Rahm’s Security Loves Art, Passes On Booze
It’s been (another) terrible year for Jeanne Gang! From being awarded the MacArthur Genius Grant to starring in the just opened solo exhibition, Building: Inside Studio Gang Architects, at the Art Institute, there appears to be no slowdown in Studio Gang momentum. Of course, Eavesdrop stopped by the opening and we have a few things to say. The first has little to do with Jeanne and more with the Art Institute. Their openings are always so snoozy! Get more of the students and younger folks in there, in addition to your stodgy museum patrons! We probably wouldn’t have stuck around long, accept a little bird told us that Mayor Rahm Emanuel would be making an appearance and we wanted to see how short he is in real life.
Zoë Ryan, the museum’s chair of the department of architecture and design, looked nervous awaiting Rahm’s arrival, while Jeanne looked quite at ease, milling about in a really cute dress. One of the hottest architects in the world is certainly in the same power echelon as the mayor of the Second City.
Last Weekend To See London Design Festival’s Parametric KREOD Pavilion
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An easy to build structure brings advanced parametric design together with Kebony’s revolutionary EcoTimber
For the next 48 hours the busy plaza located in London’s Greenwich Peninsula by the O2 Arena (where the Olympic gymnastics were held this summer) will house the modular, geometrically sophisticated pavilion KREOD. Developed by Chun Qing Li of Pavilion Architecture, KREOD is a sturdy, secure, and weatherproof structure built as an exhibition space for London Design Festival. The three interchangeable pods that make up its body can be arranged in a variety of configurations for a number of purposes, from a temporary pavilion to an outdoor bike shed to free standing meeting pods or dining areas. Read More
What would Mies do?
Rendering of proposal to add to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. (Courtesy Mies van der Rohe Society)
The Freelon Group showed off renderings for their renovation of Mies van der Rohe’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in downtown Washington, D.C. Presented to the library’s Board of Directors as part of a long-running discussion over what to do with the central library, the scheme includes a four-story atrium, two additional floors for new tenants, a landscaped public roof garden, and a new ground-level café. According to developer Jair Lynch, the project would cost $175 to $200 million.
League of Shadows Will Invade SCI-Arc
(Courtesy P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S)
We just got our first look at next year’s SCI-Arc graduation pavilion, League of Shadows, by Los Angeles-firm P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S. Whoah. The pavilion, which will seat 1,200 people, will be built in the SCI-Arc parking lot for graduation events in spring 2013. The three-fingered structure will be made up of multi-story, angled frames (ahem) patterned with dark, vaulted, and layered multi-colored fabric strips, with seams like sails. The pavilion’s significant height will provide long shadows (hence the project’s name) and its location on the south end of the SCI-Arc parking lot will make it a sign for the school. Entries from the four competing architects will be on display in the SCI-Arc Library Gallery from October 19 to December 2.
On View> Andrea Zittel: Fluid Panel State
(Courtesy Andrea Rosen Gallery)
Andrea Zittel: Fluid Panel State
Andrea Rosen Gallery
New York
524 West 24 Street
Through October 27
Andrea Zittel’s tenth solo show, Fluid Panel State, at the Andrea Rosen Gallery, her expands on her previous ideas that our culture is fixated on assigning order to a chaotic world by defining the personal and social significance of objects and by creating a distinction between everyday objects and art. Zittel demonstrates through a panel, a nebulous form, how an object can exceed functional properties, such as shelter or clothing, to convert into an art object, such as a tapestry or a painting. The gallery is compiled mostly of handmade textiles, designed by Zittel, but also includes large enamel paintings, smaller framed paintings on paper, and a large carpet placed in the center of the installation. A PowerPoint presentation further discusses the properties of the fluid panel state expanding on the importance positioning has in attributing meaning to a flat panel. Ultimately the exhibit leaves viewers to decide if they are experiencing art or object.
An Award Winning Recyclable Ribbon of Celebration
ENfold Pavilion, a new temporary landscape installation designed by Perkins + Will in Boston’s Evans Way Park, utilizes natural reusable materials as its base and steers clear of harmful environmental impacts in both its construction and placement. The installation, which was chosen for Boston Society of Architects Unbuilt Design Award prior to being realized, celebrates the recent designation of Boston’s Fenway as Boston’s first state-wide cultural district
The permeable light catching ribbon is made of garden bed-liner fabric and is held in place by an invisible network of stainless steel cables. Its organic free-flowing form mimes the grace and movement of the expanse of tree branches above and is loosely woven between their trunks. ENfold’s spatial layout delineates a natural framework for park-goers and creates a natural “stage” for musical performances and other art happenings. The 500 foot long semi-translucent fabric loops its way throughout the entire park echoing wind and light along its way. The fabric will be recycled and used for the Boston Parks Department’s 2013 growing season.
Highlights From Seattle Design Festival 2012
Seattle Design Festival block; looking east. (Ariel Rosenstock)
Sure this month is Archtober in New York. But last month non-profit group Design in Public got things rolling when it hosted the second annual Seattle Design Festival. The weekend-long event showcased projects, promoted design, and featured discussions and panels. One notable highlight: a block in the South Lake Union neighborhood was taken over by transformed shipping containers housing various interior designs, a feedback space for comments on an upcoming design plan for Seattle, and a design product pop-up shop.
Giveaway> Tickets for Designers & Books Fair in Manhattan
This year is the first ever Designers & Books Fair in Manhattan and The Architect’s Newspaper is giving away two Exhibition Floor Tickets to one lucky reader to attend the event. The fair, presented by the Designers & Books website that reveals architects’ favorite reads, runs from Friday, October 26 to 28 at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan. The event will exhibit leading design book publishers and sellers from the United States and Europe along with discussions, interviews, and presentations from an international panel of designers including Todd Oldham, Hal Rubenstein, Michael Bierut, Steven Heller, Paul Goldberger, Tod Williams and Billy Tsien among others. There will also be rare and out-of-print book dealers, with up to 40 percent discounts, book signings, and demonstrations on calligraphy, letterpress printing, and bookbinding.
To win a ticket, post a comment below with the title of your favorite architecture or design book. We’ll choose a random winner Thursday at 1:00p.m. EST. For more information about the fair, the schedule, and to purchase exhibition floor or panel tickets, visit the Designers & Books’ website.
Mycotecture: Exploring the Potential Materiality of Mushrooms
Mycotecture. (Courtesy of Phil Ross)
While the idea of living in a house made of mushrooms might conjure up visions from the Smurfs or one of a handful of whimsical houses across the country, artist/inventor turned mycologist Phil Ross is using mushrooms as the buildings blocks for a new construction material with some distinct advantages.
Ross has dedicated his career to the organism, recently discovering that its root-like network lying just underground is quite similar to concrete when dried, but actually stronger. The dried mycelium can be shaped into a brick, or almost any other form, and is fire, water and even mold resistant.
PRODUCT> M2L brings Thonet’s Gebrüder T 1819 to the US
The special “knotted” version of Thonet’s coffee house chair.
Ever since Michael Thonet established Gebrüder in 1819, the brand has been at the forefront of mass producing the now iconic bentwood and tubular steel furniture by designers from the Bauhaus era as well as contemporary designers and architects, as well as Thonet himself, of course. Gebrüder is not only one of the oldest modern design brands and manufacturers, it’s also one of the few that are still family owned and managed. The 5th generation of Thonet’s (Michael’s great-great-grandchildren) currently run the company in Germany, but a few days ago they announced their new partnership with M2L to distribute classics like Mart Stam’s chrome-plated cantilevered chair and the Vienna coffee house chair that started it all to the US market.
Two New Apps Change the Way Designers See Architecture
Sketches from the Trace application over a site image (Courtesy Morpholio)
Two new apps are helping to change the relationship between architecture and technology, allowing architects and designers to sketch and trace and view augmented reality 3-D renderings right on their iPads.
As its name suggests, the Trace app from the Morpholio Project allows users to draw—with a stylus or a finger—over digitized manilla-yellow tracing paper and sketch graphic concepts directly onto an iPad screen. Designers can add new layers of Trace, creating a timeline for the design process and allowing for easy sharing between colleagues.
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