The Architectural Review articles from December 2007

The Architectural Review archives from December 2007

Assessing our global condition.(view)(event of World Architecture Festival takes place in Barcelona)
December 1, 2007... As usual, the December issue of The Architectural Review is devoted to the work of younger architects from around the world (this year from 50 countries). As in previous years, it was a pleasure to take part in the judging, not least because of...

Oswald Mathias Ungers 1926-2007.(Obituary)
December 1, 2007... It was Rem Koolhaas who gave a speech in honour of Oswald Mathias Ungers at the Berlin Neue Nationalgalerie in 2006 on the occasion of his 80th birthday. At the time, Koolhaas was opening an exhibition on OMU's lifetime achievement as Germany's...

Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs.(view )
December 1, 2007... Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs has opened at London's [O.sub.2] Arena in an exhibition that runs until 30 August 2008. It is the first time the young king's treasures have visited the UK in 35 years. Top left: Mannequin of...

Designing the Niemeyer Way.(view)(designs of Oscar Niemeyer in building an art museum)
December 1, 2007... 'In the Caminho Niemeyer, I was given the chance to integrate plastic arts and architecture. This has been a longstanding concern of mine', says the great Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, author of the cultural ensemble that bears his name...

Peter Cook: what's in a name? Does it make any difference in the world of architecture?(view)
December 1, 2007... It must have had a provocative ring about it at the time--calling your studio 'blue sky co-operative': it sounds better of course in German as 'Coop Himmelblau' and even better still if your nearest rivals name themselves after a regional...

Emerging Architecture: despite still struggling to make their professional mark, young architects can be a powerful force for good.(comment)(awards of architectural services)
December 1, 2007... Where can you find a Japanese kindergarten rubbing shoulders with a Sussex seaside cafe? A Dhaka apartment block mixing it with a Danish science park? Or an Australian playground nuzzling up to a meditation pavilion in the Sudan? The answers,...

On the shady side: an urban intervention as delightful as it is functional.
December 1, 2007... The increased interest in the way in which attitudes to nature can inform the architecture of the city is particularly evident in this unusually powerful combination of architecture, urbanism and landscape, which redefines not merely the way...

Green shields: mid-air nature is as unexpected as it is effective.(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The general condition of central Tokyo is one of extraordinary urban density, with buildings of all descriptions jammed against each other in a vibrant but sometimes claustrophobic way. Ingenious architecture, particularly domestic, fights for...

Beyond the wall: this singular design in Santiago is a sophisticated reinterpretation of the domestic exterior.
December 1, 2007... What happens if the plan, generally regarded as the key to good house design, is not the generator? Suppose you take various wall conditions and investigate what happens if their functions (inside and out) become the driver for the plan? The...

Running rings: Tezuka Architects' Fuji Kindergarten leads the way.(awards of architectural services)
December 1, 2007... Takaharu + Yui Tezuka are no strangers to the AR or the Awards for Emerging Architecture; their stunning Museum of Natural Science received a commendation in 2004. They are also no strangers to children, combining their busy professional lives...

Khartoum Zen: a place of prayer and meditation for all faiths.(designs and construction of pavilions)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... This pavilion for meditation and prayer forms part of a centre for cardiac surgery in Khartoum. The centre is run by an Italian humanitarian organisation and the pavilion is also designed by an Italian architect, Venice-based Studio...

Beside the seaside: ... where the steel bands play, Tiddley-om-pom-pom!
December 1, 2007... Though the judges thought that Thomas Heatherwick, the elfin guru of the architecturally unexpected, might already be said to have 'emerged', they could not resist this inventive and sensuous little temple to the joys of English seaside...

Bubbling up: the national aquatics centre combines steel and ETFE.(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... This high commendation recognises the contribution made by Chris Bosse who worked as lead concept architect in a creative collaboration led by PTW Architects working with Arup's Sydney office and CSCEC Shenzhen Design Institute (now named...

Healing light: a message of condolence and solidarity in Madrid.(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... On 11 March 2004 a series of bombs exploded within minutes of each other on four commuter trains in Madrid. Calculated to explode during the morning rush hour, when the trains were packed with office workers, students and schoolchildren, the...

Rock star: once again Sou Fujimoto attracts the interest of the AR's international jury.(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Readers of the AR will be familiar with this house, designed by Emerging Architecture Awards veteran Sou Fujimoto (AR August 2007). Surprisingly, the jury were less familiar with the project, and a number considered it a strong contender for a...

Field studies: Shenyang architectural university in China enjoys a productive landscape.
December 1, 2007... China's rapid urbanisation is inevitably encroaching upon arable terrain, raising serious issues of food production and sustainable land use. With a population of 1.3 billion, but with only 18 per cent of land capable of sustaining cultivation,...

Added value: Jameson's maximum effect from minimum means.(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... In Europe, we wouldn't naturally turn to the US for inspiration when considering how to add small additions to optimise the quality of existing domestic properties. With residential settlements rarely reaching the sort of densities of say...

Plastic fantastic: Jurgen Mayer H returns to the AR with unique style.(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... In an awards programme that, by its nature, tends to be dominated by small-scale work, this project for a science park in Denmark was that comparatively rare thing, a biggish building executed with confidence and brio. But despite its undoubted...

Ring House: TNA's weekend retreat extends an interest in uniting context and facade.
December 1, 2007... Ring House by young duo TNA (Makoto Takei and Chie Nabeshima) is a unique commission for an emerging Japanese architect. Built for a speculative developer on an expansive suburban site, rather than for a private client on a tight urban plot, it...

Cut and fold: a new gallery for contemporary art in Seoul is a radical urban sculpture.(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Originally founded in the late '70s, Gallery Yeh has established itself as one of Korea's leading private galleries of contemporary art. Each year it holds eight or nine exhibitions of fine art, sculpture, printmaking and installations,...

Breeze block: this Dhaka apartment block leads by example.(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Dhaka is characterised by an urban mayhem fermented by unregulated development, unreliable infrastructure and lack of green space. This project for an apartment block attempts to create a...

Spirit levels: the Ghost House creates a haunting presence.(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Regulations govern Japanese detached houses--oblique lines, plot ratios, boundary isolation. Datar adopted the archetypal primitive hut-like house. Unlike the image of a child's naive drawing, however, they chose to exaggerate the building's...

Warp and weft: a building likened to the structure of fabric.(Ueno Gas Company)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Built for the Ueno Gas Company, this 550sqm complex is in Iga City, in Mie Prefecture, Japan. With spaces that cross over each other, functions interlock giving users the flexibility to decide where to be and go in the facility. The complex...

G plan: ... reinterprets components of typical suburban houses.(Ghost House)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... While tackling the issue of Japan's strict planning regulations in a slightly less radical manner than Ghost House (p71), G House is nonetheless inventive. As such the Jury could not divide them and gave both entries a commendation. While Ghost...

Seeds of change: this lively little pre-school suggests a new approach to education in South Africa.
December 1, 2007... Though the social inequities and physical deprivation that characterised the South African educational system during the apartheid era are gradually being addressed, immense challenges still lie ahead. Of the country's 32 000 schools, half have...

Piece of pie: a museum and belvedere built in honour of Pythagoras.(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... This project is not yet complete, and as such did not qualify for consideration as an award contender. The jury, however, felt it deserved an honourable mention due to the strength and conviction of its form. Situated on an elevated site,...

The wall: functionally decorative, this screen wall serves purpose and delight.(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The delightful brick screen forms the flanking wall of the recently completed offices for the South Asian Human Rights Documentation Centre (a Delhi-based NGO). Situated on a prominent corner site, its westerly orientation means that it is...

Bamboo bar: a contemporary bamboo shelter and pool.(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... While appearing archaic and unsophisticated, this apparently primitive lashed-together structure incorporates an evaporative cooling technique and principles of aerodynamics. As part of a passive ventilation strategy, the whole building...

Remake, remodel: old shipping containers are inventively cannibalised to create a focus for play.(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Despite the fabulously whimsical name, Melbourne-based Phooey Architects (Peter Ho and his wife Emma Young) are deadly serious about issues of social responsibility and environmental awareness. Recycling is their particular forte--in a previous...

Living Steel 2007.
December 1, 2007... Living Steel, a worldwide programme to stimulate innovation in the design and construction of housing, was launched in February 2005. The programme was developed to help address societal pressures stemming from increasing urban population...

Specifier's information.(HOK Sport Architecture )(Wright Style to test glazing systems)(Hacel Network used by architectural services)
December 1, 2007... Corus Renowned sports stadiums architect, HOK Sport Architecture has specified Corus Colorcoat HPS200[R] pre-finished steel as part of the roof cladding at MK Dons new stadium. The new home for the Dons meets UEFA's Four Star...

Cersaie.(product review)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Cersaie--the International Exhibition of Ceramic Tiles and Bathrooms--celebrated its 25th anniversary earlier this year, inviting Mario Botta as guest of honour. While perusing the fine exhibits, visitors were invited to listen to Botta give an...

Indigenous indicator.
December 1, 2007... TRADITIONAL BUILDINGS: A GLOBAL SURVEY OF STRUCTURAL FORMS AND CULTURAL FUNCTIONS By Allen Noble. London: I. B. Tauris. 2007. [pounds sterling]45 As architectural history grew up with art history as a record of works by 'great'...

Works well.(office buildings)
December 1, 2007... NORMAN FOSTER: WORKS 3 Edited by David Jenkins. London: Prestel. 2007. [pounds sterling]65 This is the third volume of an oeuvre complete of the Foster office, and it deals principally with the 1980s. As befits a publication dealing...

Economic equation.(politics in MIT Press)
December 1, 2007... BRANDSCAPES: ARCHITECTURE IN THE EXPERIENCE ECONOMY By Anna Klingmann. London: The MIT Press. 2007. [pounds sterling]17.95 If politics is show business for ugly people, then academic publishing is too often literature for those with no...

China towns.(architectural services)
December 1, 2007... BUILDING A REVOLUTION, CHINESE ARCHITECTURE SINCE 1980 By Charlie Q. L. Xue. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. 2007. [pounds sterling]24.50 Anyone who attempts to write about contemporary Chinese architecture is in danger of...

Micro.
December 1, 2007... Desert Seal, a prototype compact shelter for use in a hot, arid environment. Just one of the imaginative small structures in Micro, by Ruth Slavid, London, Laurence King, 2007, [pounds sterling]19.95, which looks at how small can not only be...

Exploring Boundaries, The Architecture of Wilkinson Eyre.
December 1, 2007... Spencer Tunick's temporary colonisation of the Wilkinson Eyre Gateshead Millennium Bridge by naked volunteers deliciously blurs the worlds of architecture, art and engineering. From Exploring Boundaries, The Architecture of Wilkinson Eyre,...

Vivat Arabia Felix: the evolution of Yemen's remarkable architecture is explored at the RIBA.(reviews)
December 1, 2007... In the Yemen, tribesmen in traditional dress, with the jambiya (the giant curved dagger of manhood) in their belts, drive 4 by 4s and own the Kalashnikovs that are now as important a sign of maturity as the dagger. Immemorial customs, like...

Waiting for the cool change.(browser)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... I'll never understand why architects think that making it difficult to use their websites is somehow cool. When you ask them they shift uneasily and look shyly at the ground, mumbling some stuff about introducing 'freshness' or 'individuality',...

Slip 'n' slide to victory.(browser)
December 1, 2007... I'm not suggesting that the search for architectural website novelty shouldn't go on. Especially since we're still pretty bogged down in the horseless carriage quagmire in which print graphic designers are only able to think of the new thing in...

The velvet fist of happiness.(browser)
December 1, 2007... But here's a site with a difference: [architecture and hygiene] (the square brackets seem to be part of the name) at www.archilectureandhygiene.com. You click on the big red home page and up comes a list on the left and a big box labelled...

A thousand blooming flowers.(browser)
December 1, 2007... Regardless of the ease or otherwise of navigation you ask yourself what real function such a site as archinform has. You know that architects are magpies and like picking design things up from here and there so that such a site provides a wide...

Pithy miss.(browser)
December 1, 2007... And one for road: www.missrepresentation.com. It's a pithy monthly blog which describes itself as 'Observations on the physical life of New York City, presented by a Roman face name'. That old blogger obsession with secrecy. Still some of the...

Diary.
December 1, 2007... AR'S CHOICE OF INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS FROM WWW.ARPLUS.COM AUSTRIA COOP HIMMELB(L)AU: BEYOND THE BLUE MAK Museum of Applied Arts Vienna 12 December-11 May The provocative Viennese pixies get their own show on home...

Delight.(fabrics)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... British readers who grew up in the '70s might have fond folk memories of Bird's Angel Delight, a blancmange-like dessert that came in lurid shades of citrus and pink. With its swirling contours of gloopy, E-number orange, Magma Architecture's...