© Liao Yusheng

With a history unlike any other, Wall House 2 redefines the limits of architectural design as a function of context in both time and culture. 28 years after the completion of the initial designs and one year after the death of architect John Hejduk, construction began in a completely different environment than where it was initially imagined.

The house is a study of the relationship between inside and outside and is reminiscent of Corbusian architecture, although a bit more eccentric.

More on the history of Wall House 2 after the break.

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© Nico Saieh

After entering a general planning competition at the end of May 1951 for the Jyvaskyla Institute of Pedagogics, Alvar Aalto was immediately commissioned to begin working on the plans of each of the individual buildings that were to be added amidst existing complex. He was awarded first prize with his entry ‘Urbs’, which is reminiscent of some of his previous projects. The U pattern formed by the buildings frames the open center space, where a sports field is accessible by foot.

More on Jyvaskyla University by Alvar Aalto after the break.

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© Ludvík Koutný

An architect celebrated for his breathtaking studies of light and materiality in the creation of memorable architecture, Louis Kahn did not fail to maintain his rigor in the Esherick House of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Admired for it’s spatial and luminous qualities, this is the first residence of its kind to convey the grand ideas of Kahn-style architecture. The two story dwelling, which is one of only nine private houses designed by Kahn to come into realization, rests on a lively six acre garden.

More information on the Esherick House after the break.

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© Flickr - User: Jong Soo (Peter) Lee

Some great classics from 2010 for our 4th part of previously featured projects. The most iconic building in Australia, a resort in Walt Disney World, Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple, Eames House and a residence which used to be called: “the most modern home built in the world”. Check them all after the break.

AD Classics: Sydney Opera House / Jørn Utzon
There are few buildings as famous as the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia. Arguably considered the eighth wonder of the world, the opera house has a long history behind its design. The story behind this magnificent structure began in 1956 when the New South Wales Government called an open competition for the design of two performance halls, for opera and for symphony concerts, that would put Sydney on the map (read more…) read more »

© Tom Jenkins

The most satisfying part of the Rachofsky House is that it is not a museum. There is no real reason why it shouldn’t be, considering the multitude of visitors and school fieldtrips that frequent the 11,000 square-foot, three-story building week in and week out. But the House remains a 100% private residence, still owned by Mr. Rachofsky and operated by a small staff. This all lends to a very unique and personal experience for the visitor, because not only does the intimacy of a house enrich one’s interaction with the art, but the lessened formal pressure allows for greater exploration of space and more appreciation to the architectural detail.

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© Flickr / _gee_

The Balfron Tower by architect Erno Goldfinger is an iconic Brutalist residential high rise located in London’s eastside Poplar borough. Designed in 1963 for the London County Council and completed in 1967 by the Greater London Council, this social housing estate broke the traditions of typical residential architecture. Conceived as a solution to sprawling suburbia, Goldfinger embraced verticality as the cure. More details after the break. read more »

© www.flickr.com / Jaume Meneses

The Bac de Roda Bridge by Santiago Calatrava marks his first foray into bridge design. Part of a larger development plan in preparation for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, the bridge functions as both a symbolic and physical connection to two previously disjointed districts; Sant Marti and Sant Andreu. More information after the break. read more »

© Flickr / Laura Manning

In the early eighties Jean Nouvel in conjunction with Architecture-Studio won the competition to design what would become the Institut du Monde Arabe. It was conceived during the Grands Projets, a major development initiative headed by the French government. The IMA was produced through collaboration with the countries of the Arab League and the French government.  Upon its completion in 1987, it quickly became a popular destination for the local populace as well as tourists. More details after the break. read more »

Urbarama.com

The Torre Blancas is an architectural icon of the Spanish Organicism movement. Designed by Francisco Javier Sáenz de Oiza and completed in 1969, this exposed concrete tower rises 71 meters above the Madrid skyline. It also stands as one the most complicated and innovative reinforced concrete structures of the era, absent of the typical rectilinear qualities associated with cast-in-place concrete. More details after the break. read more »

Flickr / Strocchi

The twin office towers known as Puerta de Europa I and II located in Madrid, Spain defy the typical conventions of skyscraper construction. Designed by American architects Philip Johnson & John Burgee and commissioned by the Kuwait Investment Office (KIO), these structural expressionistic towers straddle one of Madrid’s most important boulevards – the Paseo de la Castellana. More details after the break. read more »

© D Jules Gianakos

Most important Architectural additions to a city are those of spectacle, meant to stand out and grab attention, such as Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, or Daniel Libeskind’s extension to the Denver Art Museum. But when Renzo Piano made his American debut with the Menil Collection 25 years ago, the result was far from spectacle, but rather more supplementary to an already established neighborhood scale.

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Photo by diametrik - http://www.flickr.com/photos/diametrik/

This AD Classic was done in collaboration with John Rizor.

Taking over from Albert Mayer, Le Corbusier produced a plan for Chandigarh on the foothills of the Himalayas that conformed to the modern city planning principles of Congrès International d’Architecture Moderne (CIAM), in terms of division of urban function, an anthropomorphic plan form, and a hierarchy of road and pedestrian networks, Inherently, the Secretariat building is the largest edifice in the Capitol Complex and is the headquarters of both the Punjab and Haryana governments.

Le Corbusier’s plan for the capitol consisted of four buildings (or “edifices”) and six monuments arranged on a single site, loosely conceptualized as three interlocking squares. Only three of these four buildings were ever realized (the High Court, the Legislative Assembly, and the Secretariat) and were designed to represent the major functions of democracy — the fourth building, the Governor’s Palace, was never built.

More information after the break.

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Photo from Wikiarquitectura © Mariana

Tadao Ando’s design for the Koshino House features two parallel concrete rectangular confines. The forms are partially buried into the sloping ground of a national park and become a compositional addition to the landscape. Placed carefully as to not disrupt the pre-existing trees on the site, the structure responds to the adjacent ecosystem while the concrete forms address a more general nature through a playful manipulation of light. More about the Koshino House after the break.

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Shrine of the Book and the Knesset, Israel Ministry of Tourism

The Shrine of the Book (Hebrew: היכל הספר‎ Heikhal HaSefer) is a wing of the Israel Musem near Givat Ram in Jerusalem, constructed in 1965. The building houses the Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered between 1947 and 1956 in and around the Wadi Qurman.

The building was the result of an elaborate seven-year planning process funded by the family of David Samuel Gottesman, a Hungarian philanthropist who purchased the scrolls as a gift to the newly founded state of Israel. One architect, American philanthropist-cum-designer Armand Phillip Bartos, was chosed because he was married to Gottesman’s daughter. The other appointed architect, Frederick John Kiesler, had previously recieved funding from Gottesman to install the “Endless house” at the Museum of Modern Art. The architectural team also included the well-connected Gezer Heller, brother-in-law to Ibbi Hammer, future chief banker for the State of Israel and daughter of the Chief Rabbi of Budapest. Israelis objected to the choice of non-Israeli architects, especially Kiesler. read more »

Photo by Lynne Rostochil - http://www.flickr.com/photos/25726169@N03/

The mid-century modern movement found an odd yet welcoming home in the small town of Norman, Oklahoma. One of its most notable contributors was organic aficionado Bruce Goff. Goff came to popularity in the 1940’s as both instructor and practitioner of his eclectic brand of architecture. Goff’s 1950′s Bavinger House is seen by many as the crowning achievement of his extensive body of work. read more »

Photo by Aaron Forrest - http://www.flickr.com/photos/recluse26/

The Cosmic Rays Pavilion represents one of the first experiments with parabolic structures. The double curved structure is made of a very thin layer of concrete, exemplifying its structural and design capabilities. These mathematically complex structures define the popular architecture of the pavilion’s designer Felix Candela. read more »

© William Ackel

Heralded as “House of the Future”, the Xanadu House by Roy Mason is a domed structure constructed completely form insulating polyurethane foam. The house was appropriately built less than 30 miles away from Disney World’s “Land of Tomorrow” Epcot Center and the two were opened only a few months apart. read more »

Photo by Liz Waytkus - http://www.flickr.com/photos/rippinkittin8/

Built in 1958, the David S Ingalls Skating Rink is characterized by a sweeping domed roof, was designed by Yale graduate Eero Saarinen and is lovingly known as the Yale whale. This hockey rink contains a span 200 feet long by 85 feet wide and does so with a natural sense of flow and polish. read more »

Photo by joevare

Across the street from Louis Kahn’s first significant piece of architecture stands his last. The Yale Center for British Art was completed in 1974, the year of Kahn’s death and 23 years after its neighbor, The Yale University Art Gallery was finished. A style and theoretical change throughout a career is visible in one scene. read more »

Photo by Choo Yut Shing - http://www.flickr.com/photos/25802865@N08/

At the time of its completion in 1976, the Pearl Bank Apartment complex was the highest-density and tallest residential structure in Singapore at 38 stories.  The total height of the horseshoe-shaped complex exceeded 430’ tall and was home for over 1,500 inhabitants.  Designed by Tan Cheng Siong of Archurban Architects & Planners, Pearl Bank served as a beacon of contemporary residential design and acted as precedent to the subsequent high-density urban development in Singapore and throughout southeast Asia.

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