BLDGBLOG

3 days Quick Links 14

[Image: A film still from Wolfen]. Reduced to Rubble | Cartographies of the Absolute: There are a myriad of films that came out in the seventies and eighties that depicted, documented, exploited, and/or contributed to this dystopian image of a section of one of the world’s greatest cities reduced to rubble, not through aerial bombardment but so-called ‘benign neglect’ and ‘planned shrinkage’: Bonfire of the Vanities, Fort Apache, The Bronx, 80 Blocks from Tiffany’s, etc. Most of th…(more)

Live and direct

As some of you might know, I am @bldgblog on Twitter—but I've also started an account called @bldgbloglive so that I can live-tweet events, lectures, sites, interviews, panel discussions, and more without clogging up @bldgblog and driving readers insane with an avalanche of instant messages. So far, I've covered graduate research presentations here at the CCA given by Léa-Catherine Szacka, Zubin Singh, S. Faisal Hassan, and Molly Wright Steenson, but I hope to post at least a few live notes f…(more)

Indefinite in number, but of certain fixed shapes

[Image: One of many pages from the voluminous archive of Richter's toy manuals at the CCA].While down in the CCA archives last week, I had some time to explore a number of old instructional booklets for wooden children's toys. One such book, called The Art of Architecture of Building With Given Model Stones, explains that "It will be seen from the title of this book that it is intended to be a guide in the construction of larger buildings with the aid of model stones, indefinite in number, but o…(more)

Gunnery Pagodas / Manhattan Niagara / The University of War

[Image: By Tsunehisa Kumura, from Tsunehisa Kumura's Visual Scandals by Photomontage].A well-maintained copy of the 1979 book Tsunehisa Kumura's Visual Scandals by Photomontage, now out of print, popped up the other day in the CCA library, and many of the images are jaw-dropping. I photographed quite a few of the book's glossy pages—as the scanner system here doesn't really make sense to me—and I thought that three images, in particular, were of sufficient architectural interest to warrant p…(more)

The Design Future of the Sacred Grove

[Images: Ships botanically assembling themselves in the forest, from "Growing a Hidden Architecture" by Christian Kerrigan, a proposal that actually seems to grow more interesting every time I think about it].I've got a longish post up over at the CCA about sacred groves, trees that fruit machine-parts, forests that twine their canopies together through collars, tourniquets, corsets, and belts to form sea-ready ships ready for harvesting, the Moon Trees of Apollo, and much more. [Image: From "Gr…(more)

Foodprint Toronto

[Image: The Ontario Food Terminal; image via Pruned].Foodprint Toronto is coming up fast—the afternoon of Saturday, July 31—and it will be well worth attending. Pruned has just posted an interview with the event's curators, Nicola Twilley and Sarah Rich, who explain the origins and purpose of the Foodprint series. As Nicola describes it: "The Foodprint Project is basically an exploration of the ways cities and food shape each other. So far, it's taken the form of panel discussions, one city …(more)

Slow City

There's an interesting article in the New York Times today about the design and implementation of "aging-improvement districts"—that is, "parts of the city that will become safer and more accessible for older residents."[Image: Photo by Emily Berl for The New York Times].One particular detail that stands out is also the first they mention: "New York City has given pedestrians more time to cross at more than 400 intersections in an effort to make streets safer for older residents." While most …(more)

Michigan Deep Woods Triangle

[Images: The forests of northern Michigan, via Google Maps].In the woods of northern Michigan, near Hiawatha National Forest, is a massive triangle, unnamed and unlabeled on Google Maps. [Images: Geometry amidst the forest, via Google Maps].But, despite its anonymity (it even disappears from view altogether when you switch from "Satellite" to "Map"), this is not some underground HQ for a secretive cult of aerially-minded geoglyph-builders, and it's not more scientological circles—it's a former…(more)

Subtopia

Decoding Military Landscapes: #demilit

Tomorrow morning, Javier Arbona, Nick Sowers and myself will be convening at UC Berkeley to conduct a workshop for the Towards a Just Metropolis conference that is being held there over the weekend. The conference itself looks pretty good, lots of excellent presentors and topics coming together to further break down the tangled relationships between justice, spatial practice, and the city. If I had more time (and more money for an all inclusive conference registration ticket…oh the irony!) I…(more)

Subtopia Lecture: Ruin Machine

Dear all. It’s been way too long for the eerie subtopian silence to not finally come to an end, I know (and appreciate your patience!) but I’m afraid you will need to appreciate the drippy echoes of our sealed bunker here a bit longer. But, I have several updates coming in the near future as soon as I have time! There was a trip to Detroit that was more than fascinating, and I just returned from a truly excellent and inspired weeklong workshop in Graz, Austria. There have also been some pub…(more)

Peripheral Milit_Urb 30

[Image: Baghdad From the Air [Baghdad Bureau Blog]]Members of U.S. Army Plead Guilty to Role in Scheme to Steal Equipment from the U.S. Military in Iraq // KBR Got Bonuses for Work that Killed Soldiers // Halliburton profits down by a half [BBC] // Pratap Chatterjee, "Cleansing Halliburton" [Tomgram] // Iraqi Seizes the Chance to Make War Profitable [NYT] // As Iraq Marks ‘Sovereignty Day,’ the Violence Continues [Danger Room] // Maps of U.S. Troop Deployments in Iraq [NYT] // Michael Schwa…(more)

Subtopes B-lining to San Diego

[Image: Woodbury University, San Diego School of Architecture. Photograph by Hewitt Garrison]So, part of the reason it’s been so quiet on Subtopes as of recent is due to some big news I’m excited to share here. As it turns out, I’m heading down to San Diego to teach for the Fall semester at Woodbury University’s School of Architecture at their new campus in Barrio Logan down by the shipyards where the Navy constructs its sea arsenal. As you can imagine I’m pretty fired up about this,…(more)

Hutong Cemeteries

[Image: Area around Gulou Dajie subway station | July 14, 2009, Photo by Bert de Muynck.]A nice three-part series of posts over at Moving Cities draws our attention once again to the rapid disappearance of the Hutongs in Beijing, which seems to have somewhat vanished from the conversation now that the attention brought to them during the Olympic Games has elapsed. What is a follow up to a previous publication written by Bert de Muynck for MUDOT, (Making mince meat of memory) he asks, “where h…(more)

Over the Siege 2: Recycling the Wall

[Image: Rafah, southern Gaza. Wastewater treatment plant. ©ICRC/M. Greub/il-e-01749.]Real quick, continuing on the topic of Palestinians finding ways of transcending the Israeli siege by utilizing the rubble of their own destroyed infrastructure – or what I guess I have referred to as acting “over the siege” rather than “under” it; “over” in this sense signifies that the Palestinian people are acting in plain view using the ruins wrought by the siege as resource for reconstructio…(more)

Over the Siege

[Image: Gaza's new mud homes, BBC]This is hardly breaking news by now but needs to be mentioned here as we try to return to our own temporarily abandoned excavations at Subtopes. Forgive the two month silence; breaks were needed to tend to other business, and for some exciting reasons that I will be relaying shortly. For now, we’re rolling up our sleeves and activating the bellows to our air hoses again – it’s time to surface with our tunnel gear and get Subtopia sinking down below agai…(more)

The Green Yonder

[Image: Photo by Lubos Pavlicek/CTK/AP.]You may have read a few months ago the US began removing some of the street barriers that have propped up Baghdad’s security on a stilted network of blast walls and checkpoints for years, since—citing improved security—the Iraqi government is aiming to open all of the capital’s streets by the end of the year. As mentioned in this article, removal of the barriers is linked to “a security pact signed with Washington in November that requires US f…(more)

A daily dose of Architecture

Today Trenton Bath House Photos

I've uploaded photos from yesterday's "hard-hat" tour of the Trenton Bath House to my flickr account. I'll be posting about the restoration of the Louis I. Kahn-designed building in a few days, but check out the photo set (slideshow) in the meantime.…(more)

3 days Firm Faces #15

ARCHIPELAGOS is one of the New Practices New York 2010 (NPNY) winners. Their web page features this humorous image of a few members of the office:Are they moving? Hauling their presentation to the Center for Architecture for the NPNY exhibition? Paying homage to Mr. Bean?Those interested can ask them on Thursday when they take part in the NYPNY2010 Winner's Panel Discussion.…(more)

3 days Book Review: New Directions in Contemporary Architecture

New Directions in Contemporary Architecture: Evolutions and Revolutions in Building Design Since 1988 by Luigi Prestinenza PuglisiWiley, 2008Paperback, 240 pagesThe year 1988 marks the beginning of Italian writer and critic Luigi Prestinenza Puglisi’s exploration of architecture in the last two decades. This date at first glance seems questionable, arbitrarily based on the book’s publication date, but it coincides with the Deconstructivist Architecture exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art…(more)

Monday, Monday

My weekly page update:This week's dose features House 6 in São Paulo, Brazil by StudioMK27 - Marcio Kogan:The featured past dose is Marrom House in São Paulo, Brazil by Isay Weinfeld:This week's book review is Territory: Architecture Beyond Environment: Architectural Design edited by David Gissen:Some unrelated links for your enjoyment: ArchitectureFeed""The first news aggregator about Architecture and Design." (added to sidebar under blogs::aggregate)Korean Architecture"The first Engli…(more)

+ Pool

"+ Pool is an initiative by a group of architects and designers to build a floating pool in the rivers of New York City ... The project was launched with the ambition to improve the use of the city's natural resources by providing a clean and safe way for the public to swim in New York's waters. ... [W]e are looking to build a team of interested organizations and professionals to continue the development of the project into a buildable proposal. "[image description | image source]Man…(more)

Today's archidose #432

Here are some photos of 7800 Çeşme Residences and Hotel in Izmir, Turkey by Emre Arolat Architects, 2007. Photographs are by asli_aydin.To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just::: Join and add photos to the archidose pool, and/or:: Tag your photos archidose…(more)

Downing Unveiled

A project under construction that I've been keeping an eye on for my guidebook to contemporary NYC architecture is the Townhomes of Downing Street in Greenwich Village by 1100: Architect. The three townhouses have been under scaffolding for a while now, so I was pleased to see some of the facade revealed when I passed by yesterday.According to the architects, "The unique sandstone facade reinterprets the traditional arrangement of transparent windows perforated into a solid facade." At first gla…(more)

WTC Aerial Update

The last time I posted an update of construction progress at the World Trade Center site was, appropriately, last September. Seeing an aerial of the site (taken July 7, 2010) in a denverpost.com collection of NYC aerial images prompted me to do another quick progress update.[labels by archidose | photo by Daniel Acker/Bloomberg | image source]The most recognizable progress is the ever-growing Freedom Tower, set to be over 500-feet high by the end of the year. Tower 4 trails behind, but at least…(more)

Pruned

Links for 2010-07-25 [del.icio.us]

Global Arquitectura Paisagista Lisbon, Portugal SHLOMO ARONSON Jerusalem, Israel CMG Landscape Architecture San Francisco PROAP Lisbon, Portugal HOSPER Haarlem, Netherlands …(more)

Delicious Firms

(Inter-firm competition.)Quick blog-related announcement: we've revived del.icio.us/pruned as a link dump for our bookmarks of landscape architecture firms. We've added 15 offices so far, and 5 more will be added each weekend for you to click around during week. Subscribers to our RSS feed should already be aware of this, as these links get spliced to the blog feed.We also have a quick request: we're looking for landscape architecture firms, offices, studios, ateliers, research labs, syndicates,…(more)

Foodprint Toronto

(Photo by Ian Muttoo. Source.)The Foodprint Project will truly go international on Saturday, July 31, when Sarah Rich and Nicola Twilley will head to Toronto to host the next batches of conversations about food and the city.As a sort of preview of Foodprint Toronto, we asked the two curators a few questions about their multi-city project and the themes forming and informing the discussions.*Pruned: What is the Foodprint Project, and why was it started?Nicola Twilley: The Foodprint Project is bas…(more)

M.Pruned

(Pruned Beta with state of the art optical telegraphy.)We recently noticed that a good number of our readers have lately been accessing our blog via an iPhone (with a few via a BlackBerry). We don't know if they're doing this on a regular basis or had simply stumbled through by accident. Regardless, to make Pruned easier to read and navigate around on (some) mobile devices, we have mobified it.Our mobile URL is pruned.mobify.me. There's no need to bookmark it, since mobile users will be automati…(more)

Links for 2010-07-18 [del.icio.us]

LOLA Landscape Architects Rotterdam, Netherlands 3:0 Landschaftsarchitektur Vienna, Austria VWA Verzone Woods Architectes Rougemont, Switzerland agence ter Paris, France Karlsruhe, Germany Office of Landscape Morphology Paris, France …(more)

Links for 2010-07-11 [del.icio.us]

BASE Paris, France Rietveld Landscape Amsterdam, Netherlands H+N+S Landschapsarchitecten Amersfoort, Netherlands Claude Cormier Architectes Paysagistes Montreal, Quebec SCAPE New York City …(more)

Links for 2010-07-10 [del.icio.us]

Paolo Bürgi Arkitekt Kristine Jensens Tegnestue GH3 TOPOTEK1 Bureau B + B …(more)

Super-Slurry

(The sea, the oil, the winds and some of Mississippi's nomadic barrier islands all tangled up together in a sublime whorl. Image courtesy of NASA. Source.)A few more since the last self-link-o-rama:1) The self-replicating, self-similar geology of San Lucido: geo-efflorescences on the Italian coast.2) The Ocean Pools of Madeira (and Sydney): Suprematist fractalogy on the coast of Australia.3) Cedar Island: If you build it, rich Lebanese expatriates will come. Maybe.4) San Francisco As It Will Be:…(more)

Archis

Architecture of Peace

Two-day conference, 3 and 4 May 2010, NAi Rotterdam With Jolyon Leslie, Kai Vöckler, Sultan Barakat, a.o. Time: 9.30 am - 5 pm (Mon) - 10.00 am - 5 pm (Tue). Language: English. Location: auditorium of the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAi), Rotterdam. Click here for the full program of the conference. Click here to register. Architecture of Peace is an international long-term research and action project in which a large number of stakeholders are involved. The project will consist of loca…(more)

Archis SEE Network

a network of independent urban initiatives in South Eastern Europe In cooperation with local initiatives launched by architects, planners, artists, urbanists, sociologists and other professionals engaged in the process of improving various political and social dimensions of the urban environment, Archis Interventions intends to establish a network in South Eastern Europe (SEE) and thereby to foster the exchange of knowledge and best practices, to integrate the issues discussed in international …(more)

The Program - RSVP#13: After the Crisis

ARCHIS in cooperation with Abitare, Netherlands Architecture Institute and the College of Architecture and Design at Lawrence Tech are holding an RSVP event in Warren, MI, February 20-22, 2009 focused on finding pragmatic answers to how we can move from crisis to project within the current real estate crisis. The upcoming RSVP event will focus on the communities in the City of Warren with the highest rates of foreclosure. Participants will explore approaches to residential housing in an attempt …(more)

INVITATION TO: BEYROUTES GUIDE PROJECT

2nd Workshop Beirut, Lebanon, 1 – 8 February 2009 BEIRUT: Walk its streets, visit its hip quarters, check the destroyed but completely resurrected city centre, talk to the armed soldiers at the street corners, listen to the old and not-so-old war stories from the cab driver, explore its old, new and upcoming neighborhoods. Only a few cities in the world offer so many layers of hidden meaning as Beirut does. In the public realm of this town there seems to be merely suggestion, projection and di…(more)

RSVP#13: After the Crisis

Macomb County, U.S.A - February 2009 – with Abitare and NAI Macomb County, one of the suburban counties surrounding Detroit, is currently undergoing a process similar to the economic devastation that the Motor City has been experiencing over the last 40 years. Tax foreclosures, social fragmentation, budget crisis at every level of government, the fragility of the auto industry and a dearth of leadership have intersected to create a growing state of emergency. The current real estate crisis is…(more)

Archis in Zagreb

A bit last notice, but better late than never. Archis Intervention’s Kai Voeckler (who recently published Prishtina is Everywhere and Arjen Oosterman will be in Zagreb present at the conference: The Neoliberal Frontline: Urban Struggles in Post-Socialist Societies (from 4 till 7 dec). The conference is part of the Operation: City 2008 program. The Neoliberal Frontline is an international conference aimed to reflect on transformations of cities, urban landscapes and urban governance in C…(more)

RSVP#12A: Connecting Naples

Naples - February 2008 In a globalized world Europe is often seen as a homogonous block. Yet within the continent there are amazingly large contrasts and differences. Moreover, this is not just true regarding the newcomers to the ‘European family’. Worlds of difference exist even among the oldest occupants of the European house. Take Naples, Italy’s fourth largest city. Of course it’s an old culture with a Roman and even a Greek past (Neapolis), later ruled by Ostrogot…(more)

Download PDF’s on RSVP Kabul and Naples

RSVP #11 KABUL: Secure City, Public City [pdf] In October 2007 Archis Interventions went to Kabul to examine security and public space beyond the Western media, power and security bubble. RSVP #12A NAPLES: reconnecting Naples [pdf] In February 2008 Archis and Domus where invited in Naples to assist N.EST in thinking about Naples and developing its spatial and social program. …(more)

News | Articles | Bookmarks

BLDGBLOG

Subtopia

A daily dose of Architecture

Pruned

Archis