Richard Meier recently discussed his perspective on creating public spaces. He expands on his experiences of designing numerous buildings across the globe and their importance in relation to public spaces. He discourses how the Getty Center in LA fosters a special environment for all activities, whether it be viewing the entire city or participating in cultural activities – the surroundings of the building are just as important as the structure itself. He also comments on the significance of the square that is encompassed on one side by his Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, and its destination as a mecca for teenage skateboarders and the seniors that come to watch the youths. Interestingly enough, his talk emphasizes the places that surround the architecture, the idea that the intent is not about making a building or monument, it is about creating a place and making a statement. This in turn makes for a much more exciting architectural experience – because it is the spaces that objects make that we inhabit.

Be sure to check out our recent interview with Richard Meier here.

Reference: Web of Stories, DI

Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN’s “The Next List” features the bold and innovative ideas of Bjarke Ingels, focusing on the West 57th project that is transforming Manhattan skyline. Ingels states, “In the big picture, architecture is the art and science of making sure that our cities and buildings fit the way we want to live our lives.” The video also features comments from Robert A. M. Stern, Dean at Yale School of Architecture, and Douglas Durst, the developer of West 57th. Check it out!

Reference: CNN

For over 20 years, Esto has been a primary source for architectural photography, as they represent a group of photographers who concentrate on architecture, design and the built environment. Esto offers an ever-expanding archive of architectural photography along with a list of extended services which now includes video and time-lapse documentation. Check out their new reel above and continue reading to find more information provided by the professionals of Esto. read more »

Earlier this week, we shared a great clip of a comparison video betwen Lady Gaga and SANAA’s new Museum – if the comparison has you scratching your head, be sure to check out the video!  Great Spaces has also made a short video of UNStudio’s Amsterdam Pavilion.  Upon its opening back in the summer of 2009, we had the opportunity to interview van Berkel about his inspiration for the design.   Since then, the landscape and hardscape around the pavilion have been completed, giving it a stronger presence in front of the Staten Island Ferry terminal as it seems more integrated into the swirls of the bike and pedestrian paths.  Thanks to Delaine Isaac for sharing the clip.

In this video, Brookings expert Robert Puentes discusses the importance of construction projects and infrastructure investments that provide real and lasting value to the American economy. Puentes warns against thinly spreading around smaller infrastructure projects that only provide a short-term, seasonal boost in “shovel ready projects” that temporarily help job creation. Infrastructure investments can and must play a key role in the next American economy. Puentes urges that these smaller infrastructure projects must be connected to a larger infrastructure strategy that focuses on exports and globalization, technological innovation and clean energy. This will not only immediately create jobs and boost the economy, but also provide a framework that will sustain the American economy for the long term.

Also, if you are in the Washington DC area, Brookings will be hosting an event tomorrow, at the John L. Thornton China Center at Brookings, to discuss low-carbon development and clean energy in the United States and China. Follow this link for more information.

Architectural photographer Cristobal Palma shared with us this timelapse video of the Xi’an Expo, a project by Plasma Studio + GroundLab that we saw during several stages, from the award winning entry in 2009, to conceptual design and opening, when it was visited by more than 200,000 people on the first weekend.

The Expo embodies the idea of transformation as the site was formerly a sandpit where the water was severely degraded during the 1980s.   Efforts over the past two decades have restored the ecosystem and now the Expo is able to demonstrate what can be accomplished through the use of the most advanced technology, ideas, and materials.  As we reported earlier, the 37 ha complex includes three buildings that are interconnected with a dynamic landscape of unfolding paths and networks of water, circulation and foliage.

More videos by Cristobal Palma at ArchDaily:

read more »

Check out this beautiful documentary by First Run Features highlighting Norman Foster’s architectural inspiration, theories and products of his premier global practice.  As an architect who is constantly challenging the rules of the system, Foster’s career has produce magnificent structures from his iconic skyscrapers to the world’s longest bridge. The film “documents the way that great architecture is created, but does not flinch from the disappointments, and the set backs, and even the failures that come with it.” The film will be released on DVD and is having a limited theatrical release. Enjoy the trailer!

Above is a video of the Redbull New Headquarters in Amsterdam designed by Sid Lee Architecture. Their main goal was to combine the almost brutal simplicity of an industrial built work with Red Bull’s mystical invitation to perform. In the architecture, they offer, nothing is clearly set; all is a matter of perception.

With only a few days away from the announcement of the this year MoMA PS1 YaP winner, architectural photographer Cristobal Palma has shared with us a timelapse video of the 2011 YaP installation in Santiago, Chile, designed by GUN Architects.

The Water Cathedral is a large, horizontal urban nave for public use. The structure is made up of numerous slender, vertical components, which hang or rise like stalactites and stalagmites in a cave, varying in height and concentration. The project incorporates water dripping at different pulses and speeds from these hanging elements, fed by a hydraulic irrigation network. When filled with small amounts of water, the stalactite components act as interfaces out of which water droplets gradually flow and cool visitors below. The stalagmites topography provides elements of shade, along with plants and water that collect under the Water Cathedral’s canopy.

More videos by Cristobal Palma at ArchDaily:

read more »

Ever likened SANAA’s New Museum to Lady Gaga?  We didn’t think so!  So, check out this video by Great Spaces and prepare to see the museum in a new light.   Toward the end of the video, it was mentioned that only after SANAA won the Pritzker, did some people truly take notice of the museum.  Have you visited the New Museum on the Bowery prior to the Pritzker, or have you been influenced to see if after SANAA’s won?   And, for more info on the museum, be sure to reference our previous articles.

In this video Bjarke Ingels shares his enlightened view on Hedonistic sustainability, challenging the misconception that one must give up a portion of their comfortable lifestyle in order to live sustainability. Ingels counteracts that delusion with examples that illustrate the possibilities of sustainable buildings and cities increasing life quality. He encourages architects to embrace their expanded roles of becoming “designers of ecosystems” by creating a world where our presence is not seen as detrimental to our environment through the integration of our “consumption patterns and leftovers” into our natural world. Ingels is optimistic as he shares Hollywood’s copy of BIG’s Denmark Pavilion for the Shanghai 2010 Expo in Iron Man 2. Ingels states, “If Hollywood starts ripping off sustainable architecture to portray science fiction it could be a sign we are moving towards Hedonistic sustainability.”

Reference: TEDxEast

Subarquitectura transforms a roundabout into a public space with the Parametric Romantic Garden that creates a system of paths leading to a tram station in Alicante, Spain. The parametric design accommodates for existing trees while establishing 32 unique ways in which the platforms may be reached. Each platform is capped with a hollow luminary, serving as an identifier for the station while breaking down the scale for the travelers. Follow this link for more information on the project.

This video reveals the first statement by director David Chipperfield and president Paolo Baratta regarding the 13th International Venice Biennale. With “Common Ground” as the underlying theme, Chipperfield encourages participants not to promote themselves, as if in a theater, but rather promote a dialogue that will begin the “chemical process” that will ultimately lead to finding connections between “things, people and influences”. Chipperfield highlights that the Venice Biennale is about “what is not private, but what is common.”

The architecture exhibition will open to the public August 29th, 2012.

Special thanks to our readers Danielle Bakkes, Tjeerd Hermsen, Rudi Koster, Viet Le, Wouter Rooijackers and Kor Zijnstra  from the Academy of Architecture Arnhem for sharing their funky video on the Ronchamp Chapel with us.  The short film was compiled after the students completed a workshop at the Chapel back in 2007.  What do you think of the video’s mystical spin?

Kirk Gittings recently created a video for the Isleta Tribal Services Complex, a multi-award winning project by RMKM (Rohde May Keller McNamara) Architects. The video illustrates the construction of the building’s unique architectural facet located in Isleta Pueblo, New Mexico. The building was constructed by Jaynes Corp. and the structure was built by Pace Ironworks. This building recently won an AIA honor award.

Watch Thomas Leeser of LEESER Architecture share some insight into what architecture means and how his firm expresses that philosophy.  One of our favorite lines is when Leeser stated, “We are not architects with a particular style; we are architects with a particular message.”  The clip shares some background pertaining to Leeser’s Museum of Moving Image in Astoria, New York that exemplifies the firm’s idea of a changing continuous media surface and ties the conceptual understanding between film and architecture.  What are your thoughts on Leeser’s closing comment when talking about the Bric media center and Urban Glass project – “Our work can influence and change the world around us, there is a really impact…it’s not just like another building” – perhaps, not just in terms of Leeser’s work, but for the field of architecture at large. read more »

The destruction of the Mercado de la Encarnacion in Seville left a huge void in the urban character of the city center which remained unfilled for over thirty years.  The market enriched the city with life, and with its absence, the vitality of the Plaza de la Encarnacion was soon challenged by the negative implications of economic downturn. In April of 2011,  Jürgen Mayer H and Arup teamed to complete their solution for Seville’s central square – an architecture that brings a contemporary spirit to such a historical and traditional space.  Entitled Metropol Parasol, the massive timber structure (which is one of the largest timber structures built in the world)  draws residents and visitors back to the city center as its striking aesthetic provides a variety of markets and restaurants bounded by the dynamic shape of the parasols.  We enjoyed the video as it illustrates the impact architecture can bring economically and socially to enrich even one of the most established city centers in the world. The ability for the design team to look toward the future allows Seville to preserve its historic cultural prowress while not limiting itself for future greatness.  Special thanks to Marina from Arup for sharing the video with us!

Check out more images of the project after the break, and be sure to read our previous coverage on the project. read more »

A well known architectural classic by Le Corbusier, the Notre Dame du Ronchamp, or more commonly referred to as Ronchamp, is featured very elegantly in this video by italian architect Franco Di Capua. The curved roof that peels up towards the heavens, the curving walls, and the the sporadic window placement on the walls are just a few of the architectural elements that make this project such a marvel.

In his interview with Renzo Piano, Rob Gregory of Architectural Review discusses architecture, responsibility and innovation within the field.  Piano talks about architecture is being a highly considered inquiry into the process of making because “architecture is more lasting and profound” and if it is done wrong, with the wrong intentions and assumptions, then “it is wrong for a long time”.  In regards to his work, Renzo Piano speaks about the “good and bad stories” that surround buildings.  Mentioning The Shard in London, designed in partnership with Hunter Douglas and Pompidou Centre, designed in collaboration with Richard Rogers, Piano reflects on the role of architecture in a city as a public building and cultural magnet.

More after the break. read more »

British architect David Chipperfield recently gave an interview with Crane.tv discussing his architectural philosophy and affinity for the German culture. He expands on his approach to architecture and touches on his work for the completed reconstruction of the Neues Museum in Berlin.  Be sure to check out some of his other recent works including; The Hepworth Wakefield art gallery in Wakefield, England, Turner Contemporary – a visual arts venue in Margate, England, America’s Cup Building in Valencia, Spain, and the Central Public Library in Des Moines, Iowa.

References: www.crane.tv, architecturalvideos.blogspot.com