AMNP Reviews: The BLDGBLOG Book

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It’s been months now since I first mentioned the BLDGBLOG book, by our ninja Geoff Manaugh, here on AMNP – and months since I got my hands on a copy. That being said, I’ve chosen it to be the first in what I hope to be a bi-weekly [at least] series of book reviews here on AMNP.

“Finally, I want to reiterate that BLDGBLOG is fundamentally about following, and not being ashamed by, your own enthusiasms, whether or not they are rigorous and appropriate for the academic mores of the day, or even interesting for your family and friends.”

First things first – don’t take my taking 2 months to talk about the book again to mean anything. Once you get yourself a copy you realize that the BLDGBLOG book isn’t something to be consumed all at once, or quickly in general. Manaugh’s essays and interviews are fascinating and thought provoking, encouraging you to put the book down and think about what you’ve read. That, and Manaugh’s continuous name-dropping and cultural references will have you jotting down a new list of things to google every time you sit down with the book.

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Which brings me to my first complaint: no hyperlinks! I know, it’s a book, not a blog – but one of the most enjoyable aspects of the BLDGBLOG site is that it is guaranteed to send you off down the rabbit hole of the interwebs as you further investigate a topic. There really isn’t anything Manaugh could have done about this, obviously – but it means this is a book best read with a notepad or a smartphone at hand.

Working our way from the outside in, and from the book itself to its content – I’m a big fan of the design and layout, by the graphics team at MacFadden & Thorpe. The book is a nice size – and was released straight to paperback – making it portable and readable just about anywhere, while large enough for some great images and to mix-up the page layouts. I’m also really feelin’ the matte finish of the pages – both for their tactile quality, and because no glossy pages for color images means that you can read the BLDGBLOG book under a direct light source [bedside lamp, for instance] without going blind. The layout of the text is also interesting, with short, tangental, speculative essays and notes in ’sidebars’, sprinkled throughout larger essays. This captures Manaugh’s thought process to some extent, as it allows him to explore a topic without wandering too much in any particular easy. That said, those of you with attention problems may find yourself continuously [if not pleasantly] distracted by these tangents.

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The BLDGBLOG Book’s content is divided into five chapters: Architectural Conjecture, Urban Speculation; The Underground; Redesigning the Sky; Music Sound Noise; and Landscape Futures. A nice touch was adding a ‘further reading’ section at the end of these chapters, whee Manaugh puts together an interesting and eclectic list of books, websites, publications, and movies for you to check out. This layout, however, brings me to my second, more serious, complaint – the lack of a more in-depth table of contents. I must admit that this makes exploring the book fairly interesting, as you’re not sure what you might find while reading any particular essay – but it still left me wishing that some of the longer essays and interviews were listed someplace [not that that is much of a critique].

As for the writing itself – Manaugh does not disappoint. Ranging from a proposed ‘gonzo’ architectural journalism that would involve visiting every building designed by Mies and applying Rogaine while inside, to the storm sewers of Manchester, England, and their relationship to Euclidean geometry. Where else but in a BLDGBLOG book could you read about ’sci-fi regionalism’, then flip forward a few pages to consider the idea of constructing WWII-era ’sound mirrors’ as landscape attractions?

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All of this barely scratches the surface of the book, but attempting to summarize the BLDGBLOG book is like trying to describe the original website – which is probably done best by the cover of the book itself: Architectural Conjecture :: Urban Speculation :: Landscape Futures. Suffice it to say, any fan of BLDGBLOG is going to thoroughly enjoy the BLDGBLOG book – both for its references to and expansions on topics first featured on the website, and for the wide range of new, original content. The BLDGBLOG Book is highly recommended reading for ninjas everywhere [non-architects included], as Manaugh’s collection of essays and interviews is going to get any true ninja’s creative juices flowing.

“In other words, forget academic rigor. Never take the appropriate next step. Talk about Chinese urban design, the European space program, the landscape in the films of Alfred Hitchcock in the span of three sentences — because it’s fun, and the juxtapositions might take you somewhere. Most importantly, follow your lines of interest.”

MNP_reviews-4_5of5

The BLDGBLOG Book, by Geoff Manaugh

Published by Chronicle Books, 2009

Design by MacFadden & Thorpe

Available from Amazon.com for $19.77, here.

::both quotes from the opening essay of the BLDGBLOG book::

::Note to the FTC – I paid for this book. Also, stop trying to stomp on my free speech rights::

Posted: October 13th, 2009
at 3:17pm

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Categories: architecture, books

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Ninja Arithmetic LIX

Brussels Square

[solution: SQUARE - Brussels Meeting Centre, Brussels, Belgium]

This week’s ninja math was submitted by AMNP reader [and repeat ninja arithmetic creator] Matt.

::To submit an idea for some ninja math, email us at ARCHITECTURE[at]MYNINJAPLEASE[dot]COM. For past entries, click on the Ninja Arithmetic category under archjutsu::

Posted: October 7th, 2009
at 3:05pm

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Categories: architecture, ninja arithmetic

Comments: 1 comment


Photo du Jour

z_islander9397

[Image: Z Islander housing compound, Texas]

I really have nothing to say about this, other than the obvious: my ninjas, please. I mean, really?

.:via->SKIRA Yearbook

Posted: October 7th, 2009
at 3:04pm

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Categories: architecture, eye candy, housing, my ninja, please, photographie

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TV Ad: Say ‘No’ to Nouvel + MoMA

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Really, I love the idea that people are passionate about their city and their surroundings, but let’s get real here – these ninjas live in New York. When people here in the Bean started to freak out about Renzo Piano designing a 1,400 feet-tall skyscraper downtown, I understood where they were coming from – the thing would’ve been about 600 feet taller than Boston’s current tallest structure. But let me say it again – these ninjas live in New York.

Is Nouvel’s proposal tall? Of course – but it’s also SICK. Those shadows they show it casting in the video look like they’ll be pretty lost within all the others – it’s not like this tower will suddenly block the sky. Will some people lose specific views, and some direct sun? Yes, obviously – but that’s been going on for the past century in NYC.

My suggestion: if you don’t want a new skyscraper going in across the street, move to Brooklyn.

Posted: October 7th, 2009
at 2:41pm

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Categories: architecture, my ninja, please, news, starchitects, towering pagodas, videos

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Quote of the Day

mies

“Each material has its specific characteristics which we must understand if we want to use it… This is no less true of steel and concrete [than of wood, brick, and stone]. We must remember that everything depends on how we use a material, not on the material itself… New Materials are not necessarily superior. Each material is only what we make of it… We must be as familiar with the functions of our buildings as with our materials. We must learn what a building can be, what it should be, and also what it must not be… And just as we acquaint ourselves with materials, just as we must understand functions, so we must become familiar with the psychological and spiritual factors of our day. No cultural activity is possible otherwise; for we are dependent on the spirit of our time.”

~ Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, from inaugural address at Illinois Institute of Technology, 1938

Posted: October 7th, 2009
at 9:56am

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Ninjas on the ‘Net

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And we’ve come to yet another Monday, which means another [altho brief] installment of AMNP’s Ninjas on the ‘Net – a collection of links to keep you informed and preoccupied throughout your day. Sure, I’m a little late with my posting today – but I guarantee all the links are still good.

As I’ve been mentioning for the past couple weeks, I’m looking to increase the amount of unique projects and work featured here – and would like to have some more student work, in particular, here on AMNP. With that in mind, if you come across anything that you think may interest ninjas – or if you yourself have produced something – then you should drop me an email! I’m also actively seeking new Ninja(s) of the Month – so if there is a designer or firm that you know of which you think would make for an interesting series of posts, let me know.

And as always, if you see anything on the web that you believe should be linked-to from AMNP -as part of Ninjas on the ‘Net, or the sidebar – feel free to drop me an email at architecture@myninjaplease.com.

Linkage:

- Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman [Documentary]

- Ouroussoff criticizes a new rail station in Stuttgart, Germany [NY Times]

- LA science museum to be designed by Morphosis [Arch Record]

- Columbia’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation’s lecture-series as podcasts [iTune University]

- DC psychiatric hospital to become Homeland Security HQ (wow…that’s almost too much to handle) [Architect's Newspaper]

- Phantom City: an iPhone app that shows you the New York that could have been [BLDGBLOG]

- Architecture Fanzines [Abitaire]

- Cities learning about themselves by comparing carbon footprint to others’ [Economist]

- Storytelling in architecture, editorial [Volume]

- Farming for apartment dwellers [Next American City]

- Brad Pitt honored by USGBC [Bustler]

- Newark Visitor Center competition encounters a number of issues [Architects' Journal]

- lastly, don’t miss myninjaplease.com’s two newest features:A Dozen, and?The Industry. Our ninja Kookiecrumbles has been hard at work interviewing artists and featuring their work as well as speaking to industry insider – coming up with some great content that should not be slept on.

Posted: October 5th, 2009
at 5:54pm


Categories: Ninjas on the 'net

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GSD: Thom Mayne + Preston Scott Cohen

Thom Mayne and Preston Scott Cohen discussion at Harvard’s GSD, from 9/29/2009.

::Video Sundays, or VS, is a weekly feature here on AMNP. For more architecture-related videos, click on any Sunday in the sidebar calendar, or on the ?videos? category in the ?archjutsu?section. And don?t hesitate to submit suggestions for video features to architecture[at]myninjaplease[dot]com::

Posted: October 5th, 2009
at 12:21pm

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Categories: architecture, starchitects, videos

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SHIFTboston + The Greenway Dilemma

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The Boston Society of Architects has announced a new design/ideas competition – entitled SHIFTboston – calling on participants to answer a deceivingly simple question: What if this could happen in Boston ['this' being your submission]. SHIFT is looking for the most radical ideas that could change Boston for the better, and create a more dynamic city. The winner will receive $1,000.00 – and, along with honored runners-up, will be exhibited across the city and as part of the SHIFTboston forum [which I believe has something to do with an exhibit at Boston's ICA, which would be cool if true].

Long story short – here’s your chance to put your money design where your mouth is and propose your vision for a better Beantown. Personally, I’m feeling some pressure from my ego to enter – as I talk so much shit around here…

Overview of the Competition Brief

Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA

THINK PLAY THINK NEW THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX

The SHIFTboston Ideas Competition 2009 is calling on all innovators to submit the most provocative ideas for the City of Boston. SHIFT would like competitors to think: WHAT IF this could happen in Boston?

SHIFT seeks to collect visions that aim to enhance and electrify the urban experience in Boston. Innovative, radical ideas for new city elements such as public art, landscape, architecture, urban intervention and transportation. Competitors could explore topics such as the future city, energy efficiency and ecological urbanism.
YOU TELL US.

Submissions are due on December 11th, and require a $35 entry fee [pretty cheap, if you ask me].

Now, to piggy-back on to this topic of improving the Hub – why isn’t the Rose Kennedy Greenway a runaway success? The Boston Globe raises the question today, to which I’d like to respond with another question: why should it be?

Diagrammatically, the Greenway is little more than a green roof over the now subterranean expressway [as the Globe points out] – and in reality, the park does little to shake this fact. For those of you not familiar with the project, the Greenway is a narrow band of green surrounded by traffic [I'd estimate that if you combined the roads on either side of the Greenway, then they would be wider than the park itself]. There is little protection from the elements, and nearly no ‘privacy’ from passing traffic. Having lunch on many parts [not all] of the Greenway is like eating on a traffic island.

Now, all of this criticism is incredibly unfair. Local firms are still in the process of designing structures for the Greenway, and the trees and other vegetation haven’t had adequate time to fill in and create a sense of ‘place’ and ‘park’. I’m sure in another 5 years or so it will be a much different, and more successful, place.

BUT, with that said – does Boston need another un-programmed park? The Boston Common is less than a 10 minute walk away, with the Public Gardens just past that. Within the Common and Gardens you nearly have the sense of leaving the city amongst the towering trees and hilled landscape – like a mini Central Park. If you’d prefer something along the water, try the Esplanade – where there is a continuous park along the Charles River, reached by pedestrian bridges to avoid getting run-down by a Masshole. If you need more than that, there’s Commonwealth Ave down to the Fens, into Jamaica Pond and eventually the Arboretum – Boston’s ‘Emerald Necklace‘. Then drop on top of all that the unique neighborhood parks – Pope John Paul park is less than a 10 minute walk from my apartment, and provides a number of beautiful spaces along the Neponset River.

Basically, we’ve got parks and open space – ‘more’ isn’t better. Other than providing a place for workers to eat outside on nice days and a brief patch of green for tourists to walk through on their way from the Aquarium to Faneuil Hall, what is the function of the greenway? Who is it meant to attract? What happens there?

For any of you interested in the SHIFTboston competition, I’d suggest looking at the Greenway as a way to transform the city. Open space in Downtown Boston is a rare thing, and the Greenway could be put to better / more interesting + dynamic use.

Posted: October 2nd, 2009
at 10:41am

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Categories: architecture, competitions, urban/master planning

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TPAC Proposal by NL Architects

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Now this thing right here is AWESOME. Designed by NL Architects, this project was submitted to the Taipei Performing Arts Center competition [which was actually won by OMA]. Nothing against the good ninjas over at OMA – but this proposal is dope.

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NL Architects’ scheme transforms the TPAC into much more than a performing arts center – starting at ground-level. The structure is, diagrammatically, a table with four legs – leaving a large open area within/underneath the structure, which can serve as open public space [see images below]. The three upper floors would contain more public functions, including cultural facilities such as a media library, retail space, restaurants, etc. Additional public areas, like swimming pools and parks, could also be scattered throughout the staggering volume.

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The performance spaces themselves are then located throughout the structure, distinguished by the variations in the projects massing.

The performing arts center structure will contain three theaters: a 1500 seat grand theater and two 800 seat theaters for repertory performances. The theaters are positioned on different altitudes. The proscenium playhouse is placed at the base of the southeast ‘leg’. The lobby is placed under this theater so that it is flush with the square activating the space around it. The multiform theater is connected to the southwest leg close to the top. The volume of the grand theater is suspended under the horizontal slab. It hovers over the square while being part of it.

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All this makes for an interesting exterior – essentially a cube from which spaces are carved-out. But what I find really incredible is the possibility of this ‘internal’ public space created underneath the ‘tabletop’ – both the stacking / staggering / hanging effects of these volumes, and the staircases connecting the varying levels look as if they would make for an incredibly dynamic space.

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An additional component that I haven’t mentioned but that I was really feeling is that the elevators have been pulled to the exterior face of the building – so they, and their passengers, will be seen going about their business from the outside. Additionally, these elevators don’t run vertically in the traditional sense – but instead follow an inverted-’u’ shaped series of tracks on each of the building’s facades. Pretty sick…

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And I love the renderings – just to toss that out there.

.:NL Architects blog->

.:NL Architects website->

Posted: October 1st, 2009
at 1:17pm

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Categories: architecture, my ninja, please, towering pagodas

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2010 Next Generation Competition

onefix

“2010 METROPOLIS Next Generation Design Competition

CALL FOR ENTRIES

Good design determines how well products, spaces, and systems work from the beginning. We think that great design ideas can make things work even better.?One Design Fix for the Future challenges you to prove us right?whether you are an architect, interior designer, product designer, landscape designer, graphic designer, communication designer. We?re looking for ONE design fix you can make now in your designed environment?the products you use, your home, your workplace, your city, or any commercial application?that, in scale or as inspiration, can improve our future.

To enter, provide one small (but brilliant and elegant) fix?leading to an incremental (or dramatic) change in sustainability. Your fix needn?t have anything to do with ?environmentalist engineering? to make a difference. Concentrate on what you know best, are aching to improve in a way that deploys your training and imagination.

DEADLINE: January 29, 2010″

.:competition website->

Posted: October 1st, 2009
at 10:06am

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Categories: architecture, competitions, green arch

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