Driving past the Pentagon last weekend, we saw these three wispy blades of huge metal grass. It the Air Force Memorial, easily missed while driving 60 miles an hour on the highway nearby. Just uphill from the Pentagon, it overlooks the city. I believe it used to be located at… Read more…
The Pentagon’s Wispy Air Force Memorial
September 1st, 2010Shadows Outside The Picture Frame
August 31st, 2010For years I have been fascinated by the multiple shadows of paintings, and not just within the paintings themselves. The intricate Rococo frames like these in the Small French Painting Show in the National Gallery of Art give the best shadows. Some of them have openings in them that allow… Read more…
Canopies in Washington, D.C.
August 30th, 2010From traditional to transparent modern, D.C. is a place filled with a variety of canopies. Some area heavy, some are light beyond understanding, and some are canteleivered without a cable. Others have major support to allow them to be perpendicular at 90 degrees. Many of them have skylights to lighten… Read more…
The Leetum: three new museums in Seoul
August 2nd, 2010When I visited Seoul last spring, I stopped by a series of three new museums, one containing traditional Korean art and sculpture, another with modern experimental work, and the third a museum that engages the community to build and create unique art themselves. The Lee family (of Samsung fame) renamed the… Read more…
Gdansk’s Solidarity Museum
July 8th, 2010Late last month I arrived in Gdansk, Poland for the second time in a couple of years. Besides it being an old Polish port city, I couldn’t wait to see the redesigned Solidarity Museum.
I was a bit hesitant to see how the remake turned out. I feel that sometimes… Read more…
The Fryderyk Chopin Museum
July 6th, 2010The Fryderyk Chopin Museum is located in the 17th century Ostrogski Palace in downtown Warsaw, rebuilt after being completely razed during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. It’s off the beaten path, so you’ll really only find it if you are recommended. And it is a sight to see, depicting the… Read more…
Tokyo International Forum
May 12th, 2010When one finds an amazing building amidst mediocrity it’s a joy. The Tokyo International Forum building by Rafeel Vinoly is such a building.
The Japanese are proud of wonderful craft. This can be seen in every aspect of this building. It was built in 1996 as the result… Read more…
Look down
May 10th, 2010Last month I gave a talk at Hong Ik University in Seoul. Prior to going to the venue I noticed that this relatively non descript campus–architecturally speaking–had a great series of paving experiments up to the design building. The materials were wood, rough granite, cut granite, hewn wood, and more.… Read more…
Dominique Perrault’s EWHA Women’s University
May 7th, 2010EWHA Women’s University in Seoul invited me to speak to their design students last month. This treat was made doubly sweet because their new student center building by Domenique Perrault was recently completed.
It’s essentially two subterranean buildings split by the stairs and ramp (the landscape above ground was left as-is).… Read more…
Texture in Korea
May 6th, 2010I went to a great traditional Korean restaurant in Seoul a couple weeks ago. It was ultra yummy in addition to being very textural in its visuals.
From the entrance one sees the ground plane, the kimchee jars all over the front and the hidden wonderful restaurant beyond. The… Read more…