Book Review: New York Dozen

New York Dozen: Gen X Architects by Michael J. Crosbie
Images Publishing, 2011
Hardcover, 224 pages

The following review appears in slightly edited form in Yale School of Architecture's Constructs, Fall 2011 issue.

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A June 2011 report by the Center for an Urban Future on the economic impact of New York City’s architecture and design fields asserts, not surprisingly, that the city has “the largest collection of architecture firms of any city in the U.S.” With 8 percent of the nation’s architects, over 1,300 architecture firms call NYC home; as well the number of designers working in the city has almost doubled in the last decade. This density and diversity of talent make singling out particular architects above the rest a difficult task, but Michael J. Crosbie, Chair of the Department of Architecture at the University of Hartford, has taken it upon himself to highlight a dozen young offices that are emblematic of their generation in these still early days of the 21st century.

Inspired by the popular 1972 book Five Architects: Eisenman, Graves, Gwathmey, Hejduk, Meier—what then New York Times architecture critic Paul Goldberger called the “New York Five,” a moniker that has stuck—Crosbie’s “New York Dozen” includes Andre Kikoski Architect, Architecture in Formation, Arts Corporation, Christoff:Finio Architecture, Della Valle Bernheimer, Leroy Street Studio, LEVENBETTS, MOS, nARCHITECTS, Studio SUMO, Work Architecture Company (WORKac), and WXY Architecture. In a different way Crosbie is also inspired by another former Times critic, Nicolai Ouroussoff, who asserted, when Charles Gwathmey of the New York Five passed away in mid-2009, that in the ensuing decades since the New York Five the country’s creative energy shifted to Los Angeles to nurture a younger generation of architects without equal in New York. (The next day New York Dozen’s Andrew Bernheimer penned an open letter to Ouroussoff at Design Observer, challenging the critic’s assertion.) This collection of 50 projects by 12 firms clearly shows that some of the best architecture of their generation is being created in New York, be it installations, interiors, houses, apartment buildings, or ambitious unbuilt projects of various types. Crosbie’s list, like any, is definitely open to debate, but his semi-objective methods (referencing MoMA PS1’s Young Architects Program and AIANY’s Oculus journal, in particular) have yielded a diverse yet representative crop of architects who embrace collaboration, social and environmental responsibility, and experimentation.

In his introduction Crosbie calls Five Architects “the first self-promotional publication to appear in the new age of media attention to architecture.” Self-promotion in architecture is at an apparent saturation point today, with print and online media encompassing monographs, contemporary collections (of which New York Dozen is a part), magazines, blogs, and architects’ own web pages. In essence, Crosbie’s book resembles the last, in the way it collects photographs, drawings, and the architects’ own words, sometimes adding more than a firm’s own online documentation. Concise statements by the Dozen on their values, philosophies, and practices are helpful lead-ins to the projects, but pushing the content even further beyond what can be found online would have been appreciated; of course, in the print-to-digital content shift underway, that is becoming harder every day.

US: Buy from Amazon.com CA: Buy from Amazon.ca UK: Buy from Amazon.co.uk

Seasons Greetings

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Posts will be slim for the next week or so as I enjoy the holidays.

MERRY XMAS + HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Two Exhibitions

Two exhibitions worth checking out are now on display in New York City: Design with the Other 90%: CITIES, organized by the Cooper-Hewitt yet exhibited at the United Nations, runs until January 9, 2012; and Civic Action: A Vision for Long Island City is on display at the Noguchi Museum until April 22, 2012. The first "features sixty projects, proposals, and solutions that address the complex issues arising from the unprecedented rise of informal settlements in emerging and developing economies," while the second exhibits "new approaches to development in this area of Long Island City [where the Noguchi Museum and Socrates Sculpture Park are located] that [artists Isamu] Noguchi and [Mark] di Suvero helped to shape." In the number of ways that each is different -- in terms of population, geography, diversity, etc. -- they are also very similar, especially in how bottom-up approaches are embraced for urban change. Some thoughts on my visits to each exhibition follow.

Design with the Other 90%: CITIES:
Design with the Other 90%: CITIES

Design with the Other 90%: CITIES is a follow up to the Cooper-Hewitt's 2007 exhibition Design for the Other 90%, which presented "cost-effective ways to increase access to food and water, energy, education, healthcare, revenue-generating activities, and affordable transportation for those who most need them." In that exhibition the canvas was broad, looking at design from the small and the personal (the cover of the companion book shows a tool for drinking from standing water) to the large and infrastructural. In the successor it's clear that cities are the focus, yet this does not mean that small interventions are not to be found; instead they are situated within the context of the growing urban population -- over half of the earth's roughly 7 billion people live in cities, close to one billion in informal settlements.

Design with the Other 90%: CITIES

The exhibition is structured into six themes -- Exchange, Reveal, Adapt, Include, Prosper and Access -- which are inserted into the public lobby of the United Nations Visitor Center (the Cooper-Hewitt is closed until 2013 for renovation). Given the efforts of the UN towards transforming informal settlements and their residents, especially through its Habitat and Development entities, it makes perfect sense for the exhibition to be housed at the UN, which is actually undergoing its own renovation. A series of parallel walls sit perpendicular to the flow of traffic, with plenty of room between the walls for models and full-scale prototypes; the latter are some of the best aspects of the exhibition.

Design with the Other 90%: CITIES

A couple architectural projects that are illustrated via full-scale mock-ups include "Make a House Intelligent" by Arturo Ortiz Struck and others (above) and the "10x10 Sandbag House" by architect Luyanda Mpahlwa (below). The first responds to the necessity in parts of Mexico City to occupy a lot within 30 days; the architects designed a flexible system of sand, concrete blocks, gabions, and steel beams, which can be erected by five people in less than a week. The second consist of two-story, wood-frame houses with sandbag infill that are replacing dwellings of corrugated metal and scrap materials in Cape Town, South Africa's Mitchell's Plain township. In each case an understanding of the construction that comes from the mock-ups increases an appreciation of the designs and applications.

Design with the Other 90%: CITIES

On a much larger scale is the "Medellín Metrocable and Northeast Integral Urban Project," which also addresses informal housing but does it differently than the two construction schemes above. Instead of tackling housing, the project focuses on access, such that by improving the connections between informal settlements and other parts of the city, "an inclusive metropolis" is created. While this is a top-down approach requiring government spending to build on a large scale, it has as much merit as bottom-up approaches that enable residents to improve their immediate living conditions. Ultimately the two types of development need to happen -- perhaps converging at some ideal point -- for informal settlements to lift themselves up above their origins. The exhibition implies that even though these and other designs are site specific they offer lessons that can be applied in other places in need.

Design with the Other 90%: CITIES

While Design with the Other 90%: CITIES is closing soon, it is "available for travel" in the US and abroad from February 2012, so it may be coming to a city near you. Regardless, a catalog accompanies the exhibition.

Civic Action: A Vision for Long Island City:
Civic Action: A Vision for Long Island City

Across the East River, inside the Noguchi Museum in Long Island City, Queens, sits the Civic Action exhibition that presents ideas for transforming the neighborhood around the museum and the nearby Socrates Sculpture Park. The two arts institutions collaborated to develop the initiative, in response to new development, rezoning, and an increased residential population. I live nearby in Astoria, but my neighborhood is primarily residential with a little light industry on certain streets; the area around Noguchi and Socrates is much different, marked by more substantial industrial buildings, big box retail, large open spaces, and the Big Allis power generator. The striped stacks of the last are obviously a point of departure for artist Mary Miss and her team's installation, pictured above and below.

Civic Action: A Vision for Long Island City

Miss's "City as a Living Laboratory" uses floor-to-ceiling poles and tubes to provide a strong visual image and to structure displays for the various phases of the plan: 1-Using the Big Allis stacks as beacons to display the city's energy usage; 2-Repurposing utility poles and other vertical infrastructure in Big Allis-like banding to let visitors know about the new "Research Zone" in the city; 3-Re-purposing everyday elements in the area, such as scaffolding, blank walls of industrial buildings, and trailer-truck containers for, respectively, green walls, park slices, and incubator studios for developing ideas and projects about the city. I'll admit that this project in particular made me see the context around the Noguchi in a new light, as the trucks and other elements seemed to stand out more than normal after my visit. Miss's ideas are the most digestible, stemming from the striped branding and the simple yet thoughtful graphics and composition of the installation.

Civic Action: A Vision for Long Island City

On the other hand, George Trakas's "Shoreline Walk" is a great idea -- bringing the community to the water's edge -- that is varied and sporadic in execution. The installation is a mix of mapping, history, and music (above) that offers suggestions for knitting the various plots along the waterfront, including Big Allis. This is not surprising to me, as Trakas is responsible for the Nature Walk at the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (PDF link) in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. There Trakas wends the walk past the industrial infrastructure and directly to the water, turning it again 90 degrees to a path planted with native trees. It is a good illustration (and worth a visit) of how connecting to the water can be achieved in a small amount of space and from a point removed from the water.

Civic Action: A Vision for Long Island City

Natalie Jeremijenko's "UP_2_U" spreads itself across a couple spaces with a variety of ideas on the walls and on tables (above) as part of her "Environmental Health Clinic Civic Action team." This installation reminded me of the Architectural League's Toward the Sentient City, because both integrate technology into the city in various ways. But Jeremijenko proposes more than "real-time 'smart-city' technologies...to close feedback loops and radically upgrade environmental health;" she also proposes fairly low-tech solutions, like "AgBags," that would hang from buildings to "create arable land for new edibles." In the case of the latter I like how it was presented in front of one of the museum's windows (below). The rest of the installation is also thoughtfully put together, be it the X-shaped tables, wall graphics, or the shadows cast by the solar awnings (above).

Civic Action: A Vision for Long Island City

The most minimal installation is easily "GreenWay and Community Kitchen" by Rirkrit Tiravanija and team (below images). Their plan proposes to re-pave Broadway in Queens, which runs from the N/Q elevated station to Socrates Sculpture Park one block south of the Noguchi. This street is documented in the Ed Ruscha-esque photomontage below, but it is presented as a serrated composition instead of flatly, which emphasizes the smaller pockets of space that can then be closed off for special events, such as markets or film screenings.

Civic Action: A Vision for Long Island City

Tiravanja's project also features the most overt piece of architecture, a Community Kitchen that would initially be placed in Socrates Sculpture Park. The design (below) is a scaled-up version of Noguchi's YA2 table lamp, a point of reference that links two arts institutions which people might not otherwise see as working together. In that regard it makes sense that Socrates will host the exhibition after it closes at the Noguchi in April next year.

Civic Action: A Vision for Long Island City

Conclusion:

These two exhibitions may vary in a number of ways -- 90% is international, Civic is local; 90% presents realized examples, Civic is all speculation; 90% comes from various authors, Civic is only four teams -- but they share many qualities, particularly placing a value on creative design for addressing urban problems and prioritizing bottom-up initiatives for making change. Each exhibition requires slow, in-depth visits to best appreciate and understand the various ways of intervening. The Cooper-Hewitt show benefits from an accompanying catalog, so here's hoping the Noguchi and Socrates assemble the ideas from their show in print form, both as a way to share the projects to a larger audience and to help instigate change in their own backyard.

Today's archidose #547


Bromelia House in Salvador, Brazil by Urban Recycle, 2011.

To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just:
:: Join and add photos to the archidose pool, and/or
:: Tag your photos archidose

Monday, Monday

My weekly page update:

This week's dose features Netherlands Institute for Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) in Wageningen, Netherlands by Claus en Kaan Architecten:
this       week's  dose

The featured past dose is Lewis Center for Environmental Studies in Oberlin, Ohio by William McDonough + Partners:
featured      past dose

This week's book review is Spatial Agency: Other Ways of Doing Architecture by Nishat Awan, Tatjana Schneider, Jeremy Till:
this week's book review

**NOTE: Due to Christmas and New Years, the next dose on my weekly page will be on 2012.01.09. I will still be posting to my daily blog here in the meantime, but probably not too frequently. Happy Holidays!**

american-architects.com Building of the Week:

Nakahouse in Hollywood Hills, California by XTEN Architecture:
this week's Building of the Week

Sorry, still no unrelated links this week. I'll resume those in 2012.

Half Dose #99: Lake Union Float Home

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[All photos by Ben Benschneider]

In a recent ideabook on Houzz I looked at four houses adjacent to water; the last one is literally on water, a houseboat in Vancouver's Coal Harbour. Similar in vein, but on the southern side of the US/Canadian border is the Lake Union Float Home by Designs Northwest Architects. Docked in Seattle, Washington, the two-story residence with rooftop deck was actually built in Vancouver and floated down to a ship repair yard by Seattle's famous Gasworks Park before it was completed and towed across Lake Union.

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The fairly modern home occupies a slip in a water-based neighborhood with a diversity of architectural styles. The architects contend they looked to the "marina warehouses that have adorned the docks for centuries...large, box-like structures [that] dominate the Seattle waterfront and reflect the utilitarian roots of Seattle and men like: Doc Maynard, Arthur Denny, and Ivar Haglund." The exterior expression is a blend of expansive windows, cages on the roof and spiral stair, Western red cedar boards with vertical banding, and Trespa panels.

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Much of the interior, like the top floor above, may not indicate that the house is docked, but the way the windows open on the lower floor like garage doors makes the context explicit  to various senses. As can be seen in the floor plans at bottom, the lower floor is fairly open, containing the main entry and living spaces, while the top floor is more compartmentalized with a couple bedrooms. It may be located on the water, but the house has all the amenities of one inland, if in a more compact and efficient plan.

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HD99d.jpg
[Click image for larger view]

Notable Books of 2011 - My List

Designers & Books has posted my list of Notable Books of 2011. Of the nine titles I selected, some have been reviewed on my web page*, and in other cases reviews are forthcoming. Thanks to the folks at Designers & Books for asking me to contribute and for adding these books to the Notable Books of 2011 list, now 88 titles strong.

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[Screenshot from my Notable Books of 2011 list | Click over for full list with my descriptions.]

Note that the Designers & Books list will not supersede my own list of favorite books that I round up the end of each year (see last year's list, for example), since the former is restricted to titles released in 2011 and the latter is culled from reviews during the calendar year, and therefore may include books released before 2011. That list of this year's favorites should be posted here in a couple weeks.

*Those titles, linked to my reviews, include:
» By the City/For the City
» Combinatory Urbanism: The Complex Behavior of Collective Form
» The Embodied Image: Imagination and Imagery in Architecture
» Pamphlet Architecture 11-20
» Reveal: Studio Gang Architects
» Urban Design Since 1945: A Global Perspective

Siza Sings

Well, hums might be more accurate. Nevertheless it's interesting to get this sort of view of a master architect in action.


Siza sings | Film by Fernando Guerra from últimas reportagens on Vimeo.

A film by Fernando Guerra from Ultima Reportagans.

Today's archidose #546

Here are some photos of new buildings in Paris, France. Photographs are by JP2H.

k
l
[Two views of Biscornet by [BP] Architectures, 2011]

i
[An unknown building in the 13th Arrondissement; please comment if you know it. A 41-room student residence by Antonini + Darmon Architectes and Louis Paillard, 2010]

d
[Another unknown building in the 13th Arrondissement; please comment if you know it. The M9C mixed-use project by [BP] Architectures]

c
[M3A2 - Cultural and Community Tower by Antonini + Darmon Architectes, 2011 - see this week's dose]

To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just:
:: Join and add photos to the archidose pool, and/or
:: Tag your photos archidose

Elsewhere

This week has been quite busy, so my attention to this blog has been on the back burner. Nevertheless here are a handful of projects I've come across elsewhere that have struck my fancy for one reason or another; the old, the new, and one I've been looking forward to for a while. Click over to learn more about each.

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[Dark Lens by Cédric Delsaux, 2011 | featured at The New York Times]

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[Inntel Hotel in Amsterdam by WAM architecten, 2010 | featured at Architonic | photo by Roel Backaert]

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[Sorrento House in Australia by Robert Mills Architects, 2010 | featured at World-Architects.com | photo by Earl Carter]

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[Wohnüberbauung Allmend Baden in Switzerland by Burkard Meyer Architekten BSA, 2010 | featured at mapolis | photo by Susanne Willmer]

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[Mile End Park Ecology Pavilion in London by Gardner Stewart Architects, 2000 | featured at Inhabitat | photo by Roel Backaert]

Today's archidose #545

Here are a few photos of the Suitcase House Hotel at the Commune by the Great Wall in Beijing, China by Gary Chang/Edge Design Institute, 2002. Photographs are by BEN+_+.

Suitcase House

Suitcase House

Suitcase House

To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just:
:: Join and add photos to the archidose pool, and/or
:: Tag your photos archidose

Monday, Monday

My weekly page update:

This week's dose features M3A2 - Cultural and Community Tower in Paris, France by Antonin + Darmon Architectes:
this       week's  dose

The featured past dose is Palace Fouquet's Barriere in Paris, France by Edouard Francois:
featured      past dose

This week's book review is Small Houses: Contemporary Japanese Dwellings by Claudia Hildner:
this week's book review

american-architects.com Building of the Week:

Lakeside Retreat in Adirondack Mountains, New York by Peter Gluck and Partners:
this week's Building of the Week

Unrelated links will return next week.

Apple Store, Grand Central

Apple Store, Grand Central

On Friday the Apple Store in Grand Central Terminal opened. It occupies the east balcony, a portion of the north balcony, and attached smaller spaces, all adjacent to the station's main concourse. It's a great setting for a store, one that architect Bohlin Czywinski Jackson responded to with a restrained design that does very little beyond inserting furniture into the various spaces.

Apple Store, Grand Central

The top two photos are looking from the north balcony to the east balcony, from the Genius Bar to the main floor for the store. It's quite apparent that very little happens above the heads of the crowd. If we leap over to the east balcony (below), the familiar Apple store tables can be seen occupying the space, most capped by slender lights at about head height. These lights are a foil to the bulky yet clean-lined tables, and they create a datum of sorts that connect the various spaces together. But with crowds -- and the employees as well, all 350 of them! -- the lights fade away.

Apple Store, Grand Central

A close-up of one of the tables (below) shows the simple and slender design of the T-shaped light fixtures, barely visible in the center of the table. This image also illustrates how the tables are located in relation to the context; this one is on axis with the opening beyond.

Apple Store, Grand Central

A portal at the south end of the east mezzanine (below) is a strong draw, owing to the perception of vertical movement and the white walls beyond.

Apple Store, Grand Central

The portal leads to a couple rooms, including one devoted to accessories. This room looks through a glass wall to Vanderbilt Hall. It's a small space but one made all the more impressive by the presence of this glass screen. Here and elsewhere in the store, it's clear that BCJ not only respects the architecture of Grand Central Terminal, but appreciates it enough to celebrate it at every opportunity.

Apple Store, Grand Central