the sand castle

archidose wrote on this earlier this week, but we were delighted to find the the entire program of the sand castle was viewable online. the film documents the process of building n entire city in one of the united arab emirates, ras al-khaimah, from the ground up. the camera takes the perspective of one particular architecture firm competing for the masterplan comission-snøhetta. the stakes are set very high when the restrictions of the project are defined: unlike it's booming neighbor, dubai, ras al-khaimah has no oil, the desert is everywhere, and how do you create a modern middle-eastern city with western european architects? the creative process is displayed throughout the film as romantic, awkward and thrilling-just the way it usually is [or maybe should be] when going after internationally reknown projects.

the short film is engrossing and entertaining, allowing a peek into a region which at the moment appears to hold limitless architectural bounds. the story is concise and reveals some wonderful moments that happen behind the closed doors of architectural practice, but also showing the frustrations and disappointments that accompany them without becoming an emotionally cheap reality tv show.

[spoiler: snøhetta doesn't win the masterplan, but does gain a consolation prize of designing the new "gateway" to the city. view images at their website here.]

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blogo meh!

blogs fade, blogs die, blogs transform, but new blogs are always discovered:



dezeen - "dezeen is edited by marcus fairs, author of the major new book Twenty-First Century Design (published October 2006) and former editor of icon magazine. He is also co-organiser of Pecha Kucha events in the UK."

designfood - uk site to "...feed the imagination of anyone interested in architecture, the built environment and design."

city of sound - cities. design. architecture. media. music. etc. by dan hill

tropolism - "...Tropolism means loving the works of architects, and all the public conversation that surrounds it, while retaining a healthy skepticism for what architects say about their work." a blog by chad smith from NYC.

subtopia - a field guide to military urbanism

all of these are now included at the sidebar->

gravestmor is now super colossal

marcus trimble-author of gravestmor [one of the finest blogs we have ever seen] is in transition to a brand new website: Super Colossal. so far-off to a great start-check the first post-all about prosthetic eyes.

we'll leave the link to gravestmor up at the sidebar until itshuts down, but adding the link to super as well. ->

another blog move: studio109 has been relocated to finding form...

and finally-it looks like werlew is dead...download the commemorative mourning badge here.

also-life without buildings recently posted some images of a troubled denver art museum.

zaha superstar! [and other musings on the state of global starchitecture]

hugh pearman from gabion longs for satire and the ordinary in an exhibition full of tastemakers...

link from the where blog, which is now added to the sidebar ->

a sit-down with david adjaye

new york magazine talks briefly with mcart architect david adjaye about public buildings, tough clients, and his tv show dreamspaces [?]

link from archinect

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clyfford still works preview

the denver art museum will hold an exhibition of selected works created by clyfford still entitled clyfford still unveiled: selections from the estate. the small portion of his [2400 piece] body of work will be scheduled for viewing from july.14 through september.30. 2007.

this is definitely a higher profile way to kick off the hype for the new museum design, due to be unveiled this autumn by brad cloepfil of allied works. the museum opening is projected for 2010.

bush presidential library

image of clinton presidential library by polshek partnership from mitzenmacher , "ranch ramblins"

mary voelz-chandler from the RMN pokes fun at the possibility of a bush presidential library. but she also asks some relevant questions about the place of these particular buildings and their purpose:

"...I know they're basically privately funded and useful to scholars. But besides offering a place in the sun for those who miss the spotlight, what exactly do these places do? Or, today, mean?

...with the introduction of the "interpretive planner," I think some of the (dare I say it) purity has gone out the window. Conversely, I fear these planners don't really exploit the populist ideal. After all, they are between a rock and a hard place: Do they stress reality, as in recording the lows of an administration along with the highs? Or do they hew to the family's desire to present a squeaky-clean statesman who never, ever did anything wrong?

...If I were the interpretive planner for the George W. Bush presidential
library, I know what I'd include. Sure, there would be a copy of the Bible on which he swore the presidential oath, and menu cards from state dinners, and appointment books and e-mails between and among him, his staff and world leaders, including those who used to be our friends.
But get real. What would sell would include a room for his actual library, things like Maxim and the treacly (but aptly titled) The Little Prince.

In light of this week's big news, there'd be the Libby Lounge, a snug
spot stocked with copies of Our Judicial System for Dummies. The presidential closet would include sharply pressed - and unworn -National Guard uniforms. And who could resist an interactive maze on the library grounds, the Find the Weapons of Mass Destruction Labyrinth?"

mary, we never knew you had such a fun sense of humor...

update:

speaking of presidential libraries in regards to their respective legacies-the nixon library just opened...

also this. oh and if you wan to see what it looks like, you can see the country club inspired travesty here [scroll down]...

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our inconvenient demise

we understand that this is unfashionably old, but busy designerscan never be fashionably punctual...

if you haven't seen the political documentary / apocalyptic prophecy film

an inconvenient truth,

we highly suggest you do...soon. the red line climbs.