The Pavilion at The Norman Foster Foundation

The Norman Foster Foundation opened its doors in central Madrid. Inhabiting in an old residential palace, and having undergone extensive renovation works since, the Foundation have also constructed their own contemporary courtyard pavilion. Housing a treasure trove of artefacts from Lord Foster’s personal collection, the structure-which is shaped like the wing of an aircraft-also exhibits a newly restored 1927 Avions Voisin C7 originally owned by Le Corbusier.

The pavilion-the design of which was led by Lord Foster, David Delgado, Raúl Gómez and Jorge López-is tucked between the palace and an adjacent neighbour. With a portion of the façade (a wide glass door weighing 2.7 tons and measuring 6 metres in length) opening onto a sun-drenched, shaded courtyard, the intention is that this pavilion-alongside its primary function as an exhibition space-will also host talks, discussion groups, and events.

By collaborating closely with (primarily) Spanish craftspeople in metal and glass, the design team have been able to develop a combination of slim, beat-blasted stainless steel sections welded together and mirror-polished edges that “dematerialize the bulk of supporting structures.”

The Pavilion, Madrid, Spain, at The Norman Foster Foundation

Haus am Horn by Georg Muche

In 1919, at a time in which Germany was still in upheaval over its defeat in the First World War (and compounded by the loss of its monarchy), the Academy of Fine Arts and School of Applied Arts in Weimar, Germany, were combined to form the first Bauhaus. Its stated goal was to erase the separation that had developed between artists and craftsmen, combining the talents of both occupations in order to achieve a unified architectonic feeling which they believed had been lost in the divide. Students of the Bauhaus were to abandon the framework of design standards that had been developed by traditional European schools and experiment with natural materials, abstract forms, and their own intuitions. Although the school’s output was initially Expressionist in nature, by 1922 it had evolved into something more in line with the rising International Style.

An exhibition of work produced by the Bauhaus in 1923 perfectly embodied this changing perspective of design. True to the institution’s roots, the exhibition was not merely a gallery of objects or images, but an entire house filled with works by Bauhaus students. The Haus am Horn, as it was named, was designed by Georg Muche and Adolf Meyer as a prototype for affordable housing which could be quickly and inexpensively mass-produced. The use of experimental building techniques and materials not only helped to achieve this goal, but dovetailed perfectly with the increasing focus on functionalism in the Bauhaus curriculum.

Muche, who was a painter and teacher at the Bauhaus, had already been in the process of designing a house for himself and his wife when the school announced a competition for a model residence. His winning entry was bold in its simplicity: a square plan, with a ring of rooms surrounding a central living room. Each space was designed with an explicit program in mind, and intentionally specialized so that it could not be used for any other purpose.[3] Aside from the living room, the house comprised a room for the man, a room for the lady, a room for children, a guest room, dining room, kitchen, and a work niche.

Haus am Horn, Am Horn 61, 99425 Weimar, Germany, by Georg Muche
via: archdaily
Photography by Cameron Blaylock

Harpel House by John Lautner

High up in the Hollywood Hills sits the Lautner Harpel House, an unrivalled example of signature Californian architecture. Since it was built in 1956, the design of architect John Lautner, an apprentice of the legendary Frank Lloyd Wright, the building saw dramatic changes, including a second storey addition and other features deemed ill-fitting to its style.

After acquiring the house in 2006, design restorer and Resurrection Vintage co-founder Mark Haddawy took on the mammoth task of restoring house to its original glory. For the latest episode of In Residence, Haddawy invites director Victoria Hely-Hutchinson into the expansive, impeccably restored hilltop pad where he talks through the poetic nature of the forensic refurbishment.

Harpel House, by John Lautner, Film Directed by Victoria Hely-Hutchinson
via: NOWNESS

Mies Van der Rohe Barcelona Pavilion Posters by Blackhaus

This project starts as a small fragment of our new audacious project called “Iconic Architecture” which will be splitted into several chapters being each chapter a new reading of famous architectures which branded our culture.

About the pavilion
As part of the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona Spain, the Barcelona Pavilion, designed by Mies van der Rohe, was the display of architecture’s modern movement to the world. Originally named the German Pavilion, the pavilion was the face of Germany after WWI, emulating the nation’s progressively modern culture that was still rooted in its classical history. Its elegant and sleek design combined with rich natural material presented Mies’ Barcelona Pavilion as a bridge into his future career, as well as architectural modernism.

Iconic Architecture: Barcelona Pavilion, by Mies Van der Rohe, at Blackhaus

Case Study House #21 by Pierre Koenig

One of modernism’s most iconic houses, Case Study House 21 (Bailey House) by Pierre Koenig, is now on sale. The two-bed/two-bath Hollywood Hills landmark has been touted as among the finest of Arts & Architecture Magazine’s Case Study Houses, and one of the program’s few truly experimental projects to explore groundbreaking design and materials.

Case Study House #21, by Pierre Koenig, at Sotheby’s International Realty

Mexican Modernism by Francisco Artigas

Francisco Artigas was a man of order. The many modernist houses he designed in the 1950s and ’60s were as strict and exacting as his wardrobe, as tidy as his soap dish. The majority of these were in Mexico City, at the Gardens of El Pedregal subdivision developed after World War II by Mexico’s most acclaimed architect, Luis Barragán. 3 Artigas reportedly designed and built more than fifty houses there, making him the Pedregal’s most prolific architect by far. 4 (By contrast, Barragán produced no more than a half dozen buildings for the Pedregal, and only one of these, the Prieto López House, remains intact.) The houses Artigas built were occupied by top professionals, business leaders, powerful political families, film stars, and other native and foreign elites. They were featured in popular Mexican movies of the era and reproduced in newspapers and magazines around the country and beyond. 5 These cool, crystalline pavilions represent the glamour, optimism, and excess of their time and place much as the Beaux-Arts mansions of Newport, Rhode Island, or the modernist villas of Palm Springs, California, embody theirs. Their architect, however, though admired by well-informed mid-century modern enthusiasts, remains essentially unknown to a larger public. He is well worth a look.

Read more: Regionalism Revisited: The Case of Francisco Artigas

Film: Tadao Ando’s Cerro Pelon Ranch for Tom Ford

A promotional movie has been released to entice potential buyers for a massive ranch in New Mexico that features buildings by Japanese architect Tadao Ando.

Read more: Tom Ford’s New Mexico Ranch

Buy the book: Ando. Complete Works, Updated Version 2010, Jodidio, Philip, Hardcover, 30.8 x 39 cm (12.1 x 15.4 in.), 600 pages, Published by Taschen, ISBN: 9783836509497
Buy it here: Amazon

Exposition: Pierre Paulin’s Chairs at Centre Pompidou

Between 1959 and 1975, Pierre Paulin created several iconic designs for Artifort, including the famous Ribbon chair, the Mushroom and the Tongue. These timeless designs, which were created in the Artifort workshops, are for the most part still in production today. They are distributed around the world and continue to be a source of fascination because they are so modern.

Centre Pompidou in Paris is paying tribute to Pierre Paulin’s work with a comprehensive retrospective devoted to the designer’s work. The museum has decided to add a Pierre Paulin lounge to the exhibition galleries giving visitors the opportunity to sit down in some of Artifort’s most comfortable sofas and chairs.

Pierre Paulin at Centre Pompidou

Guide to Computing by Docubyte and Ink

This colourful series of ten historic computers, created in close collaboration between INK and Docubyte, documents the beginning of our computing history. Featuring such famous machines as the IBM 1401 and Alan Turing’s Pilot ACE, Guide to Computing showcases a minimalist approach to design that precedes even Apple’s contemporary motifs.

What’s more, the combination of photography and retouching techniques has resulted in something wholly unique: the ageing historical objects as photographed by Docubyte have been ‘digitally restored’ and returned to their original form. As a number of these computers predate modern colour photography, Guide to Computing therefore showcases them in a never before seen context.

Guide to Computing, by Docubyte

Shulman Home and Studio by LOHA

LOHA’s restoration and modernization applies contemporary measures of performance and design to a historic building, enhancing its continued life as an exceptional family residence.

The Julius Shulman Home and Studio was originally commissioned by photographer Julius Shulman, designed by Raphael Soriano, and completed in 1950. It is one of twelve remaining built Soriano projects, the only with an unaltered steel frame, and a City of Los Angeles Historic–Cultural Monument. LOHA was engaged to not simply restore the significant home, but to update the space so that it could meet the specific needs of a young family.

For this project, LOHA undertook extensive research into the materiality and design intentions of the original structure, as well as other buildings from the period. As a notable landmark, the Shulman Home was restored under strict preservation guidelines supervised by the Los Angeles Office of Historical Resources. Due to the home’s status as a residence and not a museum, LOHA was granted more flexibility in upgrading the residence with essential contemporary features and important amenities. LOHA’s sensitive and light approach brought out the timeless nature of the Soriano’s elegant design.

Shulman Home and Studio, by LOHA, via Plastolux, Photography by Iwan Baan
Buy the book: Julius Shulman Photographer of Modernism