Blue Bottle Coffee: Hong Kong. Cafés are quintessential urban places that showcase the autobiographical identities of cities. In a past blog, I wrote about a famous café in Riga, Latvia: “…cafés are places where patrons often act as if the space was their own living room, telling me that these intimate conversations and social behaviors are meant to be seen and overheard.” In this new blog, I wish to reflect on another aspect that defines the cultural identity of cafés, where architecture is part of a larger sense of place.
Continue reading Blue Bottle Coffee: Hong KongAll posts by henritdehahn@yahoo.com
Pierre von Meiss: architect and pedagogue
Pierre von Meiss: architect and pedagogue. As I reflect on how leadership could envision a roadmap for an academic unit, I am reminiscing on my own education, and how I benefited from an enlightened administrator.
Continue reading Pierre von Meiss: architect and pedagogueThe Whitney Museum: stair by Marcel Breuer
The Whitney Museum: stair by Marcel Breuer. There are too many magnificent stairs in New York City to fathom visiting them all during one stay or even in a lifetime.
Continue reading The Whitney Museum: stair by Marcel BreuerHong Kong: a metropolis of contradictions
Hong Kong: a metropolis of contradictions. There is so much I love about the city of Hong Kong that it is almost impossible to articulate in a single thought. What draws me year after year to return to the Fragrant Harbor; a name inspired by the city’s early activities as a major Asian trading post for fragrant incense?
Continue reading Hong Kong: a metropolis of contradictionsArt seminar week
Art seminar week. During my tenure at the ETH-Zürich, Switzerland, I discovered how consensus among faculty benefits students.
The following proposal involves consensus and a coming together of faculty to share their individual expertise beyond their classroom, and might be of pedagogical interest for a design school—for example, at my current institution—and is inspired by one offered in Zürich. Let me start by contextualizing that one, and then follow up with a proposal for first-year design studios that currently offer a design foundation to students in architecture, industrial design, interior design, and landscape architecture.
Continue reading Art seminar weekVisiting professorships
Visiting professorships. Now, just shy of 40 years of teaching architecture—close to 4,000 students across three continents between undergraduate and graduate design studios, history and theory lectures, and topical seminars—I recognize that I am indebted to my students for the role they have played in my professional growth.
Continue reading Visiting professorshipsHong Kong Shopping Mall
Hong Kong Shopping Mall. The following video is my one of my first attempts to edit footage from one of my numerous trips to Hong Kong. I hope that my fascination with escalators and the Langham Mall transpires in this video clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y-0Dac2c30
Continue reading Hong Kong Shopping MallVilhelms Kuze cafe in Riga
Vilhelms Kuze cafe in Riga. In most European cities, café culture is an institution. For me, coffee houses are more than simply a place to indulge in delectable drinks and extravagant pastries—they are also destinations enriched by an architecture that gives each place its own identity. Be it in Padua (Café Pedrocchi), Paris (Café de Flore), Porto (Café Majestic), Prague (Café Imperial), Venice (Café Florian), Vienna (Café Central) or Zürich (Café Odeon), among many other favorites, I have always considered cafes a must when traveling.
Continue reading Vilhelms Kuze cafe in RigaPharmacy in Riga (Office: Substance)
Pharmacy in Riga (Office: Substance). A recent trip to Riga, capital of Latvia, was to trace my ancestors and visit many of the sites and residences where my father had lived until he was a young adult. While the history of my family is well documented, I had not to this point visited any of the family properties in Latvia or nearby Lithuania.
Continue reading Pharmacy in Riga (Office: Substance)Latvian National Museum of Art (Processoffice)
Latvian National Museum of Art (Processoffice). Hands down, the stair that I am about to share with you is conceptually one of the most subtle tectonic statements that I have seen in recent years. Not simply because it is both simple and utterly sophisticated in its execution, but it takes its place so eloquently and effortless within the entrance foyer of an existing building, namely the Latvian National Museum of Art in Riga, Latvia (LNMM).
Continue reading Latvian National Museum of Art (Processoffice)