Notre Dame du Haut

Le Corbusier

Notre Dame du Haut

Ronchamp

I have been desperately trying to get back to blogging but with very little time I have not gotten far. I thought I could give you a quick update on one of my favorite spots that I have visited this summer. Notre Dame du Haut is a pilgrimage chapel built in France near Belfort in the 1950's to replace the chapel that had been destroyed during the war.

Notre Dame Du Haut turned into Le Corbusier's most celebrated building, and named one of the greatest architectural edifices of the 20th Century. The building though is hard to come by, you will need to make it a destination spot. It is beautifully spotted on top of  a hill overlooking the small town Ronchamp. You will need to park halfway up the hill and then walk the rest. But the building does not disappoint, a spectacular sacred spot built out of simple raw materials. The shape of the building is composed to its ultimatum with the way light comes through to the chapel.

(One is not aloud to take photos inside so that part you will have to discover yourself.)

The outdoor altar

Renzo Piano has started to build additional housing for the nuns and replace the visitor center so you should perhaps plan your visit for next year when it supposedly is finished.

Good to be back

With Love

Kristin

The Architecture of Happiness

Balancing Barn, Suffolk

Mole Architects

Alain de Botton

LIVING ARCHITECTURE

Some friends of ours came for the weekend from Germany and brought the latest issue of Der Spiegel where there were an article about the latest project by Alain de Botton. I got so excited when I viewed it, somehow it had not reached my ear that the great novelist turned philosopher now has turned his energy into creating exciting holiday homes.

I have followed his writings since his adorable novels like "The Romantic Movement" and "Kiss and Tell". He later went on to write more philosophical books, but always with a strange twist like "How Proust can change your life" or "The Art of Travel". After he gave out the book "The Architecture of Happiness" he wondered why he was not more involved in Architecture since he loved it so much.

Therefore he began with the project "Living Architecture" which is a not-for-profit organisation that engages leading Architects to build houses around UK for then to rent it out for holidays.

A discovery seldom comes alone... so yesterday I ventured to the Design museum and guess what was there? The model for the Balancing Barn. That made me even more excited and inspired me to share this with you.

The Dune House, Suffolk

Jarmund/Vigsnæs Architects

The book that instigated the project

" I love architecture and I believe that good quality buildings can make a serious improvement to life. But most people’s experience of modern architecture is civic and not residential...". (Alain de Botton)

I am now thrilled to see which architects and what new houses Living Architecture will bring forth to us in the future!

With Love

Kristin

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2011

Serpentine Gallery

Pavilion designed by: Peter Zumthor

(Kensington Gardens)

Another reason for strolling through Kensington Gardens this summer is this small unassuming black building. This concept is the 11th pavilion that has been commissioned by the Serpentine Gallery.

Here the Swiss Architect Peter Zumthor, who is known for putting gardens back into the center of buildings, has collaborated with the Dutch Garden designer Piet Oudolf.

'A garden is the most intimate landscape ensemble I know of. It is close to us. There we cultivate the plants we need. A garden requires care and protection. And so we encircle it, we defend it and fend for it. We give it shelter. The garden turns into a place.

Enclosed gardens fascinate me. A forerunner of this fascination is my love of the fenced vegetable gardens on farms in the Alps, where farmers’ wives often planted flowers as well. I love the image of these small rectangles cut out of vast alpine meadows, the fence keeping the animals out. There is something else that strikes me in this image of a garden fenced off within the larger landscape around it: something small has found sanctuary within something big.

The hortus conclusus that I dream of is enclosed all around and open to the sky. Every time I imagine a garden in an architectural setting, it turns into a magical place. I think of gardens that I have seen, that I believe I have seen, that I long to see, surrounded by simple walls, columns, arcades or the façades of buildings – sheltered places of great intimacy where I want to stay for a long time.'

Peter Zumthor

Get a coffee at the small coffee stand behind the building, bring a book and breathe out!

With Love Kristin 

One of New York´s Treasures!

MORGAN LIBRARY

The new year has started, filled with grand resolutions, but most of all I try to make the best out of my last two weeks in New York. Today I went to the newly renovated Morgan Library. A beautiful heaven of Art, books and manuscripts from Shrines to Bob Dylan. 

I wished that I could take the books out of their safe spaces on the shelves or from their glass boxes, smell them, touch them and read. Just fill myself with the world that is inside every one of these first editions. Instead I had to be thankful about standing or sitting in the room and sense the warmth and the wisdom that engulfed me.

The Gutenberg Bible in a glass case, photo Jeff Zelevansky: Reuters

J.P. Morgans Study

Pierpont Morgan built his library by the Architect Charles McKim between 1902 and 1906 adjacent to his own residence in Murray Hill. The International financier was an avid collector of everything from ancient artifacts to drawings and rare books. After his death in 1924 his son Jack turned his majestic library into a Museum. 

The library continued growing in size and content and in 2006 the pritzker wining Architect Renzo Piano built the new entrance, courtyard and a connection between the three landmark buildings constituting the Morgan Library.

Part of the new design is the Morgan cafe but unfortunately this section does not seem very inviting to me. The Piazza is a bit too open to feel the same sense of grace and calmness as you experience in the library. 

But still, setting this minor issue aside, it is one of New York's great Treasures! And it would make me very happy if I can be the one that makes you go for a visit to the Morgan Library. 

I promise you will be grateful.

With Love

Kristin

Small Scale, Big Change

Primary School

Architect: Diebedo Francis Kere

Place: Gando, Burkina Faso

New Architecture of Social Engagement

MoMA

The organizers of this show Andres Lepik and Margot Weller used about two years of research to come up with 11 projects from all over the world. Projects that can give us an insight to what can be done and are done architecturally as a "Social Engagement". The show represents the change of focus in architecture as a help in changing the mindset of people and society. The need to use what we have, materials and space for a more environmental and a better public outcome. Teaching the inhabitants to better take care of themselves, and brick by brick building their own school like the project above in Burkina Faso, where 80% are illiterate.

"... We have to help come up with innovative ideas and help conserve resources and therefore help nurture a future free of crisis."

                       - Diabedo Francis Kere

Meti - Handmade School

Architect: Anna Herringer

Place: Village of Rudrapur, Bangladesh

Or in Bangladesh a school made of earth, clay, sand and straw.

"Imagine then the human ability to build with nothing but the natural material just under our feet - and with our hands..."

                       - Anna Heringer

Inner City Arts

Architec: Michael Maltzan

Place: Los Angeles California.

The Inner-City Arts complex in L.A. was first an unused garage in the Skid Row neighborhood. It was built in three phases and can be seen as an answer to the cuts that was made against Arts in School. In California 29% of public schools do not offer arts education. Now 10,600 kids takes classes at the Inner-City Arts center every year. What a bright light in a an otherwise unsafe environment. 

Housing for the Fishermen of Tyre

Architect: Hashim Sarkis Alud

Place: Tyre, Lebanon

This beautiful project with 93, 2-bedroom apartments is made for the Fishermen of Tyre who earns about 15$ a day. The Greek Orthodox church agreed to donate a parcel outside of the historic city center (the ancient city is on the UNESCO world heritage list) to the fishermen´s Al Baqaa housing cooperative.

With the help of the architect Hashim Sarkis they manage to build a home with their small budget that represents their lifestyle. 

Casa Familiar

Architect: Estudio Teddy Cruz

Place: San Ysidro, California

At the border of the United States and Mexico, between San Diego and Tijuana they are building; "Living Rooms at the Border and Senior Housing with Childcare". What? Senior Housing with Childcare? Is this for real? What a wonderful idea I thought. What better than to age and still have the youngest ones to look at for life and laughter?

This should be an inspiration to many more projects I hope. A great integration in a place where most of us would not even dare to stop our cars. Here they will integrate immigration services, education and job placements as well. 

If there were only more of these projects happening, they found about 12 others that could have been represented.. far from what we can wish for. But, seeing this actually happening makes me so incredibly happy and inspired.

With Love

Kristin

SANAA Architects wins the Pritzker Prize!

The New Museum!

Is

their building in Manhattan

An exceptional

box on box Edifice,

I would say 

"Hell, Yes!" 

To the facade.

But I might not

be the greatest fan

of their museum

space inside.

Still exciting to have

such a progressive 

Museum downtown.

Soon 

Sperone Westwater Gallery

will join them a few buildings

north of it, 

and I promise 

it will not be bleak!

Here it is under construction, today:

& here a rendering of how it will be:

(Foster and Partner image)

Bowery, 

(after Bouwerij which is an old Dutch name for farm)!

is the oldest main street going 

through

Manhattan,

had its prime and lost it.

But "Skid Row"

is recovering 

through ART!

Tower of Love!

The HEARST Tower

New York

Architect: Foster & Partners

Since it has been raining all day, I feel like turning to a warmer and more sunny story

 therefore I am adding my favorite Tower to my blog!

The Hearst Tower

I can´t say I am objective here

since this is one of the two "building" reasons that made me meet my Man

(the other is The New Globe Theatre, A story for later)

Some of the superlatives:

 It is the first Green Building in Manhattan.

HVAC System, outdoor air for cooling and ventilation 

(carbon dioxide emissions slashed by 26%)

The Diagrid (diamond shaped as I would say) steel frame

saved them 20% use of steel comparably to another building of the same size.

This is the building that hosts among other magazines 

"Harper Bazar",

therefore you will see the most gorgeously dressed women walking up the 

water sculpture escalator

In the Atrium there is a gourmet cafeteria

and a 7 story handmade art piece

by Richard Long "Riverlines"

The Building has also been given the sexiest comment ever about a building;

...But the partial sightings of the Hearst Building that are offered up and down Eighth Avenue or along Fifty-seventh Street are so enticing that they end up increasing its allure—like a flash of leg in a slit skirt. 
Paul Goldberger (New Yorker)

Zero-Pollution, Zero-Waste City!

MASDAR

There is a fantastic Utopian place that is being planned close to the capital of the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi. The Sustainable City that is named Masdar means "The Source" and is planned by the Architect Firm Foster + Partners (Go Gerard:). 

Solar power plants, 

Electric light-rail system (No cars, linked to the capital)

Desalination facility (80% more efficient than existing plants)

Recycled and purified wastewater (grow plants for bio fuel)

Wind Farm

A home for nearly 50,000 People

Just what we are waiting for!

Norman Foster said:
“The environmental ambitions of the Masdar Initiative – zero carbon and waste free – are a world first. They have provided us with a challenging design brief that promises to question conventional urban wisdom at a fundamental level. Masdar promises to set new benchmarks for the sustainable city of the future.”

GRASS ROOT SQUARE!

DO HO SUH!

A New York/South Korean Artist won this competition to build an outdoor square in front of a Government building in Oslo. I think it just looks fabulous! Inspiring and fun.

Do Ho Suh explores with art that represents, individuality, collectivity and anonymity.

If the people had been in red the Americans would probably say...."See they are Communists".

The Grass Root People will be replacing paved stones around a large three. The people (8-10cm) will be popping up like grass (in green-patinated bronze) among the stones.

WOW!

The High Line!

Walking along the High Line dreaming about my upcoming wedding yesterday.

The January wind was biting slightly without making it uncomfortable. I felt like I walked all alone in the middle of dense Manhattan, but coming summer I am sure the High Line will be the hottest spot in town.

The High Line was originally built in the 1930´s going through the more industrial areas of the Meat Packing District, Chelsea and Hells Kitchen. Since the 1980´s there has been no trains and the line was left deserted. In the later years a complete demolition was considered, but thanks to the "Friends of the High Line" together with the City of New York they decided

to protect the tracks and instead, brilliantly build a wonderful park, just where the city needs it the

most.

An open competition to develop this park was sent out and the Architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro and the landscape architects James Corner Field Operations got the honor to do so.

The first section from Gansevoort to 20th Street opened last year. Section 2, up to 30th street is planned to open this year.

I might not think it is the most beautiful park during the winter months. But I do look forward to the spring when it will be filled with "Natural" flowers and I can lounge on the movable Sun bed's or simply just go there for people watching. With the Standard Hotel above it and the abundance of great restaurants and shops nearby, you will not find another place that can beat this one.

Read more about the park, or if you live close maybe volunteer?

http://www.thehighline.org/get-involved/volunteer