Green roof tops Daum Communications / Ilshin Building, Seoul, Korea Seoul is not known for it eco-friendly building designs, but a couple of buildings I encountered recently, which have significant green roofs, have made me thinks that there may be hope yet for this city. A Green roof according the Wikipedia: A green roof is…
Tag: architecture
How Buildings Learn: Seattle Public Library
Central Library, Seattle, USA (Rem Koolhaas, OMA) How does a public library cope in a digital age? How does a physical space handle a virtual classification system such as the Dewey Decimal system, and continuously changing needs? In the Seattle Public Library’s Central Library, designed by Rem Koolhaas / OMA, books stacks run in a…
Photo Break: Congrexpo
Lille Grande Palais/Congrexpo, Lille, France (Rem Koolhaas, OMA) Photo taken in 1995, shortly after Lille Grande Palais / Congrexpo in Lille, France was completed. Designed by Rem Koolhaas/OMA.
America’s Favorite Architecture
The American Institute of Architects (aka the AIA), celebrating its 150th Anniversary, put together a website of America’s favorite architecture. The list was compiled by polling its members. The result is a collection of 150 buildings, bridges, monuments and memorials which users can vote on. What’s nice is that they have added models to Google…
Projecting Corporate Identity to Retail
I used to live in Fairfax Virginia, about 10 minutes away from Tyson’s Corner Mall. Tyson’s Corner was the mythical location of the first Apple Store which opened in the summer of 2001. When I first visited the Apple Store in 2001, it was like setting foot inside a gallery: very quiet, uncrowded, with patrons…
Simplicity, Complexity and Contradiction in Design
Belatedly I finished John Maeda‘s book, The Laws of Simplicity, which outlines ten laws for balancing simplicity and complexity in business, technology and design. In effect he is building on the “Less is More” principle, popularized by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (originally spoken by Robert Browning in 1855.) I’ve been a long admirer…
Lloyd’s of London Photo on Schmap
A photos I took back in 1989 of Richard Rogers‘s Lloyd’s of London made it on to Schmap‘s guide to London, a dynamically travel guide which bills itself as: Exploring a Schmap Guide is a uniquely interactive experience: maps and guide content are dynamically integrated, allowing intuitive, real-time access to reviews and photo slideshows for…
The Unbearable Lightness of Building
Amazing photograph of the P&O Building in London getting dismantled bottom up. It reveals how the whole building is actually supported by the structural utility core, and that volume does not equate to weight. [Daily Mail via BLDGBLOG] The angle and composition of the photo reminds me of two painting, one by René Magritte and…
When a Display Becomes Architectural
The video wall inside the IAC building, Frank Gehry’s New York City landmark is huge. At this scale is ceases to be a “display” screen and comes into the realm of the architectural, where it starts to define the character of the space. This is very high on the list of places to visit next…
One Afternoon at the Getty Center
The Getty Center, Los Angeles (Richard Meier) I’ve spent a lot of time in Los Angeles in the past few months consulting for a client there. In a short-but-sweet time off, I did get to visit the Getty Center, a huge $1.2 billiion complex overlooking LA, designed by Richard Meier, which was literally walking distance…