Buckminster Knows 058

Been away for a while because of doctorate research, but I'm back. 

Josep Lluis Sert's (1902-83) Miró Foundation (1975) in Barcelona. I visited this building when I was about 15 years old and its one of the main reasons I went on to become an architect. 

The picture above shows Miro and Sert discussing the building in Barcelona in 1977.

[image credits at architectureweek.com and here]

Buckminster Knows 056

Competition completed. I reckon you will agree this is a more-than-worthy come-back project.

Berthold Lubetkin's (1901-1990) Penguin Pool at London Zoo (1934).

 

[image credits here and here]

Buckminster Knows 052

The Rothko Chapel (1971), which is (in Europe at least), virtually unknown to the average architect, was designed by Philip Johnson (1906-2005) and was meant as a spiritual place of worship and reflection for all denominations. The artist Mark Rothko (1903-1970), who was commissioned a series of canvases for the new chapel, was to work closely with Johnson to create a space that was both spiritual haven and art gallery. The chapel features an octogonal plan echoing Early Christian and Orthodox chapels and is lit in a theatrical way through skylights.  

Mark Rothko, who was suffering from depression, took his own life before the chapel was finished.

[image credits here and here]

Buckminster Knows 049

I reckon the pics speak for themselves, John Lautner's (1911-1994) Arango house (1973)...

[image credits here and here]

Buckminster Knows 046

Short on time today, but I leave you in good hands... Wells Coates' (1895-1958) Isokon building (1934) in London. Enjoy.

[image credits here here and here]

Buckminster Knows 045

Arguably the most beautiful living room in the world... ladies and gentlemen: The Elrod House (1968) by John Lautner (1911-1994).

[image credits here and here]

Buckminster Knows 041

The Kresge Chapel (1955) by Eero Saarinen (1910-1961) was part of a plan to include more facilities and to landscape the open spaces at the MIT campus in the early 1950's. The plan was never completed and the chapel, together with the nearby Kresge Auditorium (1953-1955) (also by Saarinen), have as a result a slightly odd relationship to each other and to the surroundings.

The structure is a simple cylinder from the outside, while the inside features a curved plan with highly theatrical lighting reminiscent of a great Baroque church like Borromini's San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane(1634).

[image credits here]

Buckminster Knows 038

I'm in a bit of a hurry today, so here's a building which needs no explanation. The Lingotto Fiat factory in Torino (1923) by Giacomo Mattè-Trucco (1869-1934).

[image credits here and here]  

Buckminster Knows 031

[image credits here]

In 1940, the Hungarian-born American architect Marcel Breuer (1902-1981) designed (in collaboration with his mentor Walter Gropius (1883-1969)) a small vacation house for Henry C. Chamberlain in Wayland, MA. Here the austere shapes of the Bauhaus style were modified by the use of a wood-frame exterior, a variation in keeping with native New England building tradition. The façade of this tiny structure has become an icon of the modern house, it demonstrates Marcel's uncanny eye for shape and was immortalized in the now-famous photograph above by Ezra Stoller (1915-2004). 

I'm currently reading Robert F. Gatje's Marcel Breuer: A Memoir (2000, New York), so I will probably post a couple more Breuer's soon. 

Buckminster Knows 028

This is my church, Arne Jacobsen's (1902-1971) Danish National Bank in Copenhagen (1966-1978).  In my opinion, the most remarkable feature of the structure is the delicacy with which Jacobsen handles the brutal stereometry, especially noticeable in the perfect (and I don't like to use this word) staircase in the massive central hall and also in the impressive control of light and masses.

Do not, I repeat, do not go to Copenhagen without visiting the National Bank! 

pictures found at e-architect.co.uk and at weareprivate.com

 

Buckminster Knows 013

Francisco Javier Saenz de Oiza's (1918-2000) BBVA building in downtown Madrid played an important role in the history of Spanish modernism, but is barely known beyond Spain's boarders. 

Very intelligent structural concept, the detailing and control of the scale are impressive. A true masterpiece and second to none in its category.

pictures at flickr

Buckminster Knows 003

Paul Engelmann and the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889- 1951) designed and built this villa from 1926 to 1928 for Margarethe Stonborough-Wittgenstein, the philosopher's sister. In its austerity and simplicity, the structure reflects the logical clarity of Wittgenstein's thinking. Fourty years ago, the government of Bulgaria purchased the building. After careful restoration, the building now houses the Bulgarian Cultural Institute. This is the only building Wittgenstein ever built. Absolute perfection.

pictures here and here and here