Experimentation in Modern Communication

I'm not necessarily against new media options, but as one who does not 'tweet', I'm curious to see the results of this upcoming forum hosted by Balmori Associates on What Should a Public Place Be? Conducted 100% via Twitter be sure to check it out on July 13th, and who knows, if it is a rousing success, then I may be influenced into setting up my own account... :)

A Short History of America

Perhaps an homage to a weekend of bbq's and fireworks - this panel progression from the fantastic R.Crumb highlights the long (or really, actually quite short) road from nature to excess that we like to call development in America... anyone care to refute this vision? The interesting part, to see where this leads in future iterations, and can it turn around...? (via People and Place)


:: (click to enlarge) - image via R. Crumb

Fireworks and BBQ

I'm taking a long 4th of July weekend out of town away from the city and computers. Posts will resume early next week. My weekly page will resume on July 13.

Today's archidose #330

Here are some views of the Castel Firmiano Messner Mountain Museum in Bozen, Italy by Werner Tscholl. Photographs are by Martino Pietropoli.

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upto35

Notification of upto35, an international competition for architects up to 35 years old, landed in my inbox earlier today. It asks for "proposals for the construction of a student housing unit in Kerameikos and Metaxourgeio (KM), an area in the historic center of Athens, Greece...Special emphasis is placed on exploring structures that consist of separate student housing units with the capacity to acquire a viral character within the urban tissue and sprawl into nearby empty lots." Sounds interesting, though unfortunately I just miss the cut. If only it were upto36...



Click the image for more information and to check out the well-designed web page.

Paul Gauguin ceramics

While at the Chicago Institute of Art, I came across a piece that was surprising to me: A ceramic vessel by Paul Gauguin. Yes, THAT Paul Gauguin: the post-impressionist with the colorful exotic paintings based in Polynesia. I had no idea he was so prolific!

The vessel is of course of a young Polynesian girl or 'Leda and the Swan' (from Greek mythology) as it is entitled, and was made in 1887/88. The girl hugging the swan makes up the body while the swan's neck makes a clever handle. Really magnificent!

The Institute is one of my favorite museums because they pair not just paintings of similar time periods, but they give you the whole perspective with furniture, ceramics and even lighting fixtures of the time period. This vessel was in the same room as a number of Gauguin's works. The building has a new wing by one of my favorite architects, Renzo Piano and I will talk more about that soon!

and again - pictures by my iphone (which I think I'm giving up on and returning despite the great camera quality!)

Five-Volume Monograph of the Moment

The Monacelli Press has announced a five-volume monograph on Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), spanning 1950-2008. Each volume spans about ten years and features introductions by Henry Russell-Hitchcock (1950-62), Arthur Drexler (1963-73), Albert Bush-Brown (1974-83), Detlef Mertins (1984-96), and Kenneth Frampton (1997-2008), as well as commentaries similar to their SOM Journals.



The first three volumes are reprints of the original Verlag Gerd Hatje editions, while the last two are brand-spanking new, covering some exciting years when the firm's corporate sheen was enlivened with some exceptional output, particularly schools. Owning all five is most likely only for die-hard fans (how many are there?), but each volume neatly encompasses the evolving phases of the corporate powerhouse's long tenure as one of the most successful and important american architecture firms.