February 7, 2013
Architecture has been called a plastic art, but don’t let the term fool you. Rather than images of soft, malleable polyurethane, today we bring you architecture on point—sharp buildings that span the gamut from impossible knife-edges to bristling spikes. These unusual forms capture the imagination and catch the eye. But beware, in this case, looks can kill.
These buildings will having you thinking twice before you mess with architecture. Click through for the slideshow!
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October 24, 2012
They say to never judge a book by its cover, but with Munich’s latest auberge, it’s hard not to. Spain’s Capella Garcia Arquitectura and Munich’s own Schmid Architekten have teamed up to create the Eurostars Book Hotel, dedicated to all things literary. The facade is a head-turner, covered in leafy “pages” of flexible fibreC glass fiber concrete only half an inch thick, creating an illusion of a windblown manuscript. Inside, each floor represents a different literary genre and specific rooms echo the themes of classic books such as Anna Karenina, Don Quixote, and Robinson Crusoe. Read more!
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September 11, 2012
All images via Nick Frank
Completed in 2008, the Mira München Nordheide is a two-building retail development designed by architects at Chapman Taylor to create a new urban square for clients Fondara GmbH. The shopping centre is a model of efficiency, equipped with one of the largest geothermal cooling systems in Europe and even receiving a Gold Award for Sustainable Buildings back in 2009. While the designers went to great lengths to ensure the building’s energy efficient status, it was never to the detriment of the retail developments aesthetic appeals. In a new series of photos, Munich-based photographer Nick Frank has captured the bubble-gum candy colored facade like never before. Continue.
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July 14, 2010
Roger Ebert, film critic, is taking a stand against all that modern architecture on his blog.* Agree or disagree? The LA Times online is running a poll. [via Culture Monster]
London’s historic Victoria & Albert Museum is planning an extension six years after a failed attempt to expand its galleries in the form of a “crashed and burned” Daniel Libeskind spiral. Critic Jay Merrick has listed eight his hopefuls for the competition being held this fall; they include obvious choices like Snohetta and OMA as well as more creative picks like Sutherland Hussey, Francisco Mangado, Jamie Fobert, and Amanda Levete. [via Independent UK]
Gunter Behnisch, who designed the 1972 Munich Olympics with engineer Frei Otto, has died at the age of 88. The Dresden-born architect’s iconic roofline for the Games, supported by a network of cables, became a symbol of national pride and “democratic architecture.” [via Building Design Online]
We’re geeking out over this roundup of architect’s own homes. Some of them may be familiar (Charles and Ray Eames’s Case Study House, Taliesin West) but there are a few we haven’t seen, including a 1978 pastiche domicile by Frank Gehry. [via DesignCrave]
This apocalyptic view of Asian cities building for the future is brought to you courtesy of The Economist. A primer: superblocks, carbon emissions, traffic snarls. [via The Economist]
*More on that later.
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July 1, 2010
Coop-Himmelb(l)au’s Pavilion 21 MINI Opera Space, officially open to the world on the 24thof June in Munich, Germany, has a downright hostile attitude towards traffic noise: the jagged, aluminum reflectors act as a barrier against street noise. Basically, more surface area = more space for sound to deflect from. The shapes were generated parametrically (don’t ask) using frequencies from Jimi Hendrix and Mozart. So, those forms aren’t just metaphors, but serve a purpose (keeping Opera singers happy).
When I first saw renderings of a new pavilion in Munich, my eyes rolled. It looked like another Daniel Libeskind-like attention grabber—but the more I read about it, the more I wanted to know how the solution worked. Whether you like it or not, the designers are addressing a problem, street-level traffic noise, both functionally and artistically. There may be better ways of solving the problem of automobile interference, but architects should be trying to address these issues in a memorable, place-making way (though the pavilion is only temporary).
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