Author Archives: Aventinus

Figurative, Abstract, Classical

The apparition of Joel Shapiro’s suspended sculpture ‘Verge’ hovering since November 2008 between the (soon-to-be-completed) paired facades of the architect Eric Parry’s 23 Savile Row, London calls to mind the placing of Sir Joseph Epstein’s ‘Madonna and Child’ (1953) on … Continue reading

Posted in Aventinus, CiA | 1 Comment

So farewell then, 2-4 …

CiA are saddened to witness the demolition of 2-4 Oxford Road in Manchester. It provided an atmospheric and convivial, though cramped, studio space in the early hopeful years. We need more spaces like that in the city not less. Editor’s … Continue reading

Posted in Aventinus, Buildings at Risk, CiA, Manchester | 1 Comment

Notes from Rome

James Robertson, the Rome Scholar in Architecture, is approximately half way through his period at the British School at Rome. His research on the ecclesiastical architecture of Jack Coia has revealed many parallels in the twentieth century churches of Rome. … Continue reading

Posted in Aventinus, Churches, CiA, Friends & Acquaintances, Italy, Research, Rome | 1 Comment

By John Rylands Library I sat down and wept…

While the scholastic gloom of Basil Champneys’s John Rylands Library (1899) on Deansgate in Manchester perhaps offers no direct model for contemporary emulation, the quality of its construction and longevity of its use and occupation present a sharp riposte to … Continue reading

Posted in Aventinus, CiA, Manchester | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Trans-Pennine Fraternity of the Seven Hills

CiA are gratified to see the installation of a fraternal studio group at the University of Sheffield School of Architecture with their own blog. Studio One, under the tutorship of Russell Light will be exploring the theme of ‘Rome – … Continue reading

Posted in Aventinus, CiA, Friends & Acquaintances, Rome | Comments Off on Trans-Pennine Fraternity of the Seven Hills

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

Posted in Andrea Palladio, Aventinus, CiA, Italy | Comments Off on The ‘high game’ of Palladio

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?

Posted in Aventinus, CiA, Friends & Acquaintances, Name Dropping, Nostalgia | 1 Comment

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

Posted in Andrea Palladio, Aventinus, CiA, Italy, Travel, Venice | Comments Off on Palladio 500 Anni: La Grande Mostra

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

Posted in Aventinus, CiA, Publications | Comments Off on Mapping architectural controversies of the recent past

Let us now praise famous men…

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

Posted in Aldo Rossi, Aventinus, CiA, Italy, James Stirling, Name Dropping, Rome, Venice | Comments Off on Let us now praise famous men…

Le Corbusier: The Art of Architecture

To Liverpool for the architectural event of the autumn – the collision between Lutyens and Le Corbusier in the Metropolitan Cathedral Crypt. Unfortunately the overbearing and labyrinthine staging of the exhibition makes what might have been an interesting combat between … Continue reading

Posted in Aventinus, CiA, Edwin Lutyens, Le Corbusier, Liverpool | Comments Off on Le Corbusier: The Art of Architecture

and…and…and…and…

Venice Architecture Biennale 2008: A Movie See also our earlier review.

Posted in Aventinus, CiA, Italy, Travel, Venice | Comments Off on and…and…and…and…