Friday, March 2, 2012

Moving!

Since I'm spending less and less time in Blogspot and more and more time in Tumblr...

I've decided to move Architortureland to the realm of Tumblr!

Follow the white rabbit to >> the new Alice in Architortureland <<

Layout's still crappy and I'm still looking for a good one, but follow me anyway.

See you there!

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Use white. Or very white.



What color should you paint the walls? …, that’s a trick question….

You’re an Architect. All walls should be white.

Of course, they should. Obviously, that’s the only choice, The ONLY choice, no options, no other possiblities, none, nothing, just go with white…

whitey, white, white, whitey, white with extra whiteness. WHA-ITE!

But, I have witnessed a handful of clients who resist this. (I know…?!) Some have suggested that a “color” might “warm” up the space. Some, have suggested a “bright” color, or even (gasp) a “pastel”! Ridiculous, right? But it has happened, and you should be prepared for this, because, try as you might to convince them of the clear benefits of white walls, sometimes your client will want a different color.

You should try to guide them away from any use of color. You should point out that white will make the space seem larger. You should use terms like “purity”, “simplicity”, or “elegance”. It’s also effective to wave your arms around in wide circular patterns. Look like you know what you’re talking about. Repeat the word “simple” as often as required. Try to associate this with “less expensive”

But, don’t say “less expensive”!!! – Just imply it, or better yet let them infer it.

Usually the client will get fatigued. Or, they’ll need to leave for another meeting, and you’ll be able to leave all the walls white. When they call the next day, send it to voicemail. They’ll probably give up eventually. Plus, if you wait long enough, you can point out that you don’t have time to change the wall colors if they want to meet their deadline.

As a last resort, here are the only architecturally acceptable alternatives to white:

Clear
White Birch
Transparent
Really expensive
Metallic
more white

Stick to your guns on this one. There are some things we can’t compromise on.

Otherwise, the terrorist win.



[ Brown, Jody. "Use white, or very white" 07 Feb 2012. ArchDaily. Accessed 07 Feb 2012. ]

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Yer a wizard, Harry.

Can't resist, sorry.
I just found out about this memorial to commemorate the 17th century witch burning, and I was psyched. Kudos.


Steilneset Memorial
Peter Zumthor and Louise Bourgeois







Sunday, October 30, 2011

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Tunnel Vision

I'm alive, surprisingly (-____-)"

LN-CC
Gary Card






Wednesday, October 26, 2011

A design #5

Spring/Summer 2012 Chanel Runway | Paris
Zaha Hadid, commissioned by Karl Lagerfeld

Friday, October 14, 2011

The BIG CLOG

Time for another BIG work!
(pardon the pun)



ONLINE PRESS, BLOGS, TWEETS, SOCIAL MEDIA, AND OTHER DIGITAL FORUMS HAVE DRASTICALLY INCREASED THE SPEED AT WHICH ARCHITECTURAL IMAGERY IS DISTRIBUTED AND CONSUMED TODAY. 

WHILE AN UNPRECEDENTED AMOUNT OF WORK IS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC, THE LIFESPAN OF ANY SINGLE DESIGN OR TOPIC HAS BEEN REDUCED IN THE PROFESSION'S COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS TO A WEEK, AN AFTERNOON, A SINGLE POST - AN ENDLESSLY CHANGING ARCHITECTURE DU JOUR.

IN THE DELUGE, EXCELLENT PROJECTS RECEIVE THE SAME FLEETING ATTENTION AS MEDIOCRE ONES. MEANWHILE, MERE EXPOSURE HAS TAKEN THE PLACE OF THOUGHTFUL ENGAGEMENT, NOT TO MENTION A SUBSTANTIAL DISCUSSION.

CLOG SLOWS THINGS DOWN.
EACH ISSUE EXPLORES, FROM MULTIPLE VIEWPOINTS AND THROUGH A VARIETY OF MEANS, A SINGLE SUBJECT PARTICULARLY RELEVANT TO ARCHITECTURE NOW. SUCCINCTLY, ON PAPER, AWAY FROM THE DISTRACTIONS AND IMPERATIVES OF THE SCREEN.

Monday, October 10, 2011

HQ!

Renzo Piano Building Workshop Punta Nave Headquarters
Renzo Piano






Sunday, October 9, 2011

Japanese curves #2

Okurayama Apartments
Kazuyo Sejima & Associates





Photos by Iwan Baan.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Lumos!

Kinda looks like a Harry Potter charm or something, floating in mid-air...
Cool, yes?


Everywhere we go, invisible Wi-Fi signals permeate the landscape. Using a four-meter rod of lights and long-exposure photography, a group of Norwegians brought those unseen forces to life.

Affiliates of YOUrban, a research project at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design, designed the rod with dozens of small bulbs that flash depending on the strength of the Wi-Fi signal at any particular spot. As the lights travel through the city, a hidden picture of airborne information reveals itself, like technological ghosts in the night.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Step up

TKTS Booth & Redevelopment of Father Duffy Square
Choi Ropiha Fighera



Friday, September 30, 2011

When you're an architect...

No one ever told me, that when you’re an Architect:

  • You won’t be able to afford your own taste
  • You’ll notice everything that is even slightly out of alignment
  • You’ll never look at a building without “reading” the architecture. You’ll only analyze a space, you won’t just experience it. You’ll be a bystander…
  • You’ll be endlessly fascinated with natural light and shadows
  • You won’t be able to let anything go, your brain will spin, you won’t sleep
  • You won’t be able to talk to anyone about what you do. No one will know what an Architect does
  • You’ll be weary and content at the same time
  • Your back will hurt
  • You’ll be less respected than you thought
  • Your shyness will be interpreted as arrogance
  • You’ll be working on your craft for years, you’ll never feel like you’ve mastered it, but you’ll keep at it, everyday, again, again
  • You’ll remember every single thing you did wrong on a project, and that will keep you from seeing everything you did right
  • You’ll want to put everything in order, always… But, you may choose not to do that
  • When you’re young, your heros will be irrelevant. You’ll figure that out when you get older
  • You’ll know a lot less about construction than you thought you would
  • You’ll mark the milestones in your life by the projects you were working on at the time
  • You’ll come to know a little about everything, you’ll know a lot about just a few things
  • You’ll begin to see the built environment as a continuously evolving form, built piece by piece by generations of individual efforts. You’ll begin to see balance between individuality and community
  • You’ll often have an opportunity to be the center of attention, but, you won’t know how to take advantage of that
  • You will be interesting…. eventually
Originally posted by Jody Brown in Coffee With An Architect.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Chiisai #3: peek-a-boo

Is anyone still here? Because I'm starting to think to move to Tumblr for easier submissions, but we'll see about it later.

Here's something to peek at.

Room Room
Takeshi Hosaka








Friday, September 23, 2011

Aaaand inflate!

A~ sorry for the lack of updates, been busy (but who isn't?)...

Anyway.
It's an inflatable concert hall!

Ark Nova - a tribute to Higashi Nihon
Arata Isozaki and Anish Kapoor






From dezeen:


It's an inflatable concert hall designed by architect Arata Isozaki and artist Anish Kapoor to tour parts of Japan affected by the earthquake and tsunami earlier this year. Once complete, the mobile Ark Nova pavilion will stage music and dance performances for victims of the disaster.


The red stretchy skin of the hall is modelled on Kapoor’s orb-like Leviathan sculptures, which we featured on Dezeen back in June.The venue will seat between 500 and 700 spectators and is designed to enable quick erection and dismantling.


The Lucerne Festival in Switzerland initiated the project, alongside music management agency Kajimoto.


From the project organiser:

Using music to bring hope and promise to those who are suffering from the tragic major earthquake in Japan on March 11, 2011: this is the idea and goal of a special project entitled “ARK NOVA – A Tribute to Higashi Nihon.”


The star architect Arata Isozaki, working together with the Indian-born British artist Anish Kapoor, is developing a mobile concert hall in which, starting in the spring of 2012, works of high artistic quality will be presented in various locations throughout the devastated region. The project was initiated by the LUCERNE FESTIVAL along with the Japanese concert and artist management agency Kajimoto.


A devastating earthquake and tsunami struck the Higashi-Nihon region of northern Japan on March 11, 2011. Much has already been accomplished thanks to extensive national and international assistance, and reconstruction is in full swing. Of course, the people in the region are still suffering from the direct and indirect consequences of this tragic catastrophe and are mourning the loss of family and friends. A project by the name of “ARK NOVA – A Tribute to Higashi Nihon” has the goal of bringing new hope and promise to the people in this region through music and art.


Under the direction of Arata Isozaki, one of the world’s most sought-after architects, a mobile concert hall is being built, one that can be transported to various locations in the devastated region. The multi- component design includes a hall with seating for between 500 to 700 spectators.


The inflatable shell is made of an elastic material that allows quick erection and dismantling. Isozaki is working on this project in close collaboration with the Indian-born British sculptor Anish Kapoor, who is responsible for the design of the building’s shell. Kapoor’s inflatable sculpture “Leviathan” displayed at this year’s Monumenta is serving as a model for the project. Yasuhisa Toyota from Nagata Acoustics is responsible for the hall’s acoustic design, and David Staples from Theatre Projects in London is acting as the specialist theatre consultant.


The hall will be called ARK NOVA and provide an absolutely unique platform for performances and appearances encompassing classical music, jazz, dance, multimedia and interdisciplinary artistic projects by leading artists and ensembles from around the world. An artistic committee with renowned personalities associated with the LUCERNE FESTIVAL will support the program planning. The performances are intended to be supported by sponsors and supporters in order to provide the population of the region with free access to the programs being presented.