A Musical Interlude with Simon & Garfunkel / So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright
For those of you who may not know who Simon & Garfunkel are (don’t worry I wouldn’t admit to it either), they were an American duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. Most notably known for their hit single “The Sound of Silence” and also for their music being featured in the film The Graduate which featured another one of their hits “Mrs. Robinson”.
Simon & Garfunkel rose to critical and commercial success between 1960 and 1970 when they recorded their final studio album Bridge Over Troubled Water which included the song “So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright”. The origins and meaning of this song have long been debated, one argument is that the song is a dedication to Frank Lloyd Wright from Art Garfunkel who was himself a former architecture student, and the other argument is that the song served as a hidden farewell between Simon & Garfunkel since this would be their final album together. Evidence can be found within the lyrics of the song that says, “I remember the nights we’d harmonize till dawn, I never laughed so long, so long, so long…” The repeated use of the “so long” can be interpreted as a goodbye between the two.
What do you think were the intentions behind this song…?
So long, Frank Lloyd Wright.
I can’t believe your song is gone so soon.
I barely learned the tune
So soon
So soon.
I’ll remember Frank Lloyd Wright.
All of the nights we’d harmonize till dawn.
I never laughed so long
So long
So long.
Architects may come and
Architects may go and
Never change your point of view.
When I run dry
I stop awhile and think of you
So long, Frank Lloyd Wright
All of the nights we’d harmonize till dawn.
I never laughed so long
So long
So long.
Video: Interview with Winy Maas
Our friends from Studio Banana TV shared with us their interview with MVRDV‘s Winy Maas. Founded in 1993 by Maas along with Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries the firm has produced impressive works among them the well known Balancing Barn and WoZoCo. In recent news (featured just this week on ArchDaily) MVRDV along with COBE were chosen as the winners of an international competition for their design scheme to transform a former concrete factory into a multifunctional creative hub.
In the video Maas discusses a number of MVRDV’s projects including their Market Hall project in Rotterdam and The Why Factory (T?F) which was established at Delft University of Technology in 2008 as a thinktank for future cities. Earlier this year Maas was recognized for his design contributions in France by receiving the French Legion of Honor.
AD Interviews: Steven Holl
A few months ago I had the chance to meet Steven Holl, whose work I admire. I think that he has been able to innovate and challenge programs as we used to know them, and experiment with materials and structures, while sticking to what really matters in architecture: space, context and light.
When I attended his “Disobedience” lecture in Columbia (during Kenneth Frampton’s 80th birthday) I understood how this disobedience is tied to his constant investigations, and then reflected on his buildings (like the competition for the Nelson Atkins museum as he tells on the video). I also really liked the fact that he’s very down to earth, and how he started his career and moved to the east coast. If you ever had the chance to attend one of his lectures, don’t miss it!
Steven Holl along with partner Chris McVoy lead Steven Holl Architects, one of the more innovative architecture and urban design offices in the world. A graduate of the University of Washington, Holl also studied in Rome and London before heading to New York to establish an architecture practice.
Holl has also contributed to the profession as an educator; the architect and watercolorist has taught at Columbia University since 1981, where he is a tenured faculty member. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, and the recipient of the New York American Institute of Architects Medal of Honor and the prestigious Alvar Aalto Medal.
Steven Holl Architects’ has been recognized internationally by some of architecture’s most prestigious awards. Recent recognition for SHA work includes 2010 P/A Award for LM Harbor Gateway and the 2009 CTBUH Best Tall Building Overall for Linked Hybrid. Their numerous AIA awards include the AIA 2008 Institute Honor Award as well as a Leaf New Built Award 2007 for the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City; the AIA 2007 Institute Honor Award, AIA New York Chapter 2007 Merit Architecture Award, and a RIBA International Award for the School of Art & Art History at the University of Iowa. And the New Residence at the Swiss Embassy in Washington, D.C was awarded an AIA New York Chapter 2007 Honor Architecture Award and the RIBA International Award.
Steven Holl is also present in the social web via their Facebook page and @stevenhollarch on Twitter.
SHA’s completed works featured on ArchDaily:
- Knut Hamsun Center in Hamarøy, Norway
- Herning Museum of Contemporary Art in Herning, Denmark
- Linked Hybrid mixed-use complex in Beijing, China
- Nanjing Sifang Art Museum
- Museum of Ocean and Surf
- Chapel of St. Ignatius
- College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, UMINN
- T Space
- Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City
- Simmons Hall at MIT
- Horizontal Skyscraper
In Progress:
- New Doctorate’s Building, National University Bogota
- Glasgow School of Art
- Sliced Porosity in China
- Queens Library at Hunters Point
- Hangzhou Normal University Performing Arts Center
- Daeyang Gallery and House
Video credits: J.P. Barrera Faus (Editing), J.C. Labarca (Camera).
AD Interviews: Steven Holl, Museum of Ocean and Surf
A preview of the interview we did with Steven Holl. In this part he describes the recently opened Museum of Ocean and Surf in Biarritz, France.
The design by Steven Holl Architects in collaboration with Solange Fabiao is the winning scheme from an international competition that included the offices of Enric Miralles/Benedetta Tagliabue, Brochet Lajus Pueyo, Bernard Tschumi and Jean-Michel Willmotte.
Stay tuned for the full interview!
Photos by FG+SG Fernando Guerra and Sergio Guerra.
Video: Maggie Gartnaval by OMA
This exclusive video of OMA’s Maggie’s Centre by BD online features OMA partner Ellen van Loon discussing the design for the cancer care center. Led by OMA Partners Rem Koolhaas and Ellen van Loon with Associate-in-charge Richard Hollington the Maggie Gartnaval center located in Glasgow opened today.
Ellen van Loon shared, “I enjoyed designing such an exceptional environment with this very dedicated and inspired team of designers and contractors. The sequence of spaces is an interplay of openness, retreat and support to underpin the Maggie’s programme.”
Video: Arkansas Mid Century Modern Architecture Short
This snapshot of a new documentary about mid-century modern architecture in Arkansas illuminates classic post-war designs. Simple, clean lines were often the elements that delineated the aesthetics of these buildings. While many lay in disrepair, they still exude an aura of a time when optimism was reflected in the country’s desire to build a new future. Some of the architectural icons that are featured include the University of Arkansas’s Fine Arts Center by state native Edward Durell Stone, the Tower Building in Little Rock, the Fulbright Library in Fayetteville, and the abandoned Hotel Mountainaire. Check out the short clip of what will air in November on AETN. Also, see the highlights of the current affairs and award winning architecture that is taking place within the state of Arkansas here.
Video: 3D Drawing Machine
Two young artists Ryan and Trevor Oakes have introduced a unique way for drawing using a 3D drawing machine that assists in re-presenting the view in front of one’s eyes. The machine was developed as an exploration of the nature of vision with a goal to recreate realism in the correct proportions and perspective. The artists explain how the machine works; by limiting vision of the scene to one eye and the other to plot the image on concave paper, an illusion occurs where the paper becomes transparent, rendering an effect that you are simply tracing the scene in front of you. It is an interesting take on creating artwork with amazingly accurate results. Check out the video for their presentation.
Video: Virgin America and Gensler offer Behind-the-Scenes look at SFO T2
Gensler, architects of SanFrancisco International Airport’s Terminal2(SFO T2) and Virgin America, the terminal’s anchor tenant, announce the release of A Day in the Life of SFO T2, a video by filmmakers Spirit of Space. A Day in the Life of SFO T2 is a key element in Virgin America’s fall promotion “VX Deals on the Fly,” launching today via Loopt, the geo-social network. The promotion will offer travelers mobile check-in rewards at various locations throughout SFO T2. More information after the break. (more…)
Video: “Cities of Opportunity” Interview with Rem Koolhaas
In this video from Cities of Opportunity 2011, architectural superstar and OMA founder Rem Koolhaas shares his views on the contemporary evolution of the city and his vision for the future of urban centers. Produced by accounting giant PwC (a.k.a PricewaterhouseCoopers before their 2010 re-branding) and the Partnership for New York City, Cities of Opportunity 2011 “analyzes the trajectory of 26 cities, all capitals of finance, commerce, and culture and through their performance, seeks to open a window on what makes cities function best.”
Video: Richard Meier
Documenting Richard Meier’s career this video starts at the beginning with Meier’s acceptance to Cornell along with his earliest projects. Included within the documentary is a description by Meier and fellow alumni Peter Eisenman about The New York Five, video footage of Meier’s Getty Center along with a lecture by Meier in ’92 describing his architecture.
This video was created in 2006 in honor of Meier’s 50th reunion (Cornell class of 1956)
Video: Brooks + Scarpa
The well established and nationally recognized architecture firm Brooks + Scarpa (2010 AIA National Firm of the Year) recently decided to shake things up a bit. “Our office has turned more into a conventional office over the years, and I was just really looking for something that could become a glorified cabinet shop where we could actually work and make things, have the space to do that, and have some outdoor space to build bigger things,” shares Larry Scarpa.
This video takes a look at their new home in Ladera Heights, an upscale African American neighborhood popularized by Baltimore Oriole Frank Robinson in the 1970s.
AD Interviews: Peter Eisenman
Yesterday we showed you a preview, and here it is the full interview with one of the most influential contemporary architects.
Architect, educator, and theorist, internationally recognized Peter Eisenman was a part of an important generation of architects and popularized amongst the general public when he was exhibited at the MoMA in 1969 as one of the New York Five. Eisenman, along with Michael Graves, Charles Gwathmey, John Hejduk, and Richard Meier (Eisenman’s second cousin) made up the ‘group of architects whose work, represented a return to the formalism of early modern rationalist architecture’.
Eisenman earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cornell University, a Master of Science in Architecture degree from Columbia University, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Cambridge University (U.K). He founded an international think tank for architecture, the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies (IAUS), serving as director until 1982 and simultaneously established his own architecture firm.
As an educator, Eisenman has taught at some of the most prestigious architecture programs including the Yale School of Architecture, Cambridge, Princeton, Harvard, and Ohio State universities.
Peter Eisenman’s work ranges from large-scale housing and urban design to educational institutions and private houses. Often labeled as a deconstructivist Eisenman is also known for his intricate drawings. He has been recognized for his design abilities receiving the Medal of Honor from the New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 2001, the Smithsonian Institution’s 2001 Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award in Architecture, and he was also awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 2004 Venice Architecture Biennale.
In 2006 Eisenman’s design for the University of Phoenix Stadium for the Arizona Cardinals earned him the label as one of the top five innovators of 2006 according to Popular Science.
Eisenman’s most recent book Ten Canonical Buildings: 1950-2000 revisits some of the most important buildings of the past century with a critical view, a must read for every architect.
Projects by Eisenman previously featured at ArchDaily:
The New World Trade Center / Piranha NYC
We’ve been covering the Freedom Tower quite extensively, sharing documentaries, time lapse videos, renderings and even news the tower’s first major tenant. And, today, director Gaspard Giroud shared this amazing clip of the progress on the tower. Commissioned by Silverstein Properties, Piranha NYC, a motion graphic design and visual effects company, wrote, produced, art directed, filmed, and finished all vfx for this inspiring piece marking the 10th year anniversary of 9/11. The clip was then presented a few days ago at Tower 7 in the presence of Mayor Bloomberg. We love how the film condenses the building’s time lapse of construction – especially the reflections of the progress in car windows and even through the glass façade of a neighboring building. And, of course, it’s a beautiful thing to see people occupying the finished tower. What do you think of the film?
Update: Erdos Museum / MAD
When we first saw MAD’s Erdos Museum for Inner Mongolia, the renderings teased us with a futuristic blob-like form that was planned for Ordos’ designed, but yet not constructed, urban masterplan. Now, a few years later, the firm is celebrating the museum’s completion and the finished effect of both the form and its materiality can be fully appreciated. MAD shared a video on the finished project with us and we hope you enjoy it!
More info about the project after the break. (more…)
Video: Airstream Living / Werehaus
The Werehaus, a small creative production studio based in San Francisco, recently shared with us an interesting clip about Andreas Stavropoulous, a landscape architect based out of Berkeley. The video focuses on how Andreas converted a 1959 Airstream into a design studio/live space.
Peter Eisenman: American Architecture Today
Peter Eisenman is one of the most influential figures in contemporary architecture. Theorist, academic and practitioner, Peter Eisenman was part of a very important generation of architects and one of the New York Five.
In his recent book Ten Canonical Buildings: 1950-2000 Eisenman revisits some of the most important buildings of the past century with a critical view, a book that is in my opinion a must read for every architect.
During the interview Peter talks about the practice/project of architecture, his views on running an architecture practice, and the current state of American architecture, among other relevant topics. On this preview you can see his views on today’s American Architecture.
Full interview tomorrow!
Video: Mediating Mediums – The Digital 3d
Greg Tran shared with us his amazing video, ‘Mediating Mediums – The Digital 3d’. The video was the Thesis Prize Winner in Harvard Graduate School of Design 2011. You can see the short version above, and if you want to check to complete version, you can watch it here: Mediating Mediums – The Digital 3d (Full Version).
“Architecture has always been the medium which defines the spaces we live in, but with the emergence of Digital 3d or “augmented” technology, immaterial stimuli is beginning to encroach upon those spaces. Thus far, digital forms have few relationships to their material context, but there is interesting potential for their interaction. Digital tools act as an infrastructural and informational prosthetic, but will be most profound when they tie back to the human body and engage the built environment.”
Video: Chris Burden / Metropolis II
Chris Burden’s massive kinetic sculpture, Metropolis II, will debut at at LACMA this fall. The project took Burden and his chief engineer Zak Cook four years to complete.
Burden, a performance artist known for crucifying himself on a Volkswagen and once hiring a friend to shoot him in the arm, doesn’t have any particular interest in transportation or urban planning, he says, although he has used toys in his artworks since the 1970s. “Toys are interesting as objects — they’re the tools you use to inculcate children into adults,” he told Fastco Design. “They’re a reflection of society.” His mini-city is “modeling something that’s on the twilight of extinction: the era of the ‘free car,’” Burden says, referring to the idea of jumping into one’s car anytime and going wherever one pleases. “Those days are numbered, but think it’s a good thing. The upside is that cars can be faster and safer, and you don’t have to worry about drunk drivers. Think about it: The cars in Metropolis II are going a scale speed of 230mph. That’d be great to do for real in L.A.”
Vienna Design Week 2011
The Vienna Design Week 2011, now in its fifth year, is Austria’s most important international design festival. From September 30 — October 9th, 2011, it will bring some of the best designers of our time to the Austrian capital while simultaneously fostering the talents of tomorrow. The festival is diversified in content — comprising positions of product design, industrial design, and furniture design. For more information, please click here.
Oslo Towers Dance for Music Video
A group of unassuming residential towers in Oslo’s Grorud Valley neighborhood have been transformed into the stars of Cold Mailman’s music video “Time is of the essence” directed by André Chocron.
Taking full advantage of the density of the towers, Chocron set up multiple cameras at various angles in order to shoot a sequence of time lapse videos from sundown to sunup. What looks like an intricately choreographed light show, is cleverly composited in post-production. Predictably, in the evening residents turned their lights on, and as the evening progressed turned them off. In order to create the dance of lights in similar effect to that of an equalizer, Chocron switches between the illuminated and darkened states in concert with the choreography of the song. The end result is an intriguing audiovisual composition.
Video: Chanel Mobile Art Pavilion / Zaha Hadid Architects
Photographer Onnis Luque recently shared with us an interesting video he shot of the Chanel Mobile Art Pavilion by Zaha Hadid Architects. The form of the 700 sqm Chanel Pavilion is a celebration of the iconic work of Chanel, unmistakeable for its smooth layering of exquisite details that together create an elegant, cohesive whole. For more on this project click here.
