Founder of this wonderful platform called ArchDaily :) Graduate Architect. Jury, speaker, curator, and anything that is required to spread our mission across the world. You can follow me on Instagram @dbasulto.
While in Chicago earlier this year I had the chance to interview an amazing architect: Michael Graves.
Michael Graves has played an influential role in architecture, often credited as moving the profession in America from abstract modernism to post-modernism. His designs communicate a clear point of view reflecting a sense of playfulness with sophistication. The balance of traditional elements (typically through arches, columns, and pediments) and exploration with color convey the lessons of modern architecture while referring to historical details.
We had the chance to meet and interview principals Florian Idenburg and Jing Liu at P.S.1 while Pole Dance was open. The interview went great. I highly recommend that you check out their response to our question regarding their experience starting and running a firm, just during the financial crisis.
The firm is currently involved in interesting projects abroad, which we look forward in featuring here at ArchDaily in the future.
During the AIA convention in Miami we had the chance to interview Steve Dumez, Design Director at Nola-based firm Eskew+Dumez+Ripple, who received his FAIA during the event.
Steve is the “design guru” at EDR, overseeing the design of all projects from concept to construction documents, and according to the firm “his hand sketches in the early phases of design are invaluable”.
Steve, along side partners Allen Eskew (FAIA) and Mark Ripple (AIA, LEED AP) have been focused their efforts in the NOLA area, not only with their buildings, but also taking part on the initiatives to rebuild NOLA. Steve is also a Past-President of AIA Louisiana and AIA New Orleans.
EDR’s work portfolio includes projects in varies scales, such as the Prospect.1 Welcome Center (AIA Small Project Award 2010) or 930 Poydras Residential Tower, a 462,000 sqf project. On the videos below we discuss with Steve about their experience working on such different scales.
When I visited Chicago, I had to visit one of the key actors on shaping a city that breaths architecture, from big part of the skyline to the Millenium Park: SOM.
I have visited SOM before, to interview Craig Hartman at the San Francisco office, but Chicago was were it all started back in 1936 with Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings, and John O. Merrill who joined in 1939.
This time I interviewed Philip Enquist (FAIA), the partner in charge of urban design and planning. Philip has been involved in development and redevelopment initiatives for college campuses, existing city neighborhoods, new cities, rural districts, downtown commercial centers, port areas and even in a master-plan for the entire nation of Bahrain.
It was amazing to hear from him on different processes that have been shaping the most important cities in the world, such as Beijing’s Central Business District or the master plan for the Millenium Park. But I was also surprised about a project we presented to you earlier, the vision for the Great Lakes area, a project that shows a lot of responsibility as an architect and an example that we still have a very important role in our society.
After the break, the usual questions a bonus with what’s a good city, and some photos of the office.
AJ reports that “It is understood Zumthor has been in the frame for the pavilion for some time and initial proposals resemble ‘a big concrete block with a garden in it’ – though the design is expected to evolve over the coming months.”
[blip.tv ?posts_id=4071711&dest=-1]Interview with Benedetta Tagliabue on the Gas Natural Building in Barcelona, designed by EMBT (Enric Miralles + Benedetta Tagliabue).Video by Studio Banana.
Today we got the news that OMA has won the competition for a new regional library (Bibliothèque Multimédia à Vocation Régionale) in Caen, France. The 12,000m2 project will be OMA’s first cultural building in France, and was led by associate-in-charge Clément Blanchet.
A few days ago the Croatian architecture scene amazed us with their pavilion for the Venice Biennale. And there’s more coming from this country: House of Tolerance, a 4 week international workshop at the School of Architecture in Split, Croatia, has been announced. The workshop is open to students and young professionals (up to 35 years old), and will result in the new House of Tolerance for the city. The winning proposal from the workshop will be proposed to the city mayor, to build the first stage of the project.
An interesting part of the conversation was on how they worked with a mixed group of experts for this project, bringing more into the discussion and finally into the installation. This becomes the central part of the book, with over 150 pages dedicated to a series of interviews with the parties involved, from structural engineers to growing soil experts, telling the story of the process behind P.F.1. This section is structured as a story, but you can still read it picking from any random page. Interesting interview format with no questions, just “answers” that become the narrative of the project.
On the appendix we found a series of recipes for the vegetables that grew on the urban farm, and also a foreword with an interview by Winy Maas with Dan Wood and Amale Andraos.
WORK ac has also edited 49 Cities, a highly recommended guide to unrealized urbanism.
