above> photo bas princen | courtesy of fondazione prada
the new milan venue of the fondazione prada, designed by oma architects under the direction of rem koohaas, is ready for prime time. three new structures co-exist with the existing buildings so art can now be shared with the public. opening 9 may 2015
photo bas princen | courtesy of fondazione prada
photo bas princen | courtesy of fondazione prada
above> photo © stephen lock
interesting project. [ video ]
the final symbolic ceramic poppy has been planted in the art installation at the tower of london. tributes are being paid to servicemen and women who died in conflicts since the start of world war one.
the eagerly awaited design concept of the new lucas museum on chicago’s lakefront presents a taller than expected, futuristic and organic shapliness that makes an eloquent counterpoint to nearby man-made chicago architecture.
here’s what the 39-year-old architect, ma yansong of beijing says on mad’s website:
the architectural concept for the lucas museum of narrative art explores the relationship between nature and the urban environment. inspired by the work of frank lloyd wright and mies van der rohe, the design integrates the natural beauty of the park and lake michigan with the powerful man-made architecture of chicago. the design furthers the museum’s mission to be a place of education, culture, and inspiration.
the lucas museum design is both futuristic and timeless. its continuous undulating organic surface blurs the line between structure and landscape. as the harbor rises up to the land, it merges with stone surfaces that reach up to the sky and ultimately crescendos into a “floating” disc. the museum is not an isolated object, but a spatial experience that is defined by the people who occupy and interact with it. its uninterrupted stone surfaces are as primitive as it is futuristic, evoking the great achievements of architectural history. it is a place to discover and explore, to communicate and contemplate. more than a building, it is an urban vista for social interaction, bringing people closer to each other and to nature.
the seven-level, 110-foot-tall, 400,000-square-foot museum will occupy the southern half of a 17-acre site offered to lucas by mayor rahm emanuel. emanuel depicts the museum as a fitting statement to complete chicago’s museum campus, an array of three natural history museums: the adler planetarium, the field museum and the shedd aquarium.
1> field museum
2> shedd aquarium
3> adler planetarium
4> northerly island
5> lucas museum of narrative art
it comes as no surprise in chicago that the project has its detractors for building on the lakefront. the chicago plan commission will be among the city bodies reviewing the lucas museum’s plans. there’s a 1973 lakefront protection ordinance to contend with, which calls for chicago to protect the shoreline’s open character.
[ mad architects ] ma has won international recognition for his undulating museums in china and the shapely “marilyn monroe” residential towers near toronto. mad architects is joined by local firms studio gang and voa associates. for more details on the museum and its project team, see designapplause’s previous article. [ lucas museum of narrative art ]
photo > city of helsinki media bank | image ©malcolm reading con- sultants
The premise: The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation is seeking a visionary design for a proposed Guggenheim museum in the Finnish capital of Helsinki. The shortlist for this open, two-stage competition will be announced on 2 December 2014. Following Stage Two, the winner will be announced in June 2015. [ stage one gallery ] [ guggenheim wants museum in south beach ]
courtesy of helsinki city planning depart- ment
courtesy of helsinki city planning depart- ment
courtesy of guggenheim helsinki
why are millennials shunning cars? why we shouldn’t dismiss the trend as a mere byproduct of the bad economy. via washington post [RK]
fight stress and improve focus by visiting a museum. art ,a powerful tool for the mind. via mother nature network [RK]
how does your communication style fit with your culture? take this assessment to find out. via harvard business review [RK]
Peter Eisenman with his firm Eisenman Architects and Aytaç Architects collaborate to create The Yenikapi Transfer Point and Archaeological Park in Istanbul. The design for the historic site includes a park, an archaeological museum, and a transit building adjacent to the new underground rail hub, construction of which uncovered important artifacts from the Roman and even neolithic eras. The project is introduced by Zuecca Project Space, their first architectural presentation, during the 14th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia.
Through the presentation in Venice, curator Maurizio Bortolotti highlights mercantile trade links between Venice and the 1600 year old former Theodosius Port in Yenikapi, where the remains of 35 ships will be displayed as a main feature of the Archaeological Museum. On the Historic Peninsula, the Yenikapi area helps to bridge the European and Asian sides of the city. For its first architectural presentation Zuecca Projects breaks new ground in its continued research into the unique Eastern-facing cultural history of Venice and examines how this connects with contemporary art and architecture.
The project concept consists of three fundamental aspects: urban vision, urban design, and architectural design. The exhibition in Venice is split into four quadrants, including drawings, models, the ongoing urban design and archaeological museum projects, as well as images and animations of an installation of the archaeological excavations still underway.
Internationally renowned architect and educator Peter Eisenman’s work is characterized by a deconstructivist approach, notably in his collaborations with post-structuralist philosopher Jacques Derrida. His interest in the architectural strata of Venice is well documented and The Yenikapi Project draws on the relationship between his projects for Venice and Istanbul. All images courtesy Eisenman Architects e Aytac Architects.
above> Aerial view at the sunset of Yenikapy, toward West.The stone pier from Theodosian Era will be preserved and exhibited in the square. Image by Moka-studio.
above / below> the gallery of the wrecks, Building B of the museum. Image by Parsa Khalili.
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elevation of ‘building A’ in the museum complex
The Zuecca Project Space exhibition is located at the Complesso Delle Zitelle, on the island of Giudecca in Venice. It runs from 7 June > 23 November 2014, and is open every day, except Mondays, from 10a > 6p.
The newly renovated Queens museum offers up the legacy of two worlds fairs, in 1939-40 and 1964-5, that placed design and designers central. In 1939 it was Norman Bel Geddes, Henry Dreyfuss, Raymond Loewy and others. In 1964 it was Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, and George Nelson. The Museums’ worlds fair collection is held in open storage—an excellent mode of display for design fans, best known to me through a Luce Foundation program that has set up open storage at the Met, the Smithsonian Art Museum and the Brooklyn Museum. [ nytimes 2001 archive ]
The [ Queens Museum ] has received many visitors this week, the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the 1964 fair. Another legacy of the fair in the museum is the great Panorama of the City of New York: a huge scale model of the city, exact to every building. The museum has been renovated. In 1939, it served as the New York state pavilion. The work of the U.S. branch of Grimshaw, the new design adds a glass façade to the original Doric fluting unrolled to become ornamental. The architects have opened the building with glass and brought in the park beyond. The central space features an elaborate light reflector system.
Inside, the design includes small, thoughtful details. Tiny windows at child height offer secret views into the New York City Panorama. A play area with toys is set up by the stairs for harried parents dealing with multiple ages and multiple distractions of their children. The base of the stairs—a big of a structural show-off–echoes the base of the Unisphere, the giant globe theme structure of the fair, seen through glass wall.
click > enlarge
[ Volume Gallery ] announces its first solo exhibition with Matthias Merkel Hess, Things.
“For all our technical mastery over things, in the end it is the things that have come to dominate us.” ~From The Meaning of Things, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi & Eugene Rochberg-Halton
For his new show, Things, Matthias Merkel Hess has made a decided break with his previous work and created a series of sculptures that are animate, hive-like and gestural, while remaining rooted in the history and traditions of ceramics. Best known for remaking plastic vessels and other consumer objects in glazed ceramic, for this exhibition Merkel Hess has expanded beyond copying readymade forms to make sculptures influenced by diverse sources including the geometric patterns on milk crates, the early sculptures of Peter Voulkos, and the Marvel character and Fantastic Four member, The Thing.
thing 1 | 2014 | wheel-turned, carved stoneware | 14D x 23.5H inches | unique
The Thing, who was born Benjamin Grimm, had his skin transformed by cosmic rays into a craggy, orange, rock-like hide. Unlike the other members of the Fantastic Four, Grimm is unable to change back and trapped in his monstrous form. Unhappy with the transformation, Grimm still uses his powers as The Thing for good. In this sense, he’s a modern version of the Golem – the animated being created from inanimate matter in Jewish folklore – and teaches us that you can’t have everything, and that true liberty and freedom comes from accepting yourself.
Created from inanimate clay, Merkel Hess’ Things begin their life on the wheel. Once the initial form is created, it is altered, carved and pierced, taking on characteristics that are both abstract and familiar. The pieces are then fired and glazed, undergoing a permanent transformation in the kiln that echoes Benjamin Grimm’s own transformation into The Thing.
Abandoning his previous work with plastic forms, Merkel Hess has maintained a looser approach to the Things while still allowing references to historical ceramic vessels and glazes. Less literal than his previous work, the duality of sculpture/vessel, animate/inanimate, figure/ground allows Merkel Hess to further free the medium of ceramics from its constraints of tradition and definition by working within and reveling in the possibilities offered by the medium.
event> volume 20: matthias merkel hess | things
venue> [ volume gallery ] | 845 west washington 3rd floor | chicago usa
date> 25 april 2014 > 14 june 2014
opening reception> friday, 25 april | 6 > 8p / rsvp sam@wvvolumes.com
[ Volume Gallery ] is an event-based gallery with a specific focus on American design, and a strong emphasis placed on emerging contemporary designers. The Volume Gallery releases editions, publications and organizes exhibits that showcase the work of American designers to regional, national and international audiences.
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