Great great great!

Open your eyes... I saw this lamp in a shop in copenhagen and fell in love with it. I wrote down the name of the lamp and designer Jørn Utzon in my phone and forgot about it.
Going through my notes 1 year later I discovered the note and decided to check on the designer and was well surprised - Jørn Utzon is the man who designed the Opera of Sydney, you would probably have know that but I didn't - kind of obvious no?
One day I'll buy that lamp.

more on Jørn Utzon

An other Outstanding book from the berlin based Publisher Jacoby & Stuart.

Jacoby & Stuart was founded  in 2008 by Nicola Stuart and Edmund Jacoby.  They publish beautiful and ambitious kids books and  rich illustrated books.

A church, trees, some houses,; then a street, a factory , rails, skyscraper - from page to page of this pop up book grows a village to a modern city. Kids learn how a city takes shape and works.
The fathers of Bauhaus would have been immersed who paper engineering can manifest architecture and city planning. But also function follows form, as kids and parents will  develop their own ideas on urban planning development starting from this phase model. New architects needs the world.

Ein weiteres Buch des berliner Verlages Jacoby & Stuart.
Jacoby & Stuart wurde im März 2008 in Berlin von dem Verlegerehepaar Nicola Stuart und Edmund Jacoby gegründet und bringt ästhetisch und inhaltlich anspruchsvolle Kinderbücher, reich illustrierte und gut geschriebene Sachbücher und Bildbände heraus.

Eine Kirche, Bäume, ein paar Häuser; dann Straßen, Fabriken, Schienen, Hochhäuser – von Seite zu Seite dieses Pop-up-Buchs der neuen Generation wächst ein Dorf zu einer modernen Großstadt. Kinder lernen mit diesem Buch, wie eine Stadt entsteht und funktioniert.
Die Väter des Bauhauses hätten gestaunt, wie paper engineering Architektur und Städtebau sinnfällig machen kann Aber auch Function follows form, denn Kinder wie Erwachsene werden ihre eigenen städtebaulichen Ideen von diesem Phasenmodell ausgehen lassen: Neue Architekten und Ingenieure braucht das Land!

Pop-up City

Mit einem Text von Joy Sorman?Aus dem Französischen ?von Sarah Pasquay?16 Seiten, geb.,14 x 28 cm,
jacobystuart.de/

I came across MUUTO in copenhagen first. There I saw their Norway says lamp and did not buy it. But then I could not stop thinking of it and ordered it when I was back home. It's utterly beautiful and affordable.

True to its name, inspired by the Finnish word for change, “muutos”, the Danish Muuto wants to turn a new page in the history of Scandinavian design, bringing it back to the world map of design. Muuto picks the best new Nordic designers, Harri Koskinen, Louise Campbell and Norway Says, to name a few, and trusts them with the mission to create new and clever takes on everyday objects that will make you go “why didn’t I think of that?”. Muuto’s products represent the essence of modern Scandinavian design by combining aesthetics and functionality with a new perspective.

This summer I came across an other of their products. The Stacked shelf system by JDS . It's a fantastic concept and exactly what I have been looking for for ages.

Here what they have to say about it: "Shelving systems tend to achieve either one or the other concern, but never both. We decided to dimension shelving units based on the generic measurement of the things they store and display while allowing for them to be combined according to specific needs and requirements.  The result can be a random stack of boxes or a coordinated grid of efficient storage….or both!"

I studies their work and I really liked what I saw . Very inspiring.

JDS Architects is a multi-disciplinary office that focuses on architecture and design, from large scale planning to furniture. Rich with multiple expertises, our office is fuelled by talented designers and experienced architects that jointly develop projects from early sketches to on-site supervision. All of which, regardless of scale, outlines an approach that is affirmatively social in its outcome, enthusiastic in its ambition and professional in its process. At the core of our architecture is the ability to take a fresh look at design problems through experienced eyes. Our approach aims at turning intense research and analysis of practical and theoretical issues into the driving forces of our design. By continuously developing rigorous methods of analysis and execution, JDS Architects is able to combine innovative thinking and efficient production.

Reconstruction of A. Ahlström Co. sawmill in Varkaus, Alvar Aalto, 1944

Alvar Aalto’s architecture is part of the history of international modern architecture. As early as 1941, the Swiss architectural historian Siegfried Giedion placed Aalto’s extensive body of work in an important position in his book on the history of architecture in the twentieth century, Space, Time and Architecture.

Alvar Aalto’s ability to synthesise rationalist architecture with an organic language of form, and his way of combining materials and making the landscape part of the building are unique. Aalto’s architecture is still discussed by students and lovers of architecture all over the world.

Most of Alvar Aalto’s architecture is situated in Finland, far away from the metropolises of Europe. His work has been published widely in a great many books and it is possible to visit many of the buildings and their surroundings

Event dates
14 June 2008 to 30 August 2008
Website
http://www.alvaraalto.fi
Telephone
354.551 7030
Address
Sturlugata 5
IS-101 Reykjavik

«Spezifisch» 40 Projekte von 28 Landschaftsarchitekturbüros
Dienstag 25/03/08 18:30, Kornhausforum Bern, Stadtsaal
Vernissage «Blicke auf die Landschaftsarchitektur»

Referenten: Regula Rytz Gemeinderätin Bern, Claudia Moll Landschaftsarchitektin Mitkuratorin Zürich, Pierre Feddersen Architekt und Städtebauer Zürich

pe lang + zimoun «untitled sound objects» live performance

In Zusammenarbeit mit dem BSLA

Mittwoch 26/03/08 bis Sonntag 20/04/08
Kornhausforum, Galerie Ausstellung

Landschaftsarchitektur ist die Beschäftigung mit Wachstum, Zeit, Veränderung; die Inszenierung von Sinnlichkeit; der Umgang mit den Elementen Wasser, Erde, Luft. Die Ausstellung wagt die These: Es ist die Eigenheit und das Potential der schweizerischen Landschaftsarchitektur, dass sie das Besondere, das Spezifische herausarbeitet. Dass sie konkret am Ort und in der Zeit verwurzelt ist; dass sie Projektansätze entwickelt, die nicht übertragbar sind.

Geoffrey Bawa, Architekt Sri Lanka – zwischen Urwuchs und Manipulation
Dienstag 01/04/08 18:30, Kornhausforum, Mediensaal

Referent: Maurus Schifferli Landschaftsarchitekt BSLA Bern
Einführung: Fritz Schär Jurypräsident Reisestipendium Kunst- und Architektur des Kantons Bern
Programmation: Hänggi Basler Landschaftsarchitektur Bern

www.architekturforum-bern.ch

About the book:
At the turn of the twenty-first century, the world is faced with an unprecedented challenge. It must address a fundamental shift in the world's population towards the cities, and away from mankind's rural roots. Today, for the first time in history, more than half of the global population resides in urban areas - a number likely to reach a staggering 75 per cent by 2050.

The Endless City: The Urban Age Project by the London School of Economics and Deutsche Bank’s Alfred Herrhausen Society is an unparalleled investigation into the world’s urban future.  Taking six major world cities as its focal point, the book examines the key social, structural and economic factors that are critical to creating a thriving modern city.

Authoritatively edited by Ricky Burdett and Deyan Sudjic, with essays by internationally renowned contributors from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds, The Endless City presents a pioneering initiative on the future of cities.

Interesting discussions are currently going on in the UK raised by the uncertain future of Robin Hood Gardens estate in London (built by the Smithsons).
One of the more interesting quotes is from Stephen Bayley in the Observer in his rather good piece on "brutal architecture", titled "You want the brutal truth? Concrete can be beautiful" :

"...Worse, the unintelligent housing policies of Tower Hamlets populated Robin Hood Gardens with the tenants least likely to be able to make sensible use of the accommodation. We have to whisper it, but the Unité d'Habitation works because it is populated by teachers, psychologists, doctors, graphic designers, not by single mothers struggling with buggies."

Bayley is somewhat harsh on the tennents there, and I doubt he's been speaking to them. Yet I think there may be some truth in his statement.
Dan Hill has a good and thorough post on the issue, highlighting different aspects and oppinions on city of sound: "Robin Hood Gardens is not the same as a digital model of Robin Hood Gardens..." read on.

Picture by John Levett

Public housing used to mean fortress-like blocks and soulless rows of cheaply built townhouses. But now there's a new model: privately developed homes and apartments that are well-designed, well-built and attractive enough to win over wary neighbors. A growing number of architects, from established stars to ambitious up-and-comers, are looking to such projects as an opportunity to do innovative work.

A single-room-occupancy building that opened in Chicago in March was designed by Helmut Jahn, internationally known for his glass-sheathed skyscrapers; the 96-unit SRO, where most residents pay less than $160 a month in rent, resembles a train, with its long, narrow shape, curved roof and glass-and-steel exterior. In Brooklyn's East New York neighborhood, a group of young architects teamed up to build nine two-family homes for families with modest incomes. Completed in March, the homes feature unconventional materials such as corrugated aluminum and unpainted cedar siding. And in Santa Monica, Calif., a recently completed 41-unit apartment building, designed by Pugh + Scarpa Architects, incorporates green design elements. It is partially clad in blocks made of recycled crushed aluminum cans and has a sail-shaped metal screen that helps shield the building from the sun.

read the whole wall street journal article here

Chicago - 96-unit single-room occupancy building for very-low- income residents in the Near North neighborhood, completed in 2007.

Glenmore Gardens -Brooklyn, N.Y. Nine two-family homes, completed in 2007

Today we passed the 25. May Sports-center again and I was very happy to see that they were renewing the windows. For years It looked like they'd let this building fall into disrepair. Maybe there is hope for this beautiful building.
This part of the building is empty since a long time. In another part is a public swimming pool. Two years ago I went for a swim there. It's an amazing place.