Graffiti Artist’s Mural Honors Oscar Niemeyer
A true legacy in the field of architecture and beyond, Oscar Niemeyer, who died just this past December at the age of 104, has traveled into the heart of many, one of which is graffiti artist Eduardo Kobra. In honor of the Brazilian architect, Kobra created a 61-yard art piece on the side of a building in Sao Paulo’s financial district. The immense, colorful mural cannot be missed as people pass by and admire the work. Expressing Niemeyer’s love for concrete, curves and Le Corbusier, the mural truly encompasses the architect’s aim to, “…produce an architecture that serves everyone and not just a group of privileged people.” More images can be viewed after the break. (more…)
Artist Antonio Pio Saracino & Salt ‘N Pepa to Unveil Arches of Hope Installation
Created and conceived by Patrick Duffy, the creative director of the OUT NYC, and designed by award-winning Italian designer and architect Antonio Pio Saracino, the Arches of Hope installation will be launched at its opening reception on Thursday, January 17, from 6:30pm-8:30pm at the OUT NYC and be on display until January 24. In collaboration with Lifebeat: Music Fights HIV/AIDS and the MTV Staying Alive Foundation, the stunning and inspiring interactive art installation will be unveiled on the eve of President Obama’s second inauguration as part of a multi-faceted campaign aimed at raising awareness of the rise of HIV and AIDS in young people. More images and information after the break. (more…)
Lego Housing Units on the Street / Jaye Moon
In an effort to alleviate some of the stress and frustration associated with New York’s continued housing crisis, Jaye Moon, a Brooklyn-based street artist, decided to leave new buildings made of Legos cradled in the limbs of trees, or wrapped around their trunks. Carefully designed, the blocked geometry of her architectural construction is considered to allow for the expansion of tree limbs and to avoid damage. Catching the eye of local New Yorkers and captivating anyone who may pass by her creations, Moon says she chose Legos as a medium because they are ready-made objects that mimic industrial, mechanical uses and because they summon a certain childlike innocence and sense of play. More images and information after the break. (more…)
Frederick Kiesler Prize for Architecture and the Arts Winner: Andrea Zittel
Recognizing one exceptional artist every two years whose work transverses the boundaries between art and architecture, Andrea Zittel came out as this year’s winner for the prestigious Frederick Kiesler Prize. Accepting the award just this month at the New Museum of New York, one criterion for the award is that the artist be under-recognized. While fun and playful in nature, Zittel’s works are also illuminating studies of how we attribute significance to things, including the structure we live in and what we actually need in order to exist in comfort without being surrounded by accumulated belongings. Her ‘Indy-Island’ and ‘A-Z Wagon Stations’ projects can be seen in the images after the break. (more…)
“Ai Weiwei: According to What?”
“Cube Light” has made it’s debut in Washington D.C. at the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum, along with collection of Ai Weiwei most famous works in the retrospective “Ai Weiwei: According to What?”. Although one of China’s most prolific and provocative contemporary artists, Weiwei is best known in the world of architecture for his work with Herzog & de Meuron on Beijing’s famous “Bird’s Nest” and, most recently, the 2012 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion.
More images and information after the break… (more…)
‘Solar Loop’ Competition Entry / Paolo Venturella & MenoMenoPiu Architects
Designed by Paolo Venturella & MenoMenoPiu Architects, their ‘Solar Loop’ finalist entry for the Land Art Generator Initiative competition aims to expose more surface as possible to the southern solar rays. Sited in FreshKills Park in New York City, the shape comes directly from the solar diagrams, and deals easily with the sun following it with the best angle almost like a frozen artificial sunflower.bThe aesthetic of the sculpture is the result of this dialogue that becomes synthesis between the solar power and the park. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Inside The Keret House – the World’s Skinniest House – by Jakub Szczesny
Earlier this week, we announced the completion of the world’s narrowest house in Warsaw, Poland. The Keret House was first conceived as a seemingly impossible vision of the Polish architect Jakub Szczesny of Centrala, who first presented the idea as an artistic concept during the WolaArt festival in 2009. Now, three years later, the vision has become a reality and is drawing a significant amount of international attention to the city of Warsaw.
Built between two existing structures from two historical epochs, the narrow infill is more of an art installation that reacts to the past and present of Warsaw. Although the semi-transparent, windowless structure’s widest point measures only 122 centimeters, it’s naturally lit interior doesn’t seem nearly as claustrophobic as one would think.
The Keret House will serve indefinitely as a temporary home for traveling writers, starting with Israeli writer Etgar Keret.
Images and the architects’ description after the break…
Designer Thomas Heatherwick is Star Guest at Hay Festival Segovia 2012
Hay Festival Segovia just announced that UK designer Thomas Heatherwick will be the keynote speaker for the architecture and design sessions at the Spanish edition of Hay Festival set to take place in Segovia September 27-30. In an hour-long conversation entitled The Truffle Pig Process, Thomas Heatherwick will be talking to Martha Thorne, executive director of the Pritzker Architecture Prize and associate dean of external relations at IE School of Architecture & Design (IE University), about his studio’s creative process and the increasingly blurred borders between design, architecture and society. More information on the event after the break. (more…)
SFMoMA presents “Field Conditions”
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art will be hosting an exhibition from September 1, 2012 through January 6, 2013 that features works of conceptual and theoretical architecture. Blurring the lines between the two, the “field” to frame these investigations into construction, representation, and experience of space entitled Field Conditions features works in a wide variety of media by artists and practicing architects. Some of the notable names that will have their work on display include Tauba Auerbach, Daniel Libeskind, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Sol LeWitt, and Lebbeus Woods. More snapshots of the work after the break. (more…)
Brisbane Indesign Installation / BVN Architecture
In collaboration with Space Furniture, BVN Architecture designed this unique installation for the 2012 Bisbane Indesign. ‘The Project’ was inspired by the theme, Exploring the Common Thread, and resulted in a spectrum of color expressed through cotton yarn poised in a frozen geometric form. Drawn under tension the geometry is justified to fit within the constraints of the existing spatial condition.
Continue after the break for more. (more…)
2012 Olympic Cauldron / Thomas Heatherwick
One of the “best-kept secrets” of the opening ceremony was the Thomas Heatherwick-designed 2012 Olympic cauldron that dazzled viewers world-wide last night as it was ignited by seven young British athletes in a very unique lighting ceremony.
Representing each nation competing in the London Olympics, 204 “very small humble” copper petals were carried out alongside national flags and competitors – each inscribed with the name of the country and the words “XX Olympiad London 2012”. The petals were then attached to long, stainless steel stems that formed ten rings that appeared as an open flower. Once ignited, the flames quickly spread to each petal and then gently rose up to unite as a single flame.
Continue after the break for more on the design.
The Modern Metropolis, Illustrated / Chris Dent
The hand-drawn work of Chris Dent takes on the modern metropolis – depicting architecture in a way that is at once meticulously accurate & playfully imaginative.
Dent’s clients include everyone from PUMA to XBOX, and his illustrations have appeared in publications such as Metropolis Magazine, Fast Company, and Wallpaper*. Check out the Video below to see Chris in action, creating a detailled, time-consuming drawing of London. You can see more of his work, and browse his online shop, at his web site.
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- Illustrations by Chris Denty. You can find his work at http://www.chrisdent.co.uk/
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- Illustrations by Chris Denty. You can find his work at http://www.chrisdent.co.uk/
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- Illustrations by Chris Denty. You can find his work at http://www.chrisdent.co.uk/
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- Illustrations by Chris Denty. You can find his work at http://www.chrisdent.co.uk/
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- Illustrations by Chris Denty. You can find his work at http://www.chrisdent.co.uk/
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- Illustrations by Chris Denty. You can find his work at http://www.chrisdent.co.uk/
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- Illustrations by Chris Denty. You can find his work at http://www.chrisdent.co.uk/
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- Illustrations by Chris Denty. You can find his work at http://www.chrisdent.co.uk/
Bruce Munro announces plans for Solar Powered Field of Light at Uluru
Many of you are aware of Bruce Munro’s dazzling LED ‘Light: Installations’ currently on view until late September in the fields of Pennsylvania’s Longwood Gardens. Well, the famed artist has just announced plans to embark on his largest installation to date – a quarter million solar powered stems of light to cover one square kilometer of land in the heart of the Australian red desert at Uluru (Ayer’s Rock). Fundraising begins today and you can help make it happen.
Continue reading for more information.
James Turrell’s “Twilight Epiphany” Skyspace opens today at Rice University
The highly anticipated “Twilight Epiphany” Skyspace, designed by American artist James Turrell, will open to the public today with a sunset light show. The abstract pyramidal structure complements the natural light present at sunrise and sunset, creating a mesmerizing light show that connects the beauty of the natural world with the surrounding campus. This experience is enhanced by an LED light performance that projects onto the 72-by-72-foot thin white roof, which offers views to the sky through a 14-by-14-foot opening. Additionally, the Turrell Skyspace is acoustically engineered for musical performances and serves as a laboratory for music school students, as it stands adjacent to the Shepher School of Music on the Rice University campus in Houston, Texas.
David Leebron, Rice University President: “The campus has to play its role in inspiring our students.”
Continue after the break to watch a sneak preview of the Turrell Skyspace light show. (more…)
Bruce Munro’s stunning LED Installations light up Longwood Gardens
Visitors poured into Longwood Gardens this past Saturday to see 23-acres of breathtaking ‘Light: Installations’ by artist Bruce Munro. Although Munro describes the installations as simply “sketchbook jottings realized”, this “large-scale one-man-show” is anything but a simple feat. Eight large outdoor installations, two installations within the 4-acre Grand Conservatory and a collection of illuminated sculptures in the Music Room are keeping visitors mesmerized for hours.
Munro’s ‘Light: Installations’ are being shown for the first time outside of the UK. They will remain open until September 29th this year. Continue reading for more images and information.
The Menil Collection selects Johnston Marklee for Expansion
In the spirit of the museum’s 25th anniversary, Director Josef Helfenstein has announced Los Angeles-based Johnston Marklee as the architects for the Menil Drawing Institute (MDI) – the Menil Collection’s first major expansion initiated under the ambitious master plan designed by David Chipperfield Architects. Once completed, MDI will be the first freestanding facility in America dedicated to modern and contemporary drawing, and one of the most advanced in the world. Johnston Marklee was selected over David Chipperfield Architects, SANAA and Tatiana Bilbao.
“Johnston Marklee has proposed an approach that sensitively and ingeniously addresses the challenges of accommodating the vital yet inherently delicate medium of drawing,” Josef Helfenstein stated, as reported by Your Houston News. “The firm understands on the deepest level the distinctive role that MDI will play as a focal point for the entire campus, giving us an approach that will serve this important collection and elevate the future experience of the Menil as a whole.”
Continue reading for more. (more…)
Marina Abramovic Institute + OMA
Yesterday, Marina Abramović and OMA announced the creation of the Marina Abramović Institute for the Preservation of Performance Art under the performance dome at MoMA’s PS 1 in Long Island City. Abramović will team with the architects to create a part-art, part-educational and part-performance venue that will not only focus on Abramović’s performance methods, but, interestingly, on educating the public with regards to viewing and appreciating long duration performances.
Perhaps, Abramović’s name sounds familiar, and rightly so. She has wildly been hailed as one of the most progressive and devoted long-duration performers; one of her most recent New York performances took place at the MoMA where she sat completely silent, just starring at visitors for the museum’s entire opening hours. And, now, with this Institute, Abramović will be able to teach her ways to aspiring performers, and more viewers will be able to experience and appreciate her performance methods. Abramović commented, “The Institute’s aim is to protect and preserve the intellectual and spiritual legacy of performance art from the 1970′s into the future, and will serve as an homage to time-based and immaterial art.”
More about the Institute after the break.
Éclats de verre / Atomic3
Montreal has long been known as the ”city of a hundred steeples”. Through the heart of this northern metropolis, ATOMIC3 has scattered Éclats de verre: a giant shattered stained-glass window reorganised into a playful maze that offers a unique immersive experience to its visitors, and a colourful panorama to passersby.
Winner of the Créer l’hiver competition, Éclats de verre is one of three works that make up Luminothérapie 2012. The goal of this event produced by the Partenariat du Quartier des Spectacles in Montreal is to beat the winter blues, using interactive light-based installations.
Continue after the break for more.
Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s Controversial ‘Over The River’ Project Approved
Despite many opposing residents, Fremont County Board of Commissioners has unanimously agreed to approve the Temporary Use Permit for Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s Over The River. This will allow the world famous artist to temporarily suspend 5.9 miles of silvery, luminous fabric panels high above the Arkansas River, along a 42-mile stretch between Salida and Cañon City in south-central Colorado. After remaining on the drawing boards for 20 years, the Over The River installation plans to begin in early 2014 with an exhibition planned for August 2015.
“The Fremont County permit is essential to realizing this temporary work of art that Jeanne-Claude and I first envisioned nearly 20 years ago,” said Christo. “I am very pleased that the Commissioners have voted to approve this public work of art for Fremont County, and I want to thank them for their hard work and efforts in evaluating our application. I am glad to be moving forward with our plans to complete Over The River.” (more…)
Finalists announced for the Menil Collection Expansion
Prior to becoming a Pritzker laureate, Italian architect Renzo Piano was commissioned to design the Menil Collection in a quiet inner-city neighborhood of Houston, Texas. Since celebrating its opening in 1987, the museum has expanded, adding Renzo’s second commission, the Cy Twombly Gallery (1995), along with the permanent, site-specific installation at Richmond Hall by minimalist sculptor Dan Flavin and the Byzantine Fresco Chapel (1997-2012) by owner Dominique de Menil. Surrounded by ample amounts of open space, the long-term master plan of the museum’s campus has been under the review of architect David Chipperfield.
Now, after an extensive international search to select the architect for the campuses new major addition that will house the Menil Drawing Institute (MDI), the architecture selection committee has announced the four architects under consideration. Once completed, MDI will be the first freestanding facility in America dedicated to modern and contemporary drawing, and one of the most advanced in the world.
Continue after the break to find out the finalists. (more…)
Anne Lindberg Transforming Space with Thread
Anne Lindberg’s recent work essentially redefines space using thread. Bordering the definintion of architecture and sculpture, Lindberg allows color and light to manipulate the hundreds of millimeter-thick strands to create a web – a three-dimensional volume affixed to the architecture. Each of her pieces is specific to the place in which it is situated, no two identical based on the architecture, its lighting conditions and the space’s use. The pieces are architectural in so far as they are “contextual and integral to the space”, she says. The exhibition of drawn pink (watch the video after the break) ends today at Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in Omaha, Nevada, while andante green will be on exhibit at the Nevada Museum of Art until July 15th.
ArchDaily asked Anne Lindberg a few questions about her work. Read the responses and find out more about her installations after the break.
