Saturday, September 17, 2011
Friday, September 16, 2011
Park(ing) Day Book Exchange
Amazingly, until today, Park(ing) Day was something I only experienced in images, not in person. I like the idea of appropriating spaces from cars for other, pedestrian uses. Yet it seems that most of the "installations" tend to be a patch of grass (real or astroturf), some plants, and a few chairs. Instead of a car being parked in the spot, people are parking their rear ends and relaxing, putting the "park" in park(ing) day, if you will. So I always hoped for more creative uses for these one-day-a-year opportunities, something worth a visit.
For the second year, and the first since the opening of Van Alen Books, the Van Alen Institute held the Park(ing) Day Book Exchange at 30 West 22nd Street in Manhattan. The premise is simple: "Bring an architecture or design book (or a few) you’d like to donate, and take a book for your reading pleasure." I brought a few books (one history, one landscape, one monograph) and walked away with one by Blair Kamin. Not bad.
But my swap isn't the point; the swap is. It's commendable that VAi is promoting an alternative to capitalist exchange in its park(ing) space, something which adds another layer to the undertaking. Looking at other photos from Park(ing) Day festivities today, recreation seems to be the goal, not exploring ways of extending the idea of the takeover in other ways. A book swap certainly isn't revolutionary, and it does help familiarize people with Van Alen Books -- where books cost money, but it temporarily suspends one norm (money for goods) in the realm of another norm (a car in a parking space) that's also taking a break.
For the second year, and the first since the opening of Van Alen Books, the Van Alen Institute held the Park(ing) Day Book Exchange at 30 West 22nd Street in Manhattan. The premise is simple: "Bring an architecture or design book (or a few) you’d like to donate, and take a book for your reading pleasure." I brought a few books (one history, one landscape, one monograph) and walked away with one by Blair Kamin. Not bad.
But my swap isn't the point; the swap is. It's commendable that VAi is promoting an alternative to capitalist exchange in its park(ing) space, something which adds another layer to the undertaking. Looking at other photos from Park(ing) Day festivities today, recreation seems to be the goal, not exploring ways of extending the idea of the takeover in other ways. A book swap certainly isn't revolutionary, and it does help familiarize people with Van Alen Books -- where books cost money, but it temporarily suspends one norm (money for goods) in the realm of another norm (a car in a parking space) that's also taking a break.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Today's archidose #524
The Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Center in Reykjavik, Iceland by Henning Larsen Architects and Olafur Eliasson, 2011. See Domus 950 online for an article and a video with imagery by Pedro Kok. No doubt the facade is Eliasson's contribution, as it recalls a courtyard "lining" he created for a house by Tadao Ando.
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:: Join and add photos to the archidose pool, and/or
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Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Urban Design Week 2011
Tomorrow is the start of Urban Design Week, "a new public festival created to engage New Yorkers in the fascinating and complex issues of the public realm, and to celebrate the streetscapes, sidewalks, and public spaces at the heart of city life." Organized by the Institute for Urban Design, the week includes numerous events, the publication of the Atlas of Possibility for the Future of New York (arising from the By the City/For the City competition), an online discussion, and a blog.
Tomorrow's launch party takes place at the BMW Guggenheim Lab. Reserve a spot for the free event here.
Tomorrow's launch party takes place at the BMW Guggenheim Lab. Reserve a spot for the free event here.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Book Review: In the Absence of Raimund Abraham
In the Absence of Raimund Abraham: Vienna Architecture Conference 2010 edited by Peter Noever and Wolf D. Prix
Hatje Cantz, 2011
Paperback, 128 pages
Three months after architect and educator Raimund Abraham died in a car crash in Los Angeles, the MAK and University of Applied Arts held the Vienna Architecture Conference 2010: In the Absence of Raimund Abraham. Even though the architect of the Austrian Cultural Forum New York had an obviously strained relationship with his country of birth (born in the Tyrol in 1933, he renounced his citizenship in 2000 when the Freedom Party came into power), a number of people close to Abraham traveled to Vienna to recount stories and celebrate his life, one defined as much by his mustache, hat and cigar as by his drawings and passion for architecture. Transcripts of the conference's round table discussions with Thom Mayne, Wolf D. Prix, Vito Acconci, Kenneth Frampton, Eric Owen Moss, Peter Noever, Lebbeus Woods, and others paint a picture of a man devoted to architecture, education, and drawing. Of course that much is known about Abraham without a conference with architects and academics.
[Raimund's House in Oaxaca, Mexico | Photographs by Elfie Semotan]
So it is the personal stories recounted at the conference that start to give the reader an understanding of Abraham. Some of the stories are legendary in certain architectural circles, such as when on a jury at Cooper Union (where he taught for decades) Abraham asked a student for a glass of water; coming back into the room the student found his model on fire, Abraham's way of critiquing the design. A consistent action in many of the stories is Abraham's willingness, though never an easy one, to leave a room when frustrated, as if to make a stronger statement through his absence. This happens at his apartment in Manhattan when he screws up a pot roast; during another jury, this time at Sci-ARC, when he calls the designs crap; and in the middle of a baseball game with Peter Eisenman, who secured expensive box seats, but which were not enough to remedy the boredom Abraham had at the game. It's easy to see these actions as trying on a friendship, and while Abraham's personal motives will never be known, his departures read as expressions of conviction, as statements about what is important in life. His actions strongly point away from what is unimportant or not worth his time, abruptly redirecting his energies toward something else.
[Music House in Hombroich, Germany | Estimated completion in 2013]
It's not surprising that "In the Absence of Raimund Abraham" was chosen as the conference's title, for while it certainly expresses the fact that he is gone, it also summarizes an important aspect of the person who made statements through his lack of presence. A student would definitely had thought twice about his or her design if Abraham walked out on a presentation, be it after some expletives or igniting the design on fire. But to brandish these actions as unproductive is to gloss over the effort he devoted to education. He will probably be remembered more for his teaching than his architecture, as his built output is small. For Abraham, drawing was the expression that united his teaching and practice, what he saw as the most important action for an architect. Yet for that side of him readers are referred to Raimund Abraham [UN]BUILT, the recently released, revised and enlarged edition of his only monograph.
US:
CA: 
UK: 
Hatje Cantz, 2011
Paperback, 128 pages
Three months after architect and educator Raimund Abraham died in a car crash in Los Angeles, the MAK and University of Applied Arts held the Vienna Architecture Conference 2010: In the Absence of Raimund Abraham. Even though the architect of the Austrian Cultural Forum New York had an obviously strained relationship with his country of birth (born in the Tyrol in 1933, he renounced his citizenship in 2000 when the Freedom Party came into power), a number of people close to Abraham traveled to Vienna to recount stories and celebrate his life, one defined as much by his mustache, hat and cigar as by his drawings and passion for architecture. Transcripts of the conference's round table discussions with Thom Mayne, Wolf D. Prix, Vito Acconci, Kenneth Frampton, Eric Owen Moss, Peter Noever, Lebbeus Woods, and others paint a picture of a man devoted to architecture, education, and drawing. Of course that much is known about Abraham without a conference with architects and academics.
[Raimund's House in Oaxaca, Mexico | Photographs by Elfie Semotan]
So it is the personal stories recounted at the conference that start to give the reader an understanding of Abraham. Some of the stories are legendary in certain architectural circles, such as when on a jury at Cooper Union (where he taught for decades) Abraham asked a student for a glass of water; coming back into the room the student found his model on fire, Abraham's way of critiquing the design. A consistent action in many of the stories is Abraham's willingness, though never an easy one, to leave a room when frustrated, as if to make a stronger statement through his absence. This happens at his apartment in Manhattan when he screws up a pot roast; during another jury, this time at Sci-ARC, when he calls the designs crap; and in the middle of a baseball game with Peter Eisenman, who secured expensive box seats, but which were not enough to remedy the boredom Abraham had at the game. It's easy to see these actions as trying on a friendship, and while Abraham's personal motives will never be known, his departures read as expressions of conviction, as statements about what is important in life. His actions strongly point away from what is unimportant or not worth his time, abruptly redirecting his energies toward something else.
[Music House in Hombroich, Germany | Estimated completion in 2013]
It's not surprising that "In the Absence of Raimund Abraham" was chosen as the conference's title, for while it certainly expresses the fact that he is gone, it also summarizes an important aspect of the person who made statements through his lack of presence. A student would definitely had thought twice about his or her design if Abraham walked out on a presentation, be it after some expletives or igniting the design on fire. But to brandish these actions as unproductive is to gloss over the effort he devoted to education. He will probably be remembered more for his teaching than his architecture, as his built output is small. For Abraham, drawing was the expression that united his teaching and practice, what he saw as the most important action for an architect. Yet for that side of him readers are referred to Raimund Abraham [UN]BUILT, the recently released, revised and enlarged edition of his only monograph.
US:
CA: UK:
Monday, Monday
My weekly page update:
This week's dose features 1617 North Wolcott in Chicago, Illinois by Studio Dwell Architects:
The featured past dose is Townhouse in Chicago, Illinois by Alexander Gorlin Architects:
This week's book review is European Architecture Since 1890 by Hans Ibelings:
american-architects.com Building of the Week:
The Dillon in New York, NY by Smith-Miller + Hawkinson Architects:
Some unrelated links for your enjoyment:
This week's dose features 1617 North Wolcott in Chicago, Illinois by Studio Dwell Architects:
The featured past dose is Townhouse in Chicago, Illinois by Alexander Gorlin Architects:
This week's book review is European Architecture Since 1890 by Hans Ibelings:
american-architects.com Building of the Week:
The Dillon in New York, NY by Smith-Miller + Hawkinson Architects:
Some unrelated links for your enjoyment:
Architecture ain't good for you
And apparently lots of things aren't good for architecture. (Added to sidebar under Blogs » Architecture.)
Architecture for Breakfast
"A daily nutritious serve [sic] of architecture..." (Added to sidebar under Blogs » Architecture.)
City Sessions
"A digital dialogue about the practice of tactical urbanism and socially active design. A project of the Institute for Urban Design and Leagues and Legions."
dispersed memorial
"A NYC virtual and physical collaborative memorial of 9/11."
Typotecture Blog
"Typography + architecture." (Added to sidebar under Blogs » Design.)
Sunday, September 11, 2011
9/11 Memorials
Today's remembrance of the September 11, 2001 attacks is centered on the World Trade Center site and the newly dedicated Memorial, two pools which occupy the footprints of the Twin Towers. As I type this, the reading of the victims' names is wrapping up at this location. Yet this memorial is just one (and easily the most expensive) of many memorials dedicated to those events ten years ago. Below is a sampling of the more significant permanent memorials, from most recent to earliest in terms of their dedication dates.
As can be seen from these photos, abstraction is a common trait of these (and most contemporary) memorials. Yet most shy away from a literal relationship to the Twin Towers (see this flickr group for many smaller memorials that do such), opting to express loss as void, create direct visual relationships between the memorial and the site of disaster, and evoke emotions through the names of the lost ones rather than figural forms. Please comment if I missed one that deserves inclusion here, and I'll add it.
National September 11 Memorial and Museum:
[One of the Memorial footprints in the foreground, with the entrance to the future Museum in the background | image source]
New York, NY
Michael Arad and Peter Walker
Dedicated September 11, 2011
Flight 93 National Memorial:
[Ceremonial gateway to the crash site; photo by Paul Murdoch Architects | image source]
Shanksville, PA
Paul Murdoch Architects with Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects
Dedicated September 10, 2011
Empty Sky 9/11 Memorial:
[View towards Manhattan; AP file photo | image source]
Jersey City, NJ
Frederic Schwartz Architects
Dedicated September 10, 2011
Pentagon Memorial:
[image source]
Washington, DC
Kaseman Beckman Advanced Strategies with Lee and Associates
Dedicated September 11, 2008
To the Struggle Against World Terrorism:
[image source]
Bayonne, NJ
Zurab Tsereteli
Dedicated September 11, 2006
The Rising 9/11 Memorial:
[image source]
Valhalla, Westchester County, NY
Frederic Schwartz Architects
Dedicated September 11, 2006
Staten Island September 11 Memorial:
[The view toward Lower Manhattan | image source]
Staten Island, NY
Masayuki Sono
Dedicated September 11, 2004
As can be seen from these photos, abstraction is a common trait of these (and most contemporary) memorials. Yet most shy away from a literal relationship to the Twin Towers (see this flickr group for many smaller memorials that do such), opting to express loss as void, create direct visual relationships between the memorial and the site of disaster, and evoke emotions through the names of the lost ones rather than figural forms. Please comment if I missed one that deserves inclusion here, and I'll add it.
National September 11 Memorial and Museum:
[One of the Memorial footprints in the foreground, with the entrance to the future Museum in the background | image source]
New York, NY
Michael Arad and Peter Walker
Dedicated September 11, 2011
Flight 93 National Memorial:
[Ceremonial gateway to the crash site; photo by Paul Murdoch Architects | image source]
Shanksville, PA
Paul Murdoch Architects with Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects
Dedicated September 10, 2011
Empty Sky 9/11 Memorial:
[View towards Manhattan; AP file photo | image source]
Jersey City, NJ
Frederic Schwartz Architects
Dedicated September 10, 2011
Pentagon Memorial:
[image source]
Washington, DC
Kaseman Beckman Advanced Strategies with Lee and Associates
Dedicated September 11, 2008
To the Struggle Against World Terrorism:
[image source]
Bayonne, NJ
Zurab Tsereteli
Dedicated September 11, 2006
The Rising 9/11 Memorial:
[image source]
Valhalla, Westchester County, NY
Frederic Schwartz Architects
Dedicated September 11, 2006
Staten Island September 11 Memorial:
[The view toward Lower Manhattan | image source]
Staten Island, NY
Masayuki Sono
Dedicated September 11, 2004
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