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October 18, 2006
METAFORMS ARCHITECTURAL LINKS
That was a lot of information to go through... but some very cool stuff to be introduced to. Websites on projects that stood out: the page on Parasite Paradise: A Manifesto for Temporary Architecture and Flexible Urbanism seemed cool, I guess that's an out of print book that I'd love to check out if I ever get the chance. I once worked at an Eco-resort, a place that was designed to be self-sustainable and also temporary while still providing a resort-like experience to the people who visited. This was on the side of a 1000 foot mountain that rose up out of the water in the virgin islands. The rooms were actually these wood and canvas "tents" with a bed, portable grill, a cooler, etc. The emphasis on design there was placed on materials in terms of recyclable, cheap (because the place was so remote, getting materials there was expensive), and sturdy (for hurricanes). So things were kept pretty basic. But I like the idea of taking the concept into an urban environment and creating livable spaces under 500 square feet. I remember reading about how several architects had design temporary living "houses" around 300 square feet for Hurricane Katrina victims complete with a front porch. These houses were indeed small but had the basics and actually looked pretty nice. Much better than a FEMA trailor.
Another site I liked was the Columbia school of architecture; I think it was Karl Chu who captured my interest there although I sort of got lost on the site and was looking at a project for a class that involved rethinking what to do with the site of the former palace of the DDR in Berlin. I was just in Berlin for the first time and biked right past this site and find it extremely interesting to think about how to preserve architecture from East Berlin -- because most of which is awful. I wasn't sure if Karl Chu has anything to do with this class or not. The Mercedez-Benz Museum also in Germany was my favorite single design piece that I found in the links. It's elegant, simple, and meets its function very well. And sort of reminds me of the networked objects idea while a lot of these projects did not.
Finally, the Living New York was great. I would like to find some of those projects and experience them firsthand. Especially the sidewalk one on 56th I think.
Posted by Charles Miller at October 18, 2006 06:55 PM