Author Archives: Crompton

Sherlock Holmes in Manchester

Posted on January 4, 2010 by Crompton

Manchester Town Hall appears uncredited in the new film, playing the Houses of Parliament. Under this very ceiling Holmes struggles with Moriarty. Continuity in Architecture will never mistake Waterhouse for Barry even if they can believe Robert Downey Jr and … Continue reading →

Posted in CiA, Crompton, Manchester | 1 Comment

Notes from New York City #3

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Crompton

8. Sacred Space Guard with dog keeps people off space in front of Seagram Building, Fifth Avenue. Get too close to Mies and you will be bitten. 9. Gimp Car Clothes for your automobile. 10. $25,000 for a lampshade Previous … Continue reading →

Posted in CiA, Crompton, New York City, Travel | 1 Comment

Notes from New York City #2

Posted on October 6, 2009 by Crompton

4. The hardest thing about cars is getting rid of them. Multi-storey car park, NY style, approx. $20 per hour. 5. Hi-Line Disused elevated railway turned into urban park. Tribeca NY. 6. Did it really happen? Dutchman buys Manhattan for … Continue reading →

Posted in CiA, Crompton, New York City, Travel | 1 Comment

Notes from New York City #1

Posted on September 14, 2009 by Crompton

1. Architect’s home life. Italian chromed steel electric fan by Enzio Pirali 1953. Donated to MOMA by Philip Johnson 1956. 2. New Cooper Union Campus Third Ave E7th St by Thomas Mayne of Morphosis opening this week, September 2009. Mayne’s … Continue reading →

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Notes from Belgrade #3

Posted on June 25, 2009 by Crompton

7. World’s first radio controlled boat. By Nikola Tesla, c.1900. 8. Wallpaper outside. Leaf wallpaper on windows to modern apartments, Belgrade. 9. Belgrade School of Architecture, staircase, you can imagine what the studios were like.

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Notes from Belgrade #2

Posted on May 31, 2009 by Crompton

4. Block 23 from Block 22: Picturesque brutalism, a city in the sky. Twenty floors up ivy grows and pigeon loft has been built. (Novi Beograd: Architects: Jankovic, Karadzic, Stjepanovic, 1975). 5. Weightlifter: Meaty Doric column on Belgrade Post Office. … Continue reading →

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Notes from Belgrade #1

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Crompton

Some sights from a recent trip to Belgrade (Beograd): 1. Bill Clinton and Urban Design: Nikola Dobrovic, Architect, 1963, Ministry of Defence, Belgrade, in two parts, whose stepped forms matched each other across a major street, forming an image of … Continue reading →

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Leaning Tower of Plečnik

Posted on May 11, 2009 by Crompton

St Antun* Catholic Church, Belgrade. 1936-63. Architect: Jože Plečnik A circular church with a circular tower that is now leaning slightly as can be seen in the gap between it and the neighbouring block. Monolithic columns in the porch have … Continue reading →

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The Measure of the Man

Posted on April 13, 2009 by Crompton

Giant Slide Rule for disbelievers.

Posted in Architecture Hacks, CiA, Crompton | 1 Comment

Uncle Monty’s place

Posted on April 8, 2009 by Crompton

Threshold of Sleddale Hall, one of the most remote houses in England, Uncle Monty’s Cottage in the film Withnail and I, has graffiti in the form of lines from the film.

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More Mont-de-Huisnes

Posted on February 3, 2009 by Crompton

Door handle at Mont-de-Huisnes German war cemetery, Normandy (built 1967).

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Mont-de-Huisnes, Normandy

Posted on January 13, 2009 by Crompton

This German war cemetery, Mont-de-Huisnes, Normandy, 1967, is very beautifully detailed. From the grass roof one has a view of Mont-Saint-Michel rising like a mystic city from the sea. Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge (Peoples Association for the Care of German War … Continue reading →

Posted in CiA, Crompton, Travel | 2 Comments