Monthly Archives: November 2008

Five Hundred Years of Andrea Palladio

Andrea di Pietro della Gondola, born 30 November 1508. The Basilica Palladiana in Vicenza. The red plan is Palladio’s design as depicted in his Quattro Libri. The black plan is the structure as built, incorporating elements of the previous buildings … Continue reading

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The ‘high game’ of Palladio

The recent lecture by Peter Eisenman in Liverpool affirmed the current interests of one group of CiA students in the work of Andrea Palladio. Eisenman declared his faith in the value of drawing as a demonstration of thought, in contrast … Continue reading

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Small earthquake?

A rather bland interview with David Dernie, outgoing Head of the Manchester School of Architecture, has appeared on the AJ site: LINK

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Christ the King & Ceri Richards

The Historic Churches Commission has refused to authorise the reordering of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, Liverpool. The change would have involved siting a new, smaller altar at a lower level. It is … Continue reading

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Peter Eisenman or Steve Martin?

Summer 1983: A restaurant in the North End of Boston with students from Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Where are they now?

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Palladio 500 Anni: La Grande Mostra

The exhibition (LINK) celebrating the quincentenary of the birth of Andrea Palladio currently at the Palazzo Barabaran da Porto in Vicenza (until January 6 2009 and then transferring to the Royal Academy of Arts in London) is a stunning collection … Continue reading

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Social whirl

Alexis of Hot Chip at the Le Corbusier exhibition, Liverpool (25 October 2008)   Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen at the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester to open the Flights of Fancy exhibition decrying minimalism and other “delusions of blandeur” and pleased to be … Continue reading

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Name Dropping

In what can only be described as an architectural celebrity bumper period for the northwest, we have been honoured by a number of distinguished guests. Peter Eisenman delivered the RIBA Annual Discourse 2008 at the John Moores University. His lecture … Continue reading

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The Crowd

Preston, England 1926. The dedication of the Cenotaph funded by public subscription and designed by Giles Gilbert Scott. Scott, who was architect of the classic British red telephone box, Liverpool Anglican Cathedral and Tate Modern (Bankside power station), described his … Continue reading

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Mapping architectural controversies of the recent past

Histories of the Immediate Present: Inventing Architectural Modernism by Anthony Vidler (MIT Press 2008) Anthony Vidler’s elegantly slender volume in the ‘Writing Architecture’ Series presents a highly readable account of the archaeology of contemporary architectural theory. He discusses the work … Continue reading

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Restauro della Basilica Palladiana

Palladio’s Basilica in Vicenza is undergoing an intensive period of restoration. The stonework is being cleaned and repaired and the famous curving roof is being replaced. On a recent CiA visit it was possible to witness the individual sections being … Continue reading

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Let us now praise famous men…

Revisiting Roma Interrotta. (Standard CiA camera salute – Ed.)

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