The People’s Park Complex in Singapore, Part 2, (called the Grande Dame of modern Chinatown or an Emblem of Asian Modernism) was part of the experimental architectural megastructures described by architectural historian, Reyner Banham and was built in two stages.
Continue reading People’s Park Complex in Singapore, Part 2
The cooling board table. This piece of furniture may be one of the strangest objects that I have ever encountered, and definitely the strangest that I own. Ever since learning what its true purpose might be, I have rethought how it should be used with other pieces of furniture and objects in our home (Portraits of a Collection).
Continue reading Cooling board table
The history of mirrors goes back to the first human gaze in a pond of still water, which in around 6000 BCE evolved to become the ubiquitous object that we call a mirror. To create mirrors, man started with polished stone (or volcanic glass when available), later fabricating them from various metals, finally ending with rough polished man-made glass backed by mercury. This technique was invented in Venice, which during the Renaissance held the monopoly for the production of mirrors.
Continue reading Tri-fold mirror
Chipperfield’s Kunsthaus in Zurich. During a visit to the latest addition to the Kunsthaus in Zürich, Switzerland—an extension that opened October 2021 more than doubling the museum’s exhibition space and making it the largest cultural institution in Switzerland—I was first and foremost enthralled by the magnitude of the art collection.
Continue reading Chipperfield’s Kunsthaus in Zurich
Harrods mid-century cocktail cabinet. I occasionally enjoy Campari, Aperol, or a glass of wine, but rarely liquor, with the exception of the sweet variety such as Amaretto, Cointreau, or Grand Marnier. I guess it’s because I have a sweet tooth, yet I own a cocktail cabinet and bar! And not just any cocktail cabinet.
Continue reading Harrods mid-century cocktail cabinet
What gets us safely up or down a staircase is a matter of law and engineering, the architectural uses of the staircase are a different issue altogether and the one cannot be replaced by the other—both are necessary. [1]
How to design a stair. Even though I have taught architecture students for over three decades, I still enjoy presenting them with this task. Not simply because the project brief calls for a building with several stories, but because stairs are never easy to design, especially for students, who need to first understand basic principles in order to make a stair comfortable AND to code. Designing prerequisite fundamentals (the stair) seems a natural way to engage students in a creative endeavor that is deeply anchored in pragmatism.
Continue reading How to design a stair
After investigating the historical origins of the Speicherstadt (blog) and its use of the neo-Gothic style I delved into how they functioned with an eye toward the future.
Continue reading Speicherstadt in Hamburg. Part 2
“The distinguishing feature of great beauty is that first it should surprise to an indifferent degree, which, continuing and then augmenting, is finally changed to wonder and admiration.”
Montesquieu
Speicherstadt in Hamburg. Part 1. For reasons that I have yet to rationally pin down, I have, during my numerous travels to Germany, ignored the city of Hamburg. Other cities, such as Berlin and Leipzig (where my father had lived and studied), Cologne, Dessau, Frankfurt, Munich, and Weimar, along with the towns along the famous Rhine Valley, have frequently been part of my travels for both pleasure and work. Each of these visits arose from my interest in architecture, history, and culture, and, I will admit, have been slowly checked-off of an endless ambitious list of places that I wish to learn more about. Perhaps selfishly, I am trying to create my own set of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, which of course, will never happen.
Continue reading Speicherstadt in Hamburg. Part 1
The drop-leaf secretary is a derivative of:
Post-office-box cabinet. This piece of furniture may at first glance seem unusual, even surprising, as it has little to do with what one thinks of typical domestic furnishings. Yet, upon closer examination, one gains a sense of familiarity after noting the bank of keyless lockboxes, each face marked with a number, suggesting a bank of mailboxes.
Continue reading Post Office Box cabinet