anArchitecture

The Steinhaus has been completed.

2008-10-06T21:40:00.006+02:00

After 22 years construction time architect Günter Domenig’s Steinhaus (Stone-house) has been finished. Originally designed as his old-age residence it is now hosting concerts and soon workshops for architecture students.

floor plan of the Steinhaus

Günter Domenig (born 1934)has spend nearly 3 million euro on the building - 1,1 million euro have been provided by the municipality. It’s the fulfillment of his life's dream – the Steinhaus on Ossiach Lake (Ossiacher See).

Domenig and the governor of Carinthia, image by LPD/Bodner

Architecture Film, Vertigo.

2008-10-02T19:10:00.001+02:00

It is amazing how Alfred Hitchcock captures space in his movies. It looks so simple and easy, however, we know Hitchcock was a perfectionist who did not leave anything randomly. Vertigo is a movie about moving around in space, most clearly in the “Vertigo effect” - a rapid panning-out and then zooming-in shot. Undoubtedly, the movie has many themes to explore. See a 10 minutes sampler from YouTube.

Living-Room.

2008-10-01T22:23:00.005+02:00

mock-up of the typical German living.room, Wozikonfi, by JVM

Do architects know their target audience? Those they directly or indirectly design and build for? Do they know the life-(style) of e.g. senior citizens, doctors, delivery boys or a full-time moms? Strangely, it is often unimportant for whom you build: Future occupants may change until the completion of a building. In many cases, designers have no clarity about the views, wishes and preferences of the unique user.

mock-up of the typical German living.room,Wozikonfi, by JVM

On the contrary, advertising agencies might know everything about their target audience. It is a great value for them and part of their workaday life to know the habits and lifestyle of people.

Wozikonfi, by JVM

The German ad agency Jung v. Matt, however, is a step forward. They investigate how people in Germany, Austria and Switzerland live: by furnishing living rooms. The offices of Jung v. Matt are housing detailed full size mock-ups of the average living-room. Because that’s the place where people see the agency’s ads.

Piranesi’s Renderings.

2008-09-30T22:13:00.010+02:00

rendering by Piranesi.

Today, most architectural practices have outsourced the (press- ready) visualization of their designs and a new service industry has been born: visualizing architecture.

mvrdv, rendering by luxigon

Visualizations of projects like the philharmonic hall competition designed by MVRDV, rendered by luxigon, might remind you to Giovanni Battista Piranesi, the Italian artist famous for his etchings of Rome and of fictitious and atmospheric "prisons". "[..] a Kafkaesque, Escher-like distortion, seemingly erecting fantastic labyrinthian structures, epic in volume, but empty of purpose." (source: Wikipedia)

rendering by Piranesi.

Piranesi’s drawings (1720-1778) still fascinate many people - not only architects: His vedute (Italian for "views") - the depth of space, the crowded scenery, the details, the endlessness – contain all ingredients of contemporary imagery.

mvrdv, rendering by luxigon

Wasting Energy. F1 Track Singapore.

2008-09-29T20:56:00.004+02:00

Singapore F1 track.

There’s a lot of talk about energy saving – like using low energy light bulbs for example (EU leaders to make Europe change lightbulbs - on Reuters). The Formula One, on the contrary, is differently minded: in last weekend Singapore Grand Prix 1500 spotlights (3 million watt) have illumined the 5km long track F1 track (to 3000 lux). Apart from that the Formula One is standing for tobacco ads, risky driving, the petroleum industry and other nice stuff. Anyway, at least the illumined race course in the nightly Singapore was beautiful.

Diller Scofidio + Renfro. A 3D Experience.

2008-09-26T11:21:00.004+02:00

screenshot of the newly designed website of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, by Pentagram

Diller Scofidio + Renfro got a new website designed by the multi-disciplinary design firm Pentagram (see Pentagram blog). "The visual style of the site was inspired by the firm’s rendering technique in which projects are depicted as a montage of flat imagery within three-dimensional space." (source: pentagram). It’s a web portfolio perfectly reflecting the experimental character of the architectural practice: each project is represented by a 3D plane, floating in space. You simply scroll through the images, filtered them by categories or zoom in.
Rarely, architects show their potential in the online world as good as Diller Scofidio + Renfro (see Guardian article "Why are architects' websites so badly designed?").

Not Depending on Color.

2008-09-25T18:04:00.003+02:00

"Colorblindness" is a defect of the retina – eight to ten percent of men and one percent of women are affected by this imperfection of color vision. Colorblindness is characterized by the inability or impaired perception of red, green, red-green or blue-yellow visual information. (see wikipedia)

Should architects or designers take color blind users into special consideration when designing? Especially critical information shouldn’t only depend on color information like maps, escape routes and other orientation guides. (see iPhone Available: Except To Color Blind Users, on iloveux.com) .

Adobe will offer in the next Photoshop version color universal design (CUD) support. The program’s soft proofing features can simulate color blindness, making it easier to create accessible signage and other artwork. Websites like Etre's color blindness simulator might offer the same functionality online.

'Design' should be usable / accessible for all people regardless of visual or motor impairments.

After the Bird’s Nest. Olympic 2012. A Film by Squint Opera.

2008-09-24T22:54:00.001+02:00

Olympics 2012 from squintopera on Vimeo

HOK commissioned Squint/Opera to make a film about their design for the main Olympic Stadium in the East end of London for 2012. A hard task to promote a stadium design after Herzog and de Meuron’s masterpiece.

Squint opera – based in London - is maybe the most sophisticated architecture animation studio in the industry.

Goldener Schnitt.

2008-09-24T09:12:00.000+02:00

I feel golden - hope your navel is on Corbusier "modulor-conform" 113cm. (via swissmiss)

Holy Urbanism – MONU calls for submissions.

2008-09-23T23:01:00.003+02:00

Inflatable church, by a Dutch manufacture of Inflatables.

The one thing that all religions on our planet have in common is their distinction between the holy and the profane. All religions appear to be organized as systems of beliefs with distinctive practices and all have built structures in relation to things holy. And those distinctive practices and structures have always shaped our cities in a profound way. (Monu)

Monu invites uncompromising texts, untamed speculations, refined analysis, bold photography, and heroic projects on the topic "Holy Urbanism" for our next issue of MONU (end of November 2008).

Pedestrian Bridge in Suzhou.

2008-09-22T23:01:00.004+02:00

pedestrian bridge in Suzhou, China, inspired by West 8?

Like in any other creative field, architects more and more have to deal with intellectual property issues regarding their own work. Currently it’s unusual to protect or patent architectural designs (see "Is architecture ready for copyrights?"). Who can really judge whether the design is a copyright infringement or just ‘in the style’ of the original design? In the case of the pedestrian bridge in Suzhou, China, however, the source of the original seems clear: West 8’s pedestrian bridges.

The Bridge of Sighs. 11th Biennale in Venice.

2008-09-21T22:34:00.003+02:00

Like a film studio - The Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri)

The Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri) is definitely one of the most photographed buildings in Venice. It connects the old prisons to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace (built in 1600, designed by Antoni Contino). During the bridge’s renovation it’s a monument marked by a car brand – the main sponsor of the 65th Venice International Film Festival. I wonder how often the massive billboard will pop up in people’s holiday pictures? Will the ad infiltrate people’s vacation memories - a postcard image hijacked by an advertisement agency? (a Google search has revealed that Oliviero Toscani’s ad agency might be in charge Ponte dei Sospiri transformation- link)

Rebirth Brick Proposal. 11th Architecture Biennale in Venice.

2008-09-19T22:01:00.002+02:00

brick wall at the Chinese pavilion, 11th Biennale in Venice.

From the Chinese pavilion at the 11th Architecture Biennale in Venice:

Rebirth Brick is a resource manufacturing project by China based Jiakun Architects to promote recycled building for the reconstruction of earthquake stricken zone. Using debris from ruins along with wheat branches as reinforcing fiber and cement can result in light-weight bricks. It’s not only a physical ‘rebirth’ but also a spiritual one.

brick wall at the Chinese pavilion, 11th Biennale in Venice.

The brick-pressing machine is a semi-manual technology: it doesn’t require a long period of training before full production can take place. Rebirth Brick is a low-tech material, however, it’s economic, non-flammable, sustainable, flexible in dimensions and – best of all – not patented.

Re:Doing Dubai. 11th Biennale in Venice.

2008-09-17T21:34:00.006+02:00

Courtesy: the Author and Fondazione La Biennale di Venezia

From the Italian pavilion at the 11th Architecture Biennale in Venice:

J,P:A JONES
PARTNERS
RE:DOING DUBAI
WES JONES

Dubai has become synonymous with excess and opportunity, its belligerent self-promotion a continuing challenge to the conscience-plagued architect and critically-minded urbanist. This project asks how the good intentions of critical architecture can make a way through the inevitable cooptation by the power/capital structures that enable them. To get the spirit of this idea, addressing the problem of critical accommodation from within the heart of the beast, the team reinvented itself as a fictional developer: the Kartun Development Group (KDG) – a „sheep in wolf’s clothing.“ Four characteristic areas of concern or identity in Dubai have prompted projects that demonstrate KDG’s goal of achieving a measure of criticality as a consequence of a superabundance of effects . the waterfront, where the iconic Palms have sprouted; the airports, home to world’s soon-to-be-largest airline and port to the global future; the guest worker’s housing needs; and the general question of real estate value as exemplified in the creation of ground-up, themed cities.

Contributors: Stefan Pfefferle, Jeixia Xu, Mark Daniels, Caroline Dahl, Hossein Lotfi Shemirani, Robert Cha, Charles Ware JR., Simon Battisti, Jonathan Odom and Mary Aramian, Jennifer Dinardo, Necmi Karaman, Ming Cheng Chang, Adam Gebrian) Associated Students
Figures by Mark Simmons, Academy of Art University
With the support of the California Institute of Architecture

The Japanese Pavilion. 11th Biennale in Venice.

2008-09-16T23:14:00.003+02:00

Japanese Pavilion, 11th Biennale in Venice.

Almost nothing - only mellow pencil lines are covering the pavilion’s interior walls. It’s the Japanese contribution of the 11th International Architecture Exhibition in the Gardini, in Venice, by Junya Ishigami: sectional drawings of inhabited greenhouse structures.

Japanese Pavilion, 11th Biennale in Venice.

The pavilion’s exterior is surrounded by 1:1 buildings of greenhouses, an attempt of realizing an idea of the pencil drawings. "These buildings, which are designed with precise structural calculations so they are just barely able to stand, suggest the future possibilities of architecture and therefore pose the basic question: What is architecture? They are extremely delicate greenhouses with an ephemeral physical presence that blend into the environment." (source)

The pavilion’s exterior.

Are the built greenhouses as compelling as their pencil drawings?

Japanese Pavilion, 11th Biennale in Venice.

La Biennale. The Exhibition in the Arsenale. 11th Biennale in Venice.

2008-09-13T13:12:00.010+02:00

Aron Betsky - what you invite is what you get.

If you have followed the architectural scene the last five, even ten years, you have somehow already seen 'Out There', the 2008 exhibition in the arsenale.

Parts are a repetition of the obvious: A Gehry-like wood tower, an UnStudio loop, Zaha Hadid curves, MVRDV flying cars and so on: Room-filling sculptures.

Zaha Hadid Architects Lotus, Perspective – Open 2008 Computer Generated Image Courtesy: Zaha Hadid Architects and Fondazione La Biennale di Venezia

Only installations like the projected canal cruises of different 'Venices' - from Macao, Las Vegas and Italy - (done by Diller Scofidio + Renfro) have been impressive. Outstanding, too: Greg Lynn toy sculptures, Barkow Leibinger's Normadic garden and the graphic design of the Biennale by Thonik: a perfectly composed visual language guiding you through the exhibition spots of the Biennale.

Greg Lynn, Recycled Toys Furniture, Golden Lion for Best Installation Project in the International Exhibition

So unlike the opening days - which is a gathering of architects from all over the world - the exhibition itself isn't done for a 'professional' audience. Honestly, why should it?

Diller Scofidio + Renfro, installation in the Arsenale

anArchitecture in Venice. Out There: Architecture Beyond Building. 11th Biennale in Venice.

2008-09-10T12:35:00.007+02:00

Architecture is a disputatious term. What does it mean? Again, the Architecture Biennale in Venice is looking for answers. Under the topic of “Out There: Architecture Beyond Building” the venue will take place in Venice from Sunday, September 14th to Sunday, November 23rd 2008 in the Arsenale and Giardini exhibition venues.

History of recent Venice Biennale Topics

2006 Cities, architecture and society, director: Richard Burdett
2004 METAMORPH, director: Kurt W. Forster
2002 NEXT, director: Deyan Sudjic
2000 Less Aesthetics, More Ethics, director: Massimiliano Fuksas
1996 The Architect as Seismograph, director: Hans Hollein

"The 11th Architecture Biennale, entitled Out There: Architecture Beyond Building, points out what should be an obvious fact: architecture is not building." As I try to understand Aaron Betsky – curator of the Venice Biennale - architecture is more a process – a mix of experiencing, talking, shaping, etc. "In a concrete sense, architecture is that which allows us to be at home in the world". However, It doesn't sound too profound when Betsky writes that concerning architecture,"it’s not enough to keep the rain out or create room for office cubicles". Well, I quite believe everyone claims doing more than that.

His introductory text gets even more weird when he writes: "In isolated situations, such as when a rich person wants a house or a museum wants a cultural artfact, we can find instances of architecture that sensually and sensibly shapes our environment in such a way that it allows us know where we are." (source: http://www.labiennale.org/en/architecture/exhibition/en/62180.html)

Maybe this year’s Venice Biennale is considering architecture’s core values: making beautiful spaces and shapes. "It (the Biennale) does not want to propose abstract solutions to social problems, but wants to see if architecture, by experimenting in and on the real world, can offer some concrete forms or seductive images." No (social) utopia this time? Of course there is nothing bad about it. Let’s just see!

Anyway, the Architecture Biennale is a great platform of architectural experiments – a visual spectacle. The underlying motto was never a big issue.

anArchitecture will attend this year’s opening / professional days in Venice. Wait for more to come..

Some Biennale events:

11.09
10.00 – 11.00 Writing Beyond Building
14.30 – 15.30 Zaha Hadid Master Lectures
16.00 – 19.00 Pecha Kucha Night
20.20 – 21.00 Opening Daily Life (with Bow Wow, Droog Design)

12.09
12.00 – 13.00 Wolf Prix Masters Lectures
15.00 – 16.00 New Urban Ecologies (with Cloud 9, Studio Boeri)
16.30 – 17.00 BlubBlobLab (Cloud9)
20.00 – 21.00 Beyond Conversation: Bodies, Beasts and Other Signs (with Asymptote, Thonik, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, UnStudio and Nigel Coates)

13.09
12.00 – 13.00 Frank Gehry Master Lectures
20.00 – 21.00 Beyond Utopia (Moderator: Jeffrey Kipnis)

(all venues in Teatro Piccolo)

Total Billboard Ban.

2008-09-09T10:36:00.002+02:00

Imagine a world without ads. No false promises – no desire to buy. Unbelievable.

Writings, logos and posters have always been part of the urban realm, thus never in this dominance. The municipality of Sao Paulo regarded them as “visual pollution” and decided a total ban of outdoor advertising (see Tony de Marco photo stream on flickr). “Almost all outdoor signage, public transportation advertising and video screens have been removed in an effort to reduce the amount of ‘visual pollution’” (source: Wikipedia). In 2007 mayor Gilberto Kassab has reduced outdoor ads by law as part of the so-called “Clean City campaign” (for example on a 10m high façade 1.5 m² advertisement surface is allowed).

Maybe this forces advertisers to work with the city in a more creative way instead of reducing it to poster walls?

(see large-scale billboards on anArchitecture)

Changing Landscapes - Silages.

2008-09-05T13:51:00.006+02:00

round balers, photo by pizzodisevo

silage blobs, photo by snerz

Late-summer rural landscapes: Hay bales scattered in a field in the glowing afternoon sun. However, rationalization is going to change this atmospheric picture. Some regions – mostly in Europe, are replacing the traditional round balers by silages: Hay completely sealed in plastic – like "Blobitecture". Of course, the silage blobs have a certain aesthetic appeal but are they still flowery?

silage blobs in Austria, photo by anarchitecture

(literature tip for German speaking readers: Friedrich Achleitner, Die Plotteggs kommen)

Loop de Loop - by NL Architects.

2008-08-29T22:43:00.010+02:00

view on site

Containers come in many different sizes and dimensions, yet the sculptural qualities of assemblage are limited to orthogonal compositions. But by one relatively simple operation -bisecting, rotating and reassembling- intriguing new configurations are possible. The containers will be combined together at their end points: any continuous tube can be constructed: Loop ‘d’ Loop.

building parts of Loop-de-Loop

The void of the interior can now be explored. It can accommodate many different programs, it can provide shelter, it can contain a path, a stair, a route. Partly opening up sidewalls is easy; it will offer multiple perspectives over the Sites and the City.

section through containers

Loop-de-Loop could serve as information booth, as exhibition space, as adventure came, as a ‘ride’, as ‘view generator’, as cafe, as site canteen, as theatre, as auditorium, as skybox, as Logo.

After sometime Loop-‘d’-Loop can be taken apart, transported elsewhere and be reassembled in a new way: a continuous process of destruction and renewal. It’s appearance always reminiscent of the building site, blending in in a twisted fashion. (Text: NL Architects)

Loop de Loop from anarchitecture on Vimeo.

Design: NL Architects, Pieter Bannenberg, Walter van Dijk, Kamiel Klaasse
Team: Wim Sjerps, Christoph Wassmann, Annarita Papeschi, Sören Grünert, Beatriz Ruiz de la Torre, Sarah Möller

Prada Marfa.

2008-08-29T11:12:00.003+02:00

Prada Marfa. Courtesy: Lizette Kapre, Ballroom Marfa, and the Art Production Fund

Another (archaeological) evidence of civilization - the Prada Marfa, Texas done by Elmgreen & Dragset in 2005.

Autobahn.

2008-08-28T15:46:00.007+02:00

The Autobahn is a mythological object – both a blessing and a curse. Motorways connect communities, however, often separate natural habitats as they cross valleys, forest and farmland. They carve-up the landscape. The Autobahn celebrates individuality - speed affordable to the masses.

“Entdeckung der Korridore/Discovery of Corridors” by Prinzgau/podgorschek

The artwork “Entdeckung der Korridore/Discovery of Corridors” by Prinzgau/podgorschek buries the Autobahn (and the cultural form of the road) in the ground – a staged archaeological excavation.
Vanishing motorways – just wishful thinking?

the site in Paasdorf/Mistelbach, photo by Christian Wachter

Architecture Film, The baby falling down the Odessa Steps.

2008-08-18T23:23:00.005+02:00

The scene is well-known: the sequence of the baby falling down the Odessa Steps in Sergei Eisenstein’s movie The Battleship Potyomkin (1925) is one of the most influential films in movie history (many films pay homage to the scene like Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables).
Although, the massacre on the steps is fictional (it took place in the surrounding streets), the movie has made many people see in the “Odessa Steps” the alleged place of bloodbath. The "Odessa Steps" (now known as the “Potemkin Steps”, by architect Francesco Boffo) got a tourist attraction – the movie has exaggerate the place.

the “Potemkin Steps”, by architect Francesco Boffo, image wikipedia

The total height of the stair is about 30 meters (192 steps) – connecting the harbor to the city center. The 142 meter long stair has been built perspectively: upstairs about 13 meter and downstairs 21 meter – a (movie) stage-like effect! It makes the stair from below much longer and from top almost “perspective-less”.

Größere Kartenansicht

The Architectural Practice II.

2008-08-15T22:24:00.002+02:00

Building = Collaboration. It's the result of interacting individuals: structural engineer, heating /ventilation / sanitary planning engineers, electrical planning engineers, energy consultants, building technology engineers, light planning consultants, facility management, façade engineers, CAD drafters, building physics, clients, carpenters, landscape designers, interior designers, cost calculation consultants, construction supervision, project controllers, technical-economic controllers, traffic consultants, sound engineers, legal advisers, tender writers, the municipality, media, contractors, financial advisers, , fire protection engineers, renderers, metalworkers, architects, drywallers, tillers, floorers, bricklayers, plumbers, façade contractor, gardeners, electricians, model makers and more.

Has the architect lost influence on the course of construction?

The Architectural Practice.

2008-08-12T10:11:00.002+02:00

'stakeholders' in the building process

Architectural practices are a project based businesses: Changing teams create unique, tailor-made products or services (e.g. a building). A project is characterized by a network of different groups or companies (sometimes referred as 'stakeholders') like clients, designers, model makers, engineers, etc - temporary working together. Although people change from project to project their collaboration is based on trust.

Consequently, architectural practice's success is based on past achievement: their project portfolio and their (business) network.