290 Mulberry     New York, New York     (2009)

SHoP Architects

290 Mulberry is a contemporary reinterpretation of decorative brickwork (a), effectively mixing craft and innovation (b) on a large scale.

(a) Puck Building     Manhattan, New York City     (1885)

Albert and Herman Wagnar

(b) Alice H. Cook House     Cornell University, Ithaca, New York     (2004)

Kieran Timberlake

All You Can Eat: A Buffet of Architectural Ideas for Cleveland

What is Cleveland’s recommended daily intake of architecture?

All You Can Eat  posits that Cleveland is of a high metabolic rate, that it burns through ideas faster than they can be generated. In response, All You Can Eat presents a binge of possible futures excessive in scale and exhaustive in scope, ideas both raw and cooked, half-baked and hair-brained. All You Can Eat is a an event/exhibition to be held at The Sculpture Center in Fall 2009. A formal announcement and call for entries is forthcoming.

WOLKON      Paasdorf, Mistelbach, Austria     (2008)

feld 72

“Would you choose between parking and public space?” is an appropriate statement by the architect for this transitional project. Both Art and Architecture, this design attempts to function as icon, bus stop and venue for a small “street village” in Lower Austria. Here, the existing village square and car park act as the framework for spatial play that allows visitors to participate in daily (re)configuration.

CASA 205     Vacarisses, Spain     (2008)

H Arquitectes

Here, the relationship of building to topography creates drama (a), while the controlled material palette allows the formal/opening concept (b) and act of inhabiting (c) to move the foreground.

(a) HAUS SCHNITZER-BRUCH      Mühlgraben, Austria     (2007)

Maaars Architektur

(b) WOZOCO HOUSING     Amsterdam, The Netherlands     (1997)

MVRDV

(c) CABIN NORDMARKA     Nordmarka, Norway    (2004)

Jarmund/Vigsnæs AS Architects MNAL

HOUSE R     Bohinj, Slovenia     (2008)

Bevk Perovic Arhitekti

This is a beautiful spin on a traditional typology (a), which has the ability to be opened and closed (b) in response to its environment with views out framed by selective openings (c).

(a) 6x11 ALPINE HUT     Stara Fuzina, Slovenia     (2009)

OFIS arhitekti

(b) KULTURFABRIK KOFMEHL     Soloturn, Switzerland     (2005)

ssm Architekten ag

(c) HOUSE IN SCAIANO     Scaiano, Switzerland     (2005)

Wespi de Meuron Architekten

THE DAIRY HOUSE     Hadspen, Somerset, England     (2008)

Skene Catling de la Pena

Part of the historic Hadspen Castle Estate, the Dairy House fits beautifully into its rich context (a) while possessing an edgy quality that makes it intriguing (b).

(a) BOOK PALACE     Hadspen, Somerset, England     (2001)

Cedric Price

(b) PETTING FARM     Almere, The Netherlands     (2008)

70F Architecture

SLIDING HOUSE     Suffolk, England     (2009)

dRMM Architects

The contemporary desire for flexible environments can be analyzed in degrees of temporality (or permanence). In a nomadic sense, we can design our environment to take with us (a); create something that travels to us and then is grounded (b,c); or build a grounded environment that can be physically altered to manipulate space and light (d). This house is the embodiment of the latter.

(a) AIRSTREAM       location not defined

Airstream, Inc.

(b) XBO MOBILE STRUCTURE     location not defined     (2004)

70 N Arkitektur AS  

(c) ROLLING HUTS      Mazama, Washington     (2008)

OSKA ARCHITECTS

(d) STOREFRONT FOR ART AND ARCHITECTURE     New York City, New York     (1993)

Vito Acconci and Steven Holl

 CASTEL FIRMIANO MESSNER MOUNTAIN MUSEUM     Bozen, Italy

Werner Tscholl

The Castel Firmiano Museum finds a delicate balance between old and new (a) / form and topography (b), enhancing each relationship through the use of perforated metal (c).

(a) CASTELVECCHIO MUSEUM     Verona, Italy     (1973)

Carlo Scarpa

(b) SINGLE FAMILY HOUSE     Riva San Vitale, Ticino, Switzerland      (1973)

Mario Botta Architetto

(c) SARPHATISTRAAT OFFICES     Amsterdam, The Netherlands     (2000)

Steven Holl Architects

 ARCHEOLOGY MUSEUM     Alava, Vitoria, Spain     (2008)

Mangado y Asociados S L

The Archeology Museum is an intriguing response to its urban context (a,b), using interior materials and light to engage the viewer with exhibition spaces.

(a) RESIDENTIAL BUILDING D     Venice, Italy     (2002)

Cino Zucchi Architetti

(b) PORTER HOUSE     New York City, New York     (2003)

SHoP Architects

KASTRUP SEA BATH     Kastrup, Tarnby, Denmark     (2004)

White Arkitekter AB

The Sea Bath is a unique recreational amenity (a,b) and vista (c) in the Øresund which utilizes its natural context (d) to create memorable experience.

(a) BADESCHIFF AN DER SPREE    Treptow, Berlin, Germany     (2007)

AMP arquitectos with Gil Wilk and Susanne Lorenz

(b) COPENHAGEN HARBOUR BATH     Copenhagen, Denmark     (2003)

PLOT=(BIG + JDS)

(c) BLUR BUILDING     Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland     (2002)

Diller Scofidio + Renfro

(d) NATIONAL TOURIST ROUTES PROJECTS     Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway      (2005)

70 N Arkitektur AS   

KULTURFABRIK KOFMEHL     Soloturn, Switzerland     (2005)

ssm Architekten ag

Thr Kulturfabrik captures the raw, counterculture aesthetic (a) of the Swiss youth scene while formalizing a small venue (b) in a pure, artistic manner (c). 

(a) PERFORMERS HOUSE      The Paper Mills, Silkeborg, Denmark     (2007)

Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects

(b) STUDIO 4     Zurich, Switzerland     (1949)

Werner Frey with Roman Clemens

 (c) FLORIST     Malmo, Sweden      (1969)

Sigurd Lewerentz

COURT OF SANT BOI     Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain     (2006)

BAAS

The Court of Sant Boi is a unique conceptual expression of openness (a) with a controlled material palette (b); allowing light and space to become active participants in the perception of form (c).

(a) AMERICA’S CUP BUILDING     Valencia, Spain     (2007)

David Chipperfield Architects

(b) KREMATORIUM BAUMSCHULENWEG     Treptow, Berlin, Germany     (2000)

Axel Schultes & Charlotte Frank 

(c) DE VERBEELDING     Zeewolde, The Netherlands      (2000)

 Rene van Zuuk Architekten bv

ROOF DIVERSITY     Croydon, London, England     (2004)

AOC

This project is a provocation for the use (or reuse) of space often cluttered by building support systems; adding a new layer of energy to the post-industrial urban experience.

sim: Shrinking Cities Pop Up City Raggi Verdi

MOUNTAIN DWELLINGS     Orestad, Copenhagen, Denmark     (2008)

BIG and JDS Architects

The second VM project by PLOT (a), now BIG and JDS respectively, the Mountain Dwellings toy with a figurative relationship to Denmark’s flat landscape (b,c) while exploiting the programmatic challenge of car and dwelling (d) to enable the clarity of concept in realized form.

(a) 230 DWELLINGS IN ORESTAD     Orestad, Copenhagen, Denmark     (2005)

Plot= BIG + JDS

(b) FUZZY LOGIC: THE MOUNTAIN DWELLINGS, COPENHAGEN

Michael Abrahamson, Critic Under the Influence. 8July2009

(c) HABITAT 67    Montreal, Quebec, Canada     (1967)

Moshe Safdie

(d) ROOF ROAD NT    Den Haag, The Netherlands    (2001)

NL Architects