Architecture Addiction, The Official Blog of

I just read this article in The Architect’s Journal by Max Thompson called “Pritzker Prize winner Jean Nouvel talks ‘clone’ architecture with the AJ.”

What do you think your legacy will be?
A testimonial of an attitude – an epoch. I am very different from a lot of architects who use always the same typologies, the same materials and techniques. This is not a criticism, but I am the opposite.

When you travel round the world you meet all the clones. All these buildings always the same, they have no roots. I fight against generic designs for specific architecture – that will be my legacy.

Read the whole thing

I just read this article in The Star by Christopher Hume called “Impose minimum height on big boxes.”

It is a problem, but one that can be fixed.

We’re talking about the growing suburbanization of the city. In recent years, a whole new layer of suburban-scale development – highway-like roads, malls and subdivisions – has been added to Toronto.

It represents planning at its worse, a failure to take advantage of the urban conditions.

The most egregious example is an ill-conceived proposal to build a big-box outlet on Eastern Ave. at Leslie St. But they are everywhere one turns – the LCBO on Yonge north of Davisville, the Canadian Tire at Lake Shore Blvd. E. and Leslie, the Shoppers Drug Mart at Queen and Parliament and, worst of all, the Shoppers Drug Mart under construction on Danforth east of Broadview.

None of these buildings deserves to exist. They are an affront to the city, painful demonstrations of what can happen once the corporate agenda is disengaged from the community in which it operates.

These large, bland, thoughtless, single-storey structures are conceived by corporate myrmidons who see no farther than the bottom line.

Read the whole thing (You have to; he used the word “myrmidons.")

I just read this article in the UK’s Financial Times by Edwin Heathcote called “Good design has hidden benefits”

“Post-war architecture is the accountants’ revenge on pre-war businessmen’s dreams,” wrote Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas in his magnificent study of Manhattan Delirious New York 30 years ago.

The image of corporate architecture from Jack Lemmon’s office drudge in Billy Wilder’s The Apartment to Dilbert’s cubicle or David Brent’s Slough office, is one of purgatorial repetition and anonymity.

Cities, from Seattle to Shanghai, are marketing themselves through their skylines. Yet below those exotic shapes things can seem remarkably static.

That the value added through design in commercial architecture is still questioned is astonishing. From museums to opera houses, architecture is entrenched as a unique blend of branding and exuberance, physically embodied confidence, or hope.

Buildings constitute a tiny proportion of a business’s expense, about 15 per cent, compared with 85 per cent on staff. Thus a small increase in the quality and outlay on architecture can exert a disproportionately positive effect on the outlook, and output, of those who work there.

There can be no doubt that the value of this investment in design is being recognised, perhaps more in the UK than elsewhere.

Read the whole thing

I just read this article in The New York Times by Jeff Byles called “Taking Back the Streets.”

“For decades, the Department of Transportation’s job has been to move vehicles as quickly as possible,” said Janette Sadik-Khan, the agency’s commissioner. “We’re taking a look at it a little bit differently now. There is a tremendous hunger for what we can do to make it easier for people to get around, to improve the quality of our streets and plazas, to make it easier for people to linger.”

These street reformers — planners, architects and urban officials from around the globe — are questioning the conventional street-curb-sidewalk motif, challenging the dominance of cars, and devising ways to use street furniture, plants and even radical new vehicles to transform the experience of the street.

While they do not necessarily agree on the particulars, the advocates often share an excitement, a feeling of being present at the creation.

“Let’s go to the next level,” said Ethan Kent, vice president of the Project for Public Spaces, a nonprofit group based in Manhattan, “to create great streets that really draw out the life of the communities they’re meant to serve.”

Here are 10 ideas, some modest and some ambitious, some already in place and others just a gleam in the eye, that the new crop of urban dreamers are proposing.

Read more about the TEN IDEAS.

Dwell brings you Around the Clock, a weekly guide to events in five U.S. cities. Whether you live in SoHo or Santa Monica, South Beach or San Francisco, Around the Clock is your guide to uncommon happenings in the interlocking worlds of design, culture, food, and more. Go to dwell.com/aroundtheclock to see what’s near you—and don’t forget to sign up for our single-city editions, emailed directly to your inbox each week.

Chicago
Wednesday, April 9: Susan Benjamin and Stuart Cohen, authors of Great Houses of Chicago, 1871–1921 give a presentation on the landmark homes designed by David Adler, Howard Van Doren Shaw, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Daniel Burnham. 6:15-7:15 p.m.; The Art Institute of Chicago,111 South Michigan Ave.; (312) 443-3600;

Los Angeles
Friday, April 11: Nicole Cohen’s video installation gives Getty-goers a new take on the museum’s collection of 18th-century French chairs. Today, take a spin through the gallery with the artist herself. 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m.; The Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Dr.; (310) 440-7300;

Miami
Sunday, April 13: Catch Promises of Paradise, the Bass Museum’s exhibition of mid-century architecture, design, urban planning, and decorative arts in Miami, before it closes today. The Bass Museum, 2121 Park Ave.; (305) 673-7530;

New York
Friday, April 11: Despite projects ongoing in France, England, Poland, Italy and Austria, architect Philippe Rahm finds time to discuss his new work with New Yorkers. 7 p.m.; The Wollman Auditorium, The Cooper Union Engineering Building, 51 Astor Placep; (212) 849-8400;

San Francisco
Wednesday, April 9: Dwell editor-in-chief Sam Grawe moderates this discussion on the future of sustainable design between Yves Behar, Bob Adams of IDEO, and Dawn Danby of the green consulting firm Autodesk. 6–8:30 p.m.; Timken Lecture Hall, 1111 8th St.; (800) 447-1ART;

I just read this article by Brie Cadman on FSBO.com called “Innovative Green Homes.”

In an attempt to create a more sustainable domicile, some homeowners use energy-efficient light bulbs, swap out normal showerheads for low-flow ones, or put on a sweater so they can turn down the thermostat. However, others are taking sustainability - and their homes - to the next level. These innovative designs move the owner off the grid, into the trees, and toward a more environmentally-sound future.

Earth Bag Home

Earthship

They come in packaged, modular, hybrid, and custom; the above is an example of a modular Earthship. With water catchment from the roof, reuse of greywater, solar panels, and composting toilets, I could definitely tune in with nature, turn off the TV, and drop off the grid.

Project Biodome

Edward Dilley, creator of Project Biodome, has a vision: pull drinking water from the air, gather heat and electricity from the sun, and live completely supplied for in his geodesic sustainable dome. Somewhere in the mountain near Elko, Nevada, he seems to be doing just that. According to his Web site, you can order a kit and construct one yourself. Might want to look into local building codes first.

Tree House

If you aren’t afraid of heights, the 02 Sustainability Tree House could serve as your next home away from home. It is made from small amounts of eco-friendly resources and is hung by cables rather than bolted into trees, as to not disturb your structural helpers