ah…archi-speak. aka: verbal garbage. via miller yo.

of note from this past weekend was the passing of french theorist jacques derrida. while many would find his theories and literature esoteric and unintelligible (fuck if i knew half the things he posited), his influence was unquestionable. himself influenced by the german philosophers husserl and heidegger (another oft-cited theorist in the architectural circles), his deconstructionist theories pervaded a variety of design fields and social sciences, of which included architectural design. in architecture, decon rejected the notion of clean modernism and symmetry, instead destroying linearity and reconsituting the forms into complex spaces. within the works of morphosis, eisenman, liebeskind, eric owen moss, etc could you see derridas theories in architectural form, as well as innmerous other fields of literature, political sciences, etc…

jacques derrida 1930-2004

yo, new stardust site rockin’ a new demo reel. except for the shit that were those fanta commercials (it pains me to forgive them for that), their motion graphics are super swish and their demo reels always rock. their old demo reel was sporting lhb’s “no transmission” and their new ones pimping old school hall and oates…word.

a weird sidenote, i posted about their old demo reel before back in july of 2003, except there seems to be an empty spot on july 15th where the post was supposed to be. wtf. i know it used to be there because the accompanying image is still on the server. blah…there are always a few casualties of server jumps (before i learned how to export/import databases). i wonder if im missing any other posts…

> new stardust site and demo reel (via dik)

the history channels modern marvels has been running an interesting series of episodes that shows how modern skyscrapers are built from the ground up. whats interesting (to me anyway) is that they chose the caltran building by morphosis to document from conception to completion. its a coo look into how a building goes up. not just the initial architectural concept and design, but also the contracting, project management, construction, installation, etc. so not only do you get to see thom mayne win the competition and lead the design of the building, but you also get to watch as the structure, floor plates, and facades all go up. an added bonus is a peek at the real shit that goes down in a project, such as budget woes, schedule delays, and cash flow problems (too fucking common).

its only been three weeks since i left the architectural field (as periphery as i was) and im already getting nostalgic. the episodes are still running, so catch an episode or two to get a coo peek at the real world of architecture behind the thick-rimmed glasses and black turtlenecks.

> the history channels modern marvels
> morphosis website

theres an excellent op/ed by clay risen of the morning news on 2 columbus circle, the enormously hideous white marble building that the museum of art and design is currently trying to renovate. the crux of the issue is a group of preservationists who decry the new renovations of the building, citing its architectural elegance, historic context, and need for preservation…or whatever. theyre essentially fighting to keep the building as it is, despite the fact that not only is the building currently deteriorating and unusable in terms of interior space, but that its also really really ugly.

originally designed by edward durell stone in 1964 for the gallery of modern art, 2 columbus circle was stones statement against the high modernism of the time. it incorporated a marble facade, portholes, and islamic-inspired columns. risen argues that the preservationists are rallying behind (seriously) flawed architecture. they want the public to believe that the building would be razed, when in fact MAD and the chief architect, brad cloepfil of allied works architecture, intends to preserve as much of the original building as feasibly possible while concurrently remedying all that was wrong with the original buildings design. this pretty much encompasses 90% of the building. as risen duly points out, “Prizing mediocre architecture simply because it is controversial doesn’t just prevent urban growth and renewal—it also retards the development of great architecture.” heres to hoping the project progresses.

> withering heights (via tmm)
> allied works architecture

wired has a coo article today on kyle cooper, the cinematic auteur who doesnt make movies per se, but the lead-in intros and credits to movies. if the name still doesnt ring a bell, the intro to the david finchers se7en should…with its grainy scrawled letters and scratched negatives over the nine inch nails track “closer“. that was coopers work when he was a part of the design firm r/ga. other intros cooper has worked on include the mummy, mark pellingtons arlington road, sphere, spawn, and dawn of the dead. he’s since struck out on his own (again), and is currently working on the intro for the upcoming spider-man 2.

after having seen the intro to se7en for the first time and deeming it brilliant, id always been interested in coopers work. and it would seem the quality thats associated with cooper is set at a certain level because, well…the article makes cooper out to be a bit of a control freak. referring to why cooper left imaginary forces, the company he founded with two other former r/ga designers…

“To be honest, the move was about me just wanting to do my own work,” he says. “People stand in line waiting to ask you things. I prefer to execute my own ideas.” Frankfurt has a slightly different spin on the breakup, as he explains in Andrea Codrington’s biography Kyle Cooper. “More often than not, Kyle is saying, ‘I know how to make these pieces fit together. I have this recipe in my head, and none of you know how to work together in the way I know you should.’“
ah, always seems to be the case…

> kyle cooper (via wired)

in a bit of an update to a past post, its worth mentioning that morphosis was announced as the winner of the competition to design the “theoretical” olympic village. woo! so that means all they have to do now is to…um, win the 2012 olympics spot and morphosis can go ahead and build their pretty buildings. it could happen…*crossing fingers*

> morphosis wins proposal (via archinect)
> post on olympic village
> morphosis website
> morphosis wins (via ny times)

hmm…the walls seem to have ears around here. just as i was saying how thom mayne and morphosis deserved more attention than many of todays darling child(ren) of architecture, the ny times features an article about morphosis and thom maynes rising prominence. (its about time…)

back in my formative years of college when i was still fumbling my way thru conceptual design, i latched implicitly onto the works of two architects…zaha hadid, who just won the 2004 pritzker, and thom mayne of morphosis. while zaha preferred clean lines and a somewhat minimalist approach, mayne engaged architecture thru the opposite means…something along the lines of “excessivism“. dynamic and explosive forms that seem to generate extra dimensions of space within themselves. and while hes well respected in the architecture circles, his recognition had always seemed overshadowed in the publics eye by the likes of gehry, koolhaas, etc. now as one of the finalists of the olympic village proposal, along with a recent commission for the cooper union and a competition piece for a site next to the walt disney concert hall, morphosis will hopefully rise to the public prominence in architecture that so many architects and critics have seen for years.

> morphosis (via ny times)
> olympic village proposal post
> morphosis website

its weird…im “technically” a graphic designer, but i dont post much about design, do i? and while i barely mention architecture too…gd’s just completely in absentia. but i thought this was too coo to not mention, so this’ll be the first design post. theres a new website up for transformers the game, and its just ridiculously coo. dig the load screen and the transforming interface…

> transformers game website (via dik)

iraqi-born architect zaha hadid has been selected to be the first woman to win the coveted architectural pritzker prize for 2004. woo for zaha! even tho she looks like a mountain troll, she rocketh much. her style, alongside thom mayne of morphosis, heavily influenced my design style in school. many of my earlier formative designs took cues from her projects, the most obvious influence being her vitra fire station on my second year project, the 40-year house. her body of built work is still relatively small compared to many other prominent architects, but she is undoubtedly an influential architect. one of her most distinguishing features was her mode of architectural presentation. in order to convey her architectural designs, zaha would paint massive canvases with dynamic exploded forms and delineated landscapes. her style of decon was fluid and compelling, and her architectural representations were as influential as those of her work that were actually built. and while she still looks like a mountain troll, im still looking forward to seeing more of her designs built.

the pritzker is the highest honor bestowed on an architect, with past winner including richard meier, rem koolhaas, tadao ando, and sir norman foster.

> zaha hadid selected for 2004 pritzker (via ny times)
> zaha hadids official site
> list of past pritzker prize winners