhappy with the result - believing that Morphosis should have been chose over KieranTimberlake.
California-based architecture firm Faulders Studio is developing a project dubbed "GEOtube" which would allow a building to grow its own skin by using a web-like saline skin that will grow down the facade of the building over time. Kind of awesome, kind of gross.
The AIA has named the 9 recipients of the 2010 Young Architects Award - given to professionals who have been licensed less than 10 years and have made major contributions to the profession.
I'm not sure I agree with the entire list - and agree or not, I'm not sure you're not better off being something other than an architect right about now... but "81 Reasons Why There Has Never Been a Better Time to Be an Architect" is definitely worth checking out.
More and more designers are starting their own practices after losing jobs during the recession - but oftentimes out of reluctant necessity, not inspired independence.
To car traffic, that is. Bloomberg has announced that the pedestrian plazas created by closing off parts of Broadway in Times Square to car traffic will be made permanent - and that they will get a serious redesign as well.
The ninjas over at the archiCULTURE project have started a podcast-ish interview series, and has had the chance to sit down with Mimi Zeiger of Loudpaper fame and alsot author of Tiny Houses, and New Museums: Contemporary Museum Architecture Around the World.
Madonna, super generous & benevolent pop-star extraordinaire, has purchased land from the Malawi Government to build a girls school for the local population - a local population of which hundreds are being displaced by the project. My ninjas, PLEASE. Who would want to send their girls to a school set up by Madonna anyways? She's no role model for young girls...