Architectuul.

UNStudio: Motion Matters

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:20:00 +0200

UNStudio are a Dutch architecture firm founded by Caroline Bos and Ben van Berkel in 1988. With an office in their native Amsterdam and now also in Shanghai, China, they have been building a solid body of realised projects all over the world, accompanied by their architectural research.

An exhibition of UNStudio’s work is currently on display until the 4th July at the Aedes Architektur Forum in Berlin. Entitled Motion Matters, the exhibition explores the various interactions between a building, and the user, and how this can engage the public in a myriad of challenging confrontations, which is an integral element to UNStudio’s designs.

We have brought together a collection of work from UNStudio to feature this week on Architectuul, accompanied by photographs from the exhibition.

Erasmusbrug is a cable-stayed bridge in Rotterdam built in 1996. UNStudio have designed a slew of infrastructure projects, Erasmusbrug being an early example.

Erasmusbrug, Rotterdam, 1996 | Source: Creative Commons

Mobius House, Netherlands, 1998 was designed around the concept of an interlocking torus. The private residence organises space with intertwining levels and trajectories.

Mobius House, 1998 | Source: Christian Richters

UNStudio: Motion Matters Exhibition at Aedes, Berlin until 4th July 2013.

Stairway To Heaven

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:22:00 +0200

Stairs are a necessary element to any building with more than one floor. The following collection of intricate stairways have garnered particular attention. With curving designs that stretch the full height of the buildings, they each create a distinctive architectural stairway to heaven.

Lloyd’s Building, London, 1984 by Richard Rogers | Source: UBer ARchitecture

Helsinki Olympic Stadium, built for the 1952 Summer Olympics by Toivo Jantti and Yrjo Lindegren | Source: Suomen Urheilumuseo

UNESCO Building, Paris, 1958 was designed by a team including Marcel Breuer, Pier Luigi Nervi and Bernard Zehrfuss with Le Corbusier on the advisory panel | Source: Krazin

The Copan Building in Sao Paolo is a 38-storey residential building designed by Oscar Niemeyer in 1966 | Source: Architecture of Doom

Thank You!

Sat, 11 May 2013 16:41:00 +0200

50,000 likes on Facebook, amazing!

We would like to say a huge thank you for helping us reach 50k likes, we couldn’t have done it without you.

You can imagine how many time we hit refresh to capture this beautiful image.

Mathematical Architecture: Paraboloids

Fri, 10 May 2013 14:58:00 +0200

Architecture is a science. A science of building and there have been many structures that incorporate mathematics into the equation. One of the more fascinating experiments of mathematics and architecture is the paraboloid.

Le Corbusier and Iannis Xennakis used a collection of hyperbolic paraboloids for the design of the Philips Pavilion which was part of the 1958 Expo in Brussels.

Corbusier & Xennakis’ Philips Pavilion, Expo ‘58 | Source: FLC/DACS

Another example of a hyperbolic paraboloid structure is something of a forgotten masterpiece, Oceanographique, by Felix Candela. The arching structure in Valencia houses an aquarium. The building is within the ‘City of Arts and Science’ complex where Santiago Calatrava has several buildings that make up the complex.

The ‘Wetland’ Zoo designed by Felix Candela | Source: Daniele Testa

Some other buildings that utilise mathematics to create curving structures include:-

Dorton Arena, North Carolina, 1952 by Maciej Nowicki

Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, San Francisco, 1971 by Pier Luigi Nervi

Movies Starring Architecture

Fri, 03 May 2013 15:06:56 +0200

Architecture can help to create a backdrop in films, however there are some buildings which have taken centre stage.

One such building is the Stahl House, also called Case Study House #22 designed by Pierre Koenig in 1959. This private residence is nestled into the Hollywood Hills and has featured in more than ten movies.

Julius Shulman photographing The Stahl House, 1959 | Source: Phaidon

An architect who is no stranger to having his buildings grace the cameras is John Lautner. Chemosphere House, 1961, has featured in a range of films and TV shows from the Charlie Angel’s movie to an episode of The Simpsons. While the Rainbow House (Garcia Residence) starred in Lethal Weapon 2 alongside Mel Gibson. And adding cult movie status into the mix, Lautner’s Sheats Goldstein Residence takes the lead in The Big Lebowski.

Scene from The Big Lebowski | Source: Jones Edvard

Monumental Discoveries

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:21:00 +0200

Continuing an appreciation for monuments, this weeks feature is a selection of Soviet monuments. Some are perhaps more obscure than others but each have been constructed to ensure that the memory behind the architecture has a lasting legacy.

The largest ideological building in the world, Buzludha can be found on Mount Buzludha in Bulgaria. The round conrete structure was built in 1891 but unfortunately today it stands crumbling, while there is no institution willing to conserve it.

Buzludha, Bulgaria surrounded by snow | Source: Xiao Yang

In Croatia the Jasenovac Monument was unveiled in 1966 as a memorial for the victims of the Jasenovac concentration camp. Bogdan Bogdanovic’s curving stone design was hand chiseled by unskilled workers.

Due to the shape it has a nickname of ‘Flower Stone’ | Source: Leigh Walton

The Monument to the Conquerors of Space was built in Moscow in 1964. The sweeping structure honours the Soviet cosmonauts with a 107m high, titanium cladded obelisk. The base of the building houses the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics.

The grand opening took place on the 7th anniversary of the Sputnik 1 launch | Source: Tomoland

International Day For Monuments And Sites

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 18:40:39 +0200

In 1983 the UNESCO general assembly accepted the proposal for an International Day For Monuments And Sites. The aim of this day is to promote awareness and conservation about culturally significant sites and monuments around the world.

Always fond of endangered architecture, we have been cataloguing a range of buildings that are currently under threat but may not have made heritage status. In alignment with the International Day For Monuments And Sites, we would like to promote the cultural and historical importance of the following buildings in hopes of raising awareness about them.

Melnivkov House was designed by Konstantin Melnikov as both his own home and experiment in 1927. This constructivist building in Moscow is currently under threat of being demolished despite how well-known it is.

The fight to save the Melnikov House | Source: Natalia Melikova

Preston Bus Station is the main terminus for the city of Lancashire in the United Kingdom. The monolithic concrete design has garnered plenty of controversy throughout its life, and the battle to save this brutalist building continues.

A vintage snapshot of the Preston Bus Station | Source: Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire Transport Review

A sports complex in Cambodia, the Phnom Penh National Stadium, which has fallen into disrepair, is now at risk of being torn down. It was designed by Vann Molyvann in 1964 and is an example of New Khmer architecture.

Phnom Penh National Stadium | Source: The Vann Molyvann Project

Schaustelle Opening In Munich

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 18:39:47 +0200

As the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich closes for renovation, a new temporary structure will open in its place. The ‘Schaustelle’ designed by Berlin-based architect, J. Mayer H. Architects, opens this weekend (13th-14th April).

The structure resembles scaffolding, creating an intricate framework that mimics the museum’s adjacent building site. The temporary pavilion will only be open for a period of seven months, this short life-span instigated the use of materials that will be reused after the structure is deconstructed.

Schaustelle situated next to the Pinakothek der Moderne museum complex, Munich | Photo: Rainer Viertlböck / Pinakothek der Moderne

Intricate framework of the new Schaustelle by J. Mayer H. Architects | Photo: Rainer Viertlböck / Pinakothek der Moderne

Paolo Soleri: Chasing Utopia

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 18:38:42 +0200

This week the Italian-American architect, Paolo Soleri, passed away at the age of 93. Soleri’s legacy remains with his experimental, utopian project, Arcosanti, built in the Arizona desert. Arcosanti began construction in 1970 with a core philosophy to minimise environmental desctruction.

Paolo Soleri received his Ph.D in 1947 | Source: VM Space

Still operating today, Arcosanti remains as a home to its residents while hosting workshops through the education facitlities. In this way Arosanti receives more than 40,000 visitors a year, who are interested in the architectural and ecological teachings of Soleri.

Arcosanti continues to be be built by its visitors, using local materials | Source: Wikipedia

Vistor Center at Arcosanti | Source: Unknown

Urban Movement: Metabolism

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 15:10:15 +0200

Metabolist architecture emerged during the 50’s by a group of young, Japanese architects under the guidance of Kenzo Tange. This collection of architects, consisting of Fumihiko Maki, Kiyonori Kikutake and Kisho Kurokawa, investigated biological processes and flexible urban models. Their designs were experimental and we’ve been looking at the few realised projects.

The most infamous example of Metabolist architecture is the Nakagin Capsule Tower by Kisho Kurokawa. Kurokawa was the youngest of the group, his mixed-use office and residential tower features apartments specifically designed for ‘the salaryman’.

A lesser known example of Metabolism is Yoji Watanabe’s New Sky Building. What is interesting about this building is its longevity (and that it is shaped like a submarine).

The single home pod’s of the Nakagin Capsule Tower | Photo: No known copyright

New Sky Building | Photo: Linus Yng

Constructivist Garages

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 12:08:36 +0100

The humble garage may seem like a rudimentary building, generally taking on the simple shape to fulfil a simple need. The garage is relegated as a functional piece of architecture, creating shelter for vehicles or housing tools, much a like shed. It is the obligatory ‘man cave’. But during the twenties and early thirties, a small collection of garages were designed by the Russian Constructivist architect, Konstantin Melnikov. He took the typical garage and morphed it using geometric shapes and new ideas of functionality. Today, each of them has their own story to tell.

Intourist Garage, 1936 by Konstantin Melnikov | Photo: Wilhelm Ernst & Sohn Verlag

Gosplan Garage, 1936 by Konstantin Melnikov | Photo (top): Andrey Stvolinsky (bottom): No known copyright

The Architect, Konstantin Melnikov | Photo: No known copyright

Toyo Ito vs. Shigeru Ban

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:50:06 +0100

The annual Pritzker Prize announcement drums up substantial speculation every year and 2013 was no different. While the highest accolade in architecture went to Toyo Ito, another Japanese architect Shigeru Ban was also among the contenders.

Prior to the announcement, a little tweet came from the official Pritzker Prize account giving praise to a Shigeru Ban sketch. And interestingly both architects were popular on Architectuul during the lead up. Coincidence?

Either way, Ito is a well-deserved (and long awaited) recipient, his architecture speaks for itself.

White U (House) 1976, one of Ito’s first projects | Photo: Koji Taki

Sendai Mediatheque 2000, mixed-use gallery and library | Photo: Kevin McKitrick

Home-for-All 2012, temporary structures for the Japan Earthquake relief | Photo: Iwan Baan

And now just to see some of Shigeru Ban’s projects.

Centre Pompidou Metz 2010 | Photo: RRR

Nomadic Museum, a travelling, temporary structure 2005-2008 | Photo: Paolo Mezzo

Nine Bridges 2009 | Source: Designersparty

Architects And Specs

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 17:19:56 +0100

There are a couple of things you can keep your eyes peeled for when trying to spot an architect. Generally speaking the uniform consists of black-on-black accompanied by a dashing pair of spectacles. The old masters of architecture had their look down-pat long before the hipsters laid claim to the geeky charm of glasses.

How many other architects with specs can you add to our list?

I.M. Pei in 1978 | Photo: Marc Riboud

Philip Johnson still in his office aged 95, 2002 | Source: Wikipedia

Peter Cook (aka Archigram) | Photo: Wikpedia

Buckminster Fuller in his Wayfarer’s. 1959 | Photo Yale Joel

No list would be complete without Le Corbusier | Photo: Ida Kar

The Empty House - A Fresh Look At Richard Meier

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 14:56:00 +0100

The Museum of Applied Arts in Frankfurt/Main is having its first major overhaul since it was built after Richard Meier [link]’s design and opened in 1985. The museum’s new director Matthias Wagner K and curator Thibaut de Ruyter jumped at this once-(maybe twice)-in-a-lifetime occasion to present Meier’s architecture for the first time since the building’s completion “as-is”, hence The Empty House, an exhibition open to the public from 7th to 10th March 2013.

Museum of Applied Arts, during renovation, January 2013 | Photo: Dieter Leistner

An empty house, as the exhibition’s curator points out, is an excellent opportunity to assess an architecture’s true spatial qualities. He rightly observes that “a building [should] be judged solely on the quality of its spaces and detailing, not on the colour of its carpets.”

What is more, the Empty House allows a fresh look at Meier’s emblematic white, the colour Richard Meier’s buildings have become so notorious for. Surprisingly for some, what seemed to be a fad, manifests superior qualities in its empty state.Although Frankfurt’s Meier is predictably painted in white, here - accentuated through the building’s newly acquired emptiness - the white brings about a distinctive and warm colour palette. Meier’s white is never clinical. In contrast to his modernist forebearers, he also stays away from any sort of dogmatic interpretation. His approach remains playful while being equally respectful to its surroundings. The architecture, one has the feeling, aims to provide an enticing framework, but ultimately it is the exhibits which are in the limelight not the built structure.

Museum of Applied Arts after construction around 1985 | Photo: Dieter Leistner

A similar point can be made about the exterior. Here it is Meier’s successful integration of the historic Villa Metzler, the 1803 townhouse which was the starting point for the museum that commands respect. It repeats the aforementioned idea of the framework in a different context. His design interlocks with the villa through a series of buildings which are geometrically extrapolated and yet concentrated and condensed - the extension seemingly creating a nest for its sibling, the villa. The outcome is a museum which pays homage to its historical roots while making a contemporary statement by playing with proportions, geometric rules and subtle regulating lines.

Axonometry of the Museum of Applied Arts | Source: Richard Meier & Partners

Parting from the Museum of Applied Arts, we were looking for further common traits and qualities in Richard Meier museum buildings. What we found is that in Meier’s realisations the blank-canvas idea, where artwork and the beauty of the site are freely expressed, are always present.

One of Richard Meier’s more recent museum creations is the Arp Museum in Remagen, where a wide range of Richard Meier’s works are exhibited until 3rd March on the occasion of the museum’s fifth anniversary. The museum situated on a steep, forested hillside overlooking the Rhine river, is perched above an old railway station. Here Meier’s proposal foresaw the integration of the railway through a series of sequential thresholds. Today visitors enter the museum through a tunnel parting from the station which leads to an elevator which carries them 40 metres upwards to a platform drenched in light. From there they walk through to the main gallery, a gleaming space of glass, steel and of course white. Through this skillful integration of the railway station, Meier creates a museum which entices visitors while crafting a clean backdrop for the artwork.

Elevator and platform at the Arp Museum, Remagen, 2007 | Photo: Roland Halbe

Another creation, the Ara Pacis Museum in Rome, opened in 2005, is following a similar pattern. The museum designed to house an antique Roman relic implements proportions and scale to relate to the ancient structure. The museum’s architecture hence elegantly makes the artefact its centrepiece.

Ara Pacis Museum, Rome, 2005 | Photo: Roland Halbe

‘The Empty House’ is an excellent opportunity to dive into Richard Meier’s ‘white’ works which otherwise might become too awkwardly familiar (for all the wrong ‘white’ reasons). Go and see his architecture from a fresh perspective - namely in the nude. Or as Thibaut de Ruyter so eloquently put it in his exhibition essay: Beautiful architecture does not need special clothing.

About the exhibition and relating events:

The Empty House runs 7th-10th March 2013 at the Museum of Applied Arts, Frankfurt/Main

Museum Angewandte Kunst
Schaumainkai 17
60594 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Phone: +49 69 212 34 037

Thursday 7th March - opening night
Pecha Kucha in collaboration with DAM (German Museum of Architecture), starts 8pm

Friday 8th March
Olaf Nicolai: A 26-hour-performance after Robert Schumann’s piano composition “Humoreske”, Op. 20 , starts 6pm till 8am the following day

Sunday 10th March
Master-key guided tours with the museum’s director and curators

2pm: PAST - Thibaut de Ruyter
3pm: PRESENT - Prof. Dr. Klaus Klemp
4pm: FUTURE - Matthias Wagner K

Friday 8th to Sunday 10th March

‘Speed-date’ guided tours

Friday & Saturday: 4-7pm

Sunday: 11am-1pm

Claude Parent Turned 90 This Week

Sat, 02 Mar 2013 20:47:00 +0100

Claude Parent, the French architect and theorist, has celebrated his 90th birthday this week. Quite a milestone! An opportunity to take a fresh look at his ‘Oblique Architecture’ and the buildings it produced.

1962: Villa Drusch with its steep angles | Photo: Dominique Delauney

1963: Sainte Bernadette du Banlay | Photo: Dominique Delauney

Sainte Bernadette du Banlay: view of the interior | Photo: Dominique Delauney

An Architecture PechaKucha In Frankfurt

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 20:50:00 +0100

From March 7th to March 11th, the Museum für Angewandte Kunst (MAK) in Frankfurt is opening its doors after a renovation to an “Empty House” exhibition to celebrate the building’s architecture designed by Richard Meier in the 1980s. On the opening night on March 7th, the Empty House will host an architecture themed PechaKucha event in collaboration with the German Museum of Architecture.

The event will start at 8pm and we are happy to announce that Architectuul will be among the participants. If you happen to be in Frankfurt, come and see us. And if you drop by, don’t forget to say hello.

Raimund Abraham Celebrated On The Web

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 09:28:13 +0200

One of Architectuul’s most popular architects, Raimund Abraham, is gaining a growing audience among internet users. Our collegues at Archdaily have posted a long in-depth article on the occasion of his birthday on June 23.

Photo by Nathalie Schuler via SHIFT

We couldn’t be happier. We always thought that this outstanding and complex architect was seriously ‘underexposed’. Now he is finally starting to get the attention he deserves. Here is another article by the Japanese blog SHIFT.

Brutalism Forever

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 13:40:10 +0200

They currently have a great comeback, these dinosaurs of late modernism. All be it the notion of Brutalism is extremely difficult to fathom for architecture historians.

Park Hill Estate, Sheffield

Is it Reyner Banham’s Brutalism, a very specific architectural language of the the 1950s and 1960s which he described in his book “New Brutalism” or does the term stand for all these raw concrete colossuses which were built in Europe and America, but also to a great extent in the communist bloc until the early eighties although architects in these countries all but heard the word Brutalism until the fall of the iron curtain.We decided to stick with the easy to grasp “You can recognize them, if you see them” formula. Big, raw concrete, expressive, somewhat ugly but endearing. For an evergrowing collection of these lovely monsters the Fuck Yeah Brutalism blog is a must see!

International Workers' Day: Constructivism Revisited

Wed, 02 May 2012 10:55:04 +0200

On the occasion of May 1st, we would like to draw your attention to a series of buildings which were erected as Workers’ Clubs in the early days after the October Revolution in Soviet Russia. They now constitute the core of Russian Constructivist architecture and have since become seminal works of this period.

Rusakov Workers’ Club via the Constructivist Project

On the blog The Constructivist Project, a young photographer is diplaying a fine collection of photographs around the topic.

Scharoun Berlin #architecture (Taken with instagram)

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 09:36:25 +0200

Scharoun Berlin #architecture (Taken with instagram)