February 2009

2/24/09

Herman Miller Cherokee Operations, Canton Georgia

^brandon shigeta - flickr/cc license
This minimalist industrial facility by Scogin Elam and Bray Architects places emphasis on the natural environment around it. Completed in 2000, the Herman Miller Cherokee Operations shows this commitment to its context by wood poles in the parking lot, which imitate the trees in the nearby forest. It won two AIA awards.

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^brandon shigeta - flickr/cc license

2/23/09

Jumeirah Burj Al Arab, Dubai

^buggolo - flickr/cc license
The Jumeirah Dubai Burj-al-Arab is widely considered the most desirable hotel in the world. The 321 m blowing sail rises with the curve of the sun pattern and with a core vertical pole, brazingly overcoming its watery foundation. Quite literally it follows the celestial bodies while challenging gravity. The procession through this experience is thoughtfully articulated as the visitor transverses a private bridge, enters a gestural lobby, and continues to a variety of mind-blowing activities.

The social impact of this building can't be ignored, that the world's best hotel is located in the heart of the dangerous Middle-East, that the human explosion of wealth in this area culminates in this kind of interaction with the environment. The hotel portrays this idea of mankind thoughtfully subduing the earth for our own pleasure and habitat in every detail. A 35,000ft3 aquarium brings the ocean inside.

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^Lars Plougmann - flickr/cc license

^Augapfel - flickr/cc license

^Keirn - flickr/cc license

^tazz - flickr/cc license

^dlisbona - flickr/cc license

^mamamusings - flickr/cc license

^dlisbona - flickr/cc license

^mamamusings - flickr/cc license

^~Pyb - flickr/cc license

^Keirn - flickr/cc license

2/20/09

Casa 11 Mujeres, Santiago Chile

This 2007 holiday residence by Mathias Klotz for a family of eleven women stands on a steeply sloping site near Santiago Chile. The house is arranged on three stories of vast windows to take advantage of the beach view, adapting to the contour of the cliff. Servant spaces are on the top level, private spaces in the middle, and the bottom level is for gathering and entertaining guests.

Important spaces jut out and protect balconies from strong winds. The planking shape-holders for the concrete when poured give a wood plank texture. Crafty integration of wood planks and modernist concrete give a permanence and softness to the home.

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2/19/09

Dior Omotesando, Tokyo

^luisvilla - flickr/cc license
All about fashion, this pristine white box of layers uses eight stories of glazing over white translucent acrylic panels, like the arrangement for a dress. This allows color-shifting according to daylight conditions and daylight penetration as well as a flashy glow at night. The same language happens inside, with a variety of tranparencies and layered rectangles forming the spaces. Wood panels and a roof garden add to the aesthetic elegance.

Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa (SANAA)'s exploration of self-perception carries down to the details. Rather than mirrors, the dressing rooms use real-time projection of the dresser. There is no fragility or curves expressed in the femininity of this environment. This building opened in 2003.

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^pat_ong - flickr/cc license

^japanese_craft_construction - flickr/cc license

^fukapon - flickr/cc license

^gin_e - flickr/cc license

2/18/09

Shipping & Transport College, Rotterdam

Checkered corrugated steel panels act as a communication device for the intent of this college building, imitating the stacking of shipping containers at the port. At the very top, an auditorium cantilevers out and creates a weird shape pointing at to the view of the ocean.

Designed by Neutelings-Riedijk Architects, the Facultad del transporte opened in 2005. As part of a reinvigoration project for the old city port, the building rises vertically for lack of space.

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^infomatique - flickr/cc license

^mtr0212 - flickr/cc license

Georges Restaurant, Pompidou Paris

^nickgraywfu - flickr/cc license
Dominique Jakob and Brendan MacFarlane create their signature blob shapes in the Pompidou's Georges Restaurant. The aluminum shells provide more private nooks for customers, with intimate lighting overhead. An outside balcony, by contrast provides open connection with a great view of the city below.

The functional steel and glass objects of the restaurant fit into the language of the Pompidou's colorful pipes and structure which spill in. As it opened in 2000, this project quickly became popular as a augment to the iconic Pompidou in Paris, France.

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Also by Jakob / MacFarlane: City of Fashion and Design

Also at the Pompidou: Paper Temporary Office

^alainlm - flickr/cc license

^roryrory - flickr/cc license

^sergeymk - flickr/cc license

2/17/09

Ibere Camargo Museum, Porto Alegre Brazil

^gustavo.kunst - flickr/cc license
The Iberê Camargo Museum (ICM) sits between a coastal cliff and a busy street. The Brutalist Brazilian Modernism stands on its own, yet somehow takes a form that reflects the city's context. As a response to site constraints and the topography, the building rises vertically with levels.

The courtyard is enclosed by concrete forms, retaining some relationship with the street. The interior takes a similar language, with framed views inside and also to the outside. Overhead lights imitate apertures for natural light. The white material, however, is softer and more appropriate for an exhibition space.

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^zondabez - flickr/cc license

^johnoaser - flickr/cc license

^gustavo.kunst - flickr/cc license

^txefar - flickr/cc license

^zondabez - flickr/cc license

Dutch Institute of Architecture, Rotterdam

^FaceMePLS - flickr/cc license
The Nederlands Architectuurinstituut te Rotterdam (NAI), located at the Rotterdam Museumpark, has one of the world's largest museum collections of architecture. Along with exhibitions, it facilitates research and presentations.

Jo Coenen's 1992 design for the building takes form with four distinct programs: exhibition hall, archive, auditorium, and administration. The central path is accessed from opposite ends and connect to each building section by wood bridge. Color provides cues to each area, each having its own material and arrangement character. Fragments of wood, glass and steel, and concrete come together to provide interaction between stories and unity of activities.

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