Video: Studio Weave, Architect Profile
Maria Smith and Je Ahn are the award-winning duo behind exciting young architecture practice Studio Weave. The Longest Bench, their project in Littlehampton, was shortlisted for the Condé Nast Traveller’s Innovation & Design Award and won the Civic Trust Award and Special Award for Community Impact and Engagement. Smith and Ahn take Crane.tv on a tour of one of their latest projects, St Pancras Church Garden, where they tell us about how writing stories form part of their design process and what’s next for the young team.
AD Interviews: Bijoy Jain, Studio Mumbai
During the launch of the META Project in Chile, we had the chance to interview Bijoy Jain, founder of Studio Mumbai.
Studio Mumbai is a “human infrastructure of skilled craftsmen and architects who design and build the work directly.” Together, the colleagues immerse themselves within an ever-changing environment formed by an “iterative process” where they experiment and explore their ideas through the production of large-scale mock-ups, models, materials studies, sketches and drawings.
Studio Mumbai carefully develops projects through a process that draws from traditional skills, local building techniques, materials and an ingenuity that arises from limited resources. The essence of their work lies in the relationship between land and architecture. Studio Mumbai describes themselves as being “inspired by real life conditions” as they understand complex relationships through the power of observation.
“The endeavor is to show the genuine possibility in creating buildings that emerge through a process of collective dialog, a face-to-face sharing of knowledge through imagination, intimacy, and modesty.”
Projects from Studio Mumbai in ArchDaily:
AIA2012: An Optimistic Future
AIA President Jeff Potter welcomed everyone this morning by restating his promise that the 2012 convention would inspire all who attend. With a consistent theme focusing on the architects commitment to service, President Potter welcomed Shaun Donovan – the 15th United States Secretary for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – as today’s keynote speaker. However, before Secretary Donovan took the stage, the 2012 AIA Vice President and 2013 President-elect Mickey Jacob invited the crowd to come, stay and explore the mile-high city of Denver for the 2013 National Convention. (more…)
Video: Serpentine Gallery / Peter Zumthor
In light of the announcement that Herzog & de Meuron and Ai WeiWei will be designing this year’s Pavilion at the Serpentine Gallery, we take a look back at last year’s Pavilion and the architect behind it, Peter Zumthor.
Last summer London’s Serpentine Gallery unveiled a new architectural feat in the form of the celebrated Pavilion, built to stand for just three months. In the past few years esteemed designers Jean Nouvel, Frank Gehry and Olafur Eliasson have exercised their creative muscles, and last year Swiss architecht Peter Zumthor steps up to the plate to create a relaxing space to encourage conversation. Here, Crane.tv finds out what inspired Zumthor.
Video: Cosmic Communist Constructions Book, by Frédéric Chaubin
In his book Cosmic Communist Constructions Photographed, French photographer Frédéric Chaubin captures the eerie beauty of Soviet brutalism. In his quest to document Brezhnev-era architecture, he stumbled upon 90 Soviet buildings scattered across 14 former-USSR republics. The diversity and lack of a recurring theme across the buildings signaled the end of the Soviet Union.
Video: One World Trade Center 2004-2012
In honor of One World Trade Center becoming the tallest building in New York, EarthCam has released an exciting time-lapse movie showcasing the construction progress from 2004-2012. In just a couple minutes, you can witness years of construction. Not only is the process a moving one on an emotional level, but also sheds hope on a site that holds such strong meaning in the U.S. for a time in history that will never be forgotten.
Video: Bar Strelka / Strelka Institute
Minutes from the Kremlin lies Bar Strelka, a revisited loft space housed in a former confectionery factory, which serves as a hub for the students of Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design. Formerly heading the institution’s educational programme was world renowned architect Rem Koolhaas, now one of the five research theme directors. The institute’s aim is to develop fresh perspectives on key issues in contemporary Russia, bringing architects, intellectuals and designers together under one roof. Roman Mazurenko, the Special Projects Director shows Crane.tv around the bar and chats to them about the institute’s programme and why it will revolutionise Moscow’s landscape.
TED Talk: A Giant Bubble for Debate / Liz Diller
Liz Diller, founding principle of Diller, Scofidio + Renfro, shares the story of creating the pneumatic addition to the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC. Commonly known as the “Bubble”, the inflatable event space is planned for the cylindrical courtyard of the National Mall’s modernist museum that was originally designed by Gordon Bunshaft in 1974. The first inflation of the “Bubble” is expected to take place at the end of 2013.
“To truly make good public space, you have to erase the distinctions between architecture, urbanism, landscape, [and] media design.” – Liz Diller (more…)
Video: COS debut in Milan
Five years on from their launch in London’s Regent Street, COS has made their way to Italy, debuting with a pop-up shop at Salone del Mobile in Milan. In collaboration with set designer Gary Card, the Swedish clothing label has produced a pop-up store in the form of a deconstructed, maze-like wooden cube that houses the garments. Here, COS Women and Men’s designers Karin Gustafsson and Martin Andersson explain how less is more, how they look to Scandinavia for references, and the importance of balance and contrast of proportion.
AD Interviews: Márcio Kogan / Studio MK27
São Paulo native Márcio Kogan has become an internationally recognized Brazilian architect known for his minimal designs that are often contrasted by intricate materiality. His work has been highly praised by our readers, and he is in the top 5 of individual architects searches at our site. His houses and institutional projects respect the modern principles of Brazilian architecture, with a special care on the design of interior spaces and their details, resulting in a mix of tradition and contemporary design. My favorite? Paraty House (and its section!)
Kogan founded StudioMK27 in the early 1980s, shortly after his graduation from the Architecture and Urbanism Faculty of the Machenzie Presbyterian University (1977). Much of StudioMK27’s work is influenced by Kogan’s admiration for Brazilian modernism that started in the 1930s, led by starchitects like Lucio Costa, Lina Bo Bardi, Oscar Niemeyer, Rino Levi and Affonso Reidy.
Today, Kogan is involved with the teaching corps of the City School in São Paulo, Brazil. His works have earned several international awards, including the recent Wallpaper Design Awards, Record House, D&AD “Yellow Pencil” LEAF Awards, Dedalo Minosse, Barbara Cappochin International Biennial of Padova and was twice a finalist for the World Architecture Festival (WAF). Marcio has also been appointed as an Honorary Fellow of the AIA in 2011.
Works from Marcio Kogan at ArchDaily:
Video: The Printable House / 1:1 Arkitektur
Danish architects from 1:1 Arkitektur, in collaboration with Facit Homes, are constructing an entire house in just four weeks with only their computer and a CNC machine. Constructed entirely out of wood, the printed house demonstrates a sustainable, quick and affordable alternative to conventional building that minimizes waste and simplifies the buildings process. Many argue that this way of building is the future of construction.
Jane Jacobs: Neighborhoods in Action / Active Living Network
Here is a video interview, produced by Active Living Network, with famed author and social activist Jane Jacobs. In 1961, Jacobs published The Death and Life of Great American Cities, a bold response to the city planning strategies of her time and the proposals by planners such as Robert Moses. She used her real-world experiences and observations from her own street in the West Village of New York City to comment on how people interacted in neighborhoods – which areas were busiest, safest and most conducive to living. In this video, Jacobs gives insight into how cities can bounce back from the environment created by the automobile through simple and affordable means such as “tree planting, traffic taming and community events”.
Read on for more after the break. (more…)
Video: Jan Gehl
One of the grandfathers of contemporary urban design theory, Jan Gehl has dedicated himself to making cities better places for people to live in for some fifty years. He has consulted in cities across the globe including London, New York, Auckland and of course Copenhagen where his architecture and urban design consultancy is based. Crane.tv sat down with Gehl to hear his thoughts on why Copenhagen is such a people-friendly metropolis and he tells us why his next project, Moscow, will be a true challenge.
Design Icon: Michael Graves / Gary Nadeau
Our friends at Dwell have shared with us their short film featuring the legendary Michael Graves inside his beautiful Princeton home in which he created out of a disused warehouse. In the film, Graves shares the discoveries he made when renovating his house and thoughts about his career, his practice and universal design.
The film was directed and edited by Gary Nadeau. Continue after the break for the complete list of credits. (more…)
PUC Building: 525 Golden Gate / KMD Architects
The PUC Building on 525 Golden Gate Ave, home of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, could have been just another government administrative building. But, the City and County of San Francisco, along with KMD Architects, embraced the design challenge of achieving LEED Silver status. Now nearing completion, the building is expected to exceed LEED Platinum requirements and has been dubbed the greenest building of its kind. The architects had humble goals for the architecture as well, which included creating an “urban room” among the civic buildings in the area, creating a healthy and pleasant environment in the interior workplace to promote performance, efficiency and comfort, and represent the best value possible for the city and county of San Francisco.
Join us after the break for more.
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Video: Mario Bellini, Studio Visit
Famed for designing products for typewriter manufacturer Olivetti and furniture pieces, such as the iconic Bambole sofa, architect and designer Mario Bellini is equally known for his work on urban planning and rethinking public spaces. Bellini’s design highlights include the Tokyo Design Centre, which he completed in 1991, a quintessentially “Italian” structure in the Japanese capital and the soon to be unveiled Islamic Art Galleries at the Musée du Louvre in Paris.
AD Interviews: Steven Ehrlich
Recently awarded the prestigious Maybeck Award by the AIA California Council (AIACC), Steven Ehrlich (FAIA, RIBA) has earned international recognition for his distinctive architecture and philosophy that has greatly influenced the architectural community. As the Design Principle of Ehrlich Architects, the Los Angeles-based architect is dedicated to the philosophy of Multicultural Modernism – a unique approach to architecture and planning that is centered on architectural anthropology; an idea that strives to identify and celebrate the uniqueness of each individual culture through design.
We had the chance to have Steven in our office, and he did a very interesting presentation to the ArchDaily editorial team where we learned more about his formation and early years, and how that experience has been translated in his buildings. Ehrlich’s philosophy was kindled in the seventies when he practiced as an architect for the Peace Corps in Morocco and served as a professor of architecture in Nigeria. For six years, Ehrlich lived, taught, traveled and studied indigenous vernacular architecture in North and West Africa, allowing him gain a greater understanding between the connections of architecture, culture, people and place.
Ehrlich is a graduate from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He lectures extensively throughout the United States and abroad, and has served as a guest critic at USC, Harvard, Yale and UCLA. As an advocate for the arts, Ehrlich has collaborated with several notable artists, such as Ed Moses, Miriam Wosk, Guy Dill and John Okulick.
In addition to the Maybeck Award, Ehrlich Architects has won eight National AIA Design Awards and was named 2003 Firm of the Year by the AIACC, under Ehrlich’s leadership. His work can be found at a recent monograph published by Monacelli Press: Steven Ehrlich Houses.
Projects from Steven Ehrlich at ArchDaily:
- Arizona State University Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication
- International Design Competition for the Federal National Council’s New Parliament Building Complex (1st Place)
- Arizona State University School of Earth and Space Exploration (ISTB4) / Ehrlich Architects (In construction)
- 700 Palms Residence
- Zeidler Residence
- 331 Foothill Road Office Building
- 9300 Culver Boulevard (Parcel B) Redevelopment Project
Video: London Aerial / Jason Hawkes
Aerial photographer Jason Hawkes captures London’s hazy skyline in both day and night. Although still under construction, The Shard appears to already dwarf most to the city. The building is designed by Renzo Piano and is slated to become the tallest in Europe. In addition, Norman Foster’s infamous Gherkin, formally known as the Swiss Re Building, is instantly recognizable in nearly every frame as it is a landmark within the dense metropolis. (more…)
Video: TRAFFIC / ITDP Mexico
The video above, produced by ITDP Mexico is a surprisingly fun look at the dire traffic situation in Mexico City. With the help of two Barbie Ken dolls (who else?), the video describes two types of drivers: the Everyday Driver, who drives everywhere no matter what, and the Shadow Driver, who drives only when it’s most convenient.
The situation facing Mexico City isn’t too far off from that facing American Suburbia (as our infographic “Burbs Going Bust” and our two-part “Saving Suburbia” series recently highlited). The ‘burbs, designed to convenience the Everyday Driver, have essentially turned Shadow Drivers into Everydays. Hence why passenger cars account for up to 50% of greenhouse gas emissions in some car-intensive communities in the U.S.
It gets you thinking… if we could design Suburbia for the Shadow Drivers (or the “Disencarchised” Driver, who can’t afford a car at all) and make driving less convenient for the Everydays, then maybe we could convert the Shadow drivers (to the “light”side) and increase the demand for walkable streets and denser communities.
For more on Suburbia: Infographic: Burbs Going Bust and The Saving Suburbia Series - Part I: Bursting the Bubble & Part II: Getting the Soccer Moms On Your Side.
Video: 3DESTRUCT / Scopitone 2011
New technologies keep surprising us every day. 3DESTRUCT is a fantastic audiovisual installation, built last year as part of the Scopitone Festival 2011.
Antivj, the studio behind this installation says the idea started in 2007 and adapted the best way they could to the old cellar they could use. The effect that the projections have is quite spectacular.
TED Talk: Daniel Libeskind’s 17 words of architectural inspiration
Filmed back in 2009, this TED Talk by Daniel Libeskind has yet to diminish in popularity. Once a free-verse poet, an opera set designer and a virtuoso musician, Libeskind has evolved into an internationally-renowned architect with an illustrious style that has been praised and criticized by many. In just seventeen words, Libeskind describes what inspires his unique approach to architecture. Believing that optimism is what drives architecture forward, he begins by stating, “Architecture is not based on concrete and steel and the elements of the soil. It’s based on wonder.”
Enjoy the talk and continue after the break to review Libeskind’s seventeen words of architectural inspiration. (more…)
