Category: uncategorised
Alternative Histories: Smith and Taylor Architects on Erik Gunnar Asplund
10 April 2019
Alternative Histories: Smith and Taylor Architects on Erik Gunnar Asplund10 April 2019
Erik Gunnar Asplund’s 1921 drawing of the gable elevation of Karl Johan School presents a composed, formal, broadly classical and definitely Scandinavian façade. The potential symmetry of the façade is undermined by its off-centre presentation on the sheet, and by its constructed context: the profile of the hipped-roofed building on the left,… Read More
Alternative Histories: General Architecture on Emil Hoppe
21 March 2019
Alternative Histories: General Architecture on Emil Hoppe21 March 2019
Task We look upon the drawing of Emil Hoppe as a first draft of a building. The draft has travelled through time and it Is now our task to continue the work from our position. Continuation must be understood as something in between mere acceptance and rejection. For this task… Read More
Alternative Histories: Traumnovelle on Michael Gold
21 March 2019
Alternative Histories: Traumnovelle on Michael Gold21 March 2019
The Atom People The sublime despair of not belonging to our own planet’s ecosystems After the apocalypse, the overheated planet Earth is uninhabitable. Humankind creates a new underground city thanks to a machine producing infinite energy. People of this utopian city vow to learn from the errors of the past… Read More
Alternative Histories: Philip Christou on Le Corbusier
21 March 2019
Alternative Histories: Philip Christou on Le Corbusier21 March 2019
When asked to participate in ‘Alternative Histories’, I was pleased to be offered the large, elegant drawing by Le Corbusier of his proposal for the Bhakra Dam near Chandigarh, India. I remember seeing this drawing with Florian Beigel years ago in the Drawing Matter archive, and again in an important… Read More
Alternative Histories: Flores i Prats Architects on Alberto Ponis
20 March 2019
Alternative Histories: Flores i Prats Architects on Alberto Ponis20 March 2019
We have reflected directly on Alberto Ponis’s drawing without separating ourselves from it, looking for clues about where we could enter with the scissors and fold out the paper with our hands, making the house and the landscape that we saw drawn appear at the same time. We took the… Read More
Alternative Histories: Dow Jones Architects on Robbrecht en Daem
15 March 2019
Alternative Histories: Dow Jones Architects on Robbrecht en Daem15 March 2019
Our starting point is a drawing by Robbrecht en Daem dated 2000: a sketch in red ink of a small pavilion which sits on a platform and is approached by a path raised off the ground. The pitched roof and the space of the platform create a horizontal emphasis, and… Read More
Alternative Histories: Bernd Schmutz on Jules Hardouin-Mansart
14 March 2019
Alternative Histories: Bernd Schmutz on Jules Hardouin-Mansart14 March 2019
Tripartite Typology Instead of a particular style or authorship, Jules Hardouin Mansart’s drawing seems as if anonymous, characterised by a strong typological rigour. We have projected its composition of three double units into a deep roof volume with varying facades, gables and profiles, built as a painted model which explores… Read More
Alternative Histories: Doorzon Interieurarchitecten on Stefano de Martino
13 March 2019
Alternative Histories: Doorzon Interieurarchitecten on Stefano de Martino13 March 2019
– Stefanie Everaert and Caroline Lateur
The first things to catch our eye in the beautiful drawing by Stefano de Martino were three or four small brightly coloured surfaces integral to the composition, and its abstraction provided an advantage. Our search for spatial qualities made us transform the abstract drawing into a small, three-dimensional object –… Read More
Alternative Histories: NP2F Architectes on Mario Sironi
13 March 2019
Alternative Histories: NP2F Architectes on Mario Sironi13 March 2019
Mario Sironi’s work touched us in its relation to an elementary geometry. He participated with other artists and architects in the construction of a minimalist and sober aesthetic. We drew a parallel with a pragmatic approach to define our production – solving complex problems with simple moves and clear geometries.… Read More
Alternative Histories: Lütjens Padmanabhan On Michael Graves
9 March 2019
Alternative Histories: Lütjens Padmanabhan On Michael Graves9 March 2019
In our office we use a thermos tea pot designed by Michael Graves in 1994. The pot is a joyful, exuberant object made of greenish, bluish plastic. Because of its clunkiness, it remains visible in the midst of our office chaos; it has a presence in friendly dialogue with the models… Read More
Alternative Histories: Johan Celsing Arkitektkontor on Erik Gunnar Asplund
9 March 2019
Alternative Histories: Johan Celsing Arkitektkontor on Erik Gunnar Asplund9 March 2019
Model The cast-epoxy model developed from reflections on Gunnar Asplund’s work of the mid-1930s. The yellowish tone of the epoxy touches on the soft curvatures and almost bodily character of Asplund’s shapes during these years. Some of his shapes are interpreted as sensual membranes that may adjust to the structure,… Read More