tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70682068852209986962024-03-13T04:28:48.561-07:00architekturaLABarchitekturaLABhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02203536697519136246noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7068206885220998696.post-60787833638118314412014-04-05T10:40:00.000-07:002014-04-05T10:40:01.443-07:00Dutch first-time buyers get on housing ladder<div class="stand-first-alone" data-component="Article:standfirst_cta" id="stand-first" itemprop="description">
Self-build kit homes in Nijmegen in the Netherlands can be assembled within six to eight weeks</div>
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<img alt="Artist's impression of the Deckhouse" data-pin-description="Log cabin-style: an artist's impression of the flatpack Deckhouse by Exs Architects" height="276" itemprop="contentUrl representativeOfPage" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/5/7/1367934669563/Artists-impression-of-the-008.jpg" width="460" />
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Log cabin-style: an artist's impression of the flatpack Deckhouse by Exs Architects</div>
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If you like spending time in the greenhouse and following the
sun throughout the day, you might opt for the Hayhouse; or if you're
more drawn to the idea of a cosy Scandinavian log cabin, maybe the
Deckhouse is for you.<br />
Choosing your dream home has become as simple as picking furniture from the Ikea catalogue for residents of Nijmegen in the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/netherlands" title="More from the Guardian on Netherlands">Netherlands</a>, where a neighbourhood of affordable architect-designed kit houses has just been launched.<br />
Aimed at <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/money/firsttimebuyers" title="More from the Guardian on First-time buyers">first-time buyers</a>, the city's "I build affordable in Nijmegen" initiative (<a href="http://www.waalsprong.nl/ibbn/" title="">IbbN</a>)
has paired 20 architects with building companies to produce about 30
designs – from detached timber cabins to redbrick terraced houses – with
a construction cost of as little as €115,000 (£97,400).<br />
Anyone
with an annual income of between €30,000 and €47,000 is eligible to
apply for the IbbN loan, while all costs are fixed from the beginning,
removing the usual danger of ballooning budgets and long delays when
building your own, untested house. Designed to be manufactured from
prefabricated parts, in close collaboration with the builder, the
flatpack kits are delivered to the site and can be assembled within six
to eight weeks.<br />
"Since the economic crisis, both architects and the city are trying to find new ways to build houses," said Elsbeth Ronner of <a href="http://www.lilithronnervanhooijdonk.nl/" title="">LRVH architects</a>,
a young practice that has designed one of the house types, a straw-bale
eco-house inspired by local haylofts. "There are few developers willing
to build, so the city is selling plots directly to the residents and
letting them do it for themselves."<br />
For young architects such as
Ronner, whose practice has so far only worked on refurbishment projects,
the scheme also provides an opportunity to get into housebuilding. "It
is difficult to approach potential clients when you haven't built
anything," she said.<br />
"People always think working with an
architect will be more expensive and take longer, but this way they feel
more secure. We've always wanted to make a really cheap, sustainable
house and this gives us a great way into the market."<br />
IbbN joins a growing movement of self-build kit homes in the Netherlands, following the example set by the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/nov/25/self-build-go-dutch" title="">new town of Almere</a>
near Amsterdam, where more than 800 homes have been built in this way
since 2006, with thousands more on the way. And momentum is beginning to
build in the UK.<br />
In Middlesbrough's docks, on the sprawling site of the stalled <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-15725317" title="">Middlehaven regeneration project</a>, an area has been set aside for self-build, with a <a href="http://www.lovemiddlesbrough.com/news/805/urban-pioneers-and-self-build-information-event" title="">competition launched</a>
for innovative ideas, while parts of east London's Olympic site could
be given over to up to 100 self-build homes. So could flatpack kit <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/housing" title="More from the Guardian on Housing">housing</a> be part of the answer?<br />
"System-building
makes it so much easier," said Ted Stevens of the National Self Build
Association. "Rather than giving people an entirely blank piece of
paper, it's like a big menu with options to choose from. A lot of people
are put off self-build because of the uncertainty involved, but this
way the price and delivery time are guaranteed – making the process much
more like buying a car."<br />
It is also much cheaper: by cutting out
the developer's profit, the average self-built house in the UK costs
just 60% of its final value to build. If more local authority land can
be opened up, and architects retained at the centre of the process, it
seems to make more sense than ever to go Dutch.<br />
<br />
More over at theguardian.com <br />
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architekturaLABhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02203536697519136246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7068206885220998696.post-4703336581124545712014-04-05T10:36:00.002-07:002014-04-05T10:36:46.621-07:00The world's first 3D-printed house<h1 itemprop="name headline ">
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Zero
waste, lower transport costs and recyclable materials – is 3D-printing
the future of housebuilding? Dutch architects are putting the process to
the test for the first time in Amsterdam</div>
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<img alt="3D-printed house … The future of volume house-building, or a novelty technology for temporary pavilions?" class="gu-image" height="276" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/3/28/1396021469960/9b888c19-1dc5-4b2e-b7af-bb352e021018-460x276.jpeg" width="460" />
<figcaption>3D-printed house … The future of volume
house-building, or a novelty technology for temporary pavilions?
Photograph: Peter Dejong/ASSOCIATED PRESS</figcaption>
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Treacle-black plastic oozes from a
nozzle at the bottom of a small tower in Amsterdam, depositing layer
upon layer of glistening black worms in an orderly grid. With a knot
of pipes and wires rising up to a big hopper, it looks like a
high-tech liquorice production line. But this could be the future of
house-building, if <a href="http://www.dusarchitects.com/">Dus Architects</a> have their way.<br />
On this small canal-side plot in the
north of the city, dotted with twisting plastic columns and strange
zig-zag building blocks, the architects have begun making what they
say will be the world's first 3D-printed house.<br />
“The
building industry is one of the most polluting and inefficient
industries out there,” says Hedwig Heinsman of Dus. “With
3D-printing, there is zero waste, reduced transportation costs, and
everything can be melted down and recycled. This could revolutionise
how we make our cities.”<br />
Working on site
for three weeks, the architects have so far produced a 3m-high
sample corner of their future house, printed as a single piece
weighing 180kg. It is one of the building blocks that will be stacked
up like Lego bricks over the next three years to form a 13-room
complex, modelled on a traditional Dutch gabled canal house, but with
hand-laid bricks replaced by a faceted plastic facade, scripted by
computer software.<br />
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At the centre of
the process is the KamerMaker, or Room Builder, a scaled-up version
of an open-source home 3D-printer, developed with Dutch firm
<a href="https://www.ultimaker.com/">Ultimaker</a>. It uses the same principle of
extruding layers of molten plastic, only enlarged about 10 times,
from printing desktop trinkets to chunks of buildings up to
2x2x3.5m high.<br />
For a machine-made
material, the samples have an intriguingly hand-made finish. In
places, it looks like bunches of black spaghetti. There are lumps and bumps, knots and wiggles, seams
where the print head appears to have paused or slipped, spurting out
more black goo than expected.<br />
“We're still
perfecting the technology,” says Heinsman. The current material is
a bio-plastic mix, usually used as an industrial adhesive, containing
75% plant oil and reinforced with microfibres. They have also
produced tests with a translucent plastic and a wood fibre mix, like
a liquid form of MDF that can later be sawn and sanded. “We will
continue to test over the next three years, as the technology
evolves,” she says. “With a second nozzle, you could print
multiple materials simultaneously, with structure and insulation side
by side.”<br />
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For now, these
plastic blocks, which are printed with a honeycomb lattice within for
reinforcement, are back-filled with lightweight concrete, for
structural strength and insulation – which would make recycling the
parts somewhat difficult.<br />
“It's an
experiment,” says Heinsman. “We called it the room maker, but
it's also a conversation maker.” Over 2,000 people have already
visited the site, from building contractors to coach-loads of
architecture students, while even <a href="http://www.dusarchitects.com/news.php?newsid=175">Barack Obama was shown the
prototypes when he was in Amsterdam last week</a>.<br />
“This is only
the beginning, but there could be endless possibilities, from
printing functional solutions locally in slums and disaster areas, to
high-end hotel rooms that are individually customised and printed in
marble dust.”<br />
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<img alt="Countour crafting … Researchers at the University of Southern California have been developing a technology that 'prints' quick-setting concrete from a computer controlled gantry." class="gu-image" height="276" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/3/28/1396021032511/9f0c1678-e5c8-4a8c-9f6a-be3123680ad5-460x276.jpeg" width="460" />
<figcaption>Countour crafting … Researchers at the
University of Southern California have been developing a technology that
'prints' quick-setting concrete from a computer controlled gantry.
Photograph: Contour Crafting</figcaption>
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While Dus may be
the first architects to start printing a full-scale house, they join
a number of others who have been experimenting with printing at an
architectural scale over the last few years. Since 2008, researchers
at the University of Southern California have been developing a
technology, known as contour crafting, that uses a <a href="http://innovation.uk.msn.com/design/the-3d-printer-that-can-build-a-house-in-24-hours">computer-controlled gantry to print structures in
quick-setting concrete</a>, which they say is potentially capable of
printing high-rise buildings, with the printer climbing the structure
as it grows. Another Dutch architect,
Janjaap
Ruijssenaars, is working on a project to print a <a href="http://www.dezeen.com/2013/01/24/3d-printed-house-interview/">house shaped like a
looping Mobius strip</a> with the Italian-made <a href="http://www.d-shape.com/">D-Shape printer</a>, which uses sand mixed with a binding agent to create a form of
synthetic sandstone. So far, only a small pavilion-sized structure
has been printed. This looks to be where the technology will remain
for the time being: temporary novelty structures for exhibitions and
events.<br />
“One
of my fantasies is printing in biodegradable materials
for festivals,” says Heinsman. “You could print an outrageous
tent structure, then after a couple of years and few rain showers it
disappears.”<br />
<br />
Full story at the theguardian.com </div>
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architekturaLABhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02203536697519136246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7068206885220998696.post-50800373477118185012014-04-03T23:01:00.001-07:002014-04-03T23:01:52.392-07:00America’s Abandoned Shopping Malls<div class="sub_buzz_desc_w_attr">
Dead
malls are popping up all over the states, particularly in the Midwest,
where economic decline has sped up the “going out of business” process.
This map, put together by a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/DeadMallEnthusiasts/">Dead Malls Enthusiasts Facebook group</a>, shows that well. </div>
As Americans are faced with multiple shopping options and more stores
are leaving malls, it should be interesting to see if malls and mall
culture will survive. <br />
What you are about to see is what happens when malls are abandoned. It’s apocalyptic and really, really creepy.<br />
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<h2>
Rolling Acres Mall: Akron, Ohio</h2>
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The Rolling Acres Mall opened in 1975
and expanded several times throughout its history. At one point, it had
more than 140 stores. On Dec. 31, 2013, the mall’s last retail store
closed, and it currently remains abandoned.</div>
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<img alt="Rolling Acres Mall: Akron, Ohio" class="bf_dom" height="300" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-04/enhanced/webdr03/1/10/enhanced-11542-1396362303-29.jpg" width="400" />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/UrbanExplorationUS" target="_blank">Facebook: UrbanExplorationUS</a> / Via <a href="http://www.architecturalafterlife.com/" target="_blank">architecturalafterlife.com</a></div>
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<h2>
Hawthorne Plaza Mall: Hawthorne, Calif.</h2>
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The Hawthorne Plaza Mall was opened
in 1977 in partial hopes to revive the city of Hawthorne. At one point,
it had 134 stores, but during the ’90s the mall went into decline. By
1999, it had closed. The mall is <a href="http://www.deadmalls.com/malls/hawthorne_mall.html">featured</a> in 2001’s <i>Evolution</i> and 2002’s <i>Minority Report</i>.</div>
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<a href="http://instagram.com/p/gWKbhtKWqc/" target="_blank">instagram.com</a></div>
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Via <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/AbandonedPorn/comments/snq7t/hawthorne_plaza_mall_in_hawthorne_ca2592x1936/" target="_blank">reddit.com</a></div>
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<h2>
Cloverleaf Mall: Chesterfield, Va.</h2>
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The Cloveleaf Mall opened in 1972
with 40 shops anchored by J.C. Penney and Sears. The mall was a popular
hangout for families in the ’70s and ’80s, but according to the <a href="http://www.chesterfieldobserver.com/news/2008-02-27/home/001.html">Chesterfield Observer</a>,
“That all changed in the 1990s. Cloverleaf’s best customers, women,
began staying away from the mall, fearful of the youth who were
beginning to congregate there. People started seeing kids with huge
baggy pants and chains hanging off their belts, and people were
intimidated, and they would say there were gangs.” Stores stopped
renewing their leases and in 2007 it closed permanently.</div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/50204706@N07/6800796760/" target="_blank">Flickr: 50204706@N07</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fireatwillrva/6800797266/in/photostream/" target="_blank">Flickr: fireatwillrva</a></div>
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<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="266" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr06/30/18/enhanced-14438-1396219791-1.jpg" width="400" />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fireatwillrva/6800805228/in/photostream/" target="_blank">Flickr: fireatwillrva</a></div>
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<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="267" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr06/30/18/enhanced-25342-1396219836-2.jpg" width="400" />
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<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fireatwillrva/6946913767/in/photostream/" target="_blank">Flickr: fireatwillrva</a></div>
</div>
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<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="253" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-04/enhanced/webdr02/2/11/enhanced-29610-1396452937-5.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fireatwillrva/6800793194/in/photostream/" target="_blank">Flickr: fireatwillrva</a></div>
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<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="275" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr03/30/18/enhanced-18837-1396219974-3.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fireatwillrva/6946904267/in/photostream/" target="_blank">Flickr: fireatwillrva</a></div>
</div>
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<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="266" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr03/30/18/enhanced-18976-1396220182-13.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fireatwillrva/6800792818/in/photostream/" target="_blank">Flickr: fireatwillrva</a></div>
</div>
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<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="266" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr04/30/18/enhanced-28475-1396220230-5.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fireatwillrva/6800792526/in/photostream/" target="_blank">Flickr: fireatwillrva</a></div>
</div>
<div class="buzz_superlist_item buzz_superlist_item_image buzz_superlist_item_wide image_hti " id="superlist_3126206_2698933">
<h2>
North Towne Square Mall: Toledo, Ohio</h2>
<div class="sub_buzz_desc_w_attr">
The North Towne Square mall opened in 1980 in hopes of reviving the north end of Toledo. The <a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/northtowne-square-mall-first-toledo-mall-to-join-dead-malls-of-america">mall featured stores that weren’t found anywhere</a>
else in the area: Chick-fil-A, Camelot Music, CVS, and Frederick’s of
Hollywood. During the ’90s, the economy in Toledo was on the downturn
and by the early 2000s, stores were leaving the mall. In 2005, the mall
was closed and finally demolished in 2013.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<img alt="North Towne Square Mall: Toledo, Ohio" class="bf_dom" height="239" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr06/30/19/enhanced-15765-1396220634-8.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/84375973@N00/6429153155/in/photolist-aN86fc-82qVmt-9v6SH7-8MUN7M-93WNnt-93ZRPU-93ZQSs-93WNDD-93ZQZj-93WNxB-93WMAF-93WNeX-93WNqi-93WMHP-93WMSv-93WMka-93WNKr-9ChxqZ-9Chxr8-9ChxqM-81m6KC-dQHVDr-d6jgBm-dknQ1d-d6jh6J-ff3fv9-9GDiH9" target="_blank">Flickr: 84375973@N00</a></div>
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<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="239" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr04/30/19/enhanced-5006-1396221095-5.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mmeiser2/6429155411/in/photolist-aN87P2-aN86V6-aN81St-aN817p-aN88vk-aN86fc-861kDk-82qVmt-862eWt-9v6Ff2-9v6SH7-8MUN7M-93WNnt-93WMuH-93ZRPU-93ZQSs-93WNDD-93ZQZj-93WNxB-93WMAF-93WNeX-93WN7K-93WNqi-93ZRe9-93WMHP-93WMSv-93WMka-93W" target="_blank">Flickr: mmeiser2</a></div>
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<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="268" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr08/31/10/enhanced-29842-1396276303-15.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/binkled/" target="_blank">Flickr: binkled</a></div>
</div>
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<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="265" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr06/31/10/enhanced-10724-1396276303-1.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/binkled/" target="_blank">Flickr: binkled</a></div>
</div>
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<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="266" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr03/31/10/enhanced-6444-1396276303-1.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/binkled/" target="_blank">Flickr: binkled</a></div>
</div>
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<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="267" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr06/31/10/enhanced-27760-1396276307-8.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/binkled/" target="_blank">Flickr: binkled</a></div>
</div>
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<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="266" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr04/31/10/enhanced-9040-1396276308-2.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/binkled/" target="_blank">Flickr: binkled</a></div>
</div>
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<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="267" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr03/31/10/enhanced-4561-1396276324-4.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/binkled/" target="_blank">Flickr: binkled</a></div>
</div>
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<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="268" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr06/31/10/enhanced-10774-1396276328-1.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/binkled/" target="_blank">Flickr: binkled</a></div>
</div>
<div class="buzz_superlist_item buzz_superlist_item_image buzz_superlist_item_wide image_hti " id="superlist_3126206_2702024">
<h2>
Woodville Mall: Northwood, Ohio</h2>
<div class="sub_buzz_desc_w_attr">
The Woodville mall, like other Ohio
malls, experienced an economic decline in the ’90s. The mall was opened
in 1969 and by the early 2000s most stores had left. In 2014, it <a href="http://www.toledoblade.com/Economy/2013/01/25/Razing-of-North-Towne-Square-Mall-under-way.html">was</a> demolished.</div>
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<img alt="Woodville Mall: Northwood, Ohio" class="bf_dom" height="266" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr06/31/12/enhanced-1293-1396283756-1.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
<a href="http://detroiturbex.com/" target="_blank">detroiturbex.com</a></div>
</div>
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<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="266" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr06/31/12/enhanced-19058-1396282882-36.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
<a href="http://detroiturbex.com/" target="_blank">detroiturbex.com</a></div>
</div>
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<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="266" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr06/31/12/enhanced-1241-1396285019-10.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
<a href="http://detroiturbex.com/" target="_blank">detroiturbex.com</a></div>
</div>
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<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="266" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr07/31/12/enhanced-8535-1396281779-17.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
<a href="http://detroiturbex.com/" target="_blank">detroiturbex.com</a></div>
</div>
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<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="262" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr05/31/10/enhanced-24918-1396277204-6.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/senseillation" target="_blank">Flickr: senseillation</a></div>
</div>
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<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="262" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr05/31/10/enhanced-25484-1396277214-1.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/senseillation" target="_blank">Flickr: senseillation</a></div>
</div>
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<div class="sub_buzz_content">
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</div>
<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="266" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr05/31/11/enhanced-32150-1396278776-1.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
<a href="http://detroiturbex.com/content/ba/feat/" target="_blank">detroiturbex.com</a></div>
</div>
<div class="buzz_superlist_item buzz_superlist_item_image buzz_superlist_item_wide image_hti " id="superlist_3126206_2701292">
<h2>
Crestwood Mall: St. Louis</h2>
<div class="sub_buzz_desc_w_attr">
Crestwood Mall opened in 1956 and <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/suburban-journals/metro/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-crestwood-plaza/article_ab0d018e-f57e-5d05-8198-c15ac74c21c7.html">stayed open</a> for more than 55 years. At one point, it had over 90 stores and 4 anchor stores. According to <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/suburban-journals/metro/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-crestwood-plaza/article_ab0d018e-f57e-5d05-8198-c15ac74c21c7.html">St. Louis Today</a>,
“Like many longtime indoor malls across the country, it is changing
because of age, location, new ways of shopping, and increased
competition from newer shopping centers and the Internet.” The mall was
also inconvenient to get to because it wasn’t close to an interstate
exit. In 2013, the mall was put up for sale, and if sold, will <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/owners-put-crestwood-court-up-for-sale/article_5531c2fa-608c-5e32-adfa-f2e32021ec8c.html">most likely</a> be razed.</div>
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<img alt="Crestwood Mall: St. Louis" class="bf_dom" height="266" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr06/31/11/enhanced-12087-1396278278-5.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
Dan Wampler / Via <a href="http://www.danwampler.com/" target="_blank">danwampler.com</a></div>
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<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="266" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr06/31/11/enhanced-12001-1396278279-21.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
Dan Wampler / Via <a href="http://www.danwampler.com/" target="_blank">danwampler.com</a></div>
</div>
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<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="266" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr04/31/11/enhanced-782-1396278282-9.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
Dan Wampler / Via <a href="http://www.danwampler.com/" target="_blank">danwampler.com</a></div>
</div>
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</div>
<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="266" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr07/31/11/enhanced-31446-1396278283-15.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
Dan Wampler / Via <a href="http://www.danwampler.com/" target="_blank">danwampler.com</a></div>
</div>
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</div>
<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="266" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr06/31/11/enhanced-27815-1396278284-1.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
Dan Wampler / Via <a href="http://www.danwampler.com/" target="_blank">danwampler.com</a></div>
</div>
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</div>
<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="266" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr06/31/11/enhanced-12055-1396278287-19.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
Dan Wampler / Via <a href="http://www.danwampler.com/" target="_blank">danwampler.com</a></div>
</div>
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</div>
<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="266" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr03/31/11/enhanced-6388-1396278288-4.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
Dan Wampler / Via <a href="http://www.danwampler.com/" target="_blank">danwampler.com</a></div>
</div>
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</div>
<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="266" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr07/31/11/enhanced-1999-1396278295-5.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
Dan Wampler / Via <a href="http://www.danwampler.com/" target="_blank">danwampler.com</a></div>
</div>
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</div>
<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="266" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr05/31/11/enhanced-24946-1396278296-13.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
Dan Wampler / Via <a href="http://www.danwampler.com/" target="_blank">danwampler.com</a></div>
</div>
<div class="buzz_superlist_item buzz_superlist_item_image buzz_superlist_item_wide image_hit " id="superlist_3126206_2701306">
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</div>
<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="266" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr07/31/11/enhanced-1872-1396278299-6.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
Dan Wampler / Via <a href="http://www.danwampler.com/" target="_blank">danwampler.com</a></div>
</div>
<div class="buzz_superlist_item buzz_superlist_item_image buzz_superlist_item_wide image_hit " id="superlist_3126206_2701790">
<h2>
Dixie Square Mall: Harvey, Ill.</h2>
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<img alt="Dixie Square Mall: Harvey, Ill." class="bf_dom" height="266" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr06/31/12/enhanced-30305-1396281636-17.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
<a href="http://detroiturbex.com/" target="_blank">Detroiturbex.com</a></div>
<div class="sub_buzz_desc_w_attr">
The Dixie Square Mall opened in 1966 and only stayed open for 13 years. In 1979, the <i>Blues Brothers</i>
movie shot its iconic driving-through-the-mall scene there. Later that
year, the mall closed due to a spike in crime. It stayed abandoned until
2011, <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2316114/The-story-25m-shopping-mall-trashed-Blues-Brothers-epic-police-chase-just-torn-30-years.html">when it was</a> demolished.</div>
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<h2>
This is what it looked like during the <i>Blues Brothers</i> filming:</h2>
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<img alt="This is what it looked like during the Blues Brothers filming:" class="bf_dom" height="208" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-04/enhanced/webdr03/2/12/enhanced-23135-1396454597-13.jpg" width="400" />
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Universal Pictures / Via <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2316114/The-story-25m-shopping-mall-trashed-Blues-Brothers-epic-police-chase-just-torn-30-years.html" target="_blank">dailymail.co.uk</a></div>
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<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
<a href="http://detroiturbex.com/" target="_blank">Detroiturbex.com</a></div>
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<a href="http://detroiturbex.com/" target="_blank">Detroiturbex.com</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/70205638@N00/2657866024/" target="_blank">Flickr: 70205638@N00</a></div>
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<a href="http://detroiturbex.com/" target="_blank">Detroiturbex.com</a></div>
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<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="266" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr08/31/12/enhanced-5759-1396281638-6.jpg" width="400" />
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<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
<a href="http://detroiturbex.com/" target="_blank">Detroiturbex.com</a></div>
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<h2>
Turfland Mall: Lexington, Ky.</h2>
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<img alt="Turfland Mall: Lexington, Ky." class="bf_dom" height="264" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr08/31/12/enhanced-7589-1396284272-27.jpg" width="400" />
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<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
Ron May</div>
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The Turfland Mall <a href="http://deadmalls.com/malls/turfland_mall.html">was the first</a>
enclosed shopping mall in Lexington, Ky., and opened in 1967. It was
popular until the mid-’90s when another local mall expanded. The mall
closed in 2008.</div>
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<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
Ron May</div>
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<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
Ron May</div>
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<img alt="" class="bf_dom" height="264" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr07/31/12/enhanced-19965-1396284279-1.jpg" width="400" />
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<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
Ron May</div>
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<h2>
Randall Park Mall: North Randall, Ohio</h2>
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<img alt="Randall Park Mall: North Randall, Ohio" class="bf_dom" height="300" src="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-04/enhanced/webdr06/1/10/enhanced-23698-1396362877-12.jpg" width="400" />
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<div class="sub_buzz_source_via buzz_attribution">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/UrbanExplorationUS/photos/pb.137867286253185.-2207520000.1396362837./729062577133650/?type=3&theater" target="_blank">Facebook: UrbanExplorationUS</a> / Via <a href="http://architecturalafterlife.com/" target="_blank">architecturalafterlife.com</a></div>
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Randall Park Mall opened in 1976 and closed in 2009. In 1995, <a href="http://ech.case.edu/cgi/article.pl?id=RPM">there were</a>
120 stores that employed 5,000 people. The mall began its decline in
the early 2000s when J.C. Penney and Dillard’s left. By 2008, the mall
was basically empty. The mall is currently being demolished and will be
gone any day now. An industrial park <a href="http://fox8.com/2014/03/19/big-plans-randall-park-mall-to-be-transformed/">will replace</a> it.</div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/UrbanExplorationUS" target="_blank">Facebook: UrbanExplorationUS</a> / Via <a href="http://www.architecturalafterlife.com/" target="_blank">architecturalafterlife.com</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/UrbanExplorationUS" target="_blank">Facebook: UrbanExplorationUS</a> / Via <a href="http://www.architecturalafterlife.com/" target="_blank">architecturalafterlife.com</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/UrbanExplorationUS" target="_blank">Facebook: UrbanExplorationUS</a> / Via <a href="http://www.architecturalafterlife.com/" target="_blank">architecturalafterlife.com</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/">Full story click here</a></div>
architekturaLABhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02203536697519136246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7068206885220998696.post-8657123151847922532014-02-04T07:33:00.000-08:002014-02-04T07:33:00.275-08:00 Metro Makeovers for the Abandoned Stations of Paris<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://content.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ghoststation1.jpg" rel="slb_group[48261] slb slb_internal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-48262" height="190" src="http://1-ps.googleusercontent.com/x/www.messynessychic.com/content.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/650x309xghoststation1.jpg.pagespeed.ic.4lQUf3hSxj.jpg" title="ghoststation1" width="400" /></a></div>
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<em><strong>A</strong></em>nyone who
wants to make a swimming pool out of an abandoned metro station
neglected for 75 years, has definitely got my attention. The ghosts of
the Parisian underground could soon be resurrected if city voters play
their cards right in the upcoming mayoral elections. Promising
candidate, <a href="http://www.nkmparis.fr/actualites/carnet-campagne/stations-fantomes-projets" target="_blank">Nathalie Koziuscot-Morizet</a>,
who would become the first female to ever hold the post in the capital,
has released the first sketches of her plans to reclaim the city of
light’s abandoned stations.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://content.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ghoststations2.jpg" rel="slb_group[48261] slb slb_internal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-48263" height="190" src="http://1-ps.googleusercontent.com/x/www.messynessychic.com/content.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/650x309xghoststations2.jpg.pagespeed.ic.d7PH8BczBH.jpg" title="ghoststations2" width="400" /></a></div>
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Up on the candidate’s drawing board we
have several proposals to revive the stations from their solitude,
including my personal favourite, the swimming pool (just imagine doing
laps down an old subway track), a theatre (think of the acoustics), a
restaurant, an art gallery and a nightclub. Participating
architects Manal Rachdi and Nicolas Laisné are only getting started
however, and these are just a few examples from their vault of ideas
should Nathalie win the elections in March.</div>
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<a href="http://content.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ghoststations3.jpg" rel="slb_group[48261] slb slb_internal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-48264" height="190" src="http://1-ps.googleusercontent.com/x/www.messynessychic.com/content.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/650x309xghoststations3.jpg.pagespeed.ic.45lCPOeEJP.jpg" title="ghoststations3" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://content.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ghoststations4.jpg" rel="slb_group[48261] slb slb_internal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-48265" height="190" src="http://1-ps.googleusercontent.com/x/www.messynessychic.com/content.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/650x309xghoststations4.jpg.pagespeed.ic.1Sg9FMMZXd.jpg" title="ghoststations4" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://content.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ghoststations5.jpg" rel="slb_group[48261] slb slb_internal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-48266" height="190" src="http://1-ps.googleusercontent.com/x/www.messynessychic.com/content.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/650x309xghoststations5.jpg.pagespeed.ic.BSYxJ_j7TE.jpg" title="ghoststations5" width="400" /></a></div>
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While some of the ghost stations were
closed down due to a lack of passenger use, others never even saw a
single traveler on their platforms after planning was scrapped and
access from the streets above was never even built.</div>
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Photos via <a href="http://www.nkmparis.fr/actualites/carnet-campagne/stations-fantomes-projets" target="_blank">NK Paris</a> and <a href="http://www.20minutes.fr/france/diaporama-3437-stations-fantomes-metro-parisien" target="_blank">RATP/ 20 Minutes</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.messynessychic.com/2014/02/04/metro-makeovers-for-the-abandoned-stations-of-paris/">Full info here</a>
architekturaLABhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02203536697519136246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7068206885220998696.post-16351289258459405002014-01-21T03:22:00.001-08:002014-01-21T03:22:35.208-08:00Looks Like A Book… But It’s NotWhen someone sent these photos in, I saw the first one and thought it
was going to be someone asking us to help promote their book. I’m glad I
kept looking because it turned out to be an awesome surprise located in
Istanbul, Turkey. Check out this architectural creativity. I love it. <br />
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This is not a book. At least not the normal kind. </div>
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/1-8DYNw8z.jpg"><img alt="This is not a book. At least not the normal kind." class="attachment-full" height="300" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/1-8DYNw8z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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It’s actually a bench in Istanbul. </div>
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/2-w3aykVU.jpg"><img alt="It's actually a bench in Istanbul." class="attachment-full" height="224" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/2-w3aykVU.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Even better, each bench is based on the works of one of 18 classic Turkish authors. </div>
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And they’re ‘opened’ to the most memorable page in the book. </div>
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/710.jpg"><img alt="And they're 'opened' to the most memorable page in the book." class="attachment-full" height="300" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/710.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The city put these Book Benches in the heart of the city not only to promote the classics but to inspire creativity. </div>
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/611.jpg"><img alt="The city put these Book Benches in the heart of the city not only to promote the classics but to inspire creativity." class="attachment-full" height="300" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/611.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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It’s definitely better than a normal bench.
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/104.jpg"><img alt="It's definitely better than a normal bench." class="attachment-full" height="300" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/104.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Hopefully these photos inspire other cities to take standard elements
of the city to another level. There are ways to inspire and invoke
creativity all around us. We just need to unlock it and see the
potential in every day things.</div>
Share Istanbul’s Book Benches on Facebook. Maybe your city’s mayor will see it.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.viralnova.com/">For more see viralnova</a>architekturaLABhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02203536697519136246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7068206885220998696.post-66835893212456999172014-01-21T03:13:00.001-08:002014-01-21T03:13:57.189-08:00A Normal Chandelier ?This chandelier is currently hanging in the Center for Strategic and International Studies (<a href="http://csis.org/" target="_blank">CSIS</a>)
in Washington DC. The CSIS chandelier may look stunning as you walk in,
but the best part of the light display isn’t apparent until you stand
directly underneath it. Then, your jaw will drop.<br />
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Each LED light bulb makes the chandelier a brilliant piece, but it gets even better when you get closer. </div>
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/light-chandelier.jpg"><img alt="Each LED light bulb makes the chandelier a brilliant piece, but it gets even better when you get closer." class="attachment-full" height="266" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/light-chandelier.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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When you stand underneath it… </div>
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/light-chandelier2.jpg"><img alt="When you stand underneath it..." class="attachment-full" height="300" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/light-chandelier2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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A map of the world forms, made out of 425 hanging pendants. </div>
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/light-chandelier3.jpg"><img alt="A map of the world forms, made out of 425 hanging pendants." class="attachment-full" height="400" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/light-chandelier3.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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The chandelier is actually a live display, illustrating various global data reports. </div>
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/light-chandelier4.jpg"><img alt="The chandelier is actually a live display, illustrating various global data reports." class="attachment-full" height="266" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/light-chandelier4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The lights will change due to GDP growth rate, renewable water
resources, and energy consumption for the countries of the world. </div>
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/light-chandelier6.jpg"><img alt="The lights will change due to GDP growth rate, renewable water resources, and energy consumption for the countries of the world." class="attachment-full" height="225" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/light-chandelier6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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All of the data is paired with a lighting animation code and the sytem automatically updates with information online.
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/light-chandelier8.jpg"><img alt="Awesome." class="attachment-full" height="266" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/light-chandelier8.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Every animation that is displayed through the LED chandelier is
programmed to look like what it is reporting. For example, the renewable
water resources report looks like rain drops, the energy consumption
report pulsates and the GDP data looks like it is growing.<br />
I thought it was cool when my car told me how cold it was outside.<br />
<br />
More info at <a href="http://www.electronicproducts.com//Optoelectronics/Lamps_and_Bulbs/Must-see_chandelier_forms_a_map_of_the_world_that_highlights_global_data.aspx" target="_blank">electronicproducts.com</a><br />
architekturaLABhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02203536697519136246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7068206885220998696.post-31333066034226256112014-01-09T04:07:00.001-08:002014-01-09T04:07:49.903-08:00Designed by Peter JungmannIf you have ever wanted to visit the Alps in Austria, then you should do it in style. This 45 square meter house, designed by <a href="http://www.ufogel.at/" target="_blank">Peter Jungmann</a>,
is available for rent and will give you the most spectacular view. The
best part about it, though, is its unique design… oh, and did I mention
it’s only 45 square meters (484 square feet)?<br />
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house.jpg"><img alt="The house is called Uvogel, which is a combination of "UFO" and "Vogel," which means bird in German." class="attachment-full" height="300" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.ufogel.at/" target="_blank">Uvogel</a></div>
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It was originally commissioned by a family as a holiday house.
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house2.jpg"><img alt="It was originally commissioned by a family as a holiday house." class="attachment-full" height="266" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.ufogel.at/" target="_blank">Uvogel</a></div>
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The minimalistic design lets you focus on the beauty that’s all around the house.
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house3.jpg"><img alt="The minimalistic design lets you focus on the beauty that's all around the house." class="attachment-full" height="300" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.ufogel.at/" target="_blank">Uvogel</a></div>
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house4.jpg"><img alt="SONY DSC" class="attachment-full" height="266" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.ufogel.at/" target="_blank">Uvogel</a></div>
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Even though the house is simple, its contemporary design is absolutely breathtaking.
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house5.jpg"><img alt="Even though the house is simple, its contemporary design is absolutely breathtaking." class="attachment-full" height="300" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.ufogel.at/" target="_blank">Uvogel</a></div>
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I want to be in this house so badly, it hurts.
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house6.jpg"><img alt="I want to be in this house so badly, it hurts." class="attachment-full" height="300" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.ufogel.at/" target="_blank">Uvogel</a></div>
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The views of the surrounding countryside are unbelievable from inside.
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house7.jpg"><img alt="The views of the surrounding countryside are unbelievable from inside." class="attachment-full" height="300" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.ufogel.at/" target="_blank">Uvogel</a></div>
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And the panoramic windows let in an amazing amount of natural light.
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house8.jpg"><img alt="And the panoramic windows let in an amazing amount of natural light." class="attachment-full" height="300" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house8.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="imageAttr">
<a href="http://www.ufogel.at/" target="_blank">Uvogel</a></div>
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house9.jpg"><img alt="strange tiny house9" class="attachment-full" height="300" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house9.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="imageAttr">
<a href="http://www.ufogel.at/" target="_blank">Uvogel</a></div>
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Anyone can rent this house, year-round.
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house10.jpg"><img alt="Anyone can rent this house, year-round." class="attachment-full" height="300" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house10.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="imageAttr">
<a href="http://www.ufogel.at/" target="_blank">Uvogel</a></div>
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house11.jpg"><img alt="strange tiny house11" class="attachment-full" height="300" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house11.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="imageAttr">
<a href="http://www.ufogel.at/" target="_blank">Uvogel</a></div>
</div>
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house12.jpg"><img alt="strange tiny house12" class="attachment-full" height="300" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house12.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="imageAttr">
<a href="http://www.ufogel.at/" target="_blank">Uvogel</a></div>
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house13.jpg"><img alt="strange tiny house13" class="attachment-full" height="400" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house13.jpg" width="299" /></a></div>
<div class="imageAttr">
<a href="http://www.ufogel.at/" target="_blank">Uvogel</a></div>
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house14.jpg"><img alt="strange tiny house14" class="attachment-full" height="400" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house14.jpg" width="299" /></a></div>
<div class="imageAttr">
<a href="http://www.ufogel.at/" target="_blank">Uvogel</a></div>
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Although the inside is very modern, there is still a sense of warmth from all of the exposed wood.
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house15.jpg"><img alt="Although the inside is very modern, there is still a sense of warmth from all of the exposed wood." class="attachment-full" height="300" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house15.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="imageAttr">
<a href="http://www.ufogel.at/" target="_blank">Uvogel</a></div>
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A holiday here would be beautiful, on the inside and out.
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<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house16.jpg"><img alt="A holiday here would be beautiful, on the inside and out." class="attachment-full" height="300" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house16.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="imageAttr">
<a href="http://www.ufogel.at/" target="_blank">Uvogel</a></div>
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<div class="gallery-icon landscape">
<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house17.jpg"><img alt="strange tiny house17" class="attachment-full" height="300" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house17.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="imageAttr">
<a href="http://www.ufogel.at/" target="_blank">Uvogel</a></div>
</div>
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<div class="gallery-icon landscape">
<a href="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house18.jpg"><img alt="strange tiny house18" class="attachment-full" height="300" src="http://cdn.viralnova.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/strange-tiny-house18.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="imageAttr">
<a href="http://www.ufogel.at/" target="_blank">Uvogel</a></div>
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What this place lacks in size, it makes up for in spectacular design and breathtaking natural beauty surrounding it.<br />
<a href="http://ufogel.net/">see the story here</a><br />
architekturaLABhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02203536697519136246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7068206885220998696.post-90583505676170175382013-12-20T04:32:00.000-08:002013-12-20T04:32:55.709-08:00Tiny Houses That Will Make You Want To Live A Simpler Life<div class="sidebar_wrapper fbuilder_column fbuilder_column-1-3">
Like many of you, we are in love with tiny houses. They represent a movement to a simpler, more sustainable way of life.<br />
Here are top homes that we found at <a href="http://tinyhouseswoon.com/" target="_blank">tinyhouseswoon.com, </a>Make sure to check out their site for more amazing tiny homes! What’s your favorite thing about <strong>tiny houses?</strong><br />
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<img alt="Tiny Homes 31" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3162" height="253" src="http://www.overgrowthesystem.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Tiny-Homes-31.jpg" width="400" />
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<img alt="Tiny Houses" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3164" height="257" src="http://www.overgrowthesystem.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Tiny-Homes-33.jpg" width="400" />
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<span class="pibfi_pinterest"><span class="xc_pin" style="display: block; left: 105px;"></span></span><span class="pibfi_pinterest"><span class="xc_pin" style="display: block; left: 140px;"></span></span><span class="pibfi_pinterest"><span class="xc_pin" style="display: block; left: 140px;"></span></span> <span class="pibfi_pinterest"><img alt="Tiny Homes 7" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3171" height="290" src="http://www.overgrowthesystem.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Tiny-Homes-7.jpg" width="400" />
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<img alt="Tiny Houses" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3172" height="295" src="http://www.overgrowthesystem.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Tiny-Homes-8.jpg" width="400" />
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<img alt="Tiny Homes 9" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3173" height="294" src="http://www.overgrowthesystem.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Tiny-Homes-9.jpg" width="400" />
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<img alt="Tiny Homes 10" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3174" height="293" src="http://www.overgrowthesystem.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Tiny-Homes-10.jpg" width="400" />
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<img alt="Tiny Homes 12" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3176" height="315" src="http://www.overgrowthesystem.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Tiny-Homes-12.jpg" width="400" />
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<img alt="Tiny Homes 16" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3180" height="296" src="http://www.overgrowthesystem.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Tiny-Homes-16.jpg" width="400" />
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architekturaLABhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02203536697519136246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7068206885220998696.post-32629478268554705382013-12-08T03:05:00.000-08:002013-12-08T03:05:02.147-08:00The Sublime Sci-Fi Buildings That Communism Built<br />
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<br /><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-148921" height="313" src="http://www.theawl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Screen-Shot-2012-11-29-at-3.52.50-PM.jpg" title="" width="400" /><br />
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<small><i>The House of Soviets in Kaliningrad.<br />
Photo by Frédéric Chaubin, from "CCCP: Cosmic Communist Constructions Photographed."</i></small></center>
The architecture of the Eastern Bloc—a conundrum of impossible
complexity, or at least that's what it looks like judging from the daily
view of my collection of coffee table books. Yes, that's right, coffee
table books. The recent glut of art volumes devoted to Soviet
architecture may be surprising to anyone who previously thought "Soviet
architecture" had about as much to do with "art" as "Soviet leaders" had
to do with "glamour." Yet here is a whole bookshelf to contradict that
view. There's Taschen's <i> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/3836525194/?tag=thaw08-20">CCCP: Cosmic Communist Constructions Photographed</a></i>, Hatje Cantz's <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/3775731881/?tag=thaw08-20">Socialist Modernism</a></i>, Monacelli's <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/%201580931855/?tag=thaw08-20">The Lost Vanguard: Russian Modernist Architecture 1922-1932</a></i>, Roma's <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/9077459502/?tag=thaw08-20">Spomenik</a></i> (not, in fact, a sequel to <i>Rango</i>) and, the most euphoniously titled of them all, Jovis's <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/%203868591478/?tag=thaw08-20">Modernism In-Between: The Mediatory Architectures of Socialist Yugoslavia</a></i>. <br />
These are not your parents' dour architecture monographs, complete
with such entries as "On the problems of developing the center of
Kishinev" or "Approaches to using the vernacular in Tashkent and Navoi"
(real items from a 70s-era release) but are lavish, glossy, and
handsome. One of these volumes was released in 2007, the rest date from
within the last two years. What does this all mean? What have we learned
from this publishing spree? Well, either quite a lot, or possibly
nothing, but bear with me. <span id="more-148804"></span><br />
The 1975 Soviet film <i>The Irony of Fate</i>, a Russian favorite for
Christmas season viewing to this day, boasts a Twelfth Night-like plot
that turns on the anodyne similarity of Soviet housing. The narrator
opens, mordantly, "In the past when people found themselves in a strange
city they felt lost and lonely. Everything around was different:
streets and buildings, even life. But now it has changed. A person comes
to another city and feels at home there." In a landscape of bland
uniformity, "can you name a city that hasn't got First Garden Street,
Second Suburban Street, Third Factory Street, First Park Street? Second
Industrial Street, Third Builders Street?" This similarity in design,
not to mention the standardization of furniture and locks, results in
our drunken protagonist deposited in the right apartment on "Third
Builders Street", but in the <i>wrong</i> city, and romantic comedy misadventures follow. (In fairness, <i>It's a Wonderful Life</i>
must look like a pretty odd holiday ritual to the average resident of
Novosibirsk as well.) In any case, there's no denying that most Soviet
construction was oppressively dull and derivative; in this case, Soviet
censors didn't even seem to bother to try. <br />
Milan Kundera wrote, in <i>The Unbearable Lightness of Being</i>, "in
the realm of totalitarian kitsch, all answers are given in advance and
preclude any questions." Questions, as we have seen, such as "am I in
the wrong city?" and "are you my wife?" but this is immaterial.
Totalitarian kitsch, in the realm of architecture, poses innumerable
questions once the core of the totalitarian has passed. Architecture in
totalitarian societies unquestionably constitutes an exercise of power;
the question stands how effective this exercise remains once that rule
has passed, and whether the nature of a given totalitarianism is
indissolubly bound up in the stone, concrete, and steel to which it gave
form. Some particularly egregious symbols are demolished, but far more
often, buildings are simply repurposed and assume some new identity. The
Reich Chancellery was demolished, with excellent cause; but the
Luftwaffe headquarters now houses the German Finance Ministry. Few
today, outside of perhaps any especially melodramatic Greek circles,
would think that this amounts to any sort of continuity of purpose. <br />
Some wish to expunge the physical memory of totalitarian rule as
fully as possible; others believe in retaining some memory of the humane
strivings of these former socialist states, that would design and build
a puppet theater, or a "children's health resort basin" or countless
other facilities for public recreation. These debates continue. There
are, of course, far more buildings that many would like to see
demolished, and this not because of the buildings' latent symbolic
power, but simply because they are godawful monstrosities. But, as you
may have heard, money is not something in which the former Eastern bloc
is generally much awash, and so they stand. <br />
Up till now, though, we've been talking about the miserable mean of
Eastern bloc architecture. The picture looks quite different when you
shift your attention to the shining peaks of the style. Author Frédéric
Chaubin, who wrote the Taschen volume, calls these buildings "aesthetic
outsiders in an ocean of gray." And it becomes far simpler to conclude
that, all questions of the historio-political, post-syncretic mediatory,
and polythechnic-institutional aside, that this cream of Eastern Bloc
construction is simply awesome. <br />
Let's start with the most otherworldly. As Chaubin notes in his introduction to <i>Cosmic Communist Constructions Photographed</i>,
"Anyone's first trip to New York always comes with a feeling of déjà
vu, as if one were walking onto the set of a movie seen a hundred times.
In contrast, there are vestiges of the Soviet Union that seem like
backdrops to movies that never hit the screen, because they were never
made." This, if it seems possible, decidedly understates the visual
impact of the architectural legacy of the later decades of the Soviet
Union and associated states. Eastern Sci-Fi cinema, as superb as its
product and settings often were, clearly neglected the treasures in its
own backyard. <br />
<img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-148925" height="262" src="http://www.theawl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/chaubin6.jpg" title="" width="400" /><br />
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<i><small>The architecture facility at the Polytechnic Institute of Minsk. Photo by Frédéric Chaubin.</small></i></center>
<img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-148935" height="400" src="http://www.theawl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/chaubin3-e1354223400838.jpg" title="" width="305" /><br />
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<i><small>The Druzhba sanatorium. Photo by Frédéric Chaubin.</small></i></center>
There's the architecture facility at the Polytechnic Institute of
Minsk, a mass whose composition is so kinetic that it's easy to suspect
that its treads are simply below your line of sight. There's the Druzhba
Sanatorium, where hillside columns support a cog-like rounded center,
teethed with oversailing balcony pods. The CIA and Turkish Military
suspected it to be a rocket launcher; I suspect it to be fun. Or the
Ukrainian Institute of Scientific and Technological Research and
Development, for which there's really no description other than it looks
like a flying saucer landed square on top of a Kiev building and that
the scientists rejoiced in the convenient extra lab space. <br />
<img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-148926" height="280" src="http://www.theawl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Screen-Shot-2012-11-29-at-4.02.43-PM.jpg" title="" width="400" /><br />
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<i><small>The Ukrainian Institute of Scientific and Technological Research and Development. Photo by Frédéric Chaubin.</small></i></center>
The Yugoslavian monuments known as "Spomenik" are another incomparable Eastern entry. <br />
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<i><small>Two photos from Jan Kempenaers' </small></i><small>Spomenik<i>.</i></small></center>
<br />Then there's the Chemnitz Stadthalle in the former East Germany,
which boasts a honeycomb-esque latticework that seems designed for the
easy ingress of DDR winged supermen. <br />
<img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-148912" height="232" src="http://www.theawl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/ChemnitzStadthalle-e1354220285471.jpg" title="" width="400" /><br />
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<i><small>The Chemnitz Stadhalle. Photo courtesy of <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chemnitz_Stadthalle.jpg">Andreas Praefcke</a>.</small></i></center>
I once described <a href="http://atechnologyjobisnoexcuse.com/2012/11/gh-2012-11-09-075231/">the former Georgian Ministry of Highways</a>
as most resembling an abandoned game of Jenga, and I still can't think
of any other means to remotely hint at its wonderful frame. Or, turning
somewhat back to earth, there's the Soviet Embassy in Havana, a tropical
campanile for the Brezhnev era. <br />
<img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-148923" height="640" src="http://www.theawl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/chaubin2-e1354222673245.jpg" title="" width="505" /><br />
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<i><small>The Soviet embassy in Cuba. Photo by Frédéric Chaubin.</small></i></center>
Much earlier construction bears a closer relation to recognized
international vernaculars, which is to say that it still often stands at
the crisp edge of innovation in the 1920s and 1930s. The early Soviet
state recruited from the cream of modernist architects; there's Le
Corbusier's Centrosoyuz Building in Moscow and Erich Mendelsohn's Red
Banner Textile Factory in St. Petersburg, which are each striking.<br />
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<i><small>The Centrosoyuz Building, in Moscow. Photo by Richard Pare, from </small></i><small>The Lost Vanguard<i>.</i></small></center>
<img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-148916" height="360" src="http://www.theawl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Parre-RedBanner.jpg" title="" width="281" /><br />
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<i><small>The Red Banner Textile Factory in St. Petersburg. Photo by Richard Pare.</small></i></center>
Even more interesting is a similar realm of domestically designed constructivist architecture such as <a href="http://lamoscaamosca.blogspot.com/2011/10/nkps-building.html">Ivan Fomin's NKPS Building</a>,
a columnar block given raw energy through a sleek window-banded corner
tower. Or the Gosprom building in Kharkov, a majestic multi-tiered
wonder balanced vertically by glazed stairwell window columns and
horizontally by a series of walkways staggered across intervening
streets (also to be found in the decidedly non-sci-fi cinema of
Eisenstein's <i>The General Line</i>). <br />
<img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-148914" height="362" src="http://www.theawl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/GospromBuilding.jpg" title="" width="500" /><br />
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<i><small>The Gosprom Building, in Kharkov, Ukraine. Photo by Richard Pare.</small></i></center>
Or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Narkmomfinfoto2.jpg">the Narkomfin building in Moscow</a>,
which resembles a more rough-hewn version of Erich Mendelsohn's Rudolf
Mosse Publishing Company building in Berlin, in which a modern-styled
turret complete with ribbon windows is balanced by an opposite rounded
corner—only without any windows, and giving way three stories from the
top of the structure to the rectilinearity of the rest of the building. <br />
Given the sheer size of the former Eastern bloc, it might seem not
surprising that the area would have generated at least some architecture
of consequence and yet you'll find notably small sections on the Warsaw
Pact or non-affiliated communist states in most architectural atlases
or surveys released at a point when C.C.C.P. was more than a Taschen
title pun. There's little question that the planned economy was good at
little, and still less, in the aggregate, at architecture, but recent
publishing has made clear that it too hit breathtaking heights of
experiment and form. No matter which airport you're in, or how much
Stolichnaya you've had, you'll never mistake any of these fantastically
distinctive structures for Third Builders Street.<br />
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<a href="http://www.theawl.com/2012/12/the-sublime-sci-fi-buildings-that-communism-built">Full story here</a><br />
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architekturaLABhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02203536697519136246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7068206885220998696.post-61354749307612894132013-12-08T02:58:00.001-08:002013-12-08T02:58:42.902-08:00The Ugly-Beauty Of Brutalism
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<img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-135553" height="295" src="http://www.theawl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Prentice_Womens_Hospital-e1345472565777.jpg" title="Prentice Women's Hospital " width="400" /><br />
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<small><i>Prentice Women's Hospital in Chicago</i></small></center>
Updating a cultural canon, in any form, is an endless battlefield due
to our persistent tendencies, 1. to create ever more art and 2. to
fail, just as rapidly, to agree on its value. Witness debates about
revised editions of any literary anthology, or, say, the National Film
Registry. At times worthy works receive just recognition; other times,
age seems all that’s required to give mediocre works the gloss of
historical grandeur. But let’s not get off track discussing <i>Sex, Lies and Videotape</i> vs. <i>Forrest Gump</i>.
Rarely is the navigation of this question of aesthetic value more
difficult and commercially charged than in architecture. After all, one
needn’t tear down <i>The Thin Man</i> in order to add <i>Silence of the Lambs</i>, nor did the <i>Wizard of Oz</i>’s landmarking entail that <i>Taxi Driver</i>
couldn’t be built. Architecture sometimes involves exactly these
either/or choices, though, and the increasing debates over the aesthetic
merits of Brutalism have found multiple flashpoints in recent months,
from Chicago to Baltimore to Minneapolis to Oklahoma City to Goshen, New
York. <br />
Brutalism. It doesn’t exactly skip off of the tongue, does it? I know
plenty of educated people for whom “Brutalism” is simply shorthand for
any recent architecture that they happen to dislike. Here "Brutalism"
fulfills the same role as "jam bands" as a shorthand category for
sweeping disdain. It's be tempting to attribute the misfortunes of
Brutalist architecture to semantics; after all, no other 20th-century
form of architecture—the International style, Constructivism,
Postmodernism—directly conjours images of violence and force, unless you
have a particularly paranoiac attitude towards any sort of contemporary
theory. And yet this doesn’t quite explain away the recent difficulties
of Brutalist architecture. There are, of course, accurate aesthetic
objections—bare concrete, however improperly labeled, doesn’t inspire
much popular enthusiasm. Look to any list of “ugliest buildings” or
“buildings to demolish now” and you’re sure to find multiple Brutalist
structures represented. The Trellick Tower in London was said to be the
inspiration for J.G. Ballard’s novel <i>High Rise</i>, in which society
breaks into conflict, chaos, and dog-eating amidst in a self-contained
concrete tower mass. Ian Fleming titled a villain after that building’s
architect, Erno Goldfinger. That doesn’t happen to Frank Gehry. <span id="more-135551"></span><br />
<img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-135556" height="491" src="http://www.theawl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Screen-Shot-2012-08-20-at-9.43.19-AM.jpg" title="" width="425" /><br />
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<small><i>Trellick Tower in London</i></small></center>
Despite a pronounced lack of public enthusiasm for Brutalism, it's
financial and planning concerns, not aesthetic ones, that have
temporarily saved or at least postponed the destruction of several
recently threatened structures. In April, Paul Rudolph’s water-damaged
Orange County Government Center, which is located on Main Street in
Goshen, New York, was <a href="http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/20120507/saving-rudolph-in-goshen">preserved in an 11-10 vote</a>
of the Orange County Legislature. And the votes for saving the building
seemed significantly inspired by doubts as to whether demolishing the
building and constructing a replacement would actually prove cheaper
than repairing the facility. Mayor Rahm Emanuel <a href="http://www.suntimes.com/business/roeder/13837699-452/preservationists-worried-that-old-prentice-is-at-risk-again.html">has been cagey</a>
about preserving the Bertrand Goldberg-designed Prentice Women’s
Hospital, but seems unwilling to approve Northwestern University’s plans
to demolish the facility until there’s a concrete indication of what
might replace it. In Minneapolis, the city is currently conducting
fundraising for a thorough redesign of the Peavey Plaza in downtown,
which the American Society of Landscape Architects recognized, in 1999,
as one of the most significant examples of landscape architecture in the
U.S. The John Johansen-designed Morris Mechanic Theatre in Baltimore,
for which there is an extant replacement proposal, <a href="http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-08-02/news/bs-bz-udarp-mechanic-20120802_1_architecture-review-panel-retail-space-shalom-baranes-associates">has drawn criticism</a>
from the city’s Urban Design and Architecture Review Panel for its
proposal to locate a three-story retail building, and not a tower, along
a principal street. In each case, renovation seems to have been
dismissed peremptorily as impossible. Not helping, in the case of the
Orange County Government Center, was the seeming inflated costs of the
renovation: The cost estimates for refurnishing the building, some
observers pointed out, were some $24 million higher than the actual
costs of renovating the structurally quite similar (the architect was
the same) University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth library. <br />
<img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-135552" height="240" src="http://www.theawl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/morrismechanictheater-e1345472832945.jpg" title="Morris Mechanic Theatre" width="400" /><br />
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<small><i>The Morris Mechanic Theatre in Baltimore</i></small></center>
Financial questions aside, the question of what would replace these
structures is vital. Though it's difficult to deny that Brutalism has
its flaws. The term, derived from the French word for raw concrete
"Béton brut," came, via some gradual tweakings of meaning, to encompass a
range of 50s to 70s architecture granting a central role, obviously, to
unfinished concrete, but also to abstract geometries, and the frank
exposure of functional architectural elements. After sleek
International-style modernism, Brutalism represented a turn towards a
very different sort of functionalism, often dripping with overhangs,
podiums, and articulations designed to enhance its physical immensity
(for more on this, <a href="http://nplusonemag.com/the-other-modernism">check out this recent article</a>).
These plans often achieved a sure monumentalism, but also often left
humans in the literal dust, in lifeless plazas from Boston City Hall to
Dallas City Hall to L’Enfant Plaza that made no attempt to accommodate
the pedestrian. And, as with any genre of building, some Brutalist
buildings have been <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/video/2012/jun/11/glasgows-red-road-tower-demolished-video">well consigned to the wrecking ball</a>—few would argue that cities haven't benefited from some necessary pruning of the Brutalist past. <br />
<img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-135557" height="347" src="http://www.theawl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Orange_County_Government_Center-e1345473144438.jpg" title="Orange County Government Center" width="480" /><br />
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<i><small>The Orange County Government Center in Goshen, New York</small></i></center>
<img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-135558" height="315" src="http://www.theawl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Screen-Shot-2012-08-20-at-9.58.34-AM.jpg" title="" width="480" /><br />
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<small><i>Its proposed replacement</i></small></center>
In these current disputes, however, the briefest look at replacement
plans confirms that demolition proposals would scrap truly intriguing
buildings in favor of thoroughly anodyne replacements. The projected
replacement for the Orange County Government Center resembled nothing so
much as a collegiate neo-Georgian physical sciences building. The
proposed residential tower replacement for Baltimore's Morris Mechanic
Theater looks like any dozen recent American mid-sized glass towers, its
mild articulation of façade about as distinctive as the idea of, well…
living in a condo in a glass tower downtown. Not to mention countless
cases of demolition in which no replacement has yet materialized. The
former New Haven Coliseum site sits still vacant. The Leeds
International Pool site is now occupied by a parking lot. As Paul
Goldberger recently <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2012/08/paul-goldberger-prentice-hospital-chicago">pointed out</a> in <i>Vanity Fair</i>,
Northwestern University owns a vacant plot of land across the street
from the Prentice Women’s Hospital, and yet, without an extant plan for
either site, it insists on demolition. <br />
The principal frustration in all of these recent cases is that the
architecture of each of these buildings is unquestionably more inventive
and even fanciful than most architecture that directly preceded them,
let alone other Brutalist peers. Brutalism enabled plenty of bare walls;
but it also birthed some structures that, if you can get beyond the
ready wince at the idea of scraping a knee on them, are unquestionably
playful. Naturally, there are blank concrete walls; there are also
countless intriguing geometries; <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/13166455@N05/4628741143/">the Mummers Theater in Oklahoma</a>
is a riot of catwalk-linked cubes at varying orientations and
elevation; the Orange County Government Center is a lively
spilling-forth of windows and canopies, and the Prentice Women’s
Hospital is a space-age cloverleaf whose lower portion accordingly looks
more like a launch pad than a podium. In all of these cases the
argument for preservation is clearly strong, having more to do with the
worth of the buildings than any rote hostility to progress or an
eggheaded taste for retaining every drop of Brutalist ugliness. <br />
<img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-135564" height="266" src="http://www.theawl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Boston_SouthEnd-e1345473468305.jpg" title="" width="400" /><br />
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<i><small>Boston's South End</small></i></center>
<img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-135565" height="267" src="http://www.theawl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/boston_cityhall-e1345473506714.jpg" title="" width="400" /><br />
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<i><small>1973 photo of Boston City Hall Plaza</small></i></center>
There’s little doubt that the preservationist community, as valiant
and lonely as its efforts to save Brutalism have been, has made its case
in ways that often seem rather hard to swallow. Frequent comparisons to
Victorian architecture, and the fact that it too was once regarded with
broad distaste, seem justly out-of-touch. No one, in fifty years, or
ever, is going to stand in Boston City Hall Plaza and gain the feeling
of cozy preservationist joy that they find in Boston’s Victorian South
End—any more than, to go back to our beginning, audiences are ever going
to find a historical moment at which the now 70-year-old <i>Moses und Aron</i> sounds about as fun as <i>Aida</i>
does—nor should they. Brutalism should be addressed, and preserved on
its own terms, which are unquestionably more difficult than earlier
examples of preservation, although arguably just as worthy.<br />
These terms, for forthrightly evaluating the legacy of Brutalism, are
almost invariably civic; nearly all of the structures at present risk
are public in purpose and function. The residential legacy of Brutalism
has weathered time most poorly for <a href="http://architecture.knoji.com/brutalist-housing/">obvious</a> <a href="http://londonist.com/2012/03/robin-hood-gardens-set-for-demolition.php">reasons</a>.
In the realm of public architecture, however, whether one cares for
Brutalism or not, it’s difficult to assert that since its demise we’ve
devised much better molds for civic architecture. Occasional commissions
might result in a distinctive product, but for the most part we’ve
arrived at an age, as Nathan Glazer has <a href="http://www.amazon.com/From-Cause-Style-Modernist-Architectures/dp/0691129576">convincingly argued</a>,
when the scale of necessary public construction, and its attendant
cost, has foreclosed on any older, more universally admired models for
building. Given the clear mediocrity of likely replacements, to discard
wholesale the legacy of a distinctive moment in architectural history
out of a feeling of spite seems capricious.<br />
I’m personally very fond of much Brutalist architecture, and find in
its mass and geometry an unmistakable majesty, but I recognize that this
is hardly a popular proposition, save on <a href="http://fuckyeahbrutalism.tumblr.com/">some awesome Tumblr accounts</a>.
There’s no doubt that Brutalism remains associated with the very worst
of top-down mass-planning tendencies in American cities, of the sort
that bulldozed vibrant neighborhoods into arid plazas. We’ve happily
discarded the notion that anyone wants to live in a Brutalist city, but
to then efface <i>any</i> trace of Brutalism is no sort of urban progress. Proposals for intriguing adaptive reuse are in <a href="http://blog.archpaper.com/wordpress/archives/38651">no short supply</a>;
let’s not throw away a physical era that seems mildly at odds with our
own. Remember, the alternative isn’t likely to be something interesting:
it’s likely to be something strenuously banal. <br />
<br /><br />
<i>Anthony Paletta is a writer living in Brooklyn. He has written for </i><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203718504577183244282878170.html">The Wall Street Journal</a><i>, </i><a href="http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/author/anthony">Metropolis</a><i>, <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/06/22/the-sad-fate-of-downton-abbey-estates-felling-the-ancient-oaks.html">The Daily Beast</a>, </i><a href="http://www.bookforum.com/review/8458">Bookforum</a><i>, and <a href="http://www.themillions.com/2012/02/war-games-on-roberto-bolanos-the-third-reich.html">The Millions </a> on urban policy, historic preservation, cinema, literature, board wargaming, and comparably brutal topics. </i> <i>Photo of Prentice Women's Hospital by <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Prentice_Women%27s_Hospital,_After_Dark_%28Chicago,_IL%29.jpg">Jim Kuhn</a>; Trellick Tower by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/brighton/5526496198/">Jim Linwood</a>; the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre by <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2008_05_07_-_Baltimore_-_Morris_A_Mechanic_Theatre_1.jpg">Andrew Bossi</a>; the Orange County Government Center by <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Orange_County_Government_Center.jpg">Daniel Case</a>; the Dallas City Hall Plaza by <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DallasCityHall_view.jpg">Kent Wang</a>; Boston South End by <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2009_ColumbusAve_Boston_Massachusetts_4074463202.jpg">Tim Sackton</a>; 1973 photo of Boston City Hall Plaza by <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:3952816331_CityHallPlaza_Boston_1973.jpg">Ernst Halberstadt</a>. </i><br />
<br />
<i><a href="http://www.theawl.com/2012/08/brutalist-architecture">For full story click here</a> </i> <br />
</div>
</div>
architekturaLABhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02203536697519136246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7068206885220998696.post-79537631680792975372013-11-15T03:42:00.001-08:002013-11-15T03:42:35.652-08:00Design visualisation for architects <img alt="" src="http://www.architectnews.co.uk/images/stories/manandmachinemain1.jpg" />
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<br />
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<br />
Visualisation plays a role at every stage of the architectural design
process, including exploring complex organic forms, studying how light
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Autodesk provides state-of-the-art 3D design visualisation tools that
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architekturaLABhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02203536697519136246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7068206885220998696.post-73666714516648796122013-10-24T04:20:00.000-07:002013-10-24T04:20:25.877-07:00London's 'Walkie Talkie' skyscraper reflects light hot enough to fry an egg <div class="b4" itemprop="name headline">
A
new building on London's skyline nicknamed the Walkie Talkie has been
blamed for melted car parts due to the intense sunlight reflected from
its glass exterior. In a broadcast for <a href="http://news.sky.com/">Sky News</a>
one reporter proves that it is possible to fry an egg in the reflected
sunlight. Developers say they are working to rectify the problem.</div>
<div class="b4" itemprop="name headline">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/ff8VdCzXwps?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="b4" itemprop="name headline">
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<div class="vp-container">
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architekturaLABhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02203536697519136246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7068206885220998696.post-12232632580644851772013-10-21T04:37:00.000-07:002013-10-21T04:37:10.684-07:00Printing architecture<div class="lead">
Two ETH researchers from the Institute for Technology in
Architecture have created an immersive space from artificial sandstone
with a 3D printer. The work is currently on display in Orléans,France
</div>
<div class="lead">
<span>Franziska Schmid</span></div>
<div class="lead">
<br /></div>
<div id="dock-authors">
<span>
</span>
</div>
<div id="tag_image_main">
<a href="http://www.ethlife.ethz.ch/archive_articles/131021_3D_druck_raum_fs/1_3ddruckraum_l.jpg?hires" rel="lightbox[gallery]" target="_blank" title="A visitor to the space created with the 3D printer. (Image: Hansmeyer / Dillenburger / ETH Zurich)"><img alt="A visitor to the space created with the 3D printer. (Image: Hansmeyer / Dillenburger / ETH Zurich)" height="299" src="http://www.ethlife.ethz.ch/archive_articles/131021_3D_druck_raum_fs/1_3ddruckraum_l.jpg?top_story_normal" width="400" /></a>
<div class="legend_image_main">
<br />
</div>
</div>
<div class="articleitem-content">
<div class="p">
The immersive
space created by the two ETH researchers covers a surface of 16 m<sup>2</sup>
and is more than three metres high, and its organic, decorative design gives it
the semblance of a gothic cathedral’s façade. So it is no coincidence then that
the developers decided to call their project <a href="http://www.digital-grotesque.com/" target="_blank">Digital Grotesque</a>. “Anyone printing
architectural elements does not want to merely copy an existing idea; with
these delicate structures, we show that the scope for designing a digitally
developed wall is almost limitless,” explains Dillenburger. Digital Grotesque combines
technology and nature in a very novel way: first, the project shows how computational
design and additive manufacturing can work together, and, second, it draws on
nature when it comes to material and form. This means that the project fits perfectly
into the Archilab 2013 exhibition currently running at the FRAC Centre in
Orléans, France, which is dedicated to the “Naturaliser l’architecture” theme.</div>
<h4 class="heading">
</h4>
<h4 class="heading">
Complex geometry with
millions of facets</h4>
<div class="p">
The project
appears playful and weightless, but is neither on closer inspection. The design,
which cannot be drawn by hand or generated by computer software such as CAD, was
created from highly complex customised algorithms developed by the ETH
researchers behind Digital Grotesque. A simple starting shape was
mathematically refined and geometrically enhanced until a complex geometry with
more than 260 million facets emerged. The surface details push the boundaries
of human perception as the intricate shapes evolved organically with micrometric
precision. </div>
<div class="p">
Whereas assembly
took only a day and printing just a month, the development of the design
required more than a year. “The difficult part was keeping track of the
emerging shapes by using the algorithms, and designing creative and surprising effects,” says Dillenburger.</div>
<div class="p">
Furthermore,
Digital Grotesque is not light by any means – the special large-scale 3D printer
produced more than 11 tonnes of artificial sandstone for the work. The printer is
normally used to manufacture casting moulds for large, complex metal parts such
as engine blocks, which are then grouted with metal. The ETH architects came up
with the idea of using this technology to build architectonic parts. The
printer applies a layer of sand which is subsequently fixed in the places where
the shape should emerge. Thus, the printer applies the sand layer by layer
until the entire printing space is filled with sand. Any excess sand is then
vacuumed off and the finished sandstone element cleaned.</div>
<h4 class="heading">
</h4>
<h4 class="heading">
Countering
standardisation</h4>
<div class="p">
The ETH
architects used the process to produce 64 individual blocks that they then joined
together to form the space. Although this – yet experimental – production process
still requires quite some effort and expenses, Michael Hansmeyer and Benjamin Dillenburger
believe strongly in its future. Dillenburger is convinced that it has crucial
advantages over the industrial mass production that is the norm today: “The
project counters standardisation in modern architecture with a new architectural
language that is very specific. 3D printing is very precise and efficient, but
it also enables building parts to be individually designed.”</div>
<div class="p">
Digital
Grotesque can be seen at the <a href="http://www.frac-centre.fr/expositions/dans-les-murs/archilab-469.html" target="_blank">FRAC Centre in Orléans</a>, France, until 2 February 2014.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
<a href="http://www.ethlife.ethz.ch/archive_articles/131021_3D_druck_raum_fs/index_EN">full story here</a> </div>
<h3 class="heading">
</h3>
</div>
architekturaLABhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02203536697519136246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7068206885220998696.post-61552127685846920632013-10-19T12:41:00.000-07:002013-10-19T12:41:07.175-07:00Spain's economic crash brings architecture dreams back to earth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOJP90g1fFH1pFslMomBZ1CPVcsK1i0Cb9coxqhoBBJuTRCP4qfb4vKzIZz3X9LyJYnc3a-nh5w0V076zA2xXMQHYJF19b8h9bPaGve37c1qi8SdKXk-E-VrwA9-VVGUCzxXf3LpvTa72a/s1600/guggenheim_museum_bilbao_ebe310108_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOJP90g1fFH1pFslMomBZ1CPVcsK1i0Cb9coxqhoBBJuTRCP4qfb4vKzIZz3X9LyJYnc3a-nh5w0V076zA2xXMQHYJF19b8h9bPaGve37c1qi8SdKXk-E-VrwA9-VVGUCzxXf3LpvTa72a/s400/guggenheim_museum_bilbao_ebe310108_4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
With the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona that turned the world's
attention to Spain, famed buildings throughout the country gave an
architectural degree cachet and allure. Norman Foster’s Torre de
Collserola and I.M. Pei's World Trade Center, both in Barcelona, and
Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum of Bilbao gave aspiring architects hope
for lucrative salaries and the potential for rock-star status.<br />
<br />
<br />
But
alongside dreams came a glut of architects, and a country that went on a
building spending spree – both on iconic public works and private
apartment complexes.<br />
As the country remains mired in economic
crisis, in no small part because of a popped housing bubble, Spain faces
an unemployment rate of over 25 percent. It’s not a bright job market
for any Spaniard, but perhaps no one has been more impacted than the
nation's architects, who have scrambled for Plan B or left the country
all together.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/2013/1019/Spain-s-economic-crash-brings-architecture-dreams-back-to-earth">Read the full story here</a>architekturaLABhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02203536697519136246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7068206885220998696.post-55920981158103253462013-10-14T04:45:00.000-07:002013-10-14T04:45:12.840-07:00Beijing Design Week<div class="stand-first-alone" data-component="Article:standfirst_cta" id="stand-first" itemprop="description">
Sees architects launch 'micro-interventions' in one of the
capital's oldest neighbourhoods. But are their good intentions having
the right effect?</div>
<div class="flexible-content">
<div class="block" data-id="524b2484e4b00c9d0a811074" id="mainblock">
<div class="block-elements">
<figure class="element element-image" data-media-id="gu-fc-1949cec6-495e-4851-aa0c-13503a93e3bb">
<img alt="Mobile logos … an itinerant graphic design service is one of the projects launched in Beijing's historic Dashilar neighbourhood this week." class="gu-image" height="276" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/10/1/1380656249271/b7964100-17a9-47bf-ad26-6247642af3d3-460x276.jpeg" width="460" />
<figcaption>Mobile logos … an itinerant graphic design
service is one of the projects launched in Beijing's historic Dashilar
neighbourhood this week. Photograph: Oliver Wainwright/Guardian</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
</div>
<div class="flexible-content-body" data-display-hint="">
A plastic fan whirrs above a mountain of tripe, keeping hungry flies
away, while pancakes sizzle on a hotplate across the street. A tricycle
cart laden with coal careers around a corner, narrowly missing an
elderly resident taking his caged songbird out for a stroll, while a
construction worker sits on the corner, slurping noodles from a bag. It
could be any other day in the hutongs of Beijing's <a href="http://dashilar.org/">Dashilar</a> neighbourhood, but this week something is different.<br />
Down the lane, a cloud of golden discs erupts from the rooftop of one
courtyard house, spilling out to form a canopy above the street.
Coloured concrete stools dot the roadside, while giant cushions shaped
like roast duck and fresh sushi fill a shop window. A taxi trike
trundles down the road, providing not transport but a mobile logo-design
service. <a href="http://www.bjdw.org/?lang=en">Beijing Design Week</a> (BJDW) has arrived, and it's brought the “pop-up” concept to one of the Chinese capital's oldest communities.<br />
“We see these projects as a kind of urban acupuncture,” says Beatrice
Leanza, the Italian director of this year's festival, who has worked in
Beijing's contemporary art world for the last 10 years. “We are
proposing micro-interventions in the area's empty buildings as tests for
what could happen here.”<br />
As part of the Dashilar programme – one of BJDW's three hubs across
the city – two derelict courtyard houses have been taken over by Zhang
Ke of <a href="http://www.standardarchitecture.cn/oldflash/index.html">Standard Architecture</a>,
who has built a clustered treehouse structure of glass-fronted rooms in
the open courts, accessed by a series of ladders and ledges, that poke
up above the rooftops. With crisp planes of plywood limboing between
century-old beams, it is a prototype for how the site could be
developed. Zhang describes it as “ultra-small scale social housing
within the limitations of super-tight traditional hutong spaces,” which
would be part of a mixed-use scheme with restaurants, bookstores and
bars.<br />
<figure class="element element-image" data-media-id="gu-fc-64d6211d-8e67-4538-8c10-7aaef2d01e55">
<img alt="Parasitic pods … Micro-Hutong prototype by Standard Architecture." class="gu-image" height="276" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/10/1/1380654379537/491a346f-20e1-4934-b458-558e8a6588cb-460x276.jpeg" width="460" />
<figcaption>Parasitic pods … Micro-Hutong prototype by Standard Architecture. Photograph: Oliver Wainwright/Guardian</figcaption>
</figure>
A few doors down, the golden fabric discs signal a proposal by the young Beijing studio, <a href="http://www.peoples-architecture.com/pao/">People's Architecture Office</a>,
for a “courtyard plug-in” – a plan to insert prefabricated living units
into existing houses, leaving the original structures intact. With
plumbing, heating, insulation and wiring built-in, the modules would
require minimal excavation to bring the leaky, draughty buildings up to
habitable standards. The trial project on this site will see these pods
bring a library for the local community and a startup business
incubator.<br />
In any other context, such installations might not be remarkable,
part of the current trend for “meanwhile” uses on vacant sites. But what
comes as a surprise is to learn that these projects have been initiated
and endorsed by the municipal government – which only a few years ago
had the entire district in the sights of its bulldozers.<br />
“There has been a radical shift in the perception of how this
neighbourhood should be developed,” says Neill Gaddes, a New Zealand
architect who for the last three years has worked for Beijing Dashilar
Investment Limited (BDI), a subsidiary of the state-owned Guang An
Holding, tasked with upgrading the area. “There is a real push towards
improvements and adaptive reuse, rather than wholesale demolition and
rebuild.”<br />
<figure class="element element-image" data-media-id="gu-fc-f7fe904c-a2ee-4051-b62b-3fade1a02158">
<img alt="Plug-in hutong … a display of a proposal by the People's Architecture Office." class="gu-image" height="276" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/10/1/1380654689817/aaaddc8d-054f-49af-82cf-c4b814b0a9ac-460x276.jpeg" width="460" />
<figcaption>Plug-in hutong … a display of a proposal by the People's Architecture Office. Photograph: Oliver Wainwright/Guardian</figcaption>
</figure>
The shift has been spurred in part by the disaster that is all too
visible just a few blocks east. In the run-up to the 2008 Olympic Games,
a vast swathe of Qianmen, a thriving commercial district for the last
500 years, was razed and replaced by an <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2008/jun/05/greenbuilding.ethicalliving">inflated Disneyfied version of itself</a>, a process that saw local businesses forcibly displaced by big-name brands dressed in pastiche facades.<br />
Extending outside the old city walls, south of Qianmen gate, in a
knotted delta of diagonal lanes, the area had been a lively centre of
trade and illicit pleasures for centuries. From the 1500s, brothels
clustered between restaurants and theatres, opium parlours lurked
beneath lodging houses – a thrilling underworld that lured even
incognito emperors here.<br />
If party officials come today, it would be to stock up on Rolex and
Zara, or maybe guzzle a Happy Meal. Extending south in a monumental
ceremonial axis, just below Tiananmen Square, now stretches a polished
open-air mall, where outlets of Nike and Starbucks, Costa and McDonalds,
stand behind pantomime costumes of swooping roofs encrusted with gilded
signs and lurid mouldings.<br />
Billboards declare the project is “respecting the city texture and
recasting the historical view,” as well as “restoring history's cultural
pulse”. But walking the street today, it feels a vapid gauntlet through
which replica trams now ferry tourists back and forth from H&M to
Häagen-Dazs.<br />
<figure class="element element-image" data-media-id="gu-fc-4c92d368-18c2-4caa-bfe1-161710c9c8fa">
<img alt="Beijing brandalism … The Rolex store towers above the remade Qianmen shopping street." class="gu-image" height="276" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/10/1/1380655217983/4538096967_f10903a8eb_o-460x276.jpeg" width="460" />
<figcaption>Beijingbrandalism … The Rolex store towers above the remade Qianmen shopping street. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spool32/4538096967/">Photograph: Will Clayton/flickr</a></figcaption>
</figure>
It is the most visible example of what has happened in numerous
pockets of the old city over the last 10 years, as neighbourhoods have
been demolished and rebuilt in the name of heritage preservation. From
the shopping street of <a href="http://www.globaltimes.cn/beijing/community/2010-11/594462.html">Nanluoguxiang</a> near the Drum and Bell Tower in the north, to the alleys around the <a href="http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2013-09/11/content_16959281.htm">Sichahai</a>
lakes, the areas designated for historic conservation have been
transformed into zombie recreations of themselves. Elsewhere, crumbling
courtyard houses have been wrapped in neat jackets but their squalid
innards left unchanged, adding a flimsy tourist-friendly veneer to give a
picturesque backdrop for lucrative hutong tours.<br />
But in Dashilar, things seem to be going in a different direction.
Home to around 55,000 people over a square kilometre, it is one of the
most densely populated parts of Beijing – six times the average density.
It is also one of the most convoluted in terms of property ownership,
with only around 10% of buildings in the possession of the state-owned
developer, with the rest split between work units and private owners – a
situation further confused by multiple sub-letting and the
proliferation of illegally built structures within and on top of
courtyard houses. This has seen the built fabric of the area rapidly
decline, with little maintenance and upkeep of the properties due to
both unclear ownership and ongoing uncertainty about demolition.<br />
“I'm longing to move out,” one elderly resident who has lived here
since the 1950s tells me. “But the amount of compensation they are
offering is far too little for me to find anywhere else to go.” It
sounds a familiar story, one that in the past would have ended with
forced eviction. But changes to property laws since 2008 have made it
harder for developers to expel residents, putting more power in the
individual owners' hands to demand higher prices. As a result, residents
now compete with their neighbours to be bought out at higher rates,
which is making Dashilar an increasingly divided place. But the deadlock
has a unexpected upside.<br />
“This stalemate is providing an opportunity for the area to develop
in a slower, more beneficial way,” says Gaddes. The initial failure of
the Qianmen redevelopment – which was plagued with vacant units due to
inflated rents – gave the government cold feet about rolling the same
plan out across Dashilar. This hiatus gave BDI time to commission the
“nodal” Dashilar pilot strategy, developed by local architect <a href="http://www.aarchstudio.com/index.php">Liang Jingyu</a>
from 2011, which would facilitate several model projects in strategic
locations across the area – and show existing owners how investing in
their properties and businesses could help turn a profit and improve the
area. “We're trying to change the conversation from people holding out
for compensation, to wanting to invest and stay in their own community,”
says Gaddes. As the leader of the local Xicheng municipality puts it,
these pilot projects should be “like twinkling stars that grow by
themselves”.<br />
<figure class="element element-video" data-canonical-url="http://vimeo.com/70916075">
<figcaption>Beijing Design Week introduces the Dashilar neighbourhood</figcaption>
</figure>
One such twinkling star comes in the form of Lin Lin, the director of <a href="http://jellymon.com/">Jellymon</a>,
a creative agency based in the neighbourhood, who recently sold her
flat in London to buy a 10-year lease on an art deco factory across the
street from her studio in Dashilar.<br />
“I'm planning a holistic up-cycling experience,” she beams as she
leads me through her building site and up a ladder, in sequin-studded
platform heels, to the first floor, which she wants to transform into a
cocktail bar. Down below will be an organic supermarket and restaurant
themed around re-use. She is presenting the concept at BJDW by hosting a
performance banquet, in which every piece of a pig is used in what she
calls a “fusion of fine dining, taxidermy and product design."<br />
Many locals turn up to watch the surreal occasion, happily stuffing
chunks of the pig into bags to take back home. It is hard, however, to
imagine how many of them will frequent Lin Lin's organic food shop when
there is a heaving farmer's market around the corner selling food for a
fraction of the price.<br />
A project that looks a little more sensitively calibrated to the needs of locals is proposed by French designer <a href="http://www.matalicrasset.com/">Matali Crasset</a>
a few streets away. Dressed in a red harlequin outfit and sharp bowl
haircut that gives her the look of a children's entertainer, she has
taken over a factory building for the week to run workshops with local
schoolchildren to imagine what the space might become.<br />
<figure class="element element-image" data-media-id="gu-fc-9953910b-c654-4a9a-b1d1-2b6679c4164a">
<img alt="French designer Matali Crasset plans to transform a disused factory building into a community play space." class="gu-image" height="270" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/10/1/1380655545905/befcad18-eefb-49b3-aee3-ebdbc704364f-bestSizeAvailable.jpeg" width="450" />
<figcaption>French designer Matali Crasset plans to
transform a disused factory building into a community play space.
Photograph: Matali Crasset</figcaption>
</figure>
“I was attracted to this building because it has the potential to
act as a public route, linking the two streets either side,” she says as
we walk through the building where she plans to install a “forest
crossing playground,” an undulating ramp dotted with cabins and
greenhouse spaces. For now, she has daubed bright graphic patterns on
the walls and built some temporary furniture, but if the plans go ahead,
it could be a useful social space for parents to bring their children
in an area that lacks such community facilities.<br />
While well-meaning, many of the projects in the area seem to have mis-fired. Italian designer <a href="http://www.lucanichetto.com/">Luca Nichetto</a>
has installed a number of coloured benches, designed to be moved and
flipped to act as stools or tables, inspired by watching locals move
their stools into shady spots along the streets. Yet their heavy
concrete construction means they can barely be lifted – instead, some
clever residents have taken them apart and are using their cylindrical
legs as plant pots.<br />
Hong Kong-based designer <a href="http://www.michael-young.com/">Michael Young</a>
has been commissioned to design a new public toilet, with a curvaceous
white-tiled shell that will arch over the new loos like a space-age pod.
It looks nice enough, but inside it will house four conventional
western cubicles, negating the fact that the current open squat-toilets
serve a key social role, where people chat between knee-high partitions.<br />
<figure class="element element-image" data-media-id="gu-fc-f8af9ccb-59d4-4216-9a94-c9c3211f08a4">
<img alt="A Dashilar resident looks on at Luca Nichetto's concrete stools from the comfort of her own chair." class="gu-image" height="276" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/10/1/1380655686836/e679093d-2e31-481e-97c1-b37f67b73cdd-460x276.jpeg" width="460" />
<figcaption>A Dashilar resident looks on at Luca
Nichetto's concrete stools from the comfort of her own chair.
Photograph: Oliver Wainwright/Guardian</figcaption>
</figure>
Speaking to residents who have witnessed the Dashilar project evolve
over the last three years, there remains an understandable suspicion
about the developer's motives – with the precedent of Qianmen all too
fresh in the memory. Some question why they would be seeding designers
and new businesses in the area, if not as a form of cultural-led
gentrification, with the ultimate aim of attracting a more upmarket
resident. Others are more hard-nosed: the incremental improvement of the
neighbourhood makes demolition less likely, and thus threatens their
chances of being bought out. Many would happily see the place razed if
given the means to move on to better conditions – and they are not blind
to the fact that these crumbling lanes represent some of the most
expensive real-estate in Beijing.<br />
He Shuzhong, founder of the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Centre – which recently <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2013/aug/02/zaha-hadid-destroying-beijing-heritage">wrote a furious letter to the RIBA</a>
condemning Zaha Hadid's Galaxy Soho mega-mall for destroying an area of
hutongs – has little time for the Dashilar plans, seeing the nodal
strategy as no different to what happens elsewhere, only disguised in
more palatable rhetoric.<br />
"The developers want to be seen as gentlemen who understand the local
history very well," he says. "But at the same time, they are trying to
make Dashilar high-end, with new, bigger, brighter buildings. They
despise local residents and the non-wealthy and want to move them all
out."<br />
"It is also difficult to distinguish who is the development
businessman and who the local government officer," he adds. "They are
almost a compound body – they are developers when they need to make
money, and they are government officials when they need the power."<br />
<figure class="element element-image" data-media-id="gu-fc-61b8190b-737d-4065-9d6d-d1d93804c795">
<img alt="Out in the cold … Taiwanese architects Open Union Studio are camping on the rooftop after local residents refused them access." class="gu-image" height="276" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/10/1/1380656049795/23379ff3-87dd-479d-a322-14f64825e519-460x276.jpeg" width="460" />
<figcaption>Out in the cold … Taiwanese architects Open
Union Studio are camping on the rooftop after local residents refused
them access. Photograph: Oliver Wainwright/Guardian</figcaption>
</figure>
The conflict between the project's ambition and the reality on the
ground is brought into no sharper focus than at No 30 Yaowu Hutong,
where Taiwanese practice <a href="http://www.oustudio.com.tw/">Open Union Studio</a> has set up camp.<br />
“We wanted to create a social space that the community could share,”
says architect Hai Teng, showing me around a series of wooden house-like
frames he has erected on the rooftop, overlooking a courtyard filled
with a jumble of jerry-built out-buildings, where six families totalling
15 people currently live. “The neighbours here are not so friendly to
each other, so we wanted to make a space that they could use together.”<br />
The architects were originally intended to occupy the empty first
floor level of the building, which extends along the streetfront in a
long glazed gallery, for up to two years. But when the downstairs
residents caught wind of the fact this space was going to be unlocked,
they said they would move in themselves and stop the practice from
taking up residence. As a result, the designers are now on the rooftop
in two temporary tents. “If we stay here and get to know them, we hope
they will change their minds,” says Hai. “Most architecture and design
exhibitions waste so much money, so we wanted to do something useful.”<br />
Bert de Muynck, a Belgian architect who has carried out extensive
research on the Dashilar initiative with Mónica Carriço at the <a href="http://movingcities.org/">Moving Cities</a>
think-tank, has mixed feelings about the outcome so far. “It is a brave
attempt to do something different after the failures of places like
Qianmen,” he says. “People criticise those developments for creating
twee stage-sets for tourists – but we have to be careful Dashilar is not
just creating another kind of 'authentic' stage set for designers.”<br />
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2013/oct/02/beijing-design-week-china-hutongs-preservation">Full story click here</a><br />
</div>
</div>
architekturaLABhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02203536697519136246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7068206885220998696.post-60944658757674684732013-10-09T04:17:00.001-07:002013-10-09T04:17:55.815-07:00The Tube of the future? <div class="widget storyContent article widget-editable viziwyg-section-1503 inpage-widget-8697393">
<span class="storyTop ">
The next generation of Tube train could be made in Britain, its German makers suggested today.<br />
</span>
</div>
Siemens unveiled the Inspiro train - costing £1m per carriage - with a
hint to the mayor that if he placed an order for one of the new trains
for the Piccadilly, Bakerloo and Central lines it would be fulfilled in
the UK.<br />
It comes after Transport for London secured its Government
funding for the Tube based on the claim that it could give new orders
to British based firms.<br />
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<img alt="" height="266" src="http://www.standard.co.uk/incoming/article8858555.ece/ALTERNATES/w620/tube.jpg" title="Spacious: a mock-up of the interior of the new trains (Picture: Lucy Young)" width="400" />
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<span class="inline-image w620">
</span><br />
<br />
<span class="inline-image w620"><span class="inlineImageContainer leftAligned"><span class="inLineImageCaption">Spacious: a mock-up of the interior of the new trains (Picture: Lucy Young)</span>
</span>
</span>
Siemens controversially manufactured the £1bn-plus Thameslink train order from the Government in its native Germany.<br />
The
Inspiro will feature in a new exhibition making the 150th anniversary
of the Tube and giving Londoners a glimpse of the future of London
Underground travel.<br />
The Inspiro may appeal to the mayor as it is equipped to be driverless - a facility that would weaken union strike powers.<br />
<br />
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<img alt="" height="266" src="http://www.standard.co.uk/incoming/article8858556.ece/ALTERNATES/w620/tube2.jpg" title="Innovation: the proposed new trains will look considerably different to anything Tube users have seen before (Picture: Lucy Young)" width="400" />
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<span class="inline-image w620">
</span><br />
<br />
<span class="inline-image w620"><span class="inlineImageContainer leftAligned"><span class="inLineImageCaption">Innovation: the proposed new trains
will look considerably different to anything Tube users have seen before
(Picture: Lucy Young)</span>
</span>
</span>
Compared to much existing rolling stock, it weighs a third less is brighter and more spacious.<br />
It will also be fully air conditioned and create more room for passengers by dispensing doors linking carriages with gangways.<br />
The
new exhibition marking the Tube’s 150th anniversary opens next week at
the Crystal exhibition centre in the Royal Victoria Docks.<br />
It also features innovations in electronic ticketing and passengers information boards.<br />
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<img alt="" height="266" src="http://www.standard.co.uk/incoming/article8858572.ece/ALTERNATES/w620/tube7.jpg" title="New era: the new design features in an exhibition marking the Tube’s 150th anniversary (Picture: Lucy Young)" width="400" />
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<span class="inlineImageContainer leftAligned" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="inLineImageCaption">New era: the new design features in an exhibition marking the Tube’s 150th anniversary (Picture: Lucy Young)</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy6ZTkKkHRK4iG0YGP4sfT5u4om9cxFBS8Zgk-pF6i04SBdJp75oxf6oRnzLQpCNGFu_Uci0i55Na7rt7wXRepMSz4gWL-pVJxHvzIbp1fLYZ41c5YQIYEXT3GeLoMIL-GoOfab6nZf6Ac/s1600/undergroundtube.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy6ZTkKkHRK4iG0YGP4sfT5u4om9cxFBS8Zgk-pF6i04SBdJp75oxf6oRnzLQpCNGFu_Uci0i55Na7rt7wXRepMSz4gWL-pVJxHvzIbp1fLYZ41c5YQIYEXT3GeLoMIL-GoOfab6nZf6Ac/s400/undergroundtube.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="inlineImageContainer leftAligned" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="inLineImageCaption"> <a href="http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/the-tube-of-the-future-1m-per-carriage-inspiro-train-concept-is-unveiled-for-london-underground-8858546.html">For more info Click here</a></span>
</span></div>
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architekturaLABhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02203536697519136246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7068206885220998696.post-25769536833146051422013-10-06T02:38:00.000-07:002013-10-06T02:38:11.626-07:00John Pardey Architects and Strom Architects<h2>
The Hurst House in Buckinghamshire, England.
</h2>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.contemporist.com/2012/08/18/hurst-house-by-john-pardey-architects-and-strom-architects/hh_180812_01/" rel="attachment wp-att-57202"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-57202" height="300" src="http://www.contemporist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/hh_180812_01-630x473.jpg" title="hh_180812_01" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span id="more-57199"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: white;">.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Description from the architects</div>
<blockquote>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The Hurst House is a new build one-off
contemporary house located on the edge of the village of Bourne End in
Buckinghamshire. The site forms part of a garden of a substantial house
located on the edge of Bourne End in Buckinghamshire, directly fronting
an area of open fields that form part of the Chilterns Area of
Outstanding National Beauty (There are currently 33 AONB designations
within England).</div>
The clients’ brief was to build a very sustainable and contemporary
family home that would have the flexibility to successfully cope with
changing family conditions as their children grow up and leave the
nest. This lead to a house where they can live in one extended space
while family bedrooms can be shut down and left on tick-over.</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.contemporist.com/2012/08/18/hurst-house-by-john-pardey-architects-and-strom-architects/hh_180812_12/" rel="attachment wp-att-57213"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-57213" height="301" src="http://www.contemporist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/hh_180812_12-630x475.jpg" title="hh_180812_12" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: white;">.</span></div>
<blockquote>
<div style="text-align: left;">
A masonry rectangular volume on the ground
floor, contains bedrooms, and is slightly sunken into the ground to
reduce the height of the building towards the AONB. A lightweight steel
and timber volume at the first floor is set perpendicular to the ground
floor volume and contains living, kitchen and dining spaces, as well as
the master bedroom suite. It rests on top of the ground floor volume and
spans across to a masonry wall that defines the southern edge of the
house. A rectangular service element underneath the first floor sleeve –
separated by a clere-storey – defines an entrance lobby with vertical
circulation to one side as well as a carport to the other.</div>
This arrangement of space allows for a self-contained bedroom wing
for children (teenagers) that opens up to a south-facing courtyard,
whilst the first floor volume allows living spaces and master bedroom to
make the most of the site with its incredible views of the rolling
landscape of the AONB to the west.<br />
A linear balcony along the length of the first floor allows the
facade to open up, and the recessed floor to ceiling glazed sliding
panels to be shaded in the summer. At the southern end of the first
floor volume the glazing is pulled back to create an outdoor living area
which is open to both the east and the west allowing the sun to reach
it at different times of day.</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.contemporist.com/2012/08/18/hurst-house-by-john-pardey-architects-and-strom-architects/hh_180812_16/" rel="attachment wp-att-57217"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-57217" height="266" src="http://www.contemporist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/hh_180812_16-630x420.jpg" title="hh_180812_16" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: white;">.</span></div>
<blockquote>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The environmental impact of the house was
considered from the outset, and we were aiming to get very close to
being a zero carbon home.</div>
The building utilises very high levels of insulation. A small highly
efficient gas boiler, together with heat recovery ventilation, rainwater
recycling, solar water heating, a 10kW wood burner and a 9.9kWp
photovoltaic installation, and low energy fittings throughout, ensure
the property has an overall near zero CO2 impact rating. (We are yet to
carry out the as built environmental performance calculations, to
establish the exact CO2 impact of the property.) Since the building was
connected to services, it has generated 25% more electricity than has
been used.<br />
We employed high quality natural materials that enhances and
harmonises with the site; local Weston Underwood coursed stone to ground
floor walls, and the upper floor element is clad in British Sweet
Chestnut, which weathers to a natural silver colour and will last for
many centuries without further maintenance. To the garden side, panels
of pre-weathered zinc, set within the timber sleeve are employed. These
materials will all weather naturally and blend harmoniously with the
site and surroundings.</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.contemporist.com/2012/08/18/hurst-house-by-john-pardey-architects-and-strom-architects/hh_180812_02/" rel="attachment wp-att-57203"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-57203" height="265" src="http://www.contemporist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/hh_180812_02-630x418.jpg" title="hh_180812_02" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: white;">.</span></div>
<blockquote>
<div style="text-align: left;">
John Pardey Architects and Strom Architects
worked in collaboration to see this building completed. When Magnus
Strom left his job as a Director of JPA in 2010 to set up his own
practice, John and Magnus decided that it would be beneficial for the
project, if Magnus continued working with the detail and construction
side of the project as well as overseeing it on site. This collaboration
ensured a continuity of the project and has resulted in a strong design
that has been detailed with great care and finished to an extraordinary
quality</div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<a href="http://www.contemporist.com/2012/08/18/hurst-house-by-john-pardey-architects-and-strom-architects/">For full story and more photos click here</a><br />
architekturaLABhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02203536697519136246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7068206885220998696.post-37639293862236845682013-10-04T03:18:00.000-07:002013-10-04T03:18:09.303-07:00Architect Daniel Libeskind says Maze peace centre will go ahead
<br />
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<img alt="Daniel Libeskind speaks to the BBC's Mark Carruthers" height="225" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/70142000/jpg/_70142428_photo.jpg" width="400" /> <span style="width: 304px;"> </span></div>
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<span class="story-date"><span class="date"></span></span><span class="byline"><span class="byline-title"></span>
</span>
<div class="caption body-narrow-width">
<span style="width: 304px;"> </span>The
architect who designed the peace building and reconciliation centre on
the site of the former Maze Prison has said he is convinced the scheme
will go ahead.</div>
<br />
In August, First Minister Peter Robinson sent a letter to his party members announcing that he was halting the project. <br />
<br />
He said there needed to be a broad consensus on how it would
operate and what it would contain - and that is currently absent, in his
view. But the New York-based architect Daniel Libeskind believes Mr Robinson's intervention is simply part of the process.<br />
<br />
Mr Libeskind masterminded the Ground Zero project in New York and the Jewish Holocaust Museum in Berlin. <br />
"I've seen that pause button in every project," he said.<br />
"I think that every building (I've worked on) had a similar
process; initial impetus then: 'How do we get consensus? How do we bring
people together?' <br />
"But in every one of those instances the building was able to
forge a path towards the future. So I think it will happen. I think
that people will understand that it's not a shrine to terrorism. I have
full confidence that it will happen."<br />
<br />
The DUP's Jeffrey Donaldson suggested many people in
Northern Ireland felt the site was not the proper place for a peace
centre because of its association with the past and because of its
retained buildings.<br />
<br />
"I think that if those buildings had been removed from the
site, and we were looking at a green field I think people could have
lived with that but not with the retained buildings on the site, and I
think that in essence has been the problem here," he said. <br />
I travelled to Studio Daniel Libeskind in downtown Manhattan
to speak to the architect about his hopes as part of my forthcoming
Radio Ulster documentary, Building on the Past.<br />
<br />
<div class="caption body-narrow-width">
<img alt="Daniel Libeskind" height="225" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/70142000/jpg/_70142427_daniellibeskind.jpg" width="400" />
<span style="width: 304px;"> </span></div>
<div class="caption body-narrow-width">
<span style="width: 304px;"> </span></div>
<div class="caption body-narrow-width">
<span style="width: 304px;">The renowned architect Daniel Libeskind pictured during a visit to the Maze site last year</span>
</div>
The centre is part of a £300m site redevelopment, but the DUP had been criticised for supporting it.<br />
<br />
In his letter of last month, Mr Robinson ruled out any public
use of the retained buildings - the one existing H-Block, where
paramilitaries were held - and the hospital where Bobby Sands and other
republican hunger strikers died. <br />
He also said the prospects for building any peace centre at
the site near Lisburn must be linked to building a wider consensus, and
cannot just be about securing support from within the DUP and Sinn Féin.<br />
<br />
The Maze/Long Kesh Development Corporation has promised 5,000
permanent jobs on the site and the peace centre was seen as the key to
unlocking the full jobs and economic potential of the wider 347-acre
site near Lisburn.<br />
<br />
Over the years, the scheme to redevelop the former prison site has been controversial.<br />
The Maze housed paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles
from 1971 to 2000. Ten republican prisoners died on hunger strike there.
<br />
But Daniel Libeskind told me that those who believed the site would glorify terrorists had got it wrong.<br />
<br />
'It's a complete falsehood. I was born in Poland, my parents
were Holocaust survivors. I was born in a Communist country and dreaded
going to school there," he said. <br />
"How can I, who embrace democracy and open society, be
involved in something as evil as celebrating terrorism? Who in their
right mind would do that? I would never be involved in this project if I
did not consider it something important - to bring people to Belfast to
that site."<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-24289701">For full story click here</a><br />
<strong></strong>
</div>
<strong></strong>
</div>
<br />
<strong></strong><strong></strong>architekturaLABhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02203536697519136246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7068206885220998696.post-44498993033486508962013-10-03T03:36:00.000-07:002013-10-03T03:36:13.414-07:00China's brand-new abandoned cities <div class="row">
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<div class="first-text" data-textannotation-id="71fcdc6ac726e498c19de8c0a8b7033b">
China's
building boom has created a ton of abandoned cities and massive ruins —
most of which are brand new, and have never had people living in them.
Here are the deserted Chinese cities, mostly built in the last 10 years,
which could be sets for your next dystopian movie.</div>
<h3 data-textannotation-id="061de6f74b22abaef5498b08a54b4b6c">
Kangbashi New Area, a district of Ordos, Inner Mongolia, Northern China</h3>
<div data-textannotation-id="312bbfdb70aa0caaf430a667db4468f0">
In 2003,
Ordos officials started the planning a new 1 million person city
district. Thanks to a $161 billion investment in 2010, the "Dubai of
Northern China" has the capacity for 300,000 people — but only
20,000-30,000 residents. It isn't a ghost town due to economic issues —
the government simply can't convince people to move there.</div>
<div data-textannotation-id="312bbfdb70aa0caaf430a667db4468f0">
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architekturaLABhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02203536697519136246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7068206885220998696.post-1219967742481330922013-09-27T04:49:00.000-07:002013-09-27T06:10:23.736-07:00Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2013<h2>
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2013<br /> Designed by Sou Fujimoto <br /> Until 20 October 2013</h2>
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<i>"It is a really fundamental question how architecture is different
from nature, or how architecture could be part of nature, or how they
could be merged...what are the boundaries between nature and artificial
things."</i> <b>Sou Fujimoto</b>
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The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2013 is designed by multi award-winning Japanese architect <b>Sou Fujimoto</b>.
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He is the thirteenth and, at 41, youngest architect to accept the
invitation to design a temporary structure for the Serpentine Gallery.
The most ambitious architectural programme of its kind worldwide, the
Serpentine's annual Pavilion commission is one of the most anticipated
events on the cultural calendar. Past Pavilions have included designs by
Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei (2012), Frank Gehry (2008), the
late Oscar Niemeyer (2003) and Zaha Hadid, who designed the inaugural
structure in 2000.<br />
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<a href="http://www.serpentinegallery.org/">To Read more on the serpentine gallery click here</a>architekturaLABhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02203536697519136246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7068206885220998696.post-63897674111218166452013-09-25T10:40:00.000-07:002013-09-25T10:40:22.077-07:00TURNING ORDINARY PLACES INTO AMAZING SPACES<h3 style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">London based architectural practice offering a rare blend of practical,
hands-on experience and creative design flair. They don’t design offices,
skyscrapers, bridges and other large scale structures, but concentrate
on what we’re really good at – turning ordinary places into amazing
spaces.</span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: small;">A team of architects with offices on the banks of
the Thames in Putney with great views of the river. design philosophy – a way of approaching architecture and
interior design which puts the dreams and aspirations of the client at
the very heart of business. call it ‘Design from the Inside Out’
because the starting point for all their work is flesh and blood not
bricks and mortar. Put simply it means they spend a great deal of time
with clients trying to understand their vision and discussing how they can translate that into beautiful, yet practical spaces.</span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.dyergrimesarchitects.com/"> For more info on dyer grimes click here</a> </span></h3>
architekturaLABhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02203536697519136246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7068206885220998696.post-12436556378199074132013-09-25T05:47:00.001-07:002013-09-25T05:47:28.391-07:00Dynamic facade<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="watch-title yt-uix-expander-head" dir="ltr" id="eow-title" title="Dynamic facade "Kiefer technic showroom"">The Kiefer technic showroom</span></span></h1>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="watch-title yt-uix-expander-head" dir="ltr" id="eow-title" title="Dynamic facade "Kiefer technic showroom""><span style="color: #666666;">This facade changes continuously, each day and each hour shows a new " face" The facade is turning into a dynamic sculpture. </span></span></span></h3>
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<a href="http://www.giselbrecht.at/"> For more info on giselbrecht click here</a><br />
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<br />architekturaLABhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02203536697519136246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7068206885220998696.post-38451706491596115782013-09-24T10:53:00.000-07:002013-09-24T10:53:49.589-07:00Modern Residential Architecture in Hollywood <h2>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">A modern style statement visible from afar, the contemporary </span><a href="http://www.xtenarchitecture.com/" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Openhouse</a><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
by XTEN Architecture is nestled on a steep slope in the Hollywood Hills
with the iconic Sunset Boulevard at its feet. The bold residential
design features retaining walls that are built into the hillside,
placing the main living area within the landscape and allowing for two
levels of garden terraces. Glass is a major player in this unique home
design. A total of 44 sliding glass panels, each measuring seven by 10
ft., allow the front and rear facades of the house to slide open,
blurring the boundaries between indoors and out. Additional fixed panels
of glass and mirror reflect the cool, contemporary ambiance of this
trendy spot where nature meets contemporary urban living. “Openhouse
appears as a simple folded line with recessed glass planes, a strong
sculptural form at the scale of the site. The minimalist logic of the
architecture is transformed by direct and indirect connections to
nature,” explain the architects. Supporting the expanses of glass are
solid elements of stone, concrete, dark-stained oak and plaster, which
really ground the house and lend it an all-enduring quality. </span><a href="http://www.xtenarchitecture.com/" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">XTEN Architecture</a></span></h2>
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<img alt="openhouse-xten-2.jpg" height="263" src="http://www.trendir.com/house-design/openhouse-xten-2.jpg" width="400" /><br />
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<img alt="openhouse-xten-1.jpg" height="266" src="http://www.trendir.com/house-design/openhouse-xten-1.jpg" width="400" /><br />
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<img alt="openhouse-xten-11.jpg" height="266" src="http://www.trendir.com/house-design/openhouse-xten-11.jpg" width="400" /><br />
<img alt="openhouse-xten-5.jpg" height="252" src="http://www.trendir.com/house-design/openhouse-xten-5.jpg" width="400" /><br />
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<img alt="openhouse-xten-10.jpg" height="266" src="http://www.trendir.com/house-design/openhouse-xten-10.jpg" width="400" /><br />
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<img alt="openhouse-xten-7.jpg" height="265" src="http://www.trendir.com/house-design/openhouse-xten-7.jpg" width="400" />architekturaLABhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02203536697519136246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7068206885220998696.post-29922255180834019282013-09-24T03:22:00.002-07:002013-09-24T03:22:32.863-07:00Celtic Museum<h2 class="title">
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<a href="http://archpick.com/1430/celtic-museum"><img alt="Celtic Museum metal bodied museum2" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1432" height="379" src="http://archpick.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/metal-bodied-museum2.jpg" title="Celtic Museum" width="470" /></a></div>
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Gerrman architects <a href="http://www.kadawittfeldarchitektur.de/" target="_blank">Kada Wittfeld Architektur</a> have completed this metal-bodied museum in Glauburg, Germany, that cantilevers out towards a historic Celtic burial mound.<span id="more-1430"></span> </div>
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Similar to an excavated archaeological
find, the metal body of the museum juts out from the landscape and
forms a counterpart to the burial mound. More of a mysterious object
itself rather than architecture, the museum should be stumbled upon by
its visitors as a marker of landscape discovery.</div>
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<img alt="Celtic Museum metal bodied museum3" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1433" height="649" src="http://archpick.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/metal-bodied-museum3.jpg" title="Celtic Museum" width="470" /></div>
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<img alt="Celtic Museum metal bodied museum1" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1431" height="601" src="http://archpick.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/metal-bodied-museum1.jpg" title="Celtic Museum" width="470" /></div>
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<img alt="Celtic Museum metal bodied museum5" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1435" height="334" src="http://archpick.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/metal-bodied-museum5.jpg" title="Celtic Museum" width="470" /></div>
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<img alt="Celtic Museum metal bodied museum6" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1436" height="350" src="http://archpick.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/metal-bodied-museum6.jpg" title="Celtic Museum" width="470" /></div>
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<img alt="Celtic Museum metal bodied museum7" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1437" height="357" src="http://archpick.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/metal-bodied-museum7.jpg" title="Celtic Museum" width="470" /></div>
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<img alt="Celtic Museum metal bodied museum8" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1438" height="282" src="http://archpick.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/metal-bodied-museum8.jpg" title="Celtic Museum" width="470" /> </div>
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<a href="http://www.kadawittfeldarchitektur.de/">For more info click here</a></div>
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architekturaLABhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02203536697519136246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7068206885220998696.post-3244306304126111012013-09-23T08:57:00.000-07:002013-09-24T05:51:21.456-07:00TWITTER account now open <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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