Our Zeitgeist tagged with “Architecture”
These buildings seem to share a common theme featuring a spiral form akin to a human torso twisting (Calatrava) or the interweaving twinstrand shape of DNA (Erikson). In fact, the Twisting Torso is said to have a 'spine' in the form of a structural element running along the outside edge of the building. This rotational effect is looking a lot like the latest archictural trend, and Calatrava is proposing building a similar tower in Chicago which will, when built, be the country's tallest skyscraper, the first for an apartment building. At least he's chosen two different cities to build his buildings in. The New Yorker has a
terrific article on Calatrava and his recent buildings.
It seems like the kind of architecture that puts a city on the global map is always the most controversial. Personally, I'd rather have a mix of unique architecture that stirs debate and inflames reaction rather than most of the bland unadventurous and ubiquitous glass backdrops that too often go up.
Erickson and
Moshe Safdie (the library) are a good start, but Vancouver would be well advised to roll out the welcome mat to a few other internationally recognized architects.
[post_title] => A twist for Vancouver
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Many years ago while travelling throughout Europe I discoverd the work of Spansh architect Santigo Calatrava. I was immediately drawn to the marvellously complex yet elegant arcitectural forms of his structures (especially his bridges). Alm [...]
Posted by: Ben Garfinkel on Friday, March 31st, 2006
Categories: Architecture | 2 Comments »
If you’re a designer it’s unlikely your aesthetic sensibilities cease when you go home. Apartment Therapy, whose tag line is “Changing the world, one apartment at a time.”, is currently running their 2nd Annual Small [...]
Posted by: Ben Garfinkel on Tuesday, March 28th, 2006
Categories: Architecture, Design, Inspiration | No Comments »
Stumbled upon this manifesto by architect Michael McDonough while researching illustrators for a design project. From Number 7: The power to create things and impose them on the world is a privilege. Do not abuse it, do not underestimate it [...]
Posted by: Kevin Broome on Wednesday, February 15th, 2006
Categories: Architecture, Design, Inspiration | No Comments »
I doubt architect and designer Verner Panton subscribed to a Less is More philosophy. Instead the Danish artist made a substantial contribution to the More is More ideological movement, with his fantastical interpretations of interiors, fur [...]
Posted by: Jer Thorp on Thursday, November 24th, 2005
Categories: Architecture, Art, Design | 1 Comment »
Thankfully, it would indeed appear that the days of cookie cutter suburbia could soon be waning.
Today's market is evermore focused on providing the customer with a deeply personalized experience. Ironically, this has become possible through the efficiencies of mass production.
Nike's online cutomized running shoes are an example of this. And now, architect Michelle Kaufmann wants to do the same thing to where and how we live.
Glidehouse, the first offering from this
Frank Gehry protege, was the main feature at this weekend's
Home & Interior Design Show in Vancouver and has become almost iconic to the new prefab movement that has been gaining momentum over the past 5 years most notably due to the launch of
Dwell magazine in the States.
Kaufman's design is a result of the frustration she experienced when she and her husband set out in search of their first home. The choice between a suburban existence or a $600,000 fix-me-up in the city seemed to miss the mark entirely. Neither met her housing needs. So she designed her own home.
Based on 60's architect
Joseph Eichler's call for "modern homes for the masses", Kaufman's Glidehouse uses a modular concept that allows for a different layouts and variations on the same theme using a preselected set of materials. The houses are built in an assembly line fashion in factories including one in Penticton and then shipped to the client's site upon completion. This proves to be a far more efficient and environmentally friendly method of construction compared with the traditional on site building plan and a more economical option than the high end custom designed modern home.
There are still some rough roads ahead for the new prefab movement. Most notable is the general association of prefab with trailer parks and the white trash that generally call such places home. But there is little chance of finding one of Kaufman's creations showing up in the background of Trailer Park Boys. Anyone with a keen design eye will immediately understand that. Those who don't get the difference will continue to buy their cookie cutter homes.
Ultimately, I fear the suburban sprawl of Toronto is a lost case. There is little that will stop the momentum of such a beast. But at least there is some hope in knowing that there are people out there like Kaufman who actually give a damn. Finally there appears to be a third option for homebuyers.
[post_title] => Build Your Homes in Factories
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Two years ago, while in Ontario visiting with friends and family, I was kindly invited to my cousin’s new home for Thanksgiving dinner. Getting there required taking the subway out to Kipling, its westernmost stop and then driving ano [...]
Posted by: Kevin Broome on Monday, October 17th, 2005
Categories: Architecture | No Comments »
Made of welded PVC plastic with inflation neck and valve, The Urban Nomad Shelter is designed to re-brand the homeless and re-map urban real estate. Electroland focused on the homeless because of the profound nature of their problem: They s [...]
Posted by: Steph Tekano on Thursday, September 8th, 2005
Categories: Architecture | No Comments »
The Billboard Building in Moto Azabu, Tokyo, was conceived as more a billboard than a building. Klein Dytham Architecture decided that the tiny triangular site lended itself to a strong graphic presence, and so the building’s glass fa [...]
Posted by: Steph Tekano on Friday, September 2nd, 2005
Categories: Architecture | No Comments »
This house is not a luxury resort, but rather the private residence of the late Sheikh Zayed, the former president of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Abu-Dhabi. Rather impressive what $1.10 per litre ($2.55 per gallon) for gasoline ca [...]
Posted by: Mark Busse on Wednesday, August 24th, 2005
Categories: Architecture | 4 Comments »
Always inspiring, Frank Gehry reveals his proposed design for the Brooklyn Nets arena and surrounding 21 acre corridor. The Times architectural critic, Nicolai Ouroussoff proclaims “If it is approved, it will radically alter the Brook [...]
Posted by: Kevin Broome on Tuesday, July 5th, 2005
Categories: Architecture | 1 Comment »
Temples for four-legged Gods: tailor-made habitats created in the likeness of those of man and designed for their different attitudes and lifestyles. The symbol, Dog is a God, underlines this rediscovered divinity, where man is no longer su [...]
Posted by: Steph Tekano on Wednesday, May 25th, 2005
Categories: Architecture | No Comments »
A new type of fiber-reinforced bendable concrete has been developed at the University of Michigan. The new concrete looks like regular concrete, but is 500 times more resistant to cracking and 40 percent lighter in weight. Tiny fibers that [...]
Posted by: Steph Tekano on Thursday, May 5th, 2005
Categories: Architecture | No Comments »
Walmart wants a piece of Vancouver, and they are doing whatever it takes to get it. Vancouver City Hall rejected Wal-Mart’s plans to open a store in Vancouver saying it was not environmentally friendly enough for the city. They went b [...]
Posted by: Steph Tekano on Wednesday, March 30th, 2005
Categories: Architecture | 2 Comments »
Do these living spaces look anything like the shipping crates that the older robots lived in in the movie iRobot to anyone else? They do look rather roomy for about 60 square feet though.
Posted by: Steph Tekano on Tuesday, January 25th, 2005
Categories: Architecture | No Comments »
How do you make a 70′s concrete building modern? Stick 4,340 frosted glass disks backlit with LED’s behind them to the building. Obviously… (via Engadget)
Posted by: Steph Tekano on Monday, January 24th, 2005
Categories: Architecture | No Comments »
