DORODESIGN Likes: Illustrated cult movie posters, The Cinema meets The Architecture
Federico Babina, architect and illustrator based in Barcelona, did a serie of posters where match cinema and architecture, showing his own vision of well known architecture and movie icons as North by Northwest, Star Wars, The Million Dollar Hotel. If you want to know something more follow the project Archicine:
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DORODESIGN likes: Celebrating the architectural history of Los Angleles
“Pacific Standard Time”—the Getty’s 2011 extravaganza celebrating the artistic legacy of Los Angeles—returns this spring with a new initiative dedicated to the region’s architectural history. Running from April through September, “Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture in L.A.” comprises 11 exhibitions at institutions citywide as well as a series of other satellite happenings. Highlights include “In Focus: Ed Ruscha,” a show at the Getty that features photographs the artist took of the city in the 1960s and ’70s (April 9– September 29), and “A New Sculpturalism,” at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, which surveys radical formmaking by such Southern California–based talents as Thom Mayne, Michael Maltzan, and Frank Gehry (June 2–September 2).
Via Architectural Digest – pacificstandardtimepresents.org
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DORODESIGN likes: Hoffman House
by Stamberg Aferiat Associates
Unlock Richard Meier’s geometric system and expand upon it. Adding on to this Richard Meier designed house was a challenge. In studying the plan for this structure, we saw that it was quite different from Meier’s other houses. Unlike his other projects, which are collages, we saw this design as a clear, complete, somewhat locked, geometric system. The plan for this house consisted of two exquisitely carved rectangles rotated upon one another. The client felt that each room was too small and wanted to increase the dwelling space. At first, we could not see how to add to the house without destroying it.
But then looking at subsequent Meier designs we saw that, like this one, many of them sprouted landscape elements as extensions of walls. When we extended the walls of the rectangles into the landscape, we discovered the key that opened the system, allowing us to easily add to them without compromising the original.
PROJECT
Opening a Closed System
DESCRIPTION
A 3,000SF Addition to an
Existing Modern House
Designed by Richard Meier
MATERIALS
Concrete Stucco, Lead
Copper, White Oak
SCOPE
Complete Architectural
Services, Landscape
Consultation, Interior Design,
Construction Administration
via archimagazine
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DORODESIGN likes: The World’s largest building opens in China
China is good at creating big things – from wind farms and rubber ducks to gigantic batteries. The latest super-sized project to spring up in the nation is the largest free standing building in the world – the New Century Global Center. The new super-building is 100 meters high, 500 meters long and 400 meters wide, with a floor space of 1.7 million square meters. That’s big enough to house 20 Sydney Opera Houses, or three times larger than The Pentagon.
The area is set to become a new economic and cultural capital in western China.
The New Century Global Center is located in Chengdu, which is the capital of the Sichuan province in southwestern China. The building, which opened this week, will play host to a wide range of business offices, hotels, theaters, shopping malls, a faux Mediterranean village and family-themed attractions such as a water park called Paradise Island.
The building is designed to be the crown jewel of a newly rejuvenated area of Chengdu called Tainfu New District. Chengdu’s subway line is being expanded to serve the new district, and a new airport is expected to be constructed by 2020, transforming the area into the new economic and cultural capital of western China.
Via World Architecture News
Photos by Entertainment and Travel Group
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DORODESIGN likes: JOSEPH DIRAND’S “UTOPIST HABITATION CELL” ARCHITECTURAL SYNTHESIS
The “Habitation Cell” doesn’t exactly represent the interior design of the future, but that of the surreal and idealistic. Joseph Dirand created for Artcurial back in 2011, an architectural synthesis based on the idea of its projection through light, which was photographed by his brother Adrien Dirand. The concept embodied a more practical yet artistic metaphor of the photographic darkroom’s function during an image revelation. The room was inspired by surrealism, minimalism, land art and the pioneers of these movements such as Yves Klein, James Turrel and Robert Morris.
via Trendland
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DORODESIGN likes: Frank Gehry’s latest plan for King St. development in Toronto
In october 2012, it was announced that Frank Gehry would be returning ‘home’, four years after the completion of his first Toronto project which saw the Canadian born architect complete a renovation for the city’s art gallery of Ontario. Gehry has now entered a partnership with local art collector David Mirvish–who owns and operates a number of Toronto’s major performance centres–to redevelop much of the Mirvish family’s properties in Toronto’s entertainment district along King Street west, including the historic princess of wales theatre and some warehouses. The project will see the establishment of three 80+ storey skyscrapers along the iconic strip between John and Simcoe streets.
The base of each tower sees a wooden beam structure which speaks to the industrial buildings they will have replaced
Since the initial presentation, the design of the towers has evolved with Gehry having recently unveiled the latest plans for the buildings which are now more indicative of his signature style. the façades are expressed through collages of fragmented organic shapes, creating curving surfaces which appear almost like ribbons of fabric folding into one another, draping over a framework of wooden beams located at their bases–these industrial structures referencing the commercial buildings which they would ultimately replace. The three volumes will house more than 2,500 residential units, along with commercial and office spaces, a large gallery for the Mirvish’s extensive art collection, and will be the site of OCADU’s new campus.
The estimated timeline for completion is said to be 10 years.
The new design sees more of the architect’s style coming through with façades composed of fragmented organic shapes
The site is situated along Toronto’s iconic King St. strip in the heart of the city’s entertainment district
Model rendering of the three towers in the context of the site
via designboom
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DORODESIGN LIKES: Long Valley Ranch House by Marmol Radziner
Marmol Radziner has designed the Long Valley Ranch House in Mendocino County, California.
From the architect:
“This vacation home is set on the crest of a grassy knoll in Mendocino County. The goal was to preserve and enhance the natural beauty of the 160-acre property by siting the retreat in a careful and unobtrusive manner. The 10-module home forms an L-shaped plan, framing views of a canopy of mature oak trees to the south and east.”
“The main volume is oriented east to west and arranged in an open plan. The living room, kitchen, and dining room collectively open southward onto a covered patio with an outdoor fireplace and pool area. From the main volume, the master bedroom extends to the north, following the edge of the hilltop and ending in a private deck that takes in the morning light from the east.”
Architect: Marmol Radziner
Photography: Joe Fletcher
via Contemporist
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DORODESIGN LIKES: MBM Arquitectes / DHUB Design Museum Barcelona
Image © iñigo bujedo aguirre
Barcelona-based photographer Iñigo Bujedo Aguirre has shared images of the new ‘DHUB Design Museum’ in Barcelona by local firm MBM Arquitectes. the two main points of entry to the new cultural complex are the busy main street Carrer d’àvila and the Plaça de les glòries, the public plaza home to the jean nouvel-designed Torre Agbar.
The rounded cylindrical form finds is now proximal to the parallelepiped form of the MBM arquitectes-designed cultural hub. while the museum program will focus on four design disciplines- space, product, information and fashion- the interiors boast both flexible and neutral exhibit spaces throughout the 25000 square meter total floor area. The architecture makes use of the nearby plaza’s urban
development by dividing the building into two main connective areas across a stepped elevation.
The subterranean level serves as the main exhibition hall, public library, bar, restaurant and administrative areas, all well lit by a system of trenches and skylights and well in dialogue with the expansive waterfront feature. In an effort to continue the language of accessible public space and pointed use of sustainable techniques, the dynamic volume of the structure cantilevers over the width of the main road so as to minimize the building footprint and maximize opportunities for green areas; a composition of circulation connects the semi-public upper level with the basement programming.
The intended level of public interaction is further articulated by the carpet of greenery and bright pavement graphics. An industrial material palette was employed with the sole use of slate-colored zinc cladding, artfully interjected with geometric ribbons of glazing.
The building will be officially inaugurated in fall 2013 and is expected to fully open it’s doors by spring 2014 after the myriad collections are moved.
via designboom
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DORODESIGN LIKES: At Fogo Island, just off the coast of Terranova in Canada
Fogo Island is just off the coast of Terranova in Canada and is home to a humble independent fishing community of people that for centuries has survived the rigid conditions of wind and sea. The Islanders of Fogo live in this wild environment on the North Atlantic Ocean. They are humble and kind and in recent years have seen their traditional life-style threatened by events beyond their control. Fogo Island is a place of subtle and constant beauty, where the passing of time has not been affected by the circle of life. Its inhabitants are inextricably linked to their homeland. It has a rich culture and is full of resources; the community is close-knit and the memories of their ancestors continue to live among them, passed down from generation to generation. The Shorefast Foundation is working with the people of Fogo Island to identify ways to safeguard this special place and this unusual culture: “We decided to look for new directions through the arts. We wanted to create structures that respected the location and would enhance the surroundings that is so fragile and so wild. We wanted to create amenities that would touch our imagination and contribute to maintaining a link between our past and our future”.
Tower Studio occupies a magnificent position on a stretch of the rocky coastline at Shoal Bay, Fogo Island, Terranova, Canada. The sculptural silhouette of the studio leans forwards and backwards, and twists upwards. When they observe this black, windowless tower, the majority of the island’s visitors are puzzled and ask the question ‘What is that?” The local people know exactly what it is – it was designed by the Fogo Island Arts Corporation – and is an art studio that was opened in June 2011. For the inauguration, a huge bonfire was lit, there was a firework display with the background accompaniment of the whales’ songs.
The Tower Studio teeters on a stretch of rocky coastline and can only be reached on foot from the nearby village as there are no access roads. Visitors have to walk along the water’s edge or cross a narrow wooden walkway consisting of panels floating on moorland rich with arctic blackberries, locally known as bakeapples or cloudberries.
From a distance, the wooden walkway looks like a belt or a bridle that connects the Tower Studio to a stretch of highway. The walkway was used to transport the construction material to the building site without disturbing the delicate eco-system of the moorland and particularly to avoid damaging the lichens that grow on the rocks.
The walkway bears witness to the holistic thought-train that is an integral part of the Shorefast Foundation mentality; it connects the points of economic, cultural and ecological sustainability at macro and micro levels.
Now that it is no longer needed, the walkway will probably disappear, to minimize the impact Tower Studio could have on the surrounding landscape.
On approaching the studio, the south-facing entrance can be seen to be tilted backwards at an angle of 30°. The wall has a triangular section that is tilted forwards to protect the double glass doors below, Both the ceiling and the entrance door at the corner, coated in horizontal panels of red fir, have been painted white in stark contrast to the building’s exterior coating of black slate.
There are three levels inside the Tower Studio. The entrance zone is complete with a catering corner, washrooms and a log-burning fire. There is a study on the second floor, illuminated during the day by a generous north-facing skylight. The third floor is a mezzanine and this level penetrates into the dual height volume of the study.
Apart from the geometric complexity of the interiors, the second feature that adds to the visitors’ sense of disorientation is the fact that all of the architectonic details have been eliminated with all of the vertical, horizontal and tilted surfaces, covered in smooth plywood, coated in a brilliant white paint. The only exception is a fragment of the exterior visible through the studio’s skylight. A tilted wall opposite and parallel to the skylight provides the perfect backrest for relaxing and taking in the breathtaking views.
Just try and imagine the magical effect of a moonlit evening with the roar of the Atlantic Ocean and the pounding wind against the exposed surfaces of the tower. From the studio, a narrow white staircase extends beyond the mezzanine as far as the lower part of the roof. Passing through the horizontal opening, visitors reach the roof; the panoramic views of the sea and the rocks battered by the wind is spectacular.
Txt:PaoloRinaldi
Ph:©BentRenéSynnevåg
Project:SaundersArchitecture
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Peter Halley + Alessandro Mendini collaborate at Mary Boone Gallery, NYC
Peter Halley + Alessandro Mendini
Mary Boone Gallery
745 Fifth Avenue, New York, USA
on view now through 29 june 2013
New York-based artist Peter Halley and Milan-based architect and designer Alessandro Mendini have, for the first time, collaborated in the United States. Halley’s high-keyed minimalist paintings meet Mendini’s dynamically colored wall murals in a series of nine new works. The artist revisits his long-held conceptual trope of cell and prison imagery, now playfully mediated with the architect’s bright geometric wall paper hues.
The paintings jut out or hover freely above their solid backgrounds, serving to spatialize the three meter wide printed modules repeated throughout the gallery. Halley, who has long been interested in the interaction between his paintings and architecture, invited Mendini to design the wall mural to create an intense interaction between his painting and the architectural setting created by Mendini’s intervention.
To create this site-specific work, the artist and designer corresponded through an exchange of designs and samples, which provoked a conversation about their mutual influences, creative practices, and the space of the gallery.
All images courtesy of Mary Boone Gallery
