The overt feature of this picture is the facade of the cathedral planted fimly on the earlier brick structure, but look at the line of the kerb to the pavement (sidewalk) as it progresses from the corner of the cathedral in the foreground. The cathedral steps push against the kerb. We are reminded of the congregation entering and leaving.
St Mark, Bjorkhagen, Stockholm. Sigurd Lewerentz.
St Mark, Bjorkhagen. Through the birch wood.
St Mark is one of two brown brick churches completed by this architect in the ’50s and ’60s (the other is St Peter’s, Klippan). Like St Peter’s it is a precise geometric composition of church, parish offices, social rooms and courtyard. Set in a birch wood separated from the unremarkable suburban apartments nearby, there is no sense of the building contributing to the immediate urban area in any conventional way. The architect establishes a detached environment within the birch grove, creating a sense of place which might have existed before the arrival of the suburb. The church buildings enclose a courtyard oriented north/south. The church itself is oriented in the traditional way but it is difficult to identify the nave within the massing of the building. The building achieves a reorientation of the visitor in time, position and atmosphere.
South facade. Courtyard central; offices left; church and social rooms right.
Bells in the undulating section of wall.
Entrance canopy and courtyard.
A timber portico (detached as at the Resurrection Chapel) watches over the courtyard and marks the entrance to the church. The church itself is entered through a foyer followed by a public hall. This succession appears to be inspired by the processional sequence in early-Christian churches. The route from the from the courtyard is a progression from daylight to darkness.
Foyer
Hall (nave doors to the right)
Nave
As you enter it is difficult to make out the features in the nave. It takes time to adjust and accept the new condition. A baptism is in progress. It is as dark as an underground space: a crypt or catacomb. An architect from Jerusalem also visiting the church that day attempted to explain it to me: “This is the work of a master. The use of light is masterful. In the darkness our eyes search for the light. We must wait for the light to be revealed to us.” A single window high-up on the south side of the nave allows a shaft of light to pick out a small piece of the nave floor. The ceremony continues. The bells ring. The baptised child is raised up and shown to the congregation.
B******s to Architecture adds his/her two pennorth to the recent, generally negative, reaction to the RIBA Conference/Architecture Biennale jamboree…
A Radio 4 Thinking Allowed programme about the merits and demerits of
continuity and change:
Link now fixed!
The Year 6 Studio Programme information from March has been added to the Studio Programme page in the sidebar, just to balance things up. Watch out for events and updates.
Manchester: This is the former ‘Welsh Chapel’ (1837-1839) a familiar landmark on Upper Brook Street near the University. Attributed to Charles Barry, it is believed to be an early collaboration between this architect and A.W.N. Pugin. Barry and Pugin later worked together on the Houses of Parliament. The building is listed Grade ll* but has been neglected for decades culminating in the collapse and removal of the roof. After failing to assert their powers under Listed Building legislation, and despite the national significance of the building, Manchester City Council is seeking to demolish it under Dangerous Structure legislation. Have a look before it goes…
Contextual reading: John Foot Milan After the Miracle: City, Culture and Identity Berg Oxford and New York 2001
The studio introduction will take place in room 502 10.00am Thursday 28
September
Dressings: Loos and Architectural Tailoring. Talk by Eamonn Canniffe.
Bibliography
Massimo Cacciari, Architecture and Nihilism: On the Philosophy of Contemporary Architecture, Yale University Press New Haven 1993
Beatriz Colomina, Å‚The Split Wall: Domestic Voyeurism in Colomina (ed) Space and Sexuality Princeton Papers on Architecture Vol.1
Princeton New Jersey 1992
Beatriz Colomina, Privacy and Publicity: Modern Architecture as Mass Media, M.I.T. Press Cambridge Massachusetts 1994
Kenneth Frampton, The Architecture of Adolf Loos, Arts Council of Great Britain London 1985
HélÄne Furján, “Dressing down: Adolf Loos and the politics of ornament” The Journal of Architecture, Volume 8, Number 1 / March, 2003
Benedetto Gravagnuolo, Adolf Loos: Theory and Works, Art Data: Idea Books Edizioni Milan 1982
Adolf Loos, Spoken into the Void: Collected Essays 1897-1900 Opposition Books M.I.T. Press Cambridge Massachusetts 1982
Jules Lubbock, “Adolf Loos and the English Dandy” Architectural Review 1983
Mary McLeod Å‚Undressing Architecture: Gender, Fashion and Modernity in Fausch, Singley, El-Khoury, and Efrat, Zvi Architecture: In Fashion
Princeton Architectural Press New York 1994
Ludwig Munz and Gustav Kunstler, Adolf Loos: Pioneer of Modern Architecture, Thames and Hudson London 1966
Hans Richter, Dada Art and Anti-Art, Thames and Hudson London 1965
Max Risselada (ed), Raumplan versus Plan Libre, Rizzoli New York 1989
Carl E. Schorske, Fin-de-siecle Vienna: Politics and Culture, Cambridge University Press Cambridge 1981
Mark Wigley, White Walls, Designer Dresses: The Fashioning of Modern Architecture, M.I.T. Press Cambridge Massachusetts 1995
One of these artifacts is a product of a devalued aesthetic language,
its meanings resting on long vanished glories, but obscure and devoid
of significance to the contemporary viewer. The other is a symbol of
enduring civic values, of pride and a confident sense of identity.
But which is which?
BACHELOR OF ARCHITECTURE 2006/2007
MILAN: ON WITH THE MOTLEY…
The relationship between forms of architecture and modes of dress has been
theorised by the likes of Gottfried Semper, Otto Wagner and Adolf Loos since
the middle of the nineteenth century. As the world capital of the fashion
industry, the contemporary architectural scene in Milan is emerging from a
long period of apparent stagnation with the completion of Massimiliano
Fuksas’s Nuovo Polo Fiera and the construction of Grafton Architects Bocconi
University building. While the city assimilates these new interventions it
therefore seems an appropriate point to consider the concepts of beauty and
utility within Milanese design culture, and specifically the discipline of
fashion,through exploring the creation of objects, architecture and the
city. Situated in a richly layered environment, but one which is not
constrained by history, the proposed projects firstly aim to present an
opportunity to analyse the development of the present urban situation.
Secondly they will develop proposals for a variety of sites in Milan as
communicative and representational urban environments. Lastly, it is
intended that the balance between analysis and creative proposal will ensure
an interpretative framework for an architecture which is adept at dealing
with both the concrete and the speculative [Click here to read more…]
Last year the CiA 6th year students studied the city of Palma in Mallorca. Although the island has a reputation for rampant tourism, the city itself is relatively untouched and retains the qualities of a close, tight Mediterranean city. The first of two sites studied was on part of the original path of the river – the Ramblas. The second site was in the corner of the old city, high up behind the protective walls at the point where the city first becomes visible from the east. More drawings can be seen in this photoset.
Cesar Pelli’s project for the Citta della Moda in Milan brings to mind the following thoughts: While private entities seek to extend their control over urban space and public bodies surrender management to commercial concerns, the iconography of the public realm, its direct expression of meaning is increasingly replaced by commercial advertising as the overt ideological messages of the past evaporate. The spectacle of participation becomes all the more enticing, a participation that requires nothing more from the visitor than their cash. In this scenario architecture is reduced to the provision of floorplates and silhouettes which promote brand identity rather than a unique urban experience.
“Today, the idea of erudition, of the architect as connoisseur has been
rejected. It is curious that in a world of increasing specialisation, where
artists and scientists are making dynamic new work from within their
disciplines, architects have followed the lead of the management consultant,
the ultimate example of the empty generalist. Rather than rise to the
technical and artistic challenges of today, within the discipline of
architecture, mainstream practice has embraced the rhetoric of the market to
make work that is infused with brand recognition. Strategies of cybernetics,
phylogenics, parametrics, mapping – each strive to generate completely
original forms, unusual shapes, in plan, in section, sometimes both. These
bold profiles can amplify or even replace corporate logos. Lacking the
complexities and ambiguities that are held within the tradition of
architectural form, these shapes quickly lose their shiny novelty and
achieve a condition of not new, but also not old or ordinary enough to
become a part of the urban background. This inability to grow old is all too
resonant with an era of rebranding and cosmetic surgery. Architecture is now
practiced at an unprecedented global scale, and the major players seem to be
egging each other on. Who will produce the largest, and most formally
outlandish project? Who will finally say stop? Never has so much
construction been based on so few ideas.”
Adam Caruso : Traditions
in OASE 65: Ornament 2004
Illustration – Centre for Contemporary Art Nottingham 2004-2008. Caruso St John Architects.
