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7/26/10

Smithfield Market, London England


The 800 year old cattle market at Smithfield London was moved to Copenhagen Fields, Islington in 1852. Sir Horace Jones designed the Victorian Central Market in 1868. It cost £993,816. It has cast iron elliptical arches and domed towers at each corner.

Sir Thomas Bennett designed the current concrete dome, completed in 1963. The original buildings that still exist are in severe urban decay and are slated for demolition.

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7/25/10

Shiogama City Children's Center, Miyagi Japan


Itsuko Hasegawa　designed the Shiogama City Children's Center, completed in 1998. More Info









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Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo Ontario Canada


Saucier + Perrotte of Montreal designed the Perimeter Institute (PI) in Waterloo Ontario, completed in 2004. The thick slate-black outer facade contrast the opacity of the glass facades on the north and west sides. The $50 million design evokes digital nature with blocks of glass pods punching through this facade. Circulation in the interior lobby continue this aesthetic of nebulous spaces. Full length blackboards run across the walls in the presentation space.

A 55,000 sq ft expansion is underway, named The Stephen Hawking Centre. Hawking has a visiting position at the institute.

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7/24/10

Fort Dunlop, Erdington Birmingham England


Sidney Stott and W.W. Gibbings designed the original Fort Dunlop factory in the 1920s. Hazel Rounding and landscape architect Martha Schwartz designed the developed building, completed in 2006. The factory was converted to office and retail space and a Travelodge hotel was adjoined.

A grid of circular windows pop out of a clean blue facade. This modern block slices through the historic brick building, asserting a clear spine. The original structure had concrete with a steel frame. The circular motif comes from a light well at the entrance atrium, cutting through layers of circles and lined with steel. If anyone has photos of this interior please let me know!

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Umeda Sky Building, Umeda Kita-ku Osaka Japan


Hiroshi Hara designed the Umeda Sky Building 梅田スカイビル in the Umeda district of Kita-ku, Osaka City Japan. The 173 m tall building was completed in 1993.

Two towers are linked by criss-crossing skyways, with a urban portico between. The pedestrian level features a urban garden. Tunnels run underground with a market place modeled after the old city, the Takimi-koji restaurant mall. The rooftop observatory allows a breathtaking view through an occulus between the towers. It is known as The Floating Garden Observatory.

Crystalic materials reflect the landscape to give a sense of a floating city. With large volumes coming through this space like clouds. Stonework in the landscaping atop the building glows in the dark with patterns that resemble comets and swirling galaxies.

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7/19/10

Antwerp Law Courts, Antwerpen Belgium


Richard Rogers and Van KercKhove B.V.B.A., Ove Arup & Partners and landscape designer Wirtz International designed the new courthouse justitiepaleis for Antwerp, completed in 2006.

The soaring spires in this £86m project are pointed with a east-west orientation to catch natural sunlight. They provide an aesthetic reminiscent of sails on ships. Other environmental features include natural ventilation and water recycling. After becoming roiled in scandal, the legal system tried to make a statement of honesty and transparency from this open design. The six wings spread from a central spine like the legs on a spider. The roadway runs underground directly below this spine.

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7/17/10

Barbican Centre, London England


John Honer, Theo Crosby, John Honer and other various architects designed the Brutalist Barbican Centre, which opened in 1982 north of the City of London, England.

The complex includes music halls for the London Symphony Orchestra and other groups, exhibition halls, restaurants, movie theatres, and residential. The concrete ziggurat design with lavish green gardens has been called ugly. It is. But it is an evolving complex that looks better with each new layer.

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