Herzog et de Meuron Tavole House. Within the plethora of contemporary domestic houses, I continually return to study the Tavole House (Stone House) designed by Swiss architects and 2001 Pritzker Prize Laureates Jacques Herzog (1950-) and Pierre de Meuron (1950-)—the first Pritzker Prize given simultaneously to two architects.
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Carlo Scarpa Gavina Showroom, Part 1. Recently a former student and I discussed progress on the design of his infill project. He presented a compelling argument as to how his proposal emanated from an urban concept, and how he wanted to create—at the pedestrian level—a public and hybrid gallery space to accommodate various functions such as car shows, science fairs, a night club, a pickleball court, wedding venue, lecture hall, and movies theatre, all in addition to the required retail space.
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Ratatouille and Indian coconut curry shrimp. How often have I returned home and craved specific exotic flavors, even though the dishes didn’t make sense as a combination. Confronted with preparing the menu in my mind, my excuse was always that too many different ingredients needed to be purchased, or worse, that time was of the essence. Hence, I would mosey to a favorite Chinese, Indian or Vietnamese restaurant, or stay home and cook a favorite staple dish.
Cultural appreciation versus appropriation —borrowing, copying, and being influenced. I believe that there is no architecture without a careful understanding of precedent. Being Swiss, I was early-on made aware that one of the country’s strengths was that the concept of originality lays in the practice of reinventing rather than inventing new ideas.
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Question of section, Part 1. Swiss born architect Le Corbusier (1887-1965) wrote in his book Vers Une Architecture (Towards A New Architecture, 1929) in the chapter titled Three reminders to architects [mass, surface, and plan], that:
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The nature of being: Shaker architecture. Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill is located near Harrodsburg, Kentucky, and remains on a list of my fondest places in America. Prior to moving from New York City to Kentucky, I remember a phone interview with the architecture dean at that time.
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Stuffed basil mashed potatoes . The pleasure of dining in a restaurant is a well cherished social treat, especially among family and friends. As a customer one is waited on; the food is tasty and attractively presented; there is no need to shop for groceries, cook or clean up after a busy day; and menus frequently include a cornucopia of items offering patrons an easy way to mix and match between appetizers, entrées and desserts.
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Carlo Scarpa Gipsoteca in Possagno, Italy. North of Venice, Italy, in San Vito d’Altivole, lies the cemetery of the Brion Vega family—the magnum opus of Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa (1906-1978). Nearby, in the village of Possagno, is another of the architect’s projects. Modest in scale, his addition to the existing Gipsoteca Canova, familiarly called the Museo Canoviano, forms an ensemble dedicated to the plaster sculptures of Italian artist Antonio Canova (1757-1822)—the name Gipsoteca meaning collection of plasters in Greek.
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Bok choy with feta and seared tuna. January has passed and already I have broken my New Year’s resolution to prepare only healthy meals. I was tempted the other day by a fondue; a Swiss cheese fondue that eyed me at the grocery store, flaunting its red package dotted with small white crosses. It had the flair of a Swiss national flag!
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A question of preservation. Today there is a call to order in how architecture defines the environment, and more than ever, there is a need to practice principles of adaptive reuse, rehabilitation, renovation, and restoration, and within this the subcategories of repurposing, refurbishing, and retrofitting. If there is to be a true and honest commitment surrounding issues of preservation (also termed heritage preservation or heritage conservation), it must resonate strongly among professionals of all disciplines who are engaged in enhancing and protecting our environment.
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