In his 1892 poem Lake Isle of Innisfree, WB Yeats fantasizes about a life lived in solitude on an island in Lough Gill in Ireland, where the poet spent his summers as a child. Earlier this year, as a celebration of the poet’s 150th birthday, an architectural competition was held by the organization Yeats2015 to realize a temporary version of the “small cabin” from the poem.
In their response to the competition brief, New York-based practice CODA’s “Cabinette” feeds off of the contradictions in the competition’s premise, creating a structure that would realize Yeats’ cabin, yet simultaneously maintain its status as a fantasy contingent upon the conditions of everyday reality.
Exterior Rendered View. Image Courtesy of Tommaso Bernabò Silorata
Winner of the annual Super Skyscrapers competition, Tommaso Bernabò Silorata’s “Skyframe” is a proposal for a skyscraper in Paris featuring a hotel, business areas and rooftop pool. Despite its status as one of the world’s fastest changing cities, Paris has severe restrictions on its skyline to preserve its existing landscape. Skyscrapers are discouraged in its urban core, an issue addressed in this year’s Super Skyscraper competition. The first place winner, Skyframe, creates a void between the two towers, framing the Parisian skyline, and creating an ethereal swimming experience for occupants on the roof-level pool.
In the coming months, OMI is entirely devoted to OMA, the Office for Metropolitan Architecture. With the reopening of the Kunsthal, the completion of De Rotterdam and Timmerhuis this is a perfect opportunity to profile the work of OMA. OMI publishes a special map, organises excursions, and an accompanying exhibition at OMI’s own location gives insight into the work of the office in Rotterdam and The Hague.