Half Dose #2: Bellingham Museum

Ok, I didn't like the title "Partial Dose," so I've changed it to the more appropriate "Half Dose." Regardless of the name, here's the second installment:



From the Bellingham Herald: "A jury has selected Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects of Seattle to design a new art and children's museum planned for downtown Bellingham. The winner was announced Jan. 29."







While the museum is new, it will be an addition to the Whatcom Museum of History & Art; a new courtyard is oriented toward the existing building a couple blocks away.







The design's signature is the curved wall that defines an edge of the courtyard. The wall is envisioned as a translucent material that admits daylight during the day but can be used as a surface to project images upon - and achieve other lighting effects - at night.



Links:

-Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects.

-Announcement of winner in the Bellingham Herald.

-More images of the winning entry from the Bellingham Herald.

-Schemes by runners-up Cambridge Seven Architects and Nick Milkovich Architects.

-Whatcom Museum of History and Art.

Monday, Monday

My weekly page update:





Diagonal Mar Par in Barcelona, Spain by Miralles Tagliabue.



The updated book feature is Uncommon Structures, Unconventional Builders, by Alan Van Dine.



Some unrelated links for your enjoyment:

ENDonEND

An architectural installation examining the colliding grids of Pittsburgh; by my friends at the Strategic Office of Aesthetics and Design (SO-AD) at the Future Tenant Gallery. Press on Friday's opening.



2004 American Architecture Awards

The Chicago Athaneum's seventh annual celebration of new and outstanding architecture, featuring 47 projects in various building types. Introduction here.



Squatter City

The blog of Robert Neuwirth, author of Shadow Cities, who spent two years living in squatter communities in four continents.



Future Feeder

New blog "feeding technology, design + architecture.



Shinkenchiku Residential Design Competition 2005

Titled "Action for Sustainability", the annual competition this year is jointly sponsored by the 2005 World Sustainable Building Conference in Tokyo (taking place in September). The competition will be judged by Tadao Ando and Richard Rogers. (via Archinect)

CTA News

A couple tidbits on the CTA:



According to the Chicago Tribune, the threatened closure of 15 Brown Line stations during the 5-year overhaul of stations along its line will become a reality, though not exactly as anticipated. Chicagoist breaks down the impact, with stations either closing only on weekends or closed temporarily on weekday and weekends.







Living near the Brown Line's Montrose station (pictured), I have to admit I'm disappointed. What's a relatively dependable means of getting someplace - especially work - will become a non-entity for much of the time, and most likely a frustration the rest of the time.



For those unfamiliar with the project, the goal of the overhaul is to accommodate eight cars on trains over the current limit of six. This entails extending platforms, which is easier said than done, since some extensions require land acquisition (via eminent domain) and building demolition. Also, since the CTA is public, all renovations must meet ADA Guidelines, meaning elevators and additional stairs must be added, entailing even more building demolition that impacts many businesses directly, particularly Beans and Bagels and the Tiny Lounge. The CTA is closing the stations to help pay for the renovations, totaling upwards of $400-500 million, as I recall.



In other CTA news, the Tribune is also reporting that our favorite local public transportation entity will purchase upwards of 700 "New York-style" train cars.





Tribune photo



Currently the cars consist mainly of forward- and backward-facing seats, with two side-by-side on each side of the aisle. This reduces the size of the aisle for those standing and makes it an imposition for the person by the window to exit past another passenger. Also, the only handles for those standing in the aisle is on the back of the seat, a low center of gravity that doesn't help when the train comes to a sudden stop.



NYC-style trains on the other hand, have seats facing the generous aisle, with high bars and straps for those standing to hold onto, a more sensible location for stability. What's most surprising is that this configuration would not eliminate any seats versus the CTA's current configuration.



So this issue is a no-brainer to me, but I wonder how the CTA - an organization that needs to close the above Brown Line stations to save money - can afford these cars, without alienating the riders in the meantime.

Stubby Times

The old Sun-Times building is looking mighty stubby these days, as it's demolished to make way for Mr. Trump's BIG TOWER.



Photo taken at lunchtime today on a chilly, but splendidly sunny Chicago day.

Update 03.01: Listen to Hello Beautiful's Edward Lifson speak about the view of the IBM Building and the right to keep that view.

Created Spaces

As much as I try to keep up with things, there's so much good stuff out there that many discoveries come long after they are new(s). One such example is something I've walked by many times, perhaps even stopping to glance at once a while ago. But not until today did I really notice the "Created Spaces" exhibit, part of the CTA's In-Transit Gallery.



The exhibition of four photographic artists is easy to miss, though, as it's situated on the walls of a raised walkway linking the two platforms of the Merchandise Mart "L" Station. The south wall features pieces by Nicole Fedrow and Camila Olarte, though they didn't grab may attention as much as the pieces on the opposite wall by Amanda Bertany and Logan Ross, all students (at the time of the exhibit's opening last May) in Columbia College's Department of Photography.



The following text is taken from the exhibition's description; click images for larger views.





"Logan Ross creates his spaces as tiny models; structures built to evoke dreams and memories of places in his mind. Each of his images is a photograph of a cardboard environment that he constructs, colors and lights. The images echo his own dreams and memories, but these spaces, with their references to classical architecture and underground passageways are places many of us may visit in our dreams."





"Working with a spare color palette, and minimal visual elements, Amanda Bertany abstracts the most ubiquitous of modern spaces: the white corners, walls and passageways that surround us every day. Amanda is interested in the various colors of whiteness. Her studies pare space down to its barest structure. The space almost evaporates, leaving only its trace behind."

Partial Dose #1: Baie-St-Paul City Hall

I've decided to introduce a new, recurring feature on this page, what I'm calling Partial Doses. These will be like shortened versions of my weekly page doses, featuring a couple photographs, a little bit of text, and links; some may eventually end up on my weekly page. By shortening the format, they will encourage exploration by the reader via the links provided.



The first Partial Dose features the Baie-St-Paul City Hall in Québec by Anne Carrier Architectes:







This project is a renovation of an industrial shed into a civic structure. The architects basically gutted the building, leaving only its structure which corresponded nicely with the new program, while also adding a glazed extension for circulation.







A new canopy is the building's strongest element, shading the entry on the east side of the building and forming the building's main elevation. The overall design is very restrained, creating interior spaces with generous daylighting and views to the exterior.



Links (each w/images):

- Canadian Architect article on the City Hall.

-CISC-ICCS article on the City Hall, in French.

-CISC-ICCS article on steel and sustainability that features the City Hall, in English.

Philip Johnson Dead

According to ABC News:

Architect Philip Johnson, who is credited with bringing some of the ideas of European modern design to the United States and transforming them into a uniquely American form, has died at his home in New Canaan, Conn. He was 98.

Thanks to Lil' G. for the head's up.



Update: More information here from the Houston Chronicle (via Archinect).



Another update: The New York Times has a lengthy obituary by Paul Goldberger that seems to have been written in anticipation of Johnson's death (or Mr. Goldberger has fast, nimble fingers.) A very good summation of this important figure's life.



(Last) Update: The New York Times has complete coverage, with the above Goldberger obit, an appreciation by Nicolai Ouroussoff, as well as old articles by Ada Louise Huxtable, Fred A. Bernstein, and others.

Pretty Pictures and Rainbow Colors

Skyscraper City has its 2004 Grand Finale Results of its Urban Photo Contests Hall of Fame here, including the winner below, Taipei 101 by Bluga. Check it out.







And while you're at it, check out the same site's Forum with images and discussion on Madrid's Hotel Puerta de America.



If you haven't heard of it, this endeavor is a 12-story hotel with each floor and various other areas designed by a different architect, possibly 22 involved. That list includes Ron Arad, David Chipperfield, Kathryn Findlay, Norman Foster, Richard Gluckman, Zaha Hadid, Arata Isozaki, Jean Nouvel, and others. Nouvel is responsible for the facade, made up of various brightly-colored fabric awnings resembling a couple pages from a Pantone book.







Nouvel is also designing the penthouse floor with the theme "the beauty of women", reminiscent of The Hotel he designed in Lucerne, Switzerland. Though in Madrid he will populate the architectural surfaces of the hotel rooms with images by Japanese erotic photographer Araki, rather than movie stills.



Thanks to Eric M. for the head's up, and for more coverage on this potential architectural train wreck (or wonder, depending on your state of mind) consult Archinect for many more links and The Guardian and The Independent for British angles.

Book of the Moment

Theoretical Anxiety and Design Strategies in the Work of Eight Contemporary Architects by Rafael Moneo. From the publisher:

The internationally acclaimed architect Rafael Moneo is known to be a courageous architect. His major works include the Houston Museum of Fine Art, Davis Art Museum at Wellesley College, the Stockholm Museum of Modern Art and Architecture, and the Potzdammer Platz Hotel in Berlin. Now Moneo will be known as a daring critic as well. In this book, he looks at eight of his contemporaries -- all architects of international stature -- and discusses the theoretical positions, technical innovations, and design contributions of each. Moneo's discussion of these eight architects -- James Stirling, Robert Venturi, Aldo Rossi, Peter Eisenman, Alvaro Siza, Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhaas, and the partnership of Jacques Herzog and Pierre De Meuron -- has the colloquial, engaging tone of a series of lectures on modern architecture by a master architect; the reader hears not the dispassionate theorizing of an academic, but Moneo's own deeply held convictions as he considers the work of his contemporaries. More than 500 illustrations accompany the text.



Discussing each of the eight architects in turn, Moneo first gives an introductory profile, emphasizing intentions, theoretical concerns, and construction procedures. He then turns to the work, offering detailed critical analyses of the works he considers to be crucial for an informed understanding of this architect's work. The many images he uses to illustrate his points resemble the rapid-fire flash of slides in a lecture, but Moneo's perspective is unique among lecturers. These profiles are not what Moneo calls the "tacit treatises" that can be found on the shelves of a university library, but lively encounters of architectural equals.

Monday, Monday

My weekly page update:





Tjalk Shopping Center in Lelystad, Netherlands by Geen Punt Architecten.



The updated book feature is The Trees in My Forest, by Bernd Heinrich.



Some unrelated links for your enjoyment:

Wright in Japan Centennial Festival

A celebration - going on now until mid-April - commemorating Frank Lloyd Wright's first trip to Japan in 2005 and the restoration of Unity Temple, where the events take place.



Caltrans HQ

Arcspace's feature on the latest big building by Morphosis, the first building commissioned and completed under California's Design Excellence Program.



Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art

An ArchNewsNow feature on the building at the University of Oklahoma by Hugh Newell Jacobsen, opening tomorrow.

Mag of the Moment

If you're interested in architecture, most likely you're interested in images. They convey most of the information we digest about architecture, especially when quality buildings are constantly built all over the world, making it difficult to visit even a large percentage of them.



While JPG Magazine doesn't focus on architecture, it does a great job of focusing on image. It's inaugural issue, Origin, features 31 photographers' interpretations of the word. An example page illustrates the quality of photographs and care that went into the magazine's production,







Many of the contributors have web presences, including one of my favorite, Toronto-based Sam Javanrouh.

Book of the Moment

This Saturday, the fine folks at Prairie Avenue Bookshop host a discussion by author Charles Waldheim on his new book Hilberseimer/Mies van der Rohe: Lafayette Park Detroit, the fourth book in the Case series.







From the publisher:

At a time when many of the past decades' urban renewal projects are facing the wrecking ball, Detroit's Lafayette Park continues to be a model of urban livability. This in-depth look at the project explores why. Amid the oppressive urban blight of post-World War II Detroit, the Lafayette Park project emerged as a vibrant point of optimism and viability. Planned by Ludwig Hilberseimer, with concrete, glass, and steel buildings designed by Mies van der Rohe, and a park and gardens designed by Alfred Caldwell, this series of subsidized high- and low-rise apartments remains a superb example of an integrated community a half-century after its construction.



This latest volume in the CASE series published in collaboration with the Harvard University's Graduate School of Design examines an often-overlooked paragon of modern architecture's highest goals. Today, while public housing and other urban renewal projects are being abandoned and even torn down, this volume discusses not only the significance of Lafayette Park's singular achievement, but also its relevance to the continuing debates about the status of public housing in the contemporary city.

Archibald

Architecture of Density

Michael Wolf's Architecture of Density is on display at Robert Koch Gallery in San Francisco until April 6.



His large-scale color photographs illustrate the unbelievable density of Hong Kong's residential high-rises. Like something out of a Sci-Fi movie, the images tend to eliminate the greater context and focus on the sheer repetition of floors, windows, air conditioners, laundry, etc. Amazing stuff.











The bottom image reminds me of one of my favorite oddities from the past, Kowloon Walled City.



(via Space and Culture)

Monday, Monday

My weekly page update:





Porter House Condominium in New York City by SHoP Architects.



The updated book feature is Portraits of the New Architecture, by Richard Schulman.



Some unrelated links for your enjoyment:

Bridging the Drive

Winners in the competition for four bridges over Lake Shore Drive and the Chicago River (as reported earlier) have been announced:

- Cordogan Clark & Associates for a bridge over LSD at 41st/43rd Streets,

- Phillips Swager Associates for a bridge over LSD near North Avenue,

- Teng for a bridge over LSD at 35th Street,

- Wight and Company and Edward Windhorst for a bridge paralleling LSD over the Chicago River.

Also, Blair Kamin weighs in on the winners.



Contemporary on the Prairie

An article on architect Dan Rockhill in the Lawrence Journal-World, via Archinect. For further reading, check out my article on Rockhill in the 'swonderful TENbyTEN.



The King Center

"The official, living memorial dedicated to the advancement of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., leader of America’s greatest nonviolent movement for justice, equality and peace."

Chicago 2035

Reader John Tolva sends me this link on his website about the film I, Robot and its depiction of Chicago in 2035.







Mr. Tolva's Flickr gallery collects most of the film's shots of the Chicago cityscape, such as the one above. I haven't seen the movie, but looks like I'll definitely have to check it out.

LTL Rising

Archinect reports on two restaurants opening this month in New York City, Xing and Tides, both by local firm Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis.



These two designs signal the firm's domination of NYC interior trends, as they explore space and surface via material and texture. Each design takes a single material as a departure for something entirely new and unexpected: Xing with acrylic and Tides with bamboo.





Xing's juxtaposition of acrylic, wood and stone





Tides' 80,000 bamboo skewers



Previous trend-setting NYC interiors by LTL include:





Lozoo (now closed)





Ini Ani coffee shop





Fluff Bakery, opened last year



Cool stuff, to say the least.

Book of the Moment

Fans will be relieved that the latest book by Haruki Murakami, author of the well-known boooks The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles, Underground, among others, is being released in the US next Tuesday, titled Kafka on the Shore.



From Publisher's Weekly (via Amazon):

Previous books such as The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Norwegian Wood have established Murakami as a true original, a fearless writer possessed of a wildly uninhibited imagination and a legion of fiercely devoted fans. In this latest addition to the author's incomparable oeuvre, 15-year-old Kafka Tamura runs away from home, both to escape his father's oedipal prophecy and to find his long-lost mother and sister. As Kafka flees, so too does Nakata, an elderly simpleton whose quiet life has been upset by a gruesome murder. What follows is a kind of double odyssey, as Kafka and Nakata are drawn inexorably along their separate but somehow linked paths, groping to understand the roles fate has in store for them. Murakami likes to blur the boundary between the real and the surreal—we are treated to such oddities as fish raining from the sky; a forest-dwelling pair of Imperial Army soldiers who haven't aged since WWII; and a hilarious cameo by fried chicken king Colonel Sanders—but he also writes touchingly about love, loneliness and friendship. [His] readers, like his characters, will go just about anywhere Murakami wants them to, whether they "get" it or not.

Filtered Feeds

After battling a cold for the last few days, I'm trying to catch up on the wealth of posts in my Bloglines feeds, about 200 earlier today. Instead of clicking "mark all read" and ignoring them entirely, I whittled down them to the following list:



Architecture:

[25] the essay

A functional look at Herzog and De Meuron's Laban Centre.



Archinect T-Shirts!



But it's Art!

David Sucher picks on Frank Gehry and his BP Bridge.



Magic Salt De-Ices Roads with Distillery Waste

Perhaps a solution to Sucher's concerns?



Royal Homes Q Prefab House



Optibo

Multifunctional housing for DINKs...you know who you are.



Frei Otto to Talk at RIBA



Finland Summer House



Rear Window Stylings at MOMA

Design & Related:

Rishi Tea



Sustainability Planning: First, Do No Harm

A paper by Peter Gordon with links to other papers by the USC professor.



Art of the Skateboard Deck



The Gates Start to Grow

Christo & Jeanne-Claude's installation going up in Central Park.

Chicago:

100 Headless Figures in Grant Park



These photos are Grand

This is Grand's announcement of the winners of their 2004 photo contest.



Brown line stops closing for construction?

The CTA said they wouldn't...but now they might.



Bikes on Metra

It's about time!

Monday, Monday

My weekly page update:





Treehouse in Bainbridge Island, Washington by Mithun Architects.



The updated book feature is Thinking Architecture, by Peter Zumthor.



Some unrelated links for your enjoyment:

Besides Sideways

The Chicago Reader's film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum and his ten best films of 2004.



A Pictorial History of Nikon Cameras

A thorough site inspired by a visit to The Nikon Historical Society.



Yin Yu Tang

An 18th-century Chinese wood house rebuilt by John G. Waite Associates at the Peabody Essex Museum.

Pixel Points

A new addition to the Architecture Blogsphere is Nancy Levinson's Pixel Points, over at ArtsJournal. With nine posts since October '04, Levinson's posts are long, but well worth the read. Her latest post, Yesterday and Today, recaps last year's architecture from a unique point of view: the obituary page.



A welcome addition to online architectural discourse.

AIA Honor Awards

The AIA announced its 2005 Honor Awards, in three categories: Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Regional and Urban Design.



A couple local projects and other highlights.



Architecture:





Contemporaine in Chicago by Perkins + Will

A great mid-rise residential project in the River North area of the city. The generous glazing, exposed concrete (rare in the city that loves to paint the stuff) and the articulation of the two materials make for a bold expression for where the city's residential architecture might head.





Holy Rosary Church Complex in Amant, LA, by Trahan Architects

Featured on my weekly page in July last year, this complex is simple yet poetic, focused inward to its chapel and its beautiful interior.





Mill City Museum in Minneapolis by Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle

A renovation of a landmarked - though gutted by fire in 1991 - flour mill that is amazing for its addition as much for the existing structures.





Mountain Tree House in Dillard, GA, by Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects

Another simple design, this time sensitively sited in a dense forest of Northern Georgia.





Somis Hay Barn in Somis, CA, by SPF:a

A contemporary steel structure is clothed in hay, for insulation, as a wind break, and sometimes as food for the horses housed within!



Interior Architecture:





Boys Club in Sioux City, IA, by Randy Brown Architects

Again the Midwest is home to some creative design, as always on a shoestring budget.





L.A. Eyeworks in Los Angeles by Neil Denari

Denari deserves this award for finally getting one of his designs built. His undulating and folding curves are perfect for the short-term, stylish world of retail design.





Hyde Park Bank Building Hall by Florian Architects

Another local project, this time a renovation on the South Side of Chicago. The design effectively contrasts the old with the new without being confrontational or reactionary.



Regional and Urban Design:





Jackson Meadow in St. Croix, MN, by Salmela Architect & Coen + Partners

Maybe I'm seduced by the Edward Hopper-like quality of this photo, though I think the reduced vernacular style of the houses is a welcome change from today's pompous and stylish housing design.





Riparian Meadows in Warren, AR, by University of Arkansas Community Design Center

A public greenway along a creek, this project adds exciting architectural events along its length, like pearls on a string.

Millennium Park Additions

The Chicago Sun-Times reports on six additions to everybody's favorite park of 2004, Millennium Park: a new gift shop and welcome center (both in the pavilions behind the bandshell), two Gehry-designed concession stands under the trellis, and grass areas at the North and South Terraces will be replaced with granite and sycamore trees (more a change than an addition). Half seem geared towards making money, the other half in response to pedestrian patterns on opening day and the need for help orienting the Park.







(via Archinect)

Let It Snow

The view out my front door this morning.

What's the Matter with IKEA?

The Blogsphere is up in arms about the demolition of five historic structures in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn to make way for an IKEA parking lot. Yes, a parking lot. In an odd public relations move that has the Swedish furniture manufacturer/retailer aping for Wal-Mart's urban public approval, this move is reminiscent of 2003's news that IKEA wanted to demolish a Marcel Breuer building in New Haven, Connecticut.



But this time no compromise appears to be in site as the wrecking ball has already completed the demolition of one structure dating from the Civil War.





Image from Lex's Folly



I'll admit that my apartment is populated with a lot of IKEA-ware, but I purchased all of it from one of their suburban locations, where the big box format was born - and needs to stay. IKEA tried to move into Chicago a few years back, but the City didn't want them, mainly because of the traffic they would create. Ironically they would have moved down the street from a Best Buy, Crate & Barrel, Container Store, Whole Foods, and many other large retailers that are patronized by people in cars. Witness the ocean of parking lots nearby the proposed location at North & Clybourn.



Entities like IKEA need to adapt their formulas to the urban fabric, something that IKEA and Wal-Mart seem unwilling to do. Home Depot did just that on Halsted Avenue in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago, as seen below. Best Buy moved into a new development on Clark, also in Lincoln Park, living below apartments and next to a retirement community.





More images like this here



It is possible to integrate, for the benefit of the city, the residents, and the retailers; something IKEA should keep in mind.

The Joys of Urban Exploration

Beyond the already popular "archi-tourism", there appears to be a growing fascination with exploring places - particularly in cities - that are in ruin or where the public isn't allowed. Loosely coined Urban Exploration, it usually involves trespassing, not for vandalism and destruction, but for curiosity and most likely a rush. Zines like Infiltration illustrate the popularity and its fringe nature simultaneously.







The picture above, taken by Charles Janda inside the Manteno State Hospital, shows what unique discoveries can be made in these off-limit places. His page features an Urban Exploration/Ruins Gallery, links to other UE sites, and photo albums with recent photos, including the Manteno State Hospital (password: visitor).







This image of an abandoned natatorium is from a French page with a massive gallery of places in Europe, such as Bridges, Closed-down Buildings, Hospitals, Quarries and Tunnels. The moody photographs capture the feeling of time and unintended human interaction, what happens when buildings and other structures are abandoned and fall into disrepair.



Many other links can also be found at Chicago Urban Exploration, the Urban Exploration WebRing, and the Open Directory of Urban Speleology.



DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!

(Though I guess that's the point, since you can't anyways!)



Update 01.05.05: If you find the image of Manteno State Hospital appealing, check out The Manteno Project, "the most comprehensive source of information about the history of Manteno State Hospital. This site includes historical photographs, images, reports, and other information about the former Manteno State Hospital, operational in Manteno, Illinois from 1929 - 1985." Thanks to Michael A. for the link.

Monday, Monday

My weekly page update:





Milwaukee Rowing Club in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by Venter Denk Architects.



The updated book feature is Coney Island: Lost and Found, by Charles Denson.



Some related and unrelated links for your enjoyment:

AIA Wisconsin's 2004 Design Awards Gallery

Eight awards, including this week's dose.



ConeyIsland.com

Online home of Coney Island USA, a non-profit organization who cares about old and new Coney Island.



The Holy Consumption of Chicago

Weekly comics by Jeffrey Brown, John Hankiewicz, Paul Hornschemeir, and Anders Nilsen.