Ice Lab: New Architecture and Science in Antarctica
In order to illustrate how the ingenuity and innovation of contemporary architecture is enabling scientists to live and work in one of the most extreme environments on our planet, the British Council has commissioned curators from the Arts Catalyst to launch a new international touring exhibition titled Ice Lab: New Architecture and Science in Antarctica.
The first exhibition of its kind, Ice Lab will include architectural drawings, models, photographs, and films allowing for visitors to not only examine the architecture, but the life of these scientists in these research facilities. Sources of inspiration for the projects including original drawings from Archigram’s ‘Walking City’ will be on display alongside a new commissioned light and audio work by international visual artist Torsten Laushmann. The Glasgow-based artist will create this work in collaboration with ‘We Made That’, the exhibition’s designers.
The featured projects are:
MoMA presents ‘Le Corbusier: An Atlas of Modern Landscapes’
The Le Corbusier: An Atlas of Modern Landscapes exhibit at the MoMA opens on June 15th. The exhibit will be centered around Le Corbusier‘s worldview of architecture. It explores both his most famous architectural projects, as well as the means by which he was able to realize them. Through a collection of early watercolors, drawings and photographs, curator Jean-Louis Cohen provides a peak into Le Corbusier’s journeys and developments as an architect, revealing how he explored the world and what he drew from his travels and observations.
More on ‘Le Corbusier: An Atlas of Modern Landscapes’ after the break.
Alexander Brodsky at Architekturzentrum Wien in 2011
For this architect, there is an indiscernible line between art installation and building. Alexander Brodsky studied architecture in Moscow, while working on art installations and drawings both independently and in collaborations with other artists. Brodsky admits that his career path was unconventional, that he felt unready to take on the responsibility of building. Instead, Brodsky’s approach to architecture is through the lens of art: occupiable, room-sized installations that test spatial and sensory boundaries.
More after the break.
Charles Correa: India’s Greatest Architect
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) presents the first major UK exhibition showcasing the work of renowned Indian architect Charles Correa (born in 1930). Rooted both in modernism and the rich traditions of people, place and climate, Correa has played a pivotal role in the creation of an architecture and urbanism for post-war India. He has designed some of the most outstanding buildings in India and has received many of the world’s most important architecture awards including the RIBA Royal Gold Medal (1984), Aga Khan Award for Architecture (1988) and Japan’s Praemium Imperiale (1994), and is still working today.
Under 40. Young Norwegian Architecture 2013
Who are currently the most noteworthy young architects in Norway, and how are they positioning themselves both at home and abroad?
Paolo Soleri: Mesa City to Arcosanti
In 2010, SMoCA initiated a series of three exhibitions exploring the trajectory of Paolo Soleri’s art, architecture and philosophy. Paolo Soleri: Mesa City to Arcosanti is the second in the series. This exhibition begins in the early 1960s when Soleri shifted his focus from bridges and residences to large-scale urban planning based on environmental accountability. Soleri’s first comprehensive vision of a community is Mesa City, an example of what he calls an “arcology,” or an architectural project based on the synthesis of architecture + ecology. In Mesa City, Soleri combines the goals of high-density living, a vibrant urban space, respect for natural resources and a commercial sector based upon creativity. The exhibition will end with Arcosonti (arcology + Cosanti), a project built in the 1970s near Mayer, Arizona.
House Vision 2013 Exhibition Hits Tokyo
Graphic designer and curator Kenya Hara has put together a three week-long exhibition in Tokyo focusing on the future of the Japanese house. Hara argues that the housing industry can no longer be isolated but must be combined with other industries, technologies and ideas, including energy, transportation, communication, household appliances, the “vision of happiness” pursued by adults, the representation of Japanese traditions and aesthetics as well as a future vision of health. All of these elements he hopes to present and discuss at the House Vision Exhibition where more than ten types of futuristic houses are on display and daily seminars with expert urban planners, developers, contractors, architects, telecom and even gas organizations have been taking place.
Read more about the exhibition after the break.
The Fujimoto Experiment: Five Students, Five Days, One Model
Last week an online call was put out by Rome’s MAXXI museum promising the first five architecture students to respond a chance to travel to Rome and build a model of Sou Fujimoto’s latest project. The five selected entrants started on their work at MAXXI on Monday and their experience is being broadcast over the course of this week in a series of photos and videos detailing the ups, downs, opinions and thoughts of the students as they work.
Read more about the model and exhibition after the break…
Event: Pratt Explores the Importance of Cold War Era Pre-Fabricated Building Systems
Pratt Institute’s School of Architecture will present “COLD war COOL digital,” an exhibition of 20 scaled prototypes of modernist, pre-fabricated, and globally-distributed Cold War era housing systems that were created using contemporary 3D printing technologies (opening reception 2/18 at 6:15, details below). The exhibition will investigate architectural modernism and its global influence and will connect with contemporary prototype pre-fabrication methods and digital research in housing and skyscraper design. A symposium that explores the technical, aesthetic, and political aspects of prototyping and pre-construction in architecture will be held tonight in conjunction with the exhibition.
Continue reading for more details…
The Architecture Foundation and We Made That Launch “The Open Office”
The Architecture Foundation has recently launched a month-long initiative named The Open Office. The scheme, which is described as “part ‘Citizens Urban Advice Bureau’, and part functioning practice” is the brainchild of London-based practice We Made That and will take place in the offices of The Architecture Foundation in Southwark, London until 22nd March. Operating on a walk-in basis, and displaying all work openly, The Open Office aims to engage and educate local communities on issues of architecture, urbanism and planning.
Read more about The Open Office scheme after the break.
Olympiades District in Paris Exhibition
Going on now until March 31, the Olympiades, Paris exhibition at the Pavillon de l’Arsenal revisits the Olympiades district and its half century past rich in architectural thought, controversy, citizen debates and engagement at the heart of the city of Paris in general and the 13th arrondissement in particular. About 40 years after the construction of the first buildings, the historian and exhibition curator, Françoise Moiroux, explores the urban, political and social elements of vertical urban planning and platform architecture through the prism of the Olympiades area. More information after the break.
Equation Exhibition / Grimshaw Architects
Taking place February 20-March 15, Grimshaw Architects will be holding their first exhibition staged in Asia, titled ‘Equation’. The exhibition will explore how the natural environment provides inspiration for innovative architectural projects around the world. These projects adopt biomimicry for greater efficiency, acknowledge the importance of connecting building users to nature and work to harness natural systems which ensure that buildings conserve and replenish natural resources. Located at the Urban Redevelopment Authority in Singapore, this marks the sixth major exhibition of work from Grimshaw which continues on from this tradition. More information after the break.
Ezra Stoller: Beyond Architecture
Now on view at the Yossi Milo Gallery through March 2, rarely-seen images by modernist architectural photographer Ezra Stroller (American, 1915-2004) captures a Post-War American landscape with stunning images of industry, technology, transportation and working class Americans.
Beyond Architecture covers the full range of Stoller’s work, including photographs commissioned by Fortune, Architectural Forum, and House Beautiful magazines in the 1940s and for commercial projects for IBM, Upjohn Pharmaceuticals and CBS in the 1940s and 1950s. Included are photographs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill’s John Hancock Building, Chicago, and the United Nations Headquarters, designed by an international team of architects led by Wallace K. Harrison and including Oscar Niemeyer and Le Corbusier.
A selection of these images after the break…
Henri Labrouste: Structure Brought to Life
MoMA’s upcoming exhibition Henri Labrouste: Structure Brought to Light celebrates the impact of this 19th century architect on space, materials, luminosity and on great places of assembly. The exhibition will run from March 10th to June 24th, 2013 and will be the first solo exhibition of Labrouste’s work in the United States.
More on ‘Henri Labrouste: Structure Brought to Light’ after the break.
Venice Biennale 2012: ‘Migrating Landscapes’ represents Canada
Migrating Landscapes presents a distinctively Canadian architectural vision that is sympathetic with a worldwide trend towards increased mobility – not only of people, but also of cultures and, most importantly, pluralistic aspirations. As more and more people move around the globe, the issue of immigration poses challenges at all levels – challenges that this exhibition frames around the themes of ‘settling’ and ‘unsettling’. Migrating Landscapes seeks to explore these themes in a manner that highlights Canada’s commitment to openness, diversity and democratic pluralism.
Continue reading for more.
Video: London Festival of Architecture
To coincide with the London Festival of Architecture and the London 2012 Olympics, Gallery Libby Sellers is currently holding an exhibition entitled Games. The show laterally interprets its title and the theme of ‘play’ by focusing on chess, other games and their accessories, with pieces designed by Rolf Sachs, Aberrant Architecture and Studio Frith, among others. We interview Simon Hasan about his Slice chess set and Paul Kelley on his games table and try to understand why chess is such a perennial form of entertainment, whilst Libby Sellers herself takes us through the inspiration for the exhibition.
Catherine Opie: In & Around L.A.
Catherine Opie has photographed people and architecture in and around Los Angeles, California for over twenty-five years. She has successfully captured the interplay between architecture and urban life by photographing the subcultures and castaways of Los Angeles, from the undersides of freeways to lonely Beverly Hills mansions. These works create a portrait of Los Angeles as a singular built environment.
Catherine Opie: In & Around L.A. features work from five distinct series created over the past two decades that highlight Opie’s captivation with the city. These include Freeways (1994-95), Houses (1995-96), Landscapes (1996), In and Around Home (2004-05), and Shopkeepers (2011).
Andrea Palladio’s Works on Display
Architect Andrea Palladio’s (1508–1580) influence can be found throughout the world in monumental architectural works on both sides of the Atlantic. His Four Books on Architecture (1570) are some of the most famous and influential writings on architectural theory. The Royal Institute of British Architects Trust in conjunction with the Centro Internazionale di Studi di Architettura Andrea Palladio, Vicenza, has organized a traveling exhibition called Palladio and His Legacy: A Transatlantic Journey. This display will offer up a unique opportunity to view the numerous works, drawings, and models of one of the most influential architects of the last 500 years. Hosted by the Carnegie Museum of Art in their Heinz Architectural Center, the exhibition will run from September 3-December 31, 2011.
Explore Chicago’s Best Architecture
Ever wanted to get a behind the scenes look at some of the most interesting buildings in Chicago? If you are an architecture enthusiast, student, or just curious about what all the hype is about, this weekend is your opportunity to experience the best that Chicago has to offer. From October 15-16, 2011, the Chicago Architecture Foundation will be hosting openhousechicago 2011 – which is free and open to the public. The primary themes for OHC are sustainability and community, with an emphasis on how buildings can achieve energy efficiency, and how design brings people and places together in a holistic manner.
Click here for a complete mapping of all the buildings available to explore.
References: www.openhousechicago.org
EXHIBITION: Le Corbusier & Pierre Jeanneret, Low Cost Furniture and Other Items from Chandigarh
GENEVA–Galerie Anton Meier inaugurated the first exhibition in Switzerland devoted to the work Pierre Jeanneret on September 20 at the Palais de l’Athénée. The exhibition, “The Chandigarh Project,” features a selection of furniture created for the Chandigarh capital complex on the border of Punjab and Haryana states in India. Intended to offer the public “clearer public insight into the humanistic work of Pierre Jeanneret, often overshadowed by his illustrious cousin, the show features pieces handcrafted on site for the new capital presented with “rare street furniture” as well as Le Corbusier’s symbols and prints. Highlights include teak tables, cane chairs, wooden armchairs, an a cast iron manhole cover with a recessed reproduction of the Chandigarh master plan as drawn by Le Corbusier in 1951. The exhibition comes after a scandal that erupted in 2010 when UBS decided to pull an ad featuring Corbusier. Debates continue involving the provenance of Chandigarh artifacts such as these, as dealers continue to buy items from Indian officials to resell abroad.
More information and photos after the break.
Arvo Pärt and Snøhetta Collaborate for Guggenheim Exhibition in Lower Manhattan
The second iteration of stillspotting nyc–a two-year multidisciplinary project that takes the Guggenheim’s programming into the streets of New York City–features Estonian composer Arvo Pärt and U.S. and Norway–based architecture firm Snøhetta in collaboration on urban soundscapes around Lower Manhattan. To a Great City, the Manhattan edition of stillspotting nyc, will be open to the public for two extended weekends on September 15–18 and 22–25, 2011. The installations explore the relationship between space and sound.
The architects have selected, and sometimes altered, urban spaces embodying the concept of a central tone, extending the perception of sound in the realm of space. Visitors will experience the confluence of music and architecture at five locations that quietly celebrate the city, ten years after September 11th. Around the periphery of Ground Zero, “participants may encounter a green labyrinth created by The Battery Conservancy, reflect in an underground chamber at Governors Island National Monument, and enter otherwise inaccessible spaces in landmark skyscrapers.” Participants can visit spaces multiple times at their leisure to understand how their perception changes based on circumstances such as time, stress, appetite, and sleep.
Exhibition: stillspotting nyc: manhattan (To a Great City by Arvo Pärt and Snøhetta)
Venue: Five locations, starting at Castle Clinton National Monument in Battery Park, across from 17 Battery Place, New York, NY
Dates: September 15–18 and 22–25, 2011
Read the press release here: http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/press-room/releases/4219-stillspottingmanhattan
