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gone fishing
Bit quiet in this column as getting stressed in train stations in Europe. Have just been to the biennale and will be at the world archifest in Spain soon. Till later..
Venetian Ouch
Occasional forum participant, Hairdresser, thinks Dulux made the only architectural contribution to the bright yellow Australian pavilion at the Architecture Biennale in Venice. S/he points us to Elizabeth Farrelly’s review in the SMH . She attended the glittering opening with a “litigation” of architects, and bumped into Jeffrey Kipnis, who suggested that the Australians need to, “drop the naïve act.” Whereas other pavilions have an angle, something to say about architecture’s role in the state and fate of things, the RAIA-funded pavilion is less controversial. Farrelly quotes RAIA president Howard Tanner as saying that, “the Biennale is about the need to publicise.”
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Hamer Hall
Roy Ground’s 1982 Hamer Hall (Melbourne), glittering gold mixing it with rough aggregate, is about to get an update. Apparently the Arts Centre is not facing the right way. Sturt Street and Southgate aren’t getting enough attention. So the Black Box will move, and from the looks of the sketch above ( FJMT ?), the award-winning EQ restaurant (by NMBW ) will disappear too. According to Premier Brumby the changes will, “bring the arts closer to the people and the people closer to the arts.” The centre will close in 2010 for its $128.5M renovations. The gaudy but beautiful interiors may be stripped and refashioned into something a little less flamboyant – the Premier talks about “new and expanded foyer spaces”. I hope they are careful – Hamer Hall has some heritage protection so it could be a battle.
10.09.08 in buildings
TMAG
JPW and Terroir’s concept plans for the redevelopment of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery were released recently. Neighbouring Dunn Place has much urban potential, as was identified in the Hobart Waterfront competition a couple of years back (whatever came from that?). That competition was interested in strengthening North-South links from the waterfront through Dunn Place to City Hall and beyond.
08.09.08 in urban-design
Feeling the pinch
Squatting seemed to have disappeared from the public view in Melbourne, but now it’s back. With rentals almost impossible to find, and not cheap when you do , students have taken over vacant Faraday Street housing owned by Melbourne University. They are hoping to twist Unimelb’s arm till they agree to a housing co-op on the site.
31.08.08 in housing
Rudolph Art & Architecture building tarted up
A follow up to a post last year that no one will remember. Paul Rudolph’s Art and Architecture building at Yale University has been reawoken with a major reno by Gwathmey Siegel . Unfortunately Gwathmey has tried to be respectful but has ended up building a pretty bland lean-to that looks so light that it could fly off Rudolph’s grand hulk (maybe it will one day). This review at Bloomberg is not full of praise of Rudolph’s design, and manages to use the word “ghastly” twice within three paragraphs – to describe the reinstated light fittings and orange carpet. Susan Sontag didn’t like it either, calling it, “style at the expense of content.” What great brutalist style it is though.
Lebbeus Woods sticks with the pencils
Israel’s Wall – 2004
28.08.08 in architects
Architect / protaganist:
Dunedin wonders
27.08.08 in cities video-clips
Architecture, the expression of the materials and methods of our times
Corb writing for Architectural Record in 1929, not a lot changes.
25.08.08 in architects
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Nakagin Capsule Tower
To make up for last week’s shock about the demolition of Shin Takamatsu’s Syntax building in Kyoto, a building that I thought had been demolished is still just hanging in there. The demolition and replacement of the late Kisho Kurokawa’s Nagakin Capsule Tower (1972) was announced early last year, but there is no sign of action that I can find on the web. Residents have been trying to get the pod stack rebuilt since 2005. Kurokawa’s metabolist intention that the pods be individually updated as required has never been fulfilled, so the 36 year old facilities are getting a bit worn. Asbestos and earthquake concerns are also cited as reasons for the impending tumble. And I don’t know where you get new spooling music tapes for the built in hifi units .
24.08.08 in buildings heritage
Architect / protaganist:
Domesticated animals
Melbourne’s Nest Architecture , perhaps tiring of the lets-empty-the-place approach to architectural photography, worked with artist Tai Snaith to ‘people’ one of their houses with a collection of animals (stuffed, wooden, and real) and related bits and pieces. The result was then photographed by documentary photographer Jesse Marlow . They tell me a fun day was had by all. Maybe they can fit a horse in next time. More on their site .
18.08.08 in architects photographers
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India builds schools, watches monuments crumble
In an address to the nation today (India’s 61st birthday), Indian PM Manmohan Singh announced that education would be given something of a boost to improve access to education and health. Two new architecture schools are planned, and… lordy… “6,000 new high-quality model schools, 373 new colleges, 30 new universities, eight new IITs, seven new IIMs, 20 new IIITs, five new Indian Institutes of Science, 10 new NITs and 1,000 new polytechnic institutes.” In 2007 there were about 100 institutions in India offering architecture courses, up from 40 in 1988 and just one in 1948.
Inside Beijing's Big Box of Blue Bubbles
A detailed technological (and geometrical review) of PTW’s Beijing Water Cube.
14.08.08 in reviews
Architect / protaganist:
Hearth with a view
Down in Queenstown, NZ, it gets so cold that people like to heat their driveways (don’t worry they’re on hydro). Not far away, Fearon Hay have recently erected a stone box, dug back into a spur, with a ridiculous view across Lake Wakatipu. Wallpaper magazine spotted the house and have just featured it. From a dark cavernous interior, the living room opens out to the light, the view, and a clever little fireplace (I don’t think that runs on hydro…).
13.08.08 in architects
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Neutra Unsold
Richard Neutra’s house for Edgar Kaufmann in Palm Springs was auctioned at Christie’s in May (here’s the PDF flyer ), sandwiched between other modern painters and sculptors. Bidding started at $9.5M. and it sold for US $16.8M. Phew – though they were expecting up to $25M. The Art Newspaper revealed last week that a week after the auction, it all came unstuck. They quote Christie’s as saying, “the Kaufmann House contract has been terminated by the seller by reason of a breach of its terms by the buyer.” They must be worrying about their $1.8M commission…
12.08.08 in buildings
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