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August 24, 2005
The Anti-Sit: Spike Box
Posted by jmarston at 11:12 AM | Comments (6)
Nothing To Say, Good Day
Its beautiful once again. No humidity, no haze, no sweet garbage stench, just the light, crystal clear air that fall brings upon our metropolis. Yess.
Posted by jmarston at 10:33 AM | Comments (2)
August 23, 2005
Pssss, eh Renovator
Heres a little hint before you go about renovating as cheaply as possible - there's more to life than subzero fridges...thats the part we see every day. Windows. If you're going to install double hung windows, and forgo the elegant lead glass, and the casement, you should throw some faux framing in there. These buildings look a whole lot better. And most were designed with this type of windown in mind anyways. Below is an older building with the casement windows still beautifying the block - and a new renovation that opted for nice recreation. Lovely touch.
Sadly, after getting my tax photo, I realized how wonderful my building looked with lead pane framed windows and an entrance awning. Cheap bastards.
Posted by jmarston at 05:19 PM
The Anti-Sit: Fences and Bars
Posted by jmarston at 03:22 PM
The Anti-Sit: Don't Plant Your Rear Here
Posted by jmarston at 03:14 PM | Comments (2)
The Anti-Sit: Simple Expression
Posted by jmarston at 03:11 PM
August 19, 2005
Fibrous
Hudson River's Bannerman Castle, photos courtesy of Shaun O'Boyle
The City Review on the "New York Moving Forward" exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York, specifically TEN Arquitectos, whose Harlem Park, Brooklyn Public Library for the Performing Arts, and 1 York Street are all on display. "What is perhaps most striking about the project is that Norten's design studies for the project are superb. Ideally they should all be built." Quite an endorsement from Carter.
Architecture Week on waste recovery from disassembled buildings - distinct from demolition, which produces 150 million tons of waste a year. The article showcases Germany, "where they require "extended producer responsibility" in manufacturing. Industrial producers are made responsible for the eventual disassembly and recovery of materials from the products they produce". Part of the "cradle to cradle" perspective advanced by William McDonough etc.
Understated elegance, that is, the 'billboard building' of Toyko.
Yes, even more ink on the London hi-rise boom, this time, from the Times Uk. A fan of the Gherkin, which proved skyscrapers "could be dishy, friendly, quite clever, almost respectful of the streets below", the article gets it right on many angles. This isn't the wanton 60's destruction of low-rise London, but "today’s rush to build big doesn’t mirror the Sixties. These towers are better. We have tougher conservation laws." Yet, he expresses some worry, "What happens if councils who don’t have an eye for quality (like [Mayor] Livingstone and [Planning Director] Rees) let anything through so long as it makes a headline and a fast buck for the greedy and unscrupulous?" What do you mean, like New York's current building Boom? The Slatin Report gets in the London fray, pointing out the commerical basis for such hi-rise dreams.
Fascinating new book, reviewed here by Archinect, entitled Landscrapers: Building with Land.
Major feature in New York Construction News on Trump's Obnoxious Riverside South project, which at 7.9 million sq ft when all is said and done, is quite a monstrosity for the West Side. What was that about design review boards? Ahh, thanks Trump.
Interesting story at LostLandmarks.org on the Jesse Baltimore House, a 1920s era Sears Roebuck "Modern Home".
Robert Smithson's "Floating Island" will take shape for 9 days next month - Sept 17 to the 25th, some 35 years after its initial conception. "the flat-deck barge will hold earth, shrubs, rocks and seven specimens of trees native to the region that will rise 30 to 35 feet". Booze Cruise anyone?
The abondoned 86th St station of the MetroNorth Harlem line.
San Francisco's mayor Gavin Newsom embarks on heady building boom, projecting some 15,000 new units - 5,400 of them going to low- and moderate-income households. Significant for a city of only 750,000... Fiberous Friday indeed.
Posted by jmarston at 02:01 AM | Comments (4)
August 18, 2005
Landscaper Needed
With the relative rarity of green space, especially in context with resedential architecture, you'd think people would want - demand - a little more than this shit excuse for landscaping. Especially since the real estate thugs of the Village, NYU, own it. Oh, where does your $800/credit go? Not on the upkeep of existing properties, but the procurement of more tracts, and the building of the Tishman... don't get me started. Hatin' heavy.
Posted by jmarston at 03:22 PM | Comments (2)
The Anti-Sit: Double Duty
Posted by jmarston at 03:19 PM | Comments (5)
August 17, 2005
The Anti-Sit: Three Little Vipers
Posted by jmarston at 05:30 PM
The Anti-Sit: Blue Bottom Bliss
Another Anti-Sit reader submission at Transfer, from a fellow New Yorker & book publisher. Thanks Brook!
Posted by jmarston at 11:24 AM | Comments (2)
Mexico City
The second largest city in the world, from above. These photos were taken by helicopter pilot Oscar Ruiz, who monitors interstate traffic for a local news station. He has an amazing set of pictures, see his site here.
Posted by jmarston at 11:16 AM | Comments (2)
August 16, 2005
Pluto
photo courtesy of american memory project
Imagine that, a city agency concerned with design, how dare they meddle with the Free Market of Trump & Company. New York City purchaes development rights to the Catskill watershed, adjust land values accordingly. Advanced Architecture Contest for self-sufficient and ecologically oriented dwelling. What San Francisco can learn from Vancouver's high density building, and more importantly, what shouldn't be gleaned from it. The fantastic force of a conservation easement in today's subdivided landscape. Steven Holl, who Miss Representation called a local sentinmental favorite, so being, The new University of Iowa School of Art and Art History, by Holl, under construction. If you haven't, check out the Steven Holl house in Essex NY, on Lake Champlain. Definitely speaks to Transfer's sentiment. If in London, take note of the London Architecture Diary, for events and exhibitions. Tadao Ando, in photographs. The NYTimes on ExUrban communities - nothing entirely new to note, but of interest. Explore the streetwalls of Paris, and their history.
Posted by jmarston at 11:29 AM
August 10, 2005
Cerebral Venus
Extraordinarily harsh words for London's hi-rise strive: "The chief sponsor of this so-called “f***-you” planning is Livingstone himself. High buildings policy is one of the few powers he has vested in him. Early in his reign he visited New York and returned with a bad case of “Manhattan syndrome”, a belief that skyscrapers are the key to a mayor’s virility. With his office in what he himself calls “the testicle” he craved erect phalluses all round him. Developers with fad architects in tow promptly beat a path to his door."
Joining the international City Building Boom, Calcutta builds to the sky, to varied reactions: "This year, nearly 20 million sq. ft of floor space, both residential and commercial, is being built in the city, up from under five million sq. ft five years ago" -- "CMDA (Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority) CEO P.R. Baviskar says that the population of the Calcutta metropolitan area — made up of three corporations, 38 municipalities and 22 Panchayat Samitys — is expected to balloon from 14.69 million to 21 million in two decades."
A new reality show where: "a panel of "experts", will be able to tell the rest of us which buildings you would like to see demolished. From October, Channel 4 will be running a four-part Demolition TV show" - but there is danger in demolishing hated building, hated in response to the vagaries of fashion.
The City Center of Havana - Cienfuegos - now a World Heritage Site, the first 19th Century City to be added to the list.
A tour of the new Moshe Safdie Holocaust History Museum...
Posted by jmarston at 10:25 AM
August 08, 2005
Ghostly
Posted by jmarston at 07:21 PM | Comments (1)
Retrograde
More Dubai coverage, more on London's hi-rise plans - with an argument from the FT - transcribed at Veritas et Venustas. Via Archinect, some local discussion of Calatrava's proposed Fordam Tower on Chicago Public Radio WBEZ - ram link here. Suburban dwellers suffering from Ignoramus Gigantis building their Mcfuckinghuge boathouses lakeside, covered and captured in the Times. Black market Scaffoldtising in New York (via Gothamist). Fantastic series of posts on the Navy Yard's Admiral Row - rumored to be slated for demo. What a mistake that would be.
Excellent article on foresting the city. With some fascinating statistics to boot:
"40-foot elm in McPherson Square Park [Washington D.C.] removes 199 grams of ozone that its thin, green leaves filter from the air -- and saves the city $2.46 annually in air-equality improvement costs...the tree canopy covering 28.6 percent of the District saves $2.6 million annually in utility costs in buildings and that it removes 540 tons of air pollution particles each year...The 28.6 percent of the District covered by trees is relatively high compared with 11 percent in Brooklyn, N.Y."
"shade tree near a home can save a consumer $80 annually on the cost of household electricity."
Yes! More Trees Please! Green Me!
Posted by jmarston at 05:18 PM
Hatin': London Stylee Part 2
Another entry in the Hatin' archive.
Posted by jmarston at 05:01 PM
The Anti-Sit: Halo Prong
Posted by jmarston at 04:58 PM
August 04, 2005
Eight-4 Good Buddy
New and interesting wind projects blowing around, this here, and this proposal to power the Manchester City Football Club - and some 2000 houses surrounding it. Sexy sell of wind power I'd say. Imagine American football fans drunkenly praising the windmill adjacent the stadium. Freedom in the Air!
Speaking of freedom, in this case, to build 8000 sqft McMansions! Seems some folks in the San Fernando valley have sucessfully passed legislation to limit the size of homes according to the size of the lot they're built on. "The measure will limit homes built on lots of 8,000 sq. ft. or less to 2,400 sq. ft. - or 40 percent of the lot size, whichever is greater." Another great moment in Nimby history. Seriously, who fucking needs more than 3000 sft?
Miss Representation gives us the juice on the freight tunnel, which seemed like a dead mole oh-so-recently. Quite an exciting development, and all the more incentive to tax the shit out of the Verrazano, coming into Brooklyn. Which is currently where all the heavy truck traffic from NJ is found, winding thru residential Brooklyn, and onto the East River bridges, thereby avoiding the NJ tunnel tolls.
The Grey Lady finally spills some ink on the housing construction boom taking place in NYC. Although they forgo a discussion of the Type and Design of much of the work being built. Or the fact that the type of shit they're throwing up around the 5 boros fixes a spotlight on our horrible relationship with the process, whereby the developer designs his crap, and since it passes for new housing, it gets cleared by the DDC. Quality is not a trademark of todays boom. But Cheap Speed is. On that note, even the big investment houses are now worried that Greenspan has lost his marbles in his refusal to see the housing bubble for what it is. A massive risk to the economic health of the country. Naw, Freedom Bitch!
Excellent photo exhibit up at the Museum of the City of New York documenting Lower Manhattan just before a good 60 acres were razed under New York's urban renewal plan. Not only exteriors mind you, back in 1966, the photographer Danny Lyon, got keys to the universal lock they used to lock up the condemned gems. He states: "This is nothing, what they did down here: The 60 acres is nothing. We're destroying 6 billion acres of America, and we're doing it right now. We're doing it because you can get a mortgage for 5 percent." And 8,000 sq feet on a cul-de-sac. Oh, check this NYTimes Image.. and article.
Oh, remember those neat space photos of the collapse of Antarctic ice shelf? Yea, biggest in 10,000 years. On a more positive note, the worlds first hybrid cab driver. Global Warming? Nahhh. Freedom Bitch!
Hurray, another one on the congestion charge wagon... Transfer once again reiterates the plan to Triple Parking Lot Rates in Manhattan. Lets start there. Yes.
Finalists in the Urban Habitats design competition, which was a partnership between Habitat for Humanity and the Charlottesville Community Design Center, for trailer park redo. An excellent sign of Habitats commitment to design and community - in my experience working for them, they are fantasic organization, religious or not.
Posted by jmarston at 10:48 AM
August 03, 2005
Dubai & London
Here was the first inkling of the Ink Dubai will be getting as it embarks on a Massive Simulacra; simulating nothing but The Massiveness of its own self. The hot new middle eastern a&e magazine, Bidoun, sounds off with an excellent array of Dream Dubai projects...stolen rendering below.
work.ac & concept beind the image.
In addition to this little dream project derive, there is a nice theory slash background article by George Katodrytis. Situating Dubai as the closest possible total illumination of the 21st century urban form - "prosthetic and nomadic oases presented as isolated cities that extend out over the land and the sea." Or as Koolhaas has said, The Airport -- appropriately enough G Kat does good to include a number of Koolhaas musings, peppering the piece into a small but Energizing hunk of criticism. Add it to the Dubai Pile.
Back to Tranfer's most recent lover, London, and her New Foray into Hi-Rise Office building, well detailed here -- but also looking to the extreme anxiety its producing, recently expressed in this Guardian Observer article. I'm a fan of swatting these flies out as public discourse, and there hasn't been quite enough ink on this $195bn building boom. Which, on aside, reminds me of this fantastic little site, London Destroyed. But this position, in the Guardian piece, is Somewhat Classic, coming from someone who rechristened the Gherkin: "Norman Foster's howitzer-shell Swiss Re subsequently redefined the limits of the aesthetically acceptable". Pretty much gives up his slant straight-away. Yes, London is a low-rise city to be sure, and one that should keep herself that way -- embracing speculative organic growth that create small Patches and Nooks. The infamous Yards. But London shouldn't repress the urge to create new higher density pockets, as it has historically with it's council estates and the less than sexy mini La Défense, Canary Wharf. And they've got it going right by enlisting Real Architects, not Developer Cronies, as crucial players in this huge building boom. Whatever you think of Ken Livingstone and his days with the GLC, as Mayor of London he's proven to be an aficionado of architecture & a believer in long term planning analysis as a tool to drive good city policy. Not too mention his ambitious Housing Capacity research. In addition, his politically risky congestion charge has turned out to be a great success - increasing bus ridership, cutting the number of pedestrian fatalaties, and just generally making for a more pleasant central London. He's been credited with bringing the 2012 Olympics to London as well. Although my opinion of Olympic bids and Tourist Focused mayors (which he's also proven to be) are a bit jaded. Some photos of projects being pushed thru London recently...
original images found here
Posted by jmarston at 01:21 PM
August 02, 2005
Ladies of Scotland
Posted by jmarston at 11:37 AM
August 01, 2005
East End Elegance
Once hovels of disease and despair, the near East End of London now sparkles with understated beauty.
Posted by jmarston at 04:10 PM
1806
Posted by jmarston at 04:06 PM
The Anti-Sit: Deco Triangle
Posted by jmarston at 12:45 PM