architecture design

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Bar House

Flipping through the latest issue of New York Spaces in the dentist's office the other day, what stood out amidst the primarily opulent and interior design-focused projects was the Bar House by C|S Architecture in Fairfield, Connecticut.

[photograph by Peter Margonelli | image source]

The juxtaposition between what are in effect two bars is definitely contrasting, but nevertheless pleasing. The new addition actually bows to the older structure (a horse barn built from a kit on site in the 1990s) via its massing and subdued color. Where the barn's "face" is oriented to the open field in the foreground above, the Bar House opens itself in the same direction, with a sliding glass wall.

[photograph by Peter Margonelli | image source]

Since the architect's web site does not include this project, the two images above will have to suffice. From what I recall when skimming the magazine's description of the project (truncated in the online version) plans are underway to physically link the two structures. If that should occur, I'll be sure to post about it here.

Friday, September 26, 2008

British GQ

No one does style like the British and this photo essay from British GQ proves it. Not only is the photography beautiful, so are the clothes and the locations! Enjoy this saturday fun post :-)

Eco-Boulevard Redux

Some more on a project I have touched upon this project a bit in a previous post, Eco-Boulevard, from Spanish innovators Ecosistema Urbano. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to delve into some more of the eye-candy from Arch Daily... and definitely don't miss Ecosystem Urbano's great blog as well... which gleans some great urban elements and provides some idea od EU's inspiration and process.

"The whole proposal for the eco-boulevard in Vallecas can be defined as an urban recycling operation consisting of the following actions: insertion of an air tree-social dynamizer, over an existing urbanization area, densification of existing alignment trees and reduction and asymmetric arrangement of wheeled traffic circulation. Superficial interventions reconfiguring the existing urbanization (perforations, fillings, paint, etc.) that defaces the executed kerb development."

:: images via Arch Daily

"Three pavilions or trees of air work as supports open to multiple activities chosen by the users. Installed in the non-city as temporary prostheses, they will be used only until the inactivity and climatic adaptation problem is corrected. Once the necessary time has elapsed, these devices should be taken down and the old premises should remain as clearings in the wood."

:: images via Arch Daily

The descriptions from Arch Daily are great - unlocking some of the info behind the design. There are some duplicates to the previous post I had - but thought I'd repost them for a fuller understanding. The plans are pretty zoomy as well... I don't think I'd seen the illustrative versions of these prior to this...

:: images via Arch Daily

One interesting thing I've noticed is the scale of this development - and really how long of a timeline they have set to acheive canopy closure - based on the coverage of the newly planted plaza trees. This is something where it will be amazing to see intervals of 5, 10, 20 years into the future, as well as what mortality, differential growth, and damage will do to the original concept.

:: images via Arch Daily

And some more dialogue that continues below via Arch Daily: "The air tree is a light structure that is self-sufficient in terms of energy and can be dismantled. It consumes only what it can produce through photovoltaic solar energy collection systems. Selling this energy to the power network generates a superavit on the annual balance sheet and this is reinvested in the maintenance of the structure itself. This is just a model for the management of resources on a project in the course of time."

:: images via Arch Daily

"The use of technology plays on this project a critical and decisive role as it adapts to an authentic and specific context. The architectural potential of technology lies on its reprogramming and combination with other elements, so that true architectural ready-mades are configured. In this case, climatic adaptation techniques normally employed in the farming industry are borrowed."

:: images via Arch Daily

"The simple climatic adaptation systems installed in the trees of air are of the evapotranspirative type, which is often used in greenhouses. This aerotechnical practice or artificial adaptation is not a part of a commercial strategy. On the contrary, it tries to undo the leisure - consumption binomial and reactivate the public space by creating climatically adapted environments (8ºC-10ºC cooler than the rest of the street in summer) where citizens will be once again active participants in public spaces."

:: images via Arch Daily

The details are amazing, and the more I see of this project, the more I like it. It's utter complexity juxtaposed within the simplicity of concept and idea of deconstructability. Imagine 100s of these in urban areas, not just stuck out in some 'air farm' but becoming both the physical and ecological fabric of the city. These have dual function as passive space, display space, and event space as well.

:: images via Arch Daily

And some interesting surprises as well to give some well-rounded experience to users. What looks like a purely functional element on the facade, becomes an artistic lighting element at night.

:: images via Arch Daily

One of my favorite features of Arch Daily is the detail and depth at which they get into projects - not just from a perspective of imagery, but drawings, sections, and information to gain a full understanding of the process and elements that make it work. The other thing - the images are high resolution, so you can get into the design aspects and see how things work (I've shrunk down and/or cropped some of the images on the site - so visit Arch Daily for the high res. versions.) A case in point are some more detailed views of sections of the vegetated screens:

:: images via Arch Daily

And I recently received a review copy of a great book called The Public Chance - from the publishers of of a+t which showcases a number of great international landscape projects (such as Eco-Boulevard). Not just a glossy photo book (although the imagery is awesome), there is deep analysis at work as well - including some fantastic thematic analysis and strategic comparion of elements that allows for study of the elements, scale, and concepts of these projects. Check out their website for a sneak peek, and stay tuned to L+U for a review in the next week or so.

:: Eco-Boulevard Analysis- image via A+T

Today's archidose #248

Here's a few views of the Rehabilitation of the Theater and Foyer of the André De Gouveia Residence (aka Portugal House) at La Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris by AAVP Architecture (Vincent Parreira), 2008.

To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just:

:: Join and add photos to the archidose pool, and/or
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Literary Dose #34

"What [Karl] Marx was able to show was that these three necessary conditions of a capitalist mode of production [being growth-oriented, resting on the exploitation of living labor in production (i.e. a gap between what labor gets and what it creates), and being technologically and organizationally dynamic] were inconsistent and contradictory and that the dynamic of capitalism was necessarily, therefore, crisis-prone. There was, in his analysis, no way in which the combination of these three necessary conditions could produce steady and unproblematic growth. In particular, the crisis tendencies of capitalism would produce periodic phases of overaccumulation, defined as a condition in which idle capital and idle labor supply could exist side by side with no apparent way to bring these idle resources together to accomplish socially useful tasks. A generalized condition of overaccumulation would be indicated by idle productive capacity, a glut of commodities and an excess of inventories, surplus money capital (perhaps held as hoards), and high unemployment. The conditions that prevailed in the 1930s and have emerged periodically since 1973 have to be regarded as typical manifestations of the tendency towards overaccumulation."

- David Harvey from The Condition of Postmodernity (Blackwell, 1990, pp. 180-181).

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Demille Estate

Back in April I read about the Cecil B. Demille estate up for sale on The Real Estalker- only $26.25 million asking price for 2.1 acres along with the buildings. A little out of my price range but it's always free to look! I think this is the most beautiful house. Above is the entryway. I love all the plasterwork!

I'm sure this isn't the original kitchen as the home was built in 1914 but it really is my dream kitchen. I love the white cabinetry with glass doors and white marble countertop and backsplash. Notice the vintage stove in the alcove. The wood floors connect it to the rest of the house and make the space more homey, breaking up the expanse of white. What a great place to eat breakfast in the morning!

I love this library: Space for all my books and magazines! This house also has lots of large expansive windows looking out onto the wooded lot.

The living room -more bookcases and huge open windows! You may recognize the name but not know who Demille was. He was a famous academy-award winning director in Hollywood in the first half of the 20th century.

Born in 1881, Demille started with silent films (obviously) in 1914. By the 1920s he was THE director to turn to in Hollywood! One of the few directors to be famous in his own right, he was practicaly canonized forever in the public's eye in 'Sunset Boulevard' when Gloria Swanson says "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up!". Demille played himself in this movie and in a few other films. He passed away in 1959.

I LOVE this master bathroom (assuming there is a shower around the corner that we can't see). I like the idea of putting an oriental rug in a bathroom and treating it as a real room. The double sink with lamps in front of the windows is charming!

The master bedroom - a fireplace and huge balcony -what more could you want? Is that a towel hanging on the wall? I'm not sure what that is about

What a cute little getaway this poolhouse is!

The rear of the home from the pool.

All this and a guest house too! I'd be happy just living here!

While the house is beautiful this dining room is semi-tragic. While I like the wood paneling, the carpet is too dreary, the chandelier too small and the furniture looks cheap and underscaled. And that fabric on the chairs - yikes!