OMA has won yet another cultural project (how many does that make this year?). Their proposal for the Bibliothèque Multimédia à Vocation Régionale in Caen, France was selected over the work of five other major firms and echoes the methodology of the Seattle Public Library by prioritizing large multi-programmed spaces that can accommodate both the digital and the analog. [via OMA]

Architects are suckers for books, as evidenced by the ever-increasing crossover between publishing and design. A 100+ building compound dedicated to advancement of publishing and print has sprung up outside of Seoul, Korea (where printing was actually invented hundreds of years ago). Started in 1989, Paju Book City has become a center both for publishing and progressive architecture. Check out more images of Paju Book City’s buildings, and pine for the glossy monographs created inside of them. [Via Zouk Architects Blog]

Designing for death: ArchDaily has an incredible story about a house designed for a client who expected to die within 15 years. The architects at Japanese firm EASTERN Design Office were given this cryptic directive by the client: “It will be a house awaiting that death. The building is fine as long as it lasts 15 years. Something small would be good.” The result is a remarkable study in the spaces of transition and anticipation. [via ArchDaily]

Takashi Murakami opens a show at Versailles next week, to the befuddlement of traditionalists who find the Manga/Hall of Mirrors combo discordant. We think they’re both just ostentatious enough to work together. Be on the lookout for excited all-CAPS tweets from Murakami-fan Kanye West! [via GoGoParis]

Two of the buildings in Paju Book City, via Zouk Architects.

House Awaiting Death, EASTERN Design Office, photo (c) Koichi Torimrua.

by Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan

posted in daily brew

tagged daily brew, eastern design office, Kanye West, oma, Paju Book City, Seoul

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