Reverse Demolition
After a debate on whether the latest sony bravia advert was animated or real I found the official website. It turns out that 70,000 litres of paint was used in the amazingly choreographed 'reverse demolition'. The ad is a follow up of sony's successful and just as colourful bouncy ball ad in San Francisco last year where 250,000 'superballs' were dropped down the streets, although this time the site being the Toryglen estate in Glasgow, where the buildings used are scheduled for actual demolition. It was directed by Jonathan Glazer, well known for his creation of the Guiness advert with the horses running through the surf. During the process 1,700 detonators, and a series of bottle bombs, cluster bombs and mortars were installed to set off the fireworks. Watch the ad at the official site:
Paint
http://www.bravia-advert.com/
Balls
http://www.bravia-advert.com/balls/
Hotel Puerta America, Madrid
The Hotel Puerta America Madrid is not your average hotel. 19 of the worlds powerhouse architects and designers have had the opportunity to design a floor, each representing their own style from every detail down to the towels. The colourful facade reveals somewhat the variety of the interior. The contributors are: Jean Nouvel, Zaha Hadid, Norman Foster, David Chipperfield, Plasma Studio, Victorio & Luccino, Mark Newson, Rod Arad, Kathryn Findlay, Richard Gluckman, Arata Isozaki, Javier Mariscal & Fernando Salas, John Pawson, Christian Liaigre, Teresa Sapey, Harriet Bourne & Jonathan Bell, Arnold Chan, Felipe Saez de Gordoa and Oscar Neimeyer. In short it is an eclectic mix of spaces, a daring project which is a bold departure from the usual. Even more they have a great website with in-depth information covering each floor. Each architect and designers' profile has a report of their own input, images and a video of their speech at the opening press conference.
Which floor is your favourite?
HPAM
http://www.hoteles-silken.com/HPAM/index.php
'Atmosphere is my style' (JMW Turner to John Ruskin in 1844)
When asked, what we speak of when we talk about architectural quality? Peter Zumthor responded in his book atmospheres quite simply: "Quality in architecture does not - not to me anyway - mean inclusion in architectural guidelines or histories of architecture or getting my work into this or that publication. Quality architecture to me is when a building manages to move me. What on earth is it that moves me?"
The book titled atmospheres represents through texts and small images his views on architecture on a more emotional, poetic, even visceral note. With continuous chapters containing theories on presence of materials, surfaces, smell, light, sound, levels of intimacy, coherence etc. Peter Zumthor describes justly, an architecture more closely related to the senses.
To fundamentally understand what Zumthor is explaining, I suggest you read the book and visit one of his 'built atmospheres'. Such as the thermal baths in Vals, a building with an overwhelming exchange with its surroundings. A truly moving experience.
bookhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Atmospheres-Architectural-Environments-Surrounding-Objects/dp/3764374950/sr=8-1/qid=1160673001/ref=sr_1_1/202-9799005-6663868?ie=UTF8&s=books thermal bathshttp://www.therme-vals.ch/?__locale=en
Absolut ads
I found this site last year, it is a gallery of absolut vodka's hugely successful advertising campaign which has over 1000 versions of the instantly recognizable form of the absolut brand bottle. It is clever how so many ideas can evolve from the simple concept of keeping the shape of the bottle and adding a witty caption. To help design these ads over the years they have commissioned designers, musicians, sculptors, fashion designers and over 300 artists; all of which leave their own visible touch. I personally like the 'places' section which contains many of the worlds famous cities all depicted 'absolut style'.Go and check it out:http://absolutad.com/absolut_gallery/singles/
Quote
“An optimist will tell you the glass is half-full, a pessimist will tell you the glass is half-empty; and the engineer will tell you the glass is twice the size it needs to be”
Audio interviews and lectures
The BBC radio 3 website has an interesting archive of 20 audio clips of interviews and lectures by famous architects . Of particular interest was one from the BBCs sounding the century collection(1999), the lecture titled 'metropolitan apotheosis' by Rem Koolhaas. Koolhaas; architect, theorist, journalist, is also a well respected 'psychoanalyst of the city' gives a short lecture on his research and theories of the contemporary urban condition in its pure form. He gives examples of how cities have resisted or succumb to becoming 'perfectly formed' in a predictable, generic, consumerist culture. Well worth a listen.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/architecture/ram/akoolhaas.ram
Other interviews range one with John Pawson on the injection of his austere style into the British consumerist market through the M&S lifestore in Gateshead, a discussion about Hampshire county councils approach to quality school design and many others including the architects Gehry, Libeskind, Grimshaw, Piano, etcetera. Find the whole collection here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/architecture/progarchive.shtml
Whilst on the topic there is also a BBC4 website containing audio interviews with earlier 20th century architects such as Le Corbusier, Groupius, van de Rohe, Speer, etc.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/audiointerviews/professions/architects.shtml
'natura mater et magistra'
I first experienced Santiago Calatravas work in Zurich when passing through Stadelhofen station, one of his many engineering-led, concrete-spined and glass-winged possibly expressionist buildings.
Whilst recently researching him I found some other underlying values of his work more interesting, as he quoted (probably not the first architect to) "geometry is fundamental to the understanding of architecture; the language of geometry is as important as the language of structure". The article went on to state that this mathematical framework has been married to a love of the sculptural potential of concrete and of forms from the natural world.
Hence the motto and title of this post 'natura mater et magistra' - nature is both mother and teacher - which says Calatrava, guided all his work.
An architect not afraid to have a signature style. http://www.calatrava.com
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