Long-Awaited DVD of the Moment

Finally! Thom Andersen's brilliant, nearly three-hour documentary Los Angeles Plays Itself is being released on DVD and Blu-Ray on October 14, eleven years after it was completed.



At its most basic, the video essay (as it's been called) is an analysis of Los Angeles through movies. On a deeper level, film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum calls it, in addition to "a masterpiece," "an essay that qualifies as social history, as film theory, as personal reverie, as architectural history and criticism, as a bittersweet meditation on automotive transport, as a critical history of mass transit in southern California, as a wisecracking compilation of local folklore, as “a city symphony in reverse,” and as a song of nostalgia for lost neighborhoods such as Bunker Hill and unchronicled lifestyles such as locals who walk or take buses." (my emphasis) Rosenbaum's description of the film as part architectural history and criticism is spot on, just one aspect that makes it a stimulating and enjoyable experience for every one of its 169 minutes.



So, you may be asking, why has it taken eleven years for a DVD release? The main reason is that the film was made without studio backing and distribution, and since it's completely made up of clips from other films (with Andersen's highly opinionated narration on top), the rights to use the hundreds of clips was too much for the filmmaker or any distributor wishing to take on the task.



Enter The Cinema Guild, which announced in July that it would be releasing Los Angeles Plays Itself and three more Andersen titles: Red Hollywood, Eadweard Muybridge, Zoopraxographer, and Reconversão. As other documentaries have invoked "fair use" protections in recent years, such as This Film Is Not Yet Rated, so is Andersen. As he said last year last year on the film's 10th anniversary: "I was, am, and will be able to use [the clips] under fair use. No copyright owners were harmed in the making of this film."

For a taste of the joys of Andersen's film, here is a 6:40 clip on the use of modern houses in films:


Available at (but cheaper to buy direct from Cinema Guild on DVD and Blu-Ray.)

Multi-Volume, Slipcased, Super-Pricey Book of the Moment

You guessed it: Peter Zumthor: Buildings and Projects, 1985-2013, published by Scheidegger and Spiess, now available.


[Images from Amazon and Scheidegger and Spiess]















Only $233.17 at Amazon:

Book of the Moment: War of Streets and Houses

Not many graphic novels treat buildings and cities as an integral part of their stories, so I'm intrigued by War of Streets and Houses, a new graphic memoir from cartoonist and author Sophie Yanow.


[All images via Uncivilized Books]

Text from the publisher:

The War of Streets and Houses is named after General Thomas Bugeaud's 19th century essay; the first manual for the preparation and conduct of urban warfare. The text greatly influenced Baron Haussmann’s famous re-development of Paris, and the planning of modern cities. In 2012 the author participated in the massive Montreal student strikes. In the midst of protesting crowds and police kettles, the military origins of urban planning suddenly became an undeniable reality. Sophie Yanow’s most ambitious work to date deftly melds the history of urban planning, theories of control with personal experiences of political activism.

(via Atlantic Cities)

Available at

Book of the Moment: Collage and Architecture

Over spring break I gave my first-year students an assignment to make a collage as part of a precedent study. If I had known about Jennifer A.E. Shields's Collage and Architecture, published in paperback last month by Routledge, I certainly would have used it to give them a little bit more guidance. Half the book, after all, is devoted to "collage methodologies in architectural analysis and design." The second half, in case you're wondering, includes six case studies, from Le Corbusier to Weiss/Manfredi, of "architecture as collage."



Text from the publisher:

Collage and Architecture is the first book to cover collage as a tool for design in architecture, making it a valuable resource for students and practitioners. Author Jennifer Shields uses the artworks and built projects of leading artists and architects, such as Le Corbusier, Daniel Libeskind, and Teddy Cruz to illustrate the diversity of collage techniques. The six case study projects from Mexico, Argentina, Sweden, Norway, the United States, and Spain give you a global perspective of architecture as collage. Collage is an important instrument for analysis and design, and Shields’s presentation of this versatile medium draws on decades of relevance in art and architecture, to be adapted and transformed in your own work.

Or maybe I'm just a sucker for a timeline chart (from the introduction, best viewed large):


Available at

Book of the Moment: The Working Drawing

The Working Drawing: The Architect's Tool, edited by Annette Spiro and David Ganzoni and published by Park Books, is a must-have book for architects who love drawings...which should pretty much be all of them. A selection of drawings from the book can be found in this week's World-Architects eMagazine.



Text from the publisher:

Large-size working drawings are an elementary means in the architectural process and the actual construction of a building. Yet very little has been written and published about the architect’s quintessential tool. This new book aims to close this gap. It draws on a vast collection of working drawings from many centuries held by the Department of Architecture at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich). The collection, put together and categorized under the direction of Annette Spiro, comprises plans for a wide range of architectural tasks and features manifold representational techniques.

The book presents around 100 of the collection’s highlights from five centuries, arranged by category for direct comparison. All plans are depicted entirely in color on large-size spreads and fold-outs. Full catalog details and a detail in true size are provided for each drawing.

Mario Carpo, Hermann Czech, Tom Emerson, Philipp Esch, David Ganzoni, Uta Hassler and Daniel Stockhammer, Ákos Moravánszky, Urs Primas, Kornel Ringli, Stephan Rutishauser, Jonathan Sergison, and Philip Ursprung contribute essays on various aspects of the topic.

The book is being released in the United States on February 15, 2014.

Exhibition and Catalog of the Moment

[Marta Herford (2005) designed by Frank Gehry]

52 Weeks, 52 Cities: Photographies by Iwan Baan is on display at Marta Herford in Germany until February 16. Per Marta Herford, "Iwan Baan takes the viewer on a one-year photographic journey around the world – always on the lookout for ingenious homes in unexpected places and outstanding construction projects." Accompanying the exhibition is a catalog published by Kehrer:



As the cover indicates, the book has some recent buildings by big names (SANAA's Louvre Lens graces the cover), but not necessarily photos with blue skies, perfect framing, and the other perfectionist traits people associate with architectural photography. It also shows places that do not exhibit the hand of the architect, if you will, but are just as fascinating, if not more so:


[Allahabad, India: Kumbh Mela]

In a sense, Baan is like a ping pong ball, veering back and forth between bespoke luxury starchitecture:


[East Lansing, Michigan, USA: Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum by Zaha Hadid]

and vernacular, and often informal, conditions of living:


[Cairo, Egypt: Zabaleen community]

As Marta Herford describes the exhibition (and therefore the catalog, to a degree): "The exhibition features 52 photographs from last year [2012] accompanied by personally spoken commentaries by the photographer. These are sensitive encounters with everyday and extraordinary places all over the globe which Baan has put together to form an engaged commentary on human living and survival strategies. His documentation, for example, of a 45-story, uncompleted skyscraper in Caracas occupied by around 750 families who are living 'extra-legally' in a 'vertical slum' has become one of his best known projects. Here and elsewhere the boundaries between architecture documentation and the interpretation of social living spaces become blurred."

Book of the Moment: The SAGE Handbook of Architectural Theory

The SAGE Handbook of Architectural Theory is a 776-page tome that "documents and builds upon some of the most innovative developments in architectural theory over the last two decades." To mark the release of the book, Parsons SCE is hosting a panel discussion (free, no RSVP required) this evening; details are below.

Architectural Theory in an Expanded Field

Monday, October 28, 2013 at 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Wollman Hall (B500), Eugene Lang College
65 West 11th Street, New York, NY

Join Parsons SCE for a panel discussion with the general editors and US-based contributors of the Sage Handbook of Architectural Theory, celebrating the launch of the paperback edition convened by Brian McGrath, Dean of the School of Constructed Environments at Parsons and moderated by Joanna Merwood, associate professor of Architectural History at Parsons.

The panel discussion will explore the handbook’s agenda and consider its significance for architectural research, education and practice. A questions and answer session will follow remarks from the panelists.

General Editors:

• C. Greig Crysler, Associate Professor of Architecture; Arcus Chair, College of Environmental Design, UC Berkeley
• Hilde Heynen, Professor of Architecture, University of Leuven
• Stephen Cairns, Professor of Architecture and Urbanism, University of Edinburgh; Future Cities Lab Coordinator, ETH Singapore

Speakers:

• Stefan Al, Associate Professor of Urban Design, University of Pennsylvania
• M. Christine Boyer, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Architecture and Urbanism, Princeton University
• Brian McGrath, Dean, School of Constructed Environments, Parsons The New School for Design
• Deborah Natsios, Cryptome.org
• Vyjayanthi Rao, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, The New School
• David Solomon, Assistant Professor, Architectural Studies, Ithaca College
• Gwendolyn Wright, Professor of Architecture, Columbia University

The Sage Handbook of Architectural Theory documents and builds upon the most innovative developments in architectural theory over the last two decades.

With over 40 chapters of original material from a roster of contributors from around the world, the handbook connects together issues, institutions, authors and readers in ways that mark a significant departure from other collections of its kind. Eight major sections explore issues in architectural theory today, from new formations of power, difference and embodiment, and questions around science and technology, to the changing conditions in cities and metropolitan territories in the global present.

The Images of Architects

For the 2012 Venice Biennale, Swiss architect Valerio Olgiati curated a selection of "Pictographs—Statement of contemporary architects." The inspirational images from well-known architects were displayed on a large table in the Arsenale, and soon they'll be collected in a book published by Quart.

I asked architects to send me important images that show the basis of their work. Images that are in their head when they think. Images that show the origin of their architecture.

In this book we find 44 individual "musées imaginaires". The most unique architects living today each present up to 10 images to explain the autobiographical roots of their oeuvre. The images are explanations, metaphors, foundations, memories and intentions. They are poetic and philosophical avowals. They reveal a personal perspective on thoughts. They show the roots of architecture and expectations concerning projects. Conscious and unconscious.

This book has the format of a reader. As little as possible is said. The images are small, legible and interpretable as icons. As individual collections, they present a personal view of an individual world, while as a whole they provide a universal view of the perceptible origin of contemporary architecture.

Valerio Olgiati

Peter Zumthor: 1986-2013

The most recent monograph—the only one, actually—on Swiss architect Peter Zumthor was released in 1998. It's so desirable that used copies are being sold on Amazon for around $1,500. A forthcoming monograph from Scheidegger and Spiess may temper the desirability of that book, since it will cover Zumthor's work from 1986-2013 (the earlier one covers 1979-1997) and will be more than twice as big (800 pages versus 318). Sure, it comes with a $250 cover price and won't be released until September, but if anybody can find me a more anticipated architecture book I'd like to know about it.



Book description via Amazon:

Unquestionably one of the most influential and revered contemporary architects, Peter Zumthor has approached his work with a singular clarity of vision and a strong sense of his own philosophy, both of which have earned him the admiration of his peers and the world at large. Choosing to only take on a few projects at a time and keep his studio small, Zumthor has produced a comparatively few number of realized buildings, but they rank among the world’s most stunning: St. Benedict’s Chapel in Sumvitg, Switzerland; Therme Vals in Vals, Switzerland; Kunsthaus Bregenz in Bregenz, Austria; and the Kolumba Art Museum in Cologne, Germany number among his most famous buildings. This collection, however, explores his entire body of award-winning work from 1986 to 2012 in five volumes, including his lesser-known but nonetheless critically acclaimed works such as the Field Chapel for Brother Klaus near Mechernich, Germany, and the Steilneset. Memorial for the Victims of the Witch Trials in Vardø, Norway.

Peter Zumthor presents around forty of his projects, both realized and unrealized, through Zumthor’s own writing, and with photographs, sketches, drawings, and plans. A complete catalog of his works starting in 1979 rounds out the book. Richly illustrated and beautifully designed, this book serves as both an introduction to Zumthor’s work and philosophy for the layperson and a required addition to any architect’s library.

(Many thanks to Jim G. for the heads up!)

Pre-order your pricey Zumthor monograph here:
US: CA: UK:

Book of the Moment: Building Seagram

The importance of Mies van der Rohe's Seagram Building (1958) to Manhattan, modern architecture and the 20th century city is undeniable. So the upcoming release of Phyllis Lambert's Building Seagram from Yale University Press (Spring 2013) is a highly anticipated one.


[Photo on right: Philip Johnson, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Phyllis Lambert in front of an image of the model for the Seagram building, New York, 1955. Photographer unknown. Fonds Phyllis Lambert, Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal. © United Press International. | photo source]

From the CCA:

Lambert was a 27-year-old artist living in Paris when her father Samuel Bronfman, founder of the Seagram distillery, asked her to take over the search for an architect to design his company’s headquarters in New York. Lambert in turn made the cogent decision to commission the pioneering modern master Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969), in collaboration with Philip Johnson (1906-2005). The resulting Seagram Building, completed in 1958, is an indisputable icon of twentieth-century architecture, 38 stories of elegant bronze and glass set back from New York City’s Park Avenue. In her role as patron, and Director of Planning for the project, Lambert had singlehandedly changed the face of American urban architecture. "Building Seagram represents what has always been the focus of my practice: architecture as a major socio-economic manifestation in society," explained Lambert.

The culmination of more than a decade of research by Lambert, Building Seagram tells the story not just of this important building, but of the culture of post-WWII design, including the significant part corporate patronage played in the era’s real estate development, and of the project’s substantial role in shaping landmark legislation and zoning laws in New York City. Lambert provides an unprecedented personal history of her experience managing the project, as well as of the working relationship between van der Rohe and Johnson and Johnson’s under- recognized contributions to lighting design, and offers a detailed scholarly assessment of the design and construction process and the building’s cultural legacy.

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.

Book Reissue of the Moment

Next month Wiley is releasing the 3rd edition of Juhani Pallasmaa's influential Eyes of the Skin. Originally published in 1996, the book's 2nd edition followed in 2005. That is the copy I have, a paperback that clocks in at 80 pages (a hardcover was also available, but at a much higher cover price). The book being released next month will be hardcover and 128 pages, retailing at $45 ($36 at Amazon). The 48-page difference is made up of a new essay, "A DOOR HANDLE, A HANDSHAKE An introduction to Juhani Pallasmaa and his work," by Peter MacKeith, and an index, missing in the previous editions. Regular readers are probably aware of my appreciation of Pallasmaa's writing -- having reviewed and favorited three of his titles -- so not surprisingly this reissue is highly recommended.



Here's the description from the publisher:

First published in 1996, The Eyes of the Skin has become a classic of architectural theory. It asks the far-reaching question why, when there are five senses, has one single sense – sight – become so predominant in architectural culture and design? With the ascendancy of the digital and the all-pervasive use of the image electronically, it is a subject that has become all the more pressing and topical since the first edition’s publication in the mid-1990s. Juhani Pallasmaa argues that the suppression of the other four sensory realms has led to the overall impoverishment of our built environment, often diminishing the emphasis on the spatial experience of a building and architecture’s ability to inspire, engage and be wholly life enhancing.

For every student studying Pallasmaa’s classic text for the first time, The Eyes of the Skin is a revelation. It compellingly provides a totally fresh insight into architectural culture. This third edition meets readers’ desire for a further understanding of the context of Pallasmaa’s thinking by providing a new essay by architectural author and educator Peter MacKeith. This text combines both a biographical portrait of Pallasmaa and an outline of his architectural thinking, its origins and its relationship to the wider context of Nordic and European thought, past and present. The focus of the essay is on the fundamental humanity, insight and sensitivity of Pallasmaa’s approach to architecture, bringing him closer to the reader. This is illustrated by Pallasmaa’s sketches and photographs of his own work. The new edition also provides a foreword by the internationally renowned architect Steven Holl and a revised introduction by Pallasmaa himself.

Journal of the Moment: CLOG

The title of the new architecture journal CLOG is pretty close to BLOG. Coincidence? Probably not, since the editors* assert that the "online press," which includes blogs, "have drastically increased the speed at which architectural imagery is distributed and consumed today." In reaction CLOG "slows things down" (a CLOG in the internet pipes, perhaps?) Each issue "explores, from multiple viewpoints and through a variety of means, a single subject particularly relevant to architecture now." The now of the first issue is Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), the Danish architect and studio who recently opened an office in New York City after a high-profile commission from Durst Fetner Residential on Manhattan's west side.

While the journal talks about slowing things down, this does not equate to a handful of in-depth essays on the issue's topic. Instead a gaggle of contributors (about 50) address the topic in 500 words or less, bite-size chunks (most fit on a two-page spread) on par with blogs and other online press; sure it's longer than a tweet, but tweets can also tie together to become a longer strand on par with this length. The takes on Mr. Ingels and his office range from his savvy PR abilities, his formal consistencies (something I covered on this blog with BIG Peaks), his web page and monograph, his "hedonistic sustainability," and his choice of clients. The placement of the contributions appears intentional, giving the journal a flow throughout as essays with a particular area of focus are grouped together. This gives the reader various viewpoints on particular aspects within a short span.

It might be easy to argue that CLOG could exist just as easily online instead of in print, given the short length of each "post," if you will. But as executed CLOG is an ideal format for its goals: it is portable, like a small sketchbook; the ordering helps to give the criticisms and such a flow, as mentioned; the page layout and design feature large pull quotes that allow the book to be read either quickly and cursorily or slowly, as intended; and of course having it in one place means that all those online distractions can be set aside for a little while (at just over 100 pages and with a roughly 50/50 balance of text and image, the whole is still a fairly quick read).

A unique aspect of this first issue is the addition of responses from Bjarke Ingels himself at the back of the book. I'm not sure if contributors knew about this before they wrote their pieces, but the architect chooses a range of essays to respond to (not all of them), be it critiques of his PR tactics, his payment of interns, his book and web page, and so forth. These responses allow the reader to get a more balanced view of things, but ultimately truth is not the goal. Like the internet, of which CLOG sets itself in opposition, the journal offers myriad takes on a topic over one or a few voices discovering the truth, if such were even possible. In this regard CLOG can be seen as a print outpost of thinking and writing that has been transformed by the permeation of digital content.

*CLOG is edited by Kyle May (Editor-in-Chief), Julia van den Hout, Jacob Reidel, Human Wu, The Office of PlayLab, Inc. (Design)

For those in New York City, tonight is the fifth in the Storefront for Art and Architecture's Interrogation series, featuring CLOG:BIG. It takes place from 7-9pm.

For those interested in contributing to CLOG, the next issue's theme is Apple, spurred by the design of the Cupertino campus but now deepened by the recent loss of Steve Jobs. Submissions are due November 1st.

Really!?!

They made a book about this building?


[US Pavilion, rendering | image source]

The USA Pavilion Expo 2010 Shanghai: Rising to the Challenge "captures the thrilling experiences inside America's great hall," what it further calls "one of the top experiences at the Shanghai Expo."



I'm more wont to side with the "Innovation Consultant ... intimately involved with the contorted process that resulted in the current USA Pavilion" who, in his one-star review, basically reveals the book, like the pavilion, to be propaganda. This certainly isn't a surprise, given that the architecture surely doesn't merit a book-length study, leaving it to be a commemorative book painting as rosy a picture as possible. But don't most participating countries do the same, to a lesser degree perhaps, with their pavilions and exhibitions? This is a case of the platitudes extending into book form for those who weren't one of the "lucky five million or so of [the 70 milliono] fair-goers" to experience "the spirit of America and the splendor of an epic showcase."

Reprint of the Moment

Writing a review of a book on vernacular architecture, I came across a soon-to-be-released reprint of the sequel to Lloyd Kahn's classic large-format book Shelter, logically called Shelter II and published by the aptly named Shelter Publications.

Shelter II (1978) is the second in a series of books about people building their own homes in different parts of the world. The principles outlined in Shelter, published almost 40 years ago, seem even more important today: relearning the still-usable skills of the past and doing more hand work in providing life's necessities. Shelter II provides a basic manual of design and construction for the first time house-builder.

The book begins with simple shelters still being built and lived in by people with minimal resources. They can be viewed for historical or anthropological interest, or as sensible, instructive examples of efficient construction by those who lack the choices available in industrialized societies. There are also personal accounts and seasoned advice from builders in different climates, with a variety of design approaches, construction techniques, and building materials. A home is still a place for working, resting, sharing, healing, dreaming…some things haven't changed that much. [source]

Book of the Moment

More often than not, Amazon's recommendations are a bit off, but every now and then they are spot on. That is the case with Cities for People by Jan Gehl, to be released in a couple weeks by Island Press. Previously I read and reviewed his classic Life Between Buildings. Most recently the Danish planning guru has been pivotal in New York City's piece-by-piece transformations of its thoroughfares. In his latest book, I think the title says it all.



The publisher's description:

For more than forty years Jan Gehl has helped to transform urban environments around the world based on his research into the ways people actually use—or could use—the spaces where they live and work. In this revolutionary book, Gehl presents his latest work creating (or recreating) cityscapes on a human scale. He clearly explains the methods and tools he uses to reconfigure unworkable cityscapes into the landscapes he believes they should be: cities for people.

Taking into account changing demographics and changing lifestyles, Gehl emphasizes four human issues that he sees as essential to successful city planning. He explains how to develop cities that are Lively, Safe, Sustainable, and Healthy. Focusing on these issues leads Gehl to think of even the largest city on a very small scale. For Gehl, the urban landscape must be considered through the five human senses and experienced at the speed of walking rather than at the speed of riding in a car or bus or train. This small-scale view, he argues, is too frequently neglected in contemporary projects.

In a final chapter, Gehl makes a plea for city planning on a human scale in the fast- growing cities of developing countries. A “Toolbox,” presenting key principles, overviews of methods, and keyword lists, concludes the book.

The book is extensively illustrated with over 700 photos and drawings of examples from Gehl’s work around the globe.

Newspaper of the Moment

The US has The Architect's Newspaper, and now it looks like Europe has its own newspaper on architecture. Panorama architecture newspaper is published by future, the maker of those giant magazines on competitions. Published every two months, the term newspaper may be a stretch, especially given that blogs and other online platforms can break news and even delve into some depth before the paper is printed.



RIBA Bookshops describes the paper as such:

Panorama Architecture Newspaper is an exciting new channel for architecture news, Up-to-date, beautifully illustrated and with global content and appeal, Panorama aspires to become a point of reference for architectural news, research and opportunities. This issue of Panorama [January/February 2010] features a day-in-the-life interview with Spanish architect Carlos Ferrater, the new Dallas Theater Center, plans for the new home of National Archives of France and Andalusia's tallest building, The Towers of Hercules.

Storefront Newsprints

This is a collection that definitely should have been on my holiday list.

Storefront Newsprints 1982-2009

"Shortly after Storefront for Art and Architecture was born in 1982, founding director Kyong Park began circulating what he described as a "newsletter" among the gallery's friends and followers.

[...]

Over time, the archive of Storefront's Newsprints grew to become the most complete historical documentation of the gallery's programs since its earliest days. Storefront Newsprints 1982-2009 is comprised of reproductions of over 154 newsletters, many of which contain otherwise unpublished texts by artists, architects and theorists such as Vito Acconci, Lebbeus Woods, Michael Sorkin, Beatriz Colomina, Michael Webb and Eyal Weizman, among others."

If you're in New York City next week, there is a launch event at Storefront on Wednesday, December 9, 6pm.

Guests: Vito Acconci, Amale Andraos and Dan Wood, Mary Ellen Carroll, Liz Diller + Ricardo Scofidio, Didier Fiuza Faustino, Dan Graham, Sarah Herda, Bjarke Ingels, Laura Kurgan, Michael Manfredi, Damon Rich, Michael Sorkin, Joshua Stein, Michael Webb and many others

Sketchbook of the Moment

Earlier today I was speaking with my publisher about the impact of digital technology on good-old-fashioned books, after which I saw the Sentient City exhibition. Needless to say I was feeling awash in the technology that is changing the way we absorb information, interact with each other, and encounter the city. So I felt a tinge of sentimentality when I came across The Hand of the Architect, a "limited edition Moleskine book filled with [378] drawings from 110 internationally renowned architects." Flipping through the pages, for a few moments the rush of the digital (if only in my head) gave way to a calm and slowness that hand drawings seem to embody.


[The Hand of the Architect | image source]

Of course hand sketches in their various media (graphite, ink, wash, crayon, marker, etc.) are good for much more than perspective in today's get-carried-away-with-technology world. They convey thoughts and ideas in particular ways that are much freer than any digital counterpart. Unencumbered by the need to learn software, the hand-brain connection allows the latter to figure things out as the former touches pen (or brush or quill or whatever) to paper. In other words, making a drawing by hand forces one to confront what one is drawing, thinking and understanding what each line, stroke, dot, field of color describes.

Books like this one from Moleskine are timely reminders of how digital tools can't replace all traditional ones, particularly pen and paper. For example, the research for my book is documented via a mix of spreadsheets, digital map overlays, digital photos, and a notebook (a Muji, sorry Moleskine). The last is a collage of notes, sketches, and pasted images, an ideal canvas for me for jotting down ideas at home, on the train, in front of a building, wherever I may be. But my research cannot exist without the digital components, and I'd also have a hard time limiting myself to just the bytes and bits.

So it should not come as a surprise that in addition to the "glimpse into the sketchbooks of visionaries like Michael Graves, Zaha Hadid, Piero Lissoni, Kengo Kumo, Mario Botta, Tadao Ando, and many more" is a "companion special edition blank journal" for budding architects and others to fill up.

or

Zumthor Book of the Moment

Looking for a good investment these days? Something that might increase in value from, say, $75.00 to $836.00 in less than ten years? Well be sure to pick up a copy of Seeing Zumthor--Images by Hans Danuser: Reflections on Architecture and Photography by Hans Danuser and published by Scheidegger & Spiess. It will be released on July 15.


[image description | image source]

At only 88 pages and just under 50 bucks retail it's not exactly cheap, but it is Zumthor, and in the world of architecture books he's the man. If the photos by Danuser below are any indication the imagery is dramatic and drenched in moodiness, just amazing to look at. They are clearly "photographs that comment equally on the art of photography and the art of architecture."


[Saint Benedict Chapel in Sumvitg, Graubünden, Switzerland photographed by Hans Danuser | image source]


[Saint Benedict Chapel in Sumvitg, Graubünden, Switzerland photographed by Hans Danuser | image source]

From the book's description:

"More than twenty years ago, in a milestone event of twentieth-century architectural photography, Danuser photographed, at Zumthor’s invitation, two buildings: the protective structure built for archaeological excavations in Chur and St. Benedict’s Chapel in Sumvitg. When first shown in exhibition, those photos ignited a lively debate that has been revived with a recent exhibition of Danuser’s photographs of Zumthor’s most famous work, the spa at Therme Vals. Seeing Zumthor collects these three important series of Danuser’s pictures and includes essays by leading art historians [a discussion between Köbi Gantenbein and Hans Danuser and an essay by Philip Ursprung] exploring the relationship between the two seemingly different disciplines or architecture and photography."