Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was born in Aachen in 1886. On the occasion of the 125th anniversary of his birthday, Aachen Fenster e.V. and the Department of Theory of Architecture at RWTH Aachen University, will jointly host an international conference.
By determining new, yet sustainable ties between technology and aesthetics, as well as between ideas and artifacts, Mies van der Rohe defined a path leading to architectural modernity. The works of Mies have been documented, published, and displayed in countless exhibitions. As major references they stand apart from the rapid change of attitudes and stylistic preferences.
The Aachen symposium on Mies is not meant to be a hagiographical laudation on the person, the work or its reception. ‘Rethinking Mies’ will rather provide opportunities to understand the essence of Miesian thought and its relation to the modern movement as well as to contemporary practices of architecture. More information on the event after the break.
Tensions mounted between modernist and traditionalist camps earlier last month when Paul Finch, UK Chairman for the Commission for Architecture and the Build Environment, praised the fact that modernists had won bids to design buildings for the 2012 Olympics. In response, Robert Adam, member of the Traditional Architecture Group, and Michael Taylor, senior partner at Hopkins, the firm that designed the Olympic velodrome, met for a discussion on hegemony, timeliness, and pastiche moderated by Guardian staffer Lanre Bakare.
This video, produced by Maike Acosta and Javier Cuevas of Florida International University (FIU), was awarded the Grand prize for the AIA Florida Committee on the Environment’s (COTE) 2011 Video-Arch Competition. The competition asked for short video clips that emphasize the architect’s primary role in designing sustainable and energy resourceful environments, leading the state of Florida and the nation their sustainable potentials. The theme of Architecture Controlling the Future of Sustainability was required to carry through to the video, intending to be a public service announcement touching on the subjects of the entrants’ choice: energy, water, public health, economics, or land use.
The greenway is a modern twist on an outdated concept. Ancient cities sprung up around trade routes. Many modern US cities were originally formed according to access to a local train station or navigable river. Today’s metropolises were brought to success by an advanced highway system. All of these circumstances were brought about by two prevailing factors, location and traffic. In a post-modern world however, when the infrastructure has been laid and a consumer society comes to live for a variety of new reasons how can these concepts be applied. The answer lies, partially at least, within the recent push for a developed greenway system.
Russian architect, Ayrat Khusnutdinov, shared with us his proposal for the Busan Opera House. The main idea behind the design was the outstanding natural environment: the sea and the mountains are features that are reflected in this project. They, not architecture, are prime actors in this scene; this is the reason why so much attention was paid to let people enjoy them, here the architecture is just a frame that defines this great picture. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Syracuse University School of Architecture recently announced their Fall 2011 Lecture Series. The lectures take place at 5pm in the Slocum Hall Auditorium at the University (Syracuse, NY), unless otherwise noted.
Exhibitions are in the Slocum Hall Gallery. All events are free and open to the public. More information on the events after the break.
A student group from the University of Idaho shared with us their proposal, titled ‘Coeur d ‘Alene After the Reign,’ for the Living City 2035 Challenge competition which won the ‘Can Do It’ Award (third place). Their proposal endeavors to imagine the impact of even a modest increase in the cost of fuel and the repercussions it might have on our built environment and the way we live within it. More images and their description after the break.
Sunland Park, N.M– Martin Resendiz, mayor of a small community near Las Cruces, admitted earlier this month to signing contracts with a San Diego–based parking design firm while drunk. The company, Synthesis +, is suing the city for nonpayment. Resendiz claims the contracts were never valid since the City Council did not approve them.
The City of Sebastopol, together with The Redwood Empire Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and a group of local business sponsors, is hosting The Core Project, an international design competition to generate innovative ideas for renewing the city center. A small town with a population of approximately 8,000 people, Sebastopol is the hub of western Sonoma County. It provides commercial and community access for roughly 50,000 people in outlying rural and residential areas but it retains a desirable small town feel. More information on the competition after the break.
The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art Flip a Strip competition challenged designers around the country to re-imagine the suburban strip mall as an urban typology, proposing an alternative to the ubiquitous developments which have emerged as an economic response to a rapidly outward expanding residential market and the availability of inexpensive land.
Until October 11, Image ARCHIVE will be participating in the MAXXI’s summer program, YAP MAXXI, the first Italian edition of the well-known Young Architects Program launched by the Museum of Modern Art and MoMA PS1 twelve years ago in New York.
The exterior spaces of the MAXXI in Rome, transformed into a garden of green isles by the project WHATAMI by studio stARTT will host the summer events that focus on the diverse aspects of contemporary art. Image ARCHIVE was invited to create an event focused on a series of videos and films that would expose the public to some of the most relevant and experimental projects, works and ideas in the architectural scene internationally. The result is a awe-inspiring journey, divided into six evenings from July to October, which is a testimony to the arduous search for forms of expression and the emergence of a new language in the discourse which Image ARCHIVE has observed for more than a decade. More on the event after the break.
The exhibition and opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. on September 8 are free and open to the public. It is curated by Ivan Rumenov Shumkov, Ph.D., adjunct associate professor of undergraduate architecture, and Andres Chavez and Julio Martinez, both students in Pratt’s undergraduate architecture program and founders of Latin Pratt. More information on the event after the break.
a/LTA Architects shared with us their winning proposal for a competition where they were challenged to design 142 dwellings in Nantes, France. The operation consists of three housing buildings placed on a foundation of business premises. The whole is articulated by a landscaped garden with vegetal and mineral nuances. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The attempt of architect, Vlado Valkof, with designers Malgorzata Blasik and Anne Valkof, in the New Taipei City Museum of Art competition is to find the essence of art and to materialize our notion of art. To redefine the meaning of the art museum and to alter the way art museum functions. To organize a relationship between ourselves and the world around us. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The Y.S Sun Green Building Research Center at National Kung University in Taiwan has recently been awarded top honors by the USGBC, in addition to receiving the Taiwan Ecology, Waste Reduction and Health Diamond Certification from the Ministry of Interior. The three-story 4800 square meter building utilizes 13 different sustainable building techniques in order to achieve a 65% energy savings and a 50% water savings over typical office buildings.
Herman Miller has recently unveiled their new Envelop Desk. Aimed at the individual who is constantly working in front of a computer screen, it addresses ergonomics in a clean and modern aesthetic. Designed by Bill Stumpf and Jeff Weber, it features a molded urethane surface that tilts up to 7 degrees in order to maintain sightline with a computer monitor or laptop. A flat surface at the rear provides ample horizontal space. The desk can be complemented with the matching Embody Chair, also designed by Stumpf and Weber.
Herreros Arquitectos in collaboration with Daniel Bermudez, were recently awarded the design of the Centro Internacional de Convencions de Bogota. Beating some of the world’s most prestigious architects, Zaha Hadid, David Chipperfield, Rem Koolhaas, Diller & Scofidio, Snøhetta, and Dominique Perrault, the winning design is defined as an urban experience, in which its inhabitants and strangers will come together to share their common interest in knowledge, innovation and the strength of civil society. Aspiring to obtain the Gold-status LEED certificate the new 70,000 sqm Centro Internacional de Convencions de Bogota will be the maximum exponent of Colombia’s ability to apply state-of-the-art technology as well as of the country’s commitment to the environment
Referred to as one of Meier’s best works, the Douglas House hovers over the shores of Lake Michigan placed upon a steep slope over the water almost as if it is floating amongst the trees. The Douglas House was designed for clients Jim and Jean Douglas and was completed in 1973 after a three year construction period (1971-1973). Meier furnished the home with furniture designed by Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, and himself, and it needed no ornamentation other than the nature it was designed around.
As is typical of Meier buildings, the house is completely white made with reinforced concrete and glass except for two steel pipes that extend from the chimney up to the roof, framing views at the entry level. Taking the natural surroundings into consideration during the construction, the house was positioned to remove as few trees as possible.
Featured in Dwell’s latest edition (out this week!), the full article can be found following the break.
From the people who brought you Masdar, an airport in the Thames Estuary.
Flights will be able to operate 24 hours a day at the planned site on the Isle of Grain, by the Medway in north Kent. London mayor Boris Johnson, previous champion of proposals to build an airport on two artificial islands on the Thames estuary, described the Foster proposal as ‘exciting’.
Foster + Partners previously designed Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok airport, built on an island reclaimed from the sea.
Architects: Lucio Morini + GGMPU Location: Córdoba, Argentina Client: Government of the Province Cordoba Collaborators: Julia Garayoa, Adrián Castagno, Verónica Gordillo, Diego Andres Gómez, Mariana Pelliza, Guadalupe Daher, Cecilia Villareal, Luciana Antonucci, Agustín Elies Project Year: 2011 Project Area: 21,380 sqm Photographs: Courtesy of Lucio Morini Studio
Rem Koolhaas and Peter Eisenman, two of the most influential architects these days, discussing the current the issues which, for them, represent the most critical in architectural discourse today.
In successful cities around the world, more and more people are leaving their cars behind and returning to the healthy and resilient alternatives of walking and cycling.
In January 2010, Copeland Associates Architects were commissioned by the Auckland Harbour Bridge Pathway Charitable Trust to work on a proposal for a pathway for walking and cycling connected onto the iconic Auckland Harbour Bridge. The objective of this project is to deliver the most critical link in the Auckland Region’s walking and cycling network and to energize ongoing improvements to walking and cycling facilities on both sides of the bridge. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Last September, we shared the news of Louis Kahn’s memorial park for the southernmost tip of Roosevelt Island. Kahn had designed the park in the 70s, but after his sudden death, the plan was forgotten until 1992 when the MoMA featured the scheme in an exhibition. Upon learning of Kahn’s thoughtful and architecturally compelling ideas to commemorate FDR and his Four Freedoms speech, the public quickly advocated its completion. As we reported earlier, at the end of Kahn’s axial tree-lined triangular “Garden”, a 72 sqf “Room” will contain excerpts from the text of President Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms speech. This room, contained by 12 foot high granite columns, is meant for contemplation and remembrance as Kahn’s stoic material palette, clear formal attitude, and forced perspective of the skyline will create, what we imagine will be, a quiet and peaceful atmosphere. With Kahn’s simple gestures, the memorial will preserve a time in American history where FDR’s leadership inspired hope to endure the Great Depression and the second World War. We’re excited for the memorial to be completed and we’ll keep you up to date with its progress.
A great sample of construction photos and renderings after the break.
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