Hélène Binet: Photographs of the Work by Peter Zumthor

Photographs by the London photographer, Hélène Binet of structures by architect Peter Zumthor, will be on show at the Gabrielle Ammann Gallery in Cologne. Works by Zumthor include Therme Vals spa in Switzerland, and Kolumba Art Museum of the diocese of Cologne.

Hélène Binet: Photographs of the Work by Peter Zumthor, at Gabrielle Ammann Gallery, Cologne, Germany, September 4 – November 6, 2009
via: dezeen

Gary Cooper as Architect in the Fountainhead

Mirage.studio.7 has a collection of fictional architects in movies. Our favorite is Gary Cooper in The Fountainhead, an adaptation of the novel by Ayn Rand.

The Fountainhead, 1949, by Warner Bros.,

Rhinoceros by Carsten Höller

Rhinoceros, by Carsten Höller

Exhibition: The Art of Timber Construction

Guanyin-hall, Dule-monastery Tianjin, Jixian (Liao Dynasty 916-1125)

Chunyang Hall, Yongle Palace, Ruicheng, Shanxi Province (Yuan Dynasty 1271-1368)

Bracketing Cluster (Dougong) (Song Dynasty 960-1279)

Hall of a Thousand Buddhas, Temple Zhihua, Beijing (Ming Dynasty 1368-1644)

For about three centuries, almost all public buildings in China were built according to a hardly ever changing construction system: an enormous, curved hip roof rests on wooden posts with wide overhanging eaves and tile covering, supported by an elaborate wooden construction.
In the 20th century, documentation and teaching models of the highest accuracy were made of the most important buddhist temples and palace complexes. These large-scale models precisely show all the details in order to enable their study and a possible reconstruction of the historical buildings. The exhibition at the Architekturmuseum shows 19 of these models, among them detailed models of the bracket system (Dougong) and reproductions of the oldest timber constructions existing in China.

The Art of Timber Construction: Chinese Architectural Models, at Architekturmuseum der TU München, Munich, Germany, October 22 – January 24, 2009
via: designboom

Exhibition: Skyscrapers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Untitled, Chrysler Building, completed 1930, New York, 1929,
Berenice Abbott, American, 1898 – 1991, Gelatin silver print

More than fifty prints, drawings, and photographs chosen from the Philadelphia Museum of Art collection demonstrate the many ways artists chose to portray the new giants in their landscape. Roughly spanning the years between 1905 and 1940, the works will reflect a wide range of styles and practices. Among the famous skyscrapers featured are Chicago’s gothic-ornamented Tribune Tower, New York City’s Art Deco Empire State Building, and Philadelphia’s modernist PSFS Building. The exhibition includes prints by John Marin and Charles Sheeler, photographs by Berenice Abbott and Alfred Stieglitz, and drawings by Earl Horter and Abraham Walkowitz.

Exhibition: Skyscrapers: Prints, Drawings, and Photographs of the Early Twentieth Century, June 6 – November 1, 2009 at Philadelphia Museum of Art

Exhibition: The Age of the World by Mathieu Lehanneur

“Statistics quit charts and graphs to reincarnate in a curious set of containers, whether jars or urns, creating a radical representation of our human bondage in this world. Birth is the base and death the apex of these enameled terra cotta pagodas, whose contours change in phase with the age rings that translate life expectancy. From bottom to top there are 100 strata, shaped in solid or void, but the top end is always a sharp tip.”
- Mathieu Lehanneur

Exhibition: The Age of the World, by Mathieu Lehanneur, Issey Miyake, Paris, October 2009 during Fashion Week

Ingrid Siliakus—Paper Architect

Paper Architecture is the art of creating an object out of a single piece of paper. Before the final design is finished, something like 20 to 30 (sometimes even more) prototypes are made by Ingrid Siliakus. Drawing paper architecture designs to Ingrid is as building: first one layer, with a single shape, will be drawn and than layer after layer are added. To design a pattern from scratch, the artist needs the skills of an architect to create a two-dimensional design, which, with the patience and precision of a surgeon, becomes an ingenious three-dimensional wonder of paper.

“A growing number of papercraft artists are enjoying the exquisite art of architectural origami, where a single sheet of paper is cut and folded into an intricate miniature structure. Here, three of the world’s leading proponents provide instructions and templates for recreating twenty of the world’s great buildings, from the Taj Mahal to the Rialto Bridge. There are basic principles to start you off, as well as galleries of the finest architectural origami from around the world.”

The Paper Architect, Marivi Garrido (Spain), Joyce Aysta (America) and Ingrid Siliakus (Netherlands), Hardcover, 110 pages (70pp plus 40pp templates), 23cm X 28cm,
ISBN: 9780307451477

Buy it here: Amazon

Cloud by An Te Liu

Cloud is an installation by An Te Liu, he presented it at the 2008 Venice Biennial of Architecture. It’s made of 120 air purifiers, ionizers, sterilizers, washers, humidifiers, ozone air cleaners. They were all running constantly.

Cloud, by An Te Liu
via: today and tomorrow

The Hergé Museum by Christian de Portzamparc

Designed by French architect and winner of the Pritzker Prize, Christian de Portzamparc, the Hergé Museum is due to open on June 2nd of this year. The icon that was (and still is) Tintin played a role in most of our childhoods. Even today Tintin and Snowy are making waves in recently translated Chinese copies in Asia. A stroke of comic-book genius, Tintin evolved from the brush of belgian artist Georges Prosper Remi, or as he is more commonly known, Hergé. Unfortunately the masterful Hergé passed away in 1983 but thanks to the new Hergé Museum in Brussels, its not too late to pay hommage to his work.

The Hergé Museum, by Christian de Portzamparc
via: Ape to Gentleman.

George Nelson & Associates Catenary Chairs for Herman Miller

A pair of Vintage Catenary chairs are up for auction at the upcoming Important Design Auction at Wright. Designed by George Nelson & Associates in 1962 the chairs are made from leather, chrome-plated steel and enameled steel.

Catenary Chairs Model 6380, 1962, by George Nelson & Associates, for Herman Miller, Auction Estimate: $4,000–5,000 at Wright

See more products designed by George Nelson