December 2008

12/31/08

Matsunoyama Natural Science Museum, Niigata Japan

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In the lush green rice patties of 新潟 Japan, this rusted Corten steel building by Tekuka Architects stands as a whole and natural object. The meandering tube follows the hill's topography and then rises into the sky as an observation tower. The 6mm steel plates add to the integrity of the structural steel.

At each major turn in the path, a large window connects the inside and outside. Hidden deeper inside, exhibits investigate the local ecosystem.

This area gets up to 5m of snow each year. The materials and views are specifically designed for these conditions. Tekuka described it as a submarine with a periscope. It opened in 2004.

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12/30/08

Museum Of Modern Art, New York

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This 2004 expansion to the Museum of Modern Art in New York by Yoshio Taniguchi adds modernism to Cesar Pelli's greenhouse design. This $315 million renovation opened wide spaces into the tower, including a 33 meter tall atrium. Philip Johnson's exterior sculpture garden becomes a greater focal point of the scheme.

Critics have complained that the large new expansion takes away the characteristic intimacy and out of scale with the art being displayed. But the advantages are often ill-considered by critics. For example, circulation starts to be interactive as stairways and interior windows connect viewers and with other viewers. Also, new media like video projections easily fill the daylighted spaces in an incredibly interesting way.

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12/29/08

Bangalay, Buderoo Sydney

Like a permanent encampment, Stutchbury + Pape's Bangalay residence in the former Buderoo National Park near Sydney Australia treats itself as an insertion into a complex and natural environment.

While the north entrance is shaded, the west and south offer wide-sweeping views of the eucalyptus canopy. This home in the wilderness in Kangaroo Valley splits into rooms from a central corridor with many exterior devices to point natural light inwards. The natural materials fit, and the interiors even become comfortable and clean.

It won the 2006 State RAIA Blacket Award for Regional Architecture.

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12/26/08

Sundial Bridge, Turtle Bay California

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The Sundial bridge by Santiago Calatrava spans the Sacramento River at Turtle Bay in Redding, California. The 700 ft bridge only allows pedestrians and bicycles, so the opportunities for alternative materials were used. The glass floor further offers opportunities at night for lighting.

This whopping $23 million project was a private endeavor, in conjunction with the community center at the Turtle Bay Exploration Park. As a transition from valley forest to snow-peaked mountains, Redding's scenery easily compliments this structural monument. We won't have Calatrava around forever, so we need as many of his ingenious works in as many various locations as possible.

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See also Valencia City of Arts, Brookfield Place, Lige Guillemins TGV, and Satolas TBV by Calatrava.

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12/25/08

Shaw Center For The Arts, Baton Rouge Louisiana

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The Shaw Center for the Arts in Baton Rouge was designed by Schwartz and Silver. The exterior was inspired by several contextual conditions: glass beading, paper langterns, the Mississippi river, a "lantern on the levee." The multi-length glass channels cover the contemporary addition to a historical building, with corrugated aluminum just behind. The structural yet transparent glowing effect has proven acceptable in extreme weather. The damage from Hurricane Katrina wasn't substantial, and was actually cool looking.

The ghostly appearance speaks of a southern atmosphere from other times. Tall interior spaces incorporate bright colored surfaces. Local architect Eskew/Dumez/Riplle and Jerry M. Campell and Associates also worked on this project. It was completed in 2005.

AIA 2008 Honor Award

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12/23/08

Aros Museum Of Modern Art, Århus Denmark

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Schmidt, Hammer & Lassen designed this 2004 museum for Aarhus, Denmark. At 17,700m2 this is one of the largest museums in Northern Europe. The site circulatory path bisects this red cube with its white interior to form an expansive atrium.

Aros borrows extreme elements from modern and ancient designs to create what they call a "democratic monument." Various methods of viewing art come together at the central light atrium with its Guggenheim ramps and bright skylights.

The main feature seems to be a large sculpture of a squatting boy. Workshops, a library, and a bookshop offer other communicative art.

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Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem Jerusalem

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The Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum overlooks Jerusalem's Ein Kerem valley. The design by Moshe Safdie took ten years to culminate and finally opened in 2005. The campus of six buildings is linked by paths and bridges through the traditionally landscaped site.

The grey hard concrete conveys the coldness of the holocaust but also fits in the rocky terrain. Much of the struture is under the earth, but the spine portrudes out in a triangle with only a tiny skylight at the top. Video displays and rivers of books only slightly fill this constraining volume. The cantilever stretches out in a gesture toward the Jewish sacred city.

The Hall of Names rises as a cone with names and photos of the victims. The bottom reaches all the way down to the ground water. The emptiness and inhuman quality of this architecture establishes an atmosphere for the museum's overall moral.

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12/22/08

Monastery of Our Lady, Novy Dvur

John Pawson designed this new monastery for the French Cistercian monks in Touzim, Czech Republic. Completed in 2004, it built on an existing 18th century manor house. The functions of worship led to very simple forms that conformed with the existing site. Pawson researched the strict rules, Saint Bernard's stipulations for worship.

A sort of self-enclosed city with three agricultural wings conformed to a 12th century scheme for monasteries. Despite all this, the quality of light and proportion are modern and enlightening. Contemporary interiors are devoid of artistic or decorative figures as pure white walls, ceilings, and floors suggest a creative space and time.
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iWeb, Delft University Netherlands

The above image is the structure of the "spaceship the WEB of North-Holland" by Ir Kas Oosterhuis of ONL Architects. It is an artificial environment designed to enhance "real-time protospace." Interaction and collaborative design is enhanced in an environment where simple actions cause alternative effects. For example, a voice command might suspend gravity. This experiment seeks to find the effectiveness of communication in such a technologically responsive world.

This spaceship structure has a reflective red interior with a yellow luminance at the top. Yellow for circulation and red for stimulation. It was first built in 2002 and the Delft University of Technology tried it again in 2005.
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12/20/08

Mur Island, Graz Austria

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Near the Graz Art Museum, the circulatory island in the Mur River contains secret surprises. A cafe, children's playground, and open theatre provide a public destination that offers creativity and adventure while tying the river into the city.

The dome and bowl island designed by Vito Acconi and Robert Punkenhofer is truly futuristic in this old-world city. The rolling hills in the background become glass and metal as they rise out of the water. Urban life approaches a dynamic and important part of the city that people have never before experienced.

It opened in January 2003.

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