A little follow-up to the 010 publications: some Archinect editors share their favorite book titles of year of the pig: see their selection here.
Archive for the 'books + mags' Category
For the last 25 years, Rotterdam’s 010 Publishers (Uitgeverij 010) has contributed to the larger debate about design both within and without the Netherlands. There are three books that stand out from the mix of forthcoming titles, to be published this spring and summer:
MIMOA screenshot
MIMOA (MI MOdern Architecture), the community driven architecture project database, has been launched officialy this weekend in Amsterdam. Architecture 2.0, I hear you say. But this time it is a useful, well-designed project. The overall contribution quality is high, and we can only hope that the word spreads and the database fills up - not only with the well-known and published, but also with obscure gems. Interesting in that respect is the collaboration with A10, an interesting projects on it’s own. A10 magazine will add projects they publish to the Mimoa database.
MIMOA about MIMOA:
What is MIMOA
It is the best source of information for your city trip in Europe with all Modern Architecture in one view. MIMOA shows Europe’s Modern Architecture on a map with the address and all additional information you need to actually find and visit interiors, parks, public places, buildings and bridges.
MIMOA is free and open for everyone to contribute: publish your projects, posts comments and ratings, define your personal favorites and keep track of the projects you’ve visited. All this personal information, reviews and opinions, define the current trends in architectural Europe.
MIMOA is intended for anyone interested in Modern Architecture, design, culture, photography, cities, Europe, travelling, visiting buildings, knowing how to get there, whether the project is public and what the opening hours are. You can make your own personal convenient architecture guide.
Left to right: Mark Wigley, Ole Bouman, Rem Koolhaas (all photos: Darrel Ronald)
The NAi (new website) hosted the book launch and discussion featuring Rem Koolhaas, Mark Wigley and Ole Bouman Monday night in Rotterdam (10-09-2007).
The three presenters first outlined their positions about the gulf region context, before sitting down to take questions about the book. As a possible strategy to diffuse the potential early judgments and criticisms of the crowd, Bouman asked the question, “Who has been to Dubai [or gulf] and seen it first hand?” Roughly not even 10% of the crowd raised their hands, and only half-heartedly at that. It reflects one of the weaker themes of the evening that ‘we should not judge’ the situation in the gulf region, especially in the UAE. When it came to the questions at the end of the evening, the presenters were at times defensive, and repeated numerous times that the books aims to suspend judgment and rather present a detached overview/reading of the situation. But this is not to say the evening wasn’t full of great ideas, polemics galore, and of course, the exciting subject of Dubai and the Gulf Region itself.
More Photos can be found in our photo section.
Continue reading ‘Al Manakh - Listen to the Koolhaas, Wigley & Bouman Debate @ NAi’
Cover, photo: Darrel Ronald
Since first seeing the AMO Gulf Cities study presented at the 2006 Venice Architecture Biennale, most of us have been anxious to hear more about the region, and get an in-depth look at the economic processes at work. And so the wait is over with the release of Al Manakh, released throughout the Netherlands this past week, and is widely available, including at the NAi.
While the book was first released for the attendants at the May 2007 International Design Forum (IDF) conference in Dubai, it has been notoriously hard to get ahold of until now. The 495 page book was largely organised by Moutamarat, a recently-established private body that aims to “create business knowledge for the Arab world.”
Al Manakh serves as a barometer for the changes taking place in the region, and translated, the title means “the climate”. As Koolhaas writes in the opening, the book is a form of “critical participation”. But when he writes that “The Gulf is not just reconfiguring itself; it’s reconfiguring the world”, I find it hard to believe this is entirely special. Can we not say this about China? How about New York and London?
If you have already heard, both Koolhaas and Bouman will present the book at the NAi on September 10th at 20.00. If you haven’t reserved tickets yet, you are probably out-of-luck, since it has been sold out for some time. I don’t usually see scalpers at the doors either.
german architecture & theory magazine arch+ put the first three videos or their interview marathon at the documenta online.
yes, its the same format as the serpentine gallery event and yes, its also Koolhaas and Obrist who are interviewing.
The first online videos are with Marie-Luise Scherer, former ‘der spiegel’ reporter (on journalism and writing), Karl Schloegel, historian (on bottom-up europe) and Thomas Schütte, sculptor (on his archi-scultures, life as an artist and many things more).
Unfortunately the interviews are almost completely in german. I didn’t know RK speaks such good german…
Looking forward for many more to come. The complete list should include:
Thomas Bayrle (*1937, Künstler, Frankfurt/Main)
Gottfried Böhm (*1920, Architekt, Köln)
Hannes Böhringer (*1948, Philosoph, Berlin/Braunschweig) Continue reading ‘documenta interview marathon’
Power To the House cover, source: Powerhouse Company
The emerging Rotterdam architecture and urbanism office, The Powerhouse Company, has just published their first “autobiographical magazine”, Power to the House. The magazine is an exciting overview of their work over the past couple years, and features architectural and urban projects, buildings under construction, competitions, and research.
The Powerhouse Company is run by Nanne de Ru in Rotterdam, and Charles Bessard in Copenhagen. The two-year old office is off to a good start with their strategy of working across Europe. The young architects have split their office in two cities from the start and exploit free online tools and cheap long-distance networking tools such as Skype, Gmail, You Send It, Lulu and Transavia. They represent a new generation of ambitious architects that know how to exploit the tools of globalisation to get things done.
The magazine is self-published, and can be either downloaded digitally for free, or bought and delivered to you in print form, from Lulu online publishing.
Continue reading ‘Now Published: Power to the House - Powerhouse Company’