Architecture Style

Adjacent to the Pritzger Pavilion, by Frank Gehry,are 2 other interesting pieces of sculpture that really capture 2 different styles of monuments.The first is a very classical structure, the Millennium Monument in Wrigley Square. It is a slightly smaller version of a Greek (doric) styled monument, designed by Edward Bennett, (who also designed the famous Buckingham Fountain nearby) which stood nearby from 1917 till 1953. I love classical structures like these, but sadly it was the emptiest part of the whole park.The Cloud-gate, lovingly nicknamed the bean for obvious reasons, was immensly more popular. I could see why: totally interactive, people loved to look at their own reflections 'carnival style' and walk in, around and under it. The sculpture sits in the AT&T plaza section: built of polished steel, it weighs in at 110 TONS! The heavy work was the first installation by artist Anish Kapoor in the United States and cost upwards of $23 million -about 5 times more than the classical Millenium monument! It is meant to depict a drop of mercury right before impact with the ground. The sculpture was hand polished on site after delivery to hide the weld-lines. They did a good job because it is amazingly PERFECT (although it could do with a good washing with windex!). You can easily see why this is the most popular piece in the park! If you plan a trip to Chicago (and you must!) plan to visit the Millennium Park!

PS1 Young Architects Program, 2009, originally uploaded by downtownBLUE.

Afterparty, this year's P.S.1 Young Architects Program by MOS, 2009. The installation opened Sunday and runs until September 28. Also on display at the museum is YAP 10th Anniversary Review, "a visual chronicle of P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center and The Museum of Modern Art's Young Architects Program, one of the most acclaimed architectural arenas for emerging talent of the last decade."

Previously.

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My weekly page update:

Spuimarkt in The Hague, Netherlands by BOLLES+WILSON.

This week's book review is 2G 48/49 Mies van der Rohe: Houses edited by Moisés Puente.

Some unrelated links for your enjoyment, three solid recent Archinect features:

ShowCase: Storage Barn
A workshop and storage facility designed by Gray Organschi Architecture.

Urban China, Crisis, and the Bootlegging of a Magazine
A three-part interview about publications around the recent Urban China: Informal Cities exhibition.

Working out of the Box: Thumb
Architects designing beautiful books.

Over at David Byrne's blog I came across this monstrosity by none other than Michael Graves, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas in Houston, Texas. The former Talking Head memorably says, "This very out of place structure somehow lingers, like a fart left by someone no longer in an elevator."


[Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas in Houston, TX by Michael Graves & Associates | image source]

The architect explains the building "is a 300,000-square-foot office building and regional bank-processing center. A pitched roof marks the wing housing secure cash processing facilities on the lower floors, while a boardroom, meeting rooms, and dining rooms benefit from panoramic views of the Houston skyline visible from the two levels above. The wing opposite contains the storage vault under a green tile barrel-vaulted roof. These volumes are intended to exhibit the Bank’s commitment to security, as the loggia at the building’s entrance suggests outreach and openness."


[Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas in Houston, TX by Michael Graves & Associates | image source]

The Masonry Contractor's Association of America (MCAA) calls the building a true "masonry masterpiece." Why? One reason is because "Mr. Graves used masonry extensively for both the exterior and interior construction." How much is extensive? "The overall exterior consists of 537,000 closure brick (4"x8"x4"), 31,400 blue structural glazed tile (8"x8"x4"), 90,000 modular accent brick and 3,307 cubic feet of cast stone. Additionally, the architect utilized 3,428SF of green precast paving (to match the color of money) at the main entrance stairways and accent pavers in the concrete plaza...over 178,450 fully grouted and extensively reinforced concrete masonry units were used for backup and partition walls...Over 5,800 SF of Hadrian limestone and Palamino tile adorns the main entrance lobby, boardroom and executive restrooms. Green glazed tile units (over 15,000 of them) were used in the walls of the cash processing areas as well." That's alotta masonry!


[Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas in Houston, TX by Michael Graves & Associates | image source]

Another reason the MCAA loves this building is because Mr. Graves made the thing look like it was made of GIGANTIC bricks, like a toy model blown up to the scale of a real building inhabited by real people. Those 31,400 blue structural glazed tiles help make the majority of the exterior walls read in this manner; they are the mortar to the 537,000 closure bricks "bricks." It's deplorable, as if Mr. Graves is regressing into a grade-schooler. I'm surprised that the Federal Reserve Bank sees this postmodern playfulness as appropriate for a fairly serious institution. Perhaps they are trying to paint a goofy face on highly secure facility.


[Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas in Houston, TX by Michael Graves & Associates | image source]

That said, I actually like the footprint and massing of the building, the way it fizzles from the pedimented face fronting the highway to the old building it is linked to. The colonnaded roof deck is equally hokey, and maybe unusable during many months in Houston, but it seems to be in the right place. Nevertheless, it does not make up for a design that continues Mr. Graves' treatment of buildings as purely graphic exercises, apparently removed from the considerations of not only occupants but those that are confronted with his buildings on the outside.


[Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas in Houston, TX by Michael Graves & Associates | image source]


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Alabama Veterans Memorial, originally uploaded by Burton24.

Alabama Veteran's Memorial in Birmingham, Alabama by Giattina Aycock Architecture Studio.

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A lot has been said in the media lately about local desinations being popular this summer or the 'staycation'. Use this little reminder as your incentive to get out there and see something new: it is the season after all!

I saw these creative cufflinks on Ebay and thought they were so clever! Architectural measurements of the actual cufflink of 3/4" x 1/2"; they even got the script right! Yours for only $45 on ebay HERE (PS: I have no affiliation with the seller at all).

Brandon Safford's I Dream of Architecture, a new blog I linked to last Monday, has posted an interview with me, in which we discuss architecture, education, blogging, and other fun topics. Accompanying the interview are images from my CCNY Urban Design studio final project (the flip book one) in Lago Agrio, Ecuador.

Here's a couple views of the Mount Bonnell residence in Austin, Texas by Dick Clark Architecture. Photographs are by dick clark_dca.

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Since Blogger's tag feature doesn't work too well with my old-skool template, I've created this archive of Half Dose features, with the most recent at the top. This post can be found via the series listing in the "Previous Posts" section of the sidebar at right.


#76: Johnson Chapel at Trinity School


#75: Rolex Learning Center


#74: Park Avenue South


#73: Leaf House


#72: Macallen Building


#71: Grand Teton National Park Discovery and Visitor Center


#70: East Village Penthouse & Rooftop Garden


#69: Wasted


#68: Pneumatic Amplifier


#67: HL23 OnSite Sales Tin


#66: Kortrijk Central Library by REX


#65: Villa in Pedralbes by Foreign Office Architects


#64: Martha und Daniel Gantenbein by Bearth & Deplazes Architekten with Gramazio & Kohler


#63: Taets Art and Conference Center by 123DV


#62: Ephemeral Pavilion by Vora Arquitectura


#61: Forestal by Pezo von Ellrichshausen Architects


#60: Long Island City Bakery by Office for Design & Architecture


#59: Animal Refuge Center by Arons en Gelauff Architecten


#58: Prayer and Meditation Pavilion by Studio Tamassociati


#57: Stockwerk Sedelmeier by w67 architekten bda schulz + stoll


#56: Stillman Studio by Pyatt Studio


#55: Taipei Performing Arts Center by Architects.Collaborative


#54: Pentagon Memorial by Kaseman Beckman Advanced Strategies


#53: Lycée Agricole by Perraudin Architectes


#52: Ewha Womans University Campus Center by Dominique Perrault


#51: Peet House by Studio Klink


#50: Concurso Fiscalia by Productora


#49: Orquideorama by Plan B, with JPRCR


#48: Small Projects by Kevin Mark Low


#47: Chamber Orchestra of Cascais by ARX Portugal


#46: Accordia, Cambridge by Feilden Clegg Bradley


#45: Holbæk Kasba by Bjarke Ingels Group


#44: Saint- Nazaire Alvéole 14 by LIN Finn Geipel + Giulia Andi


#43: Tile for Yu-un by Olafur Eliasson


#42: East River State Park by Gareth Mahon; 3SAP's Alison Duncan, Petra Mager, and Stephanie Saulmon; and Fabrica 718's Julie Torres Moskovitz and Sarah Ludington


#41: Hungerbergbahn by Zaha Hadid


#40: Novelty Hill-Januik Winery by Mithun


#39: Rolling Huts by Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects


#38: Secret Sauna by vision division


#37: Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art by Kyu Sung Woo Architects


#36: Kolumba by Peter Zumthor


#35: QBG Visitors Center by BKSK Architects


#34: Panoramic Garden of CCIS by Sadar Vuga Arhitekti


#33: EPFL Learning Center by SANAA


#32: Hybrid Urban Sutures by Aziza Chaouni


#31: Z-House by 3XN


#30: Urban Cactus by UCX Architects


#29: Laminata House by Kruunenberg Van der Erve Architecten


#28: House of Sweden by Gert Wingardh


#27: Glass Sea by Alec French Architects


#26: Big Box Housing by David Woodhouse


#25: Belmont/Thurman Lofts by Holst Architecture


#24: House in Brejos de Azeitao by Aires Mateus


#23: Metropol Parasol by J. Mayer H.


#22: Mother's by Clive Wilkinson


#21: S(ch)austall by FNP Architekten


#20: Mercat de Santa Caterina by EMBT


#19: Palace Fouquet's Barriere by Edouard Francois


#18: Mount Tindaya by Eduardo Chillida


#17: Sudwestmetall by Transsolar


#16: Platypusary by Cassandra Complex


#15: Dirty Magic by Hal Ingberg | Architecte


#14: homecouture by Franken Architekten


#13: Noguchi Museum by Sage and Coombe Architects


#12: Inn the Park by Michael Hopkins


#11: Tate Gallery Store by Herzog & de Meuron


#10: New Milan Trade Fair Complex by Massimiliano Fuksas


#9: Guthrie Theater by Jean Nouvel


#8: TAG McLaren HQ by Norman Foster


#7: Bioscleave House by Arakawa + Gins


#6: Old Orchard Woods by Optima


#5: O House by Kei'ichi Irie + Power Unit Studio


#4: Courtyard House by Johnsen Schmaling Architects


#3: T-Mobile Center by Gunther Domenig


#2: Bellingham Museum by Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects


#1: Baie-St-Paul City Hall by Anne Carrier Architectes