"The structure was set on fire by stray fireworks fired by revellers celebrating Chinese New Year."
i feel bad about it but i had to stifle a laugh when i read this sentence.
― jed_, Tuesday, 10 February 2009 18:26 (fifteen years ago) link
They were either quite some fireworks or the building was not up to code...
― The Unbelievably Insensitive Baroness Vadera (Ned Trifle II), Tuesday, 10 February 2009 18:38 (fifteen years ago) link
well, the building wasn't finished and anyway who knows what chinese building codes are like or if they even have any.
― jed_, Tuesday, 10 February 2009 19:27 (fifteen years ago) link
Rem has never been known for his build quality.
― jed_, Tuesday, 10 February 2009 19:28 (fifteen years ago) link
His Prada store caught on fire a few years ago, too.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Tuesday, 10 February 2009 19:33 (fifteen years ago) link
I know that Chinese building codes have been strengthened in the last 30 years (post Tangshan) so, er, building still standing even though burnt to a crisp.
― The Unbelievably Insensitive Baroness Vadera (Ned Trifle II), Tuesday, 10 February 2009 20:07 (fifteen years ago) link
looks better burnt than it ever would have otherwise
― get drunk and do legos (contenderizer), Tuesday, 10 February 2009 20:09 (fifteen years ago) link
Remember that building codes would only have a partial impact in this situation - before occupancy, systems like sprinklers and smoke detectors probably wouldn't have been operational yet, and things like fire doors may not have been installed at this point. There's also a lot of (possibly flammable) construction material (propane tanks!) that may have been around that wouldn't have been in after the building was finished.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Tuesday, 10 February 2009 20:22 (fifteen years ago) link
Gad! Will they bother trying to finish it do you think or tear it down and start all over again?
― hyggeligt, Wednesday, 11 February 2009 10:45 (fifteen years ago) link
It depends on how severe the structural damage is - if the main supports have been warped or otherwise compromised they'll tear it down, if not they'll probably remove the damaged cladding and re-skin it.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Wednesday, 11 February 2009 15:13 (fifteen years ago) link
i'd be amazed if the stuctural steels weren't buckled out of shape, no?
― jed_, Wednesday, 11 February 2009 15:28 (fifteen years ago) link
ps dont know much about this, it's just a guess.
It's quite possible - the smaller exposed members show buckling but the main structure would probably have had all the fire retardants and enclosures in place at this point, and the duration of the fire wasn't that long. I'd imagine they're already testing it to determine structural integrity for immediate safety purposes and for long-term use, and we should know fairly soon.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Wednesday, 11 February 2009 15:41 (fifteen years ago) link
http://www.dezeen.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/squclo-wine-bar-by-2x4-08july065521.jpg
http://www.dezeen.com/2009/02/11/clo-wine-bar-by-2x4/
my least favorite project of the year so far - cooooold as hell.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Wednesday, 11 February 2009 15:43 (fifteen years ago) link
http://cache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/lantern_02_11/l23_17915275.jpg
http://cache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/lantern_02_11/l22_17910347.jpg
http://cache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/lantern_02_11/l24_17910405.jpg
http://cache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/lantern_02_11/l25_17910619.jpg
http://cache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/lantern_02_11/l26_17917969.jpg
http://cache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/lantern_02_11/l27_17917937.jpg
Oh wow!
― hyggeligt, Wednesday, 11 February 2009 17:41 (fifteen years ago) link
From the ever great Big Picture blog.
― hyggeligt, Wednesday, 11 February 2009 17:42 (fifteen years ago) link
not feeling that clo bar at all. maybe i just need to see more photos.
― jed_, Wednesday, 11 February 2009 17:44 (fifteen years ago) link
Srsly, that last pic looks like CGI.
― •--• --- --- •--• (Pleasant Plains), Wednesday, 11 February 2009 17:49 (fifteen years ago) link
it looks like one of those computer game things.
― jed_, Wednesday, 11 February 2009 17:54 (fifteen years ago) link
jed I hope you don't change your mind when you see more photos of Clo - it's terrible! I might have to go see it in person just to confirm.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Wednesday, 11 February 2009 18:01 (fifteen years ago) link
I DIED, i blanked out the "least" in the "least favorite project" part of your post. and stared at the pictures for a while wondering just what you could like about it...
yes, i find it utterly dated and, as you said, cold as hell.
― jed_, Wednesday, 11 February 2009 18:06 (fifteen years ago) link
Anyone interested in prefab LEED certified housing? I know I am!
― waxy tears (gustywindsmayexist), Wednesday, 11 February 2009 19:37 (fifteen years ago) link
yep, get me a spacebox while you're at the shop.
― jed_, Wednesday, 11 February 2009 19:39 (fifteen years ago) link
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/feb/08/adaptation-or-disaster/
what??? Not quite buying this story.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Wednesday, 11 February 2009 21:38 (fifteen years ago) link
I think there were maybe some errors that wouldn't have been super expensive to fix but somehow it was quite convenient cut out the condo portion which hadn't been selling at all.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Wednesday, 11 February 2009 21:39 (fifteen years ago) link
this rem koolhaas thing, lord love him, has provided me with more architecture lols than anything ever has iirc
also would smash francois roche, pretty sure
― lol (roxymuzak), Saturday, 14 February 2009 01:11 (fifteen years ago) link
+ would like more info on this pollution house, google is tough on me here
looks like the end stages of a robot fight
― schlump, Saturday, 14 February 2009 01:49 (fifteen years ago) link
pair of pants beats balled-up chair, sorry dude
― lol (roxymuzak), Saturday, 14 February 2009 01:53 (fifteen years ago) link
"Clash of the Chair titans!" (xpost)
― hyggeligt, Sunday, 15 February 2009 13:15 (fifteen years ago) link
the stonework on this is pretty awe inspiring. the second photo is like o_O
http://www.archdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/1167062845_wang-shu-ningbo-museum-4124.jpghttp://www.archdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/470058299_wang-shu-ningbo-museum-4278.jpghttp://www.archdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/1213211655_wang-shu-ningbo-museum-4405.jpghttp://www.archdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/982224247_wang-shu-ningbo-museum-4391.jpg
― jed_, Wednesday, 25 February 2009 14:11 (fifteen years ago) link
Saw that the other day on SpaceInvading - pretty wicked. What IS it, again? That ramp in the last photo is pretty monumental considering it goes just nowhere at all.
― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 25 February 2009 14:14 (fifteen years ago) link
some kind of regional chinese historic museum.
i think the reason it impresses me so much is that i can never think this way, i'm too rigid and reasoned in my thinking but i really admire the look of this. not so sure about the overall context and the interiors.
― jed_, Wednesday, 25 February 2009 14:15 (fifteen years ago) link
the Ningbo Historic Museum designed by Wang Shu, Amateur Architecture Studio.
― jed_, Wednesday, 25 February 2009 14:16 (fifteen years ago) link
Great firm name!
― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 25 February 2009 14:19 (fifteen years ago) link
Thanks for the info. And yeah - I have a tough time bringing in the irrational and the miscellaneous. It's my first instinct to do so, but I can never keep it under control so I end up simplifying the stuff I like best right out of the project.
(This is my last quarter of studio as I may have mentioned and I'm sort of burnt out anyway, don't mind me if the above sounds sort of tragic.)
― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 25 February 2009 14:20 (fifteen years ago) link
well overall it's the most useful and productive way to work so i wouldn't get depressed about it.
― jed_, Wednesday, 25 February 2009 14:26 (fifteen years ago) link
Comment by roxy lost in the discussion of pomo upthread:
also, are there any wittgenstein/popper-esque stories about famous architects beefing? i never encounter these. are architects just chill?
There are some good ones! Off the top of my head:
* Bernini versus Borromini - the former said the latter had been "sent to destroy architecture." Lots of cute anecdotes about how a project by one would be a deliberate attempt to upstage a project by another - Bernini's fountains in Piazza Navona featuring a statue arguably recoiling in horror from the Borromini building it faces, etc. They were also stereotypical Hollywood opposites - He's a genteel, suave, theatrical architect - he's a low-born geometry nut who bludgeons workmen to death for bad craft!
* Frank Lloyd Wright versus everybody. Ego a-go-go and he didn't take well to the long years of being considered a has-been, eg "the greatest architect of the 19th century" according to MOMA. Refused to meet with Gropius when the latter came to America, and I think there's some story of a really awkward meeting with Mies. There are also some perceived betrayals by his students, I think - I'm pretty sure he fired Soleri for some reason.
* More recently - there was some kind of falling out among the New York Five, possibly relating to the pomo tendencies of some of its members? But they all still support each other's work. Supposedly the generation just after them (Stephen Holl, Williams & Tsien et al) are much more fractious generally but this is just repeating things said by professors; I have no details because, y'know, it's a generational thing to really care. If I'd been following it at the time, it'd probably be as clear to me as Eminem's beef with Triumph the puppet dog, but, well, LOL 1980s u old.
― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 25 February 2009 14:29 (fifteen years ago) link
Oh, and not to be missed, Adolf Loos vs. Josef Hoffmann. I'm not sure the latter ever really shot back but Loos couldn't stand Jugendstil/Art Nouveau, and Ornament and Crime is more or less an anti-Hoffmann screed. Great little read, too, if you haven't done it - should be easily found in full-text online. Any architectural text that accuses people of being "either a criminal or a degenerate" has to be good. (Warning, icky early-20th century racism is in full force.)
― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 25 February 2009 14:31 (fifteen years ago) link
casino, i love you
― the styles are a lie (roxymuzak), Friday, 27 February 2009 23:27 (fifteen years ago) link
hahah, well, I love being in TA mode, so thanks!
― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 28 February 2009 02:34 (fifteen years ago) link
Ornament and Crime is probably my next favorite piece of architectural writing after the Futurist Manifesto.
― Tina Fey's narrative bonsai (I DIED), Saturday, 28 February 2009 05:03 (fifteen years ago) link
I am now thinking about Frank Gehry because I just saw him on Arthur - complete with Arthur-esque ears.http://13.media.tumblr.com/1195466_400.jpgHe was also on The Simpsons iirc, which must make him unique among architects I think.
― Ned Trifle II, Saturday, 28 February 2009 09:22 (fifteen years ago) link
So while we're at it - this is one of his buildings I really like - much less...er...ornamental than his more well known stuff.http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Hannover_Gehry-Tower.jpg
― Ned Trifle II, Saturday, 28 February 2009 09:24 (fifteen years ago) link
What I like about it is that he hasn't really done that much but it's enough. If that makes sense.
― Ned Trifle II, Saturday, 28 February 2009 09:27 (fifteen years ago) link
haha, he WAS on The Simpsons - note the letter box.http://blog.davidteoh.com/archives/simp5.jpgOK, enough Gehry already.
― Ned Trifle II, Saturday, 28 February 2009 09:30 (fifteen years ago) link
Huh, didn't know about that one in Hannover, or the Arthur appearance...nice!
― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 28 February 2009 16:23 (fifteen years ago) link
http://www.dezeen.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/kvadrat-showroom-by-peter-saville-and-david-adjaye-2-kvadrat-1.jpg
http://www.dezeen.com/2009/03/20/kvadrat-showroom-by-peter-saville-and-david-adjaye/
― Dane Cook's Illustrated (I DIED), Friday, 20 March 2009 22:04 (fifteen years ago) link
awesome what can be done with a showroom that doesn't display anything!
― Dane Cook's Illustrated (I DIED), Friday, 20 March 2009 22:05 (fifteen years ago) link
that project is utterly gorgeous.
― jed_, Friday, 20 March 2009 22:08 (fifteen years ago) link