Five of the Twelve Labours of Hercules

While we're on this mythological trip, here's some drawings from the Project Gutenberg ebook

The Nemæan LionThe Lernæan Hydra

The StymphalidesCerberus

The Hesperides

Afternoon of a Faun

I was researching Alexander Iolas and found a great quote by Nureyev which led me to the afternoon of a faun

Lakeland Florida

Somehow randomly I bumped into the Annie Pfeiffer Chapel by Frank Loyd Wright. Not really being the biggest FLW fan, but the chapel is pretty great in an almost pre-Gio Ponti way.
Then I found out that it is part of the Lakeland Florida Southern College campus, which the master designed and it is today the largest collection of FLW buildings. Here's some cool details:

covered walkways


lakes and fountains

hidden gardenswalls with colored glass tiles etc

photos from here and here and here

Plato's Cave

Somehow I arrived to Googling Plato's cave today
and out of curiosity I tried the image search

Some of the results were very explanatory

and very diagramatic
like thisand really interestingothers much more romantic
and dramaticand truly inexplicableTim Noble and Sue Webster came up

and even a video

Unblogged New York

Here's whats been lying around in the blog foldera very cute cat fighter, I think from Cooper Hewitt museum.
amazing Paul Noble wallpaper insert (it was free with Nest magazine, ages ago)
classic NY ceilingscape with fans and tubes
Interruption of a Course of Action: great Lovett/Codagnone instalaltion at PS1nice arched windows at PS1and leaving Urban Books, church with skyscrapers

When we pretended to be Jews

Saturday in January in New York: Just to get a glimpse of the fabulous synagogue on White street. I've blogged about this in the past, but had never been inside.

We put on some Yarmulkes that were graciously left at the entrance, and watched the service from the back seats. Felix looked very serious. Angelo loves everything Jewish anyway.

Naturally the inside is just like the outside, only inverted.

And the whole thing is in marble, which one could not tell from the photos. And the synagogue has an arts program of course.

Building up a Soft Ruin

Some time ago I spent a few hours on Second Life, playing around with the "make physical" tool, trying to make a Soft Ruin that falls down. At some point a fire broke out, which was perfect for a building that falls down over and over again...

The Slideshow

Recently I compiled a slideshow for the DLD08 conference in Munich. Had great feedback, and I even think some of the architects presented got projects out of it.

Here's some hightlights:

Architecture D’occasion

Guy Rottier, 1968-2002

Grass Architecture

Gianni Pettena, 1971

Terraform House
Andreas Angelidakis, 2005
(yes, I had to include myself)

Two forms of accumulation

Leon Krier, 1978

Tokyo Apartment Project

Sou Fujimoto Architects, 2006

Barn restoration

Gruppo U.F.O., 1970

House for a horticulturist
R&Sie Architects, 1993

Pneumatic Structures

Arthur Quarmby, 1968

Pompidou Centre
Chaneac + Pascal Hausermann, 1974

Planet as Festival

Ettore Sottsass, 1972

Mouyer Shoe House
Anonymous, 1970

House for Monsieur Ginet

PascalHausermann, 1968

Seoul Commune
MASS Studies Architects, 2006

Elephant House,
Anonymous

Blind Pavilion

Olafur Eliasson, 2003

Weather House

Juergen Mayer H., 2003-2004

Himmelbett

Friedrich St Florian, 1974

and many more such as Superstudio, Archizoom, su11, Gunther Domenig,

David Georges Emmerich, Emilio Ambasz and so on and so forthand it looked like this, looped for the 3 days of the conference
(here Holzweg Frac by R&Sie (n) )