MIES - Galician Architecture

As I was recently notified of the difference between the Spanish language (an all-too lazy hasty generalization on my part) and Galician (the exotic language used in Eisenmann's short video), I thought a trip down the rabbit hole might be just the thing to fix the gaffe. What exactly is Galician architecture? I wondered. It just so happens, it's quite unique.

Castroduoro Castle

Church of San Juan of Portomarin

While Santiago de Compostela's famously ornate design is also considered one of the hallmarks in Galician Architecture, these two examples - one a church, the other a castle - showcase more restrained attempts at construction. And still, while de Compostela's ostentatiousness is unmistakable, to a learned eye, these latter two designs of Castroduoro Castle and the Church of San Juan of Portomarin are both more radical and historically significant given their placement and timing during construction.

Why is that? Well, for one, look at the whitish limestone in the Church of San Juan. For a Romanesque arch to be built in Galicia is truly strange. And moreover, the continual usage of Romanesque elements - archivolts, rose windows, carved capitals and fairly staid facades - is also not very indicative of most Spanish fortress-temples (which both these buildings act as). But when the arch is highlighted and when the windows are doubled up (as in the Doges Palace in Venice), one becomes aware that the Romanesque elements are embedded, to a large extent, under the guise of Gothic design. And given the history, that shouldn't be too much of a surprise, but the outcome - which remains singular and much more expressive than the English subjugation of Romanesque to Gothic - is frankly awe-inspiring. In both buildings, the massiveness feels rich with detail and the proportions exacting.

And yet, neither of these buildings give away their interiors easily. Like a good song or a perfect painting (and given the interplay between styles), the initial estimation/anticipation and the actual experience are two quite different things. To a large extent, this exemplifies the skill of the Galician stoneworkers and their abilities to sell simplicity in complex ways. Simply put, the Galicians were master artisans and there is no denying it.

As one last note of interest, I highly recommend The Need for a Decaying Past: An Archaeology of Oblivion in Contemporary Galicia by Alfredo Gonzalez-Ruibal. While the two examples described above do a better job elucidating the past, Gonzalez-Ruibal does the modern world of Galicia a great favor by detailing its own current challenges. Of significance, Gonzalez-Ruibal notes that while the vernacular design is very rich for Galicians, most Galicians view the past antagonistically and have gone to great strides to break away from their roots. His conclusion, on whether the breaking of tradition is a good thing, is enlightening for not just Galicia, but for all of Spanish Architecture. As a quick read, it's well worth it.

And so, this little tour down the rabbit hole ends. It's been a pleasure to jump into it. Galicia, it seems, as with other regions in Spain, ended up crafting a design all its own. With hope, Eisenmann's finished design will, to a great extent, elucidate this to those who visit the Cidade de Cultura di Galicia.

MIES - Snohetta's Bjornsrudskog Kindergarten

It's tough to pinpoint what Norwegian architecture is exactly. Traditionally, it's a style of architecture rich with engraved wood, wonderfully crafted stave churches and buildings striking out on prominences. But if there has to be a continual motif, tested and undiminished with time, one would mostly think of Norweigian architecture as thick architecture.

Thick architecture encompasses a lot in contemporary design. It can mean the buffering with insulation or acoustics, the massiveness of slab pretensioned concrete or composite steel members, or it can mean something simpler, like a thick pile of wood. But given the coolth and extremely low temperatures, Norway has always embraced this thickness gladly and at times, eagerly. One example of this vigor can be found in the work of Snohetta, a design firm which proudly "maintains a strong relationship between the landscape and architecture in all of its projects."

One of the things I like best about this kindergartern designed by Snohetta is that while the overall complexity of the design isn't mindblowing, the wood that is very traditional is juxtaposed nicely (and quite comfortably) with the concrete that is new. One feels a certain "sandwiching" effect too between the window panes and the partition walls and the interiors, while plain, become understated and unpretentious given the wealth in means of construction.

Also of note is the lighting, which from multiple angles seems both direct and reflected. In a northern clime, electing to design with a natural white light, which is native to the region, is a smart choice. Overall, Snohetta has many other projects, some of which are algorithmic and/or largely computer-generated. And while those other designs (such as the town hall and the gateway project) show a great deal of skill with a mouse, this one, I feel, goes further to showcase their overall skill at crafting a simple and yet beautiful building.

MIES - Eisenmann's Cidade da Cultura

Eisenmann's use of designing from contours isn't anything new. But his method is quite sophisticated. This is one of his better designs and watching the unfolding design process is a treat.

Hint: start this video somewhere around the 4:19 mark if you want to witness a really, really cool modelling process. And take the Galician for what it is: something you probably won't understand and something you probably wish you did.

MIES - The Woodwork of Jim Cutler

One of the more amazing things about Jim Cutler is his firms relative recluse. Working from Bainbridge Island, Cutler Anderson produces some of the most elaborate wood detailing in the Pacific Northwest. His designs are simple; his response always harmonic to the site of choice. According to Cutler, the goal is to "reveal what is true about the circumstances of a project" and it is self-evident that the Edwards Residence exemplifies this same credo masterfully. Located just out of Seattle, Cutler designs with glulam construction and (as one can see in the second photo) reflects fluorescent lighting under wood floor paneling, which is a wonderful way to highlight craftsmanship in a building. Also of note are the selected areas for drywall construction and how Jim singles out only a few walls for emphasis (none of which are partition walls).

Overall, this is probably not Cutler Anderson's signature piece, but it is a darn good one. Cutler Anderson's work, along with OSKA and Miller Hull, have truly helped to give Seattle, WA a better sense of place and cultural relevancy in the last ten to fifteen years, and it's why visiting the area is a must for architects desiring to work with wood and modern methods for detailing wood with steel and concrete.

MIES - Renzo's New Project

One of the things I like most about Renzo Piano is the art. Very few architects possess the dramatic spatial flair in their finished perspective renderings, and this, I feel, is a lost art. This (also from ArchRecord.com) is the Stavros Niarchos Cultural Center in Greece. And now, when Piano designed it, he didn't have Paris Hilton in mind either. Although, given recent incidents, that could possibly be the legacy of the Niarchos family...

The construction of the $803 million Center will start later in 2011 and will finish by 2015. It will be situated along the Saronikos Kolpos waterfront in southern Athens and will showcase many of landscape elements from Stavros Niarchos Park, which covers a 42-acre parcel of land.

Part of the building will showcase a 1,400-seat theater for the Greek National Opera as well as a 400-seat experimental performance space. There will also be a library in the facility, which will be a renovated extension of an 1832 National Library which previously occupied the lot under construction.

MIES - More Architectural Content

Lately, I haven't had much time to devote to this blog, but in the time I have had I've realized one grave mistake I made: this is an architectural blog, and frankly, it lacks architectural design content.

Fortunately, that is about to change. After spending a couple of weeks to recollect my own spirits after a grueling two years worth of piling up on engineering leveling courses, I feel somewhat ready to tackle this problem. In a way, it's kind of illuminating, how when one is so focused he/she may lose focus of what initially was very important to them. The month-long break, which was truly needed, brought this to light in many ways.

One of the ways was just by uncovering old sketchbooks I had used in Italy. Another way was by just landscaping in my own backyard. But perhaps the best way was just by talking with old friends who I hadn't seen since college and who, themselves, were very much involved in the architectural community in Los Angeles. Even in a down economy, they were managing fairly well, and given their effervescence I was reminded of how truly great a good design can be.

So, overall, this blog is going to change a little. And while it will still remain a compendium of everything architectural information, it's also going to showcase how the best architects out there put this stuff together. And I will do my best to showcase architects doing architecture and not designers doing architecture, as I feel the latter probably has little to do with the soul of this blog.

So sit back, read, and enjoy the ride. Things are about to change.

MIES - Montanan Design

Montana is a place for big dreamers. The sky overwhelms. The hills are magnificent, particularly in the west near Glacier National Park, and the sun, for all of it's transience, never seems to die.

This particular design (aptly named Stone Creek Camp) issued by Andersson-Wise Architects in Big Fork, Montana emphasizes the grandeur of Big Sky country by accenting the simple things: piled rock and chopped wood, to name the obvious. Also of importance is the relative layout of the plan, which unfolds like a pinwheel, with a nicely designed kitchen at it's core. The master bedroom, deservedly, gets not only the optimum view, but also the premium location in the house, and the exterior adequately depicts what a modern lifestyle in Montana should be like, with the roughness of Montana's poor past colliding with the grace of a newfound wealth. Overall, this is a very lovely design and for more information on the house, check out ArchRecord.com.