http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/architecture/ en-us Fri, 1 Jan 2010 20:29:40 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419117/posts Architecture clearly illustrates the social, environmental, economic, and aesthetic costs of ignoring beauty. We are being torn out of ourselves by the loud gestures of people who want to seize our attention but give nothing in return. ___ When it comes to beauty, our view of its status is radically affected by whether we see it as a form of self-expression, or as a form of self-denial. If we see it in this second way, then the assumption that it is merely subjective begins to fall away. Instead beauty begins to take on another character, as one of the instruments... Americna Enterprise Institute http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419117/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 20:29:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2406411/posts The facade of the I.M. Pei-designed National Gallery East Wing is now crumbling. Catesby Leigh reports in the Wall Street Journal that the building, constructed using an experimental curtain wall system that the architect described as "a technological breakthrough for the construction of masonry walls," has become unstable. The clean lines and solid geometrical forms of the building's design simply could not be interrupted with unsightly expansion joints. I.M. Pei quite simply was shackled to his own modern design, constrained to have large uninterrupted geometries of stone, a technological solution was an absolute necessity. The earlier Main Building, designed by... Greater Washington http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2406411/posts#comment Sun, 13 Dec 2009 02:54:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2390435/posts My heroine of the week is Amanda Baillieu, editor of architects’ trade journal Building Design. She noticed that when Environment Secretary Hillary Benn gave a talk at the Royal Institute of British Architects the other day on the looming peril of ManBearPig, hardly anyone bothered to turn up. In an extremely brave editorial entitled “Is Global Warming Hot Air?” she speculated that the reason may have been because even architects are getting tired of listening to hysterical drivel about impending eco-doom and the so-called “consensus” on Anthropogenic Global Warming. In fact, you’d be forgiven for not knowing there is a... Telegraph UK http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2390435/posts#comment Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:53:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2387865/posts A posh palace is being built on the bank of Istrin water reservoir in the Moscow region. It’s a mansion looking like a huge 18th century palace, which is already informally named “Istrin mansion”. Its appearance, quick development and approximate cost were recently debated in Russian blogs. But still having some guesses about who could own such a luxury, no one has an official confirmation on who the lucky man really is. The thing is that this building together with its adjacent lands was earlier presented in Google Maps, but now there are no any marks of it. To be... EnglishRussia.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2387865/posts#comment Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:42:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2379772/posts Someday, people will realize that they can demand better buildings and cities, and they will do so. Extraordinarily rich and powerful people will sense a market in flux, will shudder, see their fortunes heading for the door, and tap their politicians on the shoulder. Architects will start making places people like. Look for a tipping point. It could have happened during the redesign process after Sept. 11, 2001. It did not, but it could have. Someday it will. When it does happen, it will not be because millions suddenly read a book called “A Theory of Architecture” (2006) by architectural... Providence Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2379772/posts#comment Fri, 6 Nov 2009 07:00:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2344239/posts Image: Jim MerithewAfter the end of World War Two, tension and mistrust continuously grew between the USSR and its satellite states versus a western coalition led by the USA. A game of one-upmanship, lasting almost 50 years, developed with each group inventing stronger and more deadly weapons in an attempt to hold a military advantage.Alongside this military might developed a deep-seated fear of what would happen if there ever was an enemy strike. As a result, both nations went on a massive building campaign of bomb shelters, nuclear fallout sites and bunkers. Not to mention all the missile sites and... Money Hacker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2344239/posts#comment Sun, 20 Sep 2009 17:34:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2343376/posts A Santa Monica architect known for his high-rise designs is working on what may be the ultimate "spec" building -- a 224-story skyscraper with green ambitions that would be the tallest structure in the world. The tower is envisioned for a man-made island in Abu Dhabi, if leaders of the oil-rich emirate decide they want to make a statement to rest of the world and perhaps one-up neighboring Dubai. A conceptual design for the $3.5-billion project in the United Arab Emirates is under consideration by an Abu Dhabi planning committee, said Tommy Landau, the architect who created the design and... The Los Angeles Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2343376/posts#comment Sat, 19 Sep 2009 02:36:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2336897/posts The design for One World Trade Center has attracted substantial criticism, which is to be expected with a project of such public importance. Some of the gripes have merit. Overall, the finished site will be less impressive than the twin towers it is replacing. Nicolai Ouroussoff of the New York Times called the design "somber, oppressive and clumsily conceived, the project suggests a monument to a society that has turned its back on any notion of cultural openness." Not to mention any notion of collective courage in the face of the terrorist threat. The building's most objectionable feature is the... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2336897/posts#comment Fri, 11 Sep 2009 02:22:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2334305/posts A towering North Korean hotel which Esquire magazine once dubbed "the worst building in the history of mankind" has come back to life with a facade of shiny glass windows affixed to one side of the concrete monolith. But few expect the North will ever finish construction of its 105-storey Ryugyong Hotel, started in 1987 and halted for 16 years because it could have bankrupted the destitute state. "The hotel doesn't look as shoddy as it once did, probably because of the reflective glass," said a member of a civic group in South Korea that recently returned from a visit... reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2334305/posts#comment Tue, 8 Sep 2009 02:03:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2331180/posts Living Architecture: Growing your house, one chair at a time Plants are amazing: they provide food, air, medicine, and material with which we can create buildings, furniture, and art. But through an ancient yet obscure craft, still-living plants can themselves be turned into bridges, tables, ladders, chairs, works of art, and even buildings. Known variously as botanical architecture, tree sculpture, tree-shaping, tree-grafting, pooktre, arborsculpture, and arbortecture, the craft is, at its essence, construction with living plants. The concept seems to date back to prehistoric times. Perhaps the oldest examples are the living bridges of Cherrapunjee, India. 1. Root Bridges of... DRB http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2331180/posts#comment Thu, 3 Sep 2009 13:40:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2329197/posts The Federal Building in downtown Youngstown, Ohio, features an extensive use of natural light to illuminate offices and a white roof to reflect heat. It has LEED certification, the country’s most recognized seal of approval for green buildings. But the building is hardly a model of energy efficiency. According to an environmental assessment last year, it did not score high enough to qualify for the Energy Star label granted by the Environmental Protection Agency, which ranks buildings after looking at a year’s worth of utility bills. The building’s cooling system, a major gas guzzler, was one culprit. Another was its... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2329197/posts#comment Tue, 1 Sep 2009 05:29:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2327693/posts In the coming disaster movie "2012," tragedy strikes Randy's Donuts in Inglewood when its giant rooftop donut becomes unhinged and is last seen bouncing down the street in the direction of star John Cusack's limo. The incident is just digital magic, of course. In real life, Randy's -- once a member of the now-defunct Big Donut chain -- is very much intact, as 405 Freeway drivers know well. Los Angeles Times / latimes.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2327693/posts#comment Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:01:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2327042/posts The Pier Head Ferry Terminal in Liverpool has been named the country's ugliest new building ahead of London's Westfield shopping centre and the fire station at Poundbury, the Prince of Wales's Dorset model village. A panel of experts from Building Design magazine unanimously voted the £10.5m building, designed by Belfast-based Hamilton Architects, as the most notable new example of bad architecture. The judges said the damage the ferry terminal had done to Liverpool's waterfront, which is a Unesco world heritage site, meant it deserved the 'Carbuncle Cup'. Amanda Baillieu, editor of Building Design, said: "It was given the Carbuncle Cup... The Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2327042/posts#comment Sat, 29 Aug 2009 00:05:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2320354/posts Self-preservation is something that most humans take quite seriously, and that a few take to extremes. Faced with the real or imagined threat of attacks levied by nuclear, biological, and chemical weaponry, some people opt to head 25 feet underground, surrounded by concrete and complex air-filtration systems, surviving off rations and waiting, so to speak, for the end of the world.That’s the subject of Richard Ross’s Waiting for the End of the World, originally published by Princeton Architectural Press in 2004, for which Ross spent five years traveling over three continents, photographing the interiors of bomb shelters. “I’m a child... GOOD http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2320354/posts#comment Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:28:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2312613/posts Justo Gallego Martínez is building his very own Cathedral in Mejorada del Campo near Madrid, Spain This is no "model" cathedral and he is neither a qualified architect, nor engineer, nor bricklayer -- he is a farmer. "The plans have only ever existed in my head" and have evolved over time in response to opportunity and inspiration. Nor does he have formal planning permission from the authorities of Mejorada del Campo -- the town in which it is located (20 km from Madrid under the flight-path to the Barajas airport).Nor does he have the benediction or support of the Catholic... CityNoise http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2312613/posts#comment Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:46:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2312062/posts Featuring log buildings presently under re-construction at the Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton, Virginia. This provides a good look at how such buildings were made. Backcountry Notes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2312062/posts#comment Sun, 9 Aug 2009 20:17:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2305780/posts A rare opportunity to live in a national landmark has arisen in Los Angeles where Ennis House, an architectural gem designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, has gone up for sale for $15 million. The architect designed Ennis House in 1923, dubbing the stark, concrete block-clad mansion his "temple on the hill" and predicting that it would still fascinate people a century later. It offers wonderful views across the city and, with its exotic, Mayan temple exterior and cathedral-like interior, it has featured in more than a dozen films including Blade Runner, The House on Haunted Hill and Black Rain. The... The Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2305780/posts#comment Sat, 1 Aug 2009 04:47:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2301244/posts Behind the glass- and marble-clad great arch of La Défense - built at the behest of François Mitterrand two decades ago - another French president is preparing an even more ambitious grand projet for Paris. Nicolas Sarkozy is planning a massive expansion of the business district on the north-western edge of Paris to challenge the City of London as Europe's pre-eminent financial centre. In spite of his tirades against financial capitalism, Mr Sarkozy wants a bigger slice of the business. The blueprint for La Défense - which includes several spectacular skyscrapers and, eventually, a further 1m sq m of office... FT.com UK http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2301244/posts#comment Sun, 26 Jul 2009 09:19:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2292563/posts MADISON, Wis. – The nation's largest group of atheists and agnostics filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to block an architect from engraving "In God We Trust" and the Pledge of Allegiance at the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington. The Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation's lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in western Wisconsin, claims the taxpayer-funded engravings would be an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. The House and Senate passed identical resolutions this month directing the Architect of the Capitol to engrave "In God We Trust" and the pledge in prominent places at the entrance for 3 million tourists who visit... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2292563/posts#comment Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:58:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283768/posts HICAGO – Visitors to the Sears Tower's new glass balconies all seem to agree: The first step is the hardest. "It's like walking on ice," said Margaret Kemp, of Bishop, California, who said her heart was still pounding even after stepping away from the balcony. "That first step you take — 'am I going down?'" Yahoo (AP) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283768/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 01:28:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2261418/posts Frank Lloyd Wright and LEGO would seem an unnatural fit: curve meets corner, prairie meets cube. But like a red brick and a yellow brick, the worldwide trademarks are now joined with a blue brick, an Illinois company called Brickstructures, in creating and selling LEGO building block versions of Wright’s iconic creations, Fallingwater and the Solomon Guggenheim Museum. Can Madison’s Monona Terrace be far behind? And how will the notoriously formal Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation handle its partnership with a worldwide company that also puts out a SpongeBob SquarePants model? You’ll have to make your own LEGO Monona Terrace, said... Wisconsin State Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2261418/posts#comment Sun, 31 May 2009 00:34:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2253326/posts Chunks of this city's rich and eclectic architectural history tumble to the ground every few days, piece by piece, forever lost in the rubble. Neo-Baroque and Art Deco treasures deteriorate at an alarming rate. Every three days, there are two partial or total building collapses in Central Havana alone, according to architectural experts. No official figures are available. "Buildings are standing by sheer luck," said architect Jose Antonio Choy, president of a Cuban nonprofit organization devoted to the conservation of Havana's modern architecture. In September, after Hurricane Ike's lethal 41-hour odyssey across much of the island, authorities reported 67 buildings... Sun Sentinel http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2253326/posts#comment Mon, 18 May 2009 18:10:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2252542/posts THE summer evening was autumnally cold and damp, the backless stone seats in the outdoor theater unforgiving. Many of the 8,000 spectators were irritable; most of us had shown for a rained-out performance the night before. And frankly, I’ve seen better productions of “Carmen.” But as the performers began to move, their shadows rose 100 feet and danced across the imposing backdrop of a yellow limestone wall. A marble statue of Caesar Augustus stood ghostly white upon his perch in the wall, his right arm raised as if he had just commanded the singers to begin their performance. When Carmen... The New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2252542/posts#comment Sun, 17 May 2009 06:08:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2244026/posts NYC's Guggenheim celebrates Frank Lloyd Wright By ULA ILNYTZKY, Associated Press Writer Ula Ilnytzky, Associated Press Writer – 47 mins ago NEW YORK – For Frank Lloyd Wright, the slow rise of the spiral ramp at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum allowed paintings to be displayed as if on an artist's easel. When the museum opened 50 years ago, the groundbreaking design embodied the architect's guiding ethos that form and function are indistinguishable. That philosophy was expressed in projects large and small but perhaps best realized in his then-controversial, now-revered design for the art museum on Manhattan's Upper East Side.... Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2244026/posts#comment Mon, 4 May 2009 20:32:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2228602/posts Would You Live in Any of These? In the spirit of April Fool's Day, these outlandish structures display architectural humor and prankishness. And—far from foolish—some of them are darned well-designed, too. thisoldhouse. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2228602/posts#comment Tue, 14 Apr 2009 06:20:16 GMT