Listing Details
| ID: | 89 |
| Title: | A Daily Dose Of Architecture |
| URL: | http://archidose.blogspot.com/ |
| Category: | Arts, Art & Artists: Architecture |
| Description: | John Hill offers his thoughts and opinions on architecture. |
| Monday, Monday - 2012-02-06 22:30:00 |
| My weekly pageupdate: This week's dose featuresNational September 11 Memorialin New York City by Michael Arad and Peter Walker:  The featured past dose isNational September 11 Museumin New York City by Snøhetta:  This week's book review isThe Wayfinding Handbook: Information Design for Public Spacesby David Gibson:  american-architects.comBuilding of the Week: Sigal Museumin Easton, Pennsylvania by Spillman Farmer Architecture:  Some unrelated links for your enjoyment: CJWHO   |
| Half Dose #101: 100 William Street - 2012-02-05 23:30:00 |
 Cutting diagonally from John Street (above) to the intersection of William and Platt Streets is the covered pedestrian space of 100 William Street. Dating back to 1974, it is "the first covered pedestrian space built under the covered pedestrian space bonus provisions of the Zoning Resolution," according to Jerold S. Kayden in his survey of New York City'sPrivately Owned Public Spaces. Designed by Emery Roth and Sons, the building has a muted facade of black slate panels alternating with horizontal windows, but the POPS was more theatrical with numerous reflections coming from surfaces like the chrome column covers.  [L: The previous condition (imagesource) | R: "Airstream meets Chia Pet" installation by Kevin Kennon Architects (imagesource)] In between the gaudy chrome and its current incarnation of backlit-glass columns in a more simplified and transparent space was a retail installation byKevin Kennon Architects, which inserted a bit of whimsey (are those over-sized pigeon spikes on top?) but was temporary. The current design is attributed toRogers Marvel Architectsin thisCB#1 document(PDF, page 4), though the project is nowhere to be found on the architect's website. Regardless it looks like a Rogers Marvel design to me, given its level of detail and their track record with public spaces.  Above is the view across William Street, looking northeast. A new pylon is emblazoned with the building address, branding the space that features a handful more glowing column covers. Below is the view from John Street, looking southwest. One striking aspect of the design comes across here: the covered pedestrian space is highly transparent. People moving through the space have glimpses into the lobby at left, not to mention up into some of the office spaces on the second floor.  Looking again from the intersection of William and Platt Street (below), the same glimpses up into offices can be seen. Of course, this is not new to the space; it is part of the original design. But the new design accentuates the transparency of what borders the space, rather than competing with it like the chrome.  This transparency is most pronounced at the 100 William Street lobby (bottom left, again looking from John Street), which features tall ultra-clear, butt-glazed glass. The lobby is basically put on display, as an almost seamless part of the pedestrian space. The CB#1 document indicates that the renovation removed an escalator to the cellar (a TKTS booth used to be located in that lower level), so the whole pedestrian space is now at grade. The whole may not result in "a vastly improved amenity for the public," as the same document contends -- retail is minimal and no seating is provided -- but it makes for a nice diagonal walk, especially from John Street towards the rusticatedFederal Reserve Bank of New York.    |
| Two Magazines - 2012-02-04 21:45:00 |
Recently I received a couple magazines that are both fairly new, albeit completely new to me. Based out of Italy,Boundaries: International Architectural Magazineis "a quarterly international journal on contemporary architecture, with texts in English and Italian, that offers a critical view over the architectures that today deal, in many different ways, with the challenges of the contemporariness and of sustainability intended as a balance between cultural, environmental, economic and social matters." And then there is the Chicago-basedDesign Bureau(published by ALARM Press), which "delivers an honest and inspirational global dialogue on design from diverse disciplines and points of view. ...[towards] discovering great design and the people who make it happen." Below are some thoughts on a recent issue of each magazine. Boundaries: Unlike many architecture publications put out a few or more times a year,Boundariesgives each issue a theme and strictly makes the content fit the topic. The first issue (July-September 2011), for example, is called "Contemporary Architecture in Africa" and does an excellent in job in presenting buildings, projects, books, and histories on the continent. Each issue is structured into sections: News, Perspective, Architecture, Ideas, That Was the Year..., and Book Reviews. The Architecture section makes up the bulk of each issue and highlights particular types of buildings or related strands within the theme. In this regard, issue 2 -- "Architecture for Emergencies" -- collects buildings but also monuments, theories/research, and reporting around the timely and complex theme. That Was the Year is a great part of the magazine, as it features flashbacks usually decades back (a reprinted article or some such piece) that of course fit the issue's theme: Aldo van Eyck's 1959 essay on the Dogon is one found in the first issue, and Jean Prouve's 1956 "House Built in Less Than Seven Hours" is one of the old projects highlighted in the second issue. These first two themes make it clear thatBoundariesis not concerned with the same issues as other architecture magazines; the editors prefer to focus on the under-served and the places of crisis today. This is evident not only in the themes but in the projects included in each issue (only the ultra-modern houses in "Contemporary Architecture in Africa" stand out...as designs that would probably be in other magazines but don't really belong in this one) and the position that "Boundariesreceives no public funding, and has no advertising." The only "ads" to be found are for the Italian Red Cross and other emergency organizations. This makes me hope the magazine gains enough following to continue its exploration of architecture that is timely and relevant but often overshadowed by the usual big names and commissions that value form over social concerns.Boundariesmay not be as photogenic as other magazines, owing to its dealing with the "social awareness of the profession," but it makes up for that small defect (for lack of a better word) in its thorough coverage on a topic, varied viewpoints on the same, and a strong sense of history that makes one realize our problems are not new and neither may be the solutions. Design Bureau: Before moving to New York City from Chicago I was a contributing editor toTENbyTEN, a now defunct magazine on art, fashion, design, and architecture. I was sad to see it go some years ago, but when I recently heard aboutDesign Bureau(DB) that frown was turned upside down, as now the Windy City has a magazine on design (in its varied facets) to call its own. (MAS Context is another Chicago publication that I'm glad exists, but it is print-on-demand where DB is available on newsstands.) Issue 08 (November/December 2011) features "Renegade Architecture" on the cover, but that is an anchor to the magazine not a theme, a long piece on architectural designers, those that can't legally call themselves architects but nevertheless shape spaces and cities. The rest of the issue is thick on architecture -- be it Austin, Seattle, New York City, DC, Kentucky, Mexico, California -- but other types of design make it into the magazine's tripartite sections: Informer (brief coverage), Design Thinking (Q&A with a designer), and Features (pretty self explanatory). DB should be commended for a sharp curatorial eye that highlights a wide range of designs and designers. As well their choices of buildings and architects show that they are not concerned with the latest and greatest; it is more about quality and insight rather than the same projects and personalities coveredad nauseumelsewhere. DB should also be praised for the sharp layout of the magazine and the eye towards the illustrations that make up the pages. It seems that even the advertisements, likeWallpaper*, are selected for their attention to graphic detail. Speaking of advertisements, one curious aspect of DB is the way ads for players within an article are found alongside it, such as one for a home builder at the end of a piece on houses in Austin, Texas. Not only is the company mentioned in the article, but they also have ad space on half a page. Did their ad pay for the article? Did their ad drive the content? Or did DB find the right advertiser for the right spot? I'm not sure, but in some cases the relationship between ad and editorial content was a little too close for comfort.   |