buildings, next level

[kbi]

I think minimalism for the sake of minimalism is really boring because it's an approach getting old (thinking back to the beginnings of modernism with peter behrens, van der rohe, corbusier etc..). People are used to this kind of architecture nowadays, which is why I think it is kind of boring and why you get buildings looking like senseless vacuums*.

If we're honest reducing influential factors is just a really easy way to enforce a buildings expression. But that's also a reason why minimalism is used in the wrong situations and a lot of buildings lack expression*. The architecture I'm personally interested in is the one that are controversial as such nowadays.

I just saw this and thought it was actually quite funny. check it out

http://modernica.wordpress.com/2010/04/01/the-vb3-egg-house/

[francojean23]

i think avoiding minimalism because it's " boring " is unneccesary , you should design how you want it . architecture that is designed to spark a controversy just reinforces the " architecture for architects " argument . also i'd say it's a far stretch to say minimalism has been done to boring status , modernism reigned for a very short period , overshadowed by post-modernism and all the super-modernism that we're in right now , which is far from minimalism , it may be simplistic , but certainly not minimal in the same way the great modernists could achieve

by the way it's refreshing to have this discussion and to have a thread that's unlike the majority of architecture blogs and forums that wax on and on about the star-chitects and their grossly oversized , inefficient , and cumbersome projects

[kbi]

What I was trying to say is simply that if you use minimalism in the wrong way it empties the building of its meaning instead of enforcing it. I'm not against minimalism per se at all, I actually love it. It's just that in my opinion there are a lot of failures exactly because of its glorious image within the post-modernism era and you see this the best when you walk around an asian city like tokyo or seoul.

The second part I totally agree with . Although in context to minimalism one could pretty well discuss the newly pritzker-prize granted sanaa building.

[kbi]

However they do unload materials of their meaning. To me that's a minimalist approach.

[kbi]

yes that's just what I mean. I'm not talking from a structural point of view. I just meant that exactly because they are pushing boundaries in what materials can do nowadays, they are unloading the meaning of those materials how we have understood them so far.

Corbusier for example pronounced the roughness of concrete while ando shows its smoothness.. different ways to transport a message through the visual appearance of material. With SANAA this approach evaporates like there's no meaning to the material itself. just look at the picture you posted.. the steel is painted right? This approach I call minimalist because they strengthen their concept through reduction.

[diamonds]

i would call it minimalist because its white and square

[North]

Sanaa's Rolex learning center has been completed. I remember some visuals have been posted a few pages back.
I'm planning on visiting it in the summer when I head to Switzerland. I really like the ideas they incorporated in this space, judging purely by the pictures, it looks good.


image by archidose

Articles:

http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/9197/sanaa-rolex-learning-center.html

http://archidose.blogspot.com/2010/02/half-dose-75-rolex-learning-center.html

http://www.archicentral.com/rolex-learning-center-lausanne-switzerland-sanaa-3752/

http://www.fastcompany.com/1552504/the-rolex-learning-center-is-full-of-holes-but-thats-a-good-thing

and a video:

http://www.youtube.com/user/RolexLearningCenter#p/u/0/4O0OqdIoOPQ

[francojean23]

building looks pretty nice , but wow that landscape is terrible , really takes away from the building , that lower ramp with the winding path next to it , developer designed ( or not designed ) , hopefully they'll do more with it

[asho]

so, I have to do a report on Ricardo Bofill's Walden7 as part of my architecture theory course. Seeing as t is a next level building, I was wondering if anyone had visited or had any personal insights...

[Acéphale]

Fernand Pouillon
(1912 - 1986)

[Nostromo]

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

The new Centre Pompidou Metz opens today. The opening days last till sunday.

Here's the link to the official website.

[red120]

What's around it?

Not a hit on the building itself, but can't imagine that meshing with the neighborhood.. it's a bit jarring to have a building someone in such a way.

[TadaoAndo]

the Thomas Heatherwick-designed UK pavilion at the Shanghai Expo 2010 is kind of cool but it seems that architecture now is either a concrete bunker or a postmodern "wow" structure. If only Rick Owens could be an architect.

[endersgame]

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[DRRRK]

^Very nice. What/ where is it?