Cooper Union Building by Thom Mayne

Speaking about town planning, the Cooper Union building by Thom Mayne, which was set at the upper end of Bowery Street, Manhattan, NY, now gives the idea to new forward-looking structures which appear among old-style traditional environment. By the way, the perspective of the street in down-town ends by Frank Gehry skyscraper. More likely it not happen especially, it happen step by step. But wooden personality of NY, of course, was shocked by approach of Thom Mayne.

What going on with Zaha Hadid Chanel pavilion now...

Could you imagine that such piece of art could be so abandoned in our time? We have internet access almost everywhere. Any info needs just minutes to reach around the world. And any structure built by ZH is famouse and has a lot fans are crowding nearby.
The one of most inventive temporary buildings sits in Paris a few hundreds meters aside from Notre Dame, fully accessable, and almost has no visitors behind this fence.

Fortunately, this year I was able to visit Serpentine pavilion again. I always thought that Serpentine pavilion is the place, which I should visit every year, when I can do it. Sometimes it is very surprisingly, sometimes predictable. This year there are a few things to discuss and may be to argue.

Creativity happens, suddenly...

Sometimes, somewhere.... something interesting always happens.
It could be on your site, for instance.

CUBE pavilion in Milano spring of 2012

If you visited Milano this spring, you might see very unusual white structure on the left side from Duomo.
Small pavilion sits on top of traditional classic building and looks exactly like UFO's picknick desk.
Really this is a restaurant, very lovely place to observe evening activity on Duomo square together with fantastic Mishlen cuisine.
The project has made by Park Associati for Electrolux, and been finished in 2011.

Guggenheim Museum New York - few details

The normal view of the museum is clean modernist. But this amazing building has some interesting details show to as how complicated was the world of architecture at the time, when this building was created.

Empire State building - view from the top

The first picture shows my first morning in America. becouse of difference of timezones I wake up at 5 o'clock and just wait the moment when the morning light is enough for my first picture.

My first visit I could not help to visit this building. This is the icon, for sure. But the view from it's top is also iconic. Cloudy weather just helps to realise the vertical scale of Manhattan. Yes, it is my personal reflection, I know. A lot of pictures have been made from this position. And different directions of view round about give you almost the same view - chaos of buildings without any order. Propellers by aircondition on the roofs. The mix of building technologies. Easy to imagine the storm of pollutions from this city. Different principles of buildings, different egos. This American dream has been born and built before the crisis. What is the next step of American building industry.

The piece of architecture

German based architectural bureau Bruckner & Brucner started their practice with small nice pavilion installed far from any habitation in the east part of Bavaria near Tirshenreuth. Actually, nowadays this company still keeps this style very clear.  But this one of the first experience, many years ago, still looks innovative and full of inventions. I can not find the info, but as I have been explained by friends, they built this shelter as diploma project for their own money and at the land where they had have private agreement with the owner.

One more almost black piece of architecture...

  This is black hall in Malpenca aeroport in Milano, Italy. This space suddenly appears on the way from Terminal 1 to railway station. It's stunning design looks perfect in contrast to the entire old fashion style of aeroport buildings. Completely up to date even including smoke (first time active smoke for interiors have appeared on last Venice Bienalle). It is good idea to present Milano to arrivals through such sophisticated interior.

Little black dress of modern architecture...

 Normally, when Serpentine gallery invites some architects to build annual pavilion in Kensington garden, itmeans it should be like manifesto. But what if every regular building of the architect already is the manifesto?

After last year announcement that Piter Zumtor is the author of 2011's Serpentine pavilion, everyone was intrigued just because Zumtor's work is always concrete, stone, something strong... Will this temporary pavilion also be build from concrete?... How it could be removed next year?

Zaha Hadid MAXXI museum details...

This is second time I visited this site. Mostly I was attracted by details... Small, sometimes invisible things but important for real construction. My external overview describes few level-top professional solutions for compression joints. It is always important for such a big concrete building.
Two pictures below are just to refresh a look.

Milan 2010 Cor & interlubke - huge problems of furniture monsters

Second Milano exhibition dyring economy crises... Last one was the test for first shock of furniture makers, all of them asked each other about forecast for finish bad economy situation. And just await good news.

This year all understand that it is for long time... And try adapt for these problems. Adapt in very different ways. I look for evidence of future progress on stends of real newsmakers, as I am used to think about Cor & Interlubke, for example.

Venice - black and white

It is not my first time in Venice, but these pictures most clousely reflect my perception of this ancent town.
Black and white also help lose oneself in atmosphere of fogoten medieval island.

IMM Cologne 2010 Koln exhibition

This year it was smaller and simple. Big brands surprised nothing. Most often question is, are they still alive and sound? But has not strong concepts and fresh ideas. Owners see to visitors woeful eyes and stay proud being there, sometimes presenting empty space.

Parthenon rebuilding overlook

I was forty when I first time seen Parthenon in live. I was surprised, it is under reconctruction. Since 1975... Big kran still stands inside the temple, marble block das't has order and stored everywhere around... In ancient time it was build in ten years, without mashins, kran, computers and historikal investigations, of course. I guess it is to slow and endless. But Parthenon is allways perfect, in spite of condition, thanks to Iktinos and Kallikrates.

2009 Milan exhibition

Before next 2010 Milan exhibition I just would like to remind how it was last time. Besides furniture, architecture of stends was very attractiv. Bicause it first, you see, when you walk in front of exponents. Sometimes it has realy fresh design. Perhaps, this stends idea very appropriate for smoll house project:) Anyways, it's never boring.

I found Palladio in Vicenza!!! It exists!:)

The reason, why we, my wife and me, decided visit Vicenza, was the opinion, that best Palladio's buildings are in Vicenza, his nativ city. We have been in Venice a lot of times before, and I used to think no comparison to Venice's Palladio's monuments!... But Vicenza...

We arrived in sanny slippy midday... nobodys on streets... absolutly salent city was perfect decoration for dozen villagescaled buildings. In same time, every of them was pearl, actualy ancent pearl which are still alive in epoque of Foster, Nuvel and Hadid. Has them seen this monuments, do anybody know?:))).... I know Le Corbusie saw Venice, and I'm sure, Dozh Palace was exactly prototype for early Corbu villas:))) However, here is a little of my impresions of Vicenza.