Monday, May 31, 2010
Structural Reference
Loving these oil paintings of Tram Bui, dichromatic silhouettes of buildings under construction:
"The colors are vivid and the drawing precise, but the surfaces are more meticulously rendered. Unlike her previous shows, this body is conceived as a whole, systematically exploring basic color theory through a succession of two-color pairings, alternating the descriptions of the sky and the building. All but one of the images draw on various views of the same building rather than different buildings. The changing color pairings provide the dominant effect as the colors advance and recede through the contrasting combinations defining the architecture"
Tram Bui at Davidson Galleries
Via Escape Into Life
"The colors are vivid and the drawing precise, but the surfaces are more meticulously rendered. Unlike her previous shows, this body is conceived as a whole, systematically exploring basic color theory through a succession of two-color pairings, alternating the descriptions of the sky and the building. All but one of the images draw on various views of the same building rather than different buildings. The changing color pairings provide the dominant effect as the colors advance and recede through the contrasting combinations defining the architecture"
Tram Bui at Davidson Galleries
Via Escape Into Life
Nakagin Capsule Tower
The Nakagin Capsule Tower, not long after its construction. © Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates. Photo: Tomio Ohashi.
Completed in 1972 the Nakagin Capsule Tower (中銀カプセルタワー Nakagin Kapuseru Tawā) is a mixed-use residential and office tower designed by architect Kisho Kurokawa and located in Shimbashi, Tokyo, Japan. An exercise in Metabolist architecture, tower has also served as a prototype for uniquely Japanese urban accommodations, such as business and capsule hotels.
Image: Nakagin Capsule Tower Elevation, Tokyo, by Eric LEE 1390
Illustration : ivo.valadares
From Wikipedia:
"The building is actually composed of two interconnected concrete towers, respectively eleven and thirteen floors, which house 140 prefabricated modules (or "capsules") which are each self-contained units. Each capsule measures 2.3 m (8 ft) × 3.8 m (12 ft) × 2.1 m (7 ft) and functions as a small living or office space. Capsules can be connected and combined to create larger spaces. Each capsule is connected to one of the two main shafts only by four high-tension bolts and is designed to be replaceable. No units have been replaced since the original construction.
The original target demographic were bachelor salarymen. The compact apartments included a wall of appliances and cabinets built in to one side, including a kitchen stove, a refrigerator, a television set, and a reel-to-reel tape deck. A bathroom unit, about the size of an aircraft lavatory, is set into an opposite corner. A large circular window over a bed dominates the far end of the room.
Construction occurred on site and off site. On-site work included the two towers and their energy-supply systems and equipment, while the capsule parts were fabricated and the capsules were assembled at a factory.
The capsules were fitted with utilities and interior fittings before being shipped to the building site, where they were attached to the concrete towers. Each capsule is attached independently and cantilevered from the shaft, so that any capsule may be removed easily without affecting the others. The capsules are all-welded lightweight steel-truss boxes clad in galvanized, rib-reinforced steel panels. After processing, the panels were coated with rust-preventative paint and finished with a coat of Kenitex glossy spray.
The cores are rigid-frame, made of a steel frame and reinforced concrete. From the basement to the second floor, ordinary concrete was used; above those levels, lightweight concrete was used. Shuttering consists of large panels the height of a single storey of the tower. In order to make early use of the staircase, precast concrete was used in the floor plates and the elevator shafts. Because of the pattern in which two days of steel-frame work were followed by two days of precast-concrete work, the staircase was completely operational by the time the framework was finished. On-site construction of the elevators was shortened by incorporating the 3-D frames, the rails, and anchor indicator boxes in the precast concrete elements and by employing prefabricated cages."
Nakagin Capsule Building Explode by n fiore. More images of the nakagin building on Nick's site
Nakagin Changed! by FunkdaFide
Nakagin Capsule Tower - Comps by FunkdaFide
Originally uploaded by scarletgreen
中銀カプセルタワー by SPACE, TIME & REALITY - yup... this is made of Lego
From lewism's Nakagin Capsule Tower article
Sadly it's been knocked down now.
Great article on PingMagazine - Nakagin Capsule Tower: Architecture of the Future
Nakagin Capsule Tower on Wikipedia
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Nicholas Alan Cope
Better known for his still life work, photographer Nicholas Alan Cope also takes some mean looking architectural shots:
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Max Bill
From Wikipedia:
"Max Bill was born in Winterthur. After an apprenticeship as a silversmith during 1924-1927, Bill took up studies at the Bauhaus in Dessau under many teachers including Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee and Oskar Schlemmer from 1927 to 1929, after which he moved to Zurich. From 1937 onwards he was a prime mover behind the Allianz group of Swiss artists and in 1944, he became a professor at the school of arts in Zurich.
In 1953, Max Bill, Inge Aicher-Scholl and Otl Aicher founded the Ulm School of Design (German: Hochschule für Gestaltung - HfG Ulm) in Ulm, Germany, a design school initially created in the tradition of the Bauhaus and which later developed a new design education approach integrating art and science. The school is notable for its inclusion of semiotics as a field of study. The school closed in 1968. Faculty and students included: Tomás Maldonado, Otl Aicher, Joseph Albers, Johannes Itten, John Lottes, Walter Zeischegg, and Peter Seitz.
Bill was the single most decisive influence on Swiss graphic design beginning in the 1950s with his theoretical writing and progressive work. His connection to the days of the Modern Movement gave him special authority. As an industrial designer, his work is characterized by a clarity of design and precise proportions.
As a designer and artist, Bill sought to create forms which visually represent the New Physics mathematics of the early 20th century. He sought to create objects so that the new science of form could be experienced by the senses."
Images from ReneSpitz's Max Bill set on Flickr
Basic Course
Hans G. Conrad: Arbeit aus dem Unterricht an der Hochschule für Gestaltung Ulm - Pictures taken from the book: René Spitz: »hfg ulm. The view behind the foreground. The political history of the Ulm School of Design (1953-1968)«. Stuttgart 2002.
Originally uploaded by ReneSpitz
Originally uploaded by ReneSpitz
Friday, May 28, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Imaging the Future
Adverts for Bohn Aluminium and Brass Corporation by Arthur Radebaugh, a sustained campaign by the company to define the Future in its own terms:
Imaging the Future, Arthur Radebaugh, Bohn Aluminium and Brass Corporation, advertisements
Imaging the Future, Arthur Radebaugh, Bohn Aluminium and Brass Corporation, advertisements
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Homo Faber
Homo Faber by Kamen Kamenov:
For the human, the creator of objects and the objects, creators of the human.
For the human, the creator of objects and the objects, creators of the human.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Scent Stories
Amazing concept by Ah&Oh Studio, based in Poland; perfume packaging inspired by the classics:
"Perfume packaging design and the concept of the perfume were always our dream project. So we took men’s fragrance as our challenge.
At the begining we were concentrating on the idea of the scent itself. We found inspiration in the great, dark literature and distinctive, strong characters. We tried to describe the dark sides of men's nature with line of scents named after famous writers.
We packed the scents into bottles which resemble both old glass perfume bottles and the classic shape of the inkwell. We made them white, added black strong lettering and heads of characters which loosely recall author's famous masterpieces."
Via TheDieline.com
"Perfume packaging design and the concept of the perfume were always our dream project. So we took men’s fragrance as our challenge.
At the begining we were concentrating on the idea of the scent itself. We found inspiration in the great, dark literature and distinctive, strong characters. We tried to describe the dark sides of men's nature with line of scents named after famous writers.
We packed the scents into bottles which resemble both old glass perfume bottles and the classic shape of the inkwell. We made them white, added black strong lettering and heads of characters which loosely recall author's famous masterpieces."
Via TheDieline.com
Underground City
Drawings from Underground City by Xinyang Chen, a place for "cowards and mad men" who are running away from the surface. "Form follows dirt" she says.
Introduction Text:
Underground City is a dark place for leftover people, especially those who scared by the above ground world; themes of it are hidden and discover, stolen and intimate, lost and vanishing. The thing underground citizens ( people call them coward or madman/woman ) do is wonder around; there do have some interesting places to go. For example, a museum of thing should be forgotten. The underground city could under anywhere, but i would like to let it under midtown Manhattan.
Via Drawing Architecture
Introduction Text:
Underground City is a dark place for leftover people, especially those who scared by the above ground world; themes of it are hidden and discover, stolen and intimate, lost and vanishing. The thing underground citizens ( people call them coward or madman/woman ) do is wonder around; there do have some interesting places to go. For example, a museum of thing should be forgotten. The underground city could under anywhere, but i would like to let it under midtown Manhattan.
Via Drawing Architecture
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Cat's Cradle
Currently reading and enjoying this:
Cover by the awesome David Pelham -
"David Pelham‘s arrival at Penguin belatedly followed Alan Aldridge’s enforced departure. With experience as art director for a number of magazines he brought a much needed consistency and dignity to Penguin’s diverse fiction titles and, after the departure of Germano Facetti in 1972, to other parts of the list."
Most Coveted Covers
Cover by the awesome David Pelham -
"David Pelham‘s arrival at Penguin belatedly followed Alan Aldridge’s enforced departure. With experience as art director for a number of magazines he brought a much needed consistency and dignity to Penguin’s diverse fiction titles and, after the departure of Germano Facetti in 1972, to other parts of the list."
Most Coveted Covers
Saturday, May 22, 2010
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