Architecture
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Zaha Hadid: 1950–2016
In Pictures: Zaha Hadid’s award-winning designs
The death of famed architect Zaha Hadid rocked the architecture industry last week. Like many people around the world, I was deeply sadden to hear about the untimely passing of a woman who Dared to Dream. Dared to Be Bold. Dared to Be an original.
The Pritzker Family and the Pritzker Architecture Prize organization quickly shared their thoughts on Dame Hadid with us, and here we are, sharing them with you now. Dame Hadid was the 2004 Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate, recognized for her extraordinary talent and prodigious artistic outpouring. She also served on the Pritzker Architecture Prize jury in 2012. Eventhough she is no longer with us, her legacy and vision will continue to shine, and inspire a multitude of man and woman across the globe.
“Zaha represented the highest aspirations of the Pritzker Architecture Prize. She combined her vision and intellect with a force of personality that left no room for complacency. She made a real difference.” Tom Pritzker, Chairman of the Hyatt Foundation
“The world of culture has lost a standard-bearer for the art of architecture. Zaha Hadid fought prejudice all her life with great success. And this, in addition to her genius as an architect, will secure her legacy for all time.” The Chair of the Jury of the Pritzker Architecture Prize Jury, Lord Peter Palumbo
All images courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects.
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The Dawn of a New Architecture
The Museum of Modern Art announces A Japanese Constellation: Toyo Ito, SANAA, and Beyond, an exhibition focused on the work of architects and designers orbiting Pritzker Prize winners Toyo Ito and SANAA, on view from March 13 to July 4, 2016.
Providing an overview of Ito’s career and his influence as a mentor to a new generation of Japanese architects, the exhibition offers a retrospective of recent works by three generations of internationally acclaimed designers, including Kazuyo Sejima, Ryue Nishizawa, Sou Fujimoto, Akihisa Hirata, and Junya Ishigami. Displaying models, drawings, and images of more than 40 architectural designs, the exhibition highlights the renewed prominence and innovation of contemporary architecture from Japan since the 1990s.
As many of the featured architects have been involved in the reconstruction of Japan after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, the exhibition will also reflect how the architecture field is responding to current societal change with a combination of strong aesthetic positions and a commitment to users’ emotional needs.
Given the experimental and avant-garde character of these architects’ work, the exhibition will confront the current role of architecture in a context in which mainstream practices are increasingly constrained by economic, legal, and functional considerations.
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One-On-One with Legendary Architect Frank Gehry
Yesterday evening was a very special one. I was back at my old school, Parsons School of Design, after all these years, to attend my very first At The Parsons Table. And guess who was at that table? One of the most inventive and pioneering architects working today, Frank Gehry. Mr. Gehry has designed buildings that have become world-renowned attractions. His work includes The Disney Concert Hall, home of the Los Angeles philharmonic, 8 Spruce Street in New York City, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, and the Louis Vuitton Foundation building in Paris. Recently, Gehry agreed to design the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial in Washington D.C. and to undertake the redesign of the Los Angeles River.
In this intimate, one-on-one conversation, Goldberger, Pulitzer Prize-winning architectural critic (who served as the architecture critic for The New Yorker, where he wrote the magazine’s celebrated “Sky Line” column. He began his career at The New York Times, where, in 1984, he earned the Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Criticism. He is formerly dean of the Parsons School of Design) and Joseph Urban Chair in Design and Architecture at Parsons, engaged Gehry on his life and work.
Building Art: The Life and Work of Frank Gehry, Goldberger‘s recently published full-length biography on Gehry, was available for purchase in the lobby of the University Center during, and after the event.
Frank Gehry At the Parsons Table with Paul Goldberger John L. Tishman Auditorium, University Center NY, NY. November 12, 2015. Phto Credit: J Grassi
At the Parsons Table is an ongoing series of conversational interviews with cultural luminaries hosted by Goldberger. These conversations provide exclusive insights into the creative process and innovative thinking of artists, designers, and industry leaders. At the Parsons Table guests have included such icons as Ralph Lauren, Mickey Drexler, Robert Wong, Frank Gehry, Chuck Close, Bruce Mau, and Donna Karan.
Livestreaming of the Frank Gehry At the Parsons Table with Paul Goldberger : http://livestream.com/TheNewSchool/Frank-Gehry-at-the-Parsons-Table
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Reimagining The Shingled House
The New Shingled House by Ike Kligerman Barkley features projects located throughout the fabled seaside resorts of New England – Martha’s Vineyard, Watch Hill, Block Island – and the Hamptons, as well as in California and the Carolinas. The fourteen houses presented here evoke the rich heritage of American architecture and achieve the architects’ stated goal: when their clients enter their new home for the first time, they feel as though they have always lived there.
“The American romance with the shingle style has lasted nearly 150 years because it presents, in an understated way, the best of everything. For our firm, it is a spur to creativity, to unorthodox speculation, to finding new answers to old questions, and to opening one’s mind and imagination as well as one’s eyes.”
FUN FACTS: Shingle-style houses often use a single, large roof, such as a gambrel or hip roof. The houses thus emanate a more pronounced mass and a greater emphasis on horizontality. The New Shingled House by Ike, Kligerman, Barkley is published by The Monacelli Press.
Picture credit: William Waldron. All rights reserved
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Eileen Gray: The Quintessential Designer and Architect
Throughout the end of her life, Eileen Gray faded into obscurity until 1972, when the fashion designer Yves St Laurent bought Gray’s ‘Dragon Chair‘ and the famous ‘Le Destin’ screen, which ignited renewed interest in her works. Today the Irish-born designer is known worldwide as the pioneer of the Modern Movement in architecture, and revered as one of the most celebrated designer of the 20th century, a unique person with a huge influence among architects and designers.
From October 13 through November 7, 2015, Osborne Samuel gallery will hold the first UK exhibition of paintings by the designer. Eileen Gray: The Private Painter, will feature over 60 paintings and photographs from the 1920s – 1960 that will be for sale, and will include some of the artist’s personal ephemera and letters.
The exhibition coincides with the launch of a new book titled Eileen Gray: The Private Painter, which will provide a comprehensive overview of Eileen Gray’s life. The book has been compiled and written by Andrew Lambirth, and features a personal memoir by Gray’s longstanding friend and biographer Peter Adam, and a foreword by Gordon Samuel.
Eileen Gray’s paintings in gouache or mixed media were a private pastime, to help her overcome the stress and aggravations that came with her work. The paintings date between 1920s and 1960s and include some Cubist inspired designs for her carpets.
One of these works, Untitled (Red Form) from 1960, is a joint composition with her niece, the painter Prunella Clough. Cage (1940) uses the motif of the cage which became a device used by Francis Bacon and Graham Sutherland later in the century.
The exhibition will also include various photographs produced by Gray throughout her career, including striking monochrome compositions such as the Tablescape compositions (1920).
To complement these private works, the exhibition will also include Gray’s personal effects and furniture. This will include Gray’s paint- splattered architect’s work table, and the artist’s own plan chest designed and made in 1926, that she kept in her workroom in the her apartment at 21 rue Bonaparte, Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
Eileen Gray: The Private Painter exhibition will include various portraits, including a locket with a photograph of her father James MacLaren Smith, a Scottish landscape painter, and two portraits of the artist taken in 1926 by the celebrated American photographer, Berenice Abbott.
Another show is a portrait of Gray c.1936 in watercolour by her Slade contemporary and friend, Wyndham Lewis titled ‘1902 Portrait of a Lady with a French Poodle’, and a watercolour given to her by another friend, Le Corbusier.
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How did Frank Lloyd Wright connect art and nature together?
When you think about the amount of Frank Lloyd Wright’s original masterpieces that have been destroyed over the years, design lovers who are looking for a “new beginning” to an old Wright design will rejoice when November comes around. How’s so? Well, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is getting ready to open the newly reconstructed Frank Lloyd Wright’s Bachman-Wilson House on the museum grounds. Adjacent to the museum’s south entrance, the house will open to the public on November 11, 2015.
Designed in 1954 for Gloria and Abraham Wilson, the house was originally built along the Millstone River in New Jersey. However, in 1988, it was subsequently purchased by architect/designer team Lawrence and Sharon Tarantino. Threatened by repeated flooding from the river, the Tarantinos determined that relocating the house was the best option for its preservation. After a multi-year search for a suitable place, Crystal Bridges acquired the house in 2013.
“I’d like to have a free architecture. I’d like to have architecture that belonged where you see it standing, and was a grace to the landscape instead of a disgrace.” – Frank Lloyd Wright
The Frank Lloyd Wright house was disassembled piece by piece and transported 1,200 miles, arriving to the museum in the spring of 2014 where site work was already underway. Reconstruction began in the fall of 2014, led by Scott Eccleston, Crystal Bridges’ Director of Operations, Ron Shelby, architect with Hight Jackson Associates, and Bill Faber with Bill Faber Construction.
“The goal for reconstruction was to create an authentic experience by integrating the house into the natural landscape so it feels like it has always been here. For visitors, whether they are Frank Lloyd Wright experts or architectural novices, we want them to be transported by the architecture,” said Crystal Bridges Chief Engagement Officer Niki Stewart. “We put great effort into upholding Frank Lloyd Wright’s design principles — he believed in connecting physically and spiritually to the natural world through the use of horizontal lines that ground the structure into the landscape and dissolve the barrier between the interior and exterior.”
Frank Lloyd Wright House Hours:
Monday: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.Saturday & Sunday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Tuesday: ClosedReservations are required and tickets will be available on November 2, at no cost. Preview tickets are now available to Crystal Bridges’ members.
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Meet Sarah Boutinon-Tharse
Sarah Boutinon-Tharse in Versailles, 2013It’s official! Sarah Boutinon Tharse is now High End Weekly’s correspondent in Paris. Although she’s been contributing to this blog for more than a year now, I thought it was time that you get acquainted with this chic Parisienne who happens to have a fierce passion for fencing. Sarah holds degrees in art history, architecture and fine landscaping. Earlier in her career, she worked in the Real Estate industry, but eventually moved to pursue what she’s always been great at, Architecture and Decoration. Here are a few of her favorite things.Coco Chanel at Place Vendome, Parisphoto via Chanel NewsFrank RothkoFrank Horvat photographs. Above is a Frank HorvatHB Collections Rome A (model with spaghetti), 1962Her favorite architects? She’s inspired by the works of grande dame, Zaha Hadid, the legendary Frank Llyod Wright, Mies van der Rohe, and Tadao Ando.Architect Spotlight: Zaha HadidPhoto via Joyce ReyHeydar Aliyev Cultural Center by Zaha HadidPhoto via www.aasarchitecture.comSarah Boutinon-Tharse adores the masterful strokes of past and living artists like Matisse, Magritte, Raoul Dufy, Botero, and Mark Rothko.House designed by Tadao AndoPhoto via DezeenBelgian Surrealist René MagritteRené Magritte. The Empire of Light, II. 1950Oh! Let’s not forget the inspiring works of Franck Horvat. Did I already mention that!?
Raoul Dufy, Regatta at Cowes, (1934), Washington D.C. National Gallery of ArtMies van der RoheFrank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim museumAnd of course, fencing! - Architecture, Art, Art Deco, Bauhaus, Books, Design, Gifts, HEW Hotels, Shopping, The Metropolitan Museum, Vyna St Phard
Shopping at The Met with Vyna
The Metropolitan Museum Gift Store“To the making of many books there is no end…” And The Metropolitan Gift Shop is an authority on supplying the world’s most outstanding reading materials. After a recent visit to the New American Wing Galleries for Paintings, Sculpture, and Decorative Arts, I decided to commemorate the occasion by visiting the gift shop and adding a few more books to my home library. I’m in the process of doing some research for a garden that I’m designing, and dedicating to the memory of my mother, and found the Gardening section had the right amount of variety of designs and styles which were quite helpful. In addition, I picked up a number of books ranging from architecture, fashion, and decorative arts. Would you like to find out exactly which ones were my favorites? - Architecture, Decorative Arts, French Correspondent, Gardens, Gardens Architecture, Musee Rodin, Paris, Sarah Boutinon Tharse, Sculptures
Exploring The Grounds of A Modern Master
Musée Rodin dedicated to the works of the French sculptor, Auguste RodinMagnificently Rebellious
Once again, our french correspondent, Sarah Boutinon Tharse takes us to a place that all of us long to be – a splendid garden in central Paris. To be more exact, it’s the Musée Rodin located at 79 Rue de Varenne 75007 Paris, France. We highly recommend this particular museum whenever you visit the city of lights. It’s not as mainstream as The Louvre or Musée d’Orsay, but if you love sculptures, and beautifully manicured gardens, this is the one for you. Auguste Rodin was one of the original rebels in Paris. Why do we say that? “[He’s] original work departed from traditional themes of mythology and allegory, modeled the human body with realism, and celebrated individual character and physicality. [He] was sensitive to the controversy surrounding his work, but refused to change his style”. The museum boasts an impressive collection of 6,600 sculptures, 8,000 drawings, 8,000 old photographs and 7,000 objets d’art. And believe me, that is a lot to love!
All images courtesy Sarah Boutinon-TharseAll rights reserved - Architecture, France, French Correspondent, Hermes, Javita Coffee, La Rochelle, Photography, Sarah Boutinon Tharse
Inside The Alluring Seaside town of La Rochelle, France
Gallic City: La Rochelle, FranceOur Paris correspondent, and photographer, Sarah Boutinon-Tharse takes us on a wondrous journey to western France. La Rochelle is a city, and seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. Sarah not only enjoyed her time at the beach with her family, but during her holidays, she was intrigued once she discovered that this charming town became one of the French center for faience in the end of the 18th century. Bernard Palissy, French Huguenot potter, hydraulics engineer and craftsman, famous for having struggled for sixteen years to imitate Chinese porcelain, was born in the region and had some bearing in the development of French Faience. Follow Sarah on Instagram. She has a joyful and fresh eye for details, and a keen understanding of her beloved country. All of these attributes shine through her photographs.Sarah Boutinon-Tharse PhotosAll rights reserved