Stefan Gzyl shared with us his project “Parc Disponible”, one of the finalists on an international competition recently held in Paris on ways to incorporate nature into the urban environment in original ways. “Parc Disponible” is a glass box enclosing a mini-park for individual use within the city. See more images and architect’s description after the break.
I recently paid a visit to the smallest office I have ever set foot in. It was actually a tiny one-bedroom apartment overlooking a pool. Its location, and the maneuvers I had to make to gain access, gave it the ambiance of secrecy. This must be what it feels like to visit a safe house, I thought.
Significant things are going on here. You may learn of them soon enough so, excepting one thing, I will not break the mystery. On one wall, in the very center of the wall, there hangs a small oil painting. The subject: a shipwreck in turbulent seas. It was done in blues with a very purposeful, skilled hand. It is not famous but could have been had it gotten into the right hands. It reminded me of Fitz Henry Lane’s “A Smart Blow (Rough Sea, Schooners),” 1856.
I asked the architect if he had done this. No, he said. He then told me the story of how this painting was the first beautiful thing that had ever transfixed him. When he was five or six, he used to sit and stare at it endlessly. This reminded me of how I used to stare out at the thunderstorms from my grandmother’s window, feeling like I was in the midst of them. As a child, he must have felt transported by this painting the way I was by that surrounding sky.
“The Internet allows a daily exchange of particular topics of interest. So, you can kind of put out a question regarding a topic of interest and you will have many people respond to assist in that discussion.”
Over the weekend I took some time to assemble my LEGO Sears Tower
This LEGO set was designed by Adam Reed Tucker, who has also put out more complex sets such as the Guggenheim Museum
Architect Gary Chang’s apartment is located in downtown Hong Kong, and represents a remarkable example of interior refurbishment. With only 32 sqm, Chang studied the different distribution possibilities to optimize his space.
More information and images after the break.
Two of the most iconic projects from the modern movement built in the US take part in a play by June Finfer, directed by Evan Bergman. The design and building of Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House and Philip Johnson’s Glass House is the background for the penetrating dramatic plot that entwines the epic conflict between artist and patron. The Glass House explores the classic struggle of ambition, love and betrayal.
Post Performance Talks by Paul Goldberger (Architectural Critic and Author), Barry Bergdoll (MoMA), Annabelle Selldorf (Architect), Christy MacLear (Executive Director of Philip Johnson Glass House), Dietrich Neumann (Architectural Educator), Whitney French (Executive Director of Farnsworth House) and Barry Wood (Architect).
Dates and more info after the break.
100 first year students in the Department of Architecture are developing proposals to design and construct a minimal dwelling unit that they will occupy for a period of 24 hours. Each unit must accommodate an entrance, internal circulation, and sleeping areas for a minimum of three people. Individual units are placed adjacent to one another and share boundaries thus creating a party wall condition between adjoining structures where unique structural and programmatic conditions might begin to evolve.
At ArchDaily we also have place for those projects or ideas that doesn’t seem to fit anywhere else. Ideas, toys or rankings, these are the posts we enjoy for their creativity and of course, sense of humour. Enjoy!
Artist Scott Teplin has created this superb series of 26 letterpress dream-houses, each designed from the letters of the alphabet: Alphabet City.
This year, Hometta’s celebrating by offering all their friends and members free downloadable plans for the hippest gingerbread house on the block. This DIY house is a small-scale version of the Draft House by Hometta’s own, award-winning HouMinn Practice.
Why hasn’t this been drawn before? Very shrewd Pie Plan diagram from designer Abi Huynh which is “divided by utilization”. Nice.
Parkour is a sport on which you have to go from one point of the city to another as efficiently and quickly as possible, overcoming any obstacles in your way: walls, fences, trees, etc. This has made Parkour THE urban sport, included in recent pop culture music videos.