Arango House

That post about the Dwell/PST architecture contest has me looking up California modern designs again. I was particularly struck recently by these images of Arango House designed by John Lautner. Now, this house is actually in Acalpulco, Mexico, but the Frank Lloyd Wright trained architect is well know for some of his California designs and his style certainly carried over here.

Modernism x LEGO

I haven't been shy in the past about showing my love for California architecture. I think we've also made our taste for modernism clear. With these interests, I couldn't resist going through the entries to the LEGO building contest that asked entrants to construct an original home design inspired by California mid-century modern architecture. Dwell and Pacific Standard Time teamed up to run the contest as if it didn't already sound enticing enough. There were quite a few entries that I enjoyed. Many caused some serious nostalgia, picking up on some of my favorite elements of L.A. architecture such as building into hills and of course the attention to natural interaction with constructed spaces. Below are a few of my favorite entries, the rest can be found here.

Villa Hillcrest

 

Millennium House

 

Overton

The MoMo Home

Stillwater

 

Cedar Forest Home

Less is Bore

After making a post about Mies Van Der Rohe, I thought I'd move in the direction of post-modern posterboy Robert Venturi. I find this comparison particuarly interesting due to the contrast of their maxims' with Mies stating "less is more" and Venturi countering with "less is bore". Of course, I began looking at the work of Venturi, however; in researching at his work on the Allen Memorial Art Museum I got distracted and ended up looking at the Weltzeheimer/Johnson House and decided it had to be the subject of my post. When I was thinking of architects whose work interests me, I attempted to shy away from anything designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, who I have generally noticed is the most known name in his design form (among the general public, not architects). The thing is, this home is just too cool to see. All photos from the Allen Memorial Art Museum's flickr.

Villa Tugendhat

This spring weather makes me think that it wouldn't be quite so bad to have a Villa in Europe. Of course, I have too strong of feelings for modernism to stray too far from its geometric rationality. So I've decided that the most logical decision would be to take up residence at the Mies Van Der Rohe designed Villa Tugendhat. See these pictures from Michal Sänger and decide if this might be the right choice for you too.

Louis Kahn do Anything

Louis Kahn was one of the first architects who really sparked my interest in the field. After watching a documentary about his work in my first year at Parsons, I fell in love. Luckily, at the end of the year, I was planning to go up to New Haven to see my sister graduate from Yale. During my trip there, I got a chance to visit the Kahn designed Yale University Art Gallery. His buildings hold a strong graphic quality, which I found instantly appealing as a graphic designer. His solid goemtric forms result in a calm introspective feeling, which lends itself perfectly to the environments shown here (an art gallery and a library). The photos above are by Xavier de Jauréguiberry, and Valérie Derome-Massé

Langkawi Skyward

I was absolutely blown away when I first saw this photo of the Langkawi Sky Bridge by The Dilly Lama (or Dylan Walters). My inner internet cynic immediately had to question its validity. Its not uncommon that you come across a photo that is too good to be true, but in this case that does not seem to be true. Seeing it was similar to my first time seeing images of the Monte Roraima plateau in South America emerging from the clouds. Check out more pictures on The Dilly Lama's flickr.

Ward Roberts

These images from Melbourne based photographer Ward Roberts' Billions series provide an interesting look at overlapping city forms through a study of light and reflection in Hong Kong's metropolis. The fractured geometric architecture destroys the city that was mirrored in the original images, instead opting to create a third, new city. Perhaps the result is an urban center inhabitable only by those with a cubist interest, those looking to inhabit a space in time, rather than simply being in space and time. These images seem reminiscent of a paused screen as a movie fades between cityscape shots. It can be seen as a representation of that negative space that falls between two moments of interest, where the mind is occupied simultaneously by what has come, and what will.

See more from this series and others here.

Le Corbusier

Le Corbusier, what more can I say? He is no secret architect, and this is one of his best known works, but always find it useful to reach back every once in a while to gain a better grounding. While it is important to be able to follow new trends, there is still much inspiration to be gained from contemplation of the known masters. This building's geometric elegance says everything I'd like to perfectly. It is strong and solid without feeling overbearing. It is Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye. These photographs were found on the flickr account of hira1O

Iwan Baan in LA

When I recently came across these shots of the Inner-City Arts project, a downtown Los Angeles education facility which provides art instruction to a large population of at-risk children and youth in LA, something seemed very familiar about them. The arial shot of Los Angeles and the name particuarly seemed to be something I knew from the past. After a bit of searching, I realized that the space had been used as a case study in one of my classes two years ago. Its always interesting running into projects like this from the past and gaining a new perspective on them.
These photos are from the website of Iwan Baan, a Dutch photographer whose work can be found here.

New City Nightclub

This marvelously colored, wonderfully ornate building is the New City nightclub in Tokyo. The project was taken on by Tiffany Dahl and Virginia Melnick, students of the University of Pennsylvania School of Design, and led by professor Ali Rahim. Influence for the aesthetic ranges from Japanese youth culture, particularly the look of current Japanese fashions, to food.

The Hotel Exchange

The hotel in Amsterdam has taken an interesting approach to the decoration of its interiors.  As a part of the project Hotel the Exchange, this 17th century space has been transformed into a building sized catwalk.  As part of This sort of project is the perfect kind of inspiration for us at DMM.  It is the beautiful union of two differing design practices, namely architecture and fashion.  Students from the Amsterdam Fashion Institute were given the opportunity to adorn the rooms as they would a model's body.  The result is a warm cozy feeling building that seems quite welcoming.

All images from Trendland