Void, immaterial… essence « the place of dreams. For some strange reason, today, in my search for inspiration, all I can think of is one thing: void… large, deep, intense void. I do not know if it is because of the long time that has passed since I wrote my last essay, or because of the sensation we get after the Holidays end, but the void is the only thing in my mind now. And the feeling is so strong that invades my body. I cannot stay seated. I feel like levitating among my books and memories. I cannot breathe… I need some air. So I decide to take a walk, go outside and feel the void in the middle of the city and experience the sensation that produces the architectural construction of the nothing.
A specific concept appears in my memory. It is similar to the idea described by the concept of yin and yang, which represents the duality of everything in the universe. I stop rambling for a moment, and I make myself aware of where I am. I remember my college years and urban planning projects pop up in my memory. Did you like it? Like this: Blueprint Magazine - Architecture & Design. 2011 AIA Honor Award / Horizontal Skyscraper / Steven Holl Architects. There are some buildings that have the power to make one step back and simply enjoy being part of our profession. For us, Steven Holl’sHorizontal Skyscraper does just that. As we’ve been sharing with you, it is a project that gracefully hovers above the Shenzhen landscape, allowing both the ground and the elevated ground plane to be occupied. The project balances the built with the natural as reflecting pools and lush greenery are interspersed with small restaurants and cafes, and as the “sunken cubes” of the main wings of the center – glass volumes offering 360 degree views – strengthen the connection with the landscape.
The building has recently been awarded a 2011 AIA Institute Honor Award for its architectural creativity and contextual thoughtfulness. The jury commented, “This project skips along from mound to mound and manipulates the landscape – it builds it up and shapes it into a powerful form above the land with inventive manipulation. . © Iwan Baan. Broad Art Foundation in Los Angeles - Architecture Review. Hugh Hamilton for The New York Times A composite photograph showing Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles. The parking lot is where Eli Broad’s proposed museum is to be built. The Walt Disney Concert Hall is at far right. Despite the tens of millions he has poured into the city’s art institutions, Mr. Broad’s reputation as a cultural patron is, to put it politely, subpar. Among architects he is known as someone with a gift for getting the worst buildings from the most highly regarded talents — a reputation that was pretty much cemented with the opening of the $50 million Broad Contemporary Art Museum at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, a bland, uninspired travertine box by Renzo Piano that ranks somewhere near the bottom of that architect’s achievements.
Just as bad is his failure, in the view of many (myself included), to grasp the peculiar beauty of Los Angeles, its oddly hypnotic blend of flimsy houses and muscular freeways, raw nature and metropolitan grit. Architects, Do Better. Congratulations Architects, you have the luxury of cynicism. So, I just finished a cute post about Architects being pantless Aliens -which was fun, mainly because I got to use the phrase “insecure and arrogant at the same time”. Aren’t I awesome for coming up with that? What an edgy, blogger I am, taking on the big issues. Yep, that’s right I, my loyal readers, must have huevos grandes (that’s how they say “big balls” in Texas – and it helps if you make a hand-cupping gesture as you say it).
But, eventually that angsty high begins to wear off and I find myself just sitting at my desk bemoaning the state of the economy and wondering where my next paycheck is coming from. This seems to be my marketing plan >>> wait on the phone to ring + worry = I’m Awesome This may not be the best marketing plan… But, it’s the extent of the marketing skills that my experience in this profession has left me with. Is it really difficult being an architect in America? We, Architects, are privileged. No. Jody. Design Unveiled for the Broad Museum by Diller Scofidio + Renfro. If you are a regular ArchDaily reader you know that we have been providing ongoing coverage of Eli Broad’s Broad Museum in Los Angeles. Nearly 120,000 sqf and $130 million dollars, invitations were given to six top architects to submit designs for the new museum. Rem Koolhaas, Herzog and de Meuron, Christian de Portzamparc, Ryue Nishizawa and Kazuyo Sejima, Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Foreign Office Architects competed and in August we informed you that Diller Scofidio + Renfro garnered the commission.
Today, the design for the Broad Museum has been released. Situated adjacent to Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall and Arata Isozaki’s Museum of Contemporary Art, the museum has become a key part of the Grand Avenue redevelopment project that has been losing steam. The core of the design lies with in two large rectangular boxes.
The vault, veil, and dimple are just some of the terms that have been used by the architects to refer to the different areas of their design.