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Excuse me architect, but you’re being an ass.

Yes, kind of…sort of…maybe a little bit

Am I bothering you with my petty contract? Is this job just not your “ideal” project? Doesn’t it fit into your “body of work”? your “oeuvre”? Is this project not going to win you any awards?

I know you’re talented. I know you know more about building and design than I EVER will. In fact that’s why I hired you. I need your help. I need you to help me realize this project. I need your skill. I need your experience. And yes, I need your passion.

But, I don’t need any more of your bullshit.

I don’t want you to show me what to build. I want you to include me in the process. I’m not paying you for the privilege of your “vision”. I’m paying you to help me solve this. I assumed I would be a part of that process.

click thru for more angst from coffee with an architect

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Recently we had the chance to visit Allied Works office in NY to interview the firm’s founder Brad Cloepfil. It was a great interview, and I really liked the atmosphere of the office: A young team, many abstract study models, beautiful drawings on the boards, and a subtle music playing in the background, it was like seeing the inside of a creative machine at work.

Established in 1994 by Brad Cloepfil, Allied Works Architecture is an awarding-winning practice known for their expressive design and pristine detailing. Portland, Oregon hosts the firm’s headquarters and maintains a close, interdependent relationship with the New York City office. Together the 50-person practice has completed a number of influential public, institutional, commercial, and residential projects worldwide.

Allied Works’ strong reputation started with the Maryhill Overlook in the Columbia River Gorge, followed by the Wieden + Kennedy Agency Headquarters. Currently Allied Works is involved in a variety of commissions, including the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver, Colorado, the National Music Centre of Canada, and the Vancouver Community Connector in Washington.

Architectural historian and critic, Sandy Isenstadt, describes Cloepfil’s work as “aiming to create oases of legibility, spaces that can look out upon the simultaneous contrasts of the modern world to appreciate them from a place no less complex, but one that unfolds over time, with repeated visits, rather than at the speed of a camera shutter, thereby rewarding continued occupation rather than just dazzling the eye.”

Allied Works projects at ArchDaily:

• Clyfford Still Museum
• Maryhill Overlook
• Wieden + Kennedy Headquarters
• Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
• Dutchess County Residence – Guest House
• University of Michigan Museum of Art
• National Music Centre (Competition, 1st prize)
• New Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts (Competition entry)
• Musée National des Beaux Arts du Québec (Competition entry)

© Jeremy Bittermann

Architects: Allied Works Architecture
Location: Denver, Colorado, USA
Project Team: Brad Cloepfil, Design Principal Chris Bixby, Project Lead
Project Year: 2011
Project Area: 28,500 sqf
Photographs: Jeremy Bittermann

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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:

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© Simon Devitt

Architect: Stephenson&Turner
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Client: 152 Quay St Body Corporate
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: Simon Devitt, Stephenson&Turner

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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!

© Brett Boardman

Architects: Draw [de Manincor Russell Architecture Workshop]
Location: Broadway, Ultimo, Sydney, Australia
Client: University of Technology, Sydney [UTS]
Project Team: Adam Russell, John de Manincor, Fransisco Layson, Raffaello Rosselli, Nick Sargent, Chris Steinbach, Leisa Tough, Lorraine Yip, Zana Wright
Collaborators: Kann Finch Group (Collaborating Architects)
Project Year: 2011
Photographs: Brett Boardman

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© Shu He

Architect: Atelier Deshaus (Liu Yichun / Chen Yifeng)
Location: Hongde Rd, Jiading, Shanghai, China
Project Team: Chen Yifeng, Liu Yichun, Wang Shuyi, Liu Qian, Gao Lin
Building Area: 660 sqm
Site Area: 12100 sqm
Project Year: 2011
Photographs: Shu He

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Cultural Centre Kolasin: Cultural Center by architect: Marko Music (photo by Wolfgang Thaler)

As part of the European Capital of Culture Maribor 2012, the architectural exhibition, ‘Unfinished Modernisations / Between Utopia and Pragmatism’ will be taking place at the Maribor Art Gallery from February 10 – April 22. The presentation of architectural projects and large-scale urbanistic plannings which denote the period of (socialist) Yugoslavia is a long-expected project that will focus on the milestones and visions of the (unfinished) modernisation of cities during socialism as well as answer the questions about their role and legacy in the successor countries. More information on the exhibition after the break read more »

© Jan Bitter

Architect: Wiel Arets Architects
Location: Heerlen, the Netherlands
Project Year: 1995
Photographs: Wiel Arets Architects, Jan Bitter

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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.

© Ludvík Koutný

An architect celebrated for his breathtaking studies of light and materiality in the creation of memorable architecture, Louis Kahn did not fail to maintain his rigor in the Esherick House of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Admired for it’s spatial and luminous qualities, this is the first residence of its kind to convey the grand ideas of Kahn-style architecture. The two story dwelling, which is one of only nine private houses designed by Kahn to come into realization, rests on a lively six acre garden.

More information on the Esherick House after the break.

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© Peter Bennetts

Architects: Anthony Gill Architects
Location: Sydney, Australia
Project Team: Anthony Gill and Sarah Mcspadden
Project Year: 2010
Project Area: 38 sqm
Photographs: Peter Bennetts

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Courtesy of Kengo Kuma & Associates

Architects: Kengo Kuma & Associates
Location: No. SL1-01, F1, South tower, Hongkong Plaza, 283 Huaihai Middle Road, Shanghai, PRC
Project name: SHANG XIA
Client: Shang xia
Design Period: 2009.08-2009.12
Construction Period: 2010.03-2010.06
Principal use: Retail
Total floor area: 126 sqm
Stories: 1 story
Photographs: Courtesy of Kengo Kuma & Associates

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Existing Image of the Navy Pier © Stephen Hanafin via flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/shanafin/

Starting tomorrow, the five design teams selected to redesign the outdoor spaces of Chicago’s Navy Pier will begin to reveal their schemes to the public. Lead by AECOM, Aedas Architects, James Corner Field Operations, !melk and the Xavier Vendrell Studio, each team will be given thirty minutes to present their ideas, followed by a ten minute question and answer session. The presentations will take place on January 31st and February 1st at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Continue reading for the presentation schedules and more information on the competition. read more »

© John Edward Linden

Architects: Brooks & Scarpa
Location: Palm Springs, California, USA
Client: Coachella Valley Housing Coalition
Project Team: Lawrence Scarpa, FAIA – Lead Designer
Angela Brooks, AIA, Omar Barcena, Mark Buckland, Brad Buter, Silke Clemens, Emily Hodgdon, Ching Luk, Gwynne Pugh, Sri Sumantri – Project Design Team
Project Year: 2011
Project area: 93,000 sqf
Photographs: John Edward Linden

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© Dietmar Feichtinger Architectes

Architects: Dietmar Feichtinger Architectes
Location: Paris, France
Client: BNP Paribas Immobilier Résidentiel IDF
Project Team: Justyna Swat, Marcus Himmel, Katja Pargger, Florian Vadjoux, Anna Zottl, Mathias Neveling, Arne Speiser, Hugo Enlart
Project Year: 2011
Project Area: 7,360 sqm
Photographs: Dietmar Feichtinger Architectes

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© Shu He

Projects from China, UK, The Netherlands and Czech Republic, as well as our special inforgraphic on the Serpentine Gallery Pavillion’s 11 years. Check the best of last week after the break.

Administration Building of the North Shanghai Gas Company in Jiading / Atelier Deshaus
This is the administration building of the North Shanghai Gas Company in Jiading. The needs of the function of this building are generally simple. With surrounding the undeveloped constructional land, the site is small, and the only feature of the site is the river landscape close to the northern side. The final form of the building completely responds to the landscape in the northern side (read more…) read more »

© Katon Redgen Mathieson

Architects: Katon Redgen Mathieson
Location: Canberra ACT, Australia
Project Year: 2011
Photographs: Katon Redgen Mathieson

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