Week #14
kia ora!
It’s been a big week here and unfortunately for not good reasons at home…
This week I’ve taken the small, medium, large, x-large (Rem Koolhaas styles) for no particular reason. But without further adieu here is week #14. Also you should see Captain Marvel if you haven’t already. And I also met someone called Thanos over the weekend. I’m sure he was thrilled with my Marvel gags.
~
As per usual, shenanigans are at the bottom.
1.0 to accompany your reading… here’s some classical music
Classic Elgar. Classic Yo-Yo Ma.
2.0 small - a light installation
lines by peeka niittyverta and timo aho
I supposed arguably “small” this simple gesture that incorporates art into architecture, cleanly and clearly speaks to its audience about climate change and the rising sea levels.
Situated in a Scottish Town, two Finnish artists Pekka Niittyvirta and Timo Aho has shed some light (no pun intended) on the ever threatening rising sea levels associated with climate change. The installation titled “Lines” uses an LED rope to strike a datum on buildings or in open space. The remote town was picked due to its proximity to the ocean and its current status that already deals with the aftermath of rising waters.
3.0 medium - maison herMÈS
Was scrolling through the gram and saw this delightful building. Back in 1998, fashion house Hermès asked, Mr Piano to design them a headquarters in Tokyo, right in the heart of the neon-lit shopping district of Ginza.
The building footprint is relatively small, 10m wide street front, 56m deep and is 10 storeys high. The headquarters hosts, retail, office space, an exhibition space along with access the underground train station. The building facade is fabricated out of 13,000 custom made 450mm square glass bricks and a unique rounded brick at the corner.
The ground level is the only level (where retail is programmed) which offers complete transparency through the facade. Other than that the glass bricks provided a completely translucent membrane throughout the building. Circulation throughout the building is kept on the neighbouring building lot line and extends and wraps around the back of the site.
4.0 large - hudson yards
and the posts keep coming…
Damn straight. Hudson Yards (well the retail portion and the “Vessel”) officially opened to the public last week. Related threw a big party for all the people who are about to make them some more money. Nevermind about the few 10,000 who actually built it.
Anyway apart from the extravagant party that they hosted in the new shopping mall. (Yes, New York has yet another shopping mall), the precinct has been getting some not-so-nice press.
See here for Michael Kimmelman’s (Architecture critic for the New York Times), spiel on the $60 billion dollar complex. The architectural graphics are quite something, but the last few lines are relatively brutal…
Due to being terrified of the crowds I have yet to visit, however I was on the Highline a couple of weekends prior. Another shopping mall?! We all exclaimed. Second to the bad publicity is the critic on the “pinnacle” of the development, “The Vessel”, with some complaining that the rails are dangerously low.
Heatherwick’s designers stated that they didn’t want the idea of fear driving the outcome of the design and therefore have minimal barriers that are still compliant.
With the Western Yards still to come who knows what we’re in for… What do you think of Hudson Yards…? Another ode to ridiculous capitalism? An architectural feat or flop?
5.0 x-large - BARAD-DUR
is bigger than everything on earth
What’s more architectural, than some architectural fantasy locked in my favourite trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. Who knows how many hours of my life I’ve squirreled away watching extended editions, but hey it’s so great.
Anyway just a little background. Barad-Dur is J.R.R Tolkien’s fictional tower where the bad guy aka. Eye of Sauron looks upon Middle Earth. As you can see by this awesome infographic below, the Tower of Sauron puts everything on Planet Earth to shame.
6.0 s, m, l, xl (in case you were wondering)
the book by rem.
So in case you were wondering, (non-architects of course) where the Small Medium Large X-Large came from, it wasn’t any thinking of my own but actually that of Dutch startchitect Rem Koolhaas. Koolhaas, together with Bruce Mau produced an architectural literary monstrosity (and by that I’m referring to the size of the book) of a book.
Full confession. I’ve never read it. And unsure if I ever will… I’m destined for architectural hell.
But I can tell you this much. It has a 4.5 star rating on amazon from its 38 reviews. However, it appears on my skim of the first 6 reviews, all love its “coolness” but not many have actually read it cover to cover. I guess because its a gigantic book that weighs a cool 6 pounds.
7.0 the motherland (the other motherland)
london skyscrapers?
Having not been to London recently, this caught my eye. Research from New London Architecture has discovered that a record number of skyscrapers (541) may adorn the London skyline in the near future. This is mostly due to the number of approved filings. Despite all that is happening politically with Brexit the “pipeline is steady” according to NLA chairman Peter Murray. So what will future London look like? See below. Of the 541 buildings that have been proposed, 90% of them are posed for residences.
8.0 do you remember the time…
When architects didn’t use computers…! Check out this amazing post on Bored Panda. I swear I will never complain about revit ever again…
9.0 sick of classical?
Pocketful of Rainbows - Elvis Presley
10.0 is this real life?
Or do we live in the Matrix?
Check out this amazing computer generated work by Refik Anadol. Anadol’s works have a unique take on parametricism and data visualisation. He has collaborated with a number of well known architects, helping to enrich and enliven spaces with an immersive experience.
11.0 architectural spotlight
this is…
sanaa
aka. Kazuyo Seijima and Ryue Nishizawa.
Pritzker Prize winners (2010) from Japan. The two founded SANAA back in 1995. SANAA are well known for their often white, minimal buildings with a very simple material palette.
Notable works include…
The Toledo Museum of Art, Glass Pavilion. From above the museum is almost square in plan with rounded glass corners. Simple rounded voids puncture the floor plan to allow for interior courtyards and to allow natural light into the museum. Similar to the exterior treatment, the interior glass partitions are also rounded rooms and are opaque white when needed. Curtains run around the perimeter of some of the glass galleries to partition of areas and help control lighting.
Probably my favourite work of theirs…
The New Museum on Bowery in New York. Although I should confess that I have not been inside the entirety of the building, it does look pretty great in the dusk shot below. The Museum consists of a series of stacked “boxes”, right before the BIG and ODA surges of stacked volumes. The building is fully wrapped with a expanded mesh that cleverly softens the edges of the building.
Last one…
The Rolex Learning Center. So for some strange reason a lot of us in school had a SANAA obsession. The sleek white interiors/shiny reflective and the very reductive cutesy plans somehow had brainwashed us all. SANAA’s architectural intervention for the Learning Center is very interesting, as the firm literally landscapes the building.
I’ve never been there myself but vacuuming it would be a strange and potentially frustrating experience…? I suppose in a similar vein to the Toledo museum, SANAA again has replicated the curved courtyards. The building is almost like a piece of swiss cheese that is stuck to the top hamburger bun in the way that it peels up from the ground.
shenanigans
1.0 a canine friend
Hi Gino. You’re so cute! Please be my friend.
2.0 babe
This was probably an obvious choice after my Captain Marvel recommendation. I don’t think much more commentary is needed. Captain Marvel will save the world… or will she? Avengers Endgame is out April 26th! ahhhh
3.0 space invader of herzog and de meuron’s jenga tower (aka 56 leonard)
I think it’s actually more squat in real life… woops.
4.0 boy
Yikes, scraping the barrel on the boys department. But managed to find some eye candy.
Sean O’pry. See below.
5.0 ok, enough of that
Wow, what a way to go…
6.0 stair porn
Designed by Eisa Ghasemian, there stairs are home to a duplex called the Farahi House. Struggling to find more info on this!
7.0 art
This work is entitled “The Event of a Thread” by Ohio artist Ann Hamilton. This piece was exhibited at the Park Avenue Armoury back in 2013 and aims to combine the ephemeral idea of time with a material tactility.
8.0 object
Ummmm how about these amazing ombre fringe lamp shades by Huldra of Norway. Also by one of my very talented friends Ashley Reed.
9.0 wanderlust
A floating church in Sacshen, Germany. Photo taken by Frederik Schindler.
10.0 harsh realities
Ugh yuck I don’t want to talk about this. But what happened last week as really horrific. I can’t believe it happened. Without giving it anymore internet time than the media has already shown… New Zealand welcomes all with open arms and will continue to do so.
11.0 lol
With direct reference to my prior Lord of the Rings entry, is a great .gif if you’ve seen the Two Towers and remember when Gandalf the White unveils his new identity to King Theoden/Saruman. Thank you Rozenn.
12.0 doodle
#throwback doodle. Photograph courtesy of Chrissy.
13.0 nom nom nom…!
Colonie, 127 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn. Get there ASAP.
Recommended by #djburns this place had a line before it even opened at 11am. At first I was skeptical till I ordered their Turkish eggs. Holy moley. wow.
The browned roasted butter, or whatever you want to call it. To die for. I was too hungry that I forgot to take photos. But thank goodness for google.
13.0 and that’s a wrap! here’s some ‘new’ music
Not new. But still a great time. Tom Misch. Saw him last year and he was fantastic to say the least. Also updates to the threethirtyitis playlist on spotify. With a quick run down on the track selection. In light of the Michael Jackson, Leaving Neverland HBO doco we have my all time favourite MJ song, Rock With You. Then there’s a couple of tracks from Big Little Lies, a fantastic production by HBO. Morning Dew is a random spotify find, Rocket Man, recalling the trailer of the Elton movie I saw before Captain Marvel and the rest, I guess I just felt like chucking them on. Enjoy!
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Till next week my friends.
I hope that I have credited everything. If not images are not mine unless stated, please click on the images and hyperlinks to their original sources :)