Monday, Monday

A Weekly Dose of Architecture Updates:

This week's dose features Butaro Hospital in Butaro, Rwanda by MASS Design Group:


The featured past dose is the Wadi El Gemal Visitor Center in Marsa Alam, Egypt by MADA Architects:


This week's book review is Empowering Architecture: The Butaro Hospital, Rwanda by MASS Design Group, Photos by Iwan Baan (L):
   
(R): The featured past book review is Centro das Artes | Casa das Mudas by Paulo David and Fernando Guerra.

World-Architects.com U.S. Building of the Week:

Paul S. Russell, MD Museum of Medical History and Innovation in Boston, MA by  Leers Weinzapfel Associates Architects:

Architecture + Urbanism recommends "Common Ground: 13th Venice Architecture Biennale"

29 August - 25 November 2012 Venice

          “The emphasis of the 2012 Biennale – explains Director David Chipperfield – is on what we have in common. Above all, the ambition of Common Ground is to reassert the existence of an architectural culture, made up not just of singular talents but a rich continuity of diverse ideas united in a common history, common ambitions, common predicaments and ideals. We began with a desire to emphasise shared ideas over individual authorship, and realized that this required us to initiate dialogues rather simply make a selection of individuals. We began by asking a limited group of architects to develop ideas that might lead to further invitations: everyone was asked to propose a project along with a dialogue that reacted to the theme and showed architecture in its context of influence and affinity, history and language, city and culture.
The final list of contributors demonstrates a rich culture of difference rather than a selection of edited and promoted positions. We want to emphasise the common ground that the profession shares, notwithstanding the apparent diversity of today’s architectural production. The sharing of differences is critical to the idea of an architectural culture.”
 
          “The role of the architect – clarifies Chipperfield - is at best one of critical compliance. Architects can only operate through the mechanisms that commission them and which regulate their efforts. Our ideas are dependent on and validated by the reaction of society. This relationship is not only practical but concerns the very meaning of our work. In the increasingly complex confrontation between the commercial motivations of development and our persistent desire for a humane environment there seems to be little dialogue. If architecture is to be more than the privileged, exceptional moments of our built world, we must find a more engaged collaboration of talents and resources. Common Ground invites us to consider how these shared perceptions, concerns and expectations may be better directed.”


A short film of the 2008 Biennale is available here, and a brief comment on the 2010 Biennale is available here.

Nice Bookstore

Recently I've seen a car commercial far too many times that is shot partly, of all places, in a bookstore. My first thought was not, "Gee whiz, what a nice car," it was, "My, that's a nice bookstore."


[Screenshot | click image to view commercial]

Digging around the internet with keyword searches "bookstore", "tree", "car commercial", and combinations of those and other words, I could not find the store. But then I considered that most likely a commercial would be shot in Los Angeles, then Hennessey + Ingels came to mind. I'd visited their Santa Monica store many years ago, and even though they no longer have that store on the 3rd Street Promenade (they moved to nearby Wilshire Blvd.), the commercial actually happens to be shot in their Hollywood store.

Space 15 Twenty is the name of "the unique retail setting" where Hennessey + Ingels is located. It is one of nine stores (Urban Outfitters is the anchor) in "the curated environment" that also includes an outdoor courtyard, local music, film and art venues, a gallery and a pop-up shop. I'm not sure if the tree is a permanent fixture in the store or placed their for the commercial, but the curved ceiling and exposed structure are features shared by it and the other stores. Combined with the courtyard and skylights (note they light cast on her red dress from one), it adds up to a pretty damn nice bookstore.

Update/Correction: As Quixote's comment indicates, I was wrong, wrong, wrong. The store is not Hennessey + Ingels, it's Skylight Books on Vermont Ave. also in LA. Below is a photograph comparing H+I and Skylight Books:


[L: Hennessey + Ingels (source) | R: Skylight Books (source)]

The reason for my confusion is evident, given the ceilings' shapes and materials, but the diagonal articulation of the wood members is clearly not happening at H+I, only at Skylight. Not sure how I'd think straight members are the same. Nevertheless, thanks to Quixote for fixing my error.

Today's archidose #602

Here are some photos of the Canada Water Library in Southwark, London by CZWG Architects (2011). Photographs are by Pawel Paniczko.









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:: Join and add photos to the archidose pool, and/or
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Book of the Moment: Five Borough Farm

Last night the Design Trust for Public Space and project partner Added Value celebrated the launch of Five Borough Farm: Seeding the Future of Urban Agriculture in New York City. The book, which is accompanied by a website, surveys the more than 700 citywide farms and gardens that grow food; metrics are outlined toward gauging the success of urban agriculture; and the project is aimed at affecting policy, so that farms and gardens will be formally recognized and supported in the city. Much more will follow from the Design Trust and Added Value in the next year, but the book is a watershed in examining the benefits of urban agriculture. A review of the book on this blog is forthcoming.



About the Project:

Need for Five Borough Farm

Urban agriculture is booming in New York City, with more than 700 food-producing urban farms and gardens citywide. In all five boroughs, New Yorkers have turned vacant lots and rooftops, schoolyards and NYCHA gardens into places to grow food. But urban agriculture also encompasses a wide range of other activities: participants earn income at farmers markets, capture stormwater, compost food waste, gain leadership and job skills, learn about nutrition and the environment, and create safe, attractive public spaces. These activities contribute to many citywide health, social, economic, and ecological benefits, as well as to the goals of municipal agencies and elected officials.

Yet while many government agencies are engaged in urban agriculture, there is no citywide policy or plan to coordinate actions across agencies, and few systematic efforts to track the full range of urban agricultural activities that take place at the city’s farms and gardens.

Project Origins

In 2009, the Design Trust for Public Space issued an open call for projects to improve public space in New York City, receiving twenty submissions from organizations citywide. The nonprofit organization Added Value (with the assistance of the design firm thread collective) submitted a proposal to address urban agriculture. This proposal was one of two selected by an independent jury of architects, policy experts, open space advocates, and Design Trust board members for the Design Trust to take on as a project.

Project Goals

1. Survey and document New York City's existing urban agricultural activity using photographs, maps, and infographics.
2. Establish a shared framework and tools to enable farmers and gardeners to track urban agricultural activity and evaluate their social, health, economic, and ecological benefits.
3. Develop policy recommendations that will help make urban agriculture a more permanent part of the city's landscape and governance.

From Spade to Olympic Torch

MA A+U are delighted to see that Richard Reynolds, the Guerilla Gardener, who spoke at the inaugural MA A+U Symposium in 2010 will be carrying the Olympic Torch at 12.00 noon on Thursday 26 July from Havil Street London SE5 along Peckham Road on its journey towards the Olympic Stadium. Here is a clip of Richard speaking at the Symposium.

Yayoi Kusama at Louis Vuitton

Earlier today I walked up Fifth Avenue and noticed that the Louis Vuitton at 57th Street, designed by Jun Aoki, looked a bit different.



Crossing the street to take a closer look, I realized that the storefront is decked out for Yayoi Kusama's exhibition at the Whitney Museum, which is sponsored by Louis Vuitton. Corporate ties to the world of art are hardly new, and brands like Louis Vuitton are particularly well connected to artists. I remember Takashi Murakami putting his cartoon characters on their handbags some years ago, so this one doesn't come as a shock.



But putting the artist in the storefront would be a shock. I must admit that I was fooled in my quick glance at this shop window. Was she taking the corporate tie-in to the next level? But photos of the 83-year-old artist around the Whitney opening and the unveiling of the polka-dot exterior show her in a wheelchair, so she is probably not up for standing in a window acting out the Abramovic Method. Nevertheless the facade and displays are quite fun and playful, bringing plenty of attention to Louis Vuitton and Kusama's art.

Bryn Athyn Cathedral

Located adjacent to Cairnwood is the Bryn Athyn Cathedral; Literally next door or if you want to be technical, in the side yard of the house. The Cathedral is the seat of the "New Church" and was donated by John Pitcairn and was mainly designed by his son Raymond Pitcairn. Of course the benefit to this location is that each room of the house (Cairnwood) is afforded picturesque views of a gorgeous cathedral. Plus the commute to chapel for the religious Pitcairn family was definitely convienent!The main bulk of the structure was started in 1913 and finished in 1919. Designed in an early Gothic style, later smaller additions (designed by Raymond) are in Norman Romanesque. Strangely enough, this style is historically earlier creating the impression that the larger main tower was built later.The design was based on Gloucestor Cathedral in England and is immense (the main tower rises 150 ft!), only plunked down in rural Pennsylvania.Beside the tower is a leg of a cloister which was designed to be fully enclosed (creating a square courtyard) but was never completed. Here you can see the beautiful detail to the stonework.The church sees a lot of active use as you can see by the furnishings and immaculate cleanliness.Stone as far as the eye can see.The superb craftsmanship of everything makes this building so special, just look at these door handles.Everything is as special as a Cathedral should be.I loved this little private side door off an intimate garden.No detail was overlooked.The details of this side exterior stair were really incredible.Ezekials Tower, seen here, was completed in 1926 and lies off to the side of the main structure.Again, I just couldn't get over the amount of detail.Even each little basement window grate was different and a work of art.Before going inside, lets take a look at the floorplan. If you look closely, you can see that nothing was built straight. This was purposeful and not a result of being done mainly without drawings (in the 20th century no less!). This mimic'd ancient cathedrals of Europe where it was also done intentionally. To the North of the church lies Michael's Tower (the main entrance) and the choir hall (seen above).I thought this was a shame as the main entrance to the chapel is this gorgeous metal door, facing a spectacular view.Can you believe this cathedral is in rural Pennsylvania?!All of the wood seen here is teak and the Pitcairn's bought an entire boatload of the wood which had been an order left by someone else (who doesn't love a deal). Teak is used for ceilings and doors here at the Cathedral as well as in Raymond's own amazing house which I will show you next week. The guide I spoke too said the family still has a barn full of the unused teak!Fittingly enough Raymond developed the techniques used in creating all of the stained glass on the grounds of Cairnwood. I say fitting as part of the families' fortune, if you will remember, came from the forming of PPG (Pittsburgh Plate Glass).Raymond collected and studied medieval stained glass to replicate the lost techniques used. The details on these windows are incredible and you would never guess many were created as late as the 1960s. Again, I urge you all to visit and support both Cairnwood and Bryn Athyn Cathedral!

Monday, Monday

A Weekly Dose of Architecture Updates:

This week's dose features "Le Grand Stade" in Fontainebleau, France by Joly&Loiret:


The featured past dose is the UIC Student Recreational Facility in Chicago, Illinois by Moody•Nolan & PSA-Dewberry:


This week's book review is Portfolio Design, Fourth Edition by Harold Linton (L):
   
(R): The featured past book review is Materiology: The Creative Industry's Guide to Materials and Technologies  by Daniel Kula and Élodie Ternaux.

World-Architects.com U.S. Building of the Week:

Virgin Atlantic JFK Clubhouse in New York, NY by Slade Architecture: