“I would not like to live in a cublicle house. [...] I would rather live on a bench in Hyde Park.”
Snippets from an 1959 interview with Mies van der RoheSound from the BBC Sound Archive – listen here. Via urbanophil.
Author Archive for toms
Now Accepting Berlage Applications
The Berlage Institute Application Deadline has been announced a few days ago, 27th Feb 2009 (application forms here).
The Institute is renowned for their 2-year postgraduate program, which emphasises on research and knowledge (you can generally recognise a Berlager by his jargon). An interesting addition is their PhD programme in collaboration with TU Delft, which is undergoing some changes at the moment. Candidates completing dissertations include Roemer van Toorn, Peter Trummer and Sasha Zanko.
UPDATE –
The Berlage Institute 2009–2010 Postgraduate Prospectus is now online.
And the call for participation in the City Visions Europe European exchange program is now available for download: City Visions Europe Call for participation
–
Robert Morris, War (1963) vs. Storm trooper, Star Wars (1977)
Star Wars: A New Heap. Recommended Read.
Still from “koolhaas houselife” (1998, BekaFilms)
I just stumbled over the website of koolhaas houselife, a movie about OMA’s villa Floriac in Boredaux (flickr images):
This is realized through the stories and daily chores of Guadalupe Acedo, the home’s caretaker and housekeeper, and the other people who look after the building. Following and interacting with Guadalupe, blooms an unusual and unpredictable look at the spaces and structure of the building.
This approach is in stark contrast to the usual clinical clutter-free and people-less depiction of architecture on the one hand. On the other hand it shows us a building not in it’s new (idealised) state, but after some years of use, when small adaptations have been made, some details proved to work well and others fail: the design is confronted with human use, the structure became a home. In Koolhaas words (video after the break): Continue reading ‘Koolhaas Houselife’
the ‘Architecture 10′
The Dutch Government proves again that they see Architecture as one of NL’s marketing-worthy assets. The Royal Dutch Mint has released 10 and 5 Euro coins displaying the names of important contemporary and historic architects, as well as some of their publications. Not buildings, these seem to be reserved for bills. The decision to focus on theory, not practice, ties in with the generous funding Netherlands supports architecture publications with. The ease to shell out books contributed to the ‘Super-Dutch’ era in the 90ies.
The mill about the coin design:
he Architecture five-euro coin was designed by artist Stani Michiels (b. 1973). The design on the obverse of the coin pays tribute to the history of Dutch architecture, with the portrait of Queen Beatrix being distinctively constructed using the names of important architects from Dutch history. The artist used the internet as a popularity-meter to determine the names’ order of appearance.
The reverse of the Architecture five-euro coin draws attention to the striking fact that many Dutch architects have also included publishing books on architecture in their professional activities. To illustrate this phenomenon, recent books on architecture rise up from the sides of the coin like buildings. Through their careful placement they combine to outline the Netherlands, while birds’ silhouettes suggest the capitals of all the provinces.
You can buy it in the Mint’s coin store.
14.350 people are emailing,…
Let’s jump right into this: Japan has the absolute best census in the history of my known world. Not only does it include normal things like age, sex, and the height of each of your pets, but it also legitimizes the gossipy question of What Are You Doing Right Now? Japan slapped a bunch of people with notebooks and a sacred Numbers Mission: keep a log of what you do during the day, in fifteen minute intervals. And those people did!
Fascinating. What people really do with their time – in Japan. Go to xoxosoma.com.
sketch proposal for the IABR Lobby (maxwan a&u)
I am wrapping things up here at maxwan architects & urbanists, as tomorrow is going to be my last day. I will be teaching urbanism at a private university in Aleppo (google maps) in a week.
We have achieved quite a bit recently – not only did we launch our new maxwan website, but we also won the competition for the design of 2009′s Architecture Biennale in Rotterdam (IABR). The motto of next year’s Biennale is ‘Open City’, a term Kees Christiaanse (the Biennale’s Curator) has been working with for a while. Maxwan translates this idea spatially by turning the NAi inside out. Continue reading ‘Maxwan News’
CCTV is ready for the games. The steel ribs reflect the distribution of forces in the construction (photo: Ole Scheeren)
OMA distributed a press release including the above picture (click for XXL) today that the facade developed in collaboration with ARUP has been completed. Just in time for the opening of the Olympic Games for an harmonious skyline, we might add. In that context: the extruded pagoda on the right is the Zhong Fu Tower.
My friends at XML need some help, and asked me for support. They are looking for interns for a period of 3 to 6 months, starting from september. They’re young, small and interesting, and can only offer a minimum salary. Here’s their advert:
XML is a contemporary cultural practice specialized in Architecture, Research and Urbanism. From its base in Amsterdam XML is involved in worldwide cross-disciplinary projects with an emphasis on cultural analysis. XML’s projects are fuelled by a reflection on the contemporary city as source of cultural production. The work has been rewarded several prizes amongst which most recently the first prize in the Europan 9 competition Almere.
We currently invite people to apply for a position as trainee in our office in amsterdam. Candidates should have finished at least two years of relevant design education. Further requirements include:
- excellent model-making, drawing and render skills
- strong graphic and design talent
- willing to actively contribute to the rapid growth of our young officeApplicants for this vacancy should send their cv, motivation letter and portfolio(pdf) to hr@x-m-l.org.
Gulensu – Almere Haven (© Ekim Tan)
Workshop announcements come in packs. Here is the third one, which I’d like to recommend especially. The INTI supported masterclass compares highly regulated planning strategies in the showcase newtown of the Netherlands, Almere, with the self-organised strategies employed in Gulensu, a clandestine city extension of Istanbul.
Planning is a messy, time and energy-consuming business of trial, error and failure. Success is not a certainty and even when the result is successful, it is often a surprise, not what was actually being sought. Jane Jacobs
THE RESPONSIVE CITY: ISTANBUL – RANDSTAD
Why?
The Responsive City: Istanbul-Randstad* focuses on new approaches to the 21st city. Theories of complexity and their application onto the field of urban design and architecture form its core. Here, the city is seen as a dynamic open system, constantly influenced by interacting bottom up and top down players.
Who?
The Responsive City is an interdisciplinary course offered as an once-only-elective for 16 participants with diverse backgrounds such as human geography, planning, sociology, architecture and urban design.
How?
The course requires a hands-on approach with two intense on-site masterclasses in Istanbul and Almere. Agent-based mapping and responsive design game are main tools of the course. Knowledge/interest in GIS mapping, informal city, Istanbul and/or Almere is highly appreciated.
The Deadline for Application is 5th of September 2008, Dates are 29 September – 3 October 2008 in Almere; 27 – 31 October 2008 in Istanbul. The Masterclasses are run by Prof. Arnold Reindorp, Prof. Juval Portugali & ir. Ekim Tan.
More at INTI, and soon at theresponsivecity.org.
FAST, a Amsterdam-based foundation showcasing and critically investigating spatial conditions of segregation invites to Ein Hawd (Israel):
From the 28th of August to 7th September, we will finalize the One Land Two Systems project with a series of public events, workshops, and spatial, social and cultural interventions in Ein Hawd. The project aims at exposing the situation of the unrecognized Palestinian villages in Israel, and at the same time finding alternative planning solutions.
Check the Press Release PDF, or read more at www.one-land.org.
sine embargo – con embargo
Our friends from Supersudaca host an interesting workshop on tourism in post-castro Cuba in September. It’ll set you back 1000€, but scholarships to reduce the fee are available. The objective of the workshop is to find specualtive answers on questions as:
How will Cuba change its tourist branding in a SIN-EMBARGO scenario?
How will it mutate its current spatial segregation strategy between locals and tourist in a SIN-EMBARGO scheme?
What will be the territorial impacts in a Cuba SIN-EMBARGO that admits cruise ship tourism?
Will Cuba become a role model for next generation tourist developments in the Caribbean and worldwide in a SIN-EMBARGO condition?
What is the emerging territorial paradigm of Sun and Beach in the Cuba CON-EMBARGO? Will it change in a SIN-EMBARGO context?
Will the regulation culture and environmental management remain the same in a ‘liberalized’ Cuba SIN-EMBARGO?
How will Cuba react spatially to the opening of the massive market of second residences for American pensioners in a Cuba SIN-EMBARGO?
The inscription period ends on 15th of August. The (slightly disappointing) results of last years sudapan competition will be at display at RAS gallery in Barcelona from 4th September on.
More at sinembargo.org.
London Festival of Architecture’ overwhelming website
In a few days – on the 20th of June – the London Festival of Architecture starts and will go on for a month. The program is overwhelming (including events/hubs/themes/tours/projects..), I will write more after I’ve seen it. Go and check their site: http://www.lfa2008.org!
Bouwkunde burning today at (photo: Radio TV West)
This morning the Faculty of Architecture of the Delft University of Technology caught fire.
The building was evacuated immediately, there were no injured.
The probable cause of the fire was a short-circuiting in a coffee-machine on the 6th floor of the northern wing of the building, resulting from water leakage. The fire spread to the upper floors and later to the southern wing. Due to the height of the building, the fierceness of the fire and possible collapsing of the building firemen had to retreat and continue their work from the ground.
According to the fire department the building by Van den Broek and Bakema is to be considered lost entirely and could even collapse due to severe damage done to it’s structure.
Images here (Nu.nl) and here (NOS.nl). Movies after the break.
World Architecture Festival Barcelona
Emap, a Business-to-Business media group (from their website), hosts the first World Architecture Festival in Barcelona. Architects are invited to put their buildings up for competition (entry fee a smacking 950€), and among the exhibited projects the best will be awarded. The interesting jury (to name a few: Will Alsop, Cecil Balmond, Stefan Behnisch, Richard Burdett, Luis M. Mansilla, Richard Meier, Sir Peter Cook, Neil Denari, Norman Foster, Massimiliano Fuksas, Zaha Hadid, Michel Rojkind, Michael Sorkin, Francine Houben, Robert Stern, Christoph Ingenhoven, Charles Jencks) might redeem the commercial/artificial flair the event exudes. We’ll keep our final judgement to ourselves until we know more about the event.
UN data: slum population in metropolitan areas 2001
“The UN-system has accumulated over the past 60 years an impressive amount of information. UNdata, developed by the Statistics Division of DESA, is a new powerful tool, which will bring this unique and authoritative set of data not only to the desks of decision makers and analysts, but also to journalists, to students and to all citizens of the world, ” says Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.
Since its foundation, the United Nations system has been collecting statistical information from member states on a variety of topics. The information thus collected constitutes a considerable information asset of the organization. However, these statistical data are often stored in proprietary databases, each with unique dissemination and access policies. As a result, users are often unaware of the full array of statistical information that the UN system has in its data libraries. The current arrangement also means that users are required to move from one database to another to access different types of information.
UNdata addresses this problem by pooling major UN databases and those of several international into one single internet environment. The innovative design allows a user to access a large number of UN databases either by browsing the data series or through a keyword search.
I love when major organisations understand that opening up their knowledge to the public is the way to the future. We’ve added the UN database to our our list of resources – scroll down to ‘data’.
wireBundler script in action.
The soulburn scripts by Neil Blevins have been updated. They are a useful and free collection of commands to be used with 3ds max or maya.
